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Yes, Halloween is a holiday – one that comes with some specific demands. But it is also the gateway into a season that bids farewell to summer, welcomes the harvest and looks ahead to nippy evenings.
For Kim Solano at Haute Enchilada in Moss Landing, it’s a reason to introduce cocktails with the faintest nod to Halloween. A pitch-black rim of charcoal salt adorns Golden Midnight while Trick or Treat is nothing but the latter. Otherwise the cocktails are a celebration of flavor. Pom Punch is something she brings out every year. The blend of spirits, red wine and fruit juice sits dormant for three months, infused with cinnamon sticks. A sensation of jammy pomegranate soon reveals darker moods of toasted grass, singed wood and a trembling, bitter baritone. Although served over ice, there’s a rich pallor to the cocktail, as well as a note of warning. With alcohol pouncing from three directions, “you can get very drunk on those,” she says.
Trick or Treat is Haute Enchilada’s version of a coffeehouse warmer. Solano steams almond liqueur into a delicate froth which floats over a double shot of hot espresso. Dusted with cinnamon, it becomes a fascinating sojourn, drifting from creamy and mellow to bitter and temperamental and back again, with a spicy streak throughout. Golden Midnight may be the most playful of the three. It begins with marigold petals that cover the bottom of the glass like fallen leaves. Only the black, salted rim lends an ominous tone to the fruity, floral, almost gleeful cocktail. | 2022-10-27T07:49:04+00:00 | montereycountyweekly.com | https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/opinion/mmj/new-cocktails-at-haute-enchilada-are-more-seasonal-than-spooky/article_113b2420-5567-11ed-9910-4f8a2eaf94ca.html |
The new program supports 100+ students nationwide to build technical and professional skills in an effort to diversify future talent pipelines
ARLINGTON, Va. and NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Technologies is partnering with Girls Who Code (GWC) to launch GWC's Leadership Academy, a semester-long program for over 100 U.S. college students. Program participants will join GWC advisors and Raytheon Technologies mentors to build their leadership, technical and professional skills while growing their network of peers studying STEM fields.
The program, which targets STEM students who will soon enter the workforce, will launch on Aug. 30, 2022. The Leadership Academy aims to provide students from historically underrepresented groups with increased exposure to tech careers by empowering them with a supportive community of peers and professional development opportunities. Students in the Leadership Academy come from more than 80 colleges across the U.S. and about 90% identify as Black, Latina, Indigenous, or first-generation college students.
"We are incredibly proud to be the inaugural partner for the Girls Who Code Leadership Academy, helping empower more students to explore and ultimately thrive in STEM-related roles," said Vince Campisi, senior vice president of Enterprise Services and chief digital officer for Raytheon Technologies. "Building on our successful collaboration, this new program will continue to identify new ways to close the gender gap and will be a vital part of how we transform the future of our talent pipeline together."
"At Girls Who Code, we understand that to prepare our students for the workforce; we must not only equip them with the resources they need to build on their technical skills. To help them thrive, we also need hands-on engagement that will teach them the fundamentals of growing their networks through leadership," said Tarika Barrett, CEO of Girls Who Code. "We're overjoyed to partner closely with Raytheon Technologies on this pilot program and are excited by the opportunity to continue to provide students with the tools and confidence they need to make a difference."
This four-month pilot program will include small cohort meetings – designed to provide opportunities for shared learning, career mentoring, and community-building – as well as a Give Back Project. Participants will receive guidance from peers and Raytheon Technologies mentors as they plan, manage, and execute community service projects. Volunteers from the company will also participate in speed networking events and technical interview prep sessions with the students.
Raytheon Technologies' partnership with GWC is part of the company's Connect Up initiative, which supports building a more diverse technology workforce by improving STEM education opportunities for women and students of color. Programs such as the Leadership Academy have the potential to help fill current and future tech talent shortages with young leaders who are well equipped with the skills to thrive across all industries. Raytheon Technologies has partnered with Girls Who Code since 2018.
Contact:
For Raytheon Technologies
Rachel Perlmutter | Rachel.perlmutter@edelman.com
For Girls Who Code
Poonam Mantha | poonam.mantha@girlswhocode.com
About Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code is an international non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. With their 7-week Summer Immersion Program, after school Clubs, College Loops program and New York Times best-selling series, they are leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st-century opportunities. Girls Who Code has reached 300,000 girls around the world. To join the movement or learn more, visit girlswhocode.com.
About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
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SOURCE Raytheon Technologies | 2022-08-29T14:01:28+00:00 | kcrg.com | https://www.kcrg.com/prnewswire/2022/08/29/girls-who-code-raytheon-technologies-launch-pilot-leadership-academy-stem-college-students/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers said Wednesday that a decades-old birth control pill should be sold without a prescription, paving the way for a likely U.S. approval of the first over-the-counter contraceptive medication.
The panel of FDA advisers voted unanimously in favor of drugmaker Perrigo's request to sell its once-a-day medication over the counter. The recommendation came at the close of a two-day meeting focused on company research into whether women could safely and effectively take the pill without professional supervision. A final FDA decision is expected this summer.
If the FDA follows the nonbinding recommendation, Perrigo's drug, Opill, would become the first contraceptive pill to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter onto store shelves. Currently, a prescription is required in the U.S.
The outside experts said they were confident that women of all ages could use the drug appropriately without seeing a health provider first.
“I do believe this is a viable option to support access and will support the prevention of unintended and unwanted pregnancies,” said Jolie Haun, a researcher with the Department of Veterans Affairs, who voted in favor of the pill.
The positive vote came despite numerous criticisms from FDA scientists about how Perrigo studied the drug, including whether study participants were able to understand and follow labeling instructions.
But the panel largely set those concerns aside, emphasizing the benefits of providing more effective birth control, particularly to young people and lower-income groups, than what's available over the counter now, like condoms and diaphragms.
Most birth control pills used in the U.S. today contain a combination of progestin and estrogen. Opill is part of an older class of contraceptives that only contain progestin. They generally have fewer side effects and health risks but can be less effective if they're not taken around the same time daily.
Nonprescription medicines are usually cheaper, but generally not covered by insurance. Requiring insurers to cover over-the-counter birth control would require a regulatory change by the federal government.
Birth control pills are available without a prescription across much of South America, Asia and Africa.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 2023-05-10T17:57:32+00:00 | springfieldnewssun.com | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/fda-panel-backs-over-the-counter-birth-control-pill/46PHSPSHVREWBCSIVB7VFQ6CRQ/ |
Woman found guilty in deadly road rage incident despite ‘cough syrup defense’
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A jury in Missouri delivered a guilty verdict in a trial that involved a woman accused of a deadly road rage crash and having a cough syrup addiction.
KY3 reports the jury found Elizabeth McKeown guilty of first-degree murder in Barbara Foster’s death in a November 2018 incident. The jury also found her guilty of armed criminal action.
Police say McKeown rear-ended Foster’s vehicle in traffic for moving too slowly at an intersection in Springfield. Investigators said McKeown lured Foster out of her car and ran her over.
Authorities said Foster died from her injuries at the hospital.
During the trial, McKeown’s defense argued that she had a side effect that day from drinking cough syrup to suppress a cough that she had. The state worked to disprove McKeown’s addiction to cough syrup. They claimed she was under the influence at the time of the incident.
A Missouri Department of Mental Health clinical psychologist testified McKeown had unspecified schizophrenia brought on by her medication. Prosecutors quickly attempted to discredit the diagnosis. They explained to the jury inconsistencies in McKeown’s mental evaluation.
McKeon’s attorneys said the team plans to file a motion for a new trial.
Copyright 2022 KY3 via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-11T03:31:12+00:00 | kfyrtv.com | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/06/11/woman-found-guilty-deadly-road-rage-incident-despite-cough-syrup-defense/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings fell in March to the lowest level in nearly two years, a sign that the American labor market is cooling in the face of higher interest rates.
Employers posted 9.6 million vacancies in March, down from nearly 10 million in February and lowest since April 2021. The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, out Tuesday, showed that layoffs rose to 1.8 million, the highest level since December 2020.
The number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign they have confidence they can find better pay or working conditions elsewhere — dropped to 3.9 million, lowest since May 2021.
The American job market is strong but losing momentum. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times in just over a year in a bid to rein in inflation that last year hit a four-decade high. And higher borrowing costs are taking an economic toll.
A hot job market can push up wages — and overall prices.
“Overall the JOLTS report shows a historically tight labor market that is finally starting to slacken more quickly, something Fed officials have been seeking for several quarters,”’ Contingent Macro Advisors said in a research note.
The job market is cooling but remains strong by historic standards. Monthly job openings had never exceeded 10 million until 2021, then reeled off 20 straight months above that threshold. The streak ended in February.
The Labor Department on Friday releases the jobs report for last month. Forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet expect that employers added fewer than 182,000 jobs in April, which would be the third straight monthly drop since payrolls rose by a robust 472,000 in January.
The unemployment rate is expected to blip up to 3.6% in April, a couple of notches above January’s half-century low 3.4% | 2023-05-03T10:00:24+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/business/us-job-openings-dip-to-9-6-million-lowest-since-2021/ |
YAKIMA, Wash. — From the road, the FairBridge Inn & Suites on North First Street looks like any other no-frills hotel. Not so long ago, it was routinely getting 1-star Yelp reviews. "Oi. Is all I can say," reads one.
But location is everything.
Strategically situated in a valley bursting with cherries, apples and hops, with the snow-capped Mount Rainier looming in the distance, the property is now bustling with activity and nearing full capacity.
That's because the FairBridge Inn is now a dormitory. Gone are the king and queen beds, replaced with several bunkbeds in each of its 206 rooms. The guests are no longer road trippers or conferencegoers, but farmworkers brought to the U.S. from other countries. They stay for weeks and sometimes months.
"We've seen more and more people each year," says Brett Valicoff, general manager of First Street Investments, which owns and operates the converted hotel to serve farmers in the area, including members of his own family.
"Customers of ours, they are bringing in more people and for longer durations of time," he says. Come August, when the apple harvest season begins, Valicoff expects all 1,044 beds to be taken.
What's happening at the FairBridge Inn is a symbol of the exponential growth in seasonal foreign workers on U.S. farms. The number of guest worker visas issued each year has more than quadrupled over the past decade. But the program is rife with labor rights violations, and farmers who have come to depend on it don't love it, either.
Farms are increasingly using guest workers to bring in the harvest
Behind the growth of the guest worker program are labor shortages that farmers across the U.S. say are getting worse every year.
"It has become a nightmare for people to find anyone," says Dillon Honcoop, who grew up on a raspberry farm and now represents farmers in northwest Washington through the group Save Family Farming.
For decades, a predominantly Mexican workforce migrated around the U.S., often starting in Texas and following the harvest through California and eventually to Washington state. But that has changed due to a constellation of factors — including a tightening of the southern border, aging out of the migrant labor force and competition from other industries.
Now, many farm owners say their top concern is finding enough workers to get their crops picked before it's too late.
Enter the H-2A visa program. First established in the 1980s, the program allows employers to bring in foreign farmworkers on a temporary basis, provided they cannot find enough workers in the U.S. to get the job done, among other requirements.
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In 2020, guest workers accounted for just 10% of the farm labor workforce, but their numbers are skyrocketing, especially in southeastern states and on the West Coast.
In Washington state, requests for guest workers soared to more than 37,000 so far in 2023, from just over 2,000 in 2009.
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Exponential growth in guest workers raises red flags
On paper, the H-2A program appears to check a lot of boxes: Give workers from poorer countries a safe, legal pathway to come to the U.S. to perform essential work, after which they can return home with earnings far exceeding what they could have made otherwise.
"It's an opportunity to earn more money than in Mexico," says an H-2A worker in New York state, who spoke to NPR in Spanish on the condition that he not be identified, fearing retaliation from his employer. "We all have families. We have wives, we have children, we have parents to support, and we need work more than anything."
A downside, he says, is the program offers no pathway for workers to stay in the U.S. beyond the harvest.
"We don't have long-term opportunities," he says.
Beyond the guest workers themselves, there are many more complaints.
The recent explosion of the H-2A program has raised grave concerns among labor advocates and lawmakers — both about the welfare of the foreign workers who participate in the program as well as about the domestic workers they may be replacing, including those who are undocumented.
Farm owners, too, have issues with the program, mainly because of its high costs.
To qualify for H-2A workers, employers must provide housing as well as transportation, both to and from a worker's home country, and to and from the work site. They must provide kitchen facilities or access to three meals a day. They are also required to pay workers a wage set by the government that is higher than minimum wage and not lower than the prevailing wage. In Washington state, that wage is currently $17.97 an hour.
"[Farmers] are not excited to use the program. They view it as a last resort," says Honcoop. "It's expensive, and the amount of red tape it comes with is huge, and it's overwhelming."
That's by design — to ensure that guest workers are adequately provided for during their stay and that the local workforce is not economically harmed.
Still, gaps in enforcement have resulted in numerous labor rights violations, including wage theft.
Under the Biden administration, the Labor Department has concluded more than 1,000 cases with H-2A violations, resulting in back wages of $12 million owed to more than 17,000 workers.
And other investigations have turned up far worse.
Slavery-like conditions and other abuses uncovered
Labor advocates warn that H-2A workers are highly vulnerable to exploitation.
"It's all about labor control and having your status tied to your employer," says Rosalinda Guillen, founder of the farmworker rights group Community to Community Development.
She's met guest workers in the area who have been afraid to speak up, fearing they'll be fired and forced to leave the country.
A 2021 federal investigation dubbed Operation Blooming Onion found H-2A workers in Georgia were forced to dig onions with their bare hands while being severely underpaid and threatened with violence and deportation. The workers were housed in an unsanitary work camp, encircled by an electric fence, with little food and no safe water. Two died, according to court records.
The U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation called it "modern-day slavery." Two dozen people were indicted.
Washington state has seen its own share of illegal activity involving H-2A workers. This spring, the state won a $3.4 million settlement against Ostrom Mushroom Farms in Sunnyside, Wash., after finding it had fired local workers, including some who had complained about discriminatory practices, and replaced them with guest workers.
"[H-2A workers] have fewer rights than a resident of the state of Washington does," says Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. "Clearly, this company knew that — they were aware of that. And that resulted, I have no doubt, in a large part of their conduct."
And in Sumas, Wash., near the Canadian border, a case was brought against blueberry grower Sarbanand Farms and its parent company Munger Bros. after the 2017 death of an H-2A worker amid what was described as hostile working conditions.
While the farm was cleared in the worker's death, it faced multiple state and federal fines for denying meal and rest breaks, for failing to provide safe housing and transportation, and for failing to recruit and hire local workers as required by the guest worker program, among other violations.
"There is not one component of the H-2A program that can be equitably enforced," says Guillen, whose organization was involved in bringing the complaints against Sarbanand. "Every single component of it — they can get away with it."
Local workers fear being pushed out
This summer, Community to Community Development is focused on helping local workers apply for jobs that will otherwise go to H-2A workers. Under program rules, employers who have requested guest workers are required to recruit and hire eligible local workers who worked for them the previous year, but Guillen says that hasn't adequately happened.
In the past, she says, workers could just show up in person and request work. This year, a local berry farm sent local applicants to apply online, a technological challenge.
"They don't have internet. They don't have computers," says Guillen. "You're talking rural eastern Whatcom County, where the internet service is really bad."
Guillen suspects that farms nearby prefer guest workers over local workers, because local workers in the area have been increasingly vocal about their rights, including their right to form unions.
Community organizer Zenaida Perez came to northwest Washington from Oaxaca, Mexico, when she was 17 and has picked strawberries and blueberries for years. She worries that the influx of guest workers will soon mean there's no work for people like her.
"I've been here a long time. I have children here," she says in Spanish. "If I can't find work, I won't be able to pay rent."
Efforts are underway to clean up the H-2A program
Those involved in the business of bringing guest workers to the U.S. acknowledge there are bad actors — but believe the program can be cleaned up.
"I'm all for if there's an employer not doing what is very clear and they're mandated to do, they need to be told what needs to be done," says Enrique Gastelum, CEO of WAFLA, the nonprofit farm labor contractor that's responsible for about half of all H-2A applications in Washington state and is among the largest employers of guest workers in the country.
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In an effort to root out abuses, WAFLA does mid-season check-ins with guest workers, asking questions about working conditions and violations that may be happening, including during the recruiting process. Those surveys have revealed weaknesses in the system. For example, a small percentage of workers did report paying illegal fees to recruiters, which Gastelum says led to investigations.
Still, any substantial changes to the federal visa program would have to come from Congress.
A group of lawmakers is attempting a reform effort, responding to complaints about the H-2A program from both labor groups and employers.
The newly reintroduced Farm Workforce Modernization Act would give guest workers more protections, including the right to sue their employers.
The measure would also reduce costs and ease administrative burdens for employers by, among other things, freezing wages for a year and granting longer visas for workers to stay year-round.
In past sessions of Congress, the bill has failed to garner enough support, even with some bipartisan backing.
The main sponsor of the House version of the bill is U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican and farmer from the Yakima Valley himself.
"I want to make sure that there are fewer obstacles in front of our ability to produce food in this country, and to make sure that the American people continue to have an abundant and safe food supply," says Newhouse.
"If we don't have an adequate labor force for the agricultural industry, that's in jeopardy."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-07-27T10:01:12+00:00 | delawarepublic.org | https://www.delawarepublic.org/npr-headlines/npr-headlines/2023-07-27/americas-farms-are-desperate-for-labor-foreign-workers-bring-relief-and-controversy |
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MJ Daffue, Anders Albertson share 36-hole lead at Visit Knoxville Open
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May 13, 2022
By Hagan Parkman , PGATOUR.COM
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May 13, 2022
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Round Recaps
3 Things to Know | Round 2 | 2022 Visit Knoxville Open
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – MJ Daffue, a native of Pretoria, South Africa, joined Anders Albertson atop the leaderboard Friday evening upon suspension of the second round of the Visit Knoxville Open. Albertson followed Thursday’s 8-under 62 with a 3-under 67 Friday, while Daffue followed a 6-under 64 with a 5-under 65. The co-leaders hold a two-stroke edge over a trio of players at 9-under par.
The second round was suspended for just under two hours (4:26 p.m. through 6:25 p.m.) due to lightning before its suspension for the day due to darkness at 8:42 p.m. With five players still playing their second round, the 36-hole cut will be made Saturday morning. The second round will resume at 7:45 a.m. ET, with the cut line and third-round groupings being determined upon its conclusion.
Both Albertson and Daffue only had one bogey apiece in the second round, as both bogeyed the par-3 11th. The co-leaders both have 12 birdies through two rounds, tied for most in the field among those who completed their second round, with the only other player boasting a dozen birdies being Akshay Bhatia, who won the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay.
Albertson, a 28-year-old who plays from Atlanta, Georgia, opened his second round with consecutive birdies at the par-4 first and second and closed with two more at the par-4 15th and par-5 18th. Albertson also birdied Nos. 1, 2, and 15 in Thursday’s opening round.
"I played consistently today,” Albertson said. “I think the biggest difference is that the greens were so fast yesterday afternoon, and then today I struggled with the speed to make putts. I hit 16 or 17 greens, so I had a lot of looks but I just didn't make as many putts, but that's going to happen sometimes. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be playing in the afternoon, because I had it dialed in yesterday and would like to fall back on that speed."
Albertson is back with the Korn Ferry Tour for the second consecutive season after he played the 2018-19 campaign on the PGA TOUR. The Georgia Tech alum finished No. 8 on the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List and earned his first PGA TOUR card, but finished 172nd the 2018-19 FedExCup Standings and fell back to the Korn Ferry Tour. In the combined 2020-21 season, Albertson finished No. 64 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, granting him fully exempt status for the 2022 season.
In eight Korn Ferry Tour starts this year, Albertson has six made cuts, highlighted by a T4 at the inaugural Lake Charles Championship.
“If I win a tournament, I win, and if I don't, I don't,” said Albertson, whose only previous 36-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour was at the 2021 Veritex Bank Championship, where he was T1 through the second round and finished T20. “In the past I've thought in a way that made it difficult for me to play my best, and I think now I'm getting out of my own way because I'm not feeling all the extra stuff that comes with what every shot means.
“I just play the shot in front of me as freely as I can and stay kind to myself afterwards if it doesn't go well."
Daffue entered the day two strokes behind Albertson and pulled even with the 18-hole leader as he played his last six holes at 5-under par, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 fifth.
“I've been hitting the ball really well this week and my proximity has been really close,” stated Daffue, who also made birdies at Nos. 18, 4, 6, and 9. “I put a lot of work into my short game and doing certain drills to work speed with my putter. I'm putting it together with eight birdies yesterday, then four birdies and an eagle today. I'm trying to not get ahead of myself and hit the middle of the green then move forward."
Daffue turned professional out of Lamar University in 2012, but struggled to obtain status for the first seven years of his career. Daffue finished T138 at Final Stage of the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, leaving him buried in the priority ranking and for the 2018 season. His first Korn Ferry Tour start came in 2019 after he successfully Monday qualified. Daffue Monday qualified into five of his 10 career Korn Ferry Tour starts prior to the 2022 season, while another three were via top-25s following a successful Monday qualifier.
Daffue returned to Final Stage of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament last November, but he finished T50 and missed the top 40 – which left him without guaranteed starts for the 2022 season – by a single stroke. After a battle with COVID in January, Daffue was the seventh-to-last player in the field at the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, where he finished T15 and positioned himself to climb the priority ranking following the reorder.
In 10 starts this season, Daffue has three top-10s, including a T2 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic back in February. If the clubhouse lead stands, it will mark Daffue’s first 36-hole lead or co-lead, and his second lead in a Korn Ferry Tour event, as he held the outright 18-hole lead at last month’s Veritex Bank Championship.
"This isn't the first time that I'm tied for the lead this season, I've been in this position quite a few times so I'm getting used to it,” Daffue said. “I'm trying to learn from my past experiences, I've seen myself be patient and today is a great example. I've learned over the past tournaments this season where I was in contention that I don't have to do anything special to win. I need to stick to my routines and stay committed and then trust in my ability."
Third-round tee times will begin at 8:45 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.
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Please enter a valid email address. | 2022-05-15T17:10:23+00:00 | pgatour.com | https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/daily-wrapup/2022/05/13/mj-daffue--anders-albertson-share-36-hole-lead-at-visit-knoxville-open.html |
A second coolant leak on a second Russian space vehicle docked to the International Space Station is causing issues. A planned launch to replace a damaged Soyuz crew capsule could now be delayed.
Copyright 2023 NPR
A second coolant leak on a second Russian space vehicle docked to the International Space Station is causing issues. A planned launch to replace a damaged Soyuz crew capsule could now be delayed.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-02-16T22:44:35+00:00 | mainepublic.org | https://www.mainepublic.org/2023-02-16/another-coolant-leak-on-a-russian-space-vehicle-docked-to-the-iss-could-delay-plans |
If you are a tourist visiting Massachusetts for the first time your top places to visit might be a little different compared to someone who’s been living in the state for years.
HawaiianIslands.com released data comparing what out-of-state tourists enjoy versus what locals like best. The data was compiled by looking at Tripadvisor’s “Things to Do” section. The website then looked at the average Tripadvisor rating from out-of-state tourists and from locals. It then compared the two lists. | 2022-07-20T20:09:49+00:00 | masslive.com | https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/07/massachusetts-locals-and-tourists-agree-going-to-the-museum-of-fine-arts-is-worth-it-according-to-tripadvisor-data.html |
NEW YORK (AP) — Japan’s strict border restrictions will be loosened next month, the prime minister announced Thursday, allowing tourists to easily enter for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
In a news conference at the foot of Central Park in New York, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said independent tourists would again be welcomed as of Oct. 11, not just those traveling with authorized groups.
A cap on the number of tourists who are granted entry — which has been gradually increased this year — will be nixed altogether. And visa requirements that were imposed in response to the pandemic will also be rescinded.
Japan’s tough COVID-19 restrictions have sent the number of visitors plummeting and its tourism industry reeling. Though foreign tourists were welcomed back in June after a pause of more than two years, the reopening has been confusing to many seeking to visit.
A previous announcement billed as an easing of the group tour rule turned out, for many tourists, to be anything but — introducing a convoluted process requiring obtaining clearance via a Japanese travel agent, often with hefty fees or commissions attached.
Now, the country appears to be returning to normal, in time for some to book travel for Japan’s fall foliage. Kishida said a campaign aimed at bolstering the tourism industry would be rolled out offering discounts.
“We hope that many citizens will take advantage,” he said as he wrapped up a trip to New York.
Until now, Japan persisted in pandemic travel rules that many other countries have long since dropped. Some tourists have shifted vacations to countries including South Korea and Thailand, which have had looser rules of late.
Kishida spoke on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. In other remarks, he called for reform of the U.N. Security Council and dismissed any skepticism about Japan’s increased military spending, saying it remained a “peace-loving nation.”
He also said Japan would “boldly take necessary steps” to combat excessive fluctuation of the yen, which has dropped to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in more than two decades.
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AP National Writer Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://twitter.com/sedensky. For more AP coverage of the U.N. General Assembly, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly | 2022-09-22T20:58:30+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/ap-japan-to-loosen-travel-restrictions-imposed-during-pandemic/ |
MOSCOW (AP) — The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry lashed out Thursday at the United States characterizing basketball star Brittney Griner’s jailing on drug charges as “wrongful detention,” saying it shows disrespect for Russian law.
Griner has been jailed since she was arrested in mid-February at a Moscow airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. The Phoenix Mercury standout and two-time Olympic gold medalist acknowledged in court this month that she had the canisters, but said she had no intent to break the law.
She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Her trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday.
The State Department in May designated Griner as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs – effectively, the government’s chief hostage negotiator.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that the legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use in parts of the U.S. has no bearing on what happens in Russia.
“If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” Zakharova said.
“You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path,” she added.
Russian media have persistently speculated that Griner could be exchanged for prominent Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States, and that Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, may also figure in an exchange.
U.S. officials have not commented on the prospects for such a trade. Russian officials have said no exchange could be discussed until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against Griner. It is unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner’s detention until Dec. 20. | 2022-07-21T17:59:19+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/sports/ap-sports/moscow-says-us-must-respect-russian-law-in-griner-case/ |
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A hard-line, anti-migrant party on Wednesday threw its weight behind the opposition candidate who is running against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in this weekend’s runoff presidential race.
Umit Ozdag, the leader of the far-right Victory Party, announced his support for main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who will be facing off against Erdogan on Sunday. He said he decided to back Kilicdaroglu after the two reached a consensus on the need to repatriate millions of migrants within a year.
Kilicdaroglu “has stated very clearly that refugees should return to their homeland and that this is the policy he will implement,” Ozdag told reporters following several rounds of talks with Kilicdaroglu. “Therefore, as the Victory Party, we decided to support Mr. Kilicdaroglu in the second round of the presidential election.”
Ozdag added that the two agreed on “a model that is in line with international laws and upholds human rights, that would ensure the security of Syrians in Syria but lift the heavy burden on Turkey’s economy and that would make our streets safe again.”
Ozdag’s announcement came just days after Sinan Ogan, the third-placed contender in the first round of the presidential election on May 14, endorsed Erdogan in the upcoming runoff. Ogan was the joint candidate of an alliance of small conservative parties, led by Ozdag’s Victory Party.
According to a seven-point protocol signed between Kilicdaroglu and Ozdag, the two also agreed on the need to maintain an “effective and determined” fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and other groups that Turkey considers to be terrorists. The two said they would uphold the country’s secular traditions and fight corruption.
Erdogan received 49.5% of the votes in the first round of the presidential race — just short of the majority needed for an outright victory — compared to Kilicdaroglu’s 44.9%. Ogan received 5.2%.
Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist and Islamist allies also retained a majority in the 600-seat parliament — a development that increases Erdogan’s chances of reelection because voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a splintered government, analysts say.
In an apparent attempt to woo nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu had hardened his tone last week, vowing to send back refugees and ruling out any peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected. Kilicdaroglu had previously said he planned to repatriate Syrians within two years, by creating economic and safety conditions conducive to their return.
Kilicdaroglu, 74, is the joint candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, which has pledged to reverse Turkey’s authoritarian drift under Erdogan and return the country to a parliamentary democracy with increased checks and balances.
Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee community, including 3.7 million Syrians. Anti-migrant sentiment is running high in the country amid economic turmoil, including high inflation, and the issue of the repatriation of migrants has become a main campaign issue. | 2023-05-25T03:18:47+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/business-news/ap-turkish-anti-migrant-party-backs-erdogans-rival-in-presidential-runoff/ |
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA moves start of World Cup one day earlier, lets host Qatar open tournament against Ecuador on Nov. 20.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Emails and phone calls from same-sex couples, worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children, flooded attorney Sydney Duncan’s office within hours of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.
The ruling last week didn’t directly affect the 2015 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage. But, Duncan said, it was still a warning shot for families headed by same-sex parents who fear their rights could evaporate like those of people seeking to end a pregnancy.
“That has a lot of people scared and, I think, rightfully so,” said Duncan, who specializes in representing members of the LGBTQ community at the Magic City Legal Center in Birmingham.
Overturning a nearly 50-year-old precedent, the Supreme Court ruled in a Mississippi case that abortion wasn’t protected by the Constitution, a decision likely to lead to bans in about half the states. Justice Samuel Alito said the ruling involved only the medical procedure, writing: “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”
But conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to reconsider cases that allowed same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception.
The court’s three most liberal members warn in their dissent that the ruling could be used to challenge other personal freedoms: “Either the mass of the majority’s opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights are under threat. It is one or the other.”
That prospect alarms some LGBTQ couples, who worry about a return to a time when they lacked equal rights to married heterosexual couples under the law. Many, fearful that their marital status is in danger, are moving now to square away potential medical, parental and estate issues.
Dawn Betts-Green and wife Anna Green didn’t waste time shoring up their legal paperwork after the decision. They’ve already visited a legal clinic for families with same-sex parents to start the process of making a will.
“That way, if they blast us back to the Dark Ages again, we have legal protections for our relationship,” said Betts-Green, who works with an Alabama-based nonprofit that documents the history of LGBTQ people in the South.
As a white woman married to a Black transgender man, Robbin Reed of Minneapolis feels particularly vulnerable. A decision undermining same-sex marriage or interracial unions would completely upend Reed’s life, which includes the couple’s 3-month-old child.
“I have no expectation that anything about my marriage is safe,” said Reed, a legal aide.
Reed’s employer, Sarah Breiner of the Breiner Law Firm, is setting up seminars in both the Twin Cities and the Atlanta area to help same-sex couples navigate potential legal needs after the court’s decision. Breiner said helping people remain calm about the future is part of her job these days.
“We don’t know what might happen, and that’s the problem,” Breiner said.
In a sign of what could come, the state of Alabama already has cited the abortion ruling in asking a federal appeals court to let it enforce a new state law that makes it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to trans people under age 19. The decision giving states the power to restrict abortion means states should also be able to ban medical treatments for transgender youth, the state claimed.
Any attempt to undo same-sex marriage would begin with a lawsuit, and any possible rollback is years away since no major legal threat is on the horizon, said Cathryn Oakley, senior counsel and state legislative director with the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.
“This is definitely a scary moment and people are nervous, but peoples’ marriages are still safe,” Oakley said.
Although the threat to same-sex couples feels particularly acute in conservative states, Oakley said she’s heard of people all over the country in recent days seeking second-parent adoptions, which protect a family by having the names of both adoptive parents on the birth certificate. People also are completing medical directives in case one spouse is incapacitated and doing general estate planning, she said.
Ryanne Seyba’s law firm in Hollywood, Florida, is offering free second-parent adoptions, which are similar to step-parent adoptions, for qualified same-sex couples to help ease some of the stress caused by the possible ripple effects of the abortion decision.
“We realized last week when (the ruling) came out we needed to do something,” said Seyba of The Upgrade Lawyers.
A judge in Broward County plans to have a special day in August to finalize all the adoptions at once, Seyba said. If nothing else, completing the process should give nervous families more security, she said.
“If gay marriage goes away, we don’t really know what’s going to happen,” she said. “It’s better to be on the safe side.’’
___
Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery contributed to this report. | 2022-07-01T21:09:38+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/national/same-sex-couples-updating-legal-status-after-abortion-ruling/ |
Barbie, the doll, may be 64 years old, but “Barbie,” the movie, is a pandemic baby.
Greta Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind “Little Women” and “Lady Bird,” started dreaming it up at a time when she wasn’t sure movies would ever come back.
“I wanted to channel something that had that ache in it, but also something so wild and unruly and something that was so just spilling out over the edges of it that you want to be in a group and see it big,” Gerwig told The Associated Press this week. “Because I thought we’ll never make any movies again, but if they’re going to, I’d like this.”
Her “Barbie,” which releases in theaters on Friday, is a joyful, maximalist, deeply weird, insightful and defiantly pink confection starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. She co-wrote it with her partner, Noah Baumbach, with whom she shares two sons — a toddler and a five-month-old whom they welcomed into the world while getting “Barbie” out to the world.
Gerwig spoke to the AP this week about the film, the reviews, the tension between art and commerce, and the unlikely connection between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” (Hint: It’s not just the release date.)
Remarks have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
GERWIG: I do. I mean, of course. I’m not Emily Dickinson. I’m not above anything. I didn’t actually look last night because I just knew I would be too anxious. I was like go to sleep, wake up, caffeinate, get your kid to summer camp and then find out where we are. There’s a lot of reviewers that I really respect and have really liked. Film criticism matters to me as a person and also being in conversation with people who think about cinema matters. But it can feel very scary at the moment that you’re at the emotional pitch of releasing a movie to take it in.
What I tend to do is know which ones I’m going to go back to in a few weeks when I can take it in more. It’s too overwhelming at the moment. … All my metaphors go to giving birth because I have a five-month-old but it would be like if you just give birth and then you’re like, “What are the reviews of the baby?” But I did check the email and I’m pleased. (“Barbie”) seems to have been received in the spirit that it was meant, which is exciting.
GERWIG: He was so generous getting on the phone with me. I had this idea of making Barbie Land basically an interior soundstage world. That was that was the concept. But as big as soundstages are, they’re not the world. They’re going to be small. You can only hang the lights so high.
There’s obviously parts of his movie that are done on a stage, but then there are other parts of it that can’t possibly be on a stage because it’s too big, but it feels like it’s on a stage, you know? Why does it feel like it’s on a stage? He explained to me they did shoot a lot of it outside in this community in Florida, but that they hung big stage lighting everywhere so it would look lit even though it was outside. And then he said it made everything like 120 degrees and that he did not suggest that. He was like I wouldn’t do that. It works but you might want to avoid making a place that’s hot, hotter.
GERWIG: In my experience, directors are so generous speaking about what they’ve done and how they did it and what were the problems, because you’re only ever on your own movie AND movies are hard and they always feel completely unlikely and completely impossible but in a new way that the other one wasn’t. Whatever lessons you learned on the last one, you can apply some of them, but it’s going to be a new set of issues. And other directors want to give you the knowledge that they’ve gotten that they can’t use anymore because they’ve already made that movie.
I had the same experience when I was making “Little Women.” Steven Spielberg was incredibly generous with me because he had made “Lincoln,” which took place in the same year. He opened up all of his research, all the lighting diagrams that he did with his cinematographer. He was like here’s how we did it. He just showed me absolutely everything. Even though you’re only ever in your own in your own dream of your own movie, there’s camaraderie in the loneliness.
GERWIG: I’ve never thought of such a sharp delineation of like what’s for kids and for adults. I just don’t see it as church and state. There’s this Demetri Martin joke that’s like, saying you like kids is like saying, “I like people, for a little while.” We all have some sense of childhood and sense of moving out of it, too, which I think is something that I probably will be forever interested in. We’re not Merlin. We only live in one direction.
GERWIG: In “Remembrance of Things Past,” in “Swann’s Way,” he is literally thrown back into his childhood through the taste of the madeleine. I thought, well, that’ll be a nice Easter egg for one person.
GERWIG: So he would have loved Proust Barbie!
GERWIG: I always felt like I was just was never quite right, that I was somehow being looked at and found lacking. That’s not exclusively available for actors, I think it’s pretty universal. But it’s heightened as an actor. I did an audition once and I was wearing overalls, I think it was for a TV show, and I got into the room and the casting director looked at me and said “Well you must be very talented.” I thought, “Oh no, maybe I’m not talented enough to just be wearing overalls.” Also that this is going quite badly.
GERWIG: With any project, I’m completely in it. I can’t really connect it to other things I’ve done. But then when I step back from it, I think, “Oh, these are connected in some way.” I think I’m just interested in the gleeful messiness of life and people. And I’m interested in women. I don’t know, I like them a lot. And I’m interested in women talking to each other through generations. The unwieldy nature of living life is not something that always has to be organized. It can kind of live in its own wildness.
GERWIG: The hope of stepping into everything, was allowing it to all be equally true. I think of the character of Sasha who dismantles Barbie. I wanted everything she said to be absolutely true. And also other things that are true at the same time. That’s always the place that feels most accurate to me.
GERWIG: I haven’t read it. I’m sure they make good points, probably. There’s always some tension, obviously, between art that exists in the world to be seen and consumed. I joked at the beginning that I’m not Emily Dickinson, but I really am not Emily Dickinson. I’m not writing poems on the back of envelopes and creating and destroying worlds from the confines of my home and never letting anybody see it. I’m making art to be seen by people.
I am not comparing myself to this person at all, but one of the first things when I was a kid was (Sacramento’s) version of Shakespeare in the Park. I got to be part of it when I was 11. I had one line but I loved it, I would go backstage and just watch everyone. It was “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” which was created because the fans liked the character of Falstaff. That’s true. He was a fan favorite in “Henry IV” and, like, someone said could you write a play that’s like, a spinoff. And Shakespeare was like, you got it. And it’s amazing. And it’s also a spinoff of a character. I’m not saying I’m like Shakespeare, but I do think that sort of tension is part of what I like about all of it. We all live in this mess. Except for Emily Dickinson. But she’s the only one. | 2023-07-21T11:07:31+00:00 | pix11.com | https://pix11.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-qa-barbie-filmmaker-greta-gerwig-on-art-commerce-and-embracing-the-mess/ |
Winston-Salem home hit multiple times by gunfire; victim hit once in drive-by shooting
A home in Winston-Salem was hit multiple times by gunfire and a man was injured during a drive-by shooting.
According to police, on Thursday, around 9:20 p.m., officers went to home near East 23rd Street and Claremont Avenue for reports of gunfire. Officers also responded to the area of 21st Street NE and Bethlehem Lane.
Officers located numerous spent shell casings in the street on East 23rd Street. The home had been hit multiple times by gunfire, but no one was injured inside the home.
After responding, police found no evidence of a shooting on Bethlehem Lane.
Around 9:40 p.m., a 36-year-old male arrived to a local hospital suffering from a single gunshot wound to the upper torso.
Police say the victim was visiting a relative at the home on East 23rd Street when a silver or gray Chevrolet Impala drove by the home and started shooting.
Medical personnel stated the victim’s injuries are critical, but he is stable.
Police ask anyone with information regarding this investigation to call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800, or En Espanol 336-728-3904. | 2022-08-26T12:07:18+00:00 | wxii12.com | https://www.wxii12.com/article/winston-salem-home-hit-multiple-times-gunfire-victim-once/40998291 |
The Aberdeen Bulldogs’ strong start to Friday’s game against Houston was later plagued by turnovers as they turned the ball over five times in a 35-0 loss.
“I thought we came out and played very well in the first half and, defensively, I thought we played well the entire game, but we kind of wore down later on,” Aberdeen coach Alex Williams said. “A lot of the lulls that came upon us were self-inflicted and every time that we took a step forward with the offense, we’d take a step back. They put a lot of pressure on us with their defensive line, and that caused a lot of issues for us throughout the game.”
Houston took a 13-0 lead before halftime after a fumble was recovered in Aberdeen’s end zone for the first touchdown, and the Hilltoppers scored their second touchdown after an interception.
The Hilltoppers added to their lead midway through the third, and they took a 28-0 lead in the fourth after a two-point conversion.
“We wore down in the second half and brought a lot of backups in,” Williams said. “We didn’t have enough bodies to go around against a bigger opponent like them. We had three interceptions and two fumbles that really hurt us.”
Despite the offensive struggles, Williams said that wide receiver Edrian Garth was a bright spot for the Bulldogs.
“Edrian had a pretty good game for us and made a couple of big catches,” Williams said. “He also had a big interception in the third quarter. Offensively, we just couldn’t get it going, and we struggled to block them. That kind of threw a wrench in the whole thing.”
Williams commended his team’s defensive effort despite the loss.
“Our entire defense played well, and I thought our defensive line did well,” Williams said. “Jaqualen (Cunningham) and Billy (Daniels) did well on the defensive line, and our linebackers, Jayden (Walker), KaDarius (Watkins), Joe (Buchanan) and Jeffery (Sykes) played well. It’s hard to say when you give up that many points, but I thought we played pretty well defensively.”
The Bulldogs will host Calhoun City for their first home game of the season Friday. Williams plans to get back to the basics in order to seal the win.
“Calhoun has a very good defensive line, so we’ve got to get back to the basics as far as blocking,” he said. “Throwing three interceptions isn’t really how we operate considering we don’t put the ball in the air much, so we’ve got to get back to what we do best.”
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Error! There was an error processing your request. | 2022-09-09T15:14:23+00:00 | djournal.com | https://www.djournal.com/monroe/sports/turnovers-stunt-bulldogs-in-shutout-loss-to-houston/article_c206b6c9-1049-59e9-b93b-e7957c9392b3.html |
State lawmakers more than doubled the funding for a program that helps homeless students and their families across Washington connect to housing and services, answering advocates’ calls for greater financial support.
The Homeless Student Stability Program grew by $4.6 million to total $9 million — an unprecedented increase for a 7-year-old program whose funding has generally hovered around $4 million. Some districts have used this money to boost graduation rates for homeless students, in a state that receives some of the lowest federal funding per homeless student yet has one of the largest populations.
Prior to the pandemic from 2018-2019, the state reported nearly 40,000 homeless students.
Homeless students face some of the greatest disparities in graduation rates and are suspended and expelled much more often than their housed peers. In addition, homeless students are more likely to be homeless as adults.
The Legislature also increased the Washington Youth and Families Fund by $1 million — from $4 million to $5 million. Advocates at Building Changes — a nonprofit working with school districts and organizations in Washington to advance strategies to better support families and students experiencing homelessness — were asking that both programs increase to $10 million, citing an increased need across the state for further family and student homelessness support.
“We are so excited and grateful about the increases,” said Liza Burell, managing director of programs at Building Changes.
The nonprofit also manages the grant distribution of the Washington Youth and Families Fund. Burrell said that in the last grant cycle, organizations requested 13 times more in funding than what was available in the youth and families fund.
The Homeless Student Stability Program saw such a large funding increase this year because it’s been effective and, at the same time, because lawmakers recognize there’s still a huge need, said Sen. Christine Rolfes, head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, worked on budget negotiations during the final days of the legislative session.
“You want to know that the taxpayer dollars that you’re investing are actually being spent well, and are having an impact,” Rolfes said. “It’s just a program that maybe more than many others, you can see the outcome.”
North Thurston Public Schools showed how these dollars can be effective. After receiving Homeless Student Stability funding, administered through Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Thurston was able to expand its student navigator program, which has full-time staff dedicated to supporting the needs of homeless students. And since its launch more than six years ago, the district has reported remarkably improved graduation rates for its homeless teens compared with other districts.
In the 2020 to 2021 school year, North Thurston reported an 81% homeless student graduation rate, putting it 22 percentage points higher than the state average.
Leslie Van Leishout, director of student support for North Thurston Public Schools, came up with the student-navigator model and wrote the grants to make it happen.
She said that this large boost in funding demonstrates a change in understanding the needs of homeless students and what’s at stake if a student doesn’t receive appropriate help.
Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, sponsored the initial bill to establish the Homeless Student Stability Program in 2016, modeling the program from a partnership in his district between the Tacoma School District and the Tacoma Housing Authority, which worked to connect families to stable housing using federal housing vouchers.
“The idea being the kids, if they’ve got a stable housing situation, their learning ability will be improved,” Fey said.
The program’s funding is broken into two chunks and distributed to two separate state departments. The Department of Commerce receives funding and administers the money to community organizations, which then partner with schools. And the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction receives slightly more than half of the funding and administers it directly to school districts, like North Thurston.
Van Leishout said it’s still unclear whether current Homeless Student Stability Program recipients will benefit from the increase in funding.
Burrell said that the $1 million boost to the Washington Youth and Families Fund should allow them to fund at least one or two more organizations that provide homeless services to families and homeless youth and young adults. Typically, the grant program received about $4 million every two years and that was usually enough to fund six organizations’ requests, Burrell said.
Burrell said that the pandemic spurred lawmakers to think more about the needs of homeless students and families than in past budget sessions.
“Whether it was news about eviction prevention or eviction moratoriums or ‘how do we actually keep people safe in congregate shelters,’ I think conversations just started to include a bigger understanding of what living in instability might mean and how that impacts everything,” Burrell said.
The boost in funding for OSPI’s portion of the program comes in a one-time amount, whereas the Department of Commerce’s boost is long term. Rolfes said one-time funding boosts are common and that they’ll look to the program’s results in two years to decide whether to maintain these higher levels.
Van Leishout is grateful to see the program’s budget more than double, but said there’s still more needed.
“To help them break the cycle of homelessness, generational poverty, mental health and substance disorders. To assist them to be able to have a future, to have a 13-year plan when they graduate from school and to close that gap from housed and unhoused students,” Van Leishout said. | 2023-05-01T14:09:14+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/student-family-homelessness-funding-doubles-in-state-budget/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked New York from issuing recreational marijuana dispensary licenses in Brooklyn and parts of upstate New York while a legal challenge to the state’s selection process is being considered.
The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe in Albany on Thursday comes as the state prepares to begin adult marijuana sales by the end of the year, starting with shop owners with past pot convictions or their relatives. New York lawmakers designed the state’s legal market to make sure the first retailers were people directly affected drug law enforcement.
Sharpe is hearing a legal challenge from Variscite NY One, which claims the state’s selection process favors New York residents over out-of-state residents in violation of constitutional interstate commerce protections.
The judge’s order temporarily bars the state from issuing retail licenses for the five regions of the state Variscite selected in its business application: Brooklyn, central New York, the Finger Lakes, the mid-Hudson region and western New York. It does not cover nine other regions of the state, including the rest of New York City. The ruling affects up to 63 of the 150 possible business licenses.
Officials at the Office of Cannabis Management said Friday its board will still consider license applications later this month for up to 150 businesses and individuals, along with applications for up to 25 nonprofit licenses.
The office remains committed to “including those impacted by the state’s enforcement of cannabis prohibition in the market that we are building and we are additionally committed to getting New York’s cannabis supply chain fully operational,” spokesman Freeman Klopott said in an email.
Applicants in the initial round had to demonstrate “a significant presence in New York state.” While Variscite’s majority stakeholder has a cannabis conviction, it was under Michigan law. And though the corporation is organized under New York law, its business principal does not meet the significant presence requirement, according to court papers.
In ruling for the company, Sharpe wrote that the state’s license application requirements “will have a discriminatory effect on out-of-state residents.” | 2022-11-11T20:36:04+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/judge-halts-pot-dispensary-licenses-in-parts-of-new-york/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
WFO SHREVEPORT Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Wednesday, November 30, 2022
_____
FLOOD WARNING
Flood Statement
National Weather Service Shreveport LA
815 PM CST Wed Nov 30 2022
...The Flood Warning is cancelled for the following rivers in
Texas...
White Oak Creek Near Talco affecting Titus, Morris and Franklin
Counties.
...FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED...
The Flood Warning is cancelled for
the White Oak Creek Near Talco.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- At 7:30 PM CST Wednesday the stage was 15.9 feet.
- Forecast...The river is expected to fall to 8.9 feet Monday
evening.
- http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-12-01T03:19:59+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-SHREVEPORT-Warnings-Watches-and-17622581.php |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican prepares to launch his expected presidential candidacy.
The proposal must still be approved by the House before it reaches the governor’s desk. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.
A six-week ban would more closely align Florida with the abortion restrictions of other Republican-controlled states and give DeSantis a political win on an issue important with GOP primary voters ahead of his potential White House run.
The bill would have larger implications for abortion access throughout the South, as the nearby states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi prohibit the procedure at all stages of pregnancy and Georgia bans it after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks.
“Bodily autonomy should not give a person the permission to kill an innocent human being. We live in a time where the consequences of our actions are an afterthought and convenience has been substitution for responsibility, and this is unacceptable when it comes to the protection of the most vulnerable,” said Sen. Erin Grall, a Republican who sponsored the bill.
The proposal allows exceptions to save the life of the woman and exceptions in the case of pregnancy caused by rape or incest until 15 weeks of pregnancy. In those cases, a woman would have to provide documentation such as a medical record, restraining order or police report. DeSantis has called the rape and incest provisions sensible.
It would require that the drugs used in medication-induced abortions — which make up the majority of those provided nationally — could be dispensed only in person by a physician.
The new bill would only take effect if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld in an ongoing legal challenge that is before the state Supreme Court.
Republicans control a supermajority in the Legislature and have largely focused on DeSantis priorities during the ongoing legislative session. DeSantis is expected to announce his presidential candidacy after the session ends in May, with his potential White House run in part buoyed by the conservative policies approved in the statehouse this year.
Democrats have conceded that they cannot stop the proposal from moving forward.
During debate on Monday, Democratic Sen. Lauren Book urged women to contact her office directly, reading her phone number aloud on the Senate floor, if they are considering getting an abortion and need to connect with healthcare providers.
“Please don’t take matters into your own hands. Do not put your safety at risk. No back-alley abortions. There are people and funds that will help you. No matter where you live, no matter how desperate of a situation you are in, no matter how helpless it may seem. I promise, you are not alone. Call my office,” Book said. | 2023-04-03T19:30:43+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/florida-senate-passes-6-week-abortion-ban-backed-by-desantis/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news |
Congress set aside $2.5 billion for victims of New Mexico's biggest wildfire, started by accident by the U.S. Forest Service. A year after the fire, distributing that money is still in the works.
Copyright 2023 NPR
Congress set aside $2.5 billion for victims of New Mexico's biggest wildfire, started by accident by the U.S. Forest Service. A year after the fire, distributing that money is still in the works.
Copyright 2023 NPR | 2023-04-17T22:32:52+00:00 | wqcs.org | https://www.wqcs.org/2023-04-17/a-year-after-new-mexicos-biggest-wildfire-victims-have-yet-to-see-2-5-billion-aid |
Walker aims to pivot focus back to Dems in tight Ga. race
ALTO, Georgia (AP) — Republican U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker commiserated as north Georgia farmers bemoaned environmental regulations and rising costs of doing business. Minutes before, the former football star and political newcomer volleyed with journalists on issues ranging from gas prices to abortion.
In both audiences, Walker tried every way he could to steer the conversation back to Sen. Raphael Warnock and a Democratic administration whose popularity lags in this battleground state that President Joe Biden won by the narrowest of margins.
“We need to be talking about what people are concerned about, that my opponent seems to be voting with Joe Biden rather than the people of Georgia,” Walker said at a north Georgia produce market. “That’s what we need to be putting headlines about what Herschel Walker is saying ... because the people of Georgia are hurting.”
With generationally high inflation and Biden’s low popularity, Republican candidates across the U.S. are spending this election year similarly trying to keep the focus on Democrats. But for Walker, the sweeping partisan jabs on display at multiple campaign stops this week offered a chance to steady an otherwise haphazard campaign.
Some Republicans quietly acknowledge that such deflection may be the only way Walker can win this midterm contest that will help determine control of a Senate now split 50-50 between the two major parties.
“Look, it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back up,” said state Sen. Butch Miller, as he campaigned with Walker in north Georgia.
Walker, 60, cruised to the GOP nomination in May, mostly on his celebrity status as the star running back on the University of Georgia’s national championship football team in 1980 and his personal friendship with former President Donald Trump.
But along the way, Walker has faced new disclosures on past violent threats against his first wife. He’s exaggerated his academic and business records, and alternately denied ever making such statements. He acknowledged fathering multiple children he hadn’t publicly mentioned previously despite spending decades blasting absent fathers. And Walker recently was captured on video at a closed campaign event offering a nonsensical explanation of the climate crisis as China sending its “bad air” to the U.S. while stealing “our good air.”
Warnock’s campaign and allied Democratic campaign arms reacted with an advertising onslaught casting Walker as unqualified.
“Every one of Walker’s likes, scandals and bizarre statements proves that he isn’t ready to represent to represent the people of Georgia and can’t be trusted to serve in the U.S. Senate,” said Dan Gottlieb, a spokesman for the Georgia Democratic Party.
All of that played out as Warnock has raked in campaign cash — more than $17 million in the second quarter of 2020 and $70 million-plus for the cycle. That has allowed the senator to develop a personal brand that positions him well ahead of Biden among Georgia voters and mutes any Republican contention that 2020 was an aberration in the state.
Just a few cycles ago, any Republican nominee would have been a prohibitive favorite in a midterm Senate election here, regardless of economic conditions or who occupied the White House. Instead, decades of growth, concentrated in metro Atlanta, have yielded a politically, racially and ethnically diverse population more open to electing Democrats. Trump’s underperformance among college-educated whites accelerated the shift, as did Democrats’ organizing efforts.
That led to Biden outpolling Trump by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast — a record November turnout for Georgia. Warnock followed with a wider margin in a January special election runoff: 94,000 votes out of almost 4.5 million cast, a record runoff turnout.
Republicans have answered Walker’s stumbles with an influx of experienced aides for the first-time candidate and visits to the state by national Republican operatives. Walker aides said the coming weeks will be built around various policy themes, with targeted attacks on Warnock.
It’s not so much a campaign reset, the aides said, since mid- to late summer is nearly always when general election campaigns ratchet up. But it’s an effort clearly aimed at changing the narrative around the matchup. The opening salvo was agriculture. Public safety and crime come next. The economy will follow.
Walker himself talked this week of “listening sessions” built around policy topics. He showed some evidence of those sessions in turning most any topic back to Warnock, Biden and the economy.
“Terrible, terrible leadership,” he called it, adding that working-class Georgians “know it’s not right.”
He demonstrated an increasing familiarity with the details of Warnock’s record when he blasted the idea of suspending the federal gas tax, something the senator proposed. Walker called that “the hero effect ... I cause the problem and then you call me to come put it out.”
Yet there were flashes of the tangents and falsehoods that have drawn negative attention already.
At a livestock auction outside Athens, Walker again denied he ever said he’d graduated from the University of Georgia, accusing his questioner of being a “Raphael Warnock guy.” Walker has made such claims on video; he never graduated. Later, Walker essentially committed to debate Warnock in October, only to have his campaign follow up with a series of conditions.
In a discussion about immigration, Walker offered bromides about the U.S. needing “legal immigration,” only to have Miller step in to talk about specific visa programs. In a roundtable on agriculture, Miller and Terry Rogers, a former state representative, again filled in many details.
When farmers complained about the Biden administration’s advocacy of electric farming vehicles, Walker didn’t just focus on cost but questioned the technology itself. “It’s only gonna run for a certain amount of time,” he said. “You gotta charge it for eight hours. You’ll never get any work done.”
Miller downplayed any cumulative damage to Walker’s prospects but said it’s critical for the Republican nominee to crystallize his case against Warnock and weave in his own biography more effectively.
“One of his strongest virtues is his relatability to people, and he’s getting out and doing that,” Miller said. As for broader attacks about inflation and the economy, Miller added, Walker has a convenient ally: “It’s all true.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-23T05:55:31+00:00 | foxcarolina.com | https://www.foxcarolina.com/2022/07/23/walker-aims-pivot-focus-back-dems-tight-ga-race/ |
Rogers-O'Brien Construction completes the Clinic at Jubilee Park, located in an area with significant healthcare disparities
DALLAS, Aug. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rogers-O'Brien Construction (RO) is proud to have been the builder of the Jubilee Park Community Clinic, in partnership with KDC, Parkland Health and Jubilee Park and Community Center. The new, 15,000 square foot facility is in the southeast Dallas neighborhood, near Fair Park. The 62-block area has been historically underserved in accessible healthcare options, with few physicians in the area.
The community clinic will provide primary care and dental services for people of all ages. The second floor of the facility will offer mental health services, provided by Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas (JFS).
RO is proud to have constructed a premier facility with a projection to serve 3,500 patients in its first year, and 7,000 patients each year following. With Jubilee Park Community Clinic anchored in the community, residents will gain access to healthcare, improving their quality of life.
RO partnered with th+a, the architect of record, as well as RLG Consulting Engineers, in collaboration with long-time customer, KDC.
About Rogers-O'Brien Construction: Founded in 1969, Rogers-O'Brien Construction (RO) has been committed to making our clients successful for more than five decades. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, construction at RO spans across diverse industries, including Corporate, Education, Healthcare, Multi-Family, Hospitality, Mission Critical, Mixed-Use, Senior Living, Worship, Life Sciences, Retail, Flood Mitigation, and Industrial. For more information, please visit r-o.com.
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SOURCE Rogers-O'Brien Construction Co | 2022-08-12T20:50:05+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/08/12/rogers-obrien-construction-completes-jubilee-park-community-clinic-located-fair-park/ |
(The Hill) — Former President Donald Trump while in office could usually turn to Fox News for comfort. There were differences from time to time, and Trump made headlines occasionally by going after personalities on Fox — most famously Megyn Kelly during a 2015 GOP presidential primary debate.
But for the most part, Trump, a rabid cable news follower, could tune in to find Fox News star hosts heaping praise on him and his administration while lambasting his critics and political enemies.
Trump still has his supporters on the network, but the dynamic between a former president openly flirting with another run for the White House and Rupert Murdoch’s top media asset is definitely changing.
For one thing, Fox is more focused on President Joe Biden, a subject of relentless prime-time attacks, than Trump, and the network didn’t air Trump’s speech this week in Washington, D.C., even as it did air a portion of an earlier address Tuesday by former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Trump’s superpower is getting all the coverage. That’s not happening anymore. Fox is not covering him 24 hours a day,” said Daniel Cassino, a media expert who wrote a 2016 book about the network’s influence over American politics. “So it seems that is leading to frustration that he’s not dominating Fox the way he did before.”
That tension boiled over this week, when Trump lashed out at Fox and its flagship morning program, “Fox & Friends,” after two of the show’s longtime co-hosts threw cold water on polling suggesting young voters felt Trump was the best choice for Republicans looking to win back the White House.
Other Murdoch-owned media properties have separately fired off editorials critical of Trump in the wake of damaging revelations from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“Character is revealed in a crisis, and Mr. Pence passed his Jan. 6 trial,” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrote last week. “Mr. Trump utterly failed his.”
“Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in his name. He refused,” the board declared.
The New York Post, also owned by Murdoch, ripped Trump in a separate editorial.
“It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again,” it wrote. “His only focus was to find any means — damn the consequences — to block the peaceful transfer of power. There is no other explanation, just as there is no defense, for his refusal to stop the violence.”
Trump in a statement on Tuesday complained that Fox, the Journal and the Post “have always been against me, until I won.”
News Corp., which owns and operates the three outlets, declined to comment on Trump’s recent attacks.
A representative for Trump did not return a request for comment on suggestions that he has fallen out of favor with Murdoch.
Spats between Trump and Murdoch’s conservative media empire are not unheard of.
The former president was infuriated by the outlet’s decision to call Arizona for Biden on election night and famously sparred with one of its former top anchors, Chris Wallace, before the election on a number of occasions.
Several of Fox’s top personalities were also critical of Trump following the 2020 election.
The recent ascension of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to the national spotlight has given Murdoch’s news outlets a new face to put forth for its millions of viewers and readers as a potential successor to Trump as the leader of the Republican Party and conservative movement.
British pundit Piers Morgan, whom Murdoch recently hired to host a show on United Kingdom-based TalkTV, penned an op-ed in the Post earlier this summer explicitly urging conservative voters in the U.S. to “dump Trump” and throw their support behind DeSantis.
“I think that Trump is quite frankly a dead weight for Fox and Murdoch,” said A.J. Bauer, a professor at the University of Alabama who researches and analyzes trends in conservative media. “He did a lot of very helpful work for them, he boosted them for four, five, six years, but they’re not loyal in the way that he expects and the way he needs in order for his political winds to shift.”
Some say that if Trump wins the GOP presidential nomination again, Murdoch and the former president could put their public feuding aside, as they have in previous years.
“If Trump runs for president in 2024 and buries the field, there will be plenty of time for Murdoch to do what he traditionally does: Place his bet on the leading pony,” Jack Shafer, the longtime media writer, said in a column reacting to the editorials from the Journal and the Post this week. “Like a pair of powerful gangsters who quarrel over how to divide the spoils, Murdoch and Trump will reconcile if they determine it’s in their mutual interests to reconcile.”
Trump also still gets plenty of coverage on prime-time Fox that he likes.
Host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday night reacted to news of the Justice Department including Trump in its ongoing investigations into Jan. 6 by calling it “a political vendetta to prevent someone from running for office and succeeding and winning the presidency again to millions and millions of Americans.”
Fellow prime-time host Sean Hannity, a longtime personal friend of Trump, has routinely denounced the Jan. 6 panel as a “witch hunt” lacking merit. | 2022-07-28T14:21:45+00:00 | upmatters.com | https://www.upmatters.com/news/national/dynamic-shifts-between-fox-news-donald-trump/ |
Funding will drive business expansion efforts and the development of Dot Compliance ready-to-use quality and compliance solutions for pharmaceutical and medical device companies
PHOENIX, July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dot Compliance, the ready-to-use quality and compliance platform company, today announced it has raised $23 million in Series B funding led by Israel Growth Partners (IGP) with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures, and TPY Capital. This round brings total funding to $33 million to date.
The round will allow Dot Compliance to continue accelerating hypergrowth driven by demand for its quality management system (QMS). Introducing a true QMS paradigm shift to the life sciences market, Dot Compliance offers the industry's first ready-to-use quality and compliance solution. The company delivers cost-effective out-of-the-box solutions, allowing life sciences customers to quickly deploy flexible and scalable solutions. Powered by the Salesforce.com platform, Dot Compliance solutions include an extensive set of off-the-shelf ready quality and compliance best practice processes that enable life-sciences organizations to deliver life-saving, innovative products faster, safer, and more efficiently by providing them with ready-to-use and end-to-end SaaS solutions to manage their all quality and compliance needs.
"Dot Compliance has shaken up a traditionally slow-moving space, setting a new standard for easy-to-deploy QMS solutions," said Doron Sitbon, the founder and CEO of Dot Compliance. "We are excited about the partnership with IGP and their trust in our vision. The additional funds will allow us to advance our efforts in enabling life sciences organizations to quickly automate their development and manufacturing processes while ensuring compliance."
Rising costs of bringing a product to market, soaring costs of quality, and a stringent regulatory landscape have created an environment where life sciences companies must be able to quickly automate their quality and compliance processes to stay competitive. Traditional QMS solutions no longer address those needs.
"Innovative quality and compliance solutions have become invaluable to the modern life sciences organization," said Yoni Levy, Venture Partner at IGP. "Dot Compliance has positioned itself as the technology-defining industry leader and has rapidly expanded its client roster. We are thrilled to partner with this seasoned team on its mission to make quality easier, faster, and cheaper for life sciences companies – freeing them to do their important work of making us all healthier."
The round is the latest in a series of milestones for the company, including triple digit annual growth over three consecutive years, exceeding 200 customers in more than fifteen countries, and establishing a global network of partners across the life sciences ecosystem.
"Digital transformation has finally reached the life sciences industry, and with it comes a need for companies of all sizes to leverage new technologies in their approach to quality and compliance," said Rosalind Beasely, VP Innovation at Dot Compliance. "Dot Compliance is leading the path with next generation QMS solutions that utilize structured and unstructured data across the entire life sciences ecosystem in ways previously unachievable by legacy solutions."
Dot Compliance will use the funds to meet rapidly accelerating global demand for the company's ready-to-use QMS solutions by expanding their global presence, investing in the company's commitment to delivering affordable, innovative quality and compliance products, and further empowering customers' journey to digitization.
With women comprising more than 50% of the company's headcount, Dot Compliance believes that establishing a diverse, global team encourages innovative thinking and delivering superior products to its customers. Funding will help the company continue to foster and develop an agile, inclusive team around the globe.
"Dot Compliance had the foresight to design and deliver cloud-based, out-of-the-box QMS solutions powered by Salesforce far ahead of its time. Its vision and ability to execute make us excited about Dot Compliance's continued hypergrowth and category leadership," said Aviad Ariel, General Partner at Vertex Ventures.
"Over the course of our investment in Dot Compliance, we've seen Dot Compliance expand its product offering and commercial outreach," said Guy Yamen, Managing Partner at TPY. "The life sciences market is primed to benefit from cost-effective, easy-to-deploy solutions that help get compliant products to market faster."
About Dot Compliance
Founded in 2015, Dot Compliance offers the industry's first ready-to-use Quality Management System powered by the Salesforce.com platform. The Dot Compliance Suite includes an extensive set of off-the-shelf ready QMS and compliance pre-configured best practice processes, enabling customers to deploy quickly and cost effectively. The company's solutions are trusted by life sciences companies, both large and small, worldwide with more than 200,000 users. The solutions are fully compliant with 21 CFR part 11, EU-Annex 11 and support ISO 9001, 13485, 14791 and 27001.
Contact info:
Mickey Landkof
VP Sales and GM
Mickey@dotcompliance.com
Ph: 480-330-9234
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862848/Dot_Compliance_NYC.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862849/Doron_Sitbon_CEO.jpg
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SOURCE Dot Compliance | 2022-07-20T11:34:59+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2022/07/20/dot-compliance-raises-23-million-series-b-funding-ensure-life-science-companies-deliver-life-saving-products-faster-safer-more-efficiently/ |
- Baidu foresees that by 2026, the market penetration rate of smart car models equipped with L2+ level advanced intelligent driving solution, valet parking, highway navigation pilot and city navigation pilot will exceed 15%.
- Baidu Apollo City Driving Max is upgraded with "lightweight HD map", which is 80% "lighter" compared to traditional HD maps.
- Baidu's Apollo Highway Driving Pro will be deployed on Black Sesame Semiconductor's Huashan II A1000 chip computing platform and will be officially released in Q3 this year.
BEIJING, April 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with strong internet foundations, today held an automotive intelligence conference on the eve of Auto Shanghai 2023. During the conference, Baidu released a series of new products covering intelligent driving, intelligent cabin, and intelligent maps. Additionally, Baidu introduced four new key-capabilities for car manufacturers in the newly released "Baidu Apollo Self Driving Openness White Paper ".
At the conference, Rob Chu, Baidu Corporate Vice President and GM of Apollo Self Driving, and Shan Jizhang, Founder and CEO of Black Sesame Semiconductor announced that Black Sesame Semiconductor will become the latest chip partner to Baidu Apollo Smart Driving. Additionally, Apollo Highway Driving Pro will be deployed on the Black Sesame's Huashan II A1000 chip computing platform, which will be officially released in Q3 this year. This partnership marks a deeper collaboration between Chinese smart driving solutions and Chinese smart chipsets, which will further accelerate the smart manufacturing of China's automotive industry.
The automobile industry is now in a moment of radical change. Baidu predicts that by 2026, the market penetration rate of models equipped with the L2+ advanced intelligent driving solution, valet parking highway navigation pilot and city navigation pilot will exceed 15%, ushering in a transition period in intelligent vehicle industry.
"In 2026, when intelligent cars become more prevalent, new customers will be less likely to consider cars without intelligent driving capabilities," said Zhenyu Li, Senior Corporate Vice President of Baidu and president of the Intelligent Driving Business Group. Rob Chu, Baidu Corporate Vice President and GM of Apollo Self Driving explained, "Whoever can take the lead in providing consumers with a safe and secure intelligent driving experience will likely have a head start in the second half of the intelligent car competition."
Upgraded intelligent driving solutions to help car makers build smarter cars
Baidu Apollo launched its flagship intelligent driving solution, Apollo City Driving Max, which is equipped with dual Nvidia Orin X with 508 TOPS arithmetic power. This is the only solution in China that offers users a coherent experience on urban roads using pure vision perception. The current product definition also includes LIDAR to achieve "pure vision + LIDAR" true perception redundancy. The product uses a "lightweight high HD map" that is nearly 80% "lighter" than the traditional HD maps, enabling rapid urban generalization at a more reasonable cost.
Baidu's integrated auto-navigation plus valet parking solution Apollo Highway Driving Pro has also completed an algorithm platform upgrade. With the latest single TDA4-VH platform, the AI and CPU computing power usage is 50% less compared to the previous TDA4-VH platform. It is expected to enable more intelligent driving and parking functionality at lower computing power and lower cost. Baidu Apollo and Voyah, an EV manufacturer backed by DONGFENG Motor, also announced the Voyah FREE, an all-electric and plug-in-hybrid 5-seater SUV, will be equipped with Apollo Highway Driving Pro, which includes assisted driving functions such as highway navigation pilot, city autopilot and efficient parking in all scenarios.
In addition, Baidu Apollo also upgraded its autonomous parking solution Apollo Parking, which has a success rate of over 99% in the top 5 most commonly faced parking scenarios and takes only 28 seconds to complete perpendicular parking, drastically reducing the difficulty of parking for novice drivers.
Baidu Apollo currently provides two flagship Intelligent Cabin solutions: the DuerOS for Apollo and Duer assistant for Apollo. The DuerOS can be quickly installed for mass production as a whole package solution; while the Duer assistant, based on the big model localization, is able to achieve full-time full-duplex100 millisecond-level response, through which car companies can define and realize a leading intelligent cabin experience. At the same time, ERNIE Bot - a large language model which Baidu had previously introduced - has been opened up for invitational testing. Baidu is actively exploring the use of ERNIE Big Model's capabilities to reshape the relationship between the user and the smart cabin when traveling, and to create new experiences for the AI smart cabin.
In terms of smart maps, Baidu Apollo has upgraded its in-vehicle navigation maps with different levels of quality, performance and real-time data. The newly released shared autonomy maps provide a new human-vehicle interface and enhance users' trust in smart driving solutions. Simultaneously, Baidu's HD maps have been upgraded to OneMap, which can quickly update map data in real time.
Baidu has creatively integrated agile development with the traditional V-model followed by ASPICE® and passed the organization-level assessment certification of ASPICE® CL3, becoming the first Tier-1 solution provider in the industry to achieve a deep integration of the two and be certified by an authoritative body. This signifies that Baidu has the industry's leading project delivery process management organization and is able to deliver high quality products and services to OEMs consistently.
Baidu Apollo's intelligent solutions for automobiles have been mass-produced on 134 models from 31 car brands, with a cumulative total of over 7 million vehicles, leading in the Tier-1 sector.
Opening up four key capabilities to accelerate the building of a new car-manufacturing supply chain in the intelligent car era
The smart car era requires not only an upgrade of intelligent products but is also challenging the established relationship model between traditional vehicles and suppliers. This is a completely new industrial revolution for both technology companies and car companies. Compared to traditional systems based on mechanical parts, intelligent systems are hardware-based, algorithm software-driven, large-scale dynamic systems that are growing exponentially in complexity.
Baidu Apollo released the "Baidu Apollo Self Driving Openness White Paper", announcing four key capabilities: open experience definition, open independent experience evolution, open full-cycle OTA services, and open co-create with car manufacturing partners. Baidu's goal is to help car manufacturing partners to achieve a leading position and commercial success in intelligent driving, while ensuring quality end-user experiences.
The four open capabilities can be summarized as:
Pre SOP phase, Baidu Apollo can open up the human-machine interaction interface, core capability SDK and underlying soft interfaces in the form of APIs and SOA services, enabling car companies to define and implement human-machine interaction interfaces and intelligent driving styles in line with their own brand positioning and target audience, and even participate in the technical aspects of smart driving control to improve end-user experience.
Post SOP delivery, Baidu Apollo can open up the Smart Driving Data Closed Loop Cloud and supporting tool chains to car companies. This will support them to build a data closed loop after the launch of new models so that they can independently carry out data-driven Smart Driving experience improvements and help them to have more control and win the Smart Race.
In the longer term (e.g. 3 years) post SOP, if automotive companies want their models to continue to enjoy the capabilities and experience of Baidu Apollo's main line of intelligent driving products, Baidu Apollo will also provide them with corresponding solutions, such as in the form of quarterly OTAs, to ensure the quality of their models' smart driving capabilities.
At the same time, Baidu Apollo will also provide technical support and training to the product, R&D and delivery teams of car companies by setting up a joint product committee in cooperation with them to collaboratively build a more complete intelligent driving ecosystem.
"Car manufacturers and Tier-1 intelligence car solution providers should follow the First Principle Thinking. Always go back to the starting point and build a new cooperation model with the goal of providing consumers with a safe and secure intelligent experience and a real sense of gain," said Rob Chu, quoting the famous proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. We know that to make a real contribution to China's automotive intelligence, we must be open and collaborative."
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.
Media Contact: Intlcomm@baidu.com
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SOURCE Baidu, Inc. | 2023-04-17T03:34:06+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/04/17/baidu-apollo-releases-major-product-updates-help-manufacturers-build-smarter-cars-tomorrow/ |
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation in a long-running dispute over what obligations the federal government has to supply water to Native Americans.
As KUNC’s reporter covering the Colorado River Basin, I dig into stories that show how water issues can both unite and divide communities throughout the Western U.S. I produce feature stories for KUNC and a network of public media stations in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada. | 2023-06-22T20:37:16+00:00 | kpcc.org | https://www.kpcc.org/npr-news/2023-06-22/supreme-court-rules-against-the-navajo-nation-in-water-dispute |
It’s time to explore the past, present, and future with the Bah Humbug Christmas Sweepstakes! Tune in to SA Live at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, for a special “A Christmas Carol” trivia question.
Then, fill out the form below by entering the correct answer to the day three trivia question.
One winner for day three will receive the Blue Topaz and 14K Gold Scrolled Collection by James Avery! This collection includes a gold Spanish lace ring with blue topaz, gold scrolled gemstone earrings with blue topaz, a gold scrolled birthstone pendant with blue topaz, and an 18-inch Gold Light Cable Chain.
You must be 18 and older to enter day three of the Christmas Sweepstakes. | 2022-12-16T19:10:59+00:00 | ksat.com | https://www.ksat.com/contests/2022/12/16/bah-humbug-christmas-sweepstakes-day-3/ |
NEW YORK, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jakubowitz Law announces that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has commenced on behalf of shareholders of Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRCA).
To receive updates on the lawsuit, fill out the form:
https://claimyourloss.com/securities/verrica-pharmaceuticals-inc-loss-submission-form/?id=29057&from=4
The lawsuit seeks to recover losses for shareholders who purchased Verrica between May 28, 2021 and May 24, 2022.
Shareholders interested in acting as a lead plaintiff representing the class of wronged shareholders have until August 5, 2022 to petition the court. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
According to a filed complaint, Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) there were manufacturing deficiencies at the facility where Verrica's contract manufacturer produced a bulk solution for the Company's lead product candidate, VP-102; (2) these deficiencies were not remediated when Verrica resubmitted its New Drug Application for VP-12 for molluscum; (3) the foregoing presented significant risks to Verrica obtaining regulatory approval of VP-102 for molluscum; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Jakubowitz Law is vigorous in pursuit of justice for shareholders who have been the victim of securities fraud. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
JAKUBOWITZ LAW
1140 Avenue of the Americas
9th Floor
New York, New York 10036
T: (212) 867-4490
F: (212) 537-5887
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SOURCE Jakubowitz Law | 2022-06-24T10:10:20+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/24/vrca-shareholder-alert-jakubowitz-law-reminds-verrica-shareholders-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-5-2022/ |
- Come Celebrate at Blaze and Get Any 11-inch Pizza for $3.14 on March 14 -
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blaze Pi Day is back! The nation's leading fast-casual pizza brand and one of the originators of the Pi Day pizza celebration, announced today the return of its highly anticipated $3.14 pizza promo. On March 14, customers are invited to visit a Blaze Pizza location and enjoy any Blaze 11" pizza with endless toppings to choose from for just $3.14 (crust upgrades not included) when they download the Blaze App and join Blaze Rewards. This year's savory offer will be valid in-restaurant on March 14 only, so make sure to mark your calendar, grab your friends and get ready to celebrate at Blaze!
"As a brand committed to speed, quality ingredients and a vibrant experience where each guest can build their own unique pizza, there's no better place to celebrate Pi Day," said Beto Guajardo, CEO of Blaze Pizza. "While it's no secret we take our food seriously, we appreciate that pizza can be a canvas for creativity and good times. It's your pizza, it should be unique to you. This year, we invite guests to bring their friends and families to share in the experience together at our annual Pi Day pizza party!"
Blaze Pizza is all about giving guests options where they can combine more than 35 different toppings, including ingredients like roasted peppers, artichokes, fresh mozzarella, and plant-based chorizo, or keep it simple with a classic pepperoni and cheese pizza – no matter how you build it, your pizza is guaranteed to be as unique as you are! Blaze offers five crusts to choose from, including options such as a signature made-from-scratch dough, a Keto crust with 6g net carbs, cauliflower, as well as house-made red sauce and drizzles for the perfect finish.
For additional Blaze Pi Day information and to download the Blaze Pizza app, visit blazepizza.com/piday.
About Blaze Pizza
Founded in 2011, Blaze Pizza is the nation's leading fast-casual pizza franchise concept with more than 330 restaurants across 38 states and 6 countries. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Blaze Pizza is committed to delivering a one-of-a-kind customer experience and unparalleled high-quality products. Known for its savory artisanal pizzas and customizable made-to-order menu featuring fresh, natural ingredients free from artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners, Blaze leads the industry in menu innovation and product excellence. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including Entrepreneur's Franchise 500, as well as #1 spots on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers and Shakers, Franchise Times' Fast and Serious list, and QSR's Best Brands to Work For. Visit blazepizza.com for additional information and to stay with @BlazePizza on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.
Contact:
Morgan Assenmacher
Fish Consulting
954-893-9150
massenmacher@fish-consulting.com
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SOURCE Blaze Pizza | 2023-02-28T15:04:08+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2023/02/28/blaze-pizzas-pi-day-party-is-back/ |
White woman who fatally shot Black neighbor arrested in Florida
OCALA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbor last week in the violent culmination of what the sheriff described as a 2½-year feud was arrested Tuesday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, who is white, was arrested on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault in the death of Ajike Owens, who was Black, Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement.
Authorities came under pressure Tuesday to arrest and charge the white woman who fired through her front her door and killed a Black neighbor in a case that has put Florida’s divisive stand your ground law back into the spotlight.
Woods said that this case was not a stand your ground case but “simply a killing.”
When interviewed, Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense and that Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm. Lorincz also claimed that Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her. Through their investigation – including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses – detectives were able to establish that Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law, a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
About three dozen mostly Black protesters gathered outside the Marion County Judicial Center to demand that the shooter be arrested in the country’s latest flashpoint over race and gun violence. The chief prosecutor, State Attorney William Gladson, met with the protesters and urged patience while the investigation continues.
“If we are going to make a case we need as much time and as much evidence as possible,” Gladson said. “I don’t want to compromise any criminal investigation and I’m not going to do that.”
Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, was killed in the Friday night shooting, Woods said. The women lived in the rolling hills south of Ocala, a north Florida city that is the heart of the state’s horse country.
Woods had said Monday that detectives were working with the State Attorney’s Office and must investigate possible self-defense claims before they can move forward with any possible criminal charges. The sheriff pointed out that because of the stand your ground law he can’t legally make an arrest unless he can prove the shooter did not act in self-defense.
On Tuesday, a stuffed teddy bear and bouquets marked the area near where Owens was shot. Nearby, children were riding bikes and scooters, and playing basketball. Protesters chanted “No justice, no peace” and “A.J. A.J. A.J” using Owens’ nickname. They carried signs saying: “Say her name Ajike Owens” and “It’s about us.”
Outside, the Rev. Bernard Tuggerson said the Black community in Ocala has suffered injustices for years. “Marion County is suffering and needs to be healed completely,” he said. “If we don’t turn from our wicked ways of the world, it’s going to be an ongoing problem. We want answers.”
The sheriff said Owens was shot moments after going to the apartment of her neighbor, who had yelled at Owens’ children as they played in a nearby lot. He also said the neighbor, who has not been identified by police, had thrown a pair of skates that hit one of the children.
Deputies responding to a trespassing call at the apartment Friday night found Owens suffering from gunshot wounds. She later died at a hospital.
Before the confrontation, the shooter had been yelling racial slurs at the children, according to a statement from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Owens’ family. He also represented Trayvon Martin’s family in 2012, when the Black teenager was killed in a case that drew worldwide attention to the state’s stand your ground law.
The sheriff’s office hasn’t confirmed there were slurs uttered or said whether race was a factor in the shooting.
Lauren Smith, 40, lives across the street from where the shooting happened. She was on her porch that day and saw one of Owens’ young sons pacing, and yelling, “They shot my mama, they shot my mama.”
She ran toward the house, and started chest compressions until a rescue crew arrived. She said there wasn’t an altercation and that Owens didn’t have a weapon.
“She was angry all the time that the children were playing out there,” Smith said. “She would say nasty things to them. Just nasty.” Smith, who is white, described the neighborhood is family friendly.
The sheriff said that since January 2021, deputies responded at least a half-dozen calls in connection with what police described as feuding between Owens and the woman who shot her.
“There was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them, back and forth,” the sheriff said the shooter told investigators. “Whether it be banging on the doors, banging on the walls and threats being made. And then at that moment is when Ms. Owens was shot through the door.”
“I’m absolutely heartbroken,” Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told The Associated Press. She described the fatal shooting as “so senseless.”
“We’ve seen this again and again across this country,” she said, adding that “it’s really because of lax gun laws and a culture of shoot first.”
Ferrell-Zabala said stand your ground cases, which she refers to as “shoot first laws,” are deemed justifiable five times more frequently when a white shooter kills a Black victim.
In 2017, Florida lawmakers updated the state’s self-defense statute to shift the burden of proof from a person claiming self-defense to prosecutors. That means authorities have to rule out self-defense before bringing charges. Before the change in law, prosecutors could charge someone with a shooting, and then defense attorneys would have to present an affirmative defense for why their client shouldn’t be convicted.
In fact, stand your ground and “castle doctrine” cases — which allow residents to defend themselves either by law or court precedent when threatened — have sparked outrage amid a spate of shootings across the country.
In April, 84-year-old Andrew Lester, a white man, shot and injured 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who rang his doorbell in Kansas City after mistakenly showing up at the wrong house to pick up his younger siblings. Lester faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action; at trial, he may argue that he thought someone was trying to break into his house, as he told police.
Missouri and Florida are among about 30 states that have stand your ground laws.
The most well-known examples of the stand your ground argument came up in the trial of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman, who had a white father and Hispanic mother, told police that Martin attacked him, forcing him to use his gun in self-defense. He was allowed to go free, but was arrested about six weeks later after Martin’s parents questioned his version of events and then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed a special prosecutor.
Before trial, Zimmerman’s attorneys chose not to pursue a stand your ground claim, which could have resulted in the dismissal of murder changes as well as immunity from prosecution. But during the trial, the law was essentially used as part of his self-defense argument. Jurors found him not guilty.
At a vigil Monday, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said that she was seeking justice for her daughter and her grandchildren.
“My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her,” Dias said. “She had no weapon. She posed no imminent threat to anyone.”
___
Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2023-06-07T08:19:50+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/2023/06/07/white-woman-who-fatally-shot-black-neighbor-arrested-florida/ |
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)Freshman Gregory ”GG” Jackson II scored 18 points, Meechie Johnson added 16 and South Carolina used a 14-0 run midway through the second half to pull away for a 68-57 win over Presbyterian on Sunday night.
Jackson has scored in double figures in each game as a member of the Gamecocks and went into the game leading the team in scoring (17.0 per game) and rebounding (7.5).
Jackson threw down a dunk with about 12 minutes remaining to spark the big run – including seven points by Hayden Brown – over the next 6 minutes that gave South Carolina a 55-44 lead. Marquis Barnett hit a 3-pointer that trimmed Presbyterian’s deficit to 63-55 with 2:41 left, but the Blue Hose got no closer.
Brown, a graduate transfer who scored 1,402 career points for The Citadel over five seasons, finished with 14 points – 11 in the second half – for South Carolina (5-4).
Winston Hill made 8 of 10 from the field and led Presbyterian (2-9) with 18 points and five assists. Terrell Ard Jr. added 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
South Carolina committed a season-low six turnovers.
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk made back-to-back baskets before he blocked a shot by Ard that led to a fast-break dunk by Jackson to give South Carolina a 6-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
Jackson and Johnson scored five points apiece – and each hit a 3-pointer – in a 10-3 spurt that made it 16-5 with 14 minutes left in the first half. Jackson made another 3 to give the Gamecocks a 13-point lead with 5 minutes before halftime but Presbyterian scored 11 straight points before a Jackson layup made it 37-33 at the break.
Owen McCormack hit a 3 and Trevon Reddish-Rhone followed with four consecutive points to open the second half – while South Carolina missed its first six shots – to give the Blue Hose their first lead of the game at 40-37 with 17 minutes to play.
UP NEXT
Presbyterian (2-9) returns home to play Thursday against Elon.
South Carolina visits defending Conference USA-champion UAB on Wednesday.
—
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 | 2022-12-12T20:31:57+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/sports/ncaa-basketball/jackson-ii-scores-18-south-carolina-tops-presbyterian-68-57/ |
CALGARY, Alberta — Tyler Toffoli and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two assists, Adam Ruzicka added a goal and an assist, and the Calgary Flames held on to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 on Monday night.
Arthur Kaliyev scored twice, Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who had won four straight. Drew Doughty had two assists and Jonathan Quick finished with 23 saves.
Markstrom preserved the win with a sprawling save on a shot by Kopitar from 10 feet out with 22 seconds remaining.
Trailing 2-1 midway through the first period, the Flames scored four consecutive goals to pull ahead.
Calgary tied it with 9:05 left after Kadri fired a shot from the right circle that hit Milan Luck in front of Quick. The puck deflected to the left circle and Mangiapane pounced on it, spun and fired a shot past Quick for his third.
Just 42 seconds later, Ritchie forced a turnover in the Kings’ end, passed across to Blake Coleman in the middle, and then got the return pass and put it past Quick on the right side.
Toffoli’s one-timer off a pass from Lindholm made it 4-2 with 3:35 left in the opening period.
Lindholm got the puck from Toffoli and swatted it in on the power play at 1:51 of the second to give the Flames a three-goal lead.
Fiala got Los Angeles back to within two goals with 5:34 left. However, Toffoli and Lindholm combined to set up Ruzicka 2:10 later for his second goal in two games to restore Calgary’s three-goal lead.
Kopitar scored at 8:57 of the third, and Kempe pulled the Kings within one with 1:19 left and Quick pulled for an extra skater. That was as close as Los Angeles could get.
Flames coach Darryl Sutter revamped three of his forward lines with Huberdeau’s return to the lineup after a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury. The changes worked.
With just one goal in his first 11 games, Huberdeau opened the scoring at 3:49, taking a pass from Rasmus Andersson and ripping a shot past Quick.
Kaliyev scored twice in a 1:18 span to give the Kings a 2-1 lead a little more than six minutes in.
NIGHT OF MILESTONES
Huberdeau’s goal was the 200th of his career. He’s the eighth player from the NHL’s 2011 draft class to reach that mark. ... Kadri’s two assists gave him 300 for his career, the seventh member of the 2009 draft class to hit that total. ... Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov played in his 500th career game.
ANDERSSON PILING UP ASSISTS
Andersson hadn’t topped 17 assists in a season before a career year last season saw him finish with 46. This season, the 26-year-old Swede has elevated his game even further with his assist on Huberdeau’s goal giving him 12 in 15 games. Al MacInnis (75 in 1990-91) and Gary Suter (70 in 1987-88) are the only two Flames defensemen in franchise history to top 65 assists in a season.
UP NEXT
Kings: At Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Flames: At Tampa Bay on Thursday night to open a six-game Eastern road trip. | 2022-11-15T06:14:13+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nhl/toffoli-lindholm-lead-flames-to-6-5-win-over-kings/2022/11/15/2c973ec8-64aa-11ed-b08c-3ce222607059_story.html |
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling drew fiercely polarized reactions in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis saying the state will “work to expand pro-life protections.”
The decision, authored by Justice Samuel Alito and backed by the court’s conservative majority, had been expected after a draft opinion was leaked in May. It came a week before a new Florida law is scheduled to take effect that would prevent women from having abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion-rights supporters are fighting the Florida law (HB 5), with a Leon County circuit judge scheduled to hear arguments Monday in a request for a temporary injunction to block it. Abortion clinics and a doctor are challenging the law under a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the law in April, issued a statement on Twitter praising Friday’s Supreme Court ruling in a Mississippi case, saying the “prayers of millions have been answered.”
“Florida will continue to defend its recently-enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges, will work to expand pro-life protections, and will stand for life by promoting adoption, foster care and child welfare,” DeSantis said in the Twitter post.
But Democrats and other abortion-rights supporters blasted the ruling as an attack on reproductive rights. State Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Plantation, predicted that Republicans could seek an “all-out” abortion ban in Florida.
“With Florida Republicans cruelly proving their appetite for robbing women and girls victimized by the horrific trauma of rape, incest, and human trafficking of their right to an abortion after 15 weeks — period, end of sentence, no exceptions — it is clearly only a matter of time before our state also debates an all-out abortion ban,” Book said in a prepared statement.
The Supreme Court decision came after decades of arguments by Republicans and other abortion opponents that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
State Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who was the Senate sponsor of the 15-week limit during this year’s legislative session, said Roe v. Wade caused “profound” damage to the country.
“Protecting the innocent children whose lives are ended through abortion was a defining issue for me as I made the decision to run for elected office. Today is a wonderful affirmation of the pro-life efforts of so many over the last 50 years, and I am incredibly grateful to the justices for their courage in speaking the truth in the face of tremendous adversity,” Stargel, who is running for Congress, said.
Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, also praised the decision.
“As an adopted child myself, I am grateful for this decision. The court is finally righting a grievous wrong,” Simpson, who is running for state agriculture commissioner, said.
Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper will hear arguments Monday in the challenge filed by abortion clinics and a doctor to the new law. A South Florida Jewish congregation has filed a separate lawsuit arguing, in part, that the law violates religious-freedom rights.
House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, called the legal challenges a “hurdle” for the 15-week law.
“In Florida, our attention must now shift to the state courts and the Florida Supreme Court as they evaluate HB 5 and determine its constitutionality here — an additional hurdle present in our state,” Sprowls said.
While Friday’s Supreme Court ruling reignited the political debate about abortion rights, groups such as the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops heralded it.
“Now, decision-making on abortion policy is once again in the hands of the American people and their elected officials. This is a momentous step towards establishing a more robust culture of life,” the Catholic bishops said in a statement.
Meanwhile, abortion-rights supporters quickly announced they would hold rallies in opposition to the Supreme Court decision, including one planned Friday afternoon on the steps of the Old Capitol in Tallahassee.
“Today is a dark day in history, with the Supreme Court's outrageous ruling overturning nearly 50 years of constitutional precedent protecting reproductive freedom and a woman's right to determine her own health care choices over her own body, and leaving it to the states,” the Palm Beach County Democratic Party said in an email announcing two rallies Friday. “We will continue fighting. Turn outrage into action. Elections matter!” | 2022-06-28T02:54:32+00:00 | orlandoweekly.com | https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/supreme-court-ruling-adds-fuel-to-florida-abortion-battles-31905579 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk names Linda Yaccarino as new Twitter CEO, says she'll focus on 'business operations.' | 2023-05-12T16:53:12+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/alert-elon-musk-names-linda-yaccarino-as-new-18096210.php |
Continuous Improvement in Sustainability Pillars of People, Planet, and Performance
PITTSBURGH, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP) today published its 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR), featuring the company's continuous improvement across its three key Sustainability pillars of People, Planet, and Performance.
During 2021, Koppers made important progress in further defining, implementing, and measuring its Sustainability goals as part of creating sustainable value for the company and its stakeholders. Noteworthy highlights of the report include:
- Maintained strong safety performance, including achieving the company's lowest 12-month rate of serious safety incidents, with 16 of 43 operating facilities working accident-free for the prior year.
- Reported record-setting financial results*, including record consolidated sales, operating profit matching record year, and record adjusted EBITDA.
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 48.2% since baseline year of 2007, moving closer to the company's goal of a 50% reduction by 2030.
- Announced patents pending relating to advanced carbon products to serve the electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery markets globally.
- Implemented a platform to better integrate supply chain diversity in business operations.
- Received recognition from Newsweek magazine as one of "America's Most Responsible Companies" for the second consecutive year.
*Excluding Koppers (Jiangsu) Carbon Chemical Company Limited (KJCC)
In commenting on the CSR, Koppers President and Chief Executive Officer Leroy M. Ball said, "Our strategy to expand and optimize our business to significantly grow profitability is underpinned by our steadfast commitment to Sustainability practices and Zero Harm safety principles. As a critical supplier to our world's vital infrastructure industries, we understand the importance of operating in a safe, sustainable manner while simultaneously creating value for all our stakeholders now and far into the future."
"Sustainability touches every part of our company and requires our constant attention," added Leslie S. Hyde, Chief Sustainability Officer at Koppers. "Our global team continues to gain knowledge, confidence, and a shared commitment to our ongoing success as a profitable, responsible, and civic-minded organization everywhere we operate, as this report details. We pledge to continue applying our best efforts to fulfill our purpose of Protecting What Matters and Preserving the Future."
To learn more about Koppers Sustainability initiatives, visit our interactive Corporate Sustainability Report and view a video message from our Chief Sustainability Officer Leslie Hyde by clicking here.
About Koppers
Koppers, with corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds. Our products and services are used in a variety of niche applications in a diverse range of end markets, including the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction industries. We serve our customers through a comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution network, with facilities located in North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe. The stock of Koppers Holdings Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KOP."
For more information, visit: www.koppers.com. Inquiries from the media should be directed to Ms. Jessica Franklin at FranklinJM@koppers.com or 412-227-2025. Inquiries from the investment community should be directed to Ms. Quynh McGuire at McGuireQT@koppers.com or 412-227-2049.
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SOURCE Koppers | 2022-06-29T21:23:33+00:00 | kwch.com | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/06/29/koppers-issues-2021-corporate-sustainability-report/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Javian McCollum scored 23 points and Siena beat Marist 73-65 on Sunday.
McCollum added five assists and three steals for the Saints (17-9, 11-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Andrew Platek added 18 points, while Michael Eley scored 11.
Patrick Gardner led the Red Foxes (8-16, 4-11) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Kam Farris added 11 points and Jaden Daughtry scored eight.
NEXT UP
Both teams next play Friday. Siena hosts Quinnipiac and Marist hosts Fairfield.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. | 2023-02-12T23:33:37+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/mccollum-scores-23-to-lead-siena-to-73-65-win-17780238.php |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conflicting signs about the health of the U.S. economy have thrust the Federal Reserve into a difficult spot.
With inflation raging at a four-decade high, the job market strong and consumer spending still solid, the Fed is under pressure to raise interest rates aggressively.
But other signs suggest the economy is slowing and might even have shrunk in the first half of the year. Such evidence would typically lead the Fed to stop raising rates — or even cut them.
For now, though, the Fed is focused squarely on its inflation fight, and this week it’s set to announce another hefty hike in its benchmark interest rate. Together with its previous rate increases, the Fed’s moves will make borrowing costlier for individuals and companies and likely weaken the economy over time.
“Until there’s very clear evidence of the labor market beginning to meaningfully deteriorate, the No. 1 focus for the Fed must be inflation,” said Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.
When it ends its latest policy meeting Wednesday, the Fed is expected to impose a second consecutive three-quarter-point hike, elevating its key rate to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. It will be its fourth rate hike since March, when it announced a quarter-point increase. Since then, with inflation setting new four-decade highs, the central bank has tightened credit ever more aggressively.
By raising borrowing rates, the Fed makes it costlier to take out a mortgage or an auto or business loan. In turn, consumers and businesses will likely borrow and spend less, cooling the economy and slowing price increases. The Fed’s hikes have already led to a doubling of the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in the past year, to 5.5%, and home sales have tumbled. The central bank is betting it can slow growth just enough to tame inflation yet not so much as to trigger a recession — a risk that many analysts fear may end badly.
The Fed’s rate hikes aren’t suited to address all the causes of high inflation. Higher borrowing rates can reduce spending. But they cannot reverse other factors, notably the global shortages of food, energy, factory parts and other items, which have been worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine and COVID-19-related shutdowns in China.
It will also likely take months for the Fed’s higher rates to reduce spending on airline flights, restaurant meals and other services. Many economists worry that this means the Fed will have to clamp down even harder on consumer and business demand, to bring it into balance with the economy’s restricted supply of goods and labor.
A news conference that Chair Jerome Powell will hold Wednesday — and whatever signals, if any, he sends about the Fed’s next steps — will draw intense interest. Since the Fed met in June, the government has reported that inflation accelerated to a 9.1% annual rate, the most since 1981. Though that jump reflected a spike in gas prices, which have since declined, inflation worsened even after excluding the volatile energy and food categories.
The nation’s June jobs report showed that hiring has remained healthy, with employers adding 372,000 jobs last month. Employers’ continued need for labor has been elevating wages and contributing to inflation as companies pass their higher labor costs on to customers in the form of price increases.
Oddly enough, though, despite the robust job market and its role in keeping inflation high, by some measures the economy is barely growing, if at all. When the government reports Thursday on growth in the April-June period, it may show that the economy shrank for a second consecutive quarter.
Though two straight quarters of negative growth are sometimes seen as an informal definition of recession, few economists think the economy is in a downturn. Instead, recessions are defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit group of economists. The NBER assesses a broad range of data in determining recessions and places heavy weight on incomes and jobs. Economists note that employers have added 2.7 million jobs so far this year, which points to an economy far from recession.
If, as expected, the Fed raises its short-term rate this week to 2.25% to 2.5%, it would move it near a level that officials think neither stimulates nor discourages growth. After that, the policymakers could raise the rate in smaller increments to levels that would slow the economy. Fed officials have signaled that they expect to raise it to a range of 3.25% to 3.5% by year’s end.
On Wednesday, Powell is expected to hammer home the Fed’s determination to raise rates until inflation falls, even at the risk of slowing growth too much.
“What we’re looking for is compelling evidence that inflationary pressures are abating and that inflation is moving back down,” he said at a news conference after the Fed’s June meeting. “We’d like to see that in the form of a series of declining monthly inflation readings.”
At a central banking forum last month in Portugal, Powell added: “Is there a risk that we would go too far? Certainly there’s a risk, but I wouldn’t agree that’s the biggest risk to the economy. The biggest mistake to make…would be to fail to restore price stability.”
Other officials have made clear they expect the Fed to continue raising rates for the foreseeable future.
“I have not seen any convincing evidence that inflation has turned the corner,” said Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, earlier this month.
Still, the economy’s conflicting signals have whiplashed Fed policy for months, leaving many analysts calling for a clearer message. In June, policymakers had signaled that a half-point rate hike was likely — until just before their meeting, when expectations abruptly shifted to a three-quarter-point increase.
And after the June inflation report showed that price increases were accelerating, Wall Street traders bet that the Fed would impose a full percentage point hike this week. That expectation, too, faded after several Fed officials dismissed the idea. The rapid swing in expectations was “borderline ridiculous,” Krishna Guha, an economist at Evercore ISI, an investment bank, wrote to clients.
The policymakers should “lay out the thinking a little bit more of how they see the pace of rate increases going forward,” said Ellen Meade, an economics professor at Duke University and a former senior Fed economist. “Will they react to a dramatic slowing in the economy if that should occur before they see inflation slow in a meaningful way? Having a little more information as to how they’re thinking about it could be helpful.” | 2022-07-25T17:10:18+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/fed-set-to-impose-another-big-rate-hike-to-fight-inflation/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
DALLAS (KDAF) — It may still be summer, but it’s never a bad thing to prepare early for the winter.
Every year for more than 200 years, the Farmers’ Almanac has released its extended weather forecast for people to plan ahead and this year they are releasing their predictions a little early.
After two bitterly cold winters, how is Texas looking this year? According to a graphic they released, predictions say Texans can expect chilly weather with normal amounts of precipitation.
The 2023 Farmers’ Almanac will be available for purchase in stores starting Aug. 15. | 2022-08-08T23:06:18+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/heres-how-bad-texas-next-winter-will-be-according-to-the-farmers-almanac/ |
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Someone in Washington state overcame steep odds to win a $754.6 million Powerball jackpot.
The winning numbers Monday night were 05, 11, 22, 23, 69 and the Powerball 07.
Lottery officials said in a statement early Tuesday that a single ticket matched all six numbers and that ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than an earlier $747 million estimate.
The full jackpot is for a winner opting for an annuity distributed in one immediate but partial payout followed by additional payments over 29 years that increase by 5% annually. The winner also can opt for a one-time cash payment of $407.2 million.
Both prizes available are the amounts before taxes, Powerball said.
The jackpot for the next drawing scheduled for Wednesday is $20 million, according to the lottery’s website.
Monday night’s win was the first Powerball jackpot win since Nov. 19. That winless streak allowed the prize to grow larger and larger until it stood as the ninth-largest in U.S. history.
Higher interest rates have allowed annuity payments to increase compared with earlier jackpots, when rates were lower. Most winners prefer the immediate cash prize.
The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes drawing more players. That strategy certainly has worked recently, as someone in Maine won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize in January and a California player hit a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot last November. No one has claimed either of those prizes.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
___
The story has been updated to correct that the next Powerball drawing is scheduled for Wednesday. | 2023-02-07T14:29:03+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-lucky-player-in-washington-wins-747-million-powerball-prize/ |
This is the first time in three years that the program made their annual summer field trip to the campus. Students from Robb Park and Faurot Park participated in a variety of fun activities such as creating playdough from scratch, visiting the Ohio State Design Lab, Buckeye Bingo, and a game of kickball. The afternoon group got their hands dirty with a geology activity in the Science Building. This field trip gives kids a change of scenery than they typically see at the park. This also gives them a glimpse of what college campus life looks like right here in Lima.
"I like them to see the campus and to experience the different college activities that they can have," says the Summer Playground Program Summer Coordinator Julia Miller. "They also get a chance to get out of the park and have fun with each leader. I just like them to get involved with the community and make sure that they're having fun each day," adds Miller.
The Summer Playground Program also takes students on other field trips such as bowling and skating through the summer. The program runs through July 29th.
Copyright 2022 by Lima Communications Corporation. All rights reserved.
Hello! I am very excited to join WLIO to begin a television career. You can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter @natewx. Feel free to e-mail me if you ever need anything at NKitchens@wlio.com! | 2022-07-07T03:17:46+00:00 | hometownstations.com | https://www.hometownstations.com/news/summer-playground-program-visits-ohio-state-lima/article_bd8e6276-fd4e-11ec-a67e-ab308cf3228f.html |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After 15 years of being a rival to Alabama in name only, Tennessee snapped a humbling losing streak, stamped itself a championship contender and celebrated in spectacular fashion.
Chase McGrath made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Tennessee a 52-49 victory over No. 3 Alabama on Saturday.
As soon as the kick knuckle-balled through the uprights, some of the more than 100,000 fans stormed the field to join the party as the Volunteers (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) ended a 15-game drought to the Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1).
Fireworks went off over Neyland Stadium and it glowed orange as the song “Dixieland Delight” by the band Alabama — a Crimson Tide favorite — blared over the stadium speakers.
And it didn’t take long for the goal posts to go down.
“This is college football at its absolute best,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said. “We were the best team on the field tonight. That’s all we can control.”
“We didn’t answer the bell today,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We did too many things to help (Tennessee).”
Hendon Hooker drove the Vols 45 yards in 13 seconds to set up the winner. An 18-yard pass to Ramel Keyton and 27-yard hookup with Bru McCoy set the stage for the winner.
“It wasn’t my cleanest hit,” said McGrath, who missed a PAT earlier. “I didn’t have the best contact on the ball.”
Jalin Hyatt caught six passes for 207 yards, setting a Tennessee record with five touchdowns and earning a postgame cigar — a long-held tradition in the third Saturday of October rivalry — with former Vols great Peyton Manning.
Bryce Young, a game-time decision because of a sprained right shoulder two weeks ago, completed 35 passes for 455 yards and two TDs for the Tide.
“It was great to be out there with my teammates,” the Heisman Trophy winner said. “Shoulder is fine.”
Hyatt’s fifth TD catch tied it at 49 with 3:26 left in the fourth.
“(This game) just happened,” Hyatt said. “It’s not just me. It was just the looks we got.”
Young drove the Tide into the Tennessee territory in the final minute, but Alabama stalled at the 33 with three straight incomplete passes. Will Reichard’s 50-yard field goal attempt for the lead was wide way right.
With only 15 seconds left, overtime seemed likely, but Hooker wasn’t done and did the Heisman winner one better.
Hooker finished 21 for 30 for 385 yards and five TDs.
“He played at an unbelievable level,” Heupel said. “He’s the key to our ignition.”
Tennessee had not beaten a Top 10 teams since 2006 against Georgia. That was also the last year the Vols beat Alabama.
A season later, Saban became Alabama’s coach. While the Tide has become college football’s greatest dynasty with six national titles, Tennessee has burned through coaches and been mired in mediocrity.
In his second season in Knoxville, Heupel has pulled the Vols from the muck.
Tennessee looks like a legitimate national title contender behind a transfer quarterback from Virginia Tech who should now be right near the top of those Heisman leaderboards.
“We approach every game the same,” Hooker said. “Play 100% for our brothers.”
A week after Alabama held Texas A&M out of the end zone on the last play of the game to dodge an upset, the Tide went down. The Vols scored the most points against an Alabama team since Sewanee put 54 on the Tide in 1907.
The Tide also had 17 penalties for 130 yards, the most during the Saban era, according to ESPN.
Tennessee’s up-tempo offense jumped out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead and led 28-20 at halftime. All four touchdown drives took over two minutes.
Young threw for 205 yards and a touchdown in the first half, while Hooker had 166 yards and two scores. Young wasn’t sacked, but was knocked down five times in the half.
Alabama fumbled Tennessee’s only punt. The Vols recovered and scored four plays later.
THE TAKEAWAY
Alabama: The Tide will lament the final time it had the ball and not being able to just get a few more yards for Reichard, who missed three field goals last week against A&M.
Jahmyr Gibbs dropped a short pass over the middle with room to run on second down and then the Tide threw again incomplete on third. A running playing or two could have also forced Tennessee to burn a timeout, which ended up coming in handy when the Vols got the ball back.
Tennessee: Four of Tennessee’s six victories have come against teams that were ranked at the time of the game — though none of Pitt, LSU and Florida were ranked coming into this weekend. Still, the Vols resume is as good as any in the country.
NOT AVAILABLE
Two key Tennessee players weren’t available. WR Cedric Tillman, who sustained a high ankle sprain against Akron, didn’t play despite having surgery to speed up the recovery process three weeks ago. This was his third missed game … S Jaylen McCollough, a four-year starter, was arrested for aggravated assault last weekend. He had played in all 41 games since his freshman year with 32 starts.
BY THE NUMBERS
Hooker has thrown a touchdown pass in 18 consecutive games, tying Heath Shuler’s school record (1992-94). His third-quarter interception was his first in 260 passes.
OLD SCHOOL
Tennessee had the ball on the Alabama 2. Breaking from the norm, Hooker went under center rather than the shotgun as the Vols were lined up in the I-formation. Fullback Princeton Fant, a tight end who was recruited as a running back, had his first carry since 2018 and scored.
UP NEXT
Alabama: Hosts Mississippi State next Saturday.
Tennessee: Hosts Tennessee-Martin next Saturday.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.
Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25 | 2022-10-16T21:31:45+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-no-6-tennessee-beats-no-3-alabama-52-49-on-late-fg/ |
Auschwitz hero's son seeks millions for dad's 1948 execution
The son of World War II Auschwitz death camp hero Witold Pilecki is seeking millions in compensation from the Polish government for his father’s post-war arrest and 1948 execution by the country's communist authorities of the time.
The case opened Thursday before a Warsaw court and the next session is scheduled for January. Andrzej Pilecki, aged 90, argues that 26 million zlotys ($5.7 million) compensation would be due to his father by Poland's law that redresses communist-era wrongs.
His father, Cavalry Capt. Witold Pilecki, a Polish resistance member, volunteered in 1940 to be caught by the Nazi Germans and held at Auschwitz in order to organize resistance there and gather evidence of German atrocities. He escaped in 1943 and wrote a report that was the first direct account from Auschwitz made available to the Allies.
After the war he was arrested, tortured and executed by the Moscow-appointed authorities on charges of spying for Poland’s government-in-exile in London. His remains have not been found.
In 1990, Poland's democratic government paid Pilecki's widow and two children compensation for the material support that they lost due to his execution. | 2022-11-13T14:40:58+00:00 | wyff4.com | https://www.wyff4.com/article/auschwitz-hero-s-son-seeks-millions-for-dad-s-1948-execution/41943113 |
BOSTON (AP) — The hockey rink has been removed. The goalposts are gone. The obstacle course and driving range tees also were taken away to get Fenway Park ready for baseball again.
Even without Red Sox playoffs, the major league’s oldest ballpark is coming off one of the busiest winters in its 110-year history. The debut of college football’s Fenway Bowl and the NHL’s Winter Classic were the most visible events, but fans have been spinning the turnstiles all offseason.
“Baseball is obviously the core part of our business, but we’ve got this amazing venue that is world-renowned,” said Mark Lev, president of Fenway Sports Management, which includes booking the ballpark in its portfolio.
“The ability to take advantage of that, to attract other world-class events is definitely what we want to do,” he said. “We want to make Fenway a multi-use, versatile, year-round entertainment venue.”
The Red Sox opened Fenway in 1912 — the same week the Titanic sank — and almost from the start they put it to use for other events. It hosted boxing, soccer and hockey in its first decade, and the forerunners of the NFL’s Washington Commanders and New England Patriots both called the ballpark home at one point.
“It was really a community resource,” Lev said in a recent interview from one of Fenway’s newest function rooms overlooking the field.
But the schedule got much busier after the baseball team’s current owners took over in 2002.
Bruce Springsteen played Updike’s “lyric, little ballpark” in 2003; the concert count is now 100. European soccer friendlies followed, along with ski jumping, “Crashed Ice” ice skating racing, movie nights and Shakespeare in the park.
Fenway has hosted the Winter Classic twice, and the Fenway Bowl made its debut in December after twice being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the football field set up, local high schools also got a chance to play on the historic sod. When the hockey rink moved in for the Jan. 2 NHL game, a slate of college and high school matchups was scheduled.
Also stopping by the park this offseason were Top Golf and the Spartan Race. In all, the offseason events brought more than 120,000 fans into the ballpark this winter — and that’s not even counting the tours that run year-round.
“I think this year was our busiest offseason ever,” Lev said.
The additional events bring in some revenue — though it’s not going to overtake the money earned from the baseball season, Lev said — and also help the Fenway brand. The 2008 Irish hurling matches were broadcast internationally, and events such as skiing bring the ballpark to a different crowd than the baseball fans who see it as the venerable home of the Red Sox.
“It’s just great exposure for the ballpark,” he said. “It allows us to attract new audiences that might not otherwise come to Fenway to enjoy Fenway, have the Fenway Park experience, which hopefully will bring them back for other events.”
The other events also bring in tourists to the city, and customers for the souvenir stands and restaurants in the neighborhood. “So it checks a lot of boxes for us,” Lev said.
On a recent weekday, workers were taking apart the hockey rink where the Bruins had played the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the ballpark’s lights were being lowered to the field by cranes for a scheduled LED upgrade. Jackhammers echoed through the empty seating bowl.
Cases of beer, water and Pepsi were strewn about the function room, along with equipment left over from the Winter Classic. The Green Monster in left field had been painted over, awaiting the ads that will be shown during the coming baseball season.
Janet Marie Smith, the architect who spearheaded the Fenway renovations that have made the ancillary events possible, said using the ballpark for more than the 81-game home Red Sox schedule “just seems like the natural and responsible thing to do.”
“When you occupy a place — physically, in the middle of a robust city, and spiritually, in the hearts and minds of the citizens of that community — that to shutter your building just is crazy,” Smith said, adding the philosophy dates back to the late 1980s with the creation of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, which sparked a new era of ballpark construction.
“It was a feeling that there was a civic responsibility,” she said. “That if you were in the middle of a town, particularly a downtown, that you owed it to the people who lived and worked there to be a part of that year-round community.”
Make no mistake, Lev said: At Fenway, baseball is still king.
Nothing is booked for October, to make sure the ballpark is available for potential Red Sox playoff games. And the offseason events end in mid-January, to give groundskeeper Dave Mellor — “our most valuable player,” Lev said — time to get the diamond in shape for the ballclub’s March 30 opening day.
“Before we do anything, he’s part of every conversation to make sure that we’re not doing anything that’s going to compromise the field,” Lev said.
“We need to make sure we leave time for the groundskeeper to do his thing,” he said. “Baseball is the priority, and maintaining the pristine field conditions is always paramount to any decision we make on any event that we have at the ballpark.”
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-02-14T20:30:24+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-red-sox-ballpark-turns-back-to-baseball-after-busy-winter/ |
Belmont Stakes: Arcangelo crosses finish line first, making Jena Antonucci first female trainer to win race
NEW YORK (AP) - Arcangelo took the lead at the top of the stretch and won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, making Jena Antonucci the first female trainer to win the race in its 155 years.
After the horse crossed the finish line, Antonucci doubled over and rested her arm and her head on the back of a chair. She kissed the horse on the nose when it returned to the area in front of the winner’s circle.
Arcangelo finished the 1 1/2-mile race in 2:29.23 and by 1 1/2 lengths in front of favored Fotre, with Tapit Trice third.
"I give all the credit to the horse," said jockey Javier Castello, who rode Mage to victory in the Kentucky Derby and got this mount when that colt did not run in the Belmont. "This is a wonderful horse. I’m really happy for her, you know, she’s a really good woman. She’s a good horseman."
The heart-warming victory put a positive note on a Triple Crown series marred by deaths of horses at Churchill Downs in the weeks around the Kentucky Derby and another on Preakness day for a trainer Bob Baffert. It also ended a week in which the Belmont Stakes was put in jeopardy by air quality problems caused by wildfires in Canada.
ELMONT, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Trainer Jena Antonucci holds the winners trophy with owner Jon Ebbert (L) and Jockey Javier Castellano who rode riding Arcangelo to win the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 10, 2023 in Elmont, Ne
Those cleared on Friday and the cloud over thoroughbred racing lifted on Saturday.
The 47-year-old Antonucci, who started riding show horses as a preschooler and later held a plethora of jobs in racing, became a trainer in 2010, running a modest stable. She had sent less than 2,000 horses to the post in her first 13 years.
All the work paid off in one race.
"Never give up," said Antonucci, who cried several times in talking with the media. "And if you can’t find a seat at the table, make your own table and build your team and never give up. You’re seen. People see you. Just keep working working your butt off."
Antonucci was only the 11th woman to race a horse in the Belmont and the first since Kathy Ritvo sent out Mucho Macho Man to a seventh-place finish in 2011. Dianne Carpenter’s Kingpost had the previous best finish, second to Risen Star in 1988.
Arcangelo came into the Belmont off a hard-fought victory in the Peter Pan Stakes.
Tapit Trice is walked in the barn after morning workouts prior to the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 09, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Arcangelo, who broke from the No. 3 post position, was always close to the lead in the nine-horse field. Preakness winner National Treasure led a group of seven within striking distance after a half, but as the race progressed Arcangelo stayed on the rail and was running head to head with National Treasure on the far turn that leads to the stretch.
By the time they reached the stretch, Arcangelo moved to the front, opened some daylight and never let any horse get closer than the final margin.
"He’s got the heart of a champion," Antonucci said.
Arcangelo paid $17.80, $7.20 and $4.,90 and earned $900,000 for Blue Rose Farm, which is owned by John Ebbert. Forte returned $4.30 and $3.30 and Tapit Trice was $4.10 to show.
Hit Show finished fourth and was followed by Angel of Empire, National Treasure, Il Miracolo, Red Route One and Tapit Shoes. | 2023-06-11T18:11:25+00:00 | fox35orlando.com | https://www.fox35orlando.com/sports/belmont-stakes-whos-racing-and-how-to-watch-on-fox |
15-year-old Lamine Yamal becomes Barcelona’s youngest player in more than a century
By Issy Ronald, CNN
Back in 2007, in the months before Lamine Yamal was born, the first iPhone was released and Lionel Messi was already announcing himself as one of the greatest footballing talents ever.
Fast forward to 2023 and smartphones have taken over the world, Messi has won the World Cup and it was Yamal’s turn to announce himself to the footballing world, becoming Barcelona’s youngest debutant in La Liga.
Aged 15 years, 9 months and 16 days, Yamal entered the fray after 86 minutes as a substitute for Gavi during Barcelona’s 4-0 victory against Real Betis Saturday.
According to Barcelona’s website, only three younger players have represented the club — Armand Martínez-Sagi in 1920 (14 years, 6 months and 16 days), Carles Comamala in 1903 (14 years, 7 months and 5 months), and Paulino Alcántara in 1912 (15 years, 4 months and 18 days).
“We were talking about it on the bench and I think when I was 15 I was playing for the local team in my neighbourhood,” Barça forward Raphinha said afterwards, according to ESPN.
And, although the result was decided when Yamal ran out onto the pitch, he still made an impact, with only a brilliant save from goalkeeper Rui Silva stopping him from scoring Barcelona’s fifth goal of the night.
“Seeing him come on in front of the fans was incredible,” Raphinha added. “It would have been even better if he scored, but I am sure he will get one sooner rather than later.”
Raphinha added Barça’s fourth goal of the night, which along with goals from Andreas Christensen and Robert Lewandowski, and an own goal, sealed a victory that takes the Blaugrana 11 points clear at the top of La Liga with just six games to play.
“I told (Yamal) to try things and he did,” Barcelona manager Xavi said, according to ESPN. “At 15 years old, just imagine it… He is special and he could have even scored tonight, but [Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva] saved.
“He played with confidence and he showed what he is about. He has no fear and bags of talent. Some of his passes in the final third were really good.
“Lamine doesn’t seem like a 15-year-old, he’s very mature. He’s ready [to play] and he is training well. He can mark an era at this club as part of this team.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-30T18:16:29+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/sports/national-sports/cnn-sports/2023/04/30/15-year-old-lamine-yamal-becomes-barcelonas-youngest-player-in-more-than-a-century/ |
BERLIN (AP) — Climate activists pledged Sunday to defend a tiny village in western Germany from being bulldozed for the expansion of a nearby coal mine that has become a battlegroundbetween the government and environmental campaigners.
Hundreds of people from across Germany gathered for protest training and a subsequent demonstration in the hamlet of Luetzerath, which lies west of Cologne next to the vast Garzweiler coal mine.
The open-cast mine, which provides a large share of the lignite — a soft, brownish coal — burned at nearby power plants, is scheduled to close by 2030 under a deal agreed last year between the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and utility company RWE.
The company says it needs the coal to ensure Germany’s energy security, which has come under strain following the cut in gas supplies from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.
But environmental groups have blasted the agreement, saying it will still result in hundreds of millions of tons of coal being extracted and burned. They argue that this would release vast amounts of greenhouse gas and make it impossible for Germany to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
“(We) will fight for every tree, for every house, for every meter in this village,” said Luka Scott, a spokesperson for the alliance of groups organizing protests. “Because whoever attacks Luetzerath, attacks our future.”
Prominent campaigners have rallied support to defend the village from destruction, citing the impact that climate change is already having on Germany and beyond.
While much of Sunday’s event had a festival feeling, with families attending and a popular band playing on site, some activists were preparing for possible confrontations with the police. Protesters briefly clashed with officers last week, and German news agency dpa reported that barricades and other defensive measures have been put in place to prevent Luetzerath being razed.
The fight over Luetzerath has driven a wedge between environmentalists and the left-leaning Green party, which is part of the government in North Rhine-Westphalia and at the national level.
The party’s co-chair in the western state, Yazgulu Zeybek, urged protesters to refrain from violence and allow the destruction of the village to proceed.
In an interview with daily Westdeutschen Allgemeinen Zeitung, she said the Greens “neither wished for nor chose” that Luetzerath should be destroyed, but added that the legal situation was clear.
The village and surrounding areas belong to RWE and the last farmer residing there sold his property to the company in 2022 after losing a court case against his eviction. Since then, only a handful of activists have squatted the land, some living in self-built tree houses or caravans.
Police have said no clearance will take place before Jan. 10. | 2023-01-09T00:57:53+00:00 | siouxlandproud.com | https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/international/ap-climate-activists-dig-in-to-defend-village-from-coal-mine/ |
WEATHER DISCUSSION: Saturday saw showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and into the early evening hours through portions of North Central and Central Montana. In Great Falls, a brief period of heavy rain dowsed downtown Central Ave, putting a small hold on the festivities at the Beer Fest event. Much to the event-goers delight, the brief period of rain ended almost as quickly as it had snuck in, and chances for added rainfall and showers in Great Falls and in the rest of the region will decrease throughout the night.
Mostly cloudy skies and overnight lows in the 50’s are in the forecast for the rest of Saturday. The primary concerns throughout the night are lightning and reduced visibility due to heavy rain. Thankfully, the Flash Flood Warning that was issued earlier Saturday ended by 6:30 pm, affecting mostly Lewis and Clark County. Flood Advisories and Flood Watches continued later though, at this time are expected to end by the late evening hours.
Sunday will see sunnier, partly cloudy skies and calmer winds than Saturday, though chances for 20 mph gusts will persist throughout the day. Chances for daily showers and thunderstorms will continue through the weekend and into next week as well as 70-degree daily highs. Temperatures also have the possibility to cool down slightly in the latter half of the week into the 60’s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Chance of showers and possible thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, lows in 50’s with 6-10 mph winds.
SUNDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Partly cloudy with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s. Light and variable winds from 5-8 mph in the morning, steadily increasing throughout the day to 6-10 mph.
MONDAY: Showers likely with possible thunderstorms. Mostly sunny with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s. 6-10 mph winds.
TUESDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny becoming partly cloudy with highs in the 70’s, and lows in the 50’s. 6-11 mph winds with gusts up to 18 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Partly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 40’s.
THURSDAY: Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Otherwise, partly sunny becoming partly cloudy with highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s.
FRIDAY: Chance of showers, mostly sunny, and highs near 70. | 2023-06-11T05:37:48+00:00 | krtv.com | https://www.krtv.com/weather/precipitation-not-putting-a-damper-on-weekend-festivities |
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"A lot of people say well, we'll check into it tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow — and sometimes, tomorrow don't ever come."
Officials with ahha Tulsa, formerly the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, announced Thursday night that it is ceasing operations and closing its Hardesty Arts Center effective Friday.
Bixby's Loren Montgomery: “A (district) championship game and Jenks — that’s more a part of everyone’s thought process than the ESPN piece of it."
Medical examiners will determine cause of death.
Self, who was born in Oklahoma and graduated from Oklahoma State, was the head coach at Oral Roberts (1993-97) and University of Tulsa (1997-2000).
Two adults found dead at the three-bedroom, 980-square-foot home are now considered "primary suspects" in the slayings of six children from age 13 to 1 year old.
Voting ends at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
OSU head coach admits he "probably" should have pulled Spencer Sanders before Pokes' starting quarterback aggravated shoulder injury in Manhattan.
There are numerous district titles and playoff berths that will be determined in the regular season's final week.
During the past two weeks, the undefeated Ridgerunners have jumped six spots to No. 2. | 2022-11-05T06:27:13+00:00 | tulsaworld.com | https://tulsaworld.com/4-bedroom-home-in-collinsville---445-500/article_2dbeae41-540d-5ac1-9a9c-51f75a1a45fd.html |
With the opening of the winter transfer window on Jan. 1, there's plenty of gossip swirling about who's moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Chelsea eye Brighton's Mac Allister
Chelsea have expressed interest in signing Argentina and Brighton & Hove Albion star Alexis Mac Allister for a £60 million fee, according to Football Insider.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter is keen to bolster his midfield options with more dynamic players, and he worked with the 24-year-old World Cup winner while at Brighton.
Mac Allister was already impressing on the south coast before playing his part in Argentina's World Cup win in Qatar. Now, he's wanted by a number of top clubs, and the Seagulls are bracing themselves for bids when the transfer window opens on Jan. 1.
It's believed the £60m fee would be enough to lure the star from Brighton, which the Chelsea hierarchy see as better value than Mac Allister's Argentina teammate Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez's transfer from Benfica would likely cost in the region of £106m, which is the amount stipulated in his release clause.
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga and more (U.S.)
PAPER GOSSIP
- Manchester City are close to signing talented Argentina youngster Maximo Perrone, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Velez Sarsfield midfielder and Argentine Under-20 star is also wanted by Newcastle United and Benfica, but City are believed to be already holding talks with the 19-year-old. Perrone made his professional debut in March, and is now set for an $8m move to the Etihad Stadium following the conclusion of the Sudamericano Sub 20 in mid-February.
- Aston Villa are making plans to replace goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and are monitoring the situation between Everton and Jordan Pickford, according to the Sun. Pickford, 28, is yet to agree a new deal at Goodison Park, which has alerted Villa who are bracing themselves for offers for World Cup winner Martinez. Martinez is said to be on the radar of several clubs, including Bayern Munich. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are also keeping a keen eye on Pickford's situation.
- Salernitana are keen to follow the signing of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa with a move for former Real Madrid midfielder Isco, according to Corriere Dello Sport. Isco, 30, is available on a free transfer following the termination of his contract by Sevilla, but his salary expectations could be an issue for the Italian side. Isco's agent Jorge Mendes has revealed that he's been talking to Major League Soccer clubs but Salernitana are hoping they can pull off the signing of the former Spain international.
- Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga is wanted by Everton on loan, according to the Manchester Evening News. The United academy graduate knows that his chances are increasingly limited after having featured just six times this season, and the Toffees are keen to take the 20-year-old for the rest of the season in an effort to boost their chances of Premier League survival. Elanga now sits behind Alejandro Garnacho in the pecking order under boss Erik ten Hag, though the Reds are unwilling to let him leave until they've reinforced their attacking options.
- Morocco star Yassine Bounou could leave Sevilla for Manchester United or Bayern Munich in January, according to Footmercato. The 31-year-old goalkeeper was one of the stars of the tournament, his performances against Spain and Portugal in particular reinforcing the view of some of Europe's top clubs that he has what it takes to play at the top level. The report states that talks have already taken place between Bounou's entourage and Bayern who are keen to fill the void left by the injured Manuel Neuer. Manchester United have also tested the waters about his availability, and see him as a long-term No. 1 if David de Gea moves on. | 2022-12-31T23:52:23+00:00 | espn.com | https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-transfer-talk/story/4842112/transfer-talk-chelsea-line-up-move-for-argentina-brighton-star-alexis-mac-allister |
Opal Evelyn Mata
TYLER — Services for Opal Evelyn Mata, 83, of Tyler will be held on Saturday, August 13, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Park Heights Assembly of God Church in Tyler. Visitation will be held Friday, August 12, 2022 from 4:00 to 7:30 PM at Jackson’s Burks Walker Tippit Funeral Home. Burial will be in Liberty Baptist Cemetery in Hawkins. Mrs. Mata passed away on Monday, August 8, 2022 in Tyler. | 2022-08-12T09:41:00+00:00 | tylerpaper.com | https://tylerpaper.com/obituaries/death_notices/opal-evelyn-mata/article_3c535f41-a486-55ae-ace8-13af93ad7363.html |
LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces that investors with substantial losses have opportunity to lead the securities fraud class action lawsuit against Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. f/k/a Peridot Acquisition Corp. ("Li-Cycle" or the "Company") (NYSE: LICY).
Class Period: February 16, 2021 – March 23, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 20, 2022
If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.
The complaint filed alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Li-Cycles largest customer, Traxys North America LLC, is not actually a customer, but merely a broker providing working capital financial to the Company while Traxys tries to sell Li-Cycles product to end customers; (2) the Company engaged in highly questionable related party transactions; (3) the Company's mark-to-model accounting is vulnerable to abuse and gave a false impression of growth; (4) a significant portion of the Company's reported revenues were derived from simply marking up receivables on products that had not been sold; (5) the Company's gross margins have likely been negative since inception; (6) the Company will require an additional $1 billion of funding to support its planned growth (which is a figure greater than the Company raised via the merger); and (7) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Follow us for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/FRC_LAW.
To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to the pending class action lawsuit, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to info@frankcruzlaw.com, or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, Los Angeles | 2022-06-01T18:17:56+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/01/licy-investors-have-opportunity-lead-li-cycle-holdings-corp-fka-peridot-acquisition-corp-securities-fraud-lawsuit/ |
Boulder has announced the return of “Meet the Spirits,” a biennial interactive event at Columbia Cemetery where attendees will hear stories of cemetery residents and learn more about the early days of life in Boulder.
A tradition since 1986, volunteers from Historic Boulder will join the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, dressed in period clothing to discuss the lives of notable people buried at the cemetery, including photographer Rocky Mountain Joe, gunslinger Tom Horn, and CU Professor Mary Rippon.
“From the famous to the infamous and the founders to the scoundrels, ‘Meet the Spirits’ is a fun and not-so-scary way to hear the unique and personal tales of those interred at Columbia Cemetery,” said Ali Rhodes, director of Parks and Recreation.
The event will occur from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 9 and is open to the public. Should inclement weather occur, it will be rescheduled to Oct. 16. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Tickets for children 16 and under are $5, with free admission for fourth graders in support of local history studies.
Funds raised for the event will go to Historic Boulder and the PLAY Foundation, two organizations that have helped with the preservation of Columbia Cemetery.
More information about the event is available at historicboulder.org/event/meet-the-spirits.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. | 2022-10-04T04:21:13+00:00 | dailycamera.com | https://www.dailycamera.com/2022/10/03/meet-the-spirits-returns-to-entertain-educate-public-about-area-history/ |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Valentine’s Day is approaching fast. Why not let the Gold Stand Chorus say “I love you to your sweetheart?” Here with more is The Gold Standard Chorus. Whether it’s four men or forty, there’s nothing like the joy of singing or hearing a ringing chord! The Gold Standard Chorus is Charlotte’s premier men’s a cappella organization. “We specialize in singing a cappella’s most fun, beautiful, and challenging form: 4-part harmony and we’re proud to be the 2016 Carolinas District Chorus Champions” says the Gold Standard Chorus.
If you want to do something out of the ordinary for the special person in your life? Send a Singing Valentine! A quartet from the Gold Standard Chorus will surprise your sweetheart at home or work place. In addition to the serenade of two songs, each Singing Valentine includes a long-stem red rose and a Valentine card, with your personalized message!
Here is what you need to know:
Send a Valentine’s Gift Your Sweetheart Will Never Forget
Deliveries throughout the Charlotte Mecklenburg metropolitan area on February 14th.
Prices start $59 for delivery within a 4-hour window. More precise scheduling is also available, as are extra roses as desired.
OTHER DELIVERY OPTIONS (No rose or card)
Live via Telephone $25
Pre-recorded Video via emailed link (not personalized) $15
For more information visit GoldStandardChorus.org.
From what’s trending to local restaurants, events and entertainment, you’ll find it all on this show.
Charlotte Today also features sponsored content by local and national businesses. Are you a business interested in advertising with us? Go to WCNC.com/advertise or call now (214) 977-6001
If you have a question for the Charlotte Today team, feel free to email them at charlottetoday@wcnc.com | 2023-02-10T19:10:48+00:00 | wcnc.com | https://www.wcnc.com/article/entertainment/television/charlotte-today/send-a-valentines-gift-your-sweetheart-will-never-forget/275-43cfe60b-cab0-41f7-be1e-74015ce3beb9 |
Conference Call to be Held on August 11, 2022
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., Aug. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: THMO), a market leader in automated cell processing tools and services in the cell and gene therapy field, today announced that the Company will release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 and provide a corporate strategic update on Thursday, August 11, 2022. A conference call and webcast will follow at 12:00 p.m. PT/ 3:00 p.m. ET.
To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-844-889-4331 (domestic), 1-412-380-7406 (international) or 1-866-605-3852 (Canada). To access a live webcast of the call, please visit: https://thermogenesis.com/investors/news-and-events/events-webcasts/.
A webcast replay will be available on ThermoGenesis' website for three months by visiting the Investor page of the Company's website at www.thermogenesis.com.
About ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc.
ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc. develops, commercializes, and markets a range of automated technologies for CAR-T and other cell-based therapies. The Company currently markets a full suite of solutions for automated clinical biobanking, point-of-care applications, and automation for immuno-oncology, including its semi-automated, functionally-closed CAR-TXpress™ platform, which streamlines the manufacturing process for the emerging CAR-T immunotherapy market. For more information about ThermoGenesis, please visit: www.thermogenesis.com.
Company Contact:
Wendy Samford
916-858-5191
ir@ThermoGenesis.com
Investor Contact:
Paula Schwartz, Rx Communications
917-322-2216
pschwartz@rxir.com
View original content:
SOURCE ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc. | 2022-08-09T18:32:41+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2022/08/09/thermogenesis-holdings-announce-financial-results-second-quarter-ended-june-30-2022-provide-corporate-strategic-update/ |
SANTA ROSA, Calif. >> Detectives on Thursday were investigating what prompted a fight between three students at a Northern California high school that ended in one fatally stabbing another as more than two dozen classmates watched.
A 15-year-old freshman was booked on suspicion of homicide and other charges in connection with Wednesday’s fatal stabbing in an art classroom at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, California. One 16-year-old junior was killed and another injured, police said.
The attack shocked Santa Rosa — a community best known for its wineries about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) north of San Francisco — and prompted lockdowns of several nearby schools as officers searched for the teenage suspect.
The school will be closed for the rest of the week. Principal Adam Paulson, in a message to parents, students and the school community, called the stabbing “the darkest day anyone can remember at Montgomery High,” according to the Press-Democrat.
The deceased victim was identified as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, according to Santa Rosa police. He was a junior. The victim who survived the stabbing is also a 16-year-old junior.
Jayden’s stepfather, Tom Lenwell, told KTVU he was reeling from the violence.
“I’m hurt. I’m sad. I’m never going to see Jayden again,” Lenwell told reporters. “I’m not going to be able to joke and laugh with him. Those days are gone.”
Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Christopher Mahurin on Thursday said investigators are working to interview the 27 students who were inside the classroom at the time, as well as the teacher and teacher’s aides.
Members of the New Vintage Church gathered Thursday morning to pray for the school community.
Officers will be on the school’s campus Monday when it reopens, Mahurin said.
The violence started when the two juniors came into the classroom and started a fight with the freshman, police said. Teachers initially broke up the brawl but the freshman then pulled out a knife and allegedly stabbed the juniors.
Mahurin said detectives have not yet discovered why the upperclassmen began the brawl, though the three students appear to have known each other and had fought previously.
Santa Rosa police have not released the name of the 15-year-old student, a freshman, because he is a juvenile. He was booked on felony charges of homicide, attempted homicide and having a weapon on a school campus. He was additionally booked on a misdemeanor charge of battery on a school campus.
The teenager was taken into custody Wednesday hiding in a creek bed after he fled the classroom. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately have a comment Thursday about the potential filing of charges.
“This is truly a sad day. The tragedy that happened here today is heartbreaking,” Anna Trunnell, the Santa Rosa City Schools superintendent, said at a news conference.
Several students raised questions at the news conference about their safety and asked why school officials did not do more to stop the students’ behavior despite knowing there were problems between the three teens. The officials walked out instead of answering.
Officials had earlier said none of the campuses in the Santa Rosa City Schools District have metal detectors or police officers inside.
There were no mentions of the violence on the district’s website or social media accounts on Thursday morning. A Facebook page for Montgomery High School appeared to have been taken down.
Paulson, the high school’s principal, and Santa Rosa City School District spokeswoman Vanessa Wedderburn didn’t answer voice and email messages seeking comment Thursday.
With more than 1,600 students, Montgomery High School is the second largest school in Santa Rosa and in need of major repairs, according to a report published by The Press-Democrat last week.
The school built in 1958 has exposed wires hanging from the rafters in hallways, wooden skirting around the foundation of old portable classrooms is rotting and students often must wait to get home to go to the bathroom because the ones at the school are foul smelling and there aren’t enough available, according to students who spoke to the newspaper.
Lisa Cavin, associate superintendent of business services for the Santa Rosa City Schools district, told the newspaper the district hasn’t had the funds for some projects over the years and that constant vandalism diverts money. | 2023-03-03T07:20:34+00:00 | staradvertiser.com | https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/03/02/breaking-news/detectives-seek-motive-in-fatal-california-school-stabbing/ |
Many Britons are happy to see Prime Minister Boris Johnson go, but he'll be sorely missed in Ukraine.
Johnson was the first Western leader to visit Kyiv during the war, taking the train to meet Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy. He returned for a second visit.
Ukrainians saw support from European Union leaders Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany's Olaf Scholz as tepid. But not Johnson. Britain has spent more than £2 billion on military hardware and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, second only to the U.S.
Zelenskyy hailed Johnson's support for his country, thanking him for the "cool antitank systems" — the NLAW — as well as air defense weapons, artillery, ammunition, armored vehicles and more.
In his final speech, Johnson said one reason he fought so hard to stay in power was because of his duty to Ukrainians.
Ukrainians fondly called him "Boris Johnsonyuk," transforming his Instagram account ID, Boris Johnson UK, into a Ukrainian name.
In the streets of Dnipro, Ukrainians expressed their admiration for Johnson and disappointment at his departure.
"It's very sad," said Alice Tkachenko. "Because Boris Johnson is helping Ukraine every time. And I can't believe this happened."
"I really respect him because he was not afraid of being here and he supported Ukraine a lot," said Max Ostapchuck.
No one in Ukraine seemed to understand why Johnson was ousted. No one knew anything about secret COVID parties or other transgressions.
There was an outpouring of love for Johnson across the country.
One café in Kyiv made cakes named after him with a creamy topping that resembled his blonde mop hairstyle. The cakes were called "Boris Johnsonyuk."
And the Silpo chain of grocery stores — one of the biggest in Ukraine — put a design of Johnson's iconic hairstyle above the "i" in its name.
Another Dnipro resident, Olga Ponmarenko, said it feels like Ukraine has lost a friend.
"We really loved him," she said. "He didn't make many statements and we didn't understand him, but he sent planes full of weapons. Honestly, I can't imagine Ukraine without Boris Johnson."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-07-09T11:35:27+00:00 | wbfo.org | https://www.wbfo.org/2022-07-08/ukrainians-have-a-special-place-in-their-hearts-for-boris-johnson |
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon said Wednesday.
When similar balloons passed over U.S. territory on four occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations, the U.S. did not immediately identify them as Chinese surveillance balloons, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. But he said “subsequent intelligence analysis” allowed the U.S. to confirm they were part of a Chinese spying effort and learn “a lot more” about the program.
He refused to provide any new details about those previous balloons. When pressed, Ryder would only say that the balloons flew over “sites that would be of interest to the Chinese.”
One of the possible incidents was last February.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, the adjutant general in Hawaii, tweeted about a balloon over Kauai a year ago. He said U.S. Indo-Pacific Command “detected a high-altitude object floating in air in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands” and sent up aircraft to intercept it. He said they visually confirmed it was an unmanned balloon with no identification markings.
Ryder declined to say whether this was one of the four previous incidents that the U.S. had discussed. Pacific Air Forces, the Air Force command in the Indo-Pacific, said that balloon was not shot down.
The recent balloon was shot down by a U.S. military fighter jet on Saturday. The Navy and Coast Guard are still working to recover pieces of the downed balloon so they can be analyzed.
China claims it was a civilian balloon used for meteorological research and sharply criticized the U.S. for shooting it down.
In response to questions about China’s explanation, Ryder said Wednesday that, “I can assure you this was not for civilian purposes … we are 100% clear about that.”
Ryder said North American Aerospace Defense Command began tracking the balloon as it approached U.S. airspace. It passed north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace before crossing back into the U.S. over northern Idaho on Jan. 31, U.S. officials have said.
Top administration officials were briefing members of Congress on the Chinese balloon surveillance program in classified sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. Avril Haines, director of national intelligence; Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman; Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command; and Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, were among those expected to brief lawmakers.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has briefed dozens of countries on the program, which officials said has been active over five continents.
“The United States was not the only target,” he said at a news conference with visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Blinken said he and Stoltenberg had spoken about the “systemic and tactical challenges” that China poses to the alliance and the importance of combatting them.
The foreign countries would include nations the U.S. believes have been surveilled in the past as well as NATO allies.
Stoltenberg agreed on the nature of the Chinese threat, saying the balloon incident “confirms a pattern of Chinese behavior” and noting that Beijing had “invested heavily in new military capabilities, including different types of surveillance and intelligence platforms.”
“We have also seen increased Chinese intelligence activities in Europe,” he said. “We just have to be vigilant. We need to be aware of the constant risk of Chinese intelligence and step up what we do to protect ourselves.”
Those briefings were continuing Wednesday, and the State Department has sent a cable to all U.S. embassies and consulates outlining the administration’s case against China and instructing American diplomats to discuss these points with their host governments. However, the cable is less specific than what has been briefed to allies and partners.
Off the South Carolina coast, meanwhile, Navy divers began pulling pieces of the downed Chinese spy balloon from the depths of the ocean floor on Tuesday, using sophisticated reconnaissance drones dubbed the Kingfish and the Swordfish to locate the debris.
Ryder said agents from the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are cataloguing the debris and transporting it for further processing.
_____
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report. | 2023-02-09T13:37:07+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/political-news/ap-pentagon-chinas-conducted-spy-balloon-program-for-years/ |
Which bird leash is best?
Bird owners may be surprised to learn that you can buy leashes designed to let your feathered friends enjoy the sunshine and fresh air outdoors. Getting your bird comfortable with a leash opens up a world of socialization and exploration possibilities that can greatly enrich the life of your pet
The Aviator is the industry standard when it comes to bird leashes. It includes a secure, durable harness and comes in sizes for the smallest budgie all the way up to the largest macaw.
What to know before you buy a bird leash
Your bird’s personality
Most birds can be trained to tolerate a leash with time and patience, but the best candidates are those that already enjoy activity, exploration and handling. Carefully consider your pet’s demeanor as well as your relationship with it. Training gone wrong can result in long-lasting distrust, so it’s important to be sure of your bird’s willingness to cooperate prior to a training session.
Leash types
Most bird leashes connect to a harness that wraps under your pet’s wings and around its neck. These offer the most security, as a determined bird will need to chew through multiple connections to fully free itself.
Some leashes connect to a plastic band that loops around your bird’s leg. These are not recommended, as the single connection to your pet makes escape easy. These leashes also pose a safety hazard. A frightened bird may take flight, only to have its leg pulled when the leash is fully extended. This can traumatize and hurt your pet.
Risks
Bringing your bird outside subjects it to dangers it won’t find indoors. A frightened bird may break free from its leash and end up flying out of your reach. Small, tame birds are vulnerable creatures that make easy prey for cats, dogs and even hawks who may swoop down to grab them.
While taking your bird outside has a number of benefits for these intelligent, curious animals, you will need to exercise great caution while doing so.
What to look for in a quality bird leash
Harness material
Birds are naturally destructive, and the beaks of many species have evolved to crush nut shells and shred hard wood. Your bird’s leash should come with a harness made of tough woven material or leather.
Even the strongest material can be picked apart over time. If your bird is especially prone to chewing, you will have to replace your harness regularly.
Leash length
Choose a leash long enough to allow your bird the freedom to move about without restriction, but not so long that it may take off and land on a branch or surface too high for you to reach. Leashes that are too long may also get tangled around your pet and result in injury and stress. Generally, a leash length between 5 and 10 feet is ideal.
Harness size
A harness that’s too small will be hard to put on and cause discomfort to your bird. Those that are too big are easy to escape from.
Most bird leashes come in sizes based on species. Be sure to select the one designed with your pet in mind.
Color
Color is not just an aesthetic choice when it comes to bird accessories. Some birds are particular about colors and even afraid of especially bright items.
Choose a leash color that won’t startle your bird but still lets you easily determine whether the harness is being worn securely.
Elastic
Some bird leashes are at least partially made from a stretchy, elastic material. This is a safety feature that prevents your bird from hurting itself if it takes flight and quickly pulls the leash to its maximum length.
How much you can expect to spend on a bird leash
Most bird leashes can be purchased for $10-$15. Offerings from reputable manufacturers, however, can cost up to $50 depending on size.
Bird leash FAQ
Will my bird wear a leash and harness?
A. Possibly, but it will take time, patience and a great deal of treats and encouragement to get them comfortable. Birds that have not been hand raised and are not tame will not tolerate a leash.
Are bird leashes safe?
A. Generally, yes. However, birds are delicate and prone to injuring themselves attempting to escape frightening situations. Natural escape artists, unsupervised parrots can make short work of snipping through a harness with their powerful beaks. Never leave your pet unattended while on their leash.
Can my bird fly while on a leash?
A. Most bird leashes aren’t long enough to allow flight. Some bird owners unclip the leash from their bird’s harness, letting them fly freely in safe, open areas. However, this should only be done with highly trained birds in areas where they will not be injured or preyed upon, or get lost.
What’s the best bird leash to buy?
Top bird leash
Aviator Pet Bird Harness And Leash
What you need to know: The Aviator is well known among bird owners. It is the standard when it comes to bird leashes.
What you’ll love: Available in eight sizes and seven colors, this leash can accommodate almost any bird. It features an elastic band to prevent impact in the event of sudden flight, and its simple design makes it easy to put on and take off of a properly trained bird.
What you should consider: Large birds can chew through it quickly.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top bird leash for the money
Vanfavori Adjustable Bird Harness And Leash
What you need to know: This economical bird leash and harness is great for small to medium birds.
What you’ll love: Available in 10 colors, it’s composed of a stretchy material that makes it easy to put on. Its 6-foot leash length is generous without being too long.
What you should consider: This harness includes metal components that some birds may find to be uncomfortable.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This leash includes cute wing accessories and a rubber handle for a secure grip.
What you’ll love: Its elastic cord keeps your bird safe from whiplash if it takes off too quickly. It comes in two colors and is made of durable nylon.
What you should consider: This leash is only available for small birds despite the promotional images that show large birds wearing it.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-25T23:37:01+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/reviews/best-bird-leash/ |
Milwaukee fatal shooting, 76th and Brown Deer Road
MILWAUKEE - A 41-year-old Milwaukee man is dead following a shooting Thursday morning, June 29 near 76th Street and Brown Deer Road. It happened around 1:20 a.m.
No arrests have been made.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips/ or P3 Tips. | 2023-06-29T10:46:59+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-fatal-shooting-76th-brown-deer-road |
KYIV, Ukraine — An uneasy calm hung over Kyiv on Tuesday as residents of the Ukrainian capital did what they could to prepare for anticipated Russian missile attacks aiming to take out more energy infrastructure as winter sets in.
To ease that pain, NATO allies were making plans to boost provisions of anything from blankets to generators to ensure the 43 million Ukrainians can maintain their resolve in the 10th month of fighting against Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s first lady implored the West to show the same kind of steadfastness that Ukrainians had shown against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign.
“Ukrainians are very tired of this war, but we have no choice in the matter,” said Olena Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a BBC interview during a visit to Britain.
“We do hope that the approaching season of Christmas doesn’t make you forget about our tragedy and get used to our suffering,” she said.
A two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, Romania, was likely to see the 30-nation alliance make fresh pledges of nonlethal support to Ukraine: fuel, generators, medical supplies and winter equipment, on top of new military support. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to announce substantial U.S. aid for Ukraine’s energy grid, U.S. officials said
Ukraine’s grid has been battered countrywide since early October by targeted Russian strikes, in what Western officials call a Russian campaign to weaponize the coming winter cold.
Ukrainians are putting up defenses — both for troops and for civilians. The government has rolled out hundreds of help stations, christened Points of Invincibility, where residents facing outages of power, heating and water can warm up, charge their phones, enjoy snacks and hot drinks, and even be entertained.
“I had no electricity for two days. Now there’s only some electricity, and no gas,” said Vanda Bronyslavavina, who took a breather inside one such help center in Kyiv’s Obolon neighborhood.
The 71-year-old lamented the uncertainty about whether Russia will simply resume its strikes after infrastructure gets fixed, in a frustrating cycle of destruction and repair.
It underscored how the war continues to cast a pall over every aspect of life, even if civilian casualties are relatively low at the moment.
Breaking News Alerts
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the presidential office’s deputy head, said Russian forces overnight fired on seven regions in Ukraine’s south and east, employing missiles, drones and heavy artillery. At least one civilian was killed and two wounded.
Tymoshenko said that as of Tuesday, power had been restored to 24% of residents in the hard-hit southern city of Kherson.
On the battlefields in the eastern Luhansk region, the regional governor said Ukrainian forces were continuing a slow advance, pushing toward Russian defense lines set up between two key cities. Serhiy Haidai acknowledged in televised remarks, though, that the onset of winter was compounding a “difficult” battlefield situation.
The prospect of any peace remained remote. The Kremlin reaffirmed Tuesday that negotiations could only be possible if Ukraine meets Russian demands. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it’s impossible to hold any talks now because the Ukrainian side strongly rejects them.”
He noted that “political will and readiness to discuss the Russian demands” are needed to conduct negotiations.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine recognize Crimea as part of Russia and acknowledge other Russian gains. It also has repeated its earlier demands for “demilitarization” and “denazification,” albeit with less vigor than in the past.
Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. | 2022-11-29T13:45:55+00:00 | sun-sentinel.com | https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-aud-nw-ukraine-russia-war-20221129-w7smfm6pvvhrvjclq5j2mhe4hm-story.html |
(NerdWallet) – Payments are currently suspended, without interest, for most federal student loan borrowers through Aug. 31, 2022. This policy does not apply to private student loans.
Borrowers can still make payments to lower their debt during this period of suspended payments, called a forbearance. According to the latest federal data, a total of 500,000 borrowers (about 1.16% of all 42.9 million federal loan borrowers) continued making payments during the pause. Contact your servicer if you have further questions.
» MORE: Can Student Loan Borrowers Handle Payments and Inflation, Too?
Make no mistake: This is a pause on payments, not forgiveness. Your debt will be waiting for you when repayment begins at the end of the forbearance, unless the policy changes again. While the Biden administration has said it plans to push for expedited $10,000 forgiveness for all federal borrowers, few observers believe such a bill could be moved through Congress quickly.
Until then, here’s how to decide what to do next.
If you want to pause payments
You don’t have to do anything to get a forbearance to stop student loan payments. Interest won’t continue to accrue, as it normally would.
A forbearance could give you breathing room to address other financial concerns.
If you are jobless or working reduced hours, a forbearance may free up cash to pay the rent and utilities or grocery bills. Even if your pay is unaffected, a forbearance could help you divert some money toward building an emergency fund or help you pay another, more pressing debt.
Usually forbearance is granted at the discretion of the servicer and interest will continue to build. In this case, the Education Department instructed all servicers to automatically place all loans into a forbearance without interest.
If you’re behind on your student loan payments (or get behind)
Federal loans with delinquent payments or defaulted loans will return to “good standing” status when payments start again on Sept. 1, 2022.
Default on federal loans happens when a payment is 270 days past due, sending your loan to collections and exposing you to damaged credit, garnished wages and seized tax refunds.
All collection activities are suspended through Aug. 31, 2022. You can get a refund for any forced student loan payments made since March 13, 2020. If your tax refund was seized before March 13, 2020, it will not be returned.
If your loans were already in forbearance, any interest that already accrued will still be added to your loan principal when your repayment begins, but during the current waiver no new interest will be calculated.
If you are seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The automatic forbearance won’t undo your progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF. As long as you are still working with a qualifying employer, months spent in forbearance will count toward PSLF.
Making payments during the automatic forbearance won’t get you ahead on payments. You’re in the same boat whether you pay or not.
Under normal circumstances only full payments count. You also won’t lose credit for the payments you already made.
If you want to continue making payments
Borrowers might want to continue making payments on federal loans if they want to pay down their debt faster.
If you do continue making payments, you won’t pay any new interest on your loans during the forbearance. This 0% interest rate will save you money overall, even though your payment won’t be lower.
The full amount of your payment will be applied to the principal balance of your loan once all interest accrued prior to March 13 is paid.
Deciding whether or not to make a payment during this time will depend on your original repayment strategy:
- Those sticking to a standard repayment timeline (typically 10 years) could consider making payments. You likely won’t have much outstanding interest and additional payments can help you chip away at your principal during the break. To preserve your flexibility, we suggest opening a savings account and banking those monthly payments, then making a lump-sum payment against your highest-interest loan when repayment begins.
- Borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment or planning to do so shouldn’t bother making payments now if the ultimate plan is to pay until the loans are forgiven — usually 20 or 25 years. If you want to pay off your loans sooner, then paying now could help you lower the total interest you owe on top of your principal.
- Borrowers seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness do not need to make payments until at least Sept. 1, 2022. The months of automatic forbearance will count toward the 120 payments needed for forgiveness.
Contact your loan servicer with any questions about continuing or restarting payments during the forbearance period.
If your income has changed
If you experience a change in income and still want to keep your payments going, the best way to lower your payment to something more affordable is to apply for income-driven repayment. You’ll get a new payment that is based on your family size and a percentage of discretionary income, and it will be in effect even after relief has expired. You can apply online at studentaid.gov.
If you are already enrolled in an income-driven plan, make sure to update your income if it has changed due to the economic downturn.
If you were supposed to recertify your plan before Aug. 31, 2022, you’ll now have an additional time to do so. IDR recertification dates have been extended until at least March 2023. Borrowers will be notified when it is time to recertify. Temporarily, borrowers with direct loans can self-report their income when applying for or recertifying an IDR plan. That means you own’t have to submit tax documentation, but you will need to select “I’ll report my own income information” in Step 2 (Income Information) of the IDR application. This option ends Feb. 28.2023.
If you have FFEL Loans
If you have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), you are entitled to receive the no-interest forbearance only if the government owns the loans. This won’t be most FFEL borrowers — most of the loans from the now-defunct program are commercially held.
You can find out who owns your loans by logging in to studentaid.gov using your FSA ID.
The only way to get the forbearance for commercially held FFEL loans is to consolidate your debt into a new direct loan. But there are downsides to consolidation:
- Your repayment term will be extended.
- Your interest rate will increase slightly.
- Any unpaid interest will capitalize and be added to the total amount you owe.
Temporary interest-free payments may not be worth those additional long-term costs.
Plus, if you’re already making payments on an income based repayment (IBR) plan, those previous payments will no longer count toward forgiveness. You’ll have to start all over.
Consolidation can make sense if you have FFEL loans and want to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Otherwise, stick with your current loans.
If you’ve experienced a change in income, you can enroll in IBR or recertify early, if you’re already on this plan. IBR will still take into account your spouse’s income. Your loans are also eligible for unemployment deferment, which may make sense if you’ve lost your job but expect to start working again soon.
How to work with your servicer
If you want to restart payments during the automatic forbearance, contact your student loan servicer — it’s the private company that manages payment of your federal loans. But you don’t have to do anything to get the forbearance or the 0% interest rate.
To find out which loan servicer is yours, log in to studentaid.gov with your FSA ID.
You can get in touch with all of the loan servicer contact centers by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID.
For additional information visit studentaid.gov/coronavirus for forthcoming details. | 2022-08-20T16:53:04+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/national-world-news/student-loans-are-on-hold-should-you-pay-anyway/ |
The lesson from their first loss in two weeks is quite simple and one the Dallas Stars expect to learn from when they continue their Southern California swing with a Wednesday night clash against the host Anaheim Ducks.
The Stars saw a four-game winning streak disappear in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, and Dallas coach Peter DeBoer believes the key reason was a lack of production through the lineup.
Dallas’ heralded top line of Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski came through, unlike the rest of the Stars’ lineup in a tight-fought clash against a Kings team that also is rolling these days.
“That (top) line was dangerous again all night,” said DeBoer, whose club sits atop the Central Division and even with the loss has a 7-2-1 record in its last 10 games. “I just didn’t think we had enough other lines going.”
That the Stars’ top trio provided offense is nothing new. Robertson scored once to extend his point streak to eight games, during which he has three goals and nine assists. Hintz collected two assists, giving him six goals and three assists in a six-game run, and Pavelski has one goal and six assists in his past six games after picking up an assist at Los Angeles.
Defenseman Miro Heiskanen also scored, giving him a goal and four assists in a four-game point streak.
The Tuesday game was close, with the difference being a Los Angeles power-play goal in the third period. Dallas was blanked on its three man-advantages during the game.
“We played well enough to at least earn some points,” Stars defenseman Esa Lindell said. “The special teams made the difference.”
The Ducks, meanwhile, sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division and are ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks in the overall NHL standings. Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, Anaheim has only one win in its past six games (1-4-1) and five in their past 22 outings (5-14-3).
The loss to Philadelphia was even more stinging than the final score indicates. The Flyers grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead and extended it to 4-0 before Ryan Strome’s final-minute goal spoiled the shutout bid for Flyers rookie goaltender Samuel Ersson.
“I think that every guy can look in the mirror and have better execution starting in practice, starting in the morning skate,” Strome said. “Everyone’s got to take a little bit of individual pride in their practicing and their habits and just become a little bit better and a little bit more sharp.”
The Ducks are not helping themselves on offense, with goals at a premium, especially of late. Anaheim — which ranks next-to-last in the league in goal-scoring — has only eight goals in those past six games, not counting the extra “goal” added to the final score in a shootout win.
The Ducks’ top two point producers are mired in droughts. Troy Terry, who leads the team with 12 goals, has failed to score in seven consecutive games, while Trevor Zegras has failed to score in 10 straight outings.
“We’ve got just a few guys that are really expected to score,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that are really expected to work hard and do their best to get it at the net. When there’s that amount of pressure on you, knowing you’re one of those guys that’s got to put it on the board, it does weigh on you.”
–Field Level Media | 2023-01-05T14:10:02+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/sports/nhl-hockey/stars-seek-quick-bounce-back-vs-ducks/ |
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays won their 12th straight game to start the season, one short of the major league record, as Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer in a 9-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.
The 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves both opened 13-0, tying for the best mark in big league history. Tampa Bay's 12-game winning streak matches the team record set in June 2004.
“It sounds amazing,” Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt said.
Tampa Bay can equal the record Thursday at home against the Red Sox, who have lost 12 road games in a row to the Rays.
Taj Bradley (1-0) won his major league debut for the Rays. The 22-year-old right-hander, recalled from Triple-A Durham when Zach Eflin went on the injured list, allowed three runs and struck out eight over five innings.
“Taj did a great job,” Bethancourt said. “I think he did amazing. I had fun. It was very enjoyable. He was everything I expected.”
Bradley's victory came on his mother's birthday.
Arozarena made it 3-0 with an opposite-field homer off Chris Sale (1-1) in the first. Tampa Bay leads the majors with 30 home runs and has outscored opponents 92-27.
Rafael Devers, who had been hitless in 10 at-bats with six strikeouts in the series, pulled Boston to 8-7 on a three-run homer off Colin Poche in the seventh.
Arozarena's sacrifice fly made it 9-7 in the eighth.
Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly left in the fifth with right elbow pain. After throwing a pitch that hit Yandy Díaz, an emotional Kelly went into a squat on the mound and used his hands to cover his face.
“He'll fly with us tomorrow, and we'll do all the stuff, the imaging, all that in Boston,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It's the elbow he had surgery (on) a few years ago. Tough, tough to see. Hopefully there's nothing wrong.”
Sale gave up six runs, five earned, in four innings. His ERA remained at 11.25.
“Tough, you know,” Sale said. “If we had a better starting pitcher we'd have a better chance to win. I think if you look at any of my outings, I had to get bailed out. I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. I've just got to be better.”
Pete Fairbanks, the fifth Rays reliever, worked the ninth to get his second save.
Wander Franco drove in a pair with a double during a three-run fourth as the Rays took a 6-1 lead.
Alex Verdugo got the first hit off Bradley with a leadoff double in the fourth and scored on Justin Turner's single. Kiké Hernández stopped an 0-for-28 slide with an RBI double in a two-run fifth that cut the deficit to 6-3.
Bethancourt, who entered 2 for 19, got his second hit of the game with an RBI double during a two-run fifth that put Tampa Bay ahead 8-3.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: OF Masataka Yoshida (right hamstring) didn't play.
Rays: RHP Tyler Glasnow (left oblique) is throwing off a mound.
ADJUSTMENTS
With Yoshida out, Hernández moved from shortstop to center field, and Bobby Dalbec got his second start and fourth overall appearance at shortstop. Dalbec cleanly fielded Díaz's grounder leading off the first, but was charged with an error on a groundball by the second-place hitter Franco.
UP NEXT
Rays LHP Jeffrey Springs (1-0) and Boston RHP Corey Kluber (0-2) are Thursday's scheduled starters.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-04-13T03:54:21+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/rays-win-12th-straight-to-start-season-1-shy-of-17894311.php |
TORONTO (AP) — TORONTO (AP) — Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FRFHF) on Thursday reported net income of $1.25 billion in its first quarter.
On a per-share basis, the Toronto-based company said it had profit of $49.38.
The financial services holding company posted revenue of $6.28 billion in the period.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FRFHF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FRFHF | 2023-05-12T18:21:25+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/business/article/fairfax-financial-holdings-q1-earnings-snapshot-18096433.php |
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia officials have reiterated that the state’s drinking water remains safe following an Ohio train derailment that led to a toxic plume of chemicals being released.
Chemicals that leaked from the derailment are being monitored as they move down the Ohio River, but they are not affecting the supply of drinking water, officials said during a briefing Thursday.
“We have not had any reports of this substance entering the water supply in any of the affected areas and there are no water advisories being issued at this time,” said state Health Officer Matt Christensen.
About 50 train cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Vinyl chloride was later released into the air from five of those cars before crews ignited it to get rid of the highly flammable, toxic chemicals in a controlled way, creating a dark plume of smoke.
Residents from nearby neighborhoods in Ohio and Pennsylvania were evacuated because of health risks from the fumes, but have since been allowed to return.
Water samples were collected along the Ohio River on Wednesday from Ravenswood to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Parkersburg is about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of East Palestine. The samples detected butyl acrylate — one of the chemicals from the derailment — at levels below 3 parts per billion, said Scott Mandirola, the deputy cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Federal guidance for drinking water has limits of 560 parts per billion, Mandirola said.
DEP spokesperson Terry Fletcher said in an email that vinyl chloride is among the compounds being tested for and “no detectable levels have been identified.”
The leading edge of the chemical plume was estimated to be near Point Pleasant and the mouth of the Kanawha River. Mandirola said the influx of water from the Kanawha River should add at least a 25% additional dilution on top of the mitigating effects of Thursday’s rains. The plume is estimated to reach the Huntington area late Friday or early Saturday. Huntington is about 265 miles (426 kilometers) southwest of East Palestine.
“Thus far, there’s no danger to our drinking water,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said.
As a precaution, a utility company on Wednesday temporarily switched its water drinking source for the Huntington area to the Guyandotte River after installing pumping equipment and above-ground water lines.
Officials also said that air monitoring stations in the Northern Panhandle haven’t detected problems with air quality from the derailment. | 2023-02-17T14:58:18+00:00 | valleycentral.com | https://www.valleycentral.com/news/health/ap-health/ap-west-virginia-drinking-water-still-clear-of-derailment-toxin/ |
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Plex, a global streaming media platform, grew its monthly active users (MAU) to 16 million with billions of minutes watched and nearly tripled its annual ad revenue thanks to an extensive year of innovation. During the year, Plex introduced major product updates to enhance the streaming experience, doubled its FAST programming, and expanded its programming and viewership internationally.
Launch of Discover
In April, Plex launched Discover and Universal Watchlist, product features that made Plex the first and only streaming platform where users can easily search for and maintain a cross-platform watchlist of essentially any movie, documentary, or TV show ever made. In just nine months, 24 million titles have been added to Watchlists in Plex, consisting of more than 450,000 unique titles. The top watchlisted programs were largely franchises, in order: Black Adam, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Additionally, millions of shows and movies have been deeplinked from Plex, with the top destinations being Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Plex, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies & TV, and Hulu.
Partner Growth
With a focus on providing content everyone can enjoy, Plex doubled down on partnership efforts in 2022. This year saw the launch of content on Plex from A24, Hallmark, Hearst, FOX, E.W. Scripps, Local Now, NBC Universal, PBS, Vevo, and more. These partnerships not only enhance Plex's content offering, but demonstrate its commitment to providing a diverse range of free, high-quality entertainment for all types of viewers.
The Rise of FAST
As one of the first platforms to focus on free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels, FAST viewership nearly doubled on Plex in 2022, with billions of minutes of FAST content watched. FAST channels on Plex now stand at over 300, with the top performing channels being A+E's Crime 360, Hallmark Movies & More, and The Walking Dead on Stories by AMC.
Rapid International Growth
With content in 239 countries and 81 languages, Plex has, since its founding, focused on catering to its global audience. In 2022, minutes viewed more than doubled year-on-year in Australia, Canada, Mexico, UK, and South Africa. Minutes viewed in Spain grew 2X, with Brazil growing 3X. The international growth is largely attributed to a focus on new partners that provide highly engaging international content, including Rakuten, BBC, eOne, VVS, Trinity, and more.
About Plex
Plex is the most comprehensive entertainment platform available today. A one-stop destination to stream movies, TV shows, and music, Plex solves the streaming media struggle by making it quick and easy to find and play any movie or TV show being streamed online. Plex is the first and only streaming platform to offer free ad-supported movies, shows, and Live TV, paired with the ability to easily search for any title ever made and create a customized watchlist for all the movies and shows you're interested in watching, regardless of where they are being streamed. Plex has partnered with some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Warner Brothers Discovery, NBC Universal, Paramount, AMC, A+E, BBC, Lionsgate, Hallmark Media, E.W. Scripps, A24, Relativity, Hearst, and Crackle. Acting as one window into all streaming services and a user's personal media library, Plex serves up the most relevant content for all of its users.
The company is independently owned, backed by Intercap and Kleiner Perkins. For more, visit https://www.plex.tv, follow @plex on Twitter, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Plex | 2023-01-04T21:51:54+00:00 | wafb.com | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2023/01/04/plex-closes-year-with-billions-minutes-watched-doubles-yoy-viewership/ |
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy energy industry press releases from PR Newswire
NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the energy and natural resources industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.
The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.
- IBM Teams Up to Help Accelerate Clean Energy Transition for Vulnerable Populations
"With the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, we are convening experts and using innovative technologies to help tackle the toughest environmental challenges our planet faces; and transitioning to clean energy is a critical step right now," said Justina Nixon-Saintil, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG at IBM. - US Government Gives Grants Worth $2.8B to Build Up EV Batteries Supply Chain
According to the US Department of Energy, the approved projects will eventually supply enough lithium to produce 2 million EVs, enough graphite to produce 1.2 million EVs, and enough nickel to produce 400,000 EVs per year. - Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Reports Strong First Year
Since its launch at COP26, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) has accelerated clean energy solutions to support economic development and climate priorities across 12 countries on multiple continents, with plans to expand to seven more countries next year. - Bezo Earth Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, and U.S. State Department Announce Support at COP27 for Design of New Energy Transition Accelerator
The intent is to gather input and expertise from the people and institutions with the know-how and networks to design an ETA that produces verified greenhouse gas emission reductions which participating jurisdictions will have the option of issuing as marketable carbon credits. - NET Power Announces its First Utility-Scale Clean Energy Power Plant Integrated with CO2 Sequestration
The project fully integrates power production with transportation and underground sequestration of carbon dioxide. The new plant will be built near Occidental's Permian Basin operations. The plant is expected to be online in 2026. - Bank of America and CrossBoundary Energy join forces to expand renewable energy across Africa for a more sustainable future
The collaboration serves as an example of a blended finance transaction driving capital flow into Emerging Markets and will support CrossBoundary's delivery of approximately 255MW of solar and wind generation and 50MWh of storage projects. - NCKU Researchers Propose Intelligent Building Design to Reduce Carbon Emissions
A team of researchers, led by Dr. Yaw-Shyan Tsay of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, has proposed a strategy that combines machine learning models with new optimization algorithms to simulate the whole life cycle performance of the building.
Read more of the latest energy-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNenergy on Twitter.
Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News
These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.
Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:
- Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.
- Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.
- Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.
- Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.
About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists
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SOURCE PR Newswire | 2022-11-11T13:02:28+00:00 | wsfa.com | https://www.wsfa.com/prnewswire/2022/11/11/this-week-energy-news-7-stories-you-need-see/ |
SHELBY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A Cleveland County woman is much wealthier after winning $200,000 of a scratch-off ticket.
Natashia Rogers bought her slip at Curve View Express on West Warren Street in Shelby.
“I texted my boyfriend a picture of it,” she said. “He said, ‘That’s awesome. Who won that?’”
Rogers chose the $5 Ice scratch-off in the No. 36 slot from the store’s dispenser because she was 39 years old when she had her second child.
“I don’t even know why I did that; it was just random,” Rogers said about buying her ticket. “It was my first time doing that.”
She collected her prize of $142,501 (after taxes) from lottery headquarters on Thursday.
“I’m happy, but I think I am still in shock,” Roger said.
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Though Rogers doesn’t know how she will spend the money, she knows she’ll ‘have fun with it.’ | 2023-06-02T21:28:07+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/cleveland-county/still-in-shock-shelby-woman-wins-200k-from-scratch-off/ |
Bristol will see tens of thousands of visitors over the next two weeks, but where will they all stay?
According to Christopher Perrin, marketing director at Discover Bristol, seeing no vacancy signs in town the weekends of Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and the Bass Pro Shops Night Race is just about par for the course.
“Bristol typically reaches capacity for both weekends,” Perrin said last week. “Right now, there is more availability on the Rhythm and Roots weekend, and with all the hoteliers that I've spoken to recently, I have not come across one that has availability for the night race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.”
This weekend’s music festival is expected to draw between 30,000 and 40,000 people over a three-day period, Perrin said, with next week’s races at Bristol Motor Speedway expected to bring in well over 100,000 visitors.
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While Rhythm and Roots largely draws from local and regional audiences, Perrin said that race fans travel wider distances, including from foreign countries, to see one of the most sought after events on the NASCAR circuit. That means race fans are willing to stay in a larger radius outside of Bristol that extends beyond the Tri-Cities and into places like Wytheville, Asheville and the Sevierville area, Perrin said.
“I think a lot of the NASCAR fans understand just with the demand and the popularity of the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway that if there’s something that you want to go to that badly, there might be a couple of additional steps that you have to take,” Perrin said.
For folks still looking for a place to stay in the area, the outlook is better this weekend versus next.
A quick Google hotel search shows a two-night stay for two adults in Bristol from Friday to Sunday could cost roughly $187 to nearly $500 a night, with rates and availability subject to change. For a two-night stay next weekend, a very small amount of rooms in Bristol are being listed for as high as $450 a night, while less limited options in Johnson City are going for about $170 to $400 a night, per Google’s listings. The lowest local price shown at a Hilton or Marriott brand hotel for the Rhythm & Roots weekend is a $149 price in Abingdon.
For race weekend, a Monday search of Marriott properties showed the closest available room is in Boone. Three hotels all had room with prices of $300 or above. One Hampton Inn in Boone had rooms available at a price of $337 per night. The Boone hotel market is also being affected race weekend by a home Appalachian State football game.
Rental service Airbnb also has a selection of rentals in Bristol this weekend from about $100 to $1,000 a night. The site has many more listings in the Tri-Cities for Rhythm and Roots weekend compared to race weekend. There were no listings available Monday within the Bristol city limits for race weekend. | 2022-09-05T18:59:47+00:00 | heraldcourier.com | https://heraldcourier.com/business/getting-a-hotel-room-in-bristol-will-be-a-tough-task-the-next-two-weekends/article_cd9e8886-2d3b-11ed-a7a0-4b9499e6f1c8.html |
Rosalynn Carter, the second-oldest U.S. first lady ever, turns 95 Thursday on a birthday that will be marked not just with cards and best wishes, but with butterflies.
The wife of former President Jimmy Carter, 97, has a fascination with butterflies dating back to childhood, when she was entranced by the colorful insects flitting around her mother’s flowers in Plains, Georgia, longtime friend and neighbor Annette Wise said.
That interest led to the formation of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, which was established in the southwest Georgia town after the former first lady grew concerned about the future of butterflies, which are crucial to the pollination of flowering plants.
“She read an article in 2013 about the decline in monarchs and decided she wanted to do something about it,” Wise said.
Wise said she helped Carter establish a garden featuring native milkweed, a prime habitat for monarch butterflies, at the home she shares with the former president, her husband of 76 years, but the public can’t visit it because of Secret Service security concerns. So Wise planted another garden nearby that could be open to visitors, and that helped lead to the butterfly trail, which includes 76 public and private gardens around rural Plains.
The butterfly trail will use Carter’s birthday to promote an annual statewide count of butterflies, the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, set for Friday and Saturday, Wise said.
Last Saturday, at an event held in honor of the former first lady’s birthday, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter made one of their first public outings in awhile for the dedication of a new butterfly sculpture that’s part of the trail and is on property next door to where she grew up. The former first lady, using a walker, flipped a switch to illuminate the artwork at nightfall.
“They’re not getting out too much. COVID is a real concern, and their ages, too,” Wise said.
Bess Truman, the wife of President Harry Truman, is the only first lady to have outlived Rosalynn Carter, according to The National First Ladies Library. Truman, who was first lady from 1943 until 1953, died in 1982 at the age of 97.
Jimmy Carter, who will turn 98 on Oct. 1, is the oldest living U.S. ex-president. Photos showed him seated in a wheelchair and smiling during the sculpture dedication. | 2022-08-18T11:28:33+00:00 | wric.com | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/rosalynn-carter-marking-95th-birthday-with-butterflies/ |
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday evening's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
7-4-4
(seven, four, four)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday evening's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 3 Evening" game were:
7-4-4
(seven, four, four) | 2022-10-03T03:09:37+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Pick-3-Evening-game-17482328.php |
Las Vegas gathering welcomed 75 partner firms from the Sanctuary network
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanctuary Wealth, home to the next generation of elite advisors, kicked off OASIS 2022, November 14-16 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, where partners and friends of the firm gathered in person for the first time since 2019. The three-day event was designed to present attendees with opportunities for collaboration, communication, and celebration.
"Sanctuary Wealth has grown significantly by every metric since 2019 when we were last able to get together in Indianapolis," said Jim Dickson, CEO and Founder of Sanctuary Wealth. "We are excited for the opportunity to be together in person as we recognize the success of our partner firms and articulate our plans to continue this dynamic growth trajectory."
The conference kicked off with a presentation by CEO Jim Dickson on "The Future of Independence." Also speaking on the first day was Sanctuary investor David Chene, CEO & Founder, Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, who addressed Credit Markets and The Economy. He was followed by Mark Tibergien, respected practice management and industry thought leader, who offered insights on how advisors can thrive in the independent space.
Vince Fertitta, President of Sanctuary Wealth offered opening comments on the second day, followed by remarks from Massimo Guiati, Co-CEO, Azimut Group, another of Sanctuary's investment partners, and a presentation by Mary Ann Bartels, Chief Investment Strategist, Sanctuary Wealth, who gave an update on the markets and the economy. Other speakers on Day Two included Liz Manibay of Schwab Consulting on Schwab's Industry Benchmarking Study and Ned Dane of AIdentified on "Smart Data for Business Development."
On the final day, Bob Walter, President, Sanctuary Wealth, introduced Ainslie Simmonds, Pershing X, and her presentation on "Transforming the Wealth Management Industry with Technology."
The final program session included two highly anticipated panel discussions featuring participants from throughout the Sanctuary network. "Building a World Class Wealth Management Platform" included Jene Hoosier, Head of Platform Strategy, Sanctuary Wealth; Shanelle Grisso, Head of Platform Education and Community, Sanctuary Wealth; and Ryan Beck, Head of Platform Integration at Sanctuary Wealth.
The panel was followed by "Building Your Brand" moderated by Carmen Irazola, Head of Marketing, Sanctuary Wealth. Panelists included Tom Stadum, Founder & CEO, Fjell Capital; Robert Gilliland, Managing Director & Senior Wealth Advisor, Concenture Wealth Management; and Grace Speckman, Financial Advisor, Evans May Wealth.
Attendees had multiple opportunities to attend a series of Growth Engine Breakout sessions covering: using insurance to accelerate and enhance the planning process; utilizing the Sanctuary Solutions Toolbox; generating alpha with structured notes; and winning and serving business owners and corporate executive clients conducted by various Sanctuary partners. Sanctuary also established a Growth Village for advisors seeking additional resources for their practices including marketing, search engine optimization, media relations, branding, and more.
To learn more about Oasis 2022, please visit: www.oasis-sw.com.
Sanctuary Wealth (sanctuarywealth.com/) is the advanced platform for the next generation of elite advisors, who have the entrepreneurial spirit to build and own their own practices and desire the freedom to deliver the tailored service their clients deserve. Sanctuary Wealth's ecosystem of partnered independence provides a complete technology and operations platform, as well as support from a community of like-minded advisors and the resources of invaluable affiliated businesses. Currently, the Sanctuary Wealth network includes partner firms in 28 states across the country with approximately $25 billion in assets under advisement. Sanctuary Wealth includes the fully owned subsidiaries; Sanctuary Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, Sanctuary Securities, Inc. a FINRA member broker-dealer as well as Sanctuary Alternative Holdings, Sanctuary Asset Management, Sanctuary Insurance Solutions, Sanctuary Global, and Sanctuary Global Family Office.
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SOURCE Sanctuary Wealth | 2022-11-16T21:57:00+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/11/16/sanctuary-wealths-oasis-2022-explores-power-partnership/ |
CLARK COUNTY, Wash — Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was named as the winner in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, defeating Republican Joe Kent, according to The Associated Press.
Gluesenkamp Perez's victory gives the Democrats a U.S. House seat in a district that had been held by Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler since 2011. Kent defeated Herrera Beutler in the primary in May, setting up the race against Gluesenkamp Perez.
"I am humbled and honored by the vote of confidence the people of Southwest Washington have put in me and my campaign," she said in a statement released Saturday. "Right up to the end, far-away pundits and prognosticators said this race couldn't be won. They dismissed the possibility that a moderate Democrat focused on prioritizing the needs of this district over partisan point scoring could win in a rural, working class district."
On Saturday, after multiple outlets called the race for Gluesenkamp Perez, Kent tweeted that he won't concede. "It's another narrative designed to stop voters from ballot curing & to force me to concede - not gonna happen," Kent said in the tweet.
Gluesenkamp Perez has led the race since election night on Tuesday. The latest update shows that she’s received nearly 51% of the vote. A self-described moderate Democrat, she supports abortion access and policies to counter climate change, but also is a gun owner who said she opposes an assault rifle ban, though she does support raising the age of purchase for such guns to 21.
Kent, a former Green Beret who is a regular on conservative cable and podcasts, called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and an investigation into the 2020 election. He also railed against COVID shutdowns and vaccine mandates and called to defund the FBI after the search on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.
Here's the full statement released Saturday by Gluesenkamp-Perez:
"I am humbled and honored by the vote of confidence the people of Southwest Washington have put in me and my campaign. Right up to the end, far-away pundits and prognosticators said this race couldn't be won. They dismissed the possibility that a moderate Democrat focused on prioritizing the needs of this district over partisan point scoring could win in a rural, working class district.
"But national pundits did not know this district and its communities the way we do here on the ground. I know the people in my district are looking for representation that focuses on finding common ground and delivering results, not the extreme hyperpartisanship and clickbait politics offered by my opponent. They want their independent voice in Congress to be a small business owner and a mom who works in the trades, not an extreme politician seeking celebrity.
"At the outset of the general election campaign we said this race would be a bellwether for the direction of our politics and the strength of our democracy, and that remains true today. Joe Kent's candidacy gave voice to some of the darkest impulses in our politics: white nationalism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism. Southwest Washington looked them straight in the eye and said no - not here, not now, not ever.
The people have spoken, not just here but all around the country: they want representatives who will seek to build rather than destroy, who will listen and do the work rather than bask in celebrity, and who will focus on substance, not slogans or sound bites. To the people of Southwest Washington: I pledge to you that I will work every day to live up to the responsibility you have placed in me, and will deliver the help working and middle class families need."
The Associated Press contributed to this article. | 2022-11-13T04:50:56+00:00 | king5.com | https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/elections/gluesenkamp-perez-claims-victory-washingtons-3rd-district/283-b9421e58-9bfe-4e2a-a5b3-c51e78f8e29c |
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It’s their first regular season trip to the stadium and first regular season trip there since 2014, when they won in dramatic fashion.
The Browns are trying to go 3-1 for the third year in a row under head coach Kevin Stefanski while Atlanta, after winning last week, is trying to get back to even.
Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe preview Sunday’s game by each offering up something to watch when the two teams get together. Then they make their picks for the game.
Think you know football? Play the cleveland.com Pro Picks Challenge for a chance to win prizes! Click here: cleveland.com Pro Picks Challenge
Get the latest Browns merchandise: Here’s where you can order Cleveland Browns gear online, including jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, hats and much more.
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700.
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Will Browns Myles Garrett play on Sunday against Falcons? Berea Report | 2022-10-01T10:27:41+00:00 | cleveland.com | https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2022/10/browns-at-falcons-3-things-to-watch-and-game-picks.html |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea formally restored Japan to its list of countries it gives preferential treatment in trade on Monday, three years after the neighbors downgraded each other’s trade status amid a diplomatic row fueled by historical grievances.
In announcing the move through a government gazette, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also said Seoul will further restrict technology and industrial exports to Russia and its ally Belarus to support the U.S.-led pressure campaign against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
After years of friction, Seoul and Tokyo are working to repair relations as they tighten their three-way security cooperation with Washington to counter the threat posed by North Korea. Pyongyang has used the distractions caused by the war to accelerate testing of nuclear-capable missiles.
South Korean officials expect Tokyo to restore Seoul as a favored trade partner too, but expect that step to take more time based on the procedures to revise Japan’s export regulations.
In September 2019, South Korea dropped Japan from its “white list” of countries receiving fast-track approvals in trade, reacting to a similar move by Tokyo. Japan had also tightened export controls on key chemicals South Korean companies use to make semiconductors and displays, prompting South Korea to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
Seoul accused Tokyo of weaponizing trade to retaliate against South Korean court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to offer reparations to South Koreans forced into slave labor before the end of World War II, when Japan had colonized the Korean Peninsula. The 2018 rulings irked Japan, which insists all compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that normalized relations. Relations between the U.S. allies began to thaw in March when the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May 2022, announced plans to use South Korean funds to compensate the forced laborers without requiring Japanese contributions. Yoon traveled to Tokyo to meet with Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida and they vowed to rebuild the countries’ security and economic ties.
Yoon’s push to mend ties with Tokyo has triggered criticism from some forced labor victims and from his political rivals. They have called for direct compensation from Japanese companies that employed the forced laborers. But Yoon has defended his decision, saying closer ties with Japan are essential for dealing with a slew of regional challenges, especially North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
Following the Yoon-Kishida summit, South Korea withdrew its complaint at the WTO against Japan as Tokyo simultaneously confirmed its removal of export controls over a set of chemicals seen as vital to South Korea’s technology industry. The Japanese restrictions had covered fluorinated polyimides, which are used in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for TVs and smartphones, and photoresist and hydrogen fluoride, used for making semiconductors. With Japan’s status restored, South Korea now provides preferential treatment to 29 countries –- including the United States, Britain and France –- over exports of sensitive “strategic” materials that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
South Korea divides its trade partners into two groups in managing export approvals of sensitive materials. The waiting period is usually five days for white-list nations, while other countries are required to go through case-by-case reviews that can take up to 15 days.
In announcing its new regulations over exports of strategic materials, the South Korean trade ministry also said the country will place hundreds more industrial products and components under its export restrictions against Russia and Belarus beginning this week.
Seoul’s controls so far have covered 57 items, including those related to electronics and shipbuilding, with authorities banning their shipments to Russia and Belarus unless the companies obtain special approvals. The list will increase to 798 items beginning Friday, including exports related to construction, machinery, steelmaking, automobiles, semiconductors and advanced computing.
“(We) plan to work with relevant ministries to strengthen crackdowns and enforcement to prevent (the restricted items) from reaching Russia or Belarus through third countries,” the ministry said in a statement. | 2023-04-24T09:54:11+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/technology/south-korea-restores-japan-on-trade-white-list/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council voted Thursday to maintain an arms embargo on Somalia over strong objections from its government, saying the al-Shabab “terrorist group” still seriously threatens peace and stability in the region and sanctions are needed to degrade its activities.
The resolution, which also expresses concern at the continued presence of affiliates of the Islamic State extremist group in the Horn of African nation, was approved by a vote of 11-0 with Russia, China, Gabon and Ghana abstaining in support of the call by the Somali government, backed by the African Union, to lift the arms embargo.
The British-drafted resolution does modify the arms embargo to reflect the government’s progress in improving its management of weapons and ammunition.
This includes allowing Somalia to import portable surface-to-air missiles, higher-caliber mortars, anti-tank guided weapons, combat drones, some aircraft and vessels designed or modified for military use, and combat drones for use by its security forces and police — unless the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions objects within five working days of receiving notification from the government.
Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki said the benchmarks identified following a recent technical assessment highlighting Somalia’s progress provide “a clear roadmap … that will help this council make further changes to weapons and ammunition measures in the future.”
“The steps made today will simplify processes for Somalia and its partners, and help speed up the journey,” he said.
The resolution keeps in place the codified arms embargo, a ban on the sale or transfer of key components of improvised explosive devices that al-Shabab has used, a ban on the import and export of Somali charcoal that was a key money-earner, and travel bans and asset freezes on individuals threatening peace and associated with al-Shabab, including by financing or facilitating its activities.
The Security Council imposed the arms embargo on Somalia in 1992 to cut the flow of weapons to feuding clan-based warlords who toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre the previous year, plunging the country into civil war. Somalia established a functioning transitional government in 2012 and has been working to rebuild stability in the face of extremist attacks and one of the worst droughts the country has experienced that has brought thousands to the brink of famine.
Somalia’s government under recently elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been engaged in a new offensive against al-Shabab, including efforts to shut down its financial network.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood expressed hope that the government will continue to make progress on the benchmarks, allowing for further easing of the arms embargo.
He said the sanctions regime adopted Thursday is tailored to support and enable “robust action” by the government to combat al-Shabab including by depriving the extremist group of its financial resources. And he urged all countries to implement sanctions and deprive al-Shabab of the ability to access funds and weapons.
Somalia’s U.N. Ambassador Abukar Osman expressed “deep dissatisfaction” with the extension of the arms embargo and praised the four countries that abstained for not supporting it.
He warned that the arms embargo, which is the longest U.N. sanctions regime, is hindering efforts to rebuild the country’s security forces to counter al-Shabab.
The army used “a major portion” of its armaments during engagements with al-Shabab in the last four months, Osman said, and as a result of the arms embargo renewal, “our hands are tied in the fight against the ruthless enemy at this most critical time.”
Osman said victims of Somalia’s “terrorist groups” are asking why lifting the arms embargo is a threat to international peace and security while other countries are being armed to defend their territory and people.
“This unjust and unfair double standard is preventing the government of Somalia to legally obtain military lethal equipment to rebuild its national army,” he told the council.
Ambassador Martin Kimani of Kenya, whose neighboring country has also been targeted by al-Shabab, supported the resolution, saying the Security Council had taken “a strong stand together against terrorism.”
But he also urged an end to the arms embargo.
“There is little doubt that the battlefield conduct and the determination of the Somali forces and government will in short order lead to the dropping of the embargo,” Kimani said. “The partial arms embargo in Somalia cannot exist in perpetuity, as it is counterproductive and adversely affects the capability of the federal government to eradicate the existential threat posed by al-Shabab.” | 2022-11-18T22:05:50+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/international/ap-un-maintains-somali-arms-embargo-over-government-objections/ |
The Waterloo area can expect a very hot day. It should reach a balmy 82 degrees. A 62-degree low is forecasted. How likely is it that it'll rain on your picnic? The weather forecast calls for a 55% chance of rain. The UV index today is high. Be careful outside, especially during late morning through mid-afternoon. If your shadow is shorter than you, seek shade and wear protective clothing and generously apply sunscreen on exposed skin. The area will see gentle winds today, with forecast showing winds from Northeast, clocking in at 7 mph. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. For more daily forecast information, visit wcfcourier.com.
Here is today's weather outlook for Jul. 1, 2023 in Waterloo, IA
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The forecast is showing warm temperatures for the Waterloo community. It looks to reach a moderate 76 degrees. A 63-degree low is forecasted. …
The forecast is showing a hot day in Waterloo. Temperatures are projected to be a scorcher today with temperatures reaching a high of 90 thoug…
The Waterloo area can expect a very hot day. It looks like it will be a warm 80 degrees. We'll see a low temperature of 55 degrees today. We'l…
The forecast is showing a hot day in Waterloo. It should reach a balmy 86 degrees. We'll see a low temperature of 66 degrees today. Models are…
The Waterloo area can expect a hot day. The forecast calls for it to be a warm 86 degrees. Today's forecasted low temperature is 65 degrees. T… | 2023-07-01T12:42:35+00:00 | wcfcourier.com | https://wcfcourier.com/weather/here-is-todays-weather-outlook-for-jul-1-2023-in-waterloo-ia/article_1caf3451-3557-5373-8a68-cfb2875df1b3.html |
The American political tradition enshrines majority rule, with rights for the minority. But some wonder whether the United States is sliding toward minority rule.
More and more Democrats are saying the system is out of whack.
Twice in the last 20 years, their presidential candidate got more votes but lost the election. And now that the 2022 redistricting cycle is beginning, Republicans in many states will be able to get fewer votes but end up with a majority of seats.
In the Senate, many Democrats say a system designed to protect the rights of smaller states has turned into partisan minority rule. According to the Constitution, every state — no matter if it has 1 million people, or 30 million — gets two senators.
But Sen. Brian Schatz, from the small state of Hawaii, says that disparity is growing.
"The way this is starting to work is that elected representatives who collectively have gathered 10 million, maybe 12 million, maybe by the year 2030 30 million fewer votes are going to stack the judiciary and entrench minority rule," Schatz, a Democrat, said during last year's debate about confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. "And so something has to give."
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Right now, the Senate is split evenly in half, but the 50 Democratic senators represent 41.5 million more people than the 50 Republican senators.
By 2040, if population trends continue, 70% of Americans will be represented by just 30 senators, and 30% of Americans by 70 senators.
That has lots of implications, such as for the Senate filibuster, where a party that represents a shrinking minority of voters can block almost all major legislation.
But it also has implications for the Supreme Court, says Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President.
"You have this sort of turbocharged minority rule," he said. "You have a counter-majoritarian institution chosen by people who were picked by a minority of the citizens. That's not a sustainable model for a representative democracy."
Conservative Republican Brad Smith, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, disagrees. He says the system has worked pretty well because when the Framers designed the Senate, they understood that a small state such as Rhode Island would never have as much clout as a big state such as New York.
"These are the kinds of reasons why at the Constitutional Convention there was the Great Compromise of having one chamber by population and one chamber elected by states," he said. "You know, under that system we've become like a really rich, powerful, wealthy, free country."
And Smith says it's really hard to change because the Senate is enshrined in the Constitution.
But Wegman says this is not what the Framers had in mind. For one thing, when they wrote the Constitution, they thought only white men with property could vote. And they certainly couldn't have imagined how the population would grow and sort itself out.
"At the time of the founding, the biggest state was 13 times the size of the smallest state. Today, the biggest state is 70 times the size of the smallest state," he said. "So a few hundred thousand people in Wyoming have as much power as tens of millions of people in California or New York. And I think that violation of majority rule is going to continue to haunt us through the Senate, which is not really alterable in any meaningful way other than by just adding more states."
Democrats don't currently have the votes to grant statehood to Puerto Rico or Washington, D.C., or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The role of gerrymandering
Then there's the House of Representatives and statehouses around the country, where representation is supposed to be based on population.
But Michael Li of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University says partisan gerrymandering hasn't just created safe seats for Democrats and Republicans. In many cases, he says, it allows one party to draw district lines that secure its grip on the state legislature — such as Wisconsin.
"The map there was drawn by Republicans so that under any reasonable election scenario, they win a majority of the seats," Li said. "So even if they win, say, 47[%] or 48% of the vote statewide, they are likely to get about 60% of the seats. And that's something that's deeply undemocratic."
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And the same thing has happened when Republican legislatures draw congressional district lines. "In North Carolina, for example, the map that was drawn gave Republicans 10 out of the state's 13 congressional districts," Li said.
And that's in a state where Democrats get way more than three out of every 13 votes.
Republicans say Democrats do partisan gerrymandering, too. And they say if Democrats were able to win control of more statehouses — something they failed miserably at in 2010 and 2020 — they would be doing the exact same thing.
There are reforms to partisan gerrymandering. Some states have adopted nonpartisan redistricting commissions. Others give the opposition party more input.
Another idea: Congress could add more seats to the House. The 435-seat limit was set way back in 1929 when the U.S. population was much smaller. Now, almost every congressional district represents about 760,000 people. A fairer system, reformers say, would be to make more districts, creating more representation.
But Republican Smith thinks all the reforms that Democrats would like to make to the rules governing representation could have unintended consequences because, he says, politics can change quickly as well.
"It's well within my memory that West Virginia was a lock state for Democrats in presidential elections and Senate elections," he said. "There might be a reason for making these changes. But the reason for making these changes is not the short-term political advantage of the Democratic or Republican Party."
In the past, however, short-term political advantage was generally the main reason changes in the rules have been made. And right now many people in both main parties, for different reasons, think the system isn't fair to them.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2023-05-01T04:11:22+00:00 | wboi.org | https://www.wboi.org/npr-news/2021-06-09/democrats-increasingly-say-american-democracy-is-sliding-toward-minority-rule |
Lake Marion's Maurice Brown Jr. signed to play basketball with Erskine College.
Lake Marion's Ta'Laysia Davis signed for track and field at Claflin University.
Lake Marion's Qua'Naisha Myers signed to play softball at Voorhees University.
Lake Marion's Jamarion Jamison signed for track and field at Denmark Technical College.
Lake Marion's Kaylen Colter signed to play volleyball at USC-Salkahatchie. | 2022-06-01T20:12:39+00:00 | thetandd.com | https://thetandd.com/sports/lake-marion-athletes-sign-with-colleges/article_2c779a79-528a-5d6c-8a38-24a130a4fb28.html |
Get and stay active with a desk-job fitness essential
If you’ve noticed your activity level going down while working from home, an under-desk treadmill may be the perfect solution. When paired with a standing desk, it’ll help you keep moving during the day, warding off the negative health side effects associated with sitting still all day. If you’re tired of coming up with excuses to avoid exercise, slide one of these treadmills under your desk to transform your day and your lifestyle.
Why get an under-desk treadmill
Getting your steps in has tons of health benefits. Walking on an under-desk treadmill means you can get those benefits without having to alter your schedule or endure bad weather.
Walking for even a few minutes each day can accomplish a multitude of good things for your body, both physically and mentally. Walking can:
- strengthen your heart to reduce the risk of heart disease
- lubricate joints and strengthen muscles to ease knee and hip pain
- improve mood and energy levels
- clear your mind to help you think creatively
Walking inside on a treadmill won’t have all the same positive effects as taking a walk outside, but it’s better than sitting for hours, especially if you turn off your screen and focus solely on walking for a few minutes.
How to pick an under-desk treadmill
Treadmill size
If you want to be able to store your treadmill when it’s not in use, make sure it’s small enough to fit under your bed or sofa or against the wall and that it’s lightweight enough for you to move easily. Built-in wheels help make storage easier. Some treadmills even fold up for even more convenient storage.
Conversely, if you’re tall, check the treadmill’s specifications carefully. Many treadmills designed to fit under desks are also compact and may not offer a long enough stride length for taller people to use comfortably.
Treadmill controls
Since under-desk treadmills have collapsible handles or no handles at all, they also lack the traditional interface for controlling the treadmill’s programs and speed. Most desk treadmills make up for this by coming with a remote control. Some also offer app controls to use the treadmill through your smartphone. Some can even change speed automatically according to where you’re walking on the footpad.
Noise level
If you want to bring your desk treadmill into an office environment, or if your home office is in an apartment, quiet operation should be a high priority. Look for a motor of around 2 horsepower and a sound level of fewer than 50 decibels for the quietest — and least disruptive — operation. Placing your treadmill on a mat can help minimize noise while also protecting your floors.
Safety features
Desk treadmills should be used with caution because they don’t have handrails like a traditional treadmill. Look for treadmills that can stop operating when they detect that the user has stepped off the treadmill.
If you plan to use your treadmill for running as well as walking at your desk, choose a model that has collapsible handles that can be folded out for use when running. Make sure that the treadmill has a high enough weight capacity and maximum speed to be used for running, too.
Best under-desk treadmills
WalkingPad P1 Ultraslim Foldable Treadmill
One of social media’s favorite treadmills features a remote control plus app control. Its super-slim design is less than 3 inches thick. It can be stored upright or folded up to measure 32 inches by 21.5 inches. It can go up to 4 miles per hour and includes technology to slow down and stop the treadmill to prevent falling.
Sold by Amazon
Compact yet heavy-duty, this under-desk treadmill has wheels to roll it in and out of storage. It features a shockproof rubber footpad to reduce vibration, a remote control, and a bright LED screen. It offers 12 programs and speeds up to 4 miles per hour. It’s 6.5 inches tall at its highest point and supports up to 220 pounds.
Sold by Amazon
Urevo 3-in-1 Folding Treadmill with Removable Desk
This treadmill offers a weight capacity of up to 286 pounds. With fold-up handles and speeds topping out at over 8 miles per hour, it even lets you run. Silicone shock absorbers help reduce the impact on your joints. The bar display on the handles can be converted into a workspace thanks to the included small desk.
Sold by Amazon
LifeSpan TR1200-GlowUp Under-Desk Treadmill
Most under-desk treadmills tend to be light and compact, but this durable option measures 63 inches long and supports up to 350 pounds. This makes it a good pick for those with a longer stride. It goes up to 4 miles per hour and many users note that it’s quiet enough to talk on the phone while using it.
Sold by Kohl’s
Sunny Health and Fitness Walkstation
A treadmill is a considerable investment, but this compact, budget-friendly model still delivers everything you need to exercise at your desk. It’s lightweight and reaches 3.75 miles per hour, while a large display shows the time, calories burned, distance and more. It comes with a remote control and safety features such as pausing when no weight is detected on the treadmill.
Sold by Amazon
WalkingPad A1 Pro Smart Walk Folding Treadmill
Sleek and easy to set up, this folding option has an elegantly minimalist display screen and quiet operation. Control your speed through the app or where you stand on the treadmill: walking near the front makes it speed up while walking near the back slows it down. It supports up to 220 pounds and tops out around 3.7 miles per hour.
Sold by Amazon
Goplus 2-in-1 Folding Treadmill
Use this treadmill on the walking mode under your desk for speeds up to 2.5 miles per hour, then fold the collapsible handlebars out to run at speeds up to 7.5 miles per hour. It offers a remote control, LED display, and a quiet motor plus a Bluetooth speaker to play your favorite workout playlist.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-21T06:03:51+00:00 | cenlanow.com | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/electronics-br/computer-accessories-peripherals-br/under-desk-treadmills-are-sweeping-tiktok-here-are-the-best-worth-buying/ |
Anna Marks to succeed Sharon Thorne as Chair of Deloitte Global Board of Directors effective June 2023
LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Deloitte Global announced the nomination of Anna Marks as the designated incoming Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors, effective 1 June 2023, subject to final confirmation by the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. Marks is expected to succeed Sharon Thorne, who completes her four year-term on 31 May 2023.
"As Global Chair, my vision is to lead a high-performing, purpose-led board, building on the exceptional work of the past four years to govern in a collaborative, anticipatory, and impactful way and driving even greater cohesiveness throughout our global organization," says Anna Marks, Deloitte Global Chair Designate. "I am thrilled and deeply honored to be taking up this role and look forward to working with the Global Board and Global Executive, embodying Deloitte's purpose and values in all that we do."
Marks currently serves as a member of the Deloitte Global Board, sits on the Deloitte North & South Europe Board, and is a Deloitte UK Vice Chair. With almost 20 years of experience as a practicing audit partner, Marks has substantial experience across audit and due diligence, UK and US regulatory reporting, and corporate development activities. She has held a variety of senior leadership and executive roles including on the Deloitte UK Audit and Assurance Executive, the Deloitte North & South Europe Audit and Assurance Executive, and Chair of the Deloitte UK-Swiss Partnership Council.
Marks brings to her new role significant governance experience, starting on the Deloitte UK Board in 2010 during a period that oversaw Deloitte member firm combinations to form what is now Deloitte North & South Europe. Marks is a member of the Board of the Confederation of British Industry and Chair of the Audit Committee. She is a fellow, and has previously been a Board member and Trustee of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, a UK charity meeting the complex needs of people with profound disabilities arising from brain injury.
"It has been a pleasure serving with Anna on the Global Board in recent years, where I've had the opportunity to see first-hand the unique skills and leadership capabilities she will bring to this role, including her substantial governance experience, client impact, future-focused mindset, and global network of trusted relationships," says Sharon Thorne, Deloitte Global Chair. "Complementing her experience is her deep sense of integrity and purpose and a highly collaborative leadership style that will be critical to navigating today's complex business environment successfully."
Anchored in her personal experiences and early career working with families with children with learning disabilities, Marks is passionate about embracing diversity and cultivating an inclusive culture where everyone feels they can thrive. She is Sponsoring Chair of the Deloitte UK Ethnicity Council.
"The role of governance is vital to a high-performing organization, and I am confident Anna's experience and leadership attributes position her well to successfully step into the Global Board Chair role," says Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte Global CEO. "I am looking forward to working collaboratively with Anna to ensure our organization continues delivering with excellence for all of our stakeholders in a highly complex and dynamic global environment. I also want to thank Sharon for her extraordinary contributions over the past four years as our Global Board Chair. Sharon's leadership has been instrumental to the positive impact Deloitte is making on our clients, people, and communities."
Download Anna Marks' biography.
About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms, and their related entities(collectively, the "Deloitte organization"). DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500® and thousands of private companies. Our professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 415,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.
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SOURCE Deloitte | 2023-02-22T16:30:24+00:00 | uppermichiganssource.com | https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/prnewswire/2023/02/22/deloitte-global-announces-new-board-chair/ |
'Complete tragedy': Cause of death for 2 adults, 3 children found dead inside Phoenix home released
PHOENIX - Over three months after a family of five was found dead inside a north Phoenix home, the medical examiner has released the cause of deaths a woman and her three children who were allegedly killed by the woman's husband.
Phoenix Fire HAZMAT crews and police officers responded to a home near 7th Avenue and Northern because of a reported "hazardous situation" and a possible unresponsive person just after 8 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2022.
Phoenix Fire said that crews did find a presence of gas, which made it a bit difficult for first responders to investigate the scene right away and get inside the home. "Southwest Gas crews did, however, determine there was no natural gas reads outside the home from the meter to the street through survey activity," the company said.
Once crews made their way inside, two adults and three kids were found dead with obvious signs of trauma, says Phoenix Police Sgt. Melissa Soliz, adding that a suspect isn't believed to be on the loose. It's not clear what led up to the family being killed.
The victims have been identified as 44-year-old Jasen Hudgens, 40-year-old Marla Hudgens, and their three children – 3-year-old Christopher Hudgens, and 6-month-olds Gwen and Faye Hudgens.
Marla Hudgens (Lewis Roca)
Police believe there were open propane tanks inside the home and a gas line that was not attached to a kitchen appliance. Jasen Hudgens has been identified as the suspect in the incident. He died from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to a statement released by SRP on Nov. 17, Jasen was an SRP employee.
"Our thoughts are with the family, friends and everyone affected by this heartbreaking situation," read a portion of the statement.
On the same day, officials with the Lewis Roca Law Firm also issued a statement, saying Marla worked there. The statement reads:
"We are overwhelmed with grief at the loss of our friend, colleague and partner, Marla Hudgens, and her family. We are in complete shock and are only just beginning to process this awful tragedy."
"This scene is a complete tragedy behind us. Not only is this devastating to first responders that had to respond and witness what's inside, but this neighborhood is very close-knit," Soliz remarked. "Detectives are going to take their time and ensure that this investigation is thoroughly investigated and looked at. We need to look at every possible angle, all the evidence, and that's going to take some time."
On Mar. 7, 2023, we reported that causes of deaths were released for the four who were allegedly killed by Jasen.
According to a report, the four were stabbed to death by Jasen.
Community left stunned
"Tremendous family."
That's all a woman tearfully said as she walked to the home where the family of five was found.
Throughout the day, besides police investigators, friends and family arrived to the scene obviously distraught and stunned, as is the entire community.
"Well, I heard it. I thought it was just a rumor. I didn't want to believe it. It's very upsetting and scary. I haven't really processed it," said Arlene Lotstein, a neighbor. "I'm shaking right now."
Help is available. If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call or text 988. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. Support in Spanish is also available by calling 988. You can also chat with crisis counselors via online chat.
CLICK HERE for the warning signs and risk factors of suicide. | 2023-03-08T00:35:19+00:00 | fox35orlando.com | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/complete-tragedy-cause-of-death-for-2-adults-3-children-found-dead-inside-phoenix-home-released |
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A group that promotes the Bangor region to potential visitors wants to establish a fee on hotel guests to fund marketing efforts aimed at drawing a greater share of Maine’s tourist traffic to the Queen City.
Representatives from the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau presented the idea of Bangor having its own tourism improvement district to the City Council at a workshop Monday night.
Portland is considering a similar effort, which would establish a tourism improvement district that would levy a fee on hotel guests and direct the funds to marketing and promoting the city for future tourists.
“Maine tourism continues to increase and, in spite of two very rough years for the hospitality industry, it really rebounded in a big way,” said Austin Muchemore, the general manager and vice president of the Hollywood Casino and a member of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.
The bureau, which installed Gretchen Chauncey as its new executive director last week, is underfunded with its current $160,000 annual budget, even as state tourism ticks up following an initial pandemic lull, Muchemore said.
Hotels would pay an assessing fee that would appear on guests’ bills. The city government would collect the revenue and route it back to the bureau, which would manage the tourism improvement district, handling the marketing efforts. Muchemore estimated that the new fee would raise about $1 million for the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau, which would market on behalf of hoteliers to bring in visitors.
Tourism improvement districts produce a 2.1 percent increase in demand for hotel rooms, and add 4.5 percent revenue increases for hotels, on average, according to research Muchemore cited.
The $1 million estimate is based on the city levying a 2 percent gross room receipt tax, he said. The tourism bureau would manage the district, and a committee of local hotel operators would provide oversight. Bangor city government would give final approval for the effort to launch.
About 28 hotels in Bangor would be eligible to be part of the district, and 21 have indicated their support, Muchemore said. Several towns in states like California, Montana and Washington have similar districts.
City Councilor Jonathan Sprague said that there were other organizations throughout Bangor that market the city, like the Bangor International Airport and the Downtown Bangor Partnership.
“And those are just the ones I know about,” Sprague said. “How is everyone going to work together, rather than separately?”
Muchemore said that the tourism improvement district would present an opportunity for those parties to work together. | 2022-04-13T07:21:16+00:00 | bangordailynews.com | https://bangordailynews.com/2022/04/13/news/bangor/bangor-marketing-hotel-fee-joam40zk0w/ |
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Jennifer Selin, Wayne State University
(THE CONVERSATION) As the Jan. 6 committee’s hearings pass their halfway point, they have brought new details to light that explain the events of the attack on the Capitol and place them in context of a larger effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In the first hearing, Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney previewed the committee’s case that President Donald Trump committed a crime when he alleged widespread voter fraud and encouraged his supporters to contest the 2020 election. The second hearing demonstrated that Trump was repeatedly told by his own advisers his claims were false. The committee used the third hearing to focus on an illegal and unconstitutional plan to block the certification of Joe Biden as president.
The evidence presented in the proceedings – including surveillance footage of the violence as a mob assaulted Capitol police officers – has led to discussions across the country and around the globe about the U.S. democratic system of governance.
While coverage tends to focus on all that went wrong during the transition of presidential power, the hearings also showcased much of what went right. Namely, a widespread and profound commitment to the rule of law by a range of citizens and officials, from the vice president to Trump administration staffers to outside advisers.
Dedicated public servants
Understandably, much of the attention on the hearings has centered on the actions of President Trump in the lead-up to Jan. 6. Other media coverage has focused on the members of Congress who are serving on the committee.
But as a scholar of congressional oversight, I believe that among the real stars of the three hearings are the talented – and largely unrecognized – teams of staffers who worked to obtain the evidence presented in the hearings. Often underpaid, these individuals are committed to making government work.
And their efforts uncovered people across all three branches of government with a similar commitment to upholding the Constitution and the rule of law.
The second hearing revealed that campaign professionals, Justice Department officials, and even political appointees selected by President Trump tried to stop him from making false claims about the 2020 election.
That hearing also emphasized that, out of the 62 lawsuits filed challenging the results of the presidential election, 61 have failed. These decisions came from judges who were appointed by both Democrats and Republicans, including President Trump himself.
As committee Chair Bennie Thompson said to witnesses J. Michael Luttig, a conservative icon and adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, and Greg Jacob, legal counsel to Pence in the third hearing, he was mindful that “our system nearly failed and our democratic foundation destroyed, but for people like you.”
Widespread, bipartisan cooperation
Much of the public discussion leading up to the Jan. 6 hearings centered around the refusal of President Trump and his allies to provide information to the committee.
Yet these are the outliers. The committee successfully interviewed more than 1,000 people and reviewed more than 125,000 documents.
Among those who complied with congressional requests for information are the president’s own family and members of Pence’s inner circle.
Recognition of legal framework
There have been many contested elections and presidential scandals throughout history.
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr’s infamous fight for the presidency in 1800 and the “corrupt bargain” that made John Quincy Adams president in 1824 illustrate the anger and divisiveness that can accompany elections. And the bribery scandal involving President Warren Harding, coupled with President Richard Nixon’s implication in Watergate, highlights the political stakes of the presidency.
In response, legally mandated procedures have regulated the transition of power from one president to the next.
One of the most important pieces of this legal framework is the Electoral Count Act. Enacted by Congress in 1887, the law specifies exactly how Congress certifies presidential elections.
Passage of the act was the result of a partisan battle over who won the 1876 presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The electoral votes of four states were disputed, and Congress ultimately established a commission to determine the next president.
It is the only time in history that an extraconstitutional arrangement led to Congress’ deciding a presidential election.
The June 16 hearing provided evidence of disagreements within the Trump administration over interpretation of these laws.
Yet almost everyone accepted the laws themselves. Even John Eastman, the lawyer at the center of Trump’s legal strategy, recognized that the plan to block certification of the election would not hold up in court.
Holding elected officials accountable
The framers of the U.S. Constitution struggled with making presidential power compatible with the values of the republic. Ultimately, the framers agreed that the ingredients for a successful democracy required presidents to be held personally responsible for their behavior in office.
At least 20 million people watched the first night of the hearings, which is on par with the ratings for Sunday Night Football or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Many more saw excerpts of testimony or statements on social media.
While the rioters on Jan. 6 shouted through the halls of Congress about taking back the power of the people, their insurrection failed. Instead, the men and women helping the Jan. 6 committee understand what went on that day are quietly, insistently, reminding Americans of the bedrock values of their republic. The framers’ vision of our democracy echoes today.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/jan-6-committee-hearings-show-what-went-right-not-just-what-went-wrong-185246. | 2022-06-17T18:55:49+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Jan-6-committee-hearings-show-what-went-right-17249179.php |
DEAR ABBY: My husband died recently. I have been approached by a much younger man for a sexual relationship. I want to, but I feel he is too young. I’m 61, and he’s 37, the same age as my son. We have been friends for years, and I am unsure if I should change the relationship. I see no future in it except occasional sex. Should I drop it or consider the possibilities? — THINKING ABOUT IT IN OHIO
DEAR THINKING: Before dropping it, carefully consider the “possibilities.” At 37, this person is not a kid, he’s an adult. Something like this happened in my family years ago. A close friend of a relative’s son announced he had fallen in love with her. It took her a little while to adjust her thinking, but the result was a very happy marriage.
DEAR ABBY: My sister “Rebecca” is in her early 40s and has been blind for more than 20 years. She has low self-esteem and gets depressed when she can’t do things. Right now she wants to babysit a 1-year-old boy in our family by herself. Rebecca’s husband is legally blind, closets himself in his home office all day and ignores everything around him.
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Although my sister is confident she could take care of the baby, the boy’s parents and I are not comfortable with the idea. Rebecca often runs into things in her own house, can’t find something she has dropped — and sometimes even has difficulty understanding what is going on around her.
When we mention these problems or the fact that the baby is fast and rambunctious, she gets angry and teary-eyed and won’t listen to reason. How can we help her to understand we can’t leave the baby alone with her? — OUT OF THE QUESTION
DEAR OUT: You have already tried to get through to someone who refuses to accept reality. There is no reason why Rebecca can’t “assist” in babysitting the child, but she should not attempt to do it alone. It’s important that you and the child’s parents stick to your guns. Do what is best for the little one. And if that means making other arrangements for a babysitter, so be it.
DEAR ABBY: I recently received a text from my nephew asking that I co-sign on a loan for a car. Abby, I am estranged from this person. I have met him only a handful of times, and I haven’t seen him in years. I was, as you can imagine, put off by his request.
I responded that I couldn’t co-sign because it would make me legally responsible for the debt. My entitled nephew’s response was dead silence, not an “I understand,” not an “OK, sorry.” Nothing! I never heard from him again. Am I wrong for feeling offended that he asked? — TOO SMART FOR THAT
DEAR TOO SMART: Stop wasting your time preoccupying yourself with thoughts of this relative. He likely asked you to co-sign because no one else in the family would. His attitude was, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” You did the right thing to refuse to be used. There is no need to dwell on it further. | 2022-06-15T06:49:12+00:00 | kenoshanews.com | https://www.kenoshanews.com/life/dear-abby-for-june-15-widow-gets-tempting-offer/article_db502196-eb5b-11ec-a3cf-9f01625c70ac.html |
MIAMI (NewsNation) — As one of the busiest travel weekends of the year approaches, recent issues with the nation’s top airline carriers could make for a bumpy ride for millions of passengers.
So far Monday, more than 650 domestic flights have been canceled, according to Flight Aware.
It comes as AAA predicts 47.9 million Americans will hit the road or take to the skies over the Independence Day long holiday weekend from June 30 to July 4. It’s a 3.7% increase from last year, bringing travel volumes just shy of those seen in 2019.
“The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “People are ready for a break and despite things costing more, they are finding ways to still take that much-needed vacation.”
Tens of thousands of passengers spent their weekend at the airport on standby waiting in long lines to hear whether or not they’d make it to their final destination.
Flight delays cost both passengers and airlines a lot of money. Delays cost an airline around $74 a minute, according to airlines.org. That’s about $4,500 an hour, which doesn’t include if the plane gets stuck on the tarmac for three or more hours.
Airlines that defy the tarmac delay rules can be fined up to $27,500 for each passenger on board the affected flight. So, if there’s an average of 200 people on a flight, that would cost the airline around $5.5 million.
When it comes to passengers, it costs about $47 an hour of their time. To put it in perspective, passengers lost nearly $28 billion in 2018, and that was before the pandemic and the recent travel chaos.
The Department of Transportation says that airlines are not required to compensate passengers for a delay or cancellation, but most will book passengers on their next available flight, let them reschedule, or issue a refund for the inconvenience.
It’s not only delays and cancellations that are upsetting. Passengers say the airlines are understaffed and customer service is being affected.
Airlines across the U.S. warned customers that service would be cut by 10% to 15% this summer. Airlines blamed COVID-19-related pilot shortages and lately pointed the finger at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying there aren’t enough employees to man the airports or the control towers.
The FAA released this statement defending itself: “People expect when they buy an airline ticket that they’ll get where they need to go safely, efficiently, reliably, and affordably. After receiving $54 billion in pandemic relief to help save the airlines from mass layoffs and bankruptcy, the American people deserve to have their expectations met.”
Meanwhile, some passengers say it took them too long to get home and the stress isn’t worth it.
“We’ll just deal with the gas prices and gas it up and just travel that way because I don’t think I’ll be catching another flight anytime soon,”
Even with the national average for gas prices topping $5 per gallon, AAA expects car travel volume will break the previous record, with 42 million people planning to drive over the holiday weekend.
Recent issues with air travel and concerns of cancelations and delays could be pushing people to hop in a vehicle, AAA said. The share of people traveling by air is forecast to be the lowest since 2011.
Independence Day will be the second busiest since 2000 as travel volumes continue to climb with no signs of slowing down, AAA said.
Travel experts said drivers should expect the longest travel delays heading into the holiday weekend, particularly during the afternoons on Thursday, June 30, and Friday, July 1, as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.
NewsNation affiliate WTNH contributed to this report. | 2022-06-27T17:53:51+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/nearly-48m-americans-to-travel-july-4th-weekend-as-flight-chaos-continues/ |
WASHINGTON — Ammar Rashed has a stack of letters from U.S. troops attesting to his work during some of the most dangerous days of the Iraq War. But six years after he applied to immigrate to the United States under a program for interpreters who helped America, he is still waiting.
“You don’t have to keep me and my family suffering for, for years waiting,” said Rashed during a Skype interview from Jordan, where he lives. “It’s really frustrating.”
Rashed is among thousands of Iraqis, many of whom risked their lives by working closely with Americans during the war and its aftermath, trying to enter the U.S. An estimated 164,000 Iraqis already have found homes in America.
U.S. officials cite multiple reasons for the delays, including an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a hack of a refugee database, the COVID-19 pandemic and cuts to the refugee program under then-President Donald Trump.
Sometimes the process is slowed as applicants struggle to prove their ties to the U.S.
Mohammed Subhi Hashim al-Shafeay, his wife and four children have been in limbo for a dozen years while he tries to document his work for a U.S. security contractor at the Iraqi Justice Ministry.
They are living as refugees in Jordan. But al-Shafeay cannot work and cannot afford to send his oldest child, a high school senior, to college. His youngest children feel resented at school because Iraqi refugees this year were exempt from paying school fees, unlike low-income Jordanians.
“This is not a life. We want a future for our children,” he said.
The U.S. invasion in 2003 unleashed a vicious sectarian war that engulfed Iraq. Then militants seized large swaths of territory. Iraqi forces reclaimed their country in intense fighting, but huge challenges remain, including rampant corruption, a lack of basic services, continued violence and more than 1 million people still internally displaced. Between the invasion and this year, as many as 300,000 Iraqis were killed along with more than 8,000 U.S. military, contractors and civilians.
Recognizing the role Iraqis played in helping the U.S., as well as the violence they faced for it, the U.S. established ways to help them emigrate.
According to the State Department, 106,000 have applied for a program, known as direct access program, intended for people affiliated with the U.S. such as those who worked for an American nongovernmental organization. There are also about 100 Iraqis who applied for a more narrow special immigrant visa program for Iraqis who worked directly for or on behalf of the U.S. government. That program stopped accepting applications in 2014, but applications already in the pipeline are still being processed.
Rashed applied under yet another route, which allows for 50 visas a year for interpreters who have a recommendation from a general.
Almost since the beginning there have been complaints the process to come to America takes too long. Multiple administrations have considered making the programs more efficient without compromising security.
The State Department declined requests for an interview for this story. But in reports, U.S. officials noted steps such as added staff to speed up visa processing. The embassy in Iraq’s capital just reopened limited consular services last fall after closing for three years following a 2019 attack. The government also noted the toll that the pandemic took on its visa processing around the world and the shifting of federal resources to the crisis in Ukraine. The U.S. refugee program, which endured historic cuts under Trump, only in recent months has started to show signs of recovery.
In January 2021, the U.S. suspended the direct access program after three people were charged with stealing information from a U.S. refugee database to fraudulently help Iraqis trying to emigrate. The program was not restarted until March of last year. At the time it reopened, the U.S. said it was “committed to ensuring those who sacrificed their own safety for our collective interests have an opportunity to seek refuge in the United States.”
For the Iraqis still waiting, it can be confusing.
Al-Shafeay said he was hired by a U.S. contractor to work as a bodyguard for the Iraqi Justice Ministry from 2003 to 2006, when he left Iraq. He said he has been told the holdup is confirming his employment, but it is challenging so many years later and from afar.
He and his wife are worried about their children. Jordan has played host to tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees over the years, but those refugees face challenges getting authorization to work, especially in major professions, and are essentially barred from becoming citizens. Al-Shafeay questions what future his family has there. The family relies on handouts from aid groups.
Al-Shafeay said the family is scared to ever go back to Iraq because a former in-law, who is now a member of an Iranian-backed militia, has repeatedly threatened them. His oldest child is a high school senior but barely leaves his room. He says there is no point in studying because his parents cannot afford the university fees in Jordan.
Ali Al Mshakheel is a former Iraqi journalist now living in Maine. He said he hears almost daily from Iraqis in America trying to assist family or friends still in Iraq. Al Mshakheel himself has four siblings and a father whom he has been trying to help emigrate. During the program’s suspension, he wrote an op-ed calling on the Biden administration to unfreeze it. Even now he sees little progress.
Both Rashed and al-Shafeay still want to come to the U.S.
Rashed spent most of his life in Iraq. Now, it is too dangerous for him there due to the work he did for the American military. He said he worked with U.S. troops in 2008 who were fighting the Mahdi Army — supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr. But now, as al-Sadr has become an important political figure, his supporters are increasingly in positions of power. Rashed is both a Jordanian and Iraqi citizen, but he does not see a future for his children in Jordan.
“I need them to live better with a better nation and a better future,” he said.
The people working to help him are frustrated, too. Rashed’s lawyer, Wes Pickard, said Rashed completed his consular interview in 2019. At that time, there was a reasonable expectation that the process to get his visa would move quickly after that.
Since then Rashed’s been stuck in what’s called “refused for administrative processing” — background checks — with little indication as to when the process will be finished.
Jennifer Patota, a lawyer for the International Refugee Assistance Project, said there are a number of reasons why people could be stuck in background checks — their name is similar to someone else’s that the government has suspicions over, for example.
Kevin Brown worked with Rashed over two tours in Iraq and wrote him a letter of recommendation. Now retired from the military and living in Connecticut, Brown said it is frustrating to hear that someone he worked with so closely — “his right hand man” — is still waiting.
Brown said he would love for Rashed to become an American citizen “But if he can’t be, I’d like to know why.”
__
Associated Press reporters Karin Laub and Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan, and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report. | 2023-06-19T04:42:55+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/19/iraq-anniversary-refugee-asylum/eae84bb4-0e56-11ee-8d22-5f65b2e2f6ad_story.html |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Saturday, July 15
Published: Jul. 15, 2023 at 5:44 AM CDT|Updated: 43 minutes ago
For lifelong auto racing fans, the more races you get to see, the better. That's why we've compiled the list below, which shows you how to watch or live stream every ARCA Menards Series, Formula E, NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series event that's airing on Fubo on Saturday, July 15.
Watch even more auto racing action with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula E: Round 13: Rome - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 8:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Crayon 301 - Qualifying
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Ambetter Health 200
- Series: NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch ARCA Menards Series: Iowa
- Series: ARCA Menards Series
- Game Time: 8:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX Sports Networks
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-07-15T11:29:30+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/sports/betting/2023/07/15/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
Jennifer Allan of the International Institute for Sustainable Development speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin about a new U.N. report that finds the world falling far behind in fighting global warming.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Jennifer Allan of the International Institute for Sustainable Development speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin about a new U.N. report that finds the world falling far behind in fighting global warming.
Copyright 2022 NPR | 2022-10-27T11:47:30+00:00 | nepm.org | https://www.nepm.org/2022-10-27/climate-promises-are-still-not-enough-to-avoid-catastrophic-global-warming-u-n-says |
UN demands Russia reverse ‘illegal’ annexations in Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four Ukrainian regions and demand its immediate reversal, a sign of strong global opposition to the seven-month war and Moscow’s attempt to grab its neighbor’s territory.
The vote in the 193-member world body was 143-5 with 35 abstentions. It was the strongest support from the General Assembly for Ukraine and against Russia of the four resolutions it has approved since Russian troops invaded Ukraine Feb. 24.
The Western-sponsored resolution was a response to Russia’s announced annexation last month of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Moscow acted following Kremlin-orchestrated “referendums” that the Ukrainian government and the West have dismissed as sham votes conducted on occupied land amid warfare and displacement.
During two days of speeches at the assembly’s resumed emergency special session on Ukraine speaker after speaker accused Russia of violating key principles of the United Nations Charter — respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all U.N. member nations.
Before the vote, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that when the United Nations was established on the ashes of World War II it was built on an idea — “that never again would one country be allowed to take another’s territory by force.”
She said the facts were clear, that a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council had attempted to annex territory from its neighbor by force, and she urged all countries to condemn Russia for the annexations.
A key issue for the resolution’s Western backers was how many countries would support it, and the result went beyond their most optimistic expectations.
The General Assembly voted 141-5 with 35 abstentions March 2 to demand an immediate Russian cease-fire, withdrawal of all its troops and protection for all civilians. On March 24, it voted 140-5 with 38 abstentions on a resolution blaming Russia for Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.
But the assembly voted by a far smaller margin April 7 to suspend Russia from the U.N.’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council over allegations Russian soldiers in Ukraine engaged in rights violations that the United States and Ukraine have called war crimes. That vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.
A 2014 resolution affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity and declaring the referendum that led to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal was adopted by a vote of 100-11 with 58 abstentions.
Among the surprises in support for Wednesday’s resolution were the “yes” votes from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Brazil.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, had appealed to countries to vote against the resolution, calling it “a politicized and openly provocative document” and denouncing its sponsors as “unscrupulous Western blackmailers.” He expressed regret the vote was not by secret ballot, as Russia sought.
Nebenzia reiterated Russia’s claims the referendums were valid, saying “the populations of these regions do not want to return to Ukraine.”
The four countries that joined Russia in voting against the resolution were North Korea, Belarus, Syria and Nicaragua.
China, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Cuba were among the 35 countries that abstained.
The more powerful Security Council, whose resolutions are legally binding, has been stymied on taking action on Ukraine because of Russia’s veto power, which it used Sept. 29 to block condemnation of Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian territory.
By contrast, the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, has now approved four resolutions criticizing Russia over Ukraine. Its votes reflect world opinion but are not legally binding.
The resolution adopted Wednesday declares that Moscow’s actions violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, are “inconsistent” with the principles of the U.N. Charter, and “have no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alternation of the status of these regions of Ukraine.”
It demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
And it supports “the de-escalation of the current situation and a peaceful resolution of the conflict through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation and other peaceful means” that respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders.
During Wednesday’s debate there was strong support for the resolution.
Australian Ambassador Mitch Fifield called Russia’s attempted annexation “illegal and a dangerous escalation” and urged all countries to support the resolution to oppose acts of aggression.
Ambassador Fergal Mythen of Ireland said voters in the “sham” referendums in the four regions “faced intimidation by the Russian military and Russia’s illegitimately appointed authorities.”
Cambodian Ambassador Sovann Ke didn’t indicate how he would vote but said that “the forcible annexation of regions from a sovereign country is a flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter and international laws, which is not acceptable” and urged that internationally respected borders “be fully respected.” In the voting, Cambodia supported the resolution.
South Korea’s ambassador, Hwang Joonkook, gave unequivocal support “to the sovereignty, political independence and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.” He said his country’s “own painful experiences” after the 1950-53 Korean War “can testify that any attempt to divide a nation in any form or method is merely the beginning of lasting very serious troubles, rather than a solution.”
On the other side of that divide, North Korean Ambassador Kim Song supported the “self-determination” of the people in the four regions annexed by Russia as a right protected in the U.N. Charter and said the results must be respected.
He accused the United States and Western countries of “brutally” violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya under “the pretext” of promoting international peace and security without ever having its actions called into question by the Security Council. He argued that U.S. interference in the internal affairs of countries is continuing in the 21st century.
Syrian Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh accused the General Assembly of “being manipulated flagrantly by some Western countries for their own geopolitical interests” and urged countries to oppose efforts “to isolate Russia and to employ double standards.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-10-12T22:00:54+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/2022/10/12/un-demands-russia-reverse-illegal-annexations-ukraine/ |
PARIS (AP) — Lawmakers in France’s lower house of parliament on Thursday adopted a bill to enshrine abortion rights in the country’s constitution, the first step in a lengthy and uncertain legislative battle prompted by the rollback of abortion rights in the United States.
The measure was approved with 337 lawmakers voting for and 32 against in the 557-member National Assembly.
To be added into the constitution, any measure must be first approved by majorities in the National Assembly and the upper house, the Senate, and then in a nationwide referendum.
Authors of the proposal, from a left-wing coalition, argued the measure was aimed at “protecting and guaranteeing the fundamental right to voluntary termination of pregnancy.”
Abortion in France was decriminalized under a key 1975 law, but there is nothing in the constitution that would guarantee abortion rights.
Mathilde Panot, head of hard-left France Unbowed group at the National Assembly and co-signatory of the proposal, said “our intent is clear: we want not to leave any chance to people opposed to the right to abortion.”
French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said the centrist government supports the initiative.
He referred to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and left the decision to the states.
“The right to abortion we thought was acquired for 50 years (in the U.S.) was in reality not at all acquired,” he said.
A recent poll showed that over 80% of the French population supports the right to abortion. The results were consistent with previous surveys. The same poll also showed that a solid majority of people are in favor of enshrining it in the constitution.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance, Renaissance, on Thursday decided to withdraw a similar proposal that was meant to be debated Monday also in the National Assembly. Centrist and leftist lawmakers agreed instead on supporting a single bill saying that “the law guarantees the effectiveness and equal access to the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy.”
Thursday’s vote is only the first step of a lengthy process without a guaranteed result.
The Senate, where the conservative party, The Republicans, has a majority, rejected a similar bill in September. The Republicans senators argued the measure is not needed since the right to abortion is not under threat in France.
Dupond-Moretti said he was “hopeful” that some senators could change their mind and form a majority in favor.
He and other proponents of constitutional change argue that French lawmakers should not take any chances on fundamental rights, since it is easier to change the law than the constitution.
The right to abortion enjoys broad support across the French political spectrum, including from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally. Yet Le Pen in recent days said she is opposed to the leftist proposal because she thinks it could potentially lead to extending or abolishing the time limit at which a pregnancy can be terminated.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June, Macron had tweeted that “abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected.” | 2022-11-25T04:20:55+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/health/ap-health/ap-france-debates-enshrining-abortion-rights-in-constitution/ |
BONN, Germany, Nov. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The new demo app for the Scanbot Document Scanner SDK is now available on the App Store and Play Store. The "Scanbot SDK: Document Scanning" app can be downloaded for free to test the SDK's reliable and easy-to-use scanning features.
The Scanbot Document Scanner SDK adds enterprise-grade document scanning to any smartphone, tablet, or wearable device. With the SDK, enterprises enable their users to easily create high-quality images of physical documents and turn them into digital input for their backend systems within just 2 seconds.
"Our Document Scanner SDK is especially popular with our customers in the insurance industry. Thanks to the sophisticated machine learning and computer vision technology powering our scanning modules, these insurers have been able to drastically increase their automated processing rates," says Christoph Wagner, CEO at Scanbot SDK. "A big advantage of our solution is its intuitive interface, which we recently refined even further and are now presenting for the first time in the demo app. It allows even less tech-savvy users to capture flawless document scans on their first try."
With the app, users can either scan a document with their camera or import an existing image file. Thanks to edge detection, documents are then scanned and cropped automatically. In the editing view, users can rotate the scan, reorder multiple pages, and apply image filters. These range from color enhancement and low-light filters to various binarization options. This ensures that results fit the requirements of any backend system. The images are then saved locally and can be exported as a PDF, JPG, PNG, or TIFF file.
The "Scanbot SDK: Document Scanning" app is now available for iOS and Android. Additionally, a demo app for the Barcode Scanner SDK is available on the App Store and Play Store, with a new demo app for the Data Capture SDK to be released later this year. More information is available at scanbot.io.
About Scanbot SDK
Scanbot SDK offers quick, reliable, and accurate mobile data capture solutions for iOS, Android, cross-platform frameworks, Windows, and Web, helping companies reduce costs by eliminating slow and error-prone manual data entry. More than 200 enterprises worldwide use Scanbot SDK's products for billions of scans every year.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1955136/Scanbot_SDK_App.jpg
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SOURCE Scanbot SDK GmbH | 2022-11-28T13:55:57+00:00 | newschannel10.com | https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2022/11/28/scanbot-sdk-introduces-new-document-scanner-demo-app-ios-android/ |
Detroit teen charged with bringing BB gun to school
A 15-year-old male student at Marygrove High School Student was charged with bringing a BB gun to class, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Thursday.
The student, who is not being named because he is charged as a juvenile, is charged with possession of a weapon on school property in a weapons-free school zone.
The teen is accused of bringing the gun to school Tuesday at Marygrove High School, in the 8400 block of West McNichols on Detroit's northwest side, and pulling the weapon out during class. He was taken into custody Wednesday.
The teen's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility in Detroit before juvenile court Magistrate Leslie Graves.
“We are all hypersensitive right now about deadly weapons being brought into schools and the carnage that can occur as a result," Worthy said in a statement. "The alleged actions of this respondent simply cannot be tolerated."
In a statement to The Detroit News, Marygrove spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said "We received a video from a Marygrove parent after school (Tuesday). We have informed families that officers believe that they have positively identified the alleged student who appears to have a gun or BB gun. The student has been arrested, is in police custody, and will be removed from the school. We shared this information with staff, families and students yesterday evening. "
Wilson said school officials placed officers at the school Wednesday and conducted increased searches of bags being carried into the school.
"We have no information that any student or staff planned or is planning harm to Marygrove students or staff," Wilson added.
bwilliams@detroitnews.com | 2022-05-26T21:36:11+00:00 | detroitnews.com | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/05/26/detroit-teen-charged-bringing-bb-gun-school/9943758002/ |
Happy Friday! Today is the start of the hot and muggy weather. Temperatures today reach the low 80s with muggy conditions. This is due to a warm front entering our area today and it brings rain showers by late morning. Heading into the this afternoon, thunderstorms are also possible and the potential is there for some strong to severe storms. Main threats with any strong to severe storm is damaging winds and large hail. By this evening, we dry out and clouds decrease overnight. Lows tonight are in the 60s. Saturday is going to be a hot and humid. Highs reach the low to mid 90s. We see a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day but by Saturday night a slow moving cold front enters the area. Showers return and so does the potential for thunderstorms through the overnight hours. Strong to severe storms are once again possible.
Sunday is the same story. It is going to be another hot and humid day with that slow moving cold front now moving through. It brings another round of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening on Sunday. Once again, the potential is there for strong to severe storms. | 2022-05-20T15:53:38+00:00 | mytwintiers.com | https://www.mytwintiers.com/regional-forecast-finger-lakes/regional-forecast-finger-lakes-5-20-22/ |
NEW YORK — A group of Republican attorneys general are pushing the major payment networks — Visa, Mastercard and American Express — to drop their plans to start tracking sales at gun stores, arguing the plans could infringe on consumer privacy and push legal gun sales out of the mainstream financial network.
The letter comes more than a week after the payment networks said they would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant code for sales at gun stores. The merchant code would categorize sales at gun stores not unlike how payment networks categorize sales at airlines, restaurants, and department stores.
In their letter, the AGs threaten to use all legal tools at their disposal to stop the payment networks from tracking gun sales.
“Categorizing the constitutionally protected right to purchase firearms unfairly singles out law-abiding merchants and consumers alike,” the letter said.
In recent weeks gun control advocates argued that separately categorizing gun store sales could potentially flag a surge of suspicious sales activity to public safety officials. They have used the example from the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, where the shooter purchased $26,000 worth of ammunition ahead of the massacre.
But the Second Amendment lobby and its advocates have argued that the merchant code would do a poor job of tracking potential red flags and could unfairly flag legal gun purchases. A sale of a gun safe worth thousands of dollars would be categorized as a gun store sale just as much as someone buying thousands of dollars worth of ammunition, for example.
The payment networks said when they adopted the policy that they are just following the guidance from ISO. It will be largely up to the banks who issue the credit and debit cards to decide whether they want to stop sales under certain merchant codes.
The CEOs of the major banks will appear in front of Congress on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and they are almost certainly to be asked questions on the gun store sales tracking controversy. | 2022-09-20T20:58:49+00:00 | abqjournal.com | https://www.abqjournal.com/2533880/gop-ags-push-visa-mastercard-amex-not-to-track-gun-sales.html |
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