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(The Hill) – Senate Republicans voted Thursday to block the consideration of a bill to require organizations that spend money on elections to promptly disclose the identities of donors who give $10,000 or more during an election cycle.
The body failed to invoke cloture on the measure, in a 49-49 vote. Every Republican present voted against the measure, while every Democrat voted for it.
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) were not present for the decision.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) brought the bill to the floor to highlight the reliance of Senate Republican candidates on huge cash inflows from GOP dark-money groups, such as the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC linked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), according to Democratic senators familiar with Schumer’s thinking.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), has been a top Democratic priority since the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United in 2010 that enabled corporations and other outside special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on federal elections.
Schumer on Thursday morning said the court’s decision more than a decade ago “has disfigured our democracy almost beyond recognition.”
The Democratic leader cast Thursday’s vote as a defining issue ahead of the election, when voters are bombarded by televised political ads funded by tens of millions of dollars in anonymous donations.
“Republicans today must face the music. Either vote to bring transparency and fairness back to our elections as the vast majority of Americans want, or block this measure and cast their lot with the forces of dark money,” Schumer said before the vote.
McConnell, a longtime opponent of campaign finance restrictions, dismissed the bill as a “liberal pet priority” that he said would give “unelected federal bureaucrats vastly more power over private citizens’ First Amendment rights and political activism.”
He called it an “insult to the First Amendment” and slammed Democrats for bringing it to the floor instead of legislation to curb inflation or to address other economic problems.
Schumer, however, noted on Tuesday that McConnell has supported requiring donor disclosure in the past.
“Even Leader McConnell used to support disclosure … then he did a 180-degree about-face,” Schumer said, quoting McConnell’s statement from 1997 that he thought disclosure was “the best disinfectant.”
Republicans blocked the Disclose Act earlier this session when Democrats brought it to the floor as part of a broader election reform bill.
The bill would also require groups that spend money on ads in support or opposition to judicial nominees to disclose their donors, a top priority of Whitehouse, who has spoken on the Senate floor regularly to highlight the influence of conservative group spending on the Supreme Court.
Whitehouse noted in a press release issued ahead of the vote that political spending by groups that don’t disclose their donors increased from $5 million in 2006 to more than $1 billion in 2020. In addition, political spending by billionaires has increased from $17 million in the 2008 election to $1.2 billion in 2020.
President Biden urged Congress to pass the bill earlier this week, decrying the mounting influence of dark money in politics.
“There’s much — too much money that flows in the shadows to influence our elections. It’s called dark money. It’s hidden. Right now, advocacy groups can run ads on issues attacking or supporting a candidate right until Election Day without exposing how’s paying for that ad,” he said.
Democrats in the lead up to the vote pointed repeatedly to a $1.6 billion contribution to a political nonprofit group controlled by Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the conservative Federalist Society, which is credited with helping to reshape the federal judiciary in recent years.
Barre Seid, a businessman and conservative donor who made his fortune as the head of an electric device manufacturing company, gave the massive donation, which will fuel efforts to push courts in a conservative direction for years to come. | 2022-09-22T18:08:22+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/republicans-block-bill-requiring-dark-money-groups-to-reveal-donors/ |
Parents trust Democrats over Republicans when it comes to K-12 education, according to a new poll commissioned by the National Parents Union (NPU).
The poll, released ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, found that 46 percent of surveyed parents trust Democrats to lead primary education policy, while 38 favor Republicans and 16 percent are undecided.
Education policy has become a hot campaign issue that’s influenced major races, including Virginia’s 2021 gubernatorial contest, where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin capitalized on school choice concerns on his way to victory.
Still, the online poll conducted by Echelon Insights found that K-12 parents’ top concern is the economy, followed by crime and public safety, education, and immigration.
“Damn right we’re worried about this country and what lies ahead for our children,” said National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues.
“The average American family is getting squeezed, we’re watching a mental health crisis unfold before our eyes, and significant barriers to a high-quality education, especially for underserved communities, remain in place. Parent voters have run out of patience for politicians that allow poisonous politics to interfere with delivering on their promise of solutions,” added Rodrigues.
Those concerns match up with parents’ concerns about children born between 2010 and 2020 — 49 percent of parents polled said Gen A kids will have a harder time getting ahead financially, compared to their parents’ generations.
Still, 41 percent of parents said they were somewhat or very confident their children would ultimately find jobs to ensure financial security, while 22 percent said they were not confident.
And while a majority of parents said the K-12 public education system does its job — 68 percent agreed it teaches basic academic skills, and 57 percent said it prepares children for the future — a broad majority of parents want to see reform.
According to the poll, 73 percent of parents want to see major changes or a complete overhaul of the education system, while only 26 percent want to see no changes or minor tweaks.
Similar broad majorities showed up in questions about how much the government should support students and families with children in the educational system.
A whopping 84 percent of parents support free lunch for all K-12 students, while only 13 percent oppose it. Seventy-nine percent support direct funding for additional mental health care for students, 78 percent support public funding for recent high school graduates to take college courses, 77 percent support public funding for extra tutoring and 74 percent support monthly checks for families with children through the child tax credit.
And a broad majority — 75 percent — supports allowing parents to sue the government if they believe their child’s right to a quality education is being infringed.
The poll also found 80 percent-plus majorities of parents in support of measures that would make health care cheaper and prices more transparent.
The online poll was conducted on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 among 1,025 self-identified registered voters nationwide, weighing for gender, age, race and ethnicity, education and region based on U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
Since the poll is weighted for those factors, it does not have an official margin of error. According to the pollsters, a similar poll based on a random sample would have a margin of sampling error of 3.4 percentage points. | 2023-02-06T19:40:18+00:00 | keloland.com | https://www.keloland.com/hill-politics/poll-parents-trust-democrats-over-republicans-on-k-12-education/ |
Advantage's Evo UL is the first GPS solution that eliminates monthly airtime fees and device renewals.
IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advantage Automotive Analytics, a leader in modern data analytics and advanced, risk-mitigation solutions for vehicle finance professionals, today debuted Evo UL, an unprecedented, unlimited connectivity GPS risk-mitigation solution.
By employing the latest GPS hardware and applying sophisticated proprietary technology, Advantage is the first to market with unlimited connectivity service. Evo UL provides Buy here-pay here dealers and Subprime finance professionals the industry's first-ever, unlimited connectivity GPS solution that monitors and protects automotive collateral with no contracts, recurring carrier fees, or renewal charges.
Evo UL is now a key element of Advantage's wired collateral-protection portfolio that communicates via the 4G LTE platform and fully 5G-network compliant. Evo UL delivers essential data and analytics and provides more protection throughout the life of a loan and beyond — eliminating any and all recurring fees with one upfront payment. Benefits include:
- No monthly airtime fees — ever
- No renewal charges
- Unlimited device use and reuse
- Real-time monitoring
- Continuous protection
- Backup battery included
"We are first to market with this unlimited plan," said Brian Tate, Advantage's Director of Product Management, "and it's a tribute to the vision and dedication of our senior leadership and our skilled product development team. Once again, our customers drove this innovation with their suggestions and requests."
Evo UL allows users to more accurately control fixed operating costs, up front, because there are no additional charges or fees once a device is purchased. Users will never be burdened with loss of connectivity because of a failure to renew carrier fees.
Setting itself above and apart from its competitors, Evo UL gives its clients another major cost-reduction possibility.
"Since there are no monthly service fees nor renewals, users can incentivize their customers to return the devices when a finance contract ends, the vehicle is traded-in or reacquired by the finance company," said Michelle Jackson, Vice President of Sales. "The devices can be used for multiple vehicles over time, and our user dashboard facilitates the process."
Buy here-pay here dealers and finance company professionals have long-awaited a risk-mitigation platform with unlimited GPS connectivity. Skyrocketing inventory costs and increases in delinquencies and charge offs have made the deep subprime business ever-more challenging.
"It's a solution that addresses marketplace demands at a time when GPS protection is more necessary than ever and cost-reduction is critical to profitability," Jackson added.
Advantage GPS provides modern data analytics and advanced GPS technology that empower BHPH dealers and vehicle finance companies to make smarter, faster, and more profitable business decisions. The company's seasoned leadership team has been revolutionizing risk mitigation tools and real-time automotive analytics to help lenders protect vehicle assets, reduce delinquencies, and speed up recoveries for over a decade.
For more information visit AdvantageGPS.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Advantage GPS, LLC | 2022-08-23T15:29:08+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/08/23/advantage-gps-debuts-industrys-first-unlimited-risk-mitigation-protection-solution/ |
Areas east of US-53 saw some rain on our Tuesday though totals weren't overly impressive. Medford saw about a quarter inch, while Marshfield and Black River Falls saw just over a tenth of an inch. You had to go over towards Wausau and Green Bay to see totals of a third to a half inch plus.
The weather story today and Thursday will be on the hazy skies returning along with reduced air quality levels. This is because of a combination of wildfires ongoing in Canada and ground ozone. An Air Quality Alert is in place for the Twin Cities along with southeast and northern Minnesota, but we are not expecting any alerts in the Chippewa Valley as of now as the air quality is forecasted to remain in the moderate (yellow) category.
Outside of that, we'll see a mostly sunny sky for our Wednesday with a slight chance of a few pop-up afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms as a weak cold front slides through. Highs top out in the 80s to near 90, but the haze could limit temperatures a bit.
Skies remain clear to partly cloudy heading into our Thursday with areas of haze lingering around. Winds will be northeasterly at 5-10 mph, which will cool highs back into the mid 70s to mid 80s.
Friday looks to be a great day with mainly sunny skies, low humidity and light winds with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s. A few isolated showers and thunderstorms could sneak in to the western hometowns toward early Saturday morning ahead of a weakening area of low pressure and cold front.
The weekend overall looks warm and mostly dry with just slight chances of showers and thunderstorms as the weakening system tracks through. Realistically, I think most areas could go the entire weekend without seeing rain, but I'm keeping a slight chance in the forecast as a few could pop-up. Highs will be in the 80s with lows in the 50s and low 60s.
Heading into next week, we'll remain above average temperature wise and staying dry as well with clear to partly cloudy skies. Highs will be in the mid 80s to low 90s and dew points hanging out in the 50s to low 60s. | 2023-06-14T14:56:41+00:00 | wqow.com | https://www.wqow.com/weather/hazy-skies-and-reduced-air-quality-highlight-wednesdays-forecast/article_1c7f3268-0a9d-11ee-8282-a3f6cffa21eb.html |
What to watch for when the full House Jan. 6 committee report is released on Wednesday
By Annie Grayer, CNN
The final report the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack is set to release Wednesday launches a new era for criminal investigators, politicians and members of the public who have been eager to see the nuts and bolts of its work.
In addition to the report, the committee will start the much-anticipated rolling release of thousands of pages of witness transcripts, the behind-the-scenes building blocks to its investigation that the Justice Department, Republican lawmakers and witnesses themselves have been calling for.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, has told CNN the panel is expecting to release “hundreds” of transcripts, but there are some witnesses with sensitive material that the panel has agreed to protect.
The committee presented an overview of its findings on Monday, including evidence for a number of criminal statutes it believes were violated in the plots to stave off former President Donald Trump’s defeat.
Here’s what to look for on Wednesday:
Detail on possible obstruction of the investigation
In the summary of its report released earlier this week, the panel revealed it is aware of “multiple efforts by President Trump to contact Select Committee witnesses,” adding that DOJ is aware “of at least one of those circumstances.”
The summary released Monday also claimed the panel has a “range of evidence suggesting specific efforts to obstruct the Committee’s investigation.” That includes concerns that attorneys paid by Trump’s political committee or allied groups “have specific incentives to defend President Trump rather than zealously represent their own clients.”
CNN has previously reported that Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide, told the select committee that she was contacted by someone attempting to influence her testimony.
“The Select Committee also has concerns regarding certain other witnesses, including those who still rely for their income or employment by organizations linked to President Trump, such as the America First Policy Institute,” the panel wrote in Monday’s summary.
“Certain witnesses and lawyers were unnecessarily combative, answered hundreds of questions with variants of ‘I do not recall’ in circumstances where that answer seemed unbelievable, appeared to testify from lawyer-written talking points rather than their own recollections, provided highly questionable rationalizations or otherwise resisted telling the truth,” the panel added.
“The public can ultimately make its own assessment of these issues when it reviews the Committee transcripts and can compare the accounts of different witnesses and the conduct of counsel,” the summary previewed.
The summary also highlighted Ivanka Trump and then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany as being less cooperative than others.
Details of Trump’s effort to visit the Capitol
The summary details that the panel was ultimately unable to get former White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato to corroborate a bombshell moment during the public hearings, in which Hutchinson recalled Ornato describing Trump’s altercation with the head of his security detail when he was told he would not be taken to the Capitol following his speech on the Ellipse.
The committee summary said both Hutchinson and a White House employee testified to the panel about the Ornato conversation. But “Ornato professed that he did not recall either communication, and that he had no knowledge at all about the President’s anger.”
The committee wrote that it “has significant concerns about the credibility of this testimony” and vowed to release his transcript publicly. Ornato did not recall conveying the information to Hutchinson or a White House employee with national security responsibilities, according to the report. “The Committee is skeptical of Ornato’s account.”
The transcripts could help explain any discrepancies in testimony.
Fundraising efforts
In terms of financing after the 2020 presidential election and through the January 6 rallies, the committee says it gathered evidence indicating that Trump “raised roughly one quarter of a billion dollars in fundraising efforts between the election and January 6th.”
“Those solicitations persistently claimed and referred to election fraud that did not exist,” the panel wrote.
“For example, the Trump Campaign, along with the Republican National Committee, sent millions of emails to their supporters, with messaging claiming that the election was ‘rigged,’ that their donations could stop Democrats from ‘trying to steal the election,’ and that Vice President Biden would be an ‘illegitimate president’ if he took office,'” the summary states.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, has said the panel has evidence that members of the Trump family and inner circle — including Kimberly Guilfoyle — personally benefited from money that was raised based on the former president’s false election claims, but the panel has never gone as far to say a financial crime has been committed.
DOJ’s response
The evidence presented in the final report and the information revealed by the panel’s trove of transcripts will be the first time the DOJ gets a real look at what the panel has and could inform the DOJ’s criminal probes into January 6 more so than the criminal referrals the select committee made.
The committee has started handing over evidence and transcripts to the Justice Department, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Special counsel Jack Smith sent a letter to the select committee on December 5 requesting all of the information from the panel’s investigation, a source told CNN.
The select committee began sending documents and transcripts as of last week, the source added, with the production focusing specifically on former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s former election lawyer John Eastman.
The panel has also started to share transcripts of witness interviews pertaining to the false slates of electors and the pressure campaign enacted by the former president and his allies on certain states to overturn the 2020 election results. DOJ has also received all of Meadows’ text messages from the committee.
DOJ initially asked the panel for all of its transcripts back in May, but committee members, particularly Thompson, felt strongly the depositions were the property of the committee.
“It’s our work product,” Thompson said back in May.
Trump’s response
The former president’s legal team will be interested in viewing the committee transcripts that get released in the coming days to examine whether the panel omitted presenting information publicly because it contradicted itself, a source familiar with Trump’s January 6 legal team told CNN.
Aides and advisers to the former president are also hoping the release of the panel’s transcripts will provide new information about the DOJ criminal investigation into January 6.
Members of Trump’s orbit will be looking for transcripts of those who have spoken to both the committee and Justice Department in order to get insight into some of what prosecutors have.
Trump’s team has been keeping tabs on those testifying before the grand jury, and even foots the legal bill for a number of Trump’s aides who have appeared. Some believe the transcripts could shed additional light on the special counsel’s investigation.
At various points during the committee’s hearings, Trump’s allies and advisers were surprised by snippets of testimony they were unaware of before hearing publicly, including that of Ivanka Trump.
GOP lawmakers’ response
The committee’s final report and its corresponding transcripts will inform how Republicans, particularly in the House, will seek to make good on their promise of investigating Biden and his administration on a variety of fronts, which includes in part relitigating January 6, when they take control of the House next month.
Various Republican lawmakers have sought to discredit the select committee’s work since its inception and have argued that the panel has not addressed the security failures that led to the US Capitol breach. Five House Republicans were subpoenaed by the committee, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and did not cooperate with the investigation. The panel took the unprecedented step of referring the four returning members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee.
The House GOP has formulated its own report on January 6 that is set to be released when the select committee releases its final report.
McCarthy has vowed to hold hearings next year on the security failures that led to the Capitol breach and has called on the select committee to preserve all of its records and transcripts.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | 2022-12-21T11:43:55+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2022/12/21/what-to-watch-for-when-the-full-house-jan-6-committee-report-is-released-on-wednesday/ |
November is here. Today, November 1, would have been my brother-in-law Jacob’s 50th birthday. He is greatly missed by his family and friends. We have many precious memories of the years we spent together. Jacob’s wife Emma is my sister, and he was a first cousin to my husband Joe. Rest in peace, Jacob. You will be remembered always!
And now, on a happier note, I want to announce the exciting news of daughter Susan and Ervin’s wedding date. The couple has picked December 30 for their wedding. Both have lost their first love, and what a great God we have that they were able to find love again. They will never forget their first loves, and we know God has a reason for everything.
So now there is lots of wedding planning going on. Susan and her two children, Jennifer and Ryan, will move in with Ervin and his three children, Kaitlyn, Isaiah, and Curtis, after they are married. As far as I know, daughter Verena will continue living in Susan’s house. We would love to have her move back home, but I understand she likes her independence.
The wedding will be different from our usual weddings. The service will begin at 9 a.m., with the couple being married by around 11:30 a.m. Only one meal will be served. Usually, we have two meals served for weddings. This is the second wedding for both, so they preferred a smaller wedding. The church, uncles, aunts, the bride and groom’s families, and their deceased partners’ families will be invited, which already brings the total up more than they anticipated. The wedding meal will be served cafeteria style except for the bride and groom and their families. Tables will be set for them, and they will have table waiters to wait on them. The wedding will be held at our local community building, which already makes it much easier.
Ervin and Susan very much appreciate every act of kindness that was done for them in the two years since they lost their loved ones.
Please continue praying for them as they join hands together with their five children. I will keep you posted as we prepare for this wedding.
Ervin’s mother Esther has been so kind in her offer to help sew for our family for the wedding clothes. This is a great help to Susan and some of my other daughters. She is a great sewer and has done so much to help Susan sew clothes for the five children. Sewing was never one of Susan’s favorite things, so she’s so happy to have someone help her. I remember when Susan was still at home and would come home from work. I asked her if she wanted to sew her dress. She said no and that she was very tired. The next thing I knew, she was line driving one of the ponies she was training. I soon figured out that her energy came when there was something she enjoyed doing. I remember asking her if she would rather move her sewing machine to the barn so she would feel more like sewing. Haha!
Tomorrow, sister Verena and I plan to help Susan at Ervin’s house. Susan is moving over some of her things she doesn’t need before the wedding. It’s easier to move it while it’s warmer and before the snow starts flying. Her cupboard was emptied, and now we want to set it up in Ervin’s house and put the china dishes back in.
I have finally caught up with reader mail. I sent out letters (answering letters) to eight different states the other day. I don’t thank you readers often enough for all the kind letters of encouragement. A big thank you to Karen from Kansas for the nice box of things you sent. So many useful items, and my grandchildren are so excited about Grandma’s new toys. They often get bored with the same toys I have, so they are very excited.
We have leaves, leaves, leaves. Saturday, we raked a lot of leaves, but the grass is already getting covered with lots more.
Son Joseph is working with the rest of his construction crew this week in Hart, Michigan. They don’t often go overnight. We miss him being home at night, but this hardly ever happens. They wanted less driving time. It is bedtime—good night, sweet dreams, and God’s blessings!
Macaroni Chicken Salad
2 1/2 cups macaroni, uncooked
2 cups diced chicken
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 cup sweet relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well; cool. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss well, chill.
Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails. | 2022-11-06T18:33:01+00:00 | leadertelegram.com | https://www.leadertelegram.com/country-today/recipes/susan-and-ervin-set-a-wedding-date/article_bb2b3863-edeb-5c94-93e2-4eccac7d5aca.html |
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s industry minister visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday to see equipment that is to be used to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean to ensure the safety of the contentious plan, while demonstrators, including many from South Korea, rallied against it.
The Japanese government defended the neutrality of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the wastewater release plan that concluded it meets international safety standards, denying allegations that Japan pressured the agency into publishing favorable results.
Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Monday morning to see key equipment, including an emergency shutdown system, days after the Japanese regulatory authority granted a permit to the plant’s operator for the release and the IAEA said the environmental impact would be negligible.
The government and the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, have struggled with how to manage the massive amount of contaminated water coming from the damaged reactors, which is filtered and stored in tanks. They want to release the water into the Pacific Ocean after further treatment and dilution with seawater, which they say will make it safer than international standards.
The government and TEPCO say the water must be removed to prevent any accidental leaks and make room for the plant’s decommissioning. They hope to start releasing the water this summer.
The plan is opposed by Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about the reputation of their seafood. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns.
On Monday, dozens of protesters, including South Korean lawmakers and activists, rallied outside the Prime Minister’s Office, holding banners saying, “Do not dump radioactive contaminated water into the sea.”
Ju Cheol Hyeon, a South Korean lawmaker, said Japan should apologize to the world for releasing “the Fukushima disaster high-level nuclear waste into the sea,” and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the plan.
“We cannot either understand or remain silent about the situation in which Japan fails to dispose of the nuclear waste within its own territory and takes the illegal and unethical action of discharging (the water) into the sea,” he said.
Japan has sought support from the IAEA to ensure the plan meets international safety standards, in hopes of gaining backing for the plan.
Some opponents at home and in South Korea have accused Japan, one of the top donors to the IAEA, of pressuring the agency into publishing only positive reviews in its report.
Japanese officials have said such accusations are groundless. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference that the IAEA, like other international organizations, is funded by contributions from U.N. member nations. Matsuno said Japan accounts for 7.7% of the IAEA budget — half that of China.
“The claim that cites Japanese funding and staffing at the IAEA to question the neutrality of the IAEA final report is not only completely missing the target but also shakes the significance of the existence of international organizations,” Matsuno said. “The government of Japan considers the report to be independent and neutral.”
Nishimura, who met with TEPCO executives after his plant tour, stressed the importance of safety and a quick response to any reputational damage. TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa vowed to promptly compensate the fishing community and other local businesses in case of any damage to their reputation.
Nishimura said the government will determine when to start the water release “by ensuring safety and taking into consideration the progress of measures against reputational damage.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who was in Japan last week to submit his agency’s report to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visit the plant, said the environmental and health impacts from the water release would be negligible under the plan. He said radioactivity in the water would be almost undetectable and that the impact wouldn’t cross national borders.
A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water, which has leaked continuously. The water is collected, treated and stored in about 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.
___
Associated Press video journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report. | 2023-07-11T04:58:54+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/science/ap-science/ap-japan-defends-neutrality-of-iaea-report-on-fukushima-water-release-plan-as-minister-visits-plant/ |
PARIS (AP) — French union activists marched on the headquarters of the Paris Olympics and slowed traffic at the capital’s Orly Airport with strikes Tuesday as they sought to reignite resistance to a higher retirement age.
But the last-ditch effort drew fewer followers than at the height of the movement earlier this year, and even some union leaders seemed ready to move on.
President Emmanuel Macron’s move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 — and force the measure through parliament without a vote — inflamed public emotions and triggered some of France’s biggest demonstrations in years. But the intensity of anger over the pension reform has ebbed since the last big protests on May 1, and since the measure became law in April.
As part of Tuesday’s actions, a third of flights were canceled at Paris’ Orly Airport because of strikes, and about 10% of trains around France were disrupted. Around 250 marches, rallies and other actions were planned around the country to mark the 14th day of national protest since January over the pension reform.
A small group of activists with the hard-left CGT union pushed their way into the headquarters of the 2024 Olympics in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, chanting anti-Macron slogans.
In the western city of Rennes, union activists marched on train tracks before being turned back by police, according to local public broadcaster France Bleu.
In Paris, thousands gathered along the embankments of the Seine River near the gold-domed Invalides monument before setting off on their march to southeast Paris. The peaceful crowd waved union flags, banged drums and chanted to demand the withdrawal of the pension law and a lower retirement age.
Macron says the reform was needed to finance the pension system as the population ages. Unions and left-wing opponents say the changes hurt poorer workers and have argued for higher taxes on the wealthy and employers instead.
The outgoing head of the moderate CFDT union, Laurent Berger, said that after Tuesday’s actions, “we will continue to contest the retirement reform, but it will take on a different form.”
CGT chief Sophie Binet told reporters at the Paris march that other protests are ‘’probable,” but she too said it was time to talk about other issues such as working conditions or tax fraud by companies.
Organizers of Tuesday’s protests hope to rally support before a possible parliamentary debate on Thursday on a bill that is seeking to repeal the new retirement age.
Legislators from centrist opposition group LIOT proposed the bill to put back the retirement age to 62. But it has already met challenges before it reaches the parliamentary floor. While Macron’s centrist party doesn’t have a majority in the National Assembly, it has allied with the conservative Republicans party to push back the opposition’s efforts. | 2023-06-06T14:25:26+00:00 | pahomepage.com | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/international/protests-in-france-as-unions-make-last-ditch-bid-to-resist-higher-retirement-age/ |
WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) — When Alicia Griggs steps outside her suburban Fort Lauderdale home, Florida’s latest invasive species comes a-hoppin’ down the street: lionhead rabbits.
The bunnies, which sport an impressive flowing mane around their heads, want the food Griggs carries. But she also represents their best chance of survival and moving where this domesticated breed belongs: inside homes, away from cars, cats, hawks, Florida heat and possibly government-hired exterminators.
Griggs is spearheading efforts to raise the $20,000 to $40,000 it would cost for a rescue group to capture, neuter, vaccinate, shelter and then give away the estimated 60 to 100 lionheads now populating Jenada Isles, an 81-home community in Wilton Manors.
They are descendants of a group a backyard breeder illegally let loose when she moved away two years ago.
“They really need to be rescued. So we’ve tried to get the city to do it, but they’re just dragging their feet,” Griggs said. “They think that if they do that, then they’ll have to get rid of iguanas and everything else that people don’t want around.”
Monica Mitchell, whose East Coast Rabbit Rescue would likely lead the effort, said capturing, treating and finding homes for them “is not an easy process.” Few veterinarians treat rabbits and many prospective owners shy away when they find out how much work the animals require. Griggs agreed.
“People don’t realize they’re exotic pets and they’re complicated. They have a complicated digestive system and they have to eat a special diet,” said Griggs, a real estate agent. “You can’t just throw any table scraps at them.”
Wilton Manors is giving Griggs and other supporters time to raise money and relocate the rabbits rather than exterminate them, even though the city commission voted in April to do just that after receiving an $8,000 estimate from a trapping company.
The vote came after some residents complained the lionheads dig holes, chew outdoor wiring and leave droppings on sidewalks and driveways. City commissioners also feared the rabbits could spread into neighboring communities and cities and become a traffic hazard if they ventured onto major streets.
“The safety of this rabbit population is of utmost importance to the City, and any decision to involve ourselves will be certain to see these rabbits placed into the hands of people with a passion to provide the necessary care and love for these rabbits,” Police Chief Gary Blocker said in a statement.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which often culls invasive animals, has told the city it will not intercede. The rabbits pose no immediate threat to wildlife.
Lionhead rabbits aren’t the only invasive species causing headaches or worse for Floridians. Burmese pythons and lionfish are killing off native species. Giant African snails eat stucco off homes and carry human disease. Iguanas destroy gardens. Like the Wilton Manors lionhead rabbits, those populations all started when people illegally turned them loose.
But unlike those species, Florida’s environment is not friendly to lionheads. Instead of the 7 to 9 years they live when properly housed, their lives outdoors are nasty, brutal and shortened.
The lionheads’ heavy coat makes them overheat during Florida summers and their lack of fear makes them susceptible to predators. Munching on lawns is not a healthy diet. Their illnesses go untreated. They need owners.
“Domesticated (rabbits) released into the environment are not equipped to thrive on their own,” said Eric Stewart, executive director of the American Rabbit Breeders Association. He said the breeder who released them should be prosecuted, a path the city has not pursued.
The Wilton Manors colony survives and grows only because lionheads breed like the rabbits they are, with females birthing litters of two-to-six offspring every month, starting when they are about 3 months old.
On a recent morning in Jenada Isles, clutches of two to 10 bunnies dotted the streets and lawns, the bravest hopping up to residents and visitors in search of treats.
A large group of rabbits gathered on the driveway of Gator Carter, who puts out food for them. He said the lionheads bring the neighborhood joy, and his two young grandchildren love giving them carrots.
“People drive by, stop, love ’em, feed ’em,” Carter said. “They don’t bother me. We have a couple Airbnbs on the island here and the people (guests) are just amazed that the rabbits come right up to them.”
But Jon King said he wants the rabbits gone soon. They dig in his yard and he spent $200 repairing his outdoor lights after they damaged the wiring. He bought rabbit repellent, but that didn’t work, and his little dog doesn’t scare them: “He’s their best friend.”
“Every morning, I get up and first thing I do is cover up the holes and chase them out of the backyard. I like them, I just wish they would go somewhere else,” King said. “Rescue would be great.” | 2023-07-17T11:18:12+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/news/us-world-news/fuzzy-invasion-of-rabbits-has-florida-suburb-on-hunt-for-new-owners/ |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — In his campaign for a crucial U.S. Senate seat, Democrat John Fetterman takes credit for reinventing Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor’s office, transforming it from a political pit stop into a “bully pulpit” from which he’s advanced progressive causes.
Records from Fetterman’s four years in office, however, offer a different portrait of his time in the $179,000-a-year elected job. They show Fetterman typically kept a light work schedule and was often absent from state business, including presiding over the state Senate, which is one of his chief duties, according to an Associated Press review of his daily calendars and attendance records.
The review found that Fetterman’s daily schedule was blank during roughly one-third of workdays from January 2019, when he first took office, to May of this year, when he suffered a serious stroke. Even on days where his schedule showed he was active, a typical work day for Fetterman lasted between four and five hours, the records show.
The findings, which focus entirely on his tenure before his stroke, are notable because Fetterman points to his time as lieutenant governor as a leading credential in his Senate campaign. And as his bid for a seat that could swing the Senate majority becomes more competitive, some Democrats privately worry that Fetterman is proving a lackluster candidate and losing ground in the campaign.
Fetterman’s campaign didn’t explain the gaps in his schedule. In a statement, his spokesman, Joe Calvello, said that “this report is a misleading and inaccurate reflection of John’s actual schedule that totally fails to capture the breadth of his official work and his accomplishments.”
Fetterman didn’t respond to interview requests, but he said in a statement that he’s “shown I can have an impact beyond the prescribed power of a given office.”
“As lieutenant governor,” he said, “my record of showing up and shaking up this office has transformed the Board of Pardons, saved Pennsylvania millions in taxpayer dollars, and grown support in our state for defending LGBTQIA+ rights, weed legalization, union workers, and raising the minimum wage.”
The job of lieutenant governor is typically a stopover for politicians seeking higher office and often comes with limited duties. In Pennsylvania, the primary legal responsibilities for a lieutenant governor are presiding over Senate sessions, chairing the Board of Pardons and heading up the governor’s emergency management committee.
There’s no suggestion that Fetterman’s absences prevented the state from conducting important business, and his formal calendars may not capture the full range of his activities.
And, due at least in part to Fetterman’s criminal justice advocacy, the state agency that handles applications for pardons and commutations of life sentences saw a surge in activity while he chaired it. That produced a big jump in grants of clemency by Gov. Tom Wolf.
Fetterman’s defenders say the pandemic sapped opportunities for him to take a more active role and note that Wolf did not call on him to take on a bigger workload.
“I believe he … would have to liked to,” state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said of Fetterman. “Every time (Wolf) called on John to communicate, he did.”
In a statement, Wolf said Fetterman’s office has “limited responsibilities” but called him “a dedicated public servant who has supported my priorities over the past four years.”
Fetterman’s daily schedules offer a window into his time in office, detailing his obligations including meetings, phone calls, hearings and even drive time to events around the state.
In 2019, Fetterman’s first year in office, he regularly attended ribbon cuttings and conducted a statewide listening tour focused on legalizing marijuana. Still, on 47 different work days he had nothing on his schedules.
His workload plummeted after the coronavirus pandemic hit, the schedules show.
For months, starting in March 2020, his work days often consisted of a morning meeting focused on the pandemic that typically lasted 45 minutes, sometimes followed by interviews with local and national journalists. Occasionally he would attend virtual events.
But Fetterman also did not take an active role and seldom participated in the daily Cabinet meetings, even though he was tapped to head a task force on disparities in the COVID-19 response. It produced a 32-page report.
In some cases, he booked national media interviews during times he otherwise had state business to attend to, including presiding over the Senate, or pandemic work group meetings.
During a one-month period beginning in October 2020, the vast majority of events listed on Fetterman’s calendar were interviews with national or Washington-based news outlets, with a scattering of official duties and events mixed in, the records show.
In 2021, Fetterman’s calendars showed 115 work days with no activities or events listed. That includes a period that stretched from the end of June to mid-September where Fetterman’s schedules were largely blank, listing a total of about 11 hours worked during that period.
In the first half of 2022, lasting up to his stroke, there are nearly 70 days with nothing on listed on his schedule.
Fetterman’s work ethic has been a persistent focus of attack in the Senate campaign by Republicans who characterize the 53-year-old as a trust fund beneficiary who never had a paying job until he was elected lieutenant governor. Fetterman’s father was a partner in an insurance firm.
Asked on a radio program Wednesday to respond to the claim that he’d “never worked a day in your life,” Fetterman said it wasn’t true.
For 13 years he was the mayor of Braddock, a tiny, struggling steel town of 2,000 residents outside Pittsburgh.
He called being mayor “a full-time job, fighting to bring (back) a community that was abandoned, left behind.” Fetterman has also told of working for an insurance firm in Connecticut in the 1990s. He also held a job helping young people get GED certificates.
Still, Fetterman’s 2015 financial disclosure when he first ran for U.S. Senate showed that he was paid just $1,800 a year to be Braddock’s mayor and lived off $54,000 given to him by his parents that year alone. Property records show that he bought his home in Braddock from his sister for $1.
That has fueled a 25-second digital ad from the campaign of Republican nominee Mehmet Oz that touts the legend “Freeloading Fetterman” over the vague image of a man in a black hoodie — Fetterman wears hoodies just about everywhere he goes. The narrator finishes, “Thank goodness for daddy’s deep pockets.”
At a rally in Wilkes-Barre last month, former President Donald Trump called Fetterman “a spoiled and entitled socialist loser who leeched off his parents’ money — you know he lives on his parents’ money — until he was 49 years old.”
It’s a line of criticism first used by Fetterman’s Democratic rivals in past campaigns, whispering that he blew off city council meetings rather than face critics while serving as mayor of Braddock.
Records show that Fetterman skipped at least 53 city council meetings during his 13 years as the town’s mayor, or roughly one-third of the meetings held during his tenure.
It’s a trend that extends to his duties presiding over the Pennsylvania state Senate.
In 2020, Fetterman did not preside during 27 of the 53 Senate sessions that year, according to Senate journals, a period when the chamber adapted to the pandemic by letting numerous members connect to sessions through video links.
Fetterman did not show up for one-third of the Senate’s 59 session days in 2021. This year, he was present for 15 of 16 session days before suffering a stroke in May.
He came back to preside over the Senate’s session on Sept. 21 — then skipped the next two days of Senate sessions as he returned to the campaign trail.
Fetterman’s campaign attributes 20 of his absences in 2020 to COVID-19 restrictions — although that did not stop a number of senators from attending sessions in person. It also attributed 10 absences to conflicts with Board of Pardons meetings or other official business.
___
Slodysko reported from Washington. | 2022-10-06T11:40:38+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/fetterman-records-show-light-schedule-as-pa-lieutenant-gov/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is urging drivers to use caution amid reports downed powerlines and tree damage.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson reported Millertown Pike at Shipe Road in Corryton is affected by downed powerlines. Images shared on Facebook showed Gibbs Road and Roberts Road in Corryton also impacted by downed trees
Around 5 p.m. on Friday, July 8, a storm in Knoxville drenched parts of the city with high winds potentially causing damage. Knoxville Utilities Board reports over 7,000 customers currently are out of power in several north and eastern communities of the city.
This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app to get updates sent to your phone.
Remain Weather AWARE this evening, and keep an eye on the radar. | 2022-07-08T23:30:52+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/weather/severe-weather/storm-downs-trees-powerlines-in-north-knox-county/ |
Participants prayed around the world and were commissioned to take the Gospel to the nations and to every person on Earth
AMSTERDAM, June 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Empowered21 Amsterdam2023 EveryONE conference concluded Saturday with a global worship, prayer and commissioning service for the thousands who gathered in The Netherlands this week before returning to their home countries. More than 5,000 individuals from over 125 nations attended the conference in person at the historic RAI conference center, with thousands more joining online from 150 countries around the world.
Saturday's event got underway at 1 p.m., after 700 conference attendees participated in outreach throughout the city during the morning, inviting guests to join the evening portion of the event at Olympic stadium, which included a free concert with Australian band PlanetShakers and a presentation of the Gospel at 6 p.m. Over 300 people made decisions for Christ during this time.
The global worship and prayer tour began in The Netherlands, with an extended time of music by Iwan & Rebekah and the Church band choir, interspersed with prayers and encouragement by Dutch leaders like Ruben Flach, Jan Pool, Felix Govers and Arleen Westerhof. During the international "sing in," flags from all the countries of the world entered the arena, surrounding a large white cross, in a moving moment for the crowd. "We live in a time of confusion, crisis, division, fear, loneliness and depression," Pool said. "So many people are looking for an answer, and we have the answer – it is Jesus."
The next stop on the global journey was Europe, with worship led by UK group Chroma and prayers and encouragement shared by UK pastor Ben Fitzgerald, Norwegian church leader Anne Christiansen and German pastor Markus Wenz. "There has been a lot of darkness in Europe, but in the midst of the darkness, the bright light of Jesus is shining and thousands of people are coming to Jesus," Christiansen said.
Latin America was the next continent visited, with Brazilian group Dunamis leading in worship. Brazilian-born missionary evangelist Rubens Cunha prayed for his nation and others in South and Central America. Argentinian pastor and evangelist Claudio Freidzen and his daughter and fellow pastor Daniella Freidzon-McCabe shared about his experience being transformed at the first Billy Graham Amsterdam conference in 1983 when he was a young pastor, and he believes others will be similarly transformed by their time in Amsterdam this week.
Nigerian Bishop E. A. Adeboye started the time of prayer and focus on Africa, followed by Goodwill Shana and a rousing time of worship with a group from House on the Rock church in Lagos, Nigeria. Evangelist Daniel Kolenda wrapped up the time in Africa speaking of his predecessor Reinhard Bonnke and his historic work in Africa seeing 88 million decisions for Christ. Kolenda shared Bonnke's vision near the end of his life that an entire generation of evangelists would follow him, reaching all the nations for Christ.
Pastor Gail Stathis from Greece brought her friend, a Muslim convert from Tunisia who distinctly understands the challenges of sharing Christ in that region, to lead a prayer for the Middle East and North Africa.
Asia was next, with church leaders from that continent leading in prayer, including Shekhar Kallianpur from India, Brother Yun from China and Niko Njotorahardjo from Indonesia. "We cannot fulfill the Great Commission in our own strength but it must be done through the power of the Holy Spirit," Njotorahardjo said. Empowered21 Global Chair Dr. Billy Wilson announced that the next EveryONE conference would be held in Indonesia next summer, focusing on reaching EveryONE Asia.
U.S. ministry leader Cindy Jacobs began the time of prayer for North America, followed by U.S. evangelist Nick Hall and Canadian leader David Wells. The Oral Roberts University worship band from Tulsa, Okla., lead a time of praise and worship. Australian pastors Russell Evans and Tim Hall concluded the global journey with prayers for Oceania, kicking off the concert by renowned Australian band PlanetShakers.
Following the evangelistic presentation by Nathan Morris, there was a time of prayer for healing led by Swiss evangelist Jean Luc Trachsel and Belgian ministry leader Martin Koornstra. Mattheus van der Steen, Dutch evangelist and Founder of Harvest Fields International, who served as Empowered21 event liaison for the Netherlands, also led in the time of prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to move in people's lives.
The SEND's Téo Hayashi, founder of the Dunamis Movement, alongside Dr. Wilson, commissioned those in attendance to answer God's call of "whom shall I send, who will go for me," with "here am I, send me," as they committed to being one of the "ones" who will be needed to reach EveryONE in the next decade. Brian Alarid encouraged the attendees to pray for people by name as part of the effort to pray for every person on earth by name by 2033. A final time of worship was led by a combined group from Dunamis and ORU Worship.
Dr. Wilson's closing encouragement included the thought that if just two people shared the Gospel with others and those two shared and those two shared, and so on, it would only take 33 days for every person on the earth to have an opportunity to experience an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ. "We can do this!" he exclaimed.
About Empowered21
Empowered21 (E21) is the world's largest Spirit-empowered relational network. E21 is comprised of a global council, international and regional leadership teams, and various work groups. E21 organizes regional and global events to inspire the Spirit-empowered community. E21 mobilizes efforts to recognize and implement effective models to answer the cry for spiritual fathers and mothers, connecting generations for intergenerational blessing and impartation and focusing on crucial issues facing the movement. For more information about Empowered21 and Amsterdam 2023, visit https://empowered21.com and https://amsterdam2023.com, where the entire EveryONE conference is still available for online viewing. The closing global worship rally is archived at https://www.facebook.com/empowered21/videos/697173592236199.
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SOURCE Empowered21 | 2023-06-27T23:05:55+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2023/06/27/amsterdam2023-everyone-conference-concludes-with-global-worship-olympic-stadium/ |
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To celebrate the beginning of autumn, the Chippewa Nature Center went back to the late 1800’s to explore the history of harvest season.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the nature center held its now annual Fall Harvest Festival, with nearly 1,000 people attending. The event featured people in period clothing showcasing historic forms of crafting and cooking.
Corrine Bloomfield, historical interpreter with the Nature Center, said the center host this festival to celebrate the fall season and showcase what the Nature Center has to offer. The festival used to be bi-annual, but now takes place annually.
“It allows people need to get out and interact with our volunteers,” Bloomfield said. “We have a lot of volunteers and educators from our program staff so they can learn and see what our 1870’s homestead farm and schoolhouse area is all about.”
Attendees were given the opportunity to experience what life was like in the 1870s. Demonstrations included woodcarving, cider pressing, seed preservation, blacksmithing and candle dipping. At one corner of the festival was a giant, steaming pot for producing apple butter.
Hannah Wiest, who portrayed a person in the 1870’s, sat at a table explaining period accurate foods and the process of making apple butter at the time. She said apple butter was produced during the harvest to preserve apple crops during the winter.
Apple butter is made of just apple cider and apple pieces, condensing the taste of the fruit after a boil in the pot, Wiest said. DJ Morin, another person at the apple butter station, said the process removes most of the moisture, preventing bacteria and other organisms from getting into the apples.
When asked what it is like to portray people from the 1800’s, Wiest said she gets a better appreciation for the people that lived before her and refers to trying these old processes as “experimental archaeology.” Morin shares a similar viewpoint.
“We cannot be in that in that timeframe,” Morrin said. “We do not ignore that the modern world exists when we are out here, but we are able to show things that people otherwise might not understand because we are, in a way, pretty removed from a lot of the ways of life on a farm.” | 2022-10-02T22:03:02+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/The-1800-s-return-with-the-Midland-Fall-Harvest-17480865.php |
(CNN) — A Hebrew Bible more than 1,000 years old and described as “one of the most important and singular texts in human history” has become the most valuable manuscript ever sold at auction.
The Codex Sassoon, dating from the late 9th or early 10th century, sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday. It is believed to be the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible. The last manuscript to top sales records was Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester, which sold for $30.8 million in 1994, according to Sotheby’s.
The Codex Sassoon fell short of its high estimate of $50 million, however. Prior to the sale, it went on exhibit in the UK and Israel.
Sharon Mintz, Sotheby’s senior Judaica specialist, books and manuscripts, told CNN ahead of the auction that “this is the most important document to come to auction ever.”
The Hebrew Bible is the foundation of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Scholars have long been aware of the codex named after renowned Judaica collector David Sassoon (1880-1942), but it has remained largely out of public view, Sotheby’s noted in a news release.
Mintz described the Codex Sassoon, which includes 792 parchment pages — made from animal skins — and weighs about 26.5 pounds, as a “lavish production that only the most wealthy could have afforded.”
The manuscript’s previous owner purchased the codex in 1989 and was “delighted to be able to share it with the world,” Mintz said.
A rare find
The Codex Sassoon is believed to be the very first codex, or manuscript in book form, of the Hebrew Bible. In the centuries prior to its writing, there were only portions or sections of biblical texts in scroll form — which came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. But these contained no verses, chapters or punctuation, according to Sotheby’s.
Jewish people in antiquity came to rely on oral tradition passed down through generations to understand and preserve the message of the Bible, the statement noted.
This document and the Aleppo Codex, housed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem since 1958, are the only two codices dating to the 10th century and comprising almost all of the Hebrew Bible.
But, according to the museum, the Aleppo Codex was badly damaged in a fire at the community’s synagogue in 1947, and today “no more than 295 of the original 487 leaves [pages] survived.” By contrast, the Sassoon codex is only missing 12 full pages, and therefore “is thus the earliest, most complete copy of the Hebrew Bible extant,” according to Sotheby’s.
Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts, added in the release: “Codex Sassoon has long held a revered and fabled place in the pantheon of surviving historic manuscripts and is undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history.”
Centuries-old annotations and inscriptions
The historical significance of the codex is not just the printed material, but the hand-written annotations and inscriptions added over the years — hinting at the epic journey it has taken.
An entry from the early 11th century refers to a sale by Khalaf ben Abraham, perhaps in Israel or Syria, to a man called Isaac ben Ezekiel al-Attar, who later transferred it to his two sons.
The next location mentioned in the annotations came in the 13th century when it was dedicated to the synagogue of Makisin (present-day Markada in northeastern Syria).
It was likely rebound at this stage, according to Sotheby’s, and inscribed with the words “consecrated to the Lord God of Israel to the synagogue of Makisin.”
Makisin was later destroyed and the codex was entrusted to a community member called Salama bin Abi al-Fakhr who pledged to return it to the synagogue in the event of regeneration.
But the synagogue was never rebuilt and the codex continued on its odyssey until it was acquired by Sassoon in 1929.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-18T11:26:36+00:00 | wsvn.com | https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/worlds-oldest-hebrew-bible-sells-for-a-record-breaking-38-1-million/ |
Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Shane Harris, an intelligence and national security reporter at the Washington Post, about the results of a U.S. intelligence review of the mysterious illness known as Havana Syndrome.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-03-02T19:58:15+00:00 | klcc.org | https://www.klcc.org/2023-03-02/havana-syndrome-was-not-caused-by-a-foreign-adversary-u-s-intelligence-agencies-say |
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Uvalde's school district on Friday pulled its embattled campus police force off the job following a wave of new outrage over the hiring of a former state trooper who was part of the hesitant law enforcement response during the May shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 21 dead.
School leaders also put two members of the district police department on administrative leave, one of whom chose to retire instead, according to a statement released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Remaining officers will be reassigned to other jobs in the district.
The extraordinary move by Uvalde school leaders to suspend campus police operations — one month into a new school year in the South Texas community — underscored the sustained pressure that families of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the May 24 attack have kept on the district.
Brett Cross, whose 10-year-old son Uziyah Garcia was among the victims, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration building for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes.
Uvalde families have said students in the district are not safe so long as officers who waited so long to confront and kill the gunman remain on the job.
“We did it!” Cross tweeted.
The Uvalde school district had five campus police officers on the scene of the shooting, according to a damning report from Texas lawmakers that laid out multiple breakdowns in the response. A total of nearly 400 officers responded, including school district police, the city’s police, county sheriff’s deputies, state police and U.S. Border Patrol agents, among others.
The fallout Friday is the first in Uvalde’s school police force since the district fired former police Chief Pete Arredondo in August. He remains the only officer to have been fired from his job following one of the deadliest classroom attacks in U.S. history.
The district said it would ask the Texas Department of Public Safety, which had already assigned dozens of troopers to the district for the school year, for additional help. Spokespersons for the agency did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.
“We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” the district said in a statement.
The statement did not specify how long campus police operations would remain suspended.
The move comes a day after revelations that the district not only hired a former DPS trooper who was one of the officers who rushed to the scene of Robb Elementary, but that she was among at least seven troopers later placed under internal investigation for her actions.
Officer Crimson Elizondo was fired Thursday, one day after CNN first reported her hiring. She has not responded to voicemails and messages left by The Associated Press.
Steve McCraw, the head of the state's Department of Public Safety, has called the law enforcement response to the shooting an “abject failure.” McCraw has also come under pressure as the leader of a department had more than 90 troopers on the scene but still has the support of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
On Thursday, after Elizondo was fired, Abbott called it a “poor decision” for the school to hire the former trooper and that it was up to the district to “own up to it.”
___
For more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting | 2022-10-07T19:40:13+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Uvalde-schools-suspend-entire-police-force-after-17494223.php |
The Chinese city of Shanghai started administering an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday in what appears to be a world first.
The vaccine, a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously vaccinated people, according to an announcement on an official city social media account.
Scientists hope that such “needle-free” vaccines will make vaccination more accessible in countries with fragile health systems because they are easier to administer. They also may persuade people who don’t like getting a shot in the arm to get inoculated.
China wants more people to get booster shots before it relaxes strict pandemic restrictions that are holding back the economy and are increasingly out of synch with the rest of the world. As of mid-October, 90% of Chinese were fully vaccinated and 57% had received a booster shot.
A video posted by an online Chinese state media outlet showed people at a community health center sticking the short nozzle of a translucent white cup into their mouths. The accompanying text said that after slowly inhaling, people hold their breath for five seconds, with the entire procedure completed in 20 seconds.
“It was like drinking a cup of milk tea,” one Shanghai resident said in the video. “When I breathed it in, it tasted a bit sweet.”
A vaccine taken in the mouth could also fend off the virus before it reaches the rest of the respiratory system, though that would depend in part on the size of the droplets, one expert said.
Larger droplets would train defenses in parts of the mouth and throat, while smaller ones would travel further into the body, said Dr. Vineeta Bal, an immunologist in India.
Chinese regulators approved the vaccine for use as a booster in September. It was developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics Inc. as an aerosol version of the company’s one-shot adenovirus vaccine, which uses a relatively harmless cold virus.
The traditional one-shot vaccine has been approved for use in more than 10 markets including China, Hungary, Pakistan, Malaysia, Argentina and Mexico. The inhaled version has received a go-ahead for clinical trials in Malaysia, a Malaysian media report said last month.
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Regulators in India have approved a nasal vaccine, another needle-free approach, but it has yet to be rolled out. The vaccine, developed in the U.S. and licensed to Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech, is squirted in the nose.
About a dozen nasal vaccines are being tested globally, according to the World Health Organization.
China has relied on domestically developed vaccines, primarily two inactivated vaccines that have proven effective in preventing death and serious disease but less so than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at stopping the spread of the disease.
Chinese authorities also have not mandated vaccination — entering an office building or other public places requires a negative COVID-19 test, not proof of vaccination. And the country’s strict “zero-COVID” approach means that only a small proportion of the population has been infected and built immunity that way, compared to other places.
As a result, it’s unclear how widely COVID-19 would spread if restrictions were lifted. The ruling Communist Party has so far shown no sign of easing the “zero-COVID” policy, moving quickly to restrict travel and impose lockdowns when even just a few cases are discovered.
Authorities on Wednesday ordered the lockdown of 900,000 people in Wuhan, the city where the virus was first detected in late 2019, for at least five days. In remote Qinghai province, the urban districts of Xining city have been locked down since last Friday.
In Beijing, Universal Studios said it would close its hotels and attractions “to comply with pandemic prevention and control.” The city of more than 21 million people reported 19 new cases in the latest 24-hour period. | 2022-10-26T15:26:30+00:00 | sun-sentinel.com | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/vaccines/ct-oral-covid-vaccine-20221026-5lglgv36czeaxiqaj6v67xjh7y-story.html |
QUETTA – A passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge, catching fire and killing 40 people in southern Pakistan on Sunday, a government official said.
The bus was carrying 44 passengers from Quetta in Balochistan province to Karachi in neighboring Sindh province. The accident was near the town of Bela, in Lasbela district.
Hamza Anjum Nadeem, assistant commissioner in Bela, said the bodies of 40 people, including women and children, were recovered. Four injured passengers were rescued.
“The accident happened due to over-speeding and the bus crashed into the pillar of a bridge. It caught fire soon after falling (off the bridge),” he said.
Images from the crash site showed what was left of the charred bus lying near the bridge. The recovered remains of some of the dead are lined up in rows nearby.
Nadeem said the bodies were charred beyond recognition and are being transported to Karachi for DNA sampling. After identification, the bodies will be handed over to the victims' relatives.
Firefighters and workers from the Lasbela Welfare Trust and the Edhi Welfare Foundation carried out the rescue operation.
The chief minister of Balochistan, Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, expressed his sorrow for the loss of life and ordered authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
Traffic accidents in Pakistan generally happen due to violation of traffic rules, resulting in the deaths of thousands every year.
In a separate incident, in Pakistan’s northwest, at least 10 students who were on a picnic drowned after their boat capsized in a lake on Sunday, police said.
The children, from a religious school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were visiting a lake at Tanda Dam.
Local police official Qismat Khan said 25 students were on the boat. Six were rescued, and three of them are in critical condition. The dead pupils were aged between 11 to 13. Nine children remained missing.
Khan said an earlier group of 16 students was able to cross the lake. But the same boat capsized while taking 25 on the next trip. “As per initial reports, overloading resulted in the overturning of the boat,” he said.
Abdul Rauf Qaiserani, the district police officer, reached the scene to oversee the rescue work.
Lifesaving divers were called in from the provincial capital Peshawar due to an immediate lack of them locally. People from the area joined authorities in recovering bodies from the water.
Pakistan has witnessed similar incidents in the past as tourist attractions do not adhere to safety measures, including the use of life vests. | 2023-01-30T06:36:59+00:00 | local10.com | https://www.local10.com/news/world/2023/01/29/bus-falls-off-bridge-catches-fire-in-pakistan-killing-40/ |
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University announced Thursday that Claudine Gay will become its 30th president, making her the first Black person and the second woman to lead the Ivy League school.
Gay, who is currently a dean at the university and a democracy scholar, will become president July 1. She replaces Lawrence Bacow, who is stepping down and has said he wanted to spend more time with family.
“This is crazy, right?” a beaming Gay said as she was introduced to applause at the Smith campus center. She currently serves as the Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
“I am absolutely humbled by the confidence that the governing board has placed in me,” she said. “I am also incredibly humbled by the prospect of succeeding President Bacow and leading this incredible institution.”
A child of Haitian immigrants, Gay is regarded as a leading voice on the issue of American political participation. Among the issues she has explored is how a range of social and economic factors shape political views and voting. She also is the founding chair Harvard’s Inequality in America Initiative, which studies issues like the effects of child poverty and deprivation on educational opportunity and American inequality from a global perspective.
“Claudine is a remarkable leader who is profoundly devoted to sustaining and enhancing Harvard’s academic excellence, to championing both the value and the values of higher education and research, to expanding opportunity, and to strengthening Harvard as a fount of ideas and a force for good in the world,” Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation and chair of Harvard’s presidential search committee, said in a statement.
In her speech, Gay called for greater collaboration among schools at Harvard and said there was an urgency for the university be more engaged with the world and to “bring bold, brave and pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges.”
“The idea of the ‘ivory tower’ — that is the past not the future of academia. We don’t exist outside of society, but as part of it,” she said. “That means that Harvard has a duty to lean in, engage and to be of service to the world.”
With Gay’s appointment, women will outnumber men as chiefs of the eight Ivy League schools. Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania appointed women earlier this year, joining Brown and Cornell. Columbia, Princeton and Yale are led by men. Drew Faust was the first woman to be president at Harvard. A noted historian of the American South and the Civil War, she stepped down in 2018 after 11 years.
Gay will be the only Black president currently in the Ivy League and the second Black woman ever, following Ruth Simmons, who led Brown University from 2001 to 2012.
Gay’s appointment is remarkable in part because relatively few U.S. universities are led by Black presidents, said Eddie R. Cole, a historian of college presidents and race at the University of California, Los Angeles. Harvard wields outsized influence in higher education, he said, and other universities are bound to take notice.
“At a time when everyone continues to look at Harvard, this presidential hire will arguably be one of the most significant in American higher education for years to come,” Cole said.
As president of Harvard, Gay will shape decisions that can have impact at the local, state and federal level, Cole said. That includes racial issues that the campus has confronted in recent years, including affirmative action and the school’s own history with slavery.
Bacow, who took over as president in 2018, expanded and updated the university’s teaching and research missions and fostered cooperation across disciplines to address issues including climate change and inequality.
Under his leadership, Harvard joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to make international students leave the country if they planned on taking classes entirely online in fall 2020 at the height of the pandemic. He criticized the policy for its “cruelty” and “recklessness.”
Harvard also faced challenges during his tenure. The university survived a legal challenge to its admissions policies in U.S. District Court, a case now being weighed by the Supreme Court.
It was also disclosed that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein visited Harvard’s campus more than 40 times after his 2008 sex crimes conviction — long before Bacow’s tenure — and was even given his own office.
Gay’s early challenges could include fallout from the Supreme Court’s review of the use of race in admissions. The court is weighing challenges to processes at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which consider race among many factors when choosing students.
Lower courts have upheld practices at both universities, rejecting claims that they discriminated against Asian American applicants. But in oral arguments this year, the high court’s six conservative justices expressed doubts about the practice, which has been upheld under Supreme Court decisions reaching back to 1978.
___
Associated Press education writer Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report. | 2022-12-16T04:10:21+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/ap-claudine-gay-to-be-harvards-1st-black-president-2nd-woman/ |
SE Louisiana vs. Lamar Women's Basketball Predictions & Picks - Southland Tournament Championship
Published: Mar. 9, 2023 at 10:40 AM CST|Updated: 1 hour ago
Thursday's game features the SE Louisiana Lions (20-9) and the Lamar Cardinals (20-11) clashing at The Legacy Center in what is expected to be a competitive matchup, with a projected 62-59 victory for SE Louisiana according to our computer prediction. Tipoff is at 5:00 PM ET on March 9.
The Lions are coming off of a 60-58 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in their most recent outing on Wednesday.
SE Louisiana vs. Lamar Game Info
- When: Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET
- Where: The Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana
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SE Louisiana vs. Lamar Score Prediction
- Prediction: SE Louisiana 62, Lamar 59
SE Louisiana Schedule Analysis
- The Lions defeated the No. 167-ranked (according to our computer rankings) Texas A&M-CC Islanders, 59-51, on February 4, which goes down as their signature victory of the season.
- SE Louisiana has tied for the 12th-most Quadrant 4 victories in the country (17).
SE Louisiana 2022-23 Best Wins
- 59-51 at home over Texas A&M-CC (No. 167) on February 4
- 53-46 on the road over Texas A&M-CC (No. 167) on January 12
- 46-42 at home over Texas A&M-Commerce (No. 257) on January 21
- 60-58 over Texas A&M-Commerce (No. 257) on March 8
- 66-55 on the road over Texas A&M-Commerce (No. 257) on February 18
Lamar Schedule Analysis
- The Cardinals' signature win this season came in a 66-54 victory against the SE Louisiana Lions on February 23.
- Lamar has tied for the 47th-most Quadrant 4 wins in the nation (13).
Lamar 2022-23 Best Wins
- 66-54 at home over SE Louisiana (No. 141) on February 23
- 57-47 on the road over SE Louisiana (No. 141) on January 7
- 65-53 over Texas A&M-CC (No. 167) on March 8
- 73-68 on the road over Texas A&M-CC (No. 167) on February 11
- 65-50 at home over Louisiana (No. 195) on December 17
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SE Louisiana Performance Insights
- The Lions outscore opponents by 8.2 points per game (scoring 62.6 points per game to rank 233rd in college basketball while giving up 54.4 per contest to rank 13th in college basketball) and have a +237 scoring differential overall.
- With 61.1 points per game in Southland tilts, SE Louisiana is scoring 1.5 fewer points per game in conference games compared to its overall average (62.6 PPG).
- The Lions are scoring 68.6 points per game in home games. Away from home, they are averaging 58.3 points per contest.
- In home games, SE Louisiana is surrendering 10.8 fewer points per game (48.1) than when playing on the road (58.9).
- The Lions have been putting up 67.1 points per game in their last 10 times on the court, an average that's a little higher than the 62.6 they've scored over the course of the 2022-23 campaign.
Lamar Performance Insights
- The Cardinals have a +141 scoring differential, topping opponents by 4.6 points per game. They're putting up 64.7 points per game, 189th in college basketball, and are giving up 60.1 per outing to rank 73rd in college basketball.
- In 2022-23, Lamar has scored 65.8 points per game in Southland play, and 64.7 overall.
- In 2022-23 the Cardinals are averaging 10.5 more points per game at home (68.6) than away (58.1).
- Lamar is allowing fewer points at home (58.4 per game) than away (62.1).
- Over their last 10 games, the Cardinals are posting 69 points per game, 4.3 more than their season average (64.7).
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-09T17:48:23+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/sports/betting/2023/03/09/se-louisiana-lamar-womens-college-basketball-picks-southland-tournament/ |
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Business groups are increasing the pressure on lawmakers to intervene and block a railroad strike before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks.
A coalition of more than 400 business groups sent a letter to Congressional leaders Monday urging them to step into the stalled talks because of fears about the devastating potential impact of a strike that could force many businesses to shut down if they can't get the rail deliveries they need. Commuter railroads and Amtrak would also be affected in a strike because many of them use tracks owned by the freight railroads.
The business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and National Retail Federation said even a short-term strike would have a tremendous impact and the economic pain would start to be felt even before the Dec. 9 strike deadline because the railroads would stop hauling hazardous chemicals, fertilizers and perishable goods up to a week beforehand to keep those products from being stranded somewhere along the tracks.
“A potential rail strike only adds to the headwinds facing the U.S. economy,” the businesses wrote. “A rail stoppage would immediately lead to supply shortages and higher prices. The cessation of Amtrak and commuter rail services would disrupt up to 7 million travelers a day. Many businesses would see their sales disrupted right in the middle of the critical holiday shopping season.”
A similar group of businesses sent another letter to President Joe Biden last month urging him to play a more active role in resolving the contract dispute.
Congressional leaders and the White House have said they are monitoring the contract talks closely but haven't indicated when they might act or what they will do. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said leaders are aware of the situation with the rail negotiations and will monitor the talks in the coming days.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said on Fox News Sunday that Congressional intervention is a last resort, but lawmakers will have to be ready to act.
“Congress will not let this strike happen. That’s for sure,” said Fitzpatrick who helps lead a bipartisan group of 58 lawmakers. “It would be devastating to our economy. So, we’ll get to a resolution one way or another.”
A White House spokeswoman has said that a rail strike would be “unacceptable.”
Congress has the power to impose contract terms on the workers, but it's not clear what they might include if they do that. They could also force the negotiations to continue into the new year.
Both the unions and railroads have been lobbying Congress while contract talks continue. Four rail unions that represent more than half of the 115,000 workers in the industry have rejected the deals that President Joe Biden helped broker before the original strike deadline in September and are back at the table trying to work out new agreements. Eight other unions have approved their five-year deals with the railroads and are in the process of getting back pay for their workers for the 24% raises that are retroactive to 2020.
“It certainly could end up in Congress’ lap, which is why we are headed to D.C. this week to meet with lawmakers on The Hill from both parties,” said Clark Ballew, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union that represents track maintenance workers. “We have instructed our members to contact their federal lawmakers in the House and Senate for several weeks now.”
The unions have asked the railroads to consider adding paid sick time to what they already offered to address some of workers' quality of life concerns. But so far, the railroads, which include Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX and Kansas City Southern, have refused to consider that.
The railroads want any deal to closely follow the recommendations a special board of arbitrators that Biden appointed made this summer that called for the 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses but didn't resolve workers' concerns about demanding schedules that make it hard to take a day off and other working conditions. | 2022-11-28T18:43:29+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/business/article/Business-groups-urge-Congress-to-block-potential-17615900.php |
Kobe Brown thought he deserved to go higher in the NBA draft, and he’s beginning to show why.
Brown, the final pick in the first round at No. 30 overall, is proving he has a chance to make an impact as a rookie for the Los Angeles Clippers after putting together one of the more complete game lines in Las Vegas. He scored 35 points on seven 3-pointers Friday night to go along with eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks in a 102-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Through four games, the Missouri product named after former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, is averaging 17.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks and seemingly is making his mark as a rotational player for the Clippers. The Clippers close out the summer on Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Lakers.
“It feels great,” the 6-foot-8 small forward said following his 35-point performance. “I’m blessed to be in this position.”
When told after the game that he had seven 3s, Brown seemed surprised and joked, “That’s more than I had at Mizzou.”
Brown averaged 15.8 points per game as a senior for the Tigers.
With some of the top draft picks now resting or sidelined with injuries at Summer League, it has given other, lower drafted players a chance to shine.
Denver forward Hunter Tyson, the lowest of the three drafted rookies on the Nuggets’ roster at No. 37 overall, is one of those taking advantage.
The Clemson product had an enormous game on Friday night, knocking down seven 3-pointers and scoring 31 points on a blistering 11-of-13 shooting performance to lead the defending NBA champion Nuggets to a 112-81 rout of the Miami Heat.
Tyson entered the weekend seventh in Summer League scoring at 21.8 points per game through four contests while shooting 58.3% from the field, including an impressive 51.7% from beyond the 3-point arc.
In Summer League playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Brooklyn Nets in one semifinal Sunday, while the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets meet in the other. The winners will play Monday night in the championship game.
HORNETS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 102
Amari Bailey scored 17 points to lead five Charlotte players in double figures and Kobi Simmons added 13 points and eight assists in a consolation game.
Nathan Mensah shot 6 of 7 from the field and finished with 14 points and Justin Robinson scored 13 for the Hornets (1-4). Trevon Scott added 10 points and seven rebounds, and James Nnaji also scored 10 points with five blocks.
Javonte Cooke led Minnesota (1-4) with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Wendell Moore Jr. scored 15 points, Josh Minott and Leonard Miller each added 13 and D.J. Carton had 10 points and seven assists.
RAPTORS 108, WARRIORS 101
Joe Wieskamp scored 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Gradey Dick added 21 points for Toronto in a consolation game against Golden State.
Markquis Nowell finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Raptors (1-4). DJ Hogg scored 12 points.
Lester Quinones made four 3-pointers and hit 12 of 13 from the free throw line to finish with 32 points for Golden State (0-5). Trayce Jackson-Davis had 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
KINGS 92, BUCKS 84
Jalen Slawson had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Souley Boom added 15 points to help Sacramento past Milwaukee in a consolation game.
Mike Daum added 14 points for the Kings (3-2), Alex O’Connell scored 12 and Aleem Ford 11.
Chris Livingston led the Bucks with 22 points and Craig Randall, who made just 6 of 22 from the field and 3 of 17 from 3-point range, added 20 points and eight assists.
BULLS 90, WIZARDS 85
Javon Freeman-Liberty had 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks to lead Chicago over Washington in a consolation game.
Dalen Terry was 7 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points for the Bulls (3-2). Adama Sanogo scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Yago Dos Santos added 13 points, including four 3s.
Jules Bernard led the Wizards (2-3) with 17 points. Tristan Vukcevic scored 15, Donovan Williams added 14 and DJ Stewart 13.
CELTICS 94, MAGIC 77
Vincent Bodon scored 13 points, Jordan Walsh and Reginald Kissoonlal added 12 apiece and Boston beat Orlando in a consolation game.
Kamar Baldwin had 10 points and six assists for the Celtics (2-3). Justin Bean also scored 10 points.
Robert Baker led Orlando (0-5) with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Elijah Hughes added 13 points. Quinndary Witherspoon and Amauri Hardy scored 10 points apiece.
NUGGETS 89, KNICKS 86
Julian Strawther hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, Hunter Tyson scored 17 points and Denver beat New York in a consolation game.
Ismael Kamagate made 6 of 8 from the field and had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets (2-3). Jalen Pickett added 11 points and six assists.
QJ Peterson led New York with 25 points, but missed a potential tying runner from 3-point range at the buzzer that rimmed out. Michael Foster Jr. had 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Trevor Keels added 15 points and Justyn Hamilton 11.
SUNS 102, GRIZZLIES 79
Toumani Camara had 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and Eugene German scored 18 points to help Phoenix beat Memphis in a consolation game.
Hunter Hale shot 6 of 9 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and finished with 15 points for Phoenix (2-3). Jordan Usher added 13 points and five assists.
Tarik Biberovic and Aminu Mohammed led Memphis (2-3) with 13 points apiece. Timmy Allen scored 12 points.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-07-17T02:48:08+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/sports/ap-kobe-brown-shows-star-power-for-la-clippers-in-summer-league-with-35-point-performance/ |
LONDON, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy and commodities price reporting agency Argus has launched daily Carbon Cost of Freight (CCF) indexes, helping businesses involved in transporting a wide range of commodities with accurate pricing of the emissions from their ships. Offsetting shipping emissions is becoming compulsory under EU legislation passed this summer.
The Argus CCF prices give an insight into the cost of emissions generated when moving crude oil, refined products, LPG, coal, iron ore, grains and petroleum coke into or from the EU. They are published as lump sums paid per cargo and as $/t rates, as well as in $/bl for certain crude grades.
The European Parliament on 22 June voted to speed up the inclusion of shipping emissions into the EU emissions trading system (ETS). Shipowners will be obligated to hold EU emissions allowances for their emissions on trade routes that include calling at EU ports. The latest proposal states that from 2024, shipowners would have to cover 100pc of their emissions if the voyage is between EU ports. For voyages that start or end in an EU country, it would be 50pc of emissions for 2024-26, increasing to 100pc from 2027.
The new legislation means that there will be an additional cost for every tonne or barrel of cargo imported to or exported from the EU, which will have to be accounted for by both shipowners and participants involved in trading the commodities that are being shipped. Argus CCF indexes provide the market with accurate references to manage this exposure.
"As the energy transition gains pace, the effect that freight will have on commodity trade will only grow in complexity," Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said. "So we are delighted to offer Carbon Cost of Freight indexes to the market as a tool for participants to deal with that complexity."
Argus CCF indexes are based on the type and amount of fuel consumed on each voyage, using assumptions about vessels specifications, speed and fuel consumption, both while at sea and during port operations. All assumptions are the product of an extensive market survey and are reviewed regularly.
The CO2 price component is the Argus assessment of the December-delivery EU ETS allowance price, converted to $/t. The new indexes are part of the daily Argus Freight service.
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Argus is an independent media organisation with 1,200 staff. It is headquartered in London and has 27 offices in the world's principal commodity trading and production centres. Argus produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets and offers bespoke consulting services and industry-leading conferences.
Companies in 140 countries around the world use Argus data to index physical trade and as benchmarks in financial derivative markets as well as for analysis and planning purposes.
Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.
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SOURCE Argus Media | 2022-08-16T16:49:27+00:00 | wbrc.com | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/08/16/argus-launches-carbon-cost-freight-indexes-shipping-commodities/ |
LAKE WYLIE, S.C. — A no-swim advisory was issued for a cove on Lake Wylie near Rosapenny Road. Officials said the advisory is due to a failed sewer pipe.
Crews with Charlotte Water responded to a wastewater overflow in the area on Friday, where an estimated 390 gallons had reached Lake Wylie.
“A majority of wastewater overflows can be prevented with your help,” Cam Coley, Charlotte Water spokesperson, said. “Anything put in plumbing or a manhole can cause wastewater overflows, spilling raw sewage into your street, your creek or even inside your own home. Even products labeled as ‘flushable’ do not breakdown in the sewer system and can contribute to clogging.”
Anyone who suspects a sewage spill is encouraged to call 311 or 704-336-7600 any time of day.
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All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere. | 2023-07-01T03:33:06+00:00 | wcnc.com | https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/no-swim-advisory-lake-wylie/275-ffb6470c-758a-4cff-a5ff-fa624fe276c2 |
(NEXSTAR) – The rock band Foo Fighters, which canceled its tour earlier this year after the sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, is vowing to see its fans again “soon,” according to a New Year’s Eve message posted to the group’s social media channels.
The band had been on tour in South America when Hawkins died at the age of 50 in Bogota, Colombia, on March 25. All remaining tour dates were subsequently canceled.
Foo Fighters performed together twice in the months since, at tribute concerts for Hawkins in London and Los Angeles.
On Saturday, the band posted a message on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter addressing the loss of Hawkins while hinting at the announcement of upcoming performances.
“Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were — and without Taylor, we know we’re going to be a different band going forward,” the statement read, in part.
“We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again — and we will soon — he’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night,” the message concluded.
No official cause of Hawkins’ death has been given. A toxicology report from the Colombia Attorney General’s Office indicated that 10 substances had been detected in his urine, including “[marijuana], tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids, among others.”
“The National Institute of Forensic Medicine continues to conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death,” the AG’s office wrote at the time.
A statement from the Bogota Ministry of Health also indicated Hawkins was experiencing chest pains before he died.
Hawkins had joined Foo Fighters in 1997. In addition to drums, he also performed lead vocals for several songs included on the band’s albums over the years. | 2022-12-31T20:49:14+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/national/foo-fighters-confirms-band-will-be-different-after-taylor-hawkins-death-but-vows-to-see-fans-soon/ |
Doug Johnson was answering emails at the Miami East hotel on May 30 when his phone rang with the call he had been awaiting for more than two months: Major League Baseball was taking over San Diego Padres’ television broadcasts the next day from financially troubled Diamond Sports.
“Immediately headed over to the stadium and got a chance to meet for the first time with the game announcers,” said Johnson, hired in March as MLB’s senior vice president and executive producer of local media. “I had to call every single person that worked the Padres’ home games and basically introduce myself and hire them.”
Johnson’s job was to ensure a seamless transition of Padres’ telecasts from Miami on May 31 and June 1 while getting ready for the start of a homestand on June 2. He and his staff are following that playbook again this week after MLB took over Arizona Diamondbacks’ telecasts from Bally Sports Arizona starting with Tuesday’s game at Atlanta.
MLB’s takeover ended blackout restrictions tied to San Diego’s deal with Diamond, and the league says Padres games are now accessible to 3.26 million homes, up from 1.13 million under Diamond’s Bally Sports San Diego. Through the All-Star break, MLB says viewership is up 14% over the comparable period last year.
Arrangements to make that change could have filled an entire offseason. MLB had to compress that to 1 1/2 days.
“It was everything from a graphics package, to the truck, to the crew, to how are you going to get transmission done, who’s going to do master control, who’s going to do commercial insertion and then finally how do we deliver it to the distributors?” said Billy Chambers, who started in February as MLB’s executive vice president of local media following 20 years at Fox.
MLB recognized late in 2022 that Diamond might not be able to fulfill its contracts to broadcast games for its 19 regional sports networks and the sport began making contingencies. That started with hiring Chambers and Johnson, who immediately went on alert when Diamond entered bankruptcy proceedings in March.
Johnson was headed to San Diego on March 29 in case MLB took over for the Padres’ season opener against Colorado the following day.
“I was somewhere over New Mexico when I got the text from Billy Chambers saying that Diamond had called the Padres and informed them that they would make that payment,” Johnson recalled. “By the time I landed, the payment already had been made.”
MLB’s first takeover occurred at an awkward time, for the second game of a three-game road series. About 18 people were involved in the Padres’ portion of the telecast, which also relied on some of the 30 Marlins’ TV production staffers.
Johnson was among four MLB employees on site to supervise, joined by Kendall Burgess, MLB vice president of local media operations; Tim Fryer, the MLB Network’s senior segment producer of live events; and Timothy Bausch, a MLBN senior graphics operator.
Marc Caiafa, MLBN’s senior vice president of production, had built a graphics package since February that was shipped to Florida and loaded into the truck. It was built off designs created for MLB’s world feed during the pandemic.
“Everything is very hypercentric to the team,” Johnson said. “So we had to take that look, which was dominant red, white and blue, and convert it to Padres colors. Normally it takes months to build out a package like this. They were able to do it in about two weeks.”
Arrangements had to be put in place with Mobile TV Group, which supplies production trucks, cameras and replay devices for about 4,500 events annually. The company had two engineers at LoanDepot Park, and they redirected cables from the mobile unit to MLB’s connection point from Bally’s.
“We were released by one and hired by the other,” Mobile TV President Philip Garvin said.
Broadcast technicians such as camera operators, video and audio engineers and replay operators had been contracted by Bally from Program Productions Inc. PPI assigned a senior manager, client lead, crew manager and ProCrewz software expert to the ballpark. The cost of the technicians was reassigned to MLB, which had its office take over paying the bills.
“During this entire process there had been a million rumors and five million scuttlebutts about what’s happening or what might happen,” PPI chairman Robert Carzoli said. “We’re going to be responsible for probably over 30,000 event days this year. So it was a matter of adjusting ourselves and just saying, ‘OK, let’s take the people that we already have, let’s put some of our corporate staff on the ground to answer your questions and then it’s simply a matter of rebuilding the job.’”
The broadcast signal was transmitted to Comcast Technology Solutions in Denver, where commercials were inserted and the signal fed to the distributors for delivery to consumers. As part of the changeover, a switch was made to fiber from satellite.
“Much more cost effective and we think a better signal,” Chambers said. “The lines that we had coming out of the stadium have a higher bandwidth and lower latency.”
Padres broadcasters Don Orsillo and Mark Grant, who had red mike flags with a white “B” for the May 30 game, switched to MLB logos the next day. Bob Costas taped an introduction touting “the dawning on a new era of Padres television coverage.”
Chambers watched the first broadcast from MLB’s office in New York. Johnson was on a headset next to Fryer.
Miami won 2-1 when Jean Segura and Nick Fortes hit run-scoring singles in the ninth off Josh Hader. The game ended at 9:05 p.m. and Johnson headed to Nusr-Et Steakhouse, about a 15-minute drive away.
“I took the entire crew out to celebrate a great broadcast,” Johnson said. “We all toasted after that one.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-07-20T14:41:08+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/sports/mlb/ap-how-does-mlb-take-over-a-local-broadcast-even-with-months-of-planning-its-a-mad-scramble/ |
CLEVELAND (AP) — Brendan Donovan scored on a passed ball in the 10th inning after homering in the second, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.
Donovan began the 10th on second as the automatic runner, stole third base and came home when third-string catcher David Fry mishandled a pitch by Nick Sandlin (2-2) to Oscar Mercado.
St. Louis, which won for the 14th time in its last 20 games, only managed two hits against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee and four relievers. None occurred after Alec Burleson singled in the third.
Ryan Helsley (3-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win and Giovanny Gallegos earned his sixth save with a scoreless 10th. Jack Flaherty matched his longest start of the year with seven innings of one-run ball, striking out four.
Donovan homered to right in the second to put St. Louis ahead 1-0. It was his second home run in four games and the Cardinals’ 41st of the month, four shy of their May franchise record set in 2000.
The Guardians tied it in the third when Steven Kwan walked, advanced on a wild pitch and came home on a single by José Ramírez. Amed Rosario doubled twice and Josh Naylor and Ramírez had two singles apiece.
Defending AL Central champion Cleveland is 4-4 in extra-inning games, matching Toronto for the most in the majors, and is 13-23 overall since April 16.
Bibee went six innings in his sixth big league start, allowing one run on two hits while striking out a season-high nine. The right-hander was victorious in his April 26 debut against Colorado, but is winless with one loss since.
St. Louis loaded the bases in the seventh when James Karinchak entered and walked Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Donovan. Sam Hentges replaced Karinchak and retired the next three batters to keep the game deadlocked.
Cleveland failed to score in the eighth after Ramírez singled and Naylor walked with no outs, but relievers Andre Pallante and Helsley escaped unscathed.
Cardinals designated hitter Nolan Gorman went 0 for 4, ending his on-base streak at 17 games.
The paid attendance of 32,224 was the second largest of the season in Cleveland, trailing the opening day crowd of 34,821 against Seattle on April 7.
CHANGE OF PLANS
Cardinals LHP Steven Matz, who is 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA through 10 starts, will work out of the bullpen until at least next weekend. Matz allowed six runs and a season-high 11 hits over four innings Wednesday at Cincinnati.
“It’s been a grind for me this year,” he acknowledged. “I love starting and I love the routine, but I’ll do whatever I can to help the team. But I want to start.”
Matz has only made 10 relief appearances in his nine-year career, starting 156 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Tyler O’Neill (lower back strain) has been shut down from baseball activities for the second time since being placed on the injured list on May 5. O’Neill had been expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment late this month.
Guardians: RHP Triston McKenzie (right upper back strain) will make what could be his final rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Columbus at Iowa. McKenzie has not appeared in a major league game since Oct. 15, 2022 against the Yankees.
UP NEXT
Cardinals LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-6, 4.55 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Hunter Gaddis (1-1, 5.26 ERA) in the three-game series finale.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Credit: AP | 2023-05-28T03:02:01+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ohio/donovan-scores-on-passed-ball-in-10th-cardinals-beat-guardians-2-1/FAT3CSKPOBEHLC5Q4GCYAEYJRQ/ |
For the first time in 20 years, the Internal Revenue Service is increasing the deduction limit for the amount of money teachers spend on school supplies, the agency has announced.
Teachers will now be able to deduct up to $300 of out-of-pocket classroom expenses in 2022, up from the $250 that has been set since the incentive first started in 2002.
"The limit will rise in $50 increments in future years based on inflation adjustments," the IRS said.
Eligible educators include K-12 teachers, principals, teachers' aides or counselors who spend more than 900 hours at the school during the academic year. Public and private school educators can benefit.
Eligible educators who are married to another eligible educator and file a joint tax return can deduct up to $600 in qualifying expenses, but still no more than $300 per spouse. Educators who do standard deductions also qualify.
The limit is still $250 for those who are filing their 2021 taxes.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-08-17T09:22:18+00:00 | mtpr.org | https://www.mtpr.org/2022-08-17/the-tax-deduction-limit-for-educators-will-increase-for-the-first-time-in-20-years |
Bahamas Bowl at Nassau: UAB (6-6) vs. Miami (Ohio) (6-6), 11:30 a.m.
Cure Bowl at Orlando, Fla.: Troy (11-2) vs. UTSA (11-2), 3 p.m.
NCAA FCS Playoffs - Semifinals at Fargo, N.D.: N. Dakota St. (11-2) vs. Incarnate Word (12-1), 7 p.m.
___
Fenway Bowl at Boston: Louisville (7-5) vs. Cincinnati (9-3), 11 a.m.
Celebration Bowl at Atlanta: NC Central (9-2) vs. Jackson St. (12-0), Noon
LendingTree Bowl at Mobile, Ala.: Southern Miss. (6-6) vs. Rice (5-7), 5:45 p.m.
NCAA FCS Playoffs - Semifinals at Brookings, S.D.: S. Dakota St. (12-1) vs. Montana St. (12-1), 4 p.m.
Las Vegas Bowl at Las Vegas: Oregon St. (9-3) vs. Florida (6-6), 2:30 p.m.
LA Bowl at Inglewood, Calif.: Fresno St. (9-4) vs. Washington St. (7-5), 3:30 p.m.
New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque, N.M.: BYU (7-5) vs. SMU (7-5), 7:30 p.m.
Frisco Bowl at Frisco, Texas: Boise St. (9-4) vs. North Texas (7-6), 9:15 p.m.
___
Myrtle Beach Bowl at Conway, S.C.: Uconn (6-6) vs. Marshall (8-4), 2:30 p.m. | 2022-12-14T18:43:30+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/sports/article/College-Football-Schedule-17653972.php |
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Legalizing recreational pot in North Dakota could cut the number of people who are registered to use the drug as medicine by at least 80%, due to access to bigger quantities and more varied products, a health official said Monday.
Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota succeeded last month in bringing the matter to a public vote in November by submitting more than the required 15,582 valid petition signatures to get it on the ballot.
The state has issued more than 8,200 identification cards to qualifying patients since North Dakota voters approved medical marijuana in 2016.
North Dakota’s approved medical marijuana forms are dried leaves and flowers, concentrates, tinctures, capsules, topicals and transdermal patches. Medical pot dispensaries are located in Fargo, Bismarck, Devils Lake, Fargo, Jamestown, Grand Forks, Minot and Williston. Edibles were part of the original initiative but the state Legislature removed them from the list, fearing they could get in the hands of children.
The initiative on the ballot in November would allow people 21 and older to legally use marijuana at home as well as possess and cultivate restricted amounts of cannabis. The state could register up to seven marijuana manufacturing businesses and 18 dispensaries. Edibles would be allowed.
Medical Marijuana Division Director Jason Wahl said thousands of patients holding medical pot cards likely will opt to purchase from recreational sources if the measure is approved.
Medical marijuana users, for example, may only purchase 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower in a 30-day period. If approved by voters, recreational marijuana users could potentially — illegally — purchase at least that amount in a day, as “none of that is tracked,” Wahl said.
Medical pot is taxed at the state’s 5% sales tax rate, plus local taxes. Recreational marijuana would be taxed at the same rate.
Wahl told a legislative panel Monday that North Dakota could expect $1.3 million in revenue in the next two-year budget cycle from application and registration fees from manufacturing businesses and dispensaries, which would cover the cost of state oversight.
Wahl said the state Tax Department has not calculated the amount that could come from recreational pot sales because the product cost and level of sales is unknown at present. | 2022-09-12T19:08:37+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/State-Medical-marijuana-would-take-big-hit-if-17436063.php |
Electric can openers are a convenient appliance for anyone needing to cook quickly and safely. While their manual counterparts have a longer history, they are harder to use for people with gripping issues and often leave jagged edges that can be dangerous to handle.
Electric can openers allow you the freedom and assurance of a quick clean cut without having to use any physical exertion. They come in many sizes, styles and colors that likely will fit your kitchen decor and needs.
In this article: Proctor Silex Power Electric Automatic Can Opener, Amazon Basics Electric Can Opener and Zyliss EasiCan Electric Can Opener.
What are the main types of electric can openers?
Most electric can openers require being plugged into a nearby outlet. You should review your counter space and outlets to determine the best placement. These electric motors are surprisingly powerful and can cut even large, tall cans with a smooth edge left over.
Battery-powered can openers, although not plugged into an outlet, also use small motors that provide a clean cut. These units are usually placed directly on top of the can and run with a push-button start.
The size of your can opener matters
In addition to finding an electric can opener that fits your kitchen counter, you should also consider the height and base width of the can opener.
If you will be opening tall cans, look for an opener that is over 8 inches tall. This provides enough room for the can to be opened without extra pressure placed on the cutting blades.
Can openers with wider bases provide greater confidence. Many in this style also have hidden compartments in the back for storing an extra electrical cord.
What are the best safety tips?
Electric can openers with carbon or stainless steel blades will be the strongest and sharpest and make the best cuts. Openers with magnetic holders that keep the lid suspended provide a hands-free approach. You still should use caution when handling the lid just to be safe, especially if you have young children in the home.
Also, look for can openers with removable blades that can be washed. This ensures that the blades are free from a build-up of germs over time.
There are bonus features
There are some electric can openers that offer added features. Many offer a bottle opener on the side for your favorite beverages. Many also have built-in knife sharpeners that can be used for cutting knives and extend their longevity.
There are even some openers that have a side slicer used to open large plastic bags of different food items. These added features may increase the overall cost but usually not to the extent of making the unit unaffordable.
Best electric can openers
Proctor Silex Power Electric Automatic Can Opener
This electric can opener has a guide post for easy alignment and a built-in knife sharpener. It has an automatic shut-off feature. The cutting lever twists off for easy cleaning.
Sold by Amazon
Amazon Basics Electric Can Opener
Designed for standard-size cans, this compact electric can opener features a stainless steel blade that opens cans without jagged edges and a magnetic arm to catch lids. It has a wide base and an automatic stop feature.
Sold by Amazon
Zyliss EasiCan Electric Can Opener
Designed for seniors, this can opener works with a simple push of a button. It works on all sizes of cans and cuts from the sides to ensure a smooth edge. There is an LED light that illuminates when operating.
Professional Series Electric Can Opener
This stylish electric can opener is made with brushed stainless steel and has an easy one-touch operation. The cutting lever is removable and washable. The opener includes a bottle opener and knife sharpener.
Sold by Home Depot
Holstein Housewares Electric Can Opener
This can opener has a modern design and can open cans in seconds with just one touch. It has a safe design to eliminate rough edges. There is a bottle opener and blade sharpener included in the unit.
Sold by Wayfair
Cuisinart Deluxe Electric Can Opener
From a leading kitchen appliance brand, this electric can opener features the Power Cut blade and removable lever for cleaning. It has a single-touch operation, and the black stainless steel looks sleek in any kitchen. It includes a three-year warranty.
This electric can opener features a powerful 50-watt motor and opens all standard can sizes. It has a magnet holder for lids, a bottle opener and a knife sharpener. An automatic shutoff is an added safety feature.
Sold by Home Depot
Hamilton Beach OpenStation Electric Automatic Can Opener
This unique design features a can opener and a multi-tool that opens plastic bags, soda can tops and jars and bottles. Featuring SureCut technology, it can open all can sizes. The cutting lever is removable and washable.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Better Chef Deluxe Electric Can Opener
This extra tall can opener stands 9.2 inches tall with cord storage in the rear and an easy-clean base. It features a built-in knife sharpener and bottle opener. It has an automatic shutoff and a washable cutting lever.
Sold by Home Depot
With a Power Pierce cutting blade, this tall can opener provides exact cutting quickly and safely. The magnetic holder is extra strong to hold any size can. It comes with a knife sharpener and out-of-sight cord storage.
Sold by Amazon
WORTH CHECKING OUT
The Kitchen Mama Electric Can Opener is hands-free and perfect for people with gripping challenges. The button-touch design comes in bold colors for a variety of kitchen decors.
For campers and or anyone needing to take a can opener with them, the Hamilton Beach Walk ‘n Cut Can Opener can open any size can once charged.
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-08T11:51:22+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/utensils-gadgets-br/stylish-electric-can-openers-that-look-great-in-any-kitchen/ |
Riley Greene Player Prop Bets: Tigers vs. Blue Jays - July 9
Published: Jul. 9, 2023 at 7:31 AM EDT|Updated: 26 minutes ago
Riley Greene -- hitting .400 in his past 10 games -- will be in action for the Detroit Tigers versus the Toronto Blue Jays, with Chris Bassitt on the mound, on July 9 at 1:40 PM ET.
He reached base in all four of his plate appearances (2-for-2) in his previous appearance against the Blue Jays.
Riley Greene Game Info & Props vs. the Blue Jays
- Game Day: Sunday, July 9, 2023
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Stadium: Comerica Park
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Blue Jays Starter: Chris Bassitt
- TV Channel: BSDET
- Hits Prop: Over/under 0.5 hits (Over odds: -222)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +475)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +185)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: +105)
Looking to place a prop bet on Riley Greene? Check out what's available at BetMGM and use bonus code "GNPLAY" when you sign up with this link!
Discover More About This Game
Riley Greene At The Plate
- Greene has nine doubles, three triples, five home runs and 23 walks while batting .302.
- Greene has picked up a hit in 75.5% of his 53 games this year, with multiple hits in 32.1% of those games.
- In 9.4% of his games this season, he has gone deep, and 2.2% of his trips to the dish.
- In 15 games this year (28.3%), Greene has picked up an RBI, and in three of those games (5.7%) he had more than one.
- He has scored in 25 games this season (47.2%), including five multi-run games (9.4%).
Ready to play FanDuel Daily Fantasy? Get in the game using our link.
Riley Greene Home/Away Batting Splits
Blue Jays Pitching Rankings
- The Blue Jays pitching staff ranks second in the league with a collective 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Blue Jays have a 3.86 team ERA that ranks ninth across all MLB pitching staffs.
- Blue Jays pitchers combine to give up 116 total home runs at a clip of 1.3 per game (to rank 23rd in baseball).
- Bassitt (8-5 with a 4.09 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Blue Jays, his 19th of the season.
- In his most recent appearance on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, the right-hander threw six innings, allowing three earned runs while surrendering six hits.
- The 34-year-old's 4.09 ERA ranks 39th, 1.174 WHIP ranks 31st, and 8.3 K/9 ranks 41st among qualifying pitchers this season.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-09T11:58:06+00:00 | wnem.com | https://www.wnem.com/sports/betting/2023/07/09/riley-greene-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
OCALA, Fla., Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HiBid.com facilitated the sale of over $39.3 million (gross auction proceeds) in assets last week. From August 8th through the 14th, HiBid.com averaged 1.57 million bids on the site per day, with over half a million lots sold in a combined total of 1,409 online-only and webcast auctions.
Currently there are hundreds of auctions on the site, some of which feature classic hot rods and motorcycles, antique vehicles, rare coins and paper currency, and coin collector sets. A 1946 Mercury Street Rod is one of the many noteworthy items up for bidding.
HiBid.com brings buyers and sellers together every day with a wide-ranging selection of items across hundreds of categories that appeal to bidders worldwide. HiBid is fully integrated with Auction Flex 360, providing auctioneers with a comprehensive auction management solution that supports internet-only auctions, webcast auctions, and absentee bidding.
GAP: $39,360,662
Lots Sold: 542,245
Online-Only Auctions: 1,318
Webcast Auctions: 91
Average Bidders Per Day: 967,000
Average Bids Per Day: 1.57 Million
The following list includes a small sample from the hundreds of auctions currently open for bidding on HiBid.com. Site visitors can click the Find Auctions menu at the top of the HiBid.com homepage for links to the Featured and Hot auctions, such as those listed below, or use the search box to find auctions nearby.
Auction Type: Live Webcast
Dates: August 3rd-21st
Seller: Gold Standard Auctions
View Auction Items
Auction Type: Online-Only
Dates: August 2nd-27th
Seller: Vail International, Inc. Auctioneers
View Auction Items
Auction Type: Online-Only
Dates: July 19th-August 25th
Seller: Bill Anderson Auctioneers, LLC
View Auction Items
If you're looking to sell through HiBid.com, click here to describe what you wish to sell, and a local HiBid auctioneer will help you get started.
Interested in receiving updates from HiBid? Sign up to receive newsletter emails, and follow HiBid Auctions on Facebook and LinkedIn.
HiBid is an online auction platform supporting webcast auctions, internet-only auctions, and internet absentee bidding. It is also available as a private-label solution. HiBid is integrated with Auction Flex 360, the market leader in auction software for live and online auctions, with capabilities that include cataloging, clerking, cashiering, accounting, mailing list management, inventory management, and multi-parcel. HiBid and Auction Flex 360 were built from the ground up to function together seamlessly.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Hibid-AuctionFlex | 2022-08-18T18:51:38+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/08/18/over-39-million-sold-through-hibidcom-last-week-with-vintage-cars-rare-coins-more-now-open-bidding/ |
Curry scores playoff career-high 50 as Warriors down Kings
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With his big-game swagger on display for the world and that signature mouthpiece dangling from a celebratory grin, Stephen Curry drove fearlessly to the basket with jaw-dropping acrobatics all afternoon and he fired with precision from way back in a Game 7 extravaganza for the ages.
He even playfully pretended to push the button and Light the Beam, Sacramento-style.
Curry scored a playoff career-high 50 points in the most prolific Game 7 performance ever and answered time and again to will the Warriors on in their quest for a repeat, sending Golden State into the Western Conference semifinals with a 120-100 win against the Sacramento Kings in Sunday’s winner-take-all Game 7.
Curry led a memorable comeback in the series, too, perhaps improbable even for the defending champions when they got down 2-0 and given their road woes all season.
“It’s amazing ‘cuz you’re still in the fight,” Curry said. “Better than the alternative of on the outside looking in. Having been down 0-2 in this series, nothing was guaranteed, you don’t take anything for granted.”
Curry’s points are the most in NBA history in a Game 7, topping former teammate Kevin Durant’s 48 for the Nets against Milwaukee in 2021.
“For Steph to be the first player ever to get 50 in a Game 7, he’s sublime,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Kevon Looney grabbed 21 rebounds for a Warriors team that needed to win twice on the road facing a hostile, cowbell-clanging crowd in the state capital to become the first reigning champion to drop the first two games and win any postseason series.
Now, bring on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals with all that NBA Finals history between James and Golden State dating to his Cleveland days. Game 1 is Tuesday night at Chase Center.
Sacramento’s special comeback season is over long before these young Kings had planned. After snapping a 16-year playoff drought — longest in NBA history — under Coach of the Year Mike Brown, playoff-starved Sacramento missed advancing to the second round for the first time since 2004.
Curry shot 20 of 38 with seven 3s and delivered after almost every big play by Sacramento as Splash Brother Klay Thompson struggled on both ends again. But Thompson came through in some crucial moments.
“What an incredible performance,” Thompson said. “This is a Game 7 I’ll forever remember as the Steph Curry game.”
Malik Monk’s putback and three-point play with 14.6 seconds remaining in the third pulled Sacramento within six only for Thompson to hit a long 3 and convert a four-point play to make it 91-81 heading into the final 12 minutes.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but the Warriors held De’Aaron Fox in check as he scored 16 points on 5-for-19 shooting in his third game playing with a broken index finger on his shooting hand.
Trailing 58-56 at halftime, the Warriors opened the second half with a 13-4 burst and held the Kings to 42 points after intermission.
Sacramento had scored early on with a beautiful combination of classic give-and-goes and long jumpers off crisp passing around the perimeter.
But Curry kept coming, and Looney kept scrapping to create second and third opportunities to cap his brilliant series on the boards. They sent Kings fans to the exits late in the fourth.
Thompson began 1 for 10 missing his first five 3s before connecting at the 9:18 mark of the third and finishing with 16 points on 4-for-19 shooting — “disgusting,” he said — while playing smothering defense. Golden State, playing just its fourth Game 7 under Kerr since the 2014-15 title run, was smart down the stretch after 18 turnovers in Game 6 led to 23 Kings points and Kerr calling his team “wildly undisciplined.”
Kerr had no doubt before the deciding game — and he went back to Draymond Green in the starting lineup for Game 7 with the season on the line after the fiery forward came off the bench the previous three contests following a Game 3 suspension for stepping on Sabonis.
Just before the final buzzer, Kerr offered a long embrace to Brown — Golden State’s former top assistant who once coached the Warriors on the postseason stage during Kerr’s extended health absence and just guided the Kings’ remarkable turnaround.
“I can’t dream of nothing like this, gotta see it in person,” Monk said of all the successes. “You can’t dream anything like this unless you’re doing it. Looking forward to being back next year.”
LOONEY ON THE BOARDS
Looney wound up with 106 rebounds in the series — 37 on the offensive glass. This was his fifth straight playoff game with double-digit rebounds.
TIP-INS
Kings: The Kings shot 12 for 47 on 3s and 37.5% overall. … After Sacramento’s bench outscored the Warriors 52-21 in Game 6, the reserves again came through — 25-8 in the first half and 41-18 overall.
Warriors: Curry missed consecutive free throws in the second and Thompson couldn’t convert a pair early in the third. Golden State went 19 of 30 from the line after missing 10 free throws in Game 6 (25 of 35). … Gary Payton II blocked four shots. … Golden State hadn’t been to Game 7 since the 2018 Western Conference Finals at Houston on the way to reaching their fourth straight finals and repeat championship. … Golden State improved to 19-0 in playoff series against West opponents under Kerr.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-05-01T03:36:54+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2023/04/30/curry-scores-playoff-career-high-50-as-warriors-down-kings/ |
'Baby June' cold case: Mother of infant found floating in Florida's Boynton Beach Inlet arrested
The mother of an infant who was found floating in Florida's Boynton Beach Inlet has been arrested and will be charged with first-degree murder.
An off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter found Baby June around 1:30 p.m. on the ocean side of the Boynton Beach Inlet on June 1, 2018.
Detectives combed through 22 tips and searched more than 700 baby records from Broward and Palm Beach counties at the time.
"It started to look like we were at a dead end," a captain said during a news conference Thursday.
He said the lab was then able to identify the father of the child, which then helped them identify a mother, 29-year-old Arya Singh.
The father didn't know about the existence of the baby, the lead investigator said. A covert DNA sample from the mother confirmed she was related.
Search warrants for phone and GPS records connected the mother to the Boynton Beach Inlet 48 hours before the baby was found, the lead investigator said. Google searches show the mother had searched about the inlet and seen local news about the finding of "Baby June," and had not come forward.
The mother told investigators she didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth on May 30, 2018, and then didn't know if the baby was alive or dead, according to the lead investigator. The baby wasn't born at the hospital and wasn't named.
By the time the baby was in the inlet, the baby had already died. Since she didn't know what to do with the baby and liked the inlet, she disposed of the baby, officials said. She told deputies she worried about herself and her future.
Video below: Full news conference from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
"Today is a good day for justice," said Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County.
He commended the sheriff's office for using new technology to solve cold cases that had hit the community.
This case was the pilot case for a forensic biology unit.
Video below: DNA Detectives: How Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office solved the Baby June cold case with pilot program
"If you're a victim, we're never going to leave you behind," Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
Singh was a campus security officer at Lynn University and had worked there since 2021.
“We were shocked to learn about the charges against Ms. Singh and have ended her employment," the university said in a statement.
Singh will make her first appearance in court Friday morning. | 2022-12-16T01:00:11+00:00 | kcci.com | https://www.kcci.com/article/florida-boynton-beach-baby-june-mother-arrested-pbso/42260353 |
BAYPORT, Minn., Oct. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As proven in a recent survey of homeowners, Andersen carries the best selection of contemporary windows and doors.* Continuing its industry leadership, Andersen Windows and Doors is expanding its E-Series product line to include a new white oak species option.
"With its natural, muted tone, white oak provides a fresh take on the natural wood window. Its organic, natural and whitewash appearance creates a light and airy relaxed look versatile for a range of design styles including contemporary, mid-century and the growing Japandi and Scandi styles," said Kristy Howe, vice president of marketing at Andersen. "This new offering works to add warmth to spaces, creating an overall sense of coziness we seek in our homes and helps avoid the cold feeling that can sometimes characterize more contemporary styles."
Andersen's E-Series line is made to customers' exact specifications for unmatched flexibility and design freedom. With 50 standard exterior colors, custom colors and anodized finishes, plus a range of interior wood species and beautiful interior stains, customers can create striking combinations to bring their design vision to life.
The new white oak species option allows consumers to choose from a variety of factory finishes including a clear coat option to achieve a neutral, natural interior. Already available in White Oak, Andersen Big Doors match the new E-Series species option for a cohesive look throughout the home.
"In a recent homeowner study we conducted, we found 31 percent of homeowners feel wood species is one of the most important criteria when updating windows and doors. Expanding our offerings to include this new white oak finish builds upon our broad portfolio of products to accommodate the latest in modern design trends and meet any customers' design goals," said Howe.
*2022 Andersen Brand Surveys of U.S. realtors, contractors, builders & homeowners
Andersen was founded in 1903 on the philosophy of working "all together" to deliver on its promise to its customers. Every day, the company's more than 13,000 employees are empowered to imagine what's possible and do what's right. Andersen delivers products for the way people live, unmatched performance for the comfort and security homeowners desire, and endless design options to achieve any style.
Headquartered in Bayport, Minn., Andersen Corporation and its subsidiaries manufacture and market window and door products under the Andersen®, Renewal by Andersen®, EMCO® and MQ™ brands. Andersen, a privately held company, operates manufacturing sites across North America and Europe. Andersen has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2022 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. Visit us at andersenwindows.com.
Follow us on Facebook @AndersenWindows, Twitter @AndersenWindows, and Instagram @andersen_windows.
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SOURCE Andersen Windows | 2022-10-24T17:27:58+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/10/24/meet-modern-wood-window-andersen-expands-e-series-product-line-include-white-oak-species-option/ |
HAVANA (AP) — A Colombian guerrilla group says it has freed six captive members of the security forces in a goodwill gesture ahead of planned peace talks with the government of new President Gustavo Petro.
The release of the six men was a “unilateral humanitarian gesture″ that recognized efforts by the Colombian government to facilitate the resumption of dialogue, said the rebel National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym ELN.
The Associated Press received the guerrilla statement on Thursday. It included images of the captives during their release, as several rebels in uniform stood nearby.
The ombudsman’s office, a Colombian state institution that promotes human rights, confirmed the release of two military officers, three other soldiers and one policeman. It said it will continue to work for the release of other people held by illegal armed groups.
Representatives of Petro and the ELN met last week in Cuba to explore the possibility of resuming talks. The dialogue was suspended by former President Iván Duque in 2019 after the guerrillas bombed a police academy in Bogotá, killing more than 20 cadets.
Following that incident, Colombian authorities issued arrest warrants for ELN leaders in Cuba. Cuba refused to extradite them, arguing that doing so would compromise its status as a neutral nation in the conflict.
The United States then placed Cuba on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The ELN, founded in the 1960s, is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.
In 2016, Colombia signed a peace deal with a larger rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. | 2022-08-18T18:42:00+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/colombian-rebels-say-they-freed-6-soldiers-ahead-of-talks/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_world |
Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki has gotten lots of humorous and playful reactions from his version of “the griddy,” the dance he attempted after his touchdown in Miami’s comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Gesicki has enjoyed the attention, and the laughs.
“I was too excited,” he said of his version of the dance most famously done in the NFL by Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
“I hit it in about fast forward. So maybe [I should] slow it down. But that’s what I do. I have fun. I enjoy myself. I had an opportunity to make a play, made the play and then was able to celebrate it.”
Coach Mike McDaniel had a video cutup made of other poor attempts at doing the dance and showed it to the team. McDaniel said he wanted players to know Gesicki didn’t necessarily give a bad effort.
“There could be worse,” McDaniel deadpanned, “but it was in the family of ‘worse,’ if that makes sense.”
Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins applauded Gesicki’s attempt.
“That was, wow, it was interesting,” Wilkins said with a smile. “I give Mike props for the effort. He gets an ‘A’ for effort but the execution was pretty bad. That was pretty funny. I appreciate all the laughs I’m getting seeing it on social media everywhere.
“Mike’s one of my best friends so I give him an ‘A’ for effort.”
As for the video McDaniel showed the team, Wilkins liked it.
“That was really funny, that was really on point,” Wilkins said. “We all got a good laugh out of that one. I didn’t see Mike laughing too much, but I thought it was pretty funny.”
()
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Teen interest in long-lasting birth control soars after Roe
(AP)- Sixteen-year-old Adismarys Abreu had been discussing a long-lasting birth control implant with her mother for about a year as a potential solution to increasing menstrual pain.
Then Roe v. Wade was overturned, and Abreu joined the throng of teens rushing to their doctors as states began to ban or severely limit abortion.
“I’m definitely not ready to be pregnant,” said Abreu, who had Nexplanon — a reversible, matchstick-sized contraceptive — implanted in her arm in August. Her home state of Florida bans most abortions after 15 weeks, and not having that option is “such a scary thought,” she said.
Experts say the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling appears to be accelerating a trend of increased birth control use among teens, including long-acting reversible forms like intrauterine devices and implants. Appointments have surged, and Planned Parenthood has been flooded with questions as doctors report demand even among teens who aren’t sexually active.
Some patients are especially fearful because the new abortion laws in several states don’t include exceptions for sexual assault.
“Please, I need some birth control in case I get raped,” patients tell Dr. Judith Simms-Cendan, a pediatric-adolescent gynecologist in Miami, where state law does not provide exceptions for rape or incest after 15 weeks.
Simms-Cendan, the president-elect of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, said parents who might have been hesitant in the past now want to discuss birth control.
“It’s a sea change of, ‘I don’t have room to play. We have got to get my child on something,’” she said.
Teens already were shifting to more effective long-acting forms of birth control, which have similar or even lower failure rates than sterilization, said Laura Lindberg, a professor at Rutgers University’s School of Public Health in New Jersey. Her research found the number of 15- to 19-year-olds using those methods rose to 15% during the period 2015 to 2019, up from 3% during the 2006 to 2010 period.
No national data is available for the months since Roe was overturned, said Lindberg, who previously worked for nearly two decades at the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
But she said “major ripple effects” have to be expected from the loss of abortion access and noted that it wouldn’t be the first time politics have led to a shift in birth control usage.
In the weeks after former President Donald Trump’s election, as women raised concerns online that the Affordable Care Act would be repealed, demand for long-acting birth control rose by nearly 22% across all age groups, according to a 2019 research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
In Ohio, where a judge this month blocked a ban on virtually all abortions, patients — both male and female — now listen with rapt attention to the contraception talk that Dr. Peggy Stager has long made a part of routine appointments at her pediatric practice in Cleveland.
Stager said her practice’s dedicated spots for insertion of the Nexplanon implant are consistently filled, and requests for contraceptive refills have increased 30% to 40% since Roe was overturned. Recently, she talked to a college-bound student who wasn’t sexually active but decided to get an IUD anyway.
“She was real clear: ‘I want to have a great four years without any worry,’” recalled Stager, who is the chair of the section on adolescent health at the American Academy of Pediatrics. “And that’s a change.”
In Missouri, among the first states in the country with a trigger law in effect to ban abortions at any point in pregnancy, Dr. David Eisenberg also has seen a similar sense of urgency from college-bound teens to choose the most effective option.
“Fear is an amazing motivator,” said Eisenberg, an associate professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who performs abortions in neighboring Illinois. “They understand the consequence of a contraceptive failure might mean they become a parent because they might not be able to access an abortion.”
Interest is also high at the contraception clinic that Dr. Elise Berlan oversees in Columbus, Ohio. Before the Supreme Court’s decision, the clinic booked appointments for new patients within a week or two.
Now, they are booking several months out for first appointments, said Berlan, an adolescent medicine specialist who sees mothers and daughters in tears in her exam room. She said the demand is so high they are adding a provider.
On the day the Supreme Court ruled against Roe, twice as many birth control questions as normal poured into Roo, Planned Parenthood’s online chatbot aimed at teens.
Online birth control appointments also skyrocketed that day — up 150% from a typical day, with an even-larger 375% surge for IUD-seekers, said Julia Bennett, director of digital education and learning strategy for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
By mid-July, several weeks after the ruling, birth control appointments remained up about 20%, although the data isn’t broken down by age group.
The growing interest exists even in states like North Carolina, where abortion remains legal but the Legislature is conservative.
Dr. Kavita Arora, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Chapel Hill, said she saw maybe one teen a month before the ruling. Now, she said, she sees them at each clinic session.
“They’re aware that this is an incredibly fluid situation, and what is allowed at one moment may not be allowed a week or a month later,” said Arora, the chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Ethics.
That uncertain future is part of what motivated Abreu, the Florida teen, whose implant will prevent pregnancy for up to five years.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the laws in that time period,” said Abreu, who was using a short-acting form of birth control before switching. “Having this already in my arm, it makes me feel so much safer.”
Her mother, Maribys Lorenzo, said in Spanish that she, too, is a little more at peace knowing her daughter cannot get pregnant and said she would recommend the implant because it does not require her daughter to remember to take a contraceptive pill.
She said she is not worried, any more or less, that her daughter will become sexually active because of the implant. But if it happens, she will be protected, Lorenzo said.
“I don’t think that’s fair to me or my family to not have abortion as an option,” said her daughter, Abreu.
___
Roxana Hegeman in Wichita contributed to this report. Rodgers 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. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-09-27T11:26:13+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/09/27/teen-interest-long-lasting-birth-control-soars-after-roe/ |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil giant Saudi Aramco reported Sunday earning $161 billion last year, claiming the highest-ever recorded annual profit by a publicly listed company and drawing immediate criticism from activists.
The monster profit by the firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets.
Aramco also hopes to increase its production to take advantage of market demand as China reenters the global market after lifting its coronavirus restrictions. That could raise the billions needed to pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to develop futuristic cityscapes to pivot Saudi Arabia away from oil.
However, those plans come despite growing international concerns over the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change. Meanwhile, higher energy prices already have strained relations between Riyadh and Washington, as well as driven up inflation worldwide.
“Given that we anticipate oil and gas will remain essential for the foreseeable future, the risks of underinvestment in our industry are real — including contributing to higher energy prices,” Saudi Aramco CEO and President Amin H. Nasser said in a statement.
Profits rose 46.5% when compared to the company’s 2021 results of $110 billion. It earned $49 billion in 2020 when the world faced the worst of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, travel disruptions and oil prices briefly going negative.
Aramco put its crude production at around 11.5 million barrels a day in 2022 and said it hoped to reach 13 million barrels a day by 2027.
To boost that production, it plans to spend as much as $55 billion this year on capital projects.
Aramco also declared a dividend of $19.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, to be paid in the first quarter of this year.
Aramco’s results, viewed as a bellwether for the global energy market, mirror the huge profits seen at those of U.K. energy giant BP,America’s Exxon Mobil, Shell and others in 2022. But the sheer size of the $161 billion profit overshadowed even its own previous results, as well as records by Apple, Vodafone and the U.S. Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae.
Benchmark Brent crude oil now trades around $82 a barrel, though prices had reached over $120 a barrel back in June. Aramco, whose fortunes hinge on global energy prices, announced a record $42.4 billion profit in the third quarter of 2022 off the back of that price spike.
Those high prices have further strained ties between the kingdom and the United States, traditionally a security guarantor among the Gulf Arab states amid tensions with Iran. Before the midterm elections in November, the kingdom said the Biden administration sought to delay a decision by OPEC and allies including Russia to cut production that could have kept gasoline prices lower for voters — making public the typically behind-the-scenes negotiations common in the region.
President Joe Biden had warned the kingdom that “there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done” in terms of oil prices. However, those consequences have yet to be seen as Saudi Arabia and Iran went to China to strike a diplomatic deal Friday. U.S. gasoline prices now stand on average at $3.47 a gallon, down just about a dollar from last year.
For the kingdom, higher crude oil prices can help fuel the dreams of Prince Mohammed, including his planned $500 billion futuristic desert city project called Neom.
Those revenues also can go into Riyadh Air, a new airline announced Sunday by Prince Mohammed that will be under the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and plans to fly to over 100 destinations by 2030. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported Saudi Arabia may purchase up to $35 billion worth of planes from Boeing Co.
However, they also run against the fears of activists over climate change, particularly as the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks will begin this November in the neighboring United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia has pledged to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, like China and Russia, though its plans to reach that goal remain unclear. Aramco’s earnings report noted it started a $1.5 billion Sustainability Fund in October and plans a carbon-capture-and-storage facility as well.
Amnesty International’s secretary-general, Agnès Callamard, criticized Aramco’s annual profit coming amid global concerns about climate change.
“It is shocking for a company to make a profit of more than $161 billion in a single year through the sale of fossil fuel — the single largest driver of the climate crisis,” she said in a statement. “It is all the more shocking because this surplus was amassed during a global cost-of-living crisis and aided by the increase in energy prices resulting from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Callamard also noted that Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s top executioners while also remaining locked in a yearslong war in Yemen and cracking down on dissent.
“These extraordinary profits, and any future income derived from Aramco, should not be deployed to finance human rights abuses, cover them up, or try and gloss over them,” she said.
Saudi Arabia’s vast oil resources, located close to the surface of its desert expanse, make it one of the world’s least expensive places to produce crude. For every $10 rise in the price of a barrel of oil, Saudi Arabia stands to make an additional $40 billion a year, according to the Institute of International Finance.
Shares in Aramco stood at $8.74 on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. That’s down from a high of $11.55 a share in the last year. However, that current price still gives Aramco a valuation of $1.9 trillion — making it the world’s second most valuable company behind only Apple.
The Saudi government still owns the vast majority of the firm’s shares. Saudi Aramco publicly listed a sliver of its worth back in late 2019.
Aramco will release a comprehensive earnings report Monday.
___
Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP. | 2023-03-13T07:36:44+00:00 | myfox8.com | https://myfox8.com/news/international/ap-international/oil-giant-saudi-aramco-has-profits-of-161b-in-2022/ |
Brother of suspect in slaying of family pleads not guilty
MERCED, Calif. (AP) — The younger brother of a man charged in the kidnapping and killing of a family in central California pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he helped his brother.
41-year-old Alberto Salgado was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory after the fact, and arson of property.
His older brother, Jesus Salgado, pleaded not guilty last week to kidnapping and killing an 8-month-old baby, her parents and uncle in early October.
Alberto Salgado was appointed a public defender by the court.
The Merced County Public Defender’s office didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Authorities say Jesus Salgado was a former employee of the slain family, and had a longstanding dispute.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-20T20:42:22+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/2022/10/20/brother-suspect-slaying-family-pleads-not-guilty/ |
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — Freddy Hicks' 21 points helped Tarleton State defeat Utah Tech 75-71 on Saturday.
Hicks added six assists for the Texans (14-12, 7-6 Western Athletic Conference). Tiger Booker shot 5 of 6 from the field and 9 for 10 from the line to add 20 points. Shakur Daniel shot 2 of 3 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line to finish with 10 points.
Dancell Leter finished with 17 points for the Trailblazers (11-15, 3-10). Utah Tech also got 13 points from Jacob Nicolds. Noa Gonsalves finished with 11 points.
NEXT UP
Tarleton State plays Wednesday against SFA on the road, and Utah Tech visits Southern Utah on Friday.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | 2023-02-12T06:27:47+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/tarleton-state-beats-utah-tech-75-71-17779398.php |
People still looking to book trips home to visit family or take a vacation during the holidays need to act fast and prepare for sticker shock.
Airline executives say that based on bookings, they expect huge demand for flights over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Travel experts say the best deals for airfares and hotels are already gone.
On social media, plenty of travelers think they are being gouged. It’s an understandable sentiment when government data shows that airfares in October were up 43% from a year earlier, and U.S. airlines reported a combined profit of more than $2.4 billion in the third quarter.
Part of the reason for high fares is that airlines are still operating fewer flights than in 2019 even though passenger numbers are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Fewer flights and more people looking to head home or take vacation for the holidays means two things: Prices will be higher, and we will see flights sell out for both holidays,” says Holly Berg, chief economist for travel-data provider Hopper.
Yulia Parr knows exactly what Berg is talking about. The Annandale, Virginia, woman struggled to find a reasonably priced flight home for her young son, who is spending Thanksgiving with his grandmother in Texas while Parr visits her husband, who is on active military duty in California. She finally found a $250 one-way ticket on Southwest, but it’s not until the Tuesday after the holiday.
Parr figures she waited too long to book a flight.
“My husband’s kids are flying home for Christmas,” she said. “Those tickets were bought long ago, so they’re not too bad.”
Prices for air travel and lodging usually rise heading into the holidays, and it happened earlier this year. That is leading some travelers in Europe to book shorter trips, according to Axel Hefer, CEO of Germany-based hotel-search company Trivago.
“Hotel prices are up absolutely everywhere,” he said. “If you have the same budget or even a lower budget through inflation, and you still want to travel, you just cut out a day.”
Hotels are struggling with labor shortages, another cause of higher prices. Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, which owns travel-search sites including Priceline and Kayak, says one hotelier told him he can’t fill all his rooms because he doesn’t have enough staff.
Rates for car rentals aren’t as crazy as they were during much of 2021, when some popular locations ran out of vehicles. Still, the availability of vehicles is tight because the cost of new cars has prevented rental companies from fully rebuilding fleets that they culled early in the pandemic.
U.S. consumers are facing the highest inflation in 40 years, and there is growing concern about a potential recession. That isn’t showing up in travel numbers, however.
The number of travelers going through airport checkpoints has recovered to nearly 95% of 2019 traffic, according to Transportation Security Administration figures for October. Travel industry officials say holiday travel might top pre-pandemic levels.
Airlines haven’t always done a good job handling the big crowds, even though they have been hiring workers to replace those who left after COVID-19 hit. The rates of canceled and delayed flights rose above pre-pandemic levels this summer, causing airlines to slow down plans to add more flights.
U.S. airlines operated only 84% as many U.S. flights as they did in October 2019, and plan about the same percentage in December, according to travel-data firm Cirium. On average, airlines are using bigger planes with more seats this year, which partly offsets the reduction in flights.
“We are definitely seeing a lot of strength for the holidays,” Andrew Nocella, United Airlines’ chief commercial officer, said on the company’s earnings call in October. “We’re approaching the Thanksgiving timeframe, and our bookings are incredibly strong.”
Airline executives and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed each other for widespread flight problems over the summer. Airline CEOs say that after hiring more pilots and other workers, they are prepared for the holiday mob.
Travel experts offer tips for saving money and avoiding getting stranded by a canceled flight, although the advice hasn’t changed much from previous years.
Be flexible about dates and even destinations, although that’s not possible when visiting grandma’s house. In a recent search, the cheapest flights from Los Angeles to New York around Christmas were on Christmas Eve and returning New Year’s Eve.
Look into discount airlines and alternate airports, but know that smaller airlines have fewer options for rebooking passengers after a flight is canceled.
Fly early in the day to lower your risk of a delay or cancellation. “If something goes wrong, it tends to progress throughout the day — it gets to be a domino effect,” says Chuck Thackston, general manager of Airlines Reporting Corp., an intermediary between airlines and travel agents.
There are plenty of theories on the best day of the week to book travel. Thackston says it’s Sunday because airlines know that’s when many price-conscious consumers are shopping, and carriers tailor offerings for them.
For the most part, airlines have dodged the accusations of price-gouging that have swirled around oil companies — which drew another rebuke this week from President Joe Biden — and other industries.
Accountable US, an advocacy group critical of corporations, linked airline delays and cancellations this summer to job cuts during the pandemic and poor treatment of workers. “But generally, we would say the airline industry is not currently at the same level as big food, oil or retail in terms of gross profiteering,” says Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for the group.
Brett Snyder, who runs a travel agency and writes the “Cranky Flier” blog about air travel, says prices are high simply because flights are down from 2019 while demand is booming.
“How is it gouging?” Snyder asks. “They don’t want to go (take off) with empty seats, but they also don’t want to sell everything for a dollar. It’s basic economics.”
Travelers are sacrificing to hold down the cost of their trips.
Sheena Hale and her daughter, Krysta Pyle, woke up at 3 a.m. and left their northwestern Indiana home an hour later to make a 6:25 a.m. flight in Chicago last week.
“We are exhausted,” Hale said after the plane landed in Dallas, where Krysta was taking part in a cheer competition. “We started early because the early flights were much cheaper. Flights are way too expensive.”
They’re not going anywhere for Christmas.
“We don’t have to travel. We’re staying home with family,” Hale said. | 2022-11-14T12:52:25+00:00 | kfor.com | https://kfor.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/flying-home-for-the-holidays-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-this-year/ |
Pelicans’ Jaxson Hayes sentenced for scuffle with LA police
LOS ANGELES (AP) — New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes for a scuffle with officers responding to a domestic violence call last summer in Los Angeles.
The sentencing comes after Hayes — the eighth overall pick out of Texas in the 2019 NBA draft — pleaded no contest on Feb. 24 to misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and resisting an officer.
Hayes, 22, also will be ordered to pay yet-to-be-determined restitution, said Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office spokesman Rob Wilcox.
Hayes was arrested on July 28, 2021, when police responded to a 3 a.m. domestic disturbance call.
Police body camera video showed Hayes scuffling with officers and being hit twice with an electronic stun gun after they ordered him out of the home while they sought to question a woman inside.
Hayes told officers the woman was his girlfriend and that she had been “throwing some stuff” at him while they argued.
Hayes was treated at a hospital after the altercation. An officer thrown against a wall by Hayes was treated for an elbow injury.
Hayes played in 70 games for the Pelicans last season, starting 28. He averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Details on the timeline for Hayes to complete his community service requirement were not immediately available, but he may perform it where he lives instead of in Los Angeles, Wilcox said. The 52-week domestic violence classes can be taken online and Hayes has elected to do that, Wilcox said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-15T19:38:11+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/2022/06/15/pelicans-jaxson-hayes-sentenced-scuffle-with-la-police/ |
Future of Phoenix's police oversight office unknown as Ducey signs bill limiting investigations
The future of Phoenix's new police oversight office hangs in the balance after a bill imposing limits on all Arizona entities investigating police was signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.
House Bill 2721 requires all Arizona entities investigating police to have membership that includes police officers from the same agency being investigated. The bill also requires those officers to account for more than half — two-thirds — of the entity's entire makeup and a majority vote in order to launch investigations into police misconduct or recommend discipline.
Rep. John Kavanagh, the bill's sponsor, previously explained he created the bill to disrupt the city of Phoenix's plans for its new Office of Accountability and Transparency. Phoenix has since opposed the bill, stating it takes away a local government's ability to make decisions and could also impact other city boards that have existed for years.
The office was formally approved by the Phoenix City Council last May after public demand for greater oversight of the Phoenix Police Department, which has been at the center of several controversies and lawsuits in recent years. The Police Department is now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of abuse, excessive use of force and discrimination.
The city strived to employ civilians in its new office and purposefully excluded law enforcement officials and their relatives in an effort to maintain independent investigations into potential police misconduct. The office could also make recommendations to the police chief for discipline and offer proposals for policy and training issues.
Phoenix's next steps for its new office in light of Ducey's signing on Wednesday were not immediately known. A spokesperson for the city did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Arizona Republic.
Last August, Phoenix sued the state over a measure similar to HB 2721 that was signed into law after being slipped into the state's budget along with dozens of other policies, including one related to mask mandates. The Arizona Supreme Court ultimately determined the way those policies were passed into law was unconstitutional and they were eliminated.
It's unclear where the idea for that initial measure came from.
Reach the reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral today. | 2022-07-07T16:07:29+00:00 | azcentral.com | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2022/07/07/future-police-oversight-process-unknown-after-ducey-signs-bill/7816274001/ |
Luck favors the prepared, as they say, and young Jason Isbell was ready. He had honed his skills as a songwriter and guitar player since he started playing the mandolin back when his hands were too small to wrap around a guitar neck. He would sit alone in his bedroom for days on end, isolated and insulated from his parents' arguing, tearing through the classics. Playing local bars before he was even a teenager, and the Grand Ole Opry by 16, he went off to college but, famously, never completed his degree for want of a single required health studies class. By his early 20s, he returned to his home in the Shoals of Alabama, an obscure corner of the country that produced some of the greatest R&B in the universe, where he found work writing for FAME Studios.
Then, at the age of 22, his moment arrived. A member of the Drive-By Truckers, a band that had returned to its home in the Shoals to play a breakthrough house concert for Spin magazine, failed to show up for the gig. As a result, Isbell got a rapid field promotion onto the stage. He joined the band for the show and then departed on tour with the band for the next six years. Isbell may have been a young adult, but he looked more like a doughy high school sophomore, especially among the more grizzled members of a hard touring band.
The group he joined in 2001, the raucous, punk infused, careening-toward-the-ditch band, the Truckers, had just released its epic masterpiece, Southern Rock Opera, a whirlwind of Southern rock, punk and gothic hell — literally. In one song, the devil sports a George Wallace sticker on the bumper of his Cadillac. Spin, reviewing Isbell's first show with the Truckers, called them "alt country's rockingest neo-rednecks" who delivered "poetry among the wreckage."
So began the wild years of Isbell's young adulthood, a fiery, creative period that delivered him to two ends. One, he quickly revealed his genius for empathetic portraiture, painting alienated, lost souls and revealing entire worlds in precise drops of telling detail. Two, he lost sight of himself in a haze of booze.
Not long after Isbell joined the Truckers, he penned three incredible songs in rapid succession. "Decoration Day," a dark, rocking examination of intergenerational violence based on his own family's lore, proved to be so good that the band named their next album after the cut. "Outfit" still stands as an Isbell crowd favorite, encapsulating, in his father's voice, warnings about succumbing neither to the dire fate of working-class entrapment ("don't let me catch you in Kendale with a bucket of wealthy man's paint") nor the perils of a musician's life on the road ("don't tell 'em you're bigger than Jesus, don't give it away.") Then there was "TVA," a meditation on three generations and the meanings of the New Deal, the Wilson Dam and the time when "Roosevelt let us all work for an honest day's pay."
Just a few years after joining the tour, Isbell confessed his identification with the weary and dying musicians of The Band in "Danko/Manuel." Its slow-running bass pacing out the brutality of road life, he sings, "Got to sinkin' in the place where I once stood / Now I ain't livin' like I should." Then came the aching "Goddamn Lonely Love," a tight study in killing sentiment with alcohol. "I'll take two of what you're having / And I'll take all of what you got / To kill this ... goddamn lonely love." Under the sway of his own addiction, he began to lose touch and say stupid things on stage. The other Truckers asked him to leave. "Some people get drunk and become kind of sweet," Patterson Hood, one of the leaders of the Truckers, told The New York Times Magazine a decade ago. "Jason wasn't one of those people."
Walking across East Nashville earlier this month to meet Isbell, I am thinking about how the dreams of more than one singer-songwriter ended in this part of town. Isbell released a few post-Truckers albums that showed glimmers of promise but lacked voice and focus. That might have been it for him. But his friends and his future wife, Amanda Shires, helped him into rehab, which he paid for by taking out a bank loan. As I approach our meeting, it is the young Jason Isbell that drifts through my mind. The one before the drinking took over, before the rehab, and before he took control of himself and released some of the best records of his generation.
When I reach his manager's bright and breezy home, I find Isbell is in the front room, Sharpie in hand, signing vinyl copies of his fantastic new album, Weathervanes. He chats up the staff as he moves down the makeshift assembly line, scrawling what might generously be regarded as his signature in the upper left corner of each record sleeve. Spirited, smart and kind, Isbell does authenticity unnervingly well. I'm already feeling the presence of a musician who'd rather lay it on the line now than dance around to keep up with his own web of B.S. later.
Sincerity, his trademark, serves him well, but sometimes his persona feels a bit more learned than natural. In person, his mannerisms remind me of his 2015 cut "24 Frames," in which he self-consciously trains himself in the day-to day requirements of being a good person: "And this is how you make yourself worthy of the love that she gave to you back when you didn't own a beautiful thing." So many of his songs are about an outsider peering in, searching for an opening into how the world works, and wondering about his place in it all. Along the way, he has extended an open invitation to his fans to share the journey.
This is a time of anniversaries. He recently marked his 10th year of sobriety with the addition of another hashmark tattoo, inscribing on his body a commitment to himself and his family, now tallied in two tidy sets of five. It's on the inside of his forearm, just where he'd see it if he reached for a drink.
Ten years ago this month, Isbell also released Southeastern, a payoff for that sobriety and the crystallization of his immense talent. The cover image alone — a crisp, tightly focused, black-and-white portrait of a man who had spent too much time appearing blurry, bloated and stumbling for another pull on a bottle of Jack — promised something new and fresh. Here was a person no longer lost in the quagmire of the Southern gothic or the grip of addiction. He looked more like a pin-striped professional bluesman with a fresh haircut staring straight into the camera with some truth to tell.
Isbell's voice, once a bit reedy under the strain of youth and booze, became resonant and rich, freeing his solid gold north Alabama accent and its inescapable trace of ache and tenderness. Southeastern opens with a deeply personal and sharply honed meditation on recovery, surrender and living with the pain that one has caused another. "Cover me up, and know you're enough, to use me for good," he sings, in a bid to trade the dominion of addiction for the shelter of love. Vulnerable, direct, hopeful and cataclysmic, the song is so intimate that it can still deliver his wife back to the raw pain of that moment. To this day, when he sings the lines, "I sobered up, I swore off that stuff, forever this time," he gets a supportive round of applause from his loyal audience. The pace, clarity and vulnerability of the entire album remains riveting, and, a decade later, the opening chords of Southeastern still pull the listener in for what seems a fresh fight for the soul of a man.
Amanda Shires married Isbell just days after the completion of Southeastern. Instrumental in his sobriety, she took a gamble on a man with a "heart like a rebuilt part," as he says in one of the album's best cuts, "Traveling Alone." Shires, an immensely talented violinist from Lubbock, Texas, has a successful solo career and plays with the supergroup The Highwomen. She also plays with Isbell's band, the 400 Unit, a group that rivals Springsteen's old E Street Band for the virtuosity of its individual members, its connection to place and its cohesion. Together, Amanda and Jason have become the heart of hope and authenticity in the Nashville scene. Today Isbell is riding high with a new album, a collection of Grammys and Americana Music Awards, a revealing new HBO documentary, a custom signature series Isbell Telecaster, a role in a forthcoming Scorsese film and a relentless national tour schedule.
I talk through this history with Isbell, and ask, "What holds this story together? What's the Jason Isbell arc?"
"If there's a theme to all of it," he says, "it's like you settle on this meaning of life, and it's arbitrary. Pick one and stick with it, because it's as valuable as any of them. For me, it is the work of understanding yourself and improving yourself. If I did that today, it was a good day. And if I didn't, I'll try again tomorrow." He believes, above all, in work. "It's work, just do the work, and the rewards will come." My mind jumps to Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. "Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world," Camus writes. "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."
Yet Isbell's existentialism is more than rolling stones uphill. His project, he says, is "trying to connect with other people. Trying to connect with the time that I was in. Trying to connect with myself has been a theme since the beginning."
Connecting with the present is more difficult than it might seem. His work—artistic, emotional, social and now ever more political—contains a unique deployment of history, one in which time is as likely to fold back upon itself as go forward, and all things are, indeed, interconnected. The burdened cycles of "Children of Children," the feisty older woman who just wants to ride in "Hudson Commodore" or life after the closing of the mines in "Cumberland Gap," show people struggling with historical circumstance. Even the cosmic love song "If We Were Vampires" transcends genre by pegging love to the foreshadowing of loss, the finality of human time. On the new album, the haunting "White Beretta" has a man talking to both his younger self and his memory of the woman he failed to help enough when she needed an abortion. It is the biggest gut punch on the album.
Throughout Weathervanes, new narratives twist back upon old, blending perspectives, voices and Isbell's own past and present. It juxtaposes deep concern for the next generation, his daughter's generation, with what he calls the "the old assignments," songs that contain more than a whiff of the old Truckers-era themes. There's the opioid addiction of the Dylanesque, John Prine-influenced blue collar character in "King of Oklahoma"; the thumping rocker with a rising chorus about survivor guilt after the death of a friend, "When We Were Close"; and the irresistible hook of "Cast Iron Skillet," which vivisects a series of Southern aphorisms and the received wisdom that might not be much in the way of wisdom at all. Throughout, he asks what remains real and current about voices from the past, and when do the old patterns keep us from seeing love and other truths that should be "simple as a weathervane."
"I always felt like I was not living in the current day," he explains, but "in a different time altogether." His personal space-time continuum is a kaleidoscope of anachronisms. Isbell's is not a linear kind of history. It is more like wandering through a museum in which the rooms have been rearranged, the ages shuffled. His upbringing in Green Hills, Ala., near the renowned studios of Muscle Shoals, may have been in the '80s, he explains, but it felt more like the mid-'60s. His grandparents, who played an important role in raising him, were Holiness Church of God Pentecostals; that meant a pre-industrial life with long dresses, no makeup and no medicines. His grandmother still cooked on a wood stove, and animals were raised, slaughtered and eaten.
In jarring juxtaposition with his grandparents' asceticism, Isbell loved the movies, and soaked up popular music like Prince, Crowded House, Squeeze and 'Til Tuesday. Further complicating the picture, his parents were pretty much kids themselves, 17 and 19 years old, when he was born, and there were five generations of family members surviving on his mother's side. All that, and he'd been a Robert Johnson fan since he was 9 years old. Eventually he discovered the likes of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin recorded right down the road from him in the legendary local studios. "That blew my mind," he explained. "It was what helped me not be racist."
History and Jason Isbell did get on the same page until the 1990s, when he and grunge were happening at the same time. Finally, he felt, "what I liked was current." That page was the return of innovative rock guitar, which he loved, but even then he remained a bit of a time traveler. He was so much younger than the rest of the Truckers that Patterson Hood, one of the group's leaders, had attended high school with Isbell's mother. While young Patterson fled Alabama for the punk scene in Athens, young Jason got hired to write for FAME studios and ended up working with Patterson's father, legendary studio bassist David Hood. He then brought history full circle, delivering some of the musical precision of Muscle Shoals into the Truckers' shaggy sound. "Musically," Isbell reflects, "I was more like Patterson's father's generation, and more like the musicianship of Dave Hood."
How Jason Isbell became a guitar player is a more than twice-told tale, but I want to know how he learned to write, with the narrative economy of the best short story authors and with some of the most tightly conceived lines in the business. He cites early exposure to a panoply of literary and lyrical influences, some random, some contemporary, some distinctly anachronistic. His mother loved John Prine and John Hiatt, he says, and his dad liked Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. There was also plenty of "bonehead" arena rock around the house — a genre he still loves for its clear statements of the obvious. His obsessive personality, which he notes would later become addictive, had him tearing through books at a "freakishly early" age. He devoured all the Tolkien and Madeleine L'Engle type books, and then began to sneak his mother's Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels.
The Bible stands above all else in training Isbell in the craft of story. Every night he had to read and understand a passage, in a self-inflicted assignment. Otherwise, he knew he was going to hell. If he could not prove his ability to read, and comprehend, a King James Bible passage, he felt the real danger "of burning forever with a pitchfork in my ass." From such pressure, he believes, came comprehension, metaphor, allegory and all the rest of the concepts of traditional western storytelling. Nightly cramming to avoid a lifetime in hell may "not the most psychologically healthy thing," he reflects, but "you can very easily trace an unintended formalist reading of each of these songs" to the Bible.
Despite being raised in such fire and brimstone, Isbell feels blessed to have been surrounded by men who listened and who nurtured, and who were often in relationships with strong women. When we spoke, Isbell was a week back from his grandfather's funeral. He had "a sensitivity to him that was palpable and contagious," he notes. "I was lucky enough to have examples of a nontoxic form of masculinity from early on."
"I used to want to be a real man / I don't know what that even means," Isbell sings in the 2017 song "Hope the High Road," written after the election of Donald Trump. That song put a blunt point on the artist's often more nuanced explorations of masculinity. If you think you were born to be "some sort of man," he tells me, then you need to "figure out a way to do it that contributes to society rather than scaring the s*** out of everybody." The toxic stuff going on today is "putting all of us at risk."
In a cut off the new album, "Middle of the Morning," Isbell documents his incomplete strides in his own sense of masculinity. "Yes I've tried," he howls, "to be grateful for my devils, and call them by their names / But I'm tired / And by the middle of the morning, I need someone to blame." Seemingly caged by the pandemic, there is danger in the air. "I know you're scared of me, I can see it in your face." But his character is at least trying, and he notes without defensiveness one reason why the effort hurts: "I ain't used to this ... I was raised to be a strong and silent Southern man."
The debate on both the right and left about the problems with men, especially in areas of economic decline, ring hollow to Isbell. "What's masculine about earning a living and feeding your family? Nothing. That's not feminine, that's not masculine. That's: If you see something that needs doing, you do it." Today, manhood is lost in a peculiar kind of consumerism, he argues. "That was a capitalist trick, too, to sell products, to sell tools, and trucks, and guns." He is particularly bewildered by the trap of guns. He thinks of his family back in Alabama. "They spent so much f****** money — you know how many members of my family are broke with a gun safe full of guns they could sell and pay their mortgage for months?" In "Save the World," an eerie Weathervane track about a school shooting, clearly suggestive of Uvalde, Isbell sings, "something's drowning out the light." In his fear and fatigue, his character fights his own desire to shrink his world to keep it safe.
As moving as Isbell's portraits of troubled masculinity are, I wonder if his characters, in their turmoil, might drift toward the easy answers of the right. When the radical right enters the conversation, Isbell slumps, takes a hit from his vape pen, and explains quickly and clearly that he sees two audiences for his work. The first is those fans and critics who appreciate not only his music but the glimpses he offers into worlds they might not otherwise know, let alone be able to feel. His songs deny any kind of facile liberalism. The lives of Isbell's compelling characters are messy, real and leave little room for pat answers.
His second audience is white, blue-collar Americans whose lives resemble those of his characters. With them, his project is to "separate what they believe from what they actually see happening." In his stories, floating, as he says, between fiction and nonfiction, he tries to get very specific. "I see that you are suffering in this way," he wants to communicate; "I see that you're alienated in this way; what, pray tell, could be one of the reasons for that?" Simply by acknowledging their lives and asking, "how is that working out for you?" he feels he can get them to pull back and consider the futility of tribalist rage. "The argument" (how many popular musicians speak in arguments?) is: "Can you at least, for a minute, consider that you might not be right about these things?"
I accept the rough dichotomy in his audience and take note that he offers no simple answers to either. But I proffer a rejoinder. Isn't he doing much better on one side of this equation than the other? "Well," he chides, "the choir needs to be doing a better job, too."
Isbell's search for place and connection and his rejection of rigid categories includes his choice of genre. "I think of myself as a guy with a rock band," he declares. For this Shoals artist, rock is about cultural mixing, and too much of country is about exclusion. Despite all the Nashville trappings, the varieties of Southern-ness and the relentlessly applied label "Americana" (almost exclusively applied to white acts), he chooses rock and roll. Rock has fewer of what he calls the "scary historical connotations" of country, and it maintains the most latitude and the fewest restrictions on style. Rock, he says, allows you to "sound like almost anything you want." Rock is expansive and, at its core, it contains the idea, however grossly incomplete, of an integrated American vision.
Isbell has long stated that some music can be poisonous to the soul, and he includes mainstream commercial country in that category. He derides it as little more than a jukebox of mass-produced whiteness. "It's like they have taken this parody of Southern-ness and made that the standard and run with it. And the songs are so formulaic, and predictable, and pandering, and it's just awful." As he sings in the rock-driven "White Man's World," from 2017, "Mama wants to change that Nashville sound, but they're never gonna let her." In 2020, when the Country Music Association failed to recognize the passing of the heroes of their wing of the genre, John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver and Jerry Jeff Walker, Isbell and Shires turned in their lifelong membership cards.
When it comes to the vacuity of mainstream country, one might be tempted to say the fans are driving the market and getting what they demand, but Isbell is quick to finger the industry. "I think it's intentional," he remarks. "I think it's capitalism." To make capitalism even remotely humane, "you have to stop doing the wrong thing for five seconds," he says, and figure out alternatives that have more integrity. He hates the use of the term "recording artist" since so "many are not artists." When it comes to making hits, "they're going by their research their lackeys have done, finding out what sounds and what words will sell the most records. And that's not art. Art is making something because you think it has to exist."
He is not naïve, though, about the ways the system has rewarded his work. Far from his shifts sleeping in the back of the slovenly painter's van owned by the Truckers, he now enjoys three tour buses and a semi-truck and trailer hauling the gear of the 400 Unit. And of course his own economic success lets him indulge an almost talismanic drive to collect and play storied, vintage gear. "I wouldn't have a 1959 Les Paul if it weren't for good ol' capitalism," he notes of a rather extreme recent indulgence. But artists need to find ways of making capitalism work for them, he explains, not just end up as a servant to crass commercial interest. "I feel like there's a way to do it that is not unfair, that's not being dishonest with people ... that has more longevity."
In 2019, the establishment country star Morgan Wallen, a guy who was on his way to shattering chart records while singlehandedly trying to make the mullet cool again, recorded Isbell's trademark song, "Cover Me Up." Wallen's fans greeted his slick version, along with an extended narrative video, with tremendous acclaim. It has become a Morgan Wallen song to more people than it is an Isbell song, despite Wallen's generous acknowledgement of Isbell in his live introductions. Isbell is fine with that. It's how things work, and Wallen didn't do a bad job with it. But then in July of 2021 Wallen got into trouble for using a racial slur and running around unmasked at a frat party during COVID, actions for which he had to apologize publicly.
When Wallen was criticized for his behavior, sales of his album soared, a sort of MAGA revenge on the woke. Contemplating the fact that his song was selling because of a racist backlash, Isbell was suddenly overtaken by what he described as "maniacal laughter." Anyone who follows his Twitter account knows Isbell can be a bit devilish. He sat back and watched sales go up. A couple of weeks after the frenzy peaked, he announced that all of his royalties from the Wallen cover would go to the Nashville NAACP. He had, indeed, figured out how to make the system work.
"It's not Morgan Wallen we should be talking about," Isbell reflects. You know, it's: Why are these people in these positions, with this kind of platform, making this kind of money, selling these kinds of records to everybody? Why? There's so many people in line behind him who might be more gifted, harder working, less likely to pull some crazy bulls*** cuz maybe they just don't have it in 'em. Or maybe they're just Black."
Freedom looms large in Jason Isbell's 10-year arc since recovery and Southeastern but not necessarily in a rock and roll way. "It's like that Kristofferson line, the f****** greatest line ever written in a country song. 'Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.' " Contemplating again the profundity of the lyric, he says, "It almost doesn't make sense. Then it hits you again, and you go, 'Goddamn, man, that is exactly right.' " Freedom, and the idea of endless opportunity, is a trap. "What are we doing with it?" he rhetorically asks the American people. "You talk about it so much, you fight for it, you pray for it, and what are you going to do with it? Sit on your ass and drink sodas? That's what you do with your freedoms. Is that it? Is that all? Is that what you were screaming about this whole time?"
That version of American freedom, in many ways, is the opposite of the connection Isbell has been working on. He is in fact, looking for things to cherish, things he might just be invested in enough to be afraid to lose. His new album sticks the arc of connection well. Musically, it highlights the spontaneity of the 400 Unit's play, Isbell's effort to capture the sound of an intimate live show, and offers tribute to his many musical forebears. Slightly older this time around, his characters hold the wisdom of reflecting honestly on the past even when it feels like grief or regret, show concern for the next generation even when the future feels like too much for one person to sustain. And it is; that's why we need to know we need each other, a message both personal and political.
The live shows are where connections are revealed, and that, too, is no accident. Isbell's sense of authenticity places him in a reciprocal relation to his audience. "I told my agent 20 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, that I want to be big enough to play the arenas, but I don't want to do it. I want to play three nights, four nights in the theater," he says. Both the sound and the sense of intimacy ring truer — "People feel like you are a human being" — in the small venues. "Some people don't want to be seen as a human being, but I like it. I like that because people will trust you, they'll root for you, they won't turn their back on you."
Authenticity and connection may be Isbell's brand, but they're also a daring survival strategy. Trapping his public self in such a way that absolute legibility is the only way forward, he leaves little space for dishonesty and no place to hide from himself. Isbell lays himself bare as if leaning on the world to help him keep his commitments to sobriety, to family and to his artistry.
In return, he gives us an updated vision of the artist's role in society, one that seems singularly appropriate in its opposition to our cultural moment of performing "reality." Isbell's honesty, even if shaped by the imperative of survival, brings the demons into the conversation. And that's right where we can keep an eye on them.
Jefferson Cowie received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in History for his latest book, Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power. He teaches at Vanderbilt University where he holds the James G. Stahlman Chair in American history.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-06-21T16:02:22+00:00 | mainepublic.org | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2023-06-21/the-rebuilt-heart-of-jason-isbell |
DENVER — Stranded at home amid pandemic lockdowns in spring 2020, Emma Warford stumbled down a social media rabbit hole in her quest to get in shape. Viral 28-day fitness challenges. YouTubers promising “hourglass abs.” Diet videos where slim-stomached influencers peddled calorie-tracking apps.
Soon, her calorie cutting became a compulsion. By seasons end, she began volleyball games benched, too feeble to start. A year into the pandemic, her heart rate slowed and she was rushed to the hospital.
Stories like Warford’s are why lawmakers in Colorado, California, Texas, New York and elsewhere are taking big, legislative swings at the eating disorder crisis. Warford, who’s now in recovery after two years of treatment, is among nearly 30 million Americans — about the population of Texas — who will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime. Every year over 10,000 die from an eating disorder, according to data cited by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.
Anorexia, one of the more common eating disorders, typically involves restrictive eating habits and extreme thinness. It can cause abnormally low blood pressure and organ damage. Bulimia, another eating disorder, includes eating large amounts of food followed by self-induced vomiting. Still, an eating disorder diagnosis does not necessarily mean someone is overweight or underweight.
Proposals across the U.S. include restricting social media algorithms from promoting potentially harmful content; prohibiting the sale of weight loss pills to minors; and adding eating disorder prevention into middle and high school curriculums.
The slew of legislation follows a spike in eating disorder cases as pandemic lockdowns pushed youth into long bouts of isolation. Hospital beds filled and waiting lists swelled as many struggled to find treatment for an illness that already had few care options. In Colorado, only one hospital was equipped to offer inpatient care for Warford.
Colorado’s bill creates the new state office that is broadly charged with, in part, closing gaps in treatments, offering research grants to further research, and working to educate students, teachers and parents. Bills in New York and Texas similarly seek to educate students on mental illnesses including eating disorders.
Katrina Velasquez, chief policy officer of the Eating Disorder Coalition, said these policies will give students the tools to catch signs of disordered eating habits in themselves or their peers early — potentially giving them a critical head start in treatment.
Colorado is also taking a swing at axing the the use of body mass index, or BMI, even though it remains the industry standard. The measurement is used often to determine the level of care required for those with eating disorders, but mental illness is not invariably linked to body weight or BMI, said Claire Engels, program coordinator for the Eating Disorder Foundation.
“Eating disorders are not necessarily about food. It’s about mental illness, anxiety, depression, trauma” and control, Engels said.
When Riley Judd was around 12, she saw a photo of herself on vacation in a bathing suit. Turning to her mom she said, “I look like a whale.” It was the first time she remembered a voice in her head ruthlessly comparing her to the beaming, thin celebrities on the cover of Seventeen Magazine and Girls’ Life. “If I lose all this weight, people will like me,” the voice muttered to her. She attempted suicide at age 13.
“It was an all consuming voice,” said Judd, now a legislative intern and student at the University of Denver.
California lawmakers are targeting social media with a bill prohibiting social media platforms from having algorithms or features that expose children to diet products or lead them to develop an eating disorder. Platforms that violate the legislation could be fined $250,000.
Another California bill would expand the list of approved facilities that can provide inpatient treatment to people with eating disorders — similar to a Texas proposal that would expand Medicaid coverage for mental health services, including eating disorders.
Texas state Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Republican, also introduced a bill to protect minors who use digital platforms.
Cathy Johnson, a school counselor of 24 years who testified on the Texas proposal, said “one of the biggest issues” she has seen from social media is an increase in eating disorders.
“We have kids having panic attacks in school because their anxiety is so high, they are comparing themselves, they think they are going to be like one of the influencers on TikTok,” Johnson said. ___ Associated Press reporters Sophie Austin contributed from California, Acacia Coronado contributed from Texas, and Michael Hill contributed from New York. Jesse Bedayn 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. | 2023-03-23T17:37:05+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/23/eating-disorders-mental-health-laws-anorexia-teens/def9058a-c99d-11ed-9cc5-a58a4f6d84cd_story.html |
R. Kelly jury to hear opening statements at trial in Chicago
Opening statements set for Wednesday give prosecutors and R. Kelly's attorneys their first chance to address jurors directly about charges that accuse the R&B singer of enticing of minors for sex, producing child pornography and rigging his 2008 pornography trial.
Both the prosecution and Kelly's legal team told the judge earlier in the week that they would like about an hour each to tell jurors about the kind of evidence they can expect to see and hear. The evidentiary stage of the federal trial is expected to last about a month.
Lawyers for two Kelly co-defendants will also address jurors before the government begins calling witnesses later Wednesday. Prosecutors haven't said who they will call first.
The jury was impaneled Tuesday night with prosecutors and defense attorneys arguing toward the end of the process about whether the government was improperly attempting to keep some Black people off the jury.
Kelly, who is Black, is accused of enticing minors for sex, of producing child pornography and of fixing his 2008 state child pornography trial at which he was acquitted.
As the sides began exercising peremptory challenges — in which they can remove a fixed number of potential jurors from the pool — Kelly attorney Jennifer Bonjean accused prosecutors of seeking to strike Black people from the jury "to deny Mr. Kelly a jury of his peers."
Prosecutors noted multiple African American people had already made it onto the jury before the defense objected, and they argued their reasons for wanting to strike some had nothing to do with race. In one case, they said an older man appeared to have a hard time staying awake.
Judge Harry Leinenweber partially agreed with the defense, disallowing prosecutors from striking three Black people from the jury, and restoring them. About half the 12 jurors impaneled were identified as Black by the judge, prosecutor and defense attorneys. Six alternates were also selected.
Some of the jurors selected had watched at least part of a six-part documentary series, "Surviving R. Kelly," about sex abuse allegations against the Grammy award-winning singer. Watching it wasn't an automatic disqualification as long as a would-be juror could assure Leinenweber they could still be impartial.
Among the 12 jurors selected was a retired real estate agent who had one son who was a prosecutor and another son who was a defense attorney. Another juror was a librarian.
Among those dismissed was a woman who said she had unfavorable views of police and judges and a man who said he didn't think the IRS should exist.
One central focus of the trial will be on whether Kelly threatened and paid off a girl with whom he allegedly videotaped himself having sex when he was about 30 and she was no older than 14. That's the allegation underpinning another of the charges against Kelly, conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Jurors in the 2008 child pornography trial acquitted Kelly, with some later explaining that they felt they had no choice because the girl did not testify. The woman, now in her 30s and referred to in court filings only as "Minor 1," will be the government's star witness.
When she testifies, prosecutors explained in court Monday that they won't use her real name and won't refer to her as Minor 1. Instead, they will call her by a single pseudonym, "Jane."
Kelly, 55, already has already been sentenced by a New York federal judge to a 30-year prison term for a 2021 conviction on charges that he used his fame to sexually abuse other young fans.
Kelly, who rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side to become a star singer, songwriter and producer, will be around 80 before qualifying for early release based on his sentence imposed in New York, which he is appealing.
Kelly faces four counts of enticement of minors for sex — one each for four other accusers. They, too, are expected to testify.
Two Kelly associates, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, are co-defendants at the Chicago trial. McDavid is accused of helping Kelly fix the 2008 trial, while Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, they also have denied wrongdoing.
Minor 1 is expected to testify that she was on video having sex with Kelly. The recording was at the heart of the monthlong 2008 trial and was played for jurors almost every day. Prosecutors say Kelly threatened and sought to pay off Minor 1 and her parents so they wouldn't testify in 2008. None of them did. | 2022-08-17T15:25:52+00:00 | wisn.com | https://www.wisn.com/article/r-kelly-trial-chicago-opening-statements/40919126 |
Milwaukee police: Friday shootings leave 1 dead, 2 wounded
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Police Department responded to at least three separate shootings Friday, June 17.
One person was killed, and two others were wounded in the shootings. Police are seeking unknown suspects.
36th and Brown
Around 6:20 a.m., a 38-year-old Milwaukee man was shot and killed. What led to the shooting is not yet known.
60th and Silver Spring
A 62-year-old Milwaukee man was walking when shots were fired and he was hit around 8:20 a.m. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
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12th and Hadley
Police said a 41-year-old Milwaukee man was driving when he was shot and hit around 12:15 p.m. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
MPD investigates
Friday's incidents followed a Thursday night shooting in which one person was killed and two were wounded near 16th and Burleigh.
Anyone with information regarding any of the shootings is asked to call MPD at 414-935-7360; to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 tips app. | 2022-06-18T01:40:14+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-shootings-friday-police-061722 |
Reinstates Share Re-purchase Program
ANDOVER, Mass., Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: BYRN) ("Byrna", "the Company", "we" or "us") today announced results for its fiscal third quarter ended August 31, 2022.
Third Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights and Updates:
- Revenues were $12.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 (Q3FY22), an increase of 43% compared to $8.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 (Q3FY2).
- Order backlog as of August 31, 2022, was $1.7 million.
- Gross margin was 55.4% for Q3FY22 bringing year-to-date gross margin to 55.0%.
- Net loss was $(1.5) million for Q3FY22 compared to a net loss of $(1.8) million for Q3FY21.
- Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA1 was a positive $0.3 million in Q3FY22 compared to a loss of $(0.8) million for Q3FY21.
- Cash on hand declined by $1.4 million to $24.5 million from $25.8 million at the end of Q2FY22.
- Inventory increased by $1.9 million to $15.4 from $13.5 million at the end of Q2FY22.
- Payables and accrued liabilities declined $1.9 million from the prior quarter-end to $6.8 million.
- Shareholders' Equity increased by $1.5 million during the quarter to $47.2 million.
- The Company has no current or long-term debt.
Third Quarter 2022 Business Overview
Revenues increased 43% to $12.4 million in Q3FY22 from $8.7 million in Q3FY21. Revenues were also up $0.8 million from the prior quarter (Q2FY2022), making Q3FY2022 the third consecutive quarter of revenue growth in 2022. We ended the quarter with $1.7 million of unshipped orders, all of which we expect will ship this quarter.
Byrna's net gross profit margin came in at 55.4% after $0.2 million of inventory reserves and another $0.2 million of unfavorable manufacturing variances incurred as a result of moving manufacturing operations and related minor but inevitable production start-up issues at our new greenfield facility in Ft. Wayne Indiana. The new facility is now running smoothly, and we are experiencing higher levels of both efficiency and quality as a result of the larger, more modern facility and the improved layout. Gross margin was also affected by a favorable variance of $0.1 million as a result of receiving our first raw materials shipments by ocean freight.
We expect to see further margin benefits as we transition more of our incoming shipments to ocean freight rather than the far more expensive airfreight shipments. We are now in a position to transition to ocean freight as we have built up adequate inventory levels to allow production and fulfillment to continue even though we will be receiving limited incoming shipments of component inventory for 60 days or more. The increase in levels of both finished goods and raw materials should significantly reduce the risk of any unforeseen supply chain disruptions.
Operating expenses were $8.3 million in Q3FY22, up 24% from $6.7 million for the same period last year but relatively flat in comparison with the past three fiscal quarters.
Financial Position as of August 31, 2022:
Cash at quarter-end Q3FY2022 declined by $1.4 million from quarter-end Q2FY2022 to $24.5 million. As discussed above, this decline can be attributed to the build-up in inventory in anticipation of the traditionally strong fourth quarter and the planned transition to ocean freight shipments. Total assets were also up $1.2 million from quarter-end Q2FY2022 to $58 million. At the same time, total liabilities were down $0.4 million with an increase in shareholders' equity of $1.6 million in comparison to quarter-end Q2FY2022. The Company currently has no current or long-term debt.
Inventory, at the end of Q3FY2022, was $15.4 million, including $7.7 million in raw materials (components) $1.0 million of WIP (work-in-progress), and $6.8 million in finished goods. Of this, $1.7 million was goods in transit. By comparison, at the end of the last fiscal year (Q4FY2021), we had only $6.6 million in total inventory, of which just $377K was in transit. The financing we completed last year has allowed us to substantially increase inventory levels which has in turn allowed us to start employing much less expensive ocean freight shipments. We expect to see a reduction in inventory levels by year-end as a result of the expected surge in seasonal holiday sales during the fourth quarter (Q4FY2022).
Commentary:
Bryan Ganz, CEO of Byrna stated, "By all measures, Q3FY2022, was a very positive quarter as the Company posted its third consecutive quarter of top line growth. Excluding Q2 of last year (Q2FY2021) when Byrna benefitted from an unexpected endorsement by Sean Hannity, which drove approximately $8.0 million in incremental sales, Q3FY2022 set a new sales record at $12.4 million. Moreover, it marked an important inflection point for the Company as Byrna was profitable on an adjusted EBITDA1 basis, benefitting from improved operating leverage with sales growing by 43% year-over-year while operating expenses grew by only 24%."
"Byrna expects to see further improvement in Q4FY2022 and has issued revenue guidance of $16.0 million to $18.0 million for the quarter. This would be a new record for the Company and, compared to the same period one year earlier, would represent 52% top line growth at the midpoint of the range. With operating expenses expected to be in line with the run rate of the last four quarters, we believe that Q4FY2022 should be solidly profitable."
"Despite our expectations for Q4FY2022, the economy is softening. Whether the Fed can engineer a "soft landing" or whether the economy dips into recession in 2023, we expect headwinds that will negatively impact demand for high price consumer products such as the Byrna SD™ launcher. As a result, we expect to see more temperate growth in 2023 with revenues growing by 10% - 30% rather than the 40% - 50% year-over-year growth we've seen in recent quarters.."
"We expect to see continued top line growth in 2023 even in this more difficult economic environment as Byrna continues to benefit from growing brand awareness and an expanded product line. We see evidence of increased consumer awareness in our web traffic numbers. For the first nine months of 2022, Byrna registered 5.7 million web sessions on Byrna.com and another 2.3 million on Amazon.com for a total of 8.0 million web sessions. This compares to 4.2 million total web sessions during the same period last year."
"In particular, in FY2023 we expect to see continued growth in Amazon sales as we are beginning to really gain momentum on the website. We also expect to see significant growth in sales of aerosol products, both Fox Labs and Byrna Bad Guy Repellent (BGR), as we have only had these products for sale during the second half of 2022. Moreover, these price point products may prove to be strong sellers during more difficult economic times. Similarly, we expect sales of the Mission launchers (TCR and M-4) to add to 2023 sales as they also were not available for the full year of 2022. Finally, we plan to introduce the 12-gauge ammunition and the Byrna LE launcher within the next several months and these products should have a material impact on 2023 sales."
"To address expectations of a more difficult economic environment in 2023, Byrna is in the process of trimming operating costs. Our goal is to reduce operating expenses by 5% year-over-year (excluding variable expenses such as credit card fees, Amazon fees and outbound freight which will all increase as sales increase). As part of this process, Byrna will be de-emphasizing less productive areas of the business. This past year, Byrna embarked on a number of initiatives designed to drive growth. Some, like the Fox Labs acquisition and the Mission Less-Lethal acquisition, have been extremely successful resulting in annual sales that will be a multiple of the purchase price with little incremental overhead."
"Others, like the Ballistipax™ acquisition, which formed the basis of our school safety program, have been less successful despite our best efforts and our sincere belief in the project, as high overhead costs and slow sales have resulted in poor ROI. Accordingly, Byrna will be shutting down its School Safety initiative, although we will continue to offer the Byrna Shield™ and Byrna Ballistipac™ online and through our dealer network. This should result in an annual savings of more than $500K. In conjunction with other planned cuts, Byrna intends to reduce its operating expense budget by more than $1.6 million in 2023."
"As we are now cashflow positive, from the perspective of adjusted EBITDA1, and have no acquisitions planned, we should have more than adequate cash on hand to fund operations. We do not believe that the market is valuing Byrna's stock appropriately and accordingly, we plan to continue our previously approved stock buyback program to purchase up to $5 million worth of the Company's outstanding common stock."
"In summary, we are extremely pleased with the progress that we have made this year in terms of both growing the top line and controlling expenses. We believe that we have reached that inflection point in terms of operating leverage where Byrna can be consistently cash flow positive while continuing to show strong year-over-year growth."
Conference Call
Byrna Technologies will host a conference call later this morning at 9:00 am ET to review these results. To listen to the call live, dial (201) 689-8354 or (877) 709-8150 and ask for the Byrna Technologies call. The question-and-answer portion of the call will be open to industry research analysts. To listen to a simultaneous webcast of the call, please visit ir.byrna.com ten minutes prior to the start of the call and click on the Investors section to download and install any necessary audio software. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call webcast will be archived on Byrna Technologies' website for thirty days.
About Byrna Technologies Inc.
Byrna is a technology company, specializing in the development, manufacture, and sale of innovative non-lethal personal security solutions. For more information on the Company, please visit the corporate website here or the Company's investor relations site here. The Company is the manufacturer of the Byrna® SD personal security device, a state-of-the-art handheld CO2 powered launcher designed to provide a non-lethal alternative to a firearm for the consumer, private security, and law enforcement markets. To purchase Byrna products, visit the Company's e-commerce store.
Forward Looking Information
Forward-looking statements in this news release include but are not limited to the Company's statements regarding expected revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022 and fiscal year 2023, the level of profitability expected for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022, the timing of shipping for unshipped orders, expected trends in freight costs and methods and any benefits to margins that may result from those trends, expected timing and amounts of component inventory shipments and the expected effect of increased levels of finished goods and raw materials, the expected strength of fourth quarter sales and the resulting impact on inventory levels, expected decreased demand for high priced consumer products, expected sales growth on the Amazon platform, expected sales growth for aerosol products and Mission launchers during fiscal year 2023, the expected timing and outcome of launching 12-gauge ammunition and the Byrna LE launcher and the impact of those introductions on 2023 sales, the amount of expected operating expense reductions for fiscal year 2023, plans to de-emphasize less productive areas of the business, the adequacy of cash on hand to fund operations, and the expected re-institution of the stock buyback program. Forward-looking statements are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking statements are based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates, and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied.
Any number of risk factors could affect our actual results and cause them to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, disappointing market responses to current or future products or services; delays in launching new products; prolonged, new, or exacerbated disruption of our supply chain; reduction in demand for high priced consumer products; the further or prolonged disruption of new product development; production or distribution or delays in entry or penetration of sales channels due to inventory constraints, competitive factors, pandemic-related factors, civil unrest, increased shipping costs or freight interruptions; prototype, parts and material shortages, particularly of parts sourced from limited or sole source providers; reduced air or ocean freight capacity; determinations by third party controlled distribution channels, including Amazon, not to carry or reduce inventory of our products; potential cancellations of existing or future orders including as a result of any fulfillment delays, introduction of competing products, negative publicity, or other factors; product design defects or recalls; litigation, enforcement proceedings or other regulatory or legal developments; changes in consumer or political sentiment affecting product demand; regulatory factors including the impact of commerce and trade laws and regulations; import-export related matters or sanctions or embargos that could affect the Company's supply chain or markets; delays in planned operations related to licensing, registration or permit requirements; and future restrictions on the Company's cash resources, increased costs and other events that could potentially reduce demand for the Company's products or result in order cancellations. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive; accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Investors should carefully consider these and other relevant factors, including those risk factors in Part I, Item 1A, ("Risk Factors") in our most recent Form 10-K, should understand it is impossible to predict or identify all such factors or risks, should not consider the foregoing list, or the risks identified in our SEC filings, to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties, and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to providing financial measurements based on generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), we provide the following additional financial metrics that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP (non-GAAP): adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP adjusted net loss, and non-GAAP adjusted net loss per share. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, to understand and compare operating results across accounting periods, for financial and operational decision making, for planning and forecasting purposes and to evaluate our financial performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures help us to identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of certain expenses that we exclude in the calculations of the non-GAAP financial measures.
Accordingly, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect our ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful comparisons and analysis of trends in the business and provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects.
These non-GAAP financial measures do not replace the presentation of our GAAP financial results and should only be used as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, our financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. There are limitations in the use of non-GAAP measures, because they do not include all the expenses that must be included under GAAP and because they involve the exercise of judgment concerning exclusions of items from the comparable non-GAAP financial measure. In addition, other companies may use other non-GAAP measures to evaluate their performance, or may calculate non-GAAP measures differently, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net (loss) income as reported in our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income excluding the impact of (i) depreciation and amortization; (ii) income tax provision (benefit); (iii) interest income (expense); (iv) stock-based compensation expense; and (v) other expenses. Our Adjusted EBITDA measure eliminates potential differences in performance caused by variations in capital structures (affecting finance costs), tax positions, the cost and age of tangible assets (affecting relative depreciation expense) and the extent to which intangible assets are identifiable (affecting relative amortization expense). We also exclude certain one-time and non-cash costs. Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net (loss) income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is as follows (in thousands):
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SOURCE Byrna Technologies Inc. | 2022-10-05T12:44:33+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/10/05/byrna-technologies-reports-third-quarter-2022-financial-results-reaffirms-full-year-guidance-48-50-million/ |
MONDAY, 9/12/2022, 5:12 p.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has given an update regarding the accident close to the Leo Frigo Bridge in the city of Green Bay.
According to WisDOT, the crash is cleared and all lanes of traffic are reopened to motorists.
Brown County deputies were on the scene for around one hour to clear the incident.
No further details were provided.
NOW: Crash on I-43 near Leo Frigo Bridge causing massive delays
MONDAY, 9/12/2022, 4:21 p.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) reports a crash on I-43 for traffic heading south in Brown County.
According to WisDOT, the vehicle crash is at Atkinson Drive on I-43 southbound on the Leo Frigo Bridge.
As a result, all lanes are blocked.
There is no information regarding what caused the crash or if there are any injuries but the Brown County Sheriff’s Office is on the scene handling the incident.
The crash will take around one hour to clear and Local 5 News will update this if any further details emerge. | 2022-09-12T23:18:23+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/now-crash-on-i-43-near-leo-frigo-bridge-causing-massive-delays/ |
Armed with signs that read “Stop the Harrell Horror Show” and “Sweeps Kill,” about a dozen Stop The Sweeps protesters disrupted the Mayor’s Wednesday morning press conference, wherein he basically reiterated his Downtown Activation Plan. He struggled to ignore his detractors, breaking from his prepared remarks several times to offer clumsy support, or to mock and scold them.
While Harrell more or less dismissed the advocates, the long and contentious conversation about limiting sweeps may soon return to City Hall. That morning, a different group called the Services Not Sweeps Coalition proposed a ban on sweeps during extreme weather events and in the winter. If Harrell wants to “have a conversation” with anti-sweep advocates when he’s not trying to soak in the limelight, there’s his conversation. He did not respond to my request for comment.
wild how much 10 people can shake the Mayor pic.twitter.com/yzLBnfRjoq
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) June 28, 2023
Harrell’s Hissy Fit
Harrell made it about one minute into his conference before the small group started to shout, in a call and response format, “no housing, no sweeps.”
“I figured that was coming,” he said, standing in the Westlake Center, a popular location for protests. “I’ll speak over that.”
He chanted two rounds of “no sweeps” along with the protesters before saying that his administration does not sweep. Apparently, he does not count the more than 900 encampment removals he authorized in 2022, hundreds of which were conducted without notice.
He got a few more sentences out before he caved to the distraction and approached the protesters. He asked to have a “conversation,” but the advocates did not let up.
“We have tried having conversations, but he's been silent,” one Stop The Sweeps organizer told The Stranger. “But now that we are ruining his little party here he says he wants to talk? That's a lie.”
Harrell returned to his podium and said, “We’ve outnumbered them, at least.” His us-versus-them comment drew a strict boundary in his metaphorical #OneSeattle mantra. His crowd clapped for him. Five cops kept a close eye on the protesters during the event and two of them stood basically on top of the advocates.
Moments later, he snapped back into supportive mode and said that the chanting was “music” to his ears because it is “activation.”
Unable to block out the haters, Harrell mocked Stop The Sweeps a few more times. He shouted their chants back at them and bragged that his microphone made him–already the most powerful man in Seattle–louder than the advocates. The Harrell hype men tended to the Mayor’s insecurities with more applause.
Still bothered, he accused anti-sweep advocates of lying about him not leading with compassion.
“If compassion is raiding, displacing, and throwing away people's personal belongings, then I obviously need a different dictionary,” one protester told The Stranger. The City does not have enough shelter to remove encampments without pushing unhoused people from one corner to another. For reference, on the day of the press conference, the City’s HOPE team had six “enhanced” shelter beds, five of which were for men only. There were no available tiny shelters in the entire City that day.
Services Not Sweeps
Broadly, anti-sweeps advocates believe that the City should not take people from their homes, however makeshift, without giving them a better place to go. In an effort to chip away at the City’s ability to remove encampments, the newly formed Services Not Sweeps Coalition proposed a ban on sweeps in extreme weather events and in the winter.
The City already fought over the definition of “winter” while amending the winter eviction moratorium in 2020. They landed on the period between the first day of December to the first day of March. Services Not Sweeps Coalition did not describe the conditions that should qualify as extreme weather, but the King County Regional Homelessness Authority has opened extreme weather shelters for temperatures below 30 degrees or above 80 and in instances of poor air quality. In 2022, the authority opened these shelters more than 50 times.
Obviously the City should get as many people as possible inside during those extreme weather events, but a sweep without shelter referrals–which describes so many of the sweeps happening in our city right now–does nothing but destabilize unhoused people.
“Too many of my friends have died over the last decade from hypothermia after being swept from their previously safe locations. This City does not have shelter capacity to hold each and every person currently living outdoors, and we cannot in good conscience continue sweeps during severe weather knowing that we are taking away a person's best chance of survival,” said Dee Powers, the program coordinator at Be:Seattle.
The hope is that if the City stops siccing the Parks Department on encampments, then they could spend more money and energy providing services such as trash collection and hygiene stations, and building more non-congregate shelter and affordable housing.
Does the Proposal Have a Shot?
There’s no official draft legislation to read, so council members are not inclined to pick a side on this issue.
Council Member Andrew Lewis also seemed open to hearing the advocates out about their proposed ban. However, he expressed frustration about focusing on how to sweep instead of providing services to sanctioned encampments and building more shelter and housing. He must not have read the press release, because the coalition wants to limit sweeps to focus on those things exactly.
Council Member Dan Strauss, a pariah to many anti-sweeps advocates, said “all ideas are good,” but he would have to read the draft first. He is especially concerned about defining a sweep. To him, a removal becomes a sweep when the City removes people without shelter referrals or takes someone’s belongings without asking.
The advocates have not worked out an exact definition of a sweep, but they more or less agree with the ACLU’s definition: “the forced disbanding of encampments on public property and the removal of both unhoused people and their property from that area.”
Defining a sweep will likely be the central struggle for the council. Even if the coalition stakes out their starting position as the ACLU’s definition, then council members will likely propose carve-outs—some for reasonable things like when a tent is in the middle of the road, and some that try to undermine the legislation altogether.
It is unclear if Harrell will take the proposal seriously, given the fact that he denies that the City sweeps at all. Besides, in a final dig at the advocates, he fell back on his life-long Seattleite schtick, suggesting that they do not know what is best for the city because they did not grow up with him. But that’s hardly their fault–all of them are at least 30 years younger than him. | 2023-06-29T23:21:50+00:00 | thestranger.com | https://www.thestranger.com/news/2023/06/29/79057318/stop-the-sweeps-protesters-drown-out-the-mayors-boring-downtown-press-conference |
Sleep apnea device recall drags on, stoking anger from users
WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive recall of millions of sleep apnea machines has stoked anger and frustration among patients, and U.S. officials are weighing unprecedented legal action to speed a replacement effort that is set to drag into next year.
Sound-dampening foam in the pressurized breathing machines can break down over time, leading users to potentially inhale tiny black particles or hazardous chemicals while they sleep, manufacturer Philips warned in June 2021.
Philips initially estimated it could repair or replace the units within a year. But with the recall expanding to more than 5 million devices worldwide, the Dutch company now says the effort will stretch into 2023.
That’s left many patients to choose between using a potentially harmful device or trying risky remedies, including removing the foam themselves, buying second-hand machines online or simply going without the therapy.
The devices are called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines. They force air through a mask to keep passageways open during sleep.
Untreated sleep apnea can cause people to stop breathing hundreds of times per night, leading to dangerous drowsiness and increased heart attack risk. The problem is more common in men than women, with estimates ranging from 10% to 30% of adults affected.
Most patients are better off using a recalled device because the risks of untreated sleep apnea still outweigh the potential harms of the disintegrating foam, physicians say. But doctors have been hard pressed to help patients find new machines, which generally cost between $500 and $1,000, and were already in short supply due to supply chain problems.
“What happened is the company just said, ‘Talk to your doctor.’ But doctors can’t manufacture new machines out of the blue,” said Dr. John Saito, a respiratory specialist near Los Angeles.
Risks from the foam include headache, asthma, allergic reactions and cancer-causing effects on internal organs, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Last March, the FDA took the rare step of ordering Philips to expand its communication effort, including “clearer information about the health risks of its products.” Regulators estimated then that only half of U.S. consumers affected had registered with the company.
The agency hadn’t issued such an order in decades.
In a statement, Philips said ongoing testing on the recalled devices is “encouraging” and shows low levels of particles and chemical byproducts emitted by its leading brand of machine. Philips said its initial communication about the dangers posed by the foam was “a worst-case scenario for the possible health risks.” The deterioration appears to worsen with unauthorized cleaning methods, the company noted.
The FDA has received more than 70,000 reports of problems attributed to the devices, including pneumonia, infection, headache and cancer. Such reports aren’t independently confirmed and can’t prove a causal connection. They can be filed by manufacturers, patients, physicians or attorneys.
Jeffrey Reed, of Marysville, Ohio, had been using his Philips machine for about a year when he began seeing black specks in the tubing and mask. His equipment supplier said the debris was caused by improper cleaning, so he continued using it.
Over the next seven years, Reed says he experienced persistent sinus infections, including two bouts of pneumonia, that didn’t resolve with antibiotics. After hearing about the recall, he suspected the foam particles might be playing a role.
“Once I got off their machine, all of that cleared right up,” said Reed, 62, who obtained a competitor’s device after several months. Like other users, Reed can’t definitively prove his problems were caused by Philips’ device.
More than 340 personal injury lawsuits against Philips have been consolidated in a Pennsylvania federal court, and thousands more are expected in coming months. Reed isn’t part of the litigation.
Like the vast majority of U.S. CPAP users, Reed got his device through a medical equipment supplier contracted by his insurer. The company went out of business before the recall, and he never heard from them about a replacement.
Even in normal circumstances, those companies typically don’t track patients long term.
“After a couple years, you’re just forgotten in the system,” said Ismael Cordero, a biomedical engineer and CPAP user. “I stopped hearing from my supplier about three years after I got my machine.”
Cordero learned that his Philips machine had been recalled through his work at ECRI, a nonprofit that reviews medical device safety.
In May, the FDA put Philips on notice that it was considering a second order that would force the company to improve and accelerate its repair-and-replace program.
Medical device companies typically conduct recalls voluntarily, and former FDA officials say the agency has never actually used its authority to force additional steps.
“The FDA shares the frustrations expressed by patients who are awaiting a resolution for this recall,” the agency said in a statement. Philips still hasn’t provided “all information we requested to evaluate the risks from the chemicals released from the foam.”
Philips disclosed earlier this year that it received a Department of Justice subpoena over the recall. The agency hasn’t publicly commented on the matter, per federal rules.
But an FDA inspection of Philips’ Pennsylvania offices uncovered a spate of red flags last fall, including emails suggesting the company was warned of the problem six years before the recall. In an October 2015 email, one customer appeared to warn Philips that the polyester polyurethane foam could degrade, according to FDA.
Between 2016 and early 2021, FDA found 14 instances where Philips was made aware of the issue or was analyzing the problem internally. “No further design change, corrective action or field correction was conducted,” the FDA inspectors repeatedly note.
In a May 2018 email, foam supplier William T. Burnett wrote to Philips in an email: “We would not recommend use of polyester foam in such an environment. ... It will eventually decompose to a sticky powder,” according to an affidavit filed as part of a lawsuit over the foam.
Since the recall, Philips has been using a new type of foam made from silicone to refurbish machines.
But FDA alerted consumers last November that the new material had failed one safety test. And regulators asked the company to perform more testing to clarify any health risks with both the new foam and the recalled material. Philips says independent testing has not identified any safety issues.
The company says it has replaced or repaired about 69% of recalled devices globally and aims to ship 90% of those requested by year’s end. On average, the company produces about 1 million sleep devices annually.
“We have scaled up by more than a factor of three, but inevitably it still takes time to remediate 5.5 million devices globally,” the company said. About half are in the U.S.
Jeffrey Reed is among those still waiting.
Reed registered for a replacement device in June 2021 — within a week of the recall. This month, he received an email from Philips indicating that his device has been discontinued and isn’t available for immediate replacement. Instead, the company offered him $50 to return the machine or an option of providing additional information to get a newer one.
“For them to wait until October to tell me that my machine is too old, when they’ve known exactly what device I have since the day I registered — that’s frustrating,” Reed said. “It’s disappointing that a provider of life-saving equipment treats people like this.”
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Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-25T13:52:44+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/2022/10/25/sleep-apnea-device-recall-drags-stoking-anger-users/ |
(NEXSTAR) – The holidays may be months away, but holiday peak pricing is already going into effect at the United States Postal Service.
“Peak-season pricing” starts Sunday, Oct. 2 and lasts through Jan. 22, 2023, USPS says.
Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select and Retail Ground prices are all affected, though international products are not.
The change in price depends on the weight of the parcel and the distance it’s being shipped. Some changes are minor — as low as 25 cents — while others are substantial. The biggest price jump is $6.50 for shipping heavier, commercial Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express packages over long distances. (See a product-by-product breakdown from USPS.)
Businesses that use USPS to ship products, like small business owners on Etsy, for example, could raise shipping and handling fees to cover the peak pricing changes.
USPS isn’t the only one hiking shipping prices this fall and winter. FedEx, UPS and Amazon have all announced similar surcharges.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is also planning to request another permanent stamp price hike in January, the Associated Press reports. The price increases are necessary as inflation is expected to add $1 billion to USPS’ budget, DeJoy said.
The price of Forever stamps just went up over the summer from 58 cents to 60 cents. Less than a year ago, the stamps cost 55 cents.
In another effort to save money, the Postal Service also slowed delivery times earlier this year. | 2022-10-01T16:34:04+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/usps-price-hike-takes-effect-this-month/ |
Trader Joe's has recalled its frozen falafel for potentially having rocks in it, after it recalled two of its cookie products for the same reason recently.
The company's supplier informed them of the concern, and Trader Joe's said in a statement Friday that "all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed."
Customers who purchased the product should discard it or return it to a Trader Joe's location for a full refund, the company said.
The falafel, which is fully cooked and frozen, has the SKU number 93935 and is sold in Washington, D.C., and 34 states.
Last Friday, Trader Joe's said rocks could also possibly be found in its Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-07-28T23:08:04+00:00 | lakeshorepublicmedia.org | https://www.lakeshorepublicmedia.org/npr-news/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it |
How an undercover grand knighthawk foiled a murder plot concocted by KKK law enforcement members
Posted/updated on: April 27, 2023 at 6:40 pm(NEW YORK) -- In 2015, three men, all current or former Florida correctional officers, were arrested after investigators revealed they were Ku Klux Klan members plotting to kill a Black former inmate.
Now, "Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK," a new documentary and first-time collaboration between ABC News and The Associated Press takes viewers inside one of America's most sinister secret societies and the covert FBI operation to stop a modern-day lynching.
When the state of Florida announced the arrests of Thomas Driver, Charles Newcomb, and David Moran, it caught the eye of Associated Press journalist Jason Dearen.
"I just started looking into it and I kind of became obsessed with it."
"Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK" is now streaming on Hulu.
Dearen wrote a series of articles about the case, piecing together information from court documents and interviews, but said, "there were just a lot of questions, a lot more questions than answers."
He knew that a confidential informant who infiltrated the klan had exposed the murder plot and led to the arrests, but he didn't know much else about this person.
"It was only after I wrote the second article in my series that I received an email and my heart stopped. The subject was, 'This is Joseph Moore.'"
In 2013, the FBI asked Joe Moore, a former Army sniper, to go undercover inside a local klan organization.
"We had been receiving a series of directives going back to 2006 concerning the threat from domestic terrorism extremism groups," said Chris Graham, the FBI Supervisory Special Agent in Jacksonville, Florida during Moore's recruitment. "The KKK has the history, the image, so to speak. They're capable and dangerous."
Moore said his mission was to "go inside the KKK to identify people that are involved and to forewarn the FBI of any illegal activities."
In order to join the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK (TAKKKK), he embellished his military accolades and signed a blood oath. "They tell you that if you violate or disclose the secrets of the KKK, you'll pay with your blood."
Moore, 51, during an extensive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, revealed that he fears for his family's safety since his undercover operation.
According to Moore, even though his family was relocated and given new identities by the FBI, they have received threats from KKK members and supporters. He says he is coming forward now in an effort to protect them.
"If something were to happen to me, I need the world to know the truth," Moore said.
Produced by George Stephanopoulos Productions for ABC News Studios, the documentary features rarely-heard undercover audio and video from the investigation, firsthand accounts from FBI agents and the intended victim's mother, and intimate access and interviews with undercover source, Moore.
Moore spent his first year inside the TAKKKK gathering intelligence and learning the intricacies of the klan. Offering ABC News a look at confidential klan documents, Moore explained that the klan has an extensive language to weed out potential intruders.
"They use acronyms in order to ensure that impostors were not infiltrating the meeting or the klan. They would use terms like 'A.Y.A.K..' 'Are you a klansman?' And the proper response if you are a Klansman is, 'A.K.I.A..' 'A klansman I am.' If you don't respond with 'A.K.I.A.,' they know you're not a Klansman."
After rising through the ranks, thanks to his military background, Moore became the Grand Knighthawk for the Florida and Georgia realm of the TAKKKK, expanding his purview and connecting him with high-ranking klan leaders across the country.
The role made him the top security officer of the region's klan, among other, more nefarious, responsibilities.
"The Grand Knighthawk has been sort of a hitman for the KKK," said Moore. "I embraced the fact that the KKK might call upon me for violence."
Dearen's investigation into the organization found that multiple members had violent pasts. "The Klan tries to present a public face of being kind of a social club, but behind the scenes, oftentimes they're plotting violence," he said.
The news that Driver, Newcomb, and Moran were members of a white supremacist organization while working as correctional officers, may have surprised some, but according to Dearen, Florida law enforcement moonlighting as klansmen was nothing new.
Over the past decade alone, investigators discovered klan members working in local, county and state law enforcement agencies in Florida.
"These groups are trying to recruit law enforcement," said Greg Ehrie, the former FBI Section Chief of Domestic Terrorism Operations. "They're armed. They've had training. They have access to confidential information."
The extremist group's continued presence in Florida law enforcement agencies is in keeping with state history, Dearen said. Klan members ran towns and were sheriffs less than 100 years ago in Florida.
"You're not gonna surprise no Black person by telling them the klan is working in prisons, not southern Black people," said Antwan Williams, a former inmate of the Florida Department of Corrections.
Driver, Newcomb, and Moran all, at one time, worked at Florida's Reception and Medical Center, a state prison and hospital in Lake Butler.
It was at this correctional facility that Thomas Driver got into an altercation with the intended victim, Warren Williams.
Williams, who has a history of mental health issues, was serving time at the facility after hitting a police officer during a mental health episode. During their fight, Williams bit Driver.
According to Williams' mother, Latonya Crowley, Williams was beaten so badly by Driver that he was sent to the hospital.
Warren Williams grew up in North Florida, in a town called Palatka, on the St. John's River. Crowley said that as a child, Williams enjoyed spending time outdoors, especially fishing.
Williams spent a year in prison and came home to his mother's house, the fight with Driver still heavy on his mind.
"He said, 'Momma, ain't nobody will ever hear my story,'" Crowley said. "I was like, 'Okay, well, sit down and tell me your story.'"
The fight was still on Driver's mind, too. He had to undergo routine testing for communicable diseases, like HIV and Hep-C, after Williams' bite.
"Because of the worry over whether or not he picked up one of these diseases, he said it had caused his family immeasurable stress and that he just wanted this guy assassinated," Dearen said.
In December 2014, at a cross burning in rural North Florida, the three men approached Moore with a request. Driver told Moore about his fight with Williams and handed him a piece of paper with Williams' information on it.
"I asked, 'What do you want to do?' Moore said. "'Do you want him six feet under?' And they said, Yes.'"
Up until that moment, Moore's time undercover had been largely uneventful, but that night would change everything.
After their conversation, Moore said he immediately called his FBI handlers to warn them about the potential murder plot.
"Everything about that meeting was chilling," said Graham. "It's not illegal to engage in hateful speech. What is illegal is to go from hateful speech into the planning of a criminal act, a violent act."
"The KKK wanted to catch my son, cut him up in pieces on the creek, and leave him there," Crowley said.
"It was obvious that they did harbor racial animosity toward the victim," said Paul Brown, a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent. "There was absolute intent to see this carried out."
Realizing the severity of the threat, the FBI formulated a plan, getting Moore to continue discussing the would-be murder with the klan members, this time wearing a wire.
"He's obviously interacting with and around people that have expressed a clear intent to commit murder," Brown said. "If it came out that Joe was cooperating and working with the FBI, we feared his life could very well be in danger."
Over the next several months, Joe Moore would find himself pushed to the edge - balancing two lives and desperately racing to stop this murder.
"I've asked myself time and time again if knowing then what I know now, would I have done it again?" Moore said. "Ultimately I know I would say yes."
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-28T01:36:37+00:00 | ktbb.com | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1221849 |
Cincinnati set itself up to become the first Group of Five team to make the College Football Playoff by winning at Notre Dame.
While the Bearcats fulfilled their playoff aspirations last year — they had to win every regular-season game to even be in consideration for the four-team CFP — the games most G5 and Football Championship Subdivision schools play against the Power Five teams are about the paycheck they get to help finance their programs.
“The obvious reason is financially. It’s a good payday,” said Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Stockstill, whose Blue Raiders have played 38 games against current P5 teams over the past 16 seasons, first in the Sun Belt and now Conference USA.
But with the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten both set to expand to at least 16 teams over the next few seasons, and the other Power Five leagues going through their own transitions that include the addition of some current G5 teams, there could be fewer openings for such games.
“I’d hate for those to go away because I think to keep college football going and keep it where it is … that level’s important too,” said Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi, whose team will play FCS Rhode Island, his alma mater. “It may go away. I think it depends on how many teams are in these conferences. … That’s way down the road, I guess. I don’t know how far down the road.”
Of the 60 teams now in the Group of Five leagues — American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt — only FIU and North Texas aren’t scheduled to play a Power Five team this season, while 26 of them will play multiple P5 opponents. MAC team Kent State is the only one with three, making trips to Washington, Oklahoma and defending national champion Georgia.
There are 85 scheduled P5 vs. G5 games this season, five more than last year but still fewer than the 92 played in 2019. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC played conference-only schedules in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ACC and Big 12 limited to one non-league game.
The SEC and Big Ten could go from eight to nine conference games when they get their new teams. Oklahoma and Texas will be in the SEC no later than the 2025 season, with Pac-12 teams UCLA and Southern California set to join the Big Ten in 2024.
Even with two departures, the Big 12 will grow with the additions next summer of independent BYU, along with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF from the American.
The Big 12 has played a round-robin schedule as a 10-team league, but might cut from nine to eight conference games, as could the revised Pac-12, with those extra spots potentially used for other P5 games. The ACC, which among major conferences plays the highest percentage of non-league P5 games and lowest percentage of G5 opponents, plans to maintain its eight-game conference slate through at least 2026.
Middle Tennessee, which has played as many as three SEC teams in the same season, goes to Miami on Sept. 24.
“I haven’t seen anybody say they’re going to play 12 conference games. … So there’s three, there’s four slots available that we can still have the opportunity to play those Power Five schools,” said Stockstill, who still relishes the opportunity for his guys to show they can compete against the “so-called best players” in those games.
Miami’s opener with new coach Mario Cristobal is against instate FCS school Bethune-Cookman. The Hurricanes also play at SEC team Texas A&M between home games against G5s Southern Miss and Middle Tennessee before ACC play.
“I like to show a tremendous amount of respect to Group of Five teams too because there’s been some great ones. Everything is cyclical, right? And you never know when a team is going to hit its stride,” Cristobal said. “So there’s a lot of quality football teams out there that may not be Power Five teams. And I think those should be considered (when scheduling), as well as a big-stage opportunity.”
An undefeated record alone wouldn’t been enough for Cincinnati to make the playoff. But the Bearcats had the opportunity to play Notre Dame for the first time since 1900, and Big Ten team Indiana — and beat both on the road.
Only 15 of the 131 FBS teams won’t play an FCS team this season. The SEC is the only P5 league with all of its teams playing at least one G5 school and a game against a lower-division FCS team.
Bethune-Cookman is one of five SWAC teams that will play a P5 team, but Commissioner Charles McClelland said his growing league of historically black colleges and universities doesn’t necessarily have to play those step-up games because of corporate and media partners that have improved the league’s financial position.
“Now, there’s a difference in needing to play and wanting to play,” McClelland said. “I am not concerned about them wanting to play. I just want to make sure that from a revenue perspective our schools don’t need to play.”
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AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Steve Reed and John Zenor contributed to this report.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | 2022-08-15T03:56:40+00:00 | cbs4indy.com | https://cbs4indy.com/sports/ap-sports/g5-teams-could-have-fewer-chances-vs-p5-after-realignment/ |
SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. , Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelivation Technologies, a medical device company with a cutting-edge spinal implant product portfolio, announced today that they will be highlighting new products in their portfolio during the NASS 37th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
President Amit Sinha remarked, "We are thrilled to showcase our Golden Isles Pedicle Screw™ platform, which includes MIS and cannulated and non- cannulated open screw options. Due to the unique modularity and exceptional strength of the system, Intelivation is able to bring clinically differentiating instrumentation to surgeons that is unsurpassed on the market today." Founder and CEO Rob Anderson added, "In addition to the Golden Isles™ Pedicle Screw System, we are looking forward to exhibiting the Advantage family of cervical and lumbar interbody cages at our booth. NASS will be an ideal time to introduce both surgeons and distributors alike to our innovative product offering and the extensive pipeline of solutions we are bringing to market."
Intelivation Technologies, dedicated to research and development, is focused on bringing game-changing products to market that make patients' lives better.
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SOURCE Intelivation Technologies | 2022-10-06T15:40:10+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/10/06/intelivation-technologies-showcase-new-products-nass-37th-annual-meeting/ |
JERICHO, N.Y., June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESQ) ("Company"), the financial holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association ("Esquire"), today announced that the Company has signed an exclusive agreement with B.E. Blank & Company ("BEB"), a leading investment firm in the litigation finance market, establishing a partnership to provide financing to commercial law firms throughout the United States. Through this partnership, the Company will market Esquire's and BEB's products and services to existing and prospective law firms on a nationwide basis by leveraging Esquire's proprietary CRM platform and digital marketing technology stack. In return, the Company will receive an economic interest with respect to the partnership equal to 24.9% of the performance allocation BEB receives from the partnership.
"Ben Blank and his team are leaders in the litigation finance market, providing flexible, long-term focused growth capital financing to law firms on a national basis," stated Andrew C. Sagliocca, the Company's CEO and President. "We believe this exclusive partnership will be transformational in the litigation market, coupling our customer centric, tech-forward litigation banking platform with BEB's scalable growth capital finance platform. This partnership will allow law firms to pursue financing with industry leading terms delivered seamlessly through our banking technology."
BEB, together with its affiliated investment vehicles, is an independent investment firm specializing in credit investments in the litigation industry with its own sources of capital and investment committee. The Company will share in the economic upside of this partnership without taking any direct credit risk with respect to those investments.
"Esquire has been an industry leader and brand name in the litigation market for well over a decade," stated Benjamin E. Blank, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of BEB. "BEB's and Esquire's mission statements and underwriting are uniquely aligned, providing tailored solutions for law firms using technology as a driver for customer success and growth."
Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Jericho, New York, with one branch office in Jericho, New York and an administrative office in Boca Raton, Florida. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Esquire Bank, National Association, is a full-service commercial bank dedicated to serving the financial needs of the legal industry and small businesses nationally, as well as commercial and retail customers in the New York metropolitan area. The bank offers tailored products and solutions to the legal community and their clients as well as dynamic and flexible payment processing solutions to small business owners. For more information, visit www.esquirebank.com.
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SOURCE Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. | 2022-06-02T13:03:57+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/06/02/esquire-financial-holdings-be-blank-amp-company-announce-exclusive-partnership-commercial-law-firm-financing/ |
CALGARY, AB, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) (TSX: CP) ("CP") announced today the ratification of a new collective agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen representing hundreds of CP and Kansas City Southern ("KCS") locomotive engineers and trainmen in U.S. Midwest locations, which will take effect upon the consummation of the proposed CP-KCS combination, which remains subject to receipt of regulatory approval by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board ("STB").
The new collective agreement includes CP employees on the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern ("DM&E") South territory in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota, as well as KCS employees in Kansas and Missouri. This agreement, ratified by BLET members this month, provides higher pay and scheduled time off compared to national agreements on a majority of the other Class 1 railways.
The BLET agreement and an earlier collective agreement with SMART-TD representing KCS conductors in Kansas and Missouri, ratified last year, (which will also take effect following the STB approval of the CP-KCS combination), further demonstrates CP's commitment to reaching new collective agreements that will enable a future CPKC to enhance service across the combined railroad's vital north-south corridor, increase competition and allow for future growth.
"These hourly agreements improve pay and quality of life for our employees by providing more scheduled time off, something national agreements typically don't, while creating the operational flexibility needed to deliver better service to our customers," said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. "These innovative agreements will create predictable schedules for conductors and engineers and empower us to attract and retain the most talented railroaders in the industry as we successfully serve our customers with, pending regulatory approval, a combined CPKC connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico."
CP's proposed combination with KCS remains subject to regulatory approval by the STB. An STB decision is expected in first quarter of 2023.
This news release contains certain forward looking statements and forward looking information (collectively, "FLI") to provide CP shareholders and potential investors with information about CP, KCS and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, which FLI may not be appropriate for other purposes. FLI is typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "intend", "will", "target", "believe", "likely" and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be FLI.
Although we believe that FLI is reasonable based on the information available today and processes used to prepare it, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and you are cautioned against placing undue reliance on FLI. By its nature, FLI involves a variety of assumptions, which are based upon factors that may be difficult to predict and that may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by FLI, including, but not limited to, the following: the approval of the CP-KCS transaction by the United States Surface Transportation Board, the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS transaction, and the timing thereof; the anticipated labour synergies of the CP-KCS transaction and timing thereof, the success of integration plans; the focus of management time and attention on the CP-KCS transaction and other disruptions arising from the CP-KCS transaction; changes in business strategy and strategic opportunities; estimated future dividends; financial strength and flexibility; debt and equity market conditions, including the ability to access capital markets on favourable terms or at all; cost of debt and equity capital; the ability of management of CP, its subsidiaries and affiliates to execute key priorities, including those in connection with the CP-KCS transaction; general Canadian, U.S., Mexican and global social, economic, political, credit and business conditions; risks associated with agricultural production such as weather conditions and insect populations; the availability and price of energy commodities; the effects of competition and pricing pressures, including competition from other rail carriers, trucking companies and maritime shippers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; North American and global economic growth; industry capacity; shifts in market demand; changes in commodity prices and commodity demand; uncertainty surrounding timing and volumes of commodities being shipped; inflation; geopolitical instability; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, including regulation of rates; changes in taxes and tax rates; potential increases in maintenance and operating costs; changes in fuel prices; disruption in fuel supplies; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; compliance with environmental regulations; labour disputes; changes in labour costs and labour difficulties; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; transportation of dangerous goods; timing of completion of capital and maintenance projects; sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out business plans; services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations; currency and interest rate fluctuations; exchange rates; effects of changes in market conditions and discount rates on the financial position of pension plans and investments; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; the effects of current and future multinational trade agreements on the level of trade among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; climate change and the market and regulatory responses to climate change; ability to achieve commitments and aspirations relating to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other climate-related objectives; anticipated in-service dates; success of hedging activities; operational performance and reliability; customer and other stakeholder approvals and support; regulatory and legislative decisions and actions; the adverse impact of any termination or revocation by the Mexican government of Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.'s Concession; public opinion; various events that could disrupt operations, including severe weather events, such as droughts, floods, avalanches and earthquakes, and cybersecurity attacks, as well as security threats and governmental response to them, and technological changes; acts of terrorism, war or other acts of violence or crime or risk of such activities; insurance coverage limitations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions, including the availability of short and long-term financing; and the pandemic created by the outbreak of COVID-19 and its variants, and resulting effects on economic conditions, the demand environment for logistics requirements and energy prices, restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions, and disruptions to global supply chains.
We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and is made as of the date hereof. Additional information about these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties can be found in reports and filings by CP with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators, including any prospectus, material change report, management information circular or registration statement that have been or will be filed in connection with the transaction. Reference should be made to "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward Looking Statements" in CP's annual and interim reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of these factors, as well as other factors, the impact of any one assumption, risk or uncertainty on FLI cannot be determined with certainty.
Except to the extent required by law, we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any FLI, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All FLI in this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by these cautionary statements.
Canadian Pacific is a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States with direct links to major ports on the west and east coasts. CP provides North American customers a competitive rail service with access to key markets in every corner of the globe. CP is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpr.ca to see the rail advantages of CP. CP-IR
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SOURCE Canadian Pacific | 2023-03-07T19:37:20+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2023/03/07/cp-announces-ratification-new-collective-agreement-with-blet-us-midwest/ |
UVA: Here are the victims of the college shooting
By Christina Zdanowicz, Eric Levenson and Caroll Alvarado, CNN
Three football players from the University of Virginia were killed in a shooting late Sunday as a bus returned to the school’s main campus in Charlottesville from a field trip, school officials said.
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan identified the three football players killed as Devin Chandler from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Lavel Davis Jr. from Ridgeville, South Carolina, and D’Sean Perry of Miami.
“This is an unimaginably sad day for our community,” said Ryan.
Two students were wounded in the shooting and are being treated at UVA Medical Center, Ryan said.
These are the stories of the victims.
Lavel Davis Jr.
Lavel Davis Jr. was one of the top wide receivers for the Virginia Cavaliers this season. As a 6-foot-7-inch receiver, Davis was the team’s primary deep threat, with 16 catches for 371 yards and two touchdowns on the year, good for a stellar 23.2 yards per catch.
As a freshman in 2020, he had 20 catches for 515 yards and five touchdowns — an average of 25.75 yards per catch, second-best in the country — but missed the 2021 season due to injury.
In a May 2021 video on UVA Football’s Twitter, Davis said outside of class he enjoyed watching ’90s movies and reading Shakespeare plays and the Bible.
“Virginia is the perfect place for anybody who wants to work hard and be great,” he said. “At Virginia, it’s way bigger than football.”
A friend of the family created a GoFundMe campaign to help the family cover funeral expenses.
D’Sean Perry
The parents of D’Sean Perry thanked the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for the support they’ve received since the shooting, according to their attorney Michael Haggard.
“On behalf of D’Sean’s parents, Happy and Sean Perry, and their entire family, we thank the South Florida and Charlottesville communities for the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time,” Haggard said in a statement to CNN.
In the statement, Perry’s parents also said they would not speak publicly about their son’s passing out of respect for the University of Virginia community, which “has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.”
Perry, a junior, was a linebacker for Virginia who has played in 15 games over the last three seasons. On Saturday against Pittsburgh, he tallied two tackles in the 37-7 loss.
Devin Chandler
Devin Chandler, a junior, played as a wide receiver and kick returner for UVA who transferred this offseason from the University of Wisconsin.
Two others shot
Only one of the two students who survived the shooting had been identified as of Monday.
Michael Hollins is a junior at UVA and is a running back for school’s football team, according to the team’s roster. He was expected to graduate in December with a degree in entrepreneurship and African American history, his father, Michael Hollins Sr., told The Washington Post.
Hollins Sr. said his son was still expected to continue playing for UVA while he worked on his master’s degree.
Hollins Sr. also told the Post his son was shot in the back with the bullet lodged in his stomach. Hollins Sr. told the Post he’s expected to recover.
Hollins played football at the University Lab School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to Andrew Martin, the school’s head coach.
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™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Melissa Alonso and Matt Phillips contributed to this report. | 2022-11-15T04:45:29+00:00 | krdo.com | https://krdo.com/news/2022/11/14/three-university-of-virginia-football-players-killed-in-shooting-on-campus/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — She has four limbs, expressive eyes and likes to stroll through greenery in New York City. Happy, by species, is an Asian elephant. But can she also be considered a person?
That question was before New York’s highest court Wednesday in a closely watched case over whether a basic human right can be extended to an animal.
The advocates at the Nonhuman Rights Project say yes: Happy is an autonomous, cognitively complex elephant worthy of the right reserved in law for “a person.” The Bronx Zoo, where Happy resides, says no: Through an attorney, the zoo argues Happy is neither illegally imprisoned nor a person, but a well-cared-for elephant “respected as the magnificent creature she is.”
Happy has lived at the Bronx Zoo for 45 years. The state Court of Appeals heard arguments over whether she should be released through a habeas corpus proceeding, which is a way for people to challenge illegal confinement.
The Nonhuman Rights Project wants her moved from a “one-acre prison” at the zoo to a more spacious sanctuary.
“She has an interest in exercising her choices and deciding who she wants to be with, and where to go, and what to do, and what to eat,” project attorney Monica Miller told The Associated Press ahead of the oral arguments. “And the zoo is prohibiting her from making any of those choices herself.”
The group said that in 2005, Happy became the first elephant to pass a self-awareness indicator test, repeatedly touching a white “X” on her forehead as she looked into a large mirror.
The zoo and its supporters warn that a win for advocates at the Nonhuman Rights Project could open the door to more legal actions on behalf of animals, including pets and other species in zoos.
“If there’s going to entire be a rewrite and a granting to animals of rights that they never had before, shouldn’t that be done by the Legislature?” Kenneth Manning, an attorney for zoo operator Wildlife Conservation Society, asked the judges.
Happy was born in the wild in Asia in the early 1970s, captured and brought as a 1-year-old to the United States, where she was eventually named for one of the characters from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Happy arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1977 with fellow elephant Grumpy, who was fatally injured in a 2002 confrontation with two other elephants.
Happy now lives in an enclosure adjacent to the zoo’s other elephant, Patty. The zoo’s attorney argued in court filings that Happy can swim, forage and engage in other behavior natural for elephants.
“The blatant exploitation of Happy the elephant by NRP to advance their coordinated agenda shows no concern for the individual animal and reveals the fact they are willing to sacrifice Happy’s health and psychological well-being to set precedent,” the zoo said in a prepared statement.
NRP’s attorneys say no matter how Happy is being treated at the zoo, her right to “bodily liberty” is being violated. They argue that if the court recognizes Happy’s right to that liberty under habeas corpus, she will be a “person” for that purpose. And then she must be released.
Judges peppered attorneys for both side with pointed questions during oral arguments. Judge Jenny Rivera asked Miller about the implications of NRP’s position on human-animal relationships.
“So does that mean that I couldn’t keep a dog?” Rivera asked. “I mean, dogs can memorize words.”
Miller said right now there’s more evidence showing elephants are extraordinarily cognitively complex with advanced analytical abilities.
Lower courts have ruled against the NRP. And the group has failed to prevail in similar cases, including those involving a chimpanzee in upstate New York named Tommy.
But last October, at the urging of a different animal rights group, a federal judge ruled that Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s infamous “cocaine hippos” could be recognized as people or “interested persons” with legal rights in the U.S. The decision had no real ramifications for the hippos themselves, given that they reside in Colombia.
Opponents hope the NRP’s string of court losses continues with the high-profile New York court.
In a friend-of-the-court brief, the New York Farm Bureau and other agriculture groups said the NRP’s “new-fangled theory of personhood” would sweep up pigs, cows and chickens. The National Association for Biomedical Research said authorizing such petitions on behalf of animals could drive up the costs of conducting critical research. State and national associations representing veterinarians filed a brief saying NRP’s lawsuit promotes animals’ personhood rights above animals’ welfare.
Supporters of NRP’s action include public figures such as Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe. Many of them see this case as a chance for society to take a step forward in the ethical treatment of animals.
“We believe this legal moment for Happy represents a key cultural crossroads for thinking more openly and honestly—and less selfishly—about what it would mean to treat the particularity of non-human animals with the moral seriousness it deserves,” a brief submitted by Catholic academic theologians read.
The court’s decision is expected in the coming months.
At least one animal rights advocate suggests a lone court decision won’t change society’s view of animal use. Rutgers Law School professor Gary Francione, who is not involved in the case, said that would require a broader cultural shift.
“I’ve been a vegan for 40 years. Don’t get me wrong, I disagree with animal use altogether,” Francione said. “Just to have the court start saying that non-human animals are persons under the law is going to raise all sorts of questions, the answers to which are not going to be amenable to many people.” | 2022-05-19T11:53:46+00:00 | wric.com | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/happy-is-an-elephant-living-in-new-york-city-but-is-she-also-a-person/ |
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The family of a man who had a heart attack while playing blackjack in Las Vegas is suing the hotel and casino, claiming he did not receive medical care for nearly 20 minutes as an employee continued to deal, documents said.
On April 6, 2022, David Jagolinzer, of Florida, was staying at the Wynn Las Vegas and playing the table game when he collapsed, the lawsuit filed by Christian Morris Trial Attorneys said.
Jagonlizer’s hand convulsed and he fell onto the blackjack table with his head down, the lawsuit claimed. Meanwhile, the dealer “continued to deal cards to another player at the table and continued to play blackjack.”
“[Jagolinzer] remained slumped over on the blackjack table with his arm extended onto the table for an unreasonable amount of time while no one employed by the [Wynn] intervened or checked to see if [Jagolinzer] needed medical attention,” the lawsuit said.
For nearly 20 minutes, nobody checked on Jagonlizer’s condition. Instead, employees counted Jagolinzer’s gaming chips.
Lawyers for Jagolinzer’s family state sleeping or “[becoming unconscious] at gaming tables is a violation of Nevada gaming law and employees “should have known” to intervene.
A new dealer then arrived and “made remarks that [Jagolinzer] exhibited discoloration in his skin and appeared to not be breathing,” the lawsuit said.
Wynn employees then attempted to render him aid with a defibrillator, the lawsuit alleges, but the employees were not trained to use the machine, which attempts to restart a person’s heart.
Paramedics arrived 26 minutes after Jagolinzer’s collapse on the table, according to the lawsuit.
He ultimately suffered severe brain damage from lack of medical attention and died on Oct. 18, 2022, from a lack of blood flow to his brain, the lawsuit said. Lawyers allege the brain injury would not have occurred had he received “timely emergency medical treatment.”
The lawsuit cites several causes of action, including negligence and wrongful death. Jagolinzer’s family is suing for damages of more than $15,000, which is standard in civil cases.
Representatives for the Wynn did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Nexstar’s KLAS Monday.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Wynn Resorts said claims made by the lawsuit weren’t true and that the company would defend itself “strongly.” | 2023-02-21T04:36:33+00:00 | everythinglubbock.com | https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/national/lawsuit-las-vegas-dealer-continued-play-despite-man-slumped-over-table-in-cardiac-arrest/ |
As Milwaukee's Juneteenth Parade celebrations were winding down on Monday, six teens were shot.
Milwaukee police officers responded to the area around 4:20 p.m. Thousands were still gathered in the area since the city's Juneteenth event ended at 4 p.m.
During a press conference Monday evening, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said the shooting stemmed from a fight between several young females.
The victims include four females, ages 14, 16, 17 and 18; and two males, ages 17 and 19. One of the victims, a 17-year-old boy, is believed to be the shooter.
The victims were transported to a local hospital with non-fatal injuries.
"Milwaukee, what's going on with our children?" Chief Norman said. "Eight years I've been part of the Juneteenth celebration … this has never happened before. And I've been in this city all my life, this has never happened before."
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also spoke during the press conference.
"You don't have the right to steal the joy the community felt today," he said.
Scripps News Milwaukee spoke with a woman who says she witnessed the shooting.
"The shots went off, then I looked up and I saw one girl limping with her leg and another girl was shot on the ground," she explained. "At that time, there was like four or five of them but then they just keep shooting."
Police said there is no danger to the public.
In a statement Monday evening, the Milwaukee Police Department said, "MPD asks that we all do better at resolving conflict without resorting to gun violence. Parents, guardians, community leaders, neighbors, we all have a role to guide our youth and to speak up if you are aware of illegal firearms. We are always better together."
Police say they are seeking additional unknown suspects.
This story was originally published by Madison Goldbeck at Scripps News Milwaukee.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | 2023-06-20T13:29:53+00:00 | abc15.com | https://www.abc15.com/6-teens-shot-after-milwaukee-s-juneteenth-celebration |
After $1,500 fine, couple able to park car again on driveway
Published: Jul. 12, 2022 at 4:37 PM MDT|Updated: 19 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) - Imagine this: You park in your driveway and you get a $1,500 ticket for it. That’s what happened to a couple in San Francisco.
Judy and Ed Craine said they’ve owned their cottage for 36 years in the San Francisco area and have parked their car in their driveway without any problems until the city’s recent fine.
The city said they couldn’t park in front of their home because it was illegal to park in front of a house without a garage.
However, the city changed its mind after the couple proved the space had been used for parking since the 1950s. So, their usual parking spot has now been grandfathered in as legal.
Copyright 2022 KGO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-12T22:56:57+00:00 | kmvt.com | https://www.kmvt.com/2022/07/12/after-1500-fine-couple-able-park-car-again-driveway/ |
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — From the moment Russell Wilson takes the field to the instant rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett joins his players in end-of-workout wind sprints, the Denver Broncos have been a ball of energy at their offseason practices.
The workouts seem like they're on fast forward with Hackett pinballing from one position group to the next, often stepping in to serve as a decoy or stand-in during individual drills.
It's a stark contrast to the humdrum workouts that were the norm under former head coach Vic Fangio.
After practices, Hackett steps to the podium and proceeds to talk a mile a minute as if he can't wait to fast track this turnaround he's been hired to direct.
“Just seeing him as involved as he is — not just with the offense, but also the entire team — I think everyone feels his entire love for this game, love for the team that he has and the opportunity he’s been given to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos," receiver Courtland Sutton said.
Wilson has energized an offense that's struggled under 10 different starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning's tenure came to an end after Super Bowl 50.
Instead of sideline throwaways or spikes when the pass rush breaks through, Wilson extends the play with his feet, forcing defenders to prolong their coverage and coaches to account for the ambiguity and improvisation.
“He’s very dynamic," cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “His second-play mentality where he’s making something out of nothing with his scrambling ability ... that’s something special about him.”
And that's something the Broncos really haven't had since Tim Tebow in 2011.
Free agent defensive tackle D.J. Jones spent five years in San Francisco and knows first-hand the challenges Wilson presents.
“He’s exactly who I thought he was," Jones said. "He did something in practice the other day, and everyone was like, ‘That isn’t real.’ Yes, it is. That’s what he does. He makes time and he gives the offense time. He’s going to make a beautiful throw, and it’ll probably be a touchdown.”
That's not something that was ever really said about Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater, some of the quarterbacks who started for Denver after Manning retired.
Wilson hasn't shied away from Manning's long shadow. He's actually huddled with him to watch film and talk about coming to Denver for the second chapter of his career as Manning did.
“The thing that Peyton and I both love is football. We can spend all day watching football together,” Wilson said. "... We’ll do more as we go. It’s fun to be able to be around arguably the world’s greatest who has ever played the game at that position. To be able to learn and ask questions and vice versa and talk football — he’s asking me questions and vice versa. That’s the fun part. You have John Elway here, too. You have two of the greatest guys to play the game right in your midst.”
It all adds to the buzz that's permeating the community, where the high-powered couple of Wilson and his wife Ciara, the singer/songwriter, model and dancer, have quickly become the new face of the franchise.
Wilson threw out the first pitch at the Rockies home opener, and he and Ciara, who bought a $25 million mansion in Denver, have been spotted visiting children's hospitals and attending playoff games for the Nuggets and Avalanche.
Last week they jetted off to New York on a day off to attend the release party of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2022 issue featuring Ciara on the cover.
There's less haranguing over the Broncos' half decade of futility nowadays with the airwaves filled with anticipation of Denver challenging the Chiefs and Chargers for AFC West supremacy.
“When you have your quarterback, a lot of questions are answered,” Elway told The Associated Press recently. “I thought (general manager) George (Paton) did a great job in hiring Nathaniel Hackett and in pulling off the trade for Russell Wilson."
These dual dynamos are the primary generators of the electricity buzzing around Broncos headquarters where some of the world's barons of business have been dropping by this month to see for themselves a team that might fetch north of $5 billion to buy.
Five prospective owner groups will get a chance to participate in a second round of bidding next month for what will become the most expensive sale of a North American sports franchise in history. A new owner is expected to be in place by the time the Broncos host the Texans in their home opener Sept. 18.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | 2022-05-30T19:42:51+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/QB-Wilson-Nathaniel-Hackett-are-Broncos-new-dual-17208087.php |
Former Federal Reserve official Lael Brainard started her new job at the White House this past week. She'll be running the National Economic Council — a clearinghouse for administration policy.
Copyright 2023 NPR
Former Federal Reserve official Lael Brainard started her new job at the White House this past week. She'll be running the National Economic Council — a clearinghouse for administration policy.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-02-26T13:58:56+00:00 | wbfo.org | https://www.wbfo.org/2023-02-26/lael-brainard-is-the-new-director-of-the-presidents-national-economic-council |
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Nearly three dozen migrants were sentenced in Morocco on Tuesday for attempting to scale a border wall last month separating the north African country from the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
The court in Nador sentenced 33 people to 11 months in prison, in a decision that was criticized by rights groups.
Hundreds of migrants tried to cross the border between Morocco and Melilla on June 24. At least 23 people died in the attempt — which Moroccan authorities have called a stampede.
On Tuesday, the 33 migrants were accused of “disobedience,” “armed gathering,” “violence against public officials,” and “illegal entry into Moroccan territory.” Authorities say the migrants were all from sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority having traveled from Sudan and Chad.
In addition to the prison time, the court also ordered the accused to each pay fines of 500 dirhams ($49), along with paying 3,500 dirhams ($340) to settle civil rights claims from members of the public services.
Nongovernmental organizations have decried the decision, with the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) calling it “very harsh,” and calling for the court of appeal to overturn it. The organization will present the results of their investigations into the events in Nador on Wednesday.
In June, a total of 133 migrants breached the border between Morocco and Spain, the first such mass crossing since the two countries mended diplomatic relations in May. A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla said at the time that about 2,000 people attempted to cross, but many were stopped by Spanish Civil Guard police and Moroccan forces on either side of the border fence.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the casualties occurred when people tried to climb the iron fence.
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Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration | 2022-07-19T15:28:29+00:00 | texomashomepage.com | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/moroccan-court-sentences-33-migrants-to-jail-over-crossing/ |
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Tyler Duncan putts well in round two of the RBC Canadian Open
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June 10, 2022
By PGATOUR.COM
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June 10, 2022
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Highlights
Tyler Duncan rolls in birdie putt at RBC Canadian
In the second round of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, Tyler Duncan makes a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 6th hole.
In his second round at the RBC Canadian Open, Tyler Duncan hit 9 of 13 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation, and had a great day on the green leaving no misses on putts within 10 feet. Duncan finished his day tied for 71st at 2 over; Wyndham Clark is in 1st at 7 under; Keith Mitchell, Alex Smalley, Jim Knous, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Rory McIlroy are tied for 2nd at 6 under; and Austin Cook is in 7th at 5 under.
On the 528-yard par-5 11th, Tyler Duncan had a birdie after hitting the green in 2 and two putting. This moved Tyler Duncan to 3 under for the round.
On the par-4 14th, Duncan's 153 yard approach to 4 feet set himself up for the birdie on the hole. This moved Duncan to 4 under for the round.
After a 296 yard drive on the 560-yard par-5 15th, Duncan chipped his third shot to 5 feet, which he rolled for one-putt birdie on the hole. This moved Duncan to 5 under for the round.
Duncan got a bogey on the 486-yard par-4 17th, getting on the green in 3 and two putting, moving Duncan to 4 under for the round.
On the 474-yard par-4 fourth, Duncan had a bogey after hitting the green in 4 and one putting, moving Duncan to 3 under for the round.
On the 538-yard par-5 ninth hole, Duncan reached the green in 3 and sunk a 7-foot putt for birdie. This moved Duncan to 1 under for the round.
After a drive to the left side of the fairway on the 372-yard par-4 10th hole, Duncan had a 121 yard approach shot, setting himself up for the birdie. This moved Duncan to 2 under for the round.
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Please enter a valid email address. | 2022-06-12T10:18:51+00:00 | pgatour.com | https://www.pgatour.com/roundrecap/2022/rbc-canadian-open/round-2/tyler-duncan.html |
California's one-stop shop for all things residential real estate celebrates two years of record growth
LOS ANGELES, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The real estate market in California is known for its dynamic and diverse nature, historically one of the most active and competitive in the U.S. And as the unprecedented times of the past few years have clearly shown, the Golden State remains the place for golden real estate.
Which is why working with the expert agents on The LIST is more necessary than ever!
CaliforniaListings.com is proud to announce its inaugural top neighborhood agent feature—The LIST! From San Juan Capistrano to Sacramento, we're naming the top brokers and agents for some of California's hottest markets. Expert agents on this year's list include Chris Cortazzo, Kofi Nartey, Rochelle Atlas Maize, Dennis Chernov, Ernie Carswell and more than 30 other real estate power players.
The LIST is out now digitally at www.californialistings.com/magazine.
CaliforniaListings.com showcases the top real estate agents—and their listings—in each neighborhood in the Golden State. All featured agents are vetted following strict proprietary requirements, ensuring California Listings will be home to only the best market territory experts. California Listings was derived out of a presumptive need: how do you cut through the noise from all of the self-proclaimed "#1 real estate agents" and find the true best expert in each neighborhood? With 132,000+ unique viewers served per month, buyers and sellers get their daily news and real estate support at CaliforniaListings.com.
For more information, contact hello@californialistings.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE California Listings | 2023-06-19T15:38:15+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/06/19/californialistingscom-announces-inaugural-top-neighborhood-agent-list/ |
CLEVELAND (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the Ohio Lottery's "Pick 5 Midday" game were:
6-4-4-1-2
(six, four, four, one, two)
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CAIRO – Iranian security forces killed two men and arrested two others suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting last month in a southwestern city, state-run media reported, amid conflicting accounts of the incident that coincided with a wave of anti-government protests.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the two suspects killed were behind last month's shooting that left dead seven people at a bazaar in the small, working-class city of Izeh in Khuzestan province. The country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and Intelligence Ministry also arrested two other suspects in the same operation.
The Guard did not release any details about when the raid took place or how the suspects were killed. Authorities offered no evidence to support the four suspects' alleged involvement. The government has labeled the attack an “act of terror," but families and rights groups have cast doubt on that claim, accusing security forces of opening fire on civilians as protests convulsed the city.
The shooting in Izeh on Nov. 16 killed three children, including a 10-year-old boy and a woman, authorities reported at the time. A funeral for the boy, Kian Pirfalak, later prompted an outpouring of outrage as his mother delivered an emotional speech blaming plainclothes security forces for attacking their car as she begged them not to shoot, according to videos of the funeral service posted on social media.
IRNA news agency denied any security forces played a role in Pirfalak's killing, instead claiming “terrorist agents with unknown incentives” unleashed automatic weapons fire on their car as demonstrations raged in the city.
Iran's nationwide protests erupted in September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini detained by the country's morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.
The protests have since transformed into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerics, presenting one of the most durable challenges to the theocracy since the chaotic years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
At least 506 people have been killed and 18,000 arrested in the government's crackdown, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests since they began.
Even public figures who have expressed solidarity with the movement, including Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the country's most famous actresses, have been swept up in the dragnet. Iran’s main union for film industry workers, House of Cinema, reported on Tuesday that 13 actors are now in jail over the protests.
As Iran seeks to stamp out the demonstrations and ramp up pressure on critics, it has sentenced several protesters to death and already carried out two executions despite widespread international criticism.
On Wednesday, the judiciary announced that Mahan Sedrat, a 23-year-old sentenced to death over allegedly joining protests while wielding a knife, would be spared the death penalty and granted a retrial due to the emergence of new evidence. | 2022-12-21T15:40:01+00:00 | wsls.com | https://www.wsls.com/news/world/2022/12/21/iran-security-forces-kill-2-arrest-2-over-deadly-attack/ |
At one time, no one had ever heard of a telegraph operator. An electrician. Auto mechanic. TV producer. X-ray technician. Software developer. Webmaster. Cybersecurity specialist.
Advancements in technology have always spawned new kinds of jobs while rendering other ones obsolete. Artificial intelligence will be no exception. Right now, we don’t fully know what those jobs will be. But that hasn’t stopped job seekers from trying to find out.
Prognosticators say artificial intelligence will likely have a similar impact on the labor market — and workers want to get in on the ground floor. But it’s clear that even employers don’t know what those jobs are. Not yet, at least.
To be clear, automation and, to a certain extent, AI have been part of the labor market for quite some time. Who among us hasn’t had an infuriating exchange with a chatbot? But interest in employment related to AI has skyrocketed in the past two years. Searches for AI-related jobs on the employment listings website Indeed have increased 8,200% since March 2021, according to the company. But AI-related job postings by employers have only increased 29.8%.
“I think it captures that kind of moment that we’re in right now where there are a lot of new possibilities opening up and there’s a lot of uncertainty about where it’s going,” says Trey Causey, head of AI ethics at Indeed. But, he adds, “The interest is undeniable.”
Workers want to ride the next job wave
Indeed isn’t the only site seeing more searches geared toward AI. Daniel Zhao, lead economist at the job search website Glassdoor, has also seen an uptick, which he says is driven largely by the novelty aspect of AI and the possibilities it holds for workers.
“AI is poised to have a significant impact on the job market, and it doesn’t require being a Ph.D. in computer science in order to actually work at a company that is taking advantage of AI,” says Zhao. “So there are definitely opportunities out there for people who are interested in this space and who feel passionately about the technology.”
It’s no wonder workers are beginning to test the waters of AI, since recent studies have shown that most jobs will likely be impacted by the technology. And that’s pretty much what most workers are counting on. A March 26 report by the investment banking company Goldman Sachs found about two-thirds of all jobs are likely to be impacted by AI in some way. And in an April 20 Pew Research Center report, more than half of Americans surveyed said they would classify the impact of AI on both the workplace and the economy over a 20-year period as “major.”
A “major” impact on work was also asserted in a March 22 report by the IT consulting company Accenture. It said generative AI — as in, language-learning models like ChatGPT — is set to “fundamentally transform everything from science to business to health care, for instance, to society itself.” It also argues that AI has the potential to reinvent every role in every company as “humans working with AI co-pilots becomes the norm.”
It’s probable that certain jobs will be replaced entirely by AI, but it will largely depend on what functions can be replaced. Goldman Sachs finds that jobs in which 50% of the work could be automated are more likely to be supplanted by AI. For example, jobs that require physical labor or care are unlikely to be replaced, while jobs that require coding or number-crunching are less likely to need human operators.
But don’t fear the robot takeover just yet. The Goldman Sachs report from March also asserted that any displacement caused by AI would likely be offset by the creation of new occupations, which usually happens in the labor market during periods of technological change.
Employers are looking to adopt and adapt AI
Employers want to incorporate AI into their workplaces even if they’re not quite sure how. The World Economic Forum’s “The Future of Jobs Report 2023” released on April 30 found 75% of companies surveyed expect to adopt AI. And a roundup of first-quarter earnings calls for S&P 500 companies by the financial news company Bloomberg found 1,072 mentions of artificial intelligence.
It does seem like employers are figuring it out already. Among job postings, there are now positions specifically with AI in the title or, at least, include AI within the job description. As of this writing, there were about 25,000 jobs on Indeed.com with a search for “artificial intelligence.” There were more than 14,000 on Glassdoor.
Most workers are searching broadly for specific AI engineering skills and AI model-specific skills, says Causey. But what employers are including in job posts can be broken down into three main categories, Causey says:
Implementing AI models into the workplace. “Despite the fact that these models are very capable and automate a lot of things, you still have to figure out how to get these models into your products and your business.”
Development of AI models. “Large tech companies like Medline, Google and Microsoft are not only looking to implement these models, but they’re looking to do additional research and develop new models and improve these models.”
Using AI models for marketing and content creation. There’s “really specific interest around marketing. I’m seeing companies that are interested in augmenting their copywriting and marketing efforts using these models.”
More From NerdWallet
Anna Helhoski writes for NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski. | 2023-06-08T17:28:20+00:00 | bostonherald.com | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/06/08/wanted-an-ai-job-that-mostly-doesnt-exist-yet/ |
C.A. Fortune now offers one-of-a-kind deductions solution through partnership with TrewUp
CHICAGO, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- C.A. Fortune, a national, consumer brands agency headquartered in Chicago, is entering a partnership with TrewUp, a technology firm providing insights and dashboard style reporting for deduction management. Between C.A. Fortune's best-in-class service and TrewUp's tech-forward innovation, this strategic partnership provides clarity to a complex side of the CPG business.
"C.A. Fortune has long been a pioneer of adopting cutting edge technologies that offer innovative and valuable solutions. We're excited to partner with C.A. Fortune to bring TrewUp's deduction management software and state of the art platform to their client base," said Kyle Barnholt, Co-Founder and CEO of TrewUp. "This collaboration brings solutions to a well-known pain point in the CPG industry. Our combined services complement one another to introduce a powerful deduction management solution that creates automation, historical data, and real time visibility like never before."
"One of C.A. Fortune's corporate values is "Innovate Fearlessly," and deductions management is no different. While managing deductions can be a point of frustration for many manufacturers, we have leaned into technology to turn deduction management into a positive point-of-difference for our clients." said Brit Cattey, Sr. Director C.A. Support at C.A. Fortune. "With TrewUp's capabilities, our team spends less time deciphering deductions and more time ensuring that our clients' dollars are being spent correctly and wisely. TrewUp's innovation combined with C.A. Fortune's expertise is a game changer!"
Originally founded in 1983 and subsequently expanded under current ownership, C.A. Fortune has grown into a leading, privately-held, full-service consumer brands agency. With nationwide coverage, the company offers clients a comprehensive solution — including sales management, a sales accelerator, marketing and branding, insights, retail activation, and digital and e-commerce services. C.A. Fortune is headquartered in Chicago and has regional offices across the country. To learn more, visit CAFortune.com.
Founded in 2021, TrewUp's innovative software reads, extracts, and interprets data from deduction backup documents, which previously came in static PDF, image, and CSV documents. This data is automatically uploaded and available in an online platform. It's organized for CPG founders, sales teams and accounting specialists to quickly gain visibility to deduction data by indirect retailer, deduction category, and by item.
To learn more, visit TrewUp.com
Media Contact:
Kyle Barnholt
sales@trewup.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE TrewUp LLC | 2023-01-11T19:06:27+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2023/01/11/ca-fortune-expands-deductions-capabilities-with-trewup-partnership/ |
Wayward horse found in Waterford; police seek owner
Published: Nov. 22, 2022 at 11:43 AM EST|Updated: 1 hour ago
WATERFORD, CT (WFSB) - The owner of a horse is being sought by police in Waterford.
Police said the male horse was found in the area of Butlertown Road.
They asked the owner to contact Waterford dispatch at 860-442-9451.
Copyright 2022 WFSB. All rights reserved. | 2022-11-22T18:09:04+00:00 | wfsb.com | https://www.wfsb.com/2022/11/22/wayward-horse-found-waterford-police-seek-owners/ |
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We've placed cookies on your device to improve your browsing experience. They're safe and don't contain sensitive information. | 2022-05-03T20:07:08+00:00 | tj.news | https://tj.news/daily-gleaner/101862725 |
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Biden announced today he is pardoning thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It's time that we write these wrongs.
KELLY: Democratic activists have long sought changes to marijuana laws. Biden himself pledged to do something about it while campaigning for president. NPR's Asma Khalid has been tracking this and is with us now. Hey there, Asma.
ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Hi there.
KELLY: OK, give us some detail. What exactly did the president announce this afternoon?
KHALID: The president announced executive action to erase prior convictions for people convicted of simple marijuana possession under either federal or D.C. statute - so federal law or D.C. statute. And in a video that the White House disseminated, the president spoke about what this could mean.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: There are thousands of people who were convicted for marijuana possession who may be denied employment, housing or educational opportunities as a result of that conviction. My pardon will remove this burden on them.
KHALID: So to give you a sense of how many people that means, more than 6,500 people were convicted of simple possession between 1992 and 2021 under federal law, and then this also will apply to thousands more under the D.C. code. But many marijuana convictions occur at the state level, and so the president is also urging governors to take similar steps in their states.
KELLY: So what does this mean? Does this mean Biden is supporting the decriminalization of marijuana?
KHALID: No, he did not go that far, Mary Louise. And it is worth pointing out that the president did say in his comments today that, even as federal and state regulations around marijuana change, we still need, quote, "important limitations on trafficking, marketing and underage sales of marijuana." But what he did do today is ask the Health and Human Services secretary and the attorney general to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. It's currently classified in the same category as heroin and LSD - more serious than fentanyl - which the president himself says makes no sense.
KELLY: OK. What has the reaction to this move been?
KHALID: So, you know, Mary Louise, one of the main criticisms of marijuana laws for years has been that there is a disproportionate impact on Black and brown people. I've heard this issue framed as a racial justice issue in many previous campaigns on the Democratic side. And the president himself acknowledged the racial impact today. We did see swift praise from groups like the NAACP and Al Sharpton's National Action Network.
But at the same time, you know, Republicans have been eager to run as the party in this election cycle that is tough on crime and paint Democrats as being soft on crime, and this could play into that broader narrative. For example, Senator Tom Cotton was quick to call this, quote, "blanket pardons for drug offenders" in, quote, "the midst of a crime wave."
KELLY: Well, speaking of politics, I got to ask you about timing. You got to wonder about the timing of everything with the midterms four weeks away. Is that a coincidence?
KHALID: You know, I was on a call earlier today in which senior administration officials held - with reporters about this announcement, and they were certainly asked about the timing. Why now? Why, given the fact that this could have happened potentially earlier with executive action? And, you know, administration officials insist these moves are about fulfilling a campaign commitment that Biden made. Of course, as you say, there is always politics at play here. This announcement was put out in a video made for sharing on social media. And this is important because our latest NPR/Marist Poll released this morning found that young and Black voters were the least likely to vote this November.
KELLY: NPR's Asma Khalid. Thanks, Asma.
KHALID: My pleasure. Happy to do it.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | 2022-10-07T04:05:45+00:00 | kgou.org | https://www.kgou.org/politics-and-government/politics-and-government/2022-10-06/biden-is-taking-executive-action-to-pardon-simple-federal-marijuana-convictions |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The semifinal field is nearly set at the International Crown LPGA team event with one day of pool play to go as Sweden, Australia and Thailand all clinched spots and the United States swept both matches Friday to move to the verge of advancing.
Sweden remained perfect in Pool A by winning both matches against China, while Thailand swept defending champion South Korea and Australia beat Japan to advance out of Pool B on a cold and blustery day at TPC Harding Park.
“I feel like we’ve had a lot of fun this week, and I feel like that’s been working to our advantage,” Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist said.
The U.S. has three points after two days in Pool A and will clinch the final spot in Sunday’s knockout round by getting at least half a point Saturday against Sweden or if China doesn’t sweep England.
The International Crown is a match-play tournament featuring teams of four players from eight countries. The teams are divided into two pools of four countries with the top two from each group after three days of round-robin play of fourball competition advancing to the semifinals on Sunday. Teams get one point for each win and a half for a tied match.
Lexi Thompson sealed the final U.S. match of the day when she holed a birdie putt from about 12 feet on the 16th hole to give her and Danielle Kang a 3-and-2 victory over England’s Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff.
“It was breaking quite a bit, so I played it about two-and-a-half cups out, a little bit uphill, so I knew I could be a little aggressive with it,” Thompson said. “But I was just trying to give myself a birdie opportunity going into that pin.”
Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu won for the second straight day, beating Alice Hewson and Liz Young 2 and 1 thanks to another strong back nine.
Korda and Vu lost the first two holes, but fought back to tie it with birdies on the third and sixth holes and then won three straight holes from Nos. 12 to 14 to take control at the same part of the course that turned their first match on Thursday against China.
“I think it was time to make a move and then we’re just aggressive and it worked out that way,” Vu said.
Seven of the eight teams kept the same pairings on day two with only Japan switching up. Yuka Saso played with Hinako Shibuno a day after losing a match to Thailand with Ayaka Furue. Furue teamed with Nasa Hataoka.
It didn’t end up helping, with Furue and Hataoka losing 2 up to Australia’s Minjee Lee and Stephanie Kyriacou. Saso and Shibuno tied Hannah Green and Sarah Kemp but it wasn’t enough to stave off elimination.
The toughest part for the Australians might have been dealing with the weather with temperatures in the 50s, a brisk wind and light rain at the end of the day. Green wore big white earmuffs to try to stay warm.
“We all have a lot of layers on,” Kemp said. “We grew up playing in just a shirt, that’s it, and shorts. So this is very different for us. When I have this many layers on I’m probably at least half a club less, and it got really windy out once we came out the back. The wind really started to pick up. I was uncomfortably cold when we got to 11 and 12, but was trying to do these little jumps and stuff. But we’re not used to this. We’d prefer the sun to come out tomorrow.”
Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall birdied five of the first six holes to go 3 up and beat Yu Liu and Ruixin Liu 2 and 1. Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark beat Ruoning Yin and Xiyu Lin 2 and 1 in the other match.
Thailand, which came into the week as the sixth seed, remained perfect this week with the sister tandem of Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn beating South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi and In Gee Chun 2 and 1, and Patty Tavatanakit and Atthaya Thitikul beating Jin Young Ko and Hyo Joo Kim 3 and 2.
This is the fourth time this tournament has been held after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain won the inaugural tournament in 2014, followed by the United States in 2016 and South Korea in 2018.
This is the first professional women’s event to be played at TPC Harding Park, which has hosted several big events for the men, including the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2020 PGA Championship.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-05-06T22:55:51+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/sports/sweden-australia-thailand-advance-at-international-crown/ |
Colorado mountain snowpack measured above normal in early March, a few weeks before the closely watched seasonal peak, except in the Arkansas River Basin, where lagging snow could lead to low water flows.
The snowpack tracked by federal snow surveyors appeared relatively promising with the latest data showing the overall statewide level at 120% of the norm, which is based on a 30-year average between 1991 and 2020. In particular, watersheds that feed the heavily-tapped Colorado River held above-average snow, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service snow survey data.
“We still have a little bit more of winter to go, and then we will have the early spring and early summer precipitation that could still give us a boost. If we do get a good spring, things could get better,” snow survey supervisor Brian Domonkos said.
“But things could go the other way, too.”
Snow on Colorado’s mountains typically peaks between March and mid-April and serves as a natural, slow-release source of water — essential to sustain urban settlement and agriculture in the West. Around April 1, Colorado Front Range cities and food growers on the eastern plains traditionally have calculated whether water supplies through summer will be sufficient for people, crops and cattle based on mountain snow.
Agriculture uses about 85% of Colorado’s water supply. Urban water consumption per person has been decreasing, though the state’s overall population has been increasing at faster than the national rate.
Denver Water utility officials last week measured water storage in their reservoirs at 82% — above average for early March. The utility officials also noted, in an agency website posting, that soil in the watersheds where Denver draws water isn’t as dry as last year. Long-term droughts can leave soil so dry that it quickly absorbs water from melting snow before the water reaches streams and rivers.
Climate warming has been shrinking mountain snowpack and reducing runoff into streams. Atmospheric scientists have projected a sharply reduced contribution of melting snow in the Colorado River Basin, a main source for 40 million people and agriculture producers across seven states including California.
Around Colorado, snowpack in the Colorado River Basin measured 118% of the norm, the federal data show.
Southwestern Colorado had the most snow with levels in the combined San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan river basins at 138% of normal.
The South Platte River watershed — crucial for cities, including Denver, and food producers in the most populated parts of northeastern Colorado — had 103% of normal snowpack.
Along the upper Rio Grande River in southern Colorado, snowpack measured 107% of the norm. The Gunnison River Basin had snow at 136% of the norm, the Yampa and White rivers 133%, and the Laramie and North Platte rivers 120%.
But the Arkansas River Basin snowpack measured 73% of the norm, the data show.
From headwaters above Buena Vista and Salida to the southeastern plains out to Kansas, cities, towns, farmers and ranchers rely on Arkansas River water flows through the summer.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter. | 2023-03-10T15:10:27+00:00 | denverpost.com | https://www.denverpost.com/2023/03/10/colorado-mountain-snowpack-spring-arkansas-river-basin/ |
Doug Ford, the provincial premier, was talking with reporters when he swallowed the bee. He promised to go straight to the hospital, and predicted that the incident would be funny later.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Doug Ford, the provincial premier, was talking with reporters when he swallowed the bee. He promised to go straight to the hospital, and predicted that the incident would be funny later.
Copyright 2022 NPR | 2022-08-15T11:09:13+00:00 | wbfo.org | https://www.wbfo.org/2022-08-15/in-canada-the-leader-of-ontario-inadvertently-swallows-a-bee |
Taylor Walls Player Prop Bets: Rays vs. Phillies - July 5
Published: Jul. 5, 2023 at 5:23 PM EDT|Updated: 57 minutes ago
Taylor Walls -- with a slugging percentage of .235 in his past 10 games (including zero homers) -- will be in action for the Tampa Bay Rays versus the Philadelphia Phillies, with Taijuan Walker on the mound, on July 5 at 6:40 PM ET.
He had a hitless showing in his last game (0-for-2) against the Mariners.
Taylor Walls Game Info & Props vs. the Phillies
- Game Day: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
- Game Time: 6:40 PM ET
- Stadium: Tropicana Field
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Phillies Starter: Taijuan Walker
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Hits Prop: Over/under 0.5 hits (Over odds: -149)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +775)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +230)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: +155)
Looking to place a prop bet on Taylor Walls? Check out what's available at BetMGM and use bonus code "GNPLAY" when you sign up with this link!
Explore More About This Game
Taylor Walls At The Plate
- Walls is hitting .213 with 10 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 30 walks.
- Walls has reached base via a hit in 34 games this year (of 65 played), and had multiple hits in seven of those games.
- In 9.2% of his games this year, he has hit a long ball, and 2.8% of his trips to the dish.
- In 18 games this year (27.7%), Walls has picked up an RBI, and in four of those games (6.2%) he had two or more. He has also driven home three or more of his team's runs in two contests.
- He has scored in 43.1% of his games this year (28 of 65), with two or more runs eight times (12.3%).
Ready to play FanDuel Daily Fantasy? Get in the game using our link.
Taylor Walls Home/Away Batting Splits
Phillies Pitching Rankings
- The Phillies pitching staff ranks sixth in MLB with a collective 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Phillies' 4.12 team ERA ranks 14th among all MLB pitching staffs.
- The Phillies allow the sixth-fewest home runs in baseball (89 total, 1.1 per game).
- Walker (9-3 with a 3.93 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings pitched) aims for his 10th victory when he makes the start for the Phillies, his 18th of the season.
- His most recent appearance was on Friday against the Chicago Cubs, when the righty went six innings, surrendering one earned run while allowing six hits.
- Among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season, the 30-year-old ranks 34th in ERA (3.93), 35th in WHIP (1.231), and 44th in K/9 (7.8).
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-05T22:21:41+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/05/taylor-walls-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
Colorado Rapids (0-1-1) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (1-1-0)
San Jose, California; Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EST
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLS LINE: San Jose -108, Colorado +266, Draw +269; over/under is 2.5 goals
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Rapids take on the San Jose Earthquakes in Western Conference play.
The Earthquakes went 8-15-11 overall and 7-4-6 at home last season. The Earthquakes scored 52 goals last season while allowing opponents to score 69.
The Rapids went 11-13-10 overall and 1-11-5 on the road in the 2022 season. The Rapids scored 46 goals a season ago while allowing opponents to score 57.
NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Earthquakes: Niko Tsakiris (injured), Judson (injured), Nathan Cardoso (injured).
Rapids: Moise Bombito (injured), Yaya Toure (injured), Jonathan Lewis (injured), Jack Price (injured), Diego Rubio (injured).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | 2023-04-08T09:45:38+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/san-jose-earthquakes-take-on-the-colorado-rapids-17885861.php |
Michiganders Are Not Gambling Online As Much As People From New Jersey, For Now
Published: Jul. 27, 2022 at 12:40 PM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from the first half of 2022 are in and according to gambling revenue numbers released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Michigan Gaming Control Board, compiled by OddsSeeker.com: NJ online casino & poker sites generated $814,519,523 in revenue versus $757,024,184 for Michigan online casino & poker sites in the first half of 2022.
Adjusted for population
New Jersey: $87.89 Gambling Revenue per capita (9,267,130 population - 2021 Est. Census.gov)
Michigan: $75.31 Gambling Revenue per capita (10,050,811 population - 2021 Est. Census.gov)
While online gambling is relatively new to Michigan (started in January 2021 compared to Nov 2013 for New Jersey), the rapid growth of the industry exposes incredible pent-up demand that likely exists across many states where online gambling is yet to be legalized.
"Based on the year over year growth trajectory for New Jersey, since inception, it seems clear that Michigan will inevitably pass New Jersey in online gambling revenues and become the largest and most important betting and iGaming market in America." said Frank Weber, Sports Editor at OddsSeeker.com
NJ online casino sites set a new revenue record of $140,655,053 in March '22 which helped them stay ahead of Michigan online casinos in the first 6 months of 2022. And while the revenue between the states remains neck-and-neck, it's good to note that both states' revenues have contracted over the past two months.
With an economic downfall looming and the summer lull in full effect, it's no surprise revenues continue to fall. The question that still remains is; will online gambling sites continue to grow throughout the year, especially with Football season gearing to kick-off shortly?
New Jersey and Michigan Online Casino Revenue by The Numbers – 1st Half 2022 ($ In Millions)
Here is the full breakdown for New Jersey and Michigan online casino revenue for the first half of 2022:
About OddsSeeker: OddsSeeker.com is a leading source for iGaming news, online games, and online casino & sports betting promotions in the U.S. regulated online gaming markets.
The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc. | 2022-07-27T19:08:18+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/27/michiganders-are-not-gambling-online-much-people-new-jersey-now/ |
Former President Donald Trump‘s arrest seems imminent amid reports that a criminal indictment is expected in New York City next week for his alleged role in paying hush money to a porn star. In fact, Trump himself said Saturday morning that he was bracing for his own arrest and said it would happen on Tuesday in Manhattan.
NBC News reported on Friday that Trump, who has declared his presidential candidacy for the 2024 election, could be indicted “as early as next week” and cited multiple law enforcement officials who requested anonymity.
If it happens, the indictment would be the result of an investigation conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump has been under investigation surrounding so-called hush money his former lawyer paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to keep her quiet about the alleged sexual encounter she had with the former president. Specifically, attorney Micheal Cohen testified that he paid Daniels $130,000 not to speak publicly so as to influence the 2016 election cycle that featured numerous women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct, including rape.
Cohen testified about the allegations this past Wednesday, suggesting the investigation was heating up or nearing its conclusion.
Meanwhile, Trump is reacting to the news of his reported imminent arrest in classic Trump fashion: by lashing out via social media.
According to the New York Post, Trump took to his right-wing Truth Social network on Saturday morning to proclaim his innocence and predicted he would be arrested early next week.
“THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!,” he thundered in an all caps missive to his followers on Truth Social Saturday morning.
He slammed the “CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE” in his post.
If Daniels was paid to help Trump’s campaign, which she clearly was because she received the check a week before the election to stay silent, the payment could potentially violate campaign finance laws. Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was similarly charged, but not convicted.
An indictment would also give Trump the distinction of being the first former president to be criminally charged, which could disrupt his presidential ambitions.
Bragg is also investigating Trump for falsification of business records, a felony.
Just last week, Bragg invited Trump to testify before a grand jury, something legal experts said signaled an imminent indictment.
Trump, of course, refused the invitation and instead said Bragg, a Black man, was motivated by racism.
It’s a strategy he’s stuck to as a trip of Black prosecutors investigates him for various alleged criminal violations.
When New York Attorney General Letitia James proceeded with an investigation into the Trump Organization, Trump threw a temper tantrum and inexplicably called James “racist” via his Truth Social platform.
Another potential criminal indictment for Trump is looming in Georgia, where a Fulton County grand jury has recommended charges over possible perjury. The grand jury, empaneled by the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office, found that at least one witness lied under oath. However, it was neither immediately apparent who was accused of committing perjury nor what the lie was. The grand jury was hearing testimony over Trump’s repeated attempts to overturn and invalidate the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
SEE ALSO:
Texts Prove Tucker Carlson ‘Passionately’ Hates Trump And His ‘Big Lie’ Despite Reporting Otherwise
Donald Trump Donates Bottles Of ‘Trump Water’ To Ohio After Train Derailment, Environmental Crisis
The post Trump’s Arrest Seems Imminent As Criminal Indictment For Hush Money To Porn Star Looms appeared first on NewsOne.
Trump’s Arrest Seems Imminent As Criminal Indictment For Hush Money To Porn Star Looms was originally published on newsone.com | 2023-03-18T18:43:53+00:00 | wtlcfm.com | https://wtlcfm.com/3474259/trumps-arrest-seems-imminent-as-criminal-indictment-for-hush-money-to-porn-star-looms/ |
The Army-Navy game will be played in New England for the first time, the service academies announced Wednesday as they revealed the five cities that will host the game over the next five years.
Next year's game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the New England Patriots.
The 2024 game will be at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, followed by M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in 2025, the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2026, and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in 2027.
Philly, the game's traditional home, has hosted 90 times and was previously announced as the host this year on Dec. 10.
“We are looking forward to the pageantry and tradition to be on display for the fans in these cities while providing an opportunity to support the Cadets and Midshipmen,” Army athletic director Mike Buddie said in a statement. “We had great interest from many regions and thank the cities who participated in the bid selection process. We cannot wait to have this game played at some incredible venues in great cities.”
Next year’s game outside Boston will be played in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and the 225th anniversary of the USS Constitution’s maiden voyage. The only previous times the game was played outside the mid-Atlantic region were in 1926 (Chicago) and 1983 (Pasadena, California).
“In New England, we value history, honor, tradition, and celebrate sports rivalries,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “That’s why we are so thrilled for the opportunity to host America’s Game. There is no greater, more historical sports rivalry than the Army-Navy game.”
The Washington area will host for the second time, and Baltimore for the seventh.
New Jersey will host in 2026 as part of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the 19th time the game will be played in New York or New Jersey.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 | 2022-06-15T22:01:40+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/sports/article/Army-Navy-game-heading-to-New-England-for-1st-time-17244297.php |
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston officials lifted an order Tuesday that had called for more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it.
The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when a power outage at a purification plant caused pressure to drop.
The order led to the closure of businesses and schools, including the Houston Independent School District, which canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. The city rescinded the order shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday.
The city said water quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink.
At a news conference Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city issued the notice, which affects all of Houston and some adjacent areas, in an “abundance of caution” after two transformers — a main one and its backup — “uniquely and coincidentally” failed at a water plant. The problem affected the plant’s ability to treat and pump water into the transmission system, resulting in low pressure.
Because the issue was within the plant’s system, backup power generators would not have made a difference, Turner said. Since the transformers were down, they couldn’t transmit power to the plant.
The power system at the water plant undergoes regular maintenance, Turner said, but he did not give a timeline for how often. The mayor said he has ordered a diagnostic review of the system to understand how the problem was possible and how it can be prevented.
Sixteen sensors marked dips under the minimum pressure levels required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 14 of them for only 2 minutes and two of them for nearly 30 minutes, Turner said.
Typically, there is enough pressure for water to flow out of leaky pipes. When pressure is lost, however, contamination like bacteria sitting near pipes can be sucked into the system, creating a health risk.
___
Follow AP’s full coverage of water treatment: https://apnews.com/hub/water-treatment | 2022-11-30T04:45:52+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/national/ap-houston-lifts-boil-water-order-affecting-more-than-2-million/ |
Fans of Chase Brown and his Heisman Trophy journey can support him now
CHICAGO, Nov. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, the first 250 fans and supporters of celebrated University of Illinois running back Chase Brown can purchase a NextName 'Chasing History' digital collectible. Brown's name has been rumored to be on a list of contenders for this year's Heisman Trophy. He currently holds the spot as the nations' leading rusher and helped lead the Illini to a 7-1 record in the game against Nebraska during which he recorded his ninth-straight 100-yard rushing game.
A limited edition 'Chasing History' token can be purchased for $100 at www.nextname.io.
Brown and many of his teammates have signed an NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) agreement with NextName to offer fans the opportunity to show support through the sale of their digital collectibles, also known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). To buy a token to support other individual players or the entire football team, visit nextname.io.
NextName tokens are unique media files with images, music, and the school logo. The majority of proceeds from NextName token sales are given directly to the student-athlete or, in the case of a team token, are split evenly among team members. The university also receives a portion of the proceeds.
NextName is a platform designed to support college athletes, college teams, and collegiate legends through the sale of digital collectibles. With just a few clicks, fans can purchase collectibles bearing the name, image, and likeness (NIL) of their favorite players and teams. In doing so, NextName provides fans an opportunity to help student-athletes maximize their personal band and share in the success of college athletics. Following the initial University of Illinois launch, NextName plans to expand its digital collectibles platform to include athletes and universities across the country.
For more information, visit https://nextname.io. Follow NextName on Twitter: @nextname_io; Facebook: @nextname_io; Instagram: @nextname_io; and LinkedIn: nextname.
Contact: Ann Pitcher
ann@pitchercom.com
630.234.4150
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SOURCE NextName | 2022-11-04T22:30:26+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/11/04/today-nextname-offers-250-exclusive-chasing-history-digital-collectibles/ |
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitt joins the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in celebrating the one-year anniversary of the eNaira. Since its launch on 25 October 2021, citizens and residents of Nigeria were the first on the continent of Africa to be able to use a legal tender digital currency for their daily financial transactions.
Bitt and the CBN continue to work diligently to roll-out eNaira updates in adherence with the CBN's published roadmap. The implementation plan identifies three phases. The project roll-out is currently in phase two. In addition to onboarding banked customers and merchants, and integrating and optimizing core banking systems to facilitate transactions throughout the existing eNaira ecosystem, other major achievements include:
- Unbanked customer onboarding and transactions via USSD
- Integrations with the National Payment Service for QR functionality and wholesale funds transfer (RTGS)
- Onboarding of IMTOs and integration of DCMS to exchange Naira
- Multi-lingual support for mobile applications and USSD
- SMS Integration with CBN's SMS gateway service
- Security hardening
The next phases will include:
- Onboarding of Nigerian Trade and Exchange platform
- Sector-specific tokens for grants and subsidies
- Programmable payments for eNaira payment scenarios
Brian Popelka, CEO, Bitt states "This year has been full of firsts for Africa. Being the first provides the opportunity to become the first to find solutions and to chart the course for others to follow. Today's one-year milestone is an exceptional achievement for both the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bitt teams. We look forward to continued partnership on this CBDC deployment journey and to provide additional features to expand eNaira's value to all Nigerians and everyone, everywhere."
Bitt has ensured that Nigerians play a pivotal role in this project by expanding its global team to include Nigerian engineers, product managers and executives. Imran Khan, EVP, Partnerships, states, "Utilizing local talent cements our commitment to Nigeria and to the entire African continent as we endeavor to lower infrastructure cost and improve the access and user-experience of receiving and sending money, thereby promoting financial inclusion throughout Africa."
About Bitt
Bitt is a financial technology company that provides digital currency solutions to central banks, financial institutions, and ecosystem participants worldwide. Bitt's Digital Currency Management System (DCMS) provides the secure infrastructure for monetary authorities to deploy CBDCs, and for financial institutions to integrate digital currencies into their financial service offerings. Bitt is a portfolio company of Medici Ventures, L.P., a blockchain-focused fund. The general partner of that fund is an entity affiliated with Pelion Venture Partners. Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) is a limited partner of Medici Ventures, L.P.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new home products at low prices, including furniture, décor, area rugs, bedding and bath, home improvement, and more. The online shopping features millions of products that tens of millions of customers visit each month. Overstock regularly posts information about the Company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com.
O, Overstock.com, O.com, and Club O are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Other service marks, trademarks and trade names which may be referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
About Pelion
Pelion Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm. Currently investing out of their seventh fund, Pelion invests in Seed and Series A software companies across the United States. Notable investments include: Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), Riverbed, Divvy (acquired by Bill.com), and Weave (NYSE: WEAV).:
Chris Burnett
Marketing Manager
E-mail: pr@bitt.com
Website: www.bitt.com
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SOURCE Bitt | 2022-10-25T09:43:14+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2022/10/25/enaira-charting-course-financial-inclusion-its-one-year-anniversary/ |
BONNER COUNTY, Idaho — The Bonner County Sheriff's Office is spearheading a homicide investigation after deputies found an 86-year-old man dead in his home on Bottle Bay Road in Sagle.
The sheriff's office has enlisted the help of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and Idaho State Police to investigate the death of Larry W. Johnson.
Johnson was found dead inside his home on Friday, June 9, 2023. The county coroner is working with the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office to determine the exact cause and manner of his death.
No suspect has been identified at this time. Anyone with information on this crime is encouraged to call Bonner County Dispatch at (208) 265-5525.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com. | 2023-06-13T17:45:04+00:00 | ktvb.com | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/bonner-county-sheriffs-office-homicide-bottle-bay/293-df3815cc-ed48-4650-9af2-044b9a5db955 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking Congress to provide more than $47 billion in emergency dollars that would go toward the war in Ukraine, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing monkeypox outbreak and help for recent natural disasters in Kentucky and other states.
The request, which comes as lawmakers are preparing to return to Washington and fund the government, seeks $13.7 billion related to Ukraine, including money for equipment, intelligence support and direct budgetary support. Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that more than three-fourths of the $40 billion approved by Congress earlier this year has already been disbursed or committed.
“We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their democracy and we cannot allow that support to Ukraine to run dry,” Young said in a blog post.
The White House request will play into congressional budget negotiations in the coming weeks as financing for federal agencies is set to run out Sept. 30. Both parties will be seeking to avoid a government shutdown in the weeks before the midterm elections, but they will have to work out differences over issues like the COVID-19 aid, which has been a sticking point for many months as the White House has said more money is needed for vaccines and testing and Republicans have pointed to the trillions that have already been approved.
In Friday’s request, the White House is seeking $7.1 billion to procure additional vaccines and for replenishing personal protective equipment in the Strategic National Stockpile, among other measures. Another $8 billion would go to accelerate research for next-generation vaccines and therapeutics.
Biden is also seeking $2 billion to continue COVID-19 testing programs, including an initiative to distribute free at-home tests that ended on Friday as the government says it is running short on funds. White House officials say they have some tests left in the stockpile, but not enough to provide free tests if cases sharply increase.
Congress has not moved forward on similar administration requests for the COVID-19 response amid the partisan stalemate.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House has repeatedly warned that there would be trade-offs if that money wasn’t approved, and “that is precisely what happened.” The lack of free testing kits, for example, “leaves our domestic testing capacity diminished for a potential fall surge,” she said.
The administration is also asking for $4.5 billion to bolster its efforts to fight monkeypox amid the ongoing outbreak. Officials said they have already depleted significant reserves from the national stockpile to provide over 1.1 million vials of vaccine.
The money would help ensure access to vaccinations, testing and treatment, and also help fund the global effort to fight the disease, administration officials said.
For disaster relief, the White House is asking for $6.5 billion, including money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, farmers affected by weather events and efforts to increase the resilience of the electric grid. As part of that request, the administration is also asking for $1.4 billion to address unmet disaster recovery needs in several states, including for recent devastating floods in Kentucky. | 2022-09-03T13:56:05+00:00 | wjhl.com | https://www.wjhl.com/news/politics/ap-white-house-seeks-13-7-billion-more-for-ukraine/ |
Tricklebee Café: Mission to provide food to anyone regardless of ability to pay
Brian Kramp is at Tricklebee Café with a representative from Sun Badger Solar learning why it’s been a good decision for non-profits in our area.
Going solar is becoming more and more popular for many reasons. Brian Kramp is at Tricklebee Café with a representative from Sun Badger Solar learning why it’s been a good decision for non-profits in our area.
Tricklebee Café is a pay-what-you-can community cafe that offers healthy meals
Brian is checking out this special gathering space that’s always looking to help someone in need. | 2022-06-16T19:06:01+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/tricklebee-cafe-mission-to-provide-food-to-anyone-regardless-of-ability-to-pay |
ALBANY — The Albany City Commission met for its regular meeting Tuesday evening. Below are some of the items that were voted on:
Purchase of G♦ PS Tracking Units: The purchase of 357 vehicle tracking units for city vehicles and 188 non-powered equipment trackers for city equipment from Verizon Connect. The units will be used for asset tracking by the Fleet Department. This purchase will include the tracking units, professional installation, monthly service fees, and 128 gigabits of memory upgrade for a monthly charge of $8,447.75, which comes out to an annual total of $101,373.
♦ The Commission passed the purchase in a unanimous vote.
♦ Purchase of eight Ford Police Interceptors: These units will be used by the Albany Police Department and will be replacing units that are 7-14 years old. The new Ford Police Interceptors will be replacing units on the approved FY23 replacement list.
♦ The Commission passed the purchase in a unanimous vote.
♦ Salary adjustment for the Mayor and City Commissioners: The Commission considered two options for addressing their salaries as members of the Albany Board of Commissioners. Option 1: Take no action. Option 2: Consider raising the mayor’s salary to $35,000 (from $25,000) and the salary paid to city commissioners to $22,800 (from $15,000). This would be consistent with the increases for commissioners approved in 2007, which resulted in a pay increase of $7,800.
♦ The Commission voted to move forward with Option 2 and will have a second reading before voting on changing the Albany Charter.
♦ Pay Study Incentives: During the recent commission retreat, the inconsistencies of the recently completed pay study were discussed. As it would take at least six months to complete a new pay study, staff has developed alternative ways to address compensation for city employees. This item requires an ordinance to amend the FY 2023 budget in the amount of $1,320,761.
♦ The Commission passed the amendment in a unanimous vote.
♦ Allowing the Board of Commissioners to participate in the Albany Defined Contribution Plan: Amending the Defined Contribution Plan for senior management employees of the city of Albany to include the mayor and commissioners as eligible employees; further authorizing a budget amendment. If adopted, a budget amendment is required in the amount of $74,070.00.
♦ The Commission passed the amendment in a 6-1 vote. | 2022-10-26T21:46:50+00:00 | albanyherald.com | https://www.albanyherald.com/local/albany-city-commission-votes-to-move-forward-with-board-pay-increase/article_95030f14-555f-11ed-a788-5baf1ad30a5c.html |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Albuquerque police chief is calling on the state's attorney general to review a teenage boy's death in a house fire, which broke out after authorities tried to arrest a man inside.
Albuquerque police announced Tuesday that Chief Harold Medina has asked Attorney General Hector Balderas to lead a probe of the incident.
In a letter to Balderas, Medina says he is making the request out of “an abundance of caution.” He also asks for an independent analysis of the chemical device officers used at the time and deployment procedures.
Medina promised earlier this week that if police are found to have indirectly contributed to 15-year-old Brett Rosenau's death, "we will take steps to ensure this never happens again.”
The teen's death has elicited an outcry from the community and “Black Lives Matter” protesters. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico has also called on Balderas to conduct an outside investigation.
A police SWAT team last Thursday was involved in a house standoff with 27-year-old Qiaunt Kelley. Police say Kelley was wanted for a probation violation and for questioning in a recent homicide and an officer-involved shooting.
Officers allegedly threw tear gas canisters and shot chemical munitions before the blaze started.
Police said Rosenau had followed Kelley into the house. After the fire was extinguished, Rosenau was found dead.
Arson investigators say the boy died from smoke inhalation.
Kelley was treated at a hospital for burn injuries before being booked into jail. Police say he has refused to talk. It was not clear Tuesday if he had an attorney who could speak for him.
Albuquerque Fire Department officials said Sunday it may take two weeks to determine the fire's cause. | 2022-07-13T00:50:56+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Albuquerque-police-chief-wants-probe-of-teen-s-17301065.php |
"Do you guys ever think about dying?" asks Barbie. In the trailer for Greta Gerwig's forthcoming blockbuster, the all-too-familiar blonde bombshell (played by Margot Robbie) says this line in the middle of a dance floor and all of the dolls turn around in shock. Death? On the dance floor?!
Such is the crux of the movie's plot, the idea that a toy like Barbie — the mass-produced miniature embodiment of America's feminine ideal for, what, how many decades now? — might be changing, contemplating more existential horrors in her newly animated rubber brain. That's an alien mode of thinking in Barbie world, where every moment is only ever fizzy, fun and highly accessorized. What more could you ask for?
And who better than to capture what that world might sound like than Dua Lipa, our early quarantine pop savior, in the big single "Dance the Night" from the movie's forthcoming original soundtrack. "My hеart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face," she sings, on a sparkly disco-pop number that falls neatly in line with her former discography and recent, peppy genre-reviving peers Lizzo and Jessie Ware. "I'll still keep the party runnin', not one hair out of place." It's familiar, but undeniably glamorous, whether you're six years old or 30. And it's a song that certainly wouldn't soundtrack a single tear falling on a dance floor, because, girl, we do not produce tears here in Barbie world. Don't you forget it.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-05-26T18:59:38+00:00 | kunm.org | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/2023-05-26/dua-lipa-dance-the-night |
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 2022-10-20T18:46:33+00:00 | wtmj.com | https://wtmj.com/ap-news/2022/10/20/ap-top-business-news-at-101-p-m-edt-2/ |
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The decision of how Ohio will spend hundreds of millions of dollars – and maybe more – in opioid settlement money will be up to a new non-profit, whose board met for the first time on Monday.
The 29-member OneOhio Recovery Foundation Board consists of state representatives, local government leaders (including Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish), addiction treatment experts, and others from around the state. Under an agreement between state and local officials made in 2020, the new foundation will decide how to distribute more than $440 million (or 55%) of an $808 million settlement reached last year with the nation’s three largest pharmaceutical distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.
Under the agreement, another 30% of the settlement money will get distributed among more than 2,000 local governments in Ohio. The final 15% will go to the state, though Gov. Mike DeWine said OneOhio might also gain control over spending some of the state’s share.
The settlement resolved lawsuits filed by the state of Ohio and more than 140 local governments related to the companies’ role in the opioid epidemic. If the state or local governments reach settlements in other opioid lawsuits, the board could be given control over spending even more money.
It’s too soon to tell whether OneOhio might get additional money from other lawsuit settlements, said Bethany McCorkle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Dave Yost’s office.
It’s also too early to tell how OneOhio will divvy up the money it has -- or even how long it will take the non-profit will make such decisions, said board member Aimee Shadwick, the interim director of RecoveryOhio, DeWine’s mental-health and anti-addiction initiative. OneOhio still has to hire an executive director and other staff.
OneOhio board members spent Monday introducing themselves and discussing topics such as the board’s ethics policy, as well as other initial tasks.
DeWine, in a short speech to the board, said he wants Ohio to spend opioid settlement money to address the state’s opioid epidemic rather than use it the same way state officials spent the $10.1 billion the state received from tobacco companies in 1998 to recover health-care costs for tobacco-related diseases. Much of that money paid for things that had nothing to do with tobacco use, such as school construction and covering a state budget deficit.
“The money ended up being spent for good things, I’m sure,” said DeWine. “But when … we looked at the smoking problem in Ohio and the tobacco problem in Ohio, frankly … there was very little money to do anything with because we monetized it and spent it.”
DeWine also recommended that local governments work together to pool resources, especially those communities that won’t get a lot of money on their own.
“A township, for example, might be getting a relatively small amount of money. What are they going to do with $1,000? What are they going to do with $3,000?” DeWine asked rhetorically. “So again, these are things that we thought, the pooling of the money might be the wise thing to do.”
The money will get divided between 19 different regions, each of which appointed a board member. DeWine picked five board members, the Ohio General Assembly selected four, and Attorney General Dave Yost picked one.
Most board members are white -- though there are exceptions, such as former Cincinnati Vice Mayor Chris Smitherman.
Asked about the racial diversity of the board, Shadwick (who did not have control over the makeup of the board) said it was a “big priority” for the DeWine administration to choose board members who have professional and geographic diversity and people who have personal experience with opioid abuse from family members.
“We’re really proud of the appointments that the governor made, and certainly that’s the same guidance that we’ve given to the region(s) -- that when they think about making their appointments, that they’re making appointments of people who are representative of their community,” Chadwick said.
DeWine also told reporters that he would “make it clear” to the board that they should “bring in experts in the area of addiction specifically as it deals with people of color.” | 2022-05-16T22:43:53+00:00 | cleveland.com | https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/05/new-nonprofit-will-decide-how-to-spend-hundreds-of-millions-of-ohios-opioid-settlement-money.html |
How to Watch the Gonzaga vs. Portland Game: Women's Basketball Streaming & TV Channel Info for the WCC Tournament Championship
Published: Mar. 7, 2023 at 9:19 AM CST|Updated: 2 hours ago
The WCC conference champion will be named on Tuesday when the No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-3) and the No. 2 Portland Pilots (22-8) face off at 4:00 PM.
Use our link to get a free trial of fuboTV, where you can watch women's and men's college hoops and tons of other live sports without cable!
Gonzaga Women's Basketball Game Live Stream & TV Channel Info
- When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET
- Where: Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada
- Live Stream College Basketball on fuboTV this season: Start your free trial today!
Watch women's college hoops all season without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to fuboTV!
Gonzaga vs. Portland Scoring Comparison
- The Pilots' 69.7 points per game are 10.3 more points than the 59.4 the Bulldogs allow.
- Portland has put together a 19-3 record in games it scores more than 59.4 points.
- Gonzaga has a 25-0 record when its opponents score fewer than 69.7 points.
- The Bulldogs score 10.7 more points per game (72.8) than the Pilots allow (62.1).
- Gonzaga has a 25-3 record when putting up more than 62.1 points.
- When Portland gives up fewer than 72.8 points, it is 18-3.
- This season the Bulldogs are shooting 45.1% from the field, 4.3% lower than the Pilots concede.
Gonzaga Schedule
Portland Schedule
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-03-07T16:57:20+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/sports/betting/2023/03/07/gonzaga-portland/womens-college-basketball-live-stream-tv-wcc-tournament/ |
ORONO, Maine (AP) — University of Maine athletics director Ken Ralph is departing to serve at a Division III college in Texas.
Ralph, who came do NCAA Division 1 Maine from Colorado College, will wrap up his duties at month’s end before reporting for duty at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas,, officials said Monday.
He said it's difficult to leave UMaine but that he looks forward to returning to a “residential liberal arts environment.”
“Maine is fortunate to have an immensely talented coaching staff and a highly trained support staff. The next AD will walk into a situation where they will be well positioned to meet the challenges of a Division I environment,” Ralph said in a statement.
Ralph's four-year tenure was marked by a $90 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation to provide modern facilities for all 17 varsity programs at the University of Maine.
An interim athletic director will be named and a national search will be launched to fill the position, officials said. | 2022-08-08T15:36:24+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/UMaine-AD-is-headed-to-Division-III-Southwestern-17358939.php |
SHANGHAI, Nov. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with the layout of whole industry chain, announced that its clinical trial application for 9MW3011 Injection used in patients with polycythemia vera was formally approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
9MW3011 is monoclonal antibody with an innovative target. It is independently developed by Innovation R&D Center of Mabwell in San Diego, U.S., belonging to Category 1 Therapeutic Biological Products. With its target mainly expressed on the surfaces of liver cell membranes, 9MW3011 can upregulate the level of hepcidin expressed by hepatocytes through specific binding, inhibit the absorption and release of iron, and lower the serum iron level, thus regulating the iron homeostasis in vivo.
The clinical trial application for the 9MW3011 Injection has been accepted by NMPA in October. The proposed indications of 9MW3011 include a variety of diseases classified as rare in different regions of the world, such as β-thalassemia, polycythemia vera and other diseases related to iron homeostasis. There are no mature and effective macromolecular drugs for the relevant indications so far. 9MW3011 is expected to be qualified as an orphan drug in the future and become the first-in-class macromolecular drug to regulate iron homeostasis in vivo.
About Mabwell
Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company, has the whole industrial chain of R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization. We provide more effective and accessible therapy and innovative medicines to fulfill global medical needs. Since 2017, an advanced R&D system which covers target discovery, early discovery, druggability, preclinical, clinical research and manufacturing transformation was established. Mabwell has 14 pipeline products in different R&D stages based on a world-class and state-of-the-art R&D engine, including 10 novel drug candidates and 4 biosimilars. We focus on the therapeutic areas of auto-immune diseases, oncology, metabolic disorders, ophthalmologic diseases and infectious diseases, etc. Of these, 1 product has been launched, 2 BLA has been filed, 3 in pivotal trials. We have also undertaken 1 national major scientific and technological special project for "Significant New Drugs Development", 2 projects for National Key R&D Programmes, and several provincial and municipal science and technological innovation projects. Mabwell's Taizhou factory possesses robust in-house manufacturing capability compliant with international GMP standards regulated by the NMPA, FDA and EMA, and has passed the EU QP Audit. The large-scale manufacturing base located in Shanghai is under construction. Our mission is "Explore Life, Benefit Health" and our vision is "Innovation, from ideas to reality". For more information, please visit www.mabwell.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the potential safety, efficacy, regulatory review or approval and commercial success of our product candidates and those relating to the Company's product development, clinical studies, clinical and regulatory milestones and timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. "Forward-looking statements" are statements that are not historical facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would," and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms.
Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including, but not limited to:environment; politic; economy; society; legislation; our dependence on our product candidates, most of which are still in preclinical or various stages of clinical development; our reliance on third-party vendors, such as contract research organizations and contract manufacturing organizations; the uncertainties inherent in clinical testing; our ability to complete required clinical trials for our product candidates and obtain approval from regulatory authorities for our product candidates; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the potential impact of COVID-19; the loss of any executive officers or key personnel. In case one or more of these risks or uncertainties deteriorate, or any assumptions are incorrect, the actual results may be seriously inconsistent with the stated results.
The Company cautions all the persons not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation, except as specifically required by law and the rules of the applicable Stock authority to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking descriptions, figures and assumptions in this press release are applicable to this statement.
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SOURCE Mabwell | 2022-11-24T16:19:38+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/11/24/mabwell-announces-us-fda-approval-9mw3011-fic-ind/ |
RADNOR, Pa., Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Missfresh Limited ("Missfresh") (NASDAQ: MF). The action charges Missfresh with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Missfresh's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Missfresh investors have suffered significant losses.
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR MISSFRESH LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/missfresh-limited?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=missfreshx&mktm=r
TO VIEW OUR VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2022
CLASS PERIOD: PURSUANT AND/OR TRACEABLE TO MISSFRESH'S JUNE 2021 IPO THROUGH JULY 12, 2022
CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:
James Maro, Esq. (484) 270-1453 or Toll Free (844) 887-9500 or Email at info@ktmc.com
Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.
MISSFRESH'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
In June 2021, Missfresh conducted its initial public offering (IPO), selling 21 million American Depository Shares ("ADSs") at $13.00 per ADS.
On April 29, 2022, after trading hours, Missfresh filed a Notification of Late Filing on a Form 12b-25, which announced that Missfresh "will not be able to file its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 … by the prescribed filing deadline of April 30, 2022." Missfresh explained that "[t]he independent Audit Committee of [Missfresh]'s board of directors, with the assistance of professional advisors, is in the process of conducting an internal review of certain matters, including those relating to transactions between [Missfresh] and certain third-party enterprises." Following this news, Missfresh ADSs fell 13% to close at $0.448 per ADS on May 2, 2021, the next trading day.
Then, on May 24, 2022, after trading hours, Missfresh issued a press release entitled "Missfresh Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Notification Regarding Late Filing of Form 20-F" announcing "that it received a notification letter dated May 19, 2022 . . . from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. ("Nasdaq"), indicating that [Missfresh] is not in compliance with the requirements for continued listing." Following this news, Missfresh ADSs fell 9% over the next two trading days to close at $0.167 per ADS on May 26, 2021.
Finally, on July 1, 2022, Missfresh issued a press release entitled "Missfresh Announces the Substantial Completion of the Audit Committee-Led Independent Internal Review." In the press release, Missfresh disclosed that "certain revenue associated with these reporting periods in 2021 may have been inaccurately recorded in [Missfresh]'s financial statements." As of the date the complaint was filed, Missfresh ADSs closed at $0.389 per ADS, well below Missfresh's IPO price of $13.00 per ADS.
WHAT CAN I DO?
Missfresh investors may, no later than September 12, 2022seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Missfresh investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE
WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com.
CONTACT:
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
James Maro, Jr., Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
(484) 270-1453
info@ktmc.com
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SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP | 2022-08-04T16:25:35+00:00 | waff.com | https://www.waff.com/prnewswire/2022/08/04/kessler-topaz-meltzer-amp-check-llp-announces-securities-fraud-class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-missfresh-limited/ |
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