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NORMAL — The new College of Engineering at Illinois State University is beginning to take shape, as the university's Board of Trustees on Friday greenlit $5.5 million to relocate staff as part of developing its future home.
The board also agreed to pursue a graduate-level physics program, which officials said would fall under the College of Arts and Sciences but help to support the engineering students.
The university plans to welcome its first students to the College of Engineering in fall 2025, housing them in the John Green Food Service Building on the north end of campus. The 80,000-square-foot space has been mostly used as a warehouse.
On Friday, the board approved $5.52 million for renovations of two office buildings in north Normal, as well as associated costs from moving offices out of the John Green and Carter Harris Administration buildings at Main and Gregory streets on campus.
The real estate purchase of properties at 715 and 755 Raab Road were approved one year ago by the board to house those offices. Board Chairperson Kathryn Bohn said they are currently vacant. Lincoln College previously hosted a satellite location out of the 20,000-square-foot space at 715 Raab Road; the university plans to convert open classroom spaces into office areas, conference rooms, and staff training rooms, according to board documents.
About 40 staff from facilities outside of John Green and the Carter Harris buildings will work there too.
In a separate action item, the board approved $3.45 million in spending for the design, building, inventory, furnishings and supplies needed for vacating the John Green Food Service Building, and moving contents into other warehouse spaces.
New degree proposed
The board approved a proposal to add a Master of Science in physics to ISU's curriculum. In board documents, university leaders said demand for masters-level physics courses is growing, and ISU’s efforts to bring in engineering and other STEM disciplines can help its physics department thrive.
The program would require approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
Faculty developed 14 new courses, with up to 10 students expected to enroll each year.
Student trustee Aselimhe Ebikhumi asked the board about the thought process on adding new programs. Provost Ani Yazedjian said curriculum is in the faculty’s purview, as faculty can reach out to the provost's office about increasing the curriculum.
The process involves market analysis, a faculty review of the proposal, exploration of the financial implications and assessment of the needed start-up resources, Yazedjian said. The program must then be approved by the College Curriculum Committee and the Academic Senate, before board approval.
“We are going to be bringing in a lot of engineering students and so there’s going to be increasing demand for physics classes,” Yazedjian said. “This is one strategy to help meet the course demands for engineering students and other students as we anticipate the growth of the university.”
After Bohn asked how the program would be marketed, Yazedjian replied one driver is their current physics undergraduate base. She send they send many of those students to other universities and they would rather them stay here.
Yazedjian said they’re also looking at offering an accelerated program that could be completed in one year instead of two.
New positions
Friday’s board meeting commenced with the swearing-in of its new trustee, Darren Tillis, whose appointment to the board was announced last month. The owner of Chicago’s Darren Tillis Insurance Agency (an independent contract agency of State Farm) brings with nearly three decade’s experience in the insurance and financial services industries.
Before she was unanimously reelected as board chairperson, Bohn said she was excited to welcome Tillis to his first trustee meeting.
Tillis, who graduated 1994 from ISU with a bachelor’s degree in finance, said he was “excited to be back home.”
He will serve on the board’s audit committee, with trustees Kathryn Bohn and Scott Jenkins; Tillis will also be liaison to the ISU Foundation board.
Other board appointments made Friday include Robert Navarro as Secretary, who will serve on the executive committee with Bohn and trustee Julie Jones, and as liason to the Alumni Association. Dan Stephens, ISU Vice President for Finance and Planning, was appointed as treasurer.
Affirmative action ruling
University interim President Aondover Tarhule also addressed last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that race cannot be a factor in college admissions.
Tarhule reiterated that the university remains committed in their efforts to ensure that students from all communities and identities have access to educational opportunities.
“The presidents and chancellors of Illinois’ public universities are walking together alongside the Illinois Board of Higher Education to understand the immediate and potential implications of this ruling, as we await guidance from various education law scholars and agencies,” said Tarhule.
“The Illinois public universities are united in our unwavering commitment to lawfully support and enhance student diversity in all dimensions,” he said, adding he will keep the campus community informed as the review progresses.
Nursing Simulation Center
The board also signed off on more steps Friday that fund a Nursing Simulation Center for the Mennonite College of Nursing, which held its ceremonial groundbreaking on the new center late last month. A resolution approved Friday by the board authorized ISU to sell certifications of participation, which will fund up to $14 million of the $18 million project. The certifications, which function as a form of financing based on investors purchasing a share of lease revenues of a program, will mature within 10 years of being issued.
The college’s facility will expand by 16,000 square feet and increase capacity by 400 students, the college’s dean previously stated.
Property insurance
The board also allowed a higher premium price on ISU’s next property insurance contract with Alliant Insurance Service, in the amount of $1.45 million for fiscal year 2024. In May, the board approved up to $1.38 million for that policy. Board records note that the insurance expenses get getting hiked by $250,000 because of higher property values, a $3 million insurance loss claim related to the November 2022 fire at the University Farm in Lexington, inflation and other economic factors, including $10 million in water damage sustained at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Bohn noted that expenditures were approved by the board in the past so that students may resume use of the farm, and then asked Stephens if ISU has received funds from that claim.
Stephens said final reports from insurers estimate the losses around $3 million, and $1.9 million has since been fronted. He said they’re working with a dean and faculty at the farm to determine the best way to use that money; they may relocate the barn.
He said insurers will pay up to $3 million once they know exactly what the costs will be incurred in actual renovations.
The board also celebrated positive signals about fall enrollment numbers. Tarhule said deposits for first-time-in-college FDIC students are up 3% from last year. He said preview enrollment numbers for the upcoming fall semester are up 5% from last fall. | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/illinois-state-approves-new-masters-in-physics-program/article_477ed642-2d81-11ee-a226-97e20e58e98f.html | 2023-07-29T03:51:26 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/illinois-state-approves-new-masters-in-physics-program/article_477ed642-2d81-11ee-a226-97e20e58e98f.html |
Friday’s numbers
Hot and muggy again today with dew points in the mid-70s most of the day. The soupiness definitely doesn’t translate into near-record warmth, it was simply uncomfortable. Dew points and temperatures are both taking a dip this weekend… a good opportunity to get after mowing the lawn after a couple good rounds of rain this past week. | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/fridays-numbers/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:27 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/fridays-numbers/ |
I would like to express a few of my thoughts on politics. When a line is drawn on political sand, on both sides of it many firmly stand. I say there should not be just one line but two; one red and one blue and in between a middle ground. Where with compromise solutions are to be found. If our politicians cannot, or will not do, then it’s time for a third party now; a party giving independent voters more choice and in politics a voice.
In the past there were third parties that didn’t last but this is a new time and a new day in which the internet many voters will sway. It is written, under the sun for everything, there is a time and place and I think now may be a good time for third party candidates to enter the political race.
William Norris, Normal | https://pantagraph.com/opinion/letters/letter-it-s-time-for-a-third-party-now/article_45046a02-2d4b-11ee-8c8e-fb414e6e01c6.html | 2023-07-29T03:51:32 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/opinion/letters/letter-it-s-time-for-a-third-party-now/article_45046a02-2d4b-11ee-8c8e-fb414e6e01c6.html |
Mega Millions draws numbers for $940 million jackpot
The numbers were drawn Friday night for an estimated $940 million Mega Millions jackpot.
The numbers drawn for the nationwide lottery game were: 5, 10, 28, 52, 63 and the gold ball 18.
It was not immediately known if anyone matched all six numbers and won the big prize. No one has managed that feat since April 18, making 28 straight drawings without a big winner.
The jackpot is now the eighth-largest ever in the U.S.
The latest drawing comes a little over a week after someone in Los Angeles won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. The winner has not yet been revealed.
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the grand prize are about 1 in 302.6 million.
The $940 million prize would be for a sole winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity, with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/top-news/mega-millions-draws-numbers-for-940-million-jackpot/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:33 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/top-news/mega-millions-draws-numbers-for-940-million-jackpot/ |
Stellantis announced early Monday that it plans a second U.S. battery plant to help support American EV production.
With a memorandum of understanding signed between Stellantis and Samsung SDI Monday, the companies seek to start production at the facility in 2027 and “an initial annual production capacity of 34 gigawatt-hours.” But the location remains undisclosed and “currently under review,” according to a release.
The second battery plant will fall under the same StarPlus Energy joint venture as its first U.S. facility currently being built in Kokomo, Indiana and due to ramp up in early 2025.
Furthermore, Stellantis reported that the Indiana plant will aim for an annual production of 33 gigawatt-hours, up from 23 gwh when the project was announced.
Stellantis’ other proposed battery plant, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution, had been stalled until earlier this month over issues in which “the Canadian government has not delivered on what was agreed to,” according to what a Stellantis spokesperson said in May.
As of July 5, the companies reported the project was back on, with the plant due to start production in 2024, ramping up to an annual output of more than 45 gigawatt-hours.
That 4.5-million-square-foot factory with LG was previously due to be completed by the end of 2023. The site will also serve as a technology center for cell, module, and battery-pack development for EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, but the company hasn’t yet commented on how this delay might affect those plans.
Stellantis also hasn’t yet provided an update on whether this affects the timeline for the launch of upcoming EVs, potentially including the Ram 1500 REV electric truck, a Dodge electric muscle car, and a Jeep Recon that could act as a fully electric “brother” to the Wrangler.
Samsung SDI cells have precedent in Stellantis’ U.S. EV lineup. The original Fiat 500e that arrived for limited U.S. sale a decade ago was equipped with cells from that company.
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- All 4 Audi electric SUVs achieve top IIHS safety ratings | https://www.kron4.com/automotive/internet-brands/stellantis-confirms-second-us-battery-factory-with-samsung-sdi/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:36 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/automotive/internet-brands/stellantis-confirms-second-us-battery-factory-with-samsung-sdi/ |
As residents living near Colene Hoose school, we’ve noted with concern the idea being floated recently to reduce Vernon Avenue to one lane each way with a third lane for turning. At times it is already difficult to access Vernon Avenue due to heavy traffic. Reducing it to two lanes each way to only one lane each way does not appear to be appropriate.
Vernon Avenue is a major traffic carrier. The avenue connects ISU on the west with Veterans Parkway (and beyond) on the east. It is the only east-west street that allows traffic to cross under the Amtrak tracks. In addition, there are a number of entities on Vernon Avenue that frequently contribute to increased traffic (among them are Colene Hoose Elementary School, a large church, a cancer center, Sugar Creek Memory Care, the new Illinois Art Station, College Hills Mall, various small businesses and plenty of high-density housing including a sorority, Vernon Krossing condominiums, The Social at Fell and Vernon and other student housing). Finally, consider the traffic that will be stopped or delayed whenever garbage, recycle, heavy trash and landscape waste pickups occur at homes along Vernon Avenue.
For the above reasons, we urge Normal leaders to please consider carefully the wisdom of making this change to Vernon Avenue.
Randy and Nancy Phillips, Normal | https://pantagraph.com/opinion/letters/letter-thoughts-on-vernon-avenue/article_42a504ec-2d4b-11ee-ac07-83d7dd93e119.html | 2023-07-29T03:51:38 | 1 | https://pantagraph.com/opinion/letters/letter-thoughts-on-vernon-avenue/article_42a504ec-2d4b-11ee-ac07-83d7dd93e119.html |
Trump and his top 2024 primary rivals mostly ignore the case against him during key Iowa GOP event
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump and his top rivals for the GOP presidential nomination took the stage one by one Friday night to address an influential gathering of Iowa Republicans, with none of the top-tier hopefuls mentioning that new federal charges had been filed against the former president just a day earlier.
Instead, Trump’s competitors mostly reserved their sharpest criticism for President Joe Biden and a Democratic Party they argued had lost touch with mainstream America — failing to pounce on additional counts over Trump’s retention of classified documents that might have otherwise been an opportunity to cut into his comfortable early lead in the polls.
“The time for excuses is over. We must get the job done,” said Ron DeSantis. “I will get the job done.”
The Florida governor also repeated his frequent promise to halt the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, an allusion to Trump’s legal troubles. But he offered no specific thoughts on the cases against him — even though Trump is also bracing to be charged soon in Washington over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The former president frequently avoids attending multicandidate events in person, questioning why he would share a stage with competitors who are badly trailing him in polls. Still, with Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus less than six months away, Trump joined a dozen other GOP hopefuls in speaking to about 1,200 GOP members and activists at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
“If I weren’t running, I would have nobody coming after me,” Trump said in his only veiled reference to his legal issues. He also insisted the same would be true if he were trailing in the polls.
While DeSantis didn’t mention the former president by name, meanwhile, Trump didn’t return the favor. He told the crowd, “I wouldn’t take a chance on that one,” and repeatedly branded him “DeSanctus.”
Trump was even blunter before the dinner as he opened a campaign office in Urbandale, outside Des Moines.
“I understand the other candidates are falling very flat … it’s like death,” Trump said.
More than 100 people packed the small office, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and shirts. They had waited in 100-degree weather to enter, and the poorly ventilated office quickly became sweltering. Staff handed out water bottles, and people fanned themselves with campaign handouts. Some used paper towels to wipe away sweat.
Similar strong support for the former president was evident during the dinner, when many attendees wore “Trump Country” stickers, including 72-year-old Diane Weaver of Ankeny, Iowa.
“I think he makes America great,” said Weaver, a retiree who plans to caucus for Trump. “I think he did it once and I think he can do it again.”
West Des Moines resident Jane Schrader chose to wear her “Trump Country” sticker on her pants instead of at eye level. “I’m not quite dyed-in-the-wool. I’m a supporter, but not that kind,” said the retired physician, explaining her sticker placement.
DeSantis, who like most of Friday’s speakers vowed to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties, is Trump’s strongest primary competitor but has been trying to reset his stalled campaign for two weeks. He’s increasingly focusing on Iowa in its efforts on trying to derail Trump, and spoke at the dinner in the midst of a two-day bus tour of the state.
The governor’s stumbles have raised questions about whether another candidate might be able to emerge from the field and catch the former president. Some evangelicals, who can be determinative in Iowa’s caucuses, have pointed to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s upbeat message and pulpit-style delivery as strengths that could help him rise there.
Scott, who also spoke Friday night and didn’t mention Trump or the cases against him, took a swipe this week at DeSantis over the Florida governor’s support for new standards that require the state’s teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
The only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, Scott said all Americans should recognize how “devastating” slavery was. “There is no silver lining” to slavery, he added.
DeSantis has also faced criticism from teachers and civil rights leaders, as well as mounting pushback from some of his party’s most prominent Black elected officials. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said he hoped officials might “correct” parts of the curriculum addressing lessons on the developed skills of enslaved people. Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt, Michigan Rep. John James and Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman now also running in the GOP presidential primary, have also criticized DeSantis.
Still, the governor continued to dig in on the issue, saying at a pre-dinner event in Oskaloosa on Friday, “D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left.”
John Niemeyer, 52, from Kalona, Iowa, attended DeSantis’ event and was impressed. But, as a high school teacher, he’s not a fan of some of the governor’s positions on education policy.
“I don’t want to make our classrooms a political battlefield,” he said, adding that it would be a “mistake” to make the issue the forefront of his campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris made her own Iowa stop on Friday, seeking to draw a contrast with the Republicans as she looked to lift President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. Harris met in Des Moines with activists and discussed abortion rights, after Reynolds recently signed a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
“I do believe that we are witnessing a national agenda that is about a full-on attack on hard won freedoms and hard won rights,” the vice president said.
Trump, meanwhile, did face criticism Friday night from some Republican opponents, but only those considered long shots. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison declared, “As a party, we need a new direction for America and for the GOP,” drawing only muted reaction from the crowd.
Loud and sustained boos came, however, for Hurd, who said, “The reason Donald Trump lost the election in 2020 is he failed to grow the GOP brand.”
The former congressman pressed on, saying: “Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great again. … Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison.”
That was the only reference to locking Trump up on the night, except for a surprising — and potentially coincidental — snippet of walk-on music played as the former president took the stage. Like all the candidates, the event’s organizers played parts of Brooks & Dunn’s “Only in America” as Trump approached.
But his part included the lyrics: “One could end up going to prison. One just might be president.”
___
Weissert reported from Washington.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/top-news/trump-and-his-top-2024-primary-rivals-mostly-ignore-the-case-against-him-during-key-iowa-gop-event/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:39 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/top-news/trump-and-his-top-2024-primary-rivals-mostly-ignore-the-case-against-him-during-key-iowa-gop-event/ |
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HOUSTON — Scientists have woken up a 46,000-year-old roundworm.
They said the roundworm, which was of a previously unknown species, spent those tens of thousands of years deep in the Siberian permafrost. According to the Washington Post, once it was revived, researchers said it started having babies!
The findings of this roundworm were detailed Thursday in PLOS Genetics.
“It’s kind of super fascinating finally to suddenly see life, living animals crawling out of a piece of soil that been deep frozen for 46,000 years,” Dr. Philipp Schiffer from the University of Cologne told CBS News.
The Washington Post said the roundworms, also called nematodes, were brought back to life by warming the soil they were in.
The species is now known as Panagrolaimus kolymaensis. They're able to suspend metabolism, which is known as cryptobiosis.
Right now, scientists are focused on how the species adapted through that time. Schiffer said it could teach us about conservation biology and how, at a molecular level, species can adapt through changing climates.
You can read a whole lot more about these nematodes in the Washington Post. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 | 2023-07-29T03:51:40 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 |
Aaron Hernandez’s brother now facing federal charges over alleged threatening messages
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The troubled brother of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez was charged Friday, now in federal court, with new counts of threatening and stalking after authorities say he threatened to shoot up the University of Connecticut and kill three people in another state.
Dennis Hernandez was ordered to be held in custody after his appearance in the court in Hartford. A message seeking comment was sent Friday night to his attorney.
The new charges came days after it emerged that Hernandez was arrested July 18 on state charges after police said he threatened to kill officers and then urged them to shoot him at his home in Bristol. Officers had gone there after two people close to him raised concerns about his mental health, police said.
The arrest report said the 37-year-old had sent threatening messages, including ones about carrying out a shooting at UConn. He was a Huskies quarterback and wide receiver who went by DJ Hernandez in the mid-2000s.
Court filings in the new federal case include the same messages. Some say the writer is struggling financially, is frustrated at seeing other people get hired as coaches, feels owed by UConn, is planning on “taking down everything” and doesn’t care “who gets caught in the crossfire.”
“I’ve died for years now and now its others peoples turn,” read a July 7 message sent to a woman in Hernandez’s life. It followed a message the day before that warned: “UConn’s gonna see how accurate I am too with my targets.”
Hernandez told another person that he drove July 7 to UConn’s campus in Storrs and to Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he coached quarterbacks during the 2010-11 season, according to court papers.
He had been due in state court that day on another case stemming from allegations that he threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto ESPN’s property in Bristol.
UConn police confirmed that a vehicle linked to Hernandez was on campus that day. Brown has said that its investigation didn’t indicate Hernandez had been on campus in recent weeks.
Hernandez is due back in state court Tuesday and in federal court Aug. 11.
His younger brother, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, killed himself in 2017 while serving a murder sentence.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:46 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ |
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Police are searching for an Auburndale woman who vanished in late May. They weren't able to find her at a house they searched for more than 30 hours this week.
The man living there, Jake Rudy, said he has nothing to hide at his trailer along Rose Street in Auburndale.
Rudy explained he is friends with Tonya Whipp, and police searched his house because he was last with her at his trailer on June 6. That's 12 days after her family last spoke to her.
He said he was one of the last people to see Whipp before she was reported missing.
Rudy said Auburndale police dug up his entire yard. He's upset his grass and trees were torn down and said parts of his home were damaged.
"They dug up the yard. It’s ridiculous how they left it," Rudy said.
Auburndale police confirmed they were there looking for Whipp, but she was not found.
"They got a tip from somebody that there was a body buried on my property. That’s what they went with I guess," Rudy said.
Rudy showed 10 Tampa Bay around the outside of his house where police were searching. He said he has nothing to hide.
The Auburndale man was reportedly handed a piece of paper that listed what the police took. First on that list were six swabs.
"Swabbed my mouth so they can check the DNA, which I know is my blood," Rudy said.
He said blood was found in his bedroom.
"On the bedroom where I sit... I’m on blood thinners. They probably saw it there," Rudy explained.
Next on the list was an Apple iPhone. Rudy said he didn't know whose phone that was.
Also on the list was a video recorder. Rudy said that wasn't his and there is nothing on it. Lastly, a "pipe prescription lid."
Auburndale police said any evidence found was sent to crime labs for state investigators to review.
"Look out for her. She’s somewhere, we’ve got to find her," Auburndale Police Chief Terry Storie said.
People who know anything about Tonya Whipp’s whereabouts, police said call them at 863-965-5555. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/home-searched-missing-woman-auburndale/67-fa1769d1-c667-4836-9a0b-224046c6248d | 2023-07-29T03:51:47 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/home-searched-missing-woman-auburndale/67-fa1769d1-c667-4836-9a0b-224046c6248d |
Man questioned in Montana after Arizona woman reappears following four years missing
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A man was detained and questioned by police and his Montana apartment searched as authorities tried to piece together the mysterious disappearance and sudden reappearance this week of Alicia Navarro, who was 14 when she vanished from her Arizona home four years ago.
Police on Friday provided no details about Wednesday’s search or the identity of the man, who was released. But Garrett Smith, who lives in the apartment next to the one that was searched, said for at least a year Navarro lived there with the man who was questioned. He described them as quiet and said he hasn’t seen the man since the night police were there.
Navarro’s whereabouts were revealed Sunday when she showed up at the Havre police station and told officers she wanted her name removed from the missing persons list. Police in Glendale, Arizona, the community where she lived before disappearing, held a news conference Wednesday to announce that she’d been found.
Outside of a brief video appearance at the news conference, Navarro has said nothing publicly. On Friday, an Associated Press reporter knocked on the door of the apartment that was searched in Montana and the woman who opened it said she wanted to be left alone. The woman didn’t give her name but looked and sounded like Navarro.
Police had not made any arrests as of Friday night and questions remained about how she got there, who she has been with and what she has been doing since she ran away.
Authorities in both states aren’t saying much and neither is Alicia Navarro’s family or a private investigator they hired. Navarro has seen and spoken to her mother, Jessica Nuñez, remotely but they have not been reunited in person.
Glendale police spokesperson Gina Winn said that a person was temporarily detained for questioning Wednesday and released as Glendale detectives executed a search warrant in Havre.
“That was the purpose of the search warrant, to interview a person,” she said.
Three other people in Havre have been questioned, she said. She declined to name the people who were interviewed and would not specify whether detectives are still in the Montana town. Winn said authorities are working to determine what happened over the past four years and whether a crime occurred and someone could be held accountable.
Kidnapping is among the possible scenarios, Glendale police Lt. Scott Waite said earlier this week.
Asked why Nuñez hasn’t traveled to Montana to see her daughter, private investigator Trent Steele, who assisted Nuñez in the search for Navarro through the Miami-based nonprofit Anti-Predator Project, said Nuñez was attending to her other children at home in metropolitan Phoenix as the investigation unfolds in Montana. He also alluded to another dynamic.
“They need to keep Alicia close – the law enforcement officers who are currently working the investigation. And until they are done with what they need, they need to keep her close,” Steele said. “It has nothing to do with family dynamics.”
Police in Havre and Steele said when Navarro, 18, walked into the city’s police department, she also talked about wanting to move forward in life as an adult, including getting a driver’s license. She appeared to be fine and in good health, according to police.
One of the biggest questions remains: How did she end up nearly 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) away from her childhood home in Glendale, Arizona, in far northern Montana?
Police have said Navarro told them she hadn’t been harmed, wasn’t being held, and could come and go as she pleased. She does not face any criminal charges, they added.
In Havre — a town of about 9,200 people surrounded by farmland — Navarro’s story had residents buzzing even though most had never seen or heard of her. It also piqued interest when a team of heavily armed law enforcement officers entered an apartment and took a man into custody just a few blocks from the Havre police station Wednesday night, witnesses told The Associated Press.
As many as 10 uniformed and undercover officers showed up around 8 p.m. and took him away in handcuffs. The man had been living in the apartment, said Rick Lieberg, who lives across the street.
A young woman, who resembled Navarro, later emerged from the apartment — one of six units in an aging building in a residential neighborhood — who Lieberg said he had not previously seen.
A person who works at the Dollar Tree in Havre, Jeff Hummert, said he saw a young woman resembling a photograph of Navarro last year in a city park just up the street from the apartment police searched Wednesday. She was walking alone and carrying a plastic Walmart bag, Hummert said.
Theories about how Navarro came to be in Montana topped the conversation Friday among the regulars at a coffee shop inside Gary & Leo’s IGA, a grocery store in downtown Havre. With scant details from authorities, most of the talk — about Navarro’s possible destination and whether she was being coerced — was conjecture, said former county Coroner Steve Sapp, who joined the discussion.
“When you’re in law enforcement, all these different stories about what happened make it hard to tell which story is really true,” Sapp said. “I would really like to know more.”
When Navarro disappeared in 2019, days shy of her 15th birthday, she left a note for her family promising she would return.
“I will be back, I swear,” the note read. “I’m sorry.”
The years Navarro has been gone have been agonizing for Nuñez, who never stopped searching for her daughter. She paid for a billboard ad in Mexico that featured a photo of her daughter for a year and bought 10 more ads in Las Vegas. She spoke at events and gave media interviews to raise awareness. She left flyers around Glendale — at salons, truck stops, parks.
Over the years, Nuñez had raised concerns that Navarro, who was diagnosed with autism, may have been lured away by someone she met online. Police have emphasized their efforts to afford privacy to Navarro even as investigations move forward.
“She is an adult, so it’s up to her whether or not she wants to go home,” Winn said.
In brief video clips that Glendale police released shortly after she arrived at the Havre police station, Navarro thanked authorities for offering to help her and said: “No one hurt me.”
Nunez declined an interview request. But for years, she had documented her efforts to find her daughter on a Facebook page titled “Finding Alicia” and an audio podcast. In an emotional video posted Wednesday, Nunez said “For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example. Miracles do exist. Never lose hope and always fight.”
Nunez had amassed a loyal following on social media throughout the years while sharing inspirational quotes, photos of Navarro as a young child and posts addressed directly to her daughter.
“Alicia I know you will fulfill what you promised,” Nunez wrote in one post. “You will be back.”
___
Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Associated Press reporter Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this story.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/man-questioned-in-montana-after-arizona-woman-reappears-following-four-years-missing/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:52 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/man-questioned-in-montana-after-arizona-woman-reappears-following-four-years-missing/ |
CHICAGO — Officers searching the apartment of a Chicago man accused of fatally stabbing a man on a restaurant's roof discovered the body of a young woman in his refrigerator earlier this month, authorities said.
Brandon Sanders, 33, has not been charged in the death of Iman Al-Sarraj, 18, whose beaten body was found in early July in a refrigerator at his apartment in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood.
But he was arrested June 29 and charged with murder, robbery and burglary in the May killing of Rasim Katanic, a 69-year-old who was a Bosnian War refugee, WLS-TV reported.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage shows Sanders climbing a stairwell on May 12 to a rooftop where Katanic was working on a cooler compressor atop Tahoora Sweets & Bakery. Katanic was later found stabbed to death on that roof.
At his bail hearing, Sanders’ attorney said, “There are some issues with a mental state.” Sanders remains held without bail.
Katanic’s daughter, Aida Sutardio, told the Chicago Sun-Times her father had retired at 66 but continued doing maintenance work for longtime clients of his heating, ventilation and air conditioning business, including the restaurant where he was found on the roof.
She said she is having a difficult time grasping “that he was slaughtered on top of a roof.”
“We never thought that this is how his life would end,” Sutardio said.
The Associated Press left telephone messages Friday with the Cook County State's Attorney’s Office seeking comment on the status of the investigation into Al-Sarraj's death.
Al-Sarraj's father, Khalil Sarraj, said his daughter was born in Chicago after he came to the United States from Israel. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces,” he said. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 | 2023-07-29T03:51:53 | 0 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 |
Tourist hotspot Rhodes burns as successive deadly heat waves ravage Greece
LINDOS, Greece (AP) — As tourists start to trickle back to the Greek island of Rhodes, some people are spending their vacation on empty beaches amongst charred trees and burnt land.
The fires, spurred by a sweltering heat wave that blanketed the country, triggered a huge evacuation of residents and tourists on the island last weekend as forests burned for a week.
As wildfires scorched the land, tourist and residents worked to extinguish fires by seaside resorts. By Friday, temperatures eased somewhat, and calmer winds helped firefighters contain the blazes.
But the damage was already done.
An inland nature reserve was damaged. The deserted island has been promised state support.
Fires have been raging across Greece, including outside the capital Athens and in Rhodes, fueled by three consecutive heat waves. Five people have died in the fires, including two firefighter pilots. Temperatures pushed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Climate change is making the world hotter and is charged this year by the natural and cyclical El Nino event, which warms the Pacific. The Mediterranean – from Spain to Turkey to North Africa — has withered under record-breaking temperatures over the summer. July is the hottest month globally ever recorded, and it’s likely 2023 will be the hottest year.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/tourist-hotspot-rhodes-burns-as-successive-deadly-heat-waves-ravage-greece/ | 2023-07-29T03:51:58 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/tourist-hotspot-rhodes-burns-as-successive-deadly-heat-waves-ravage-greece/ |
WASHINGTON — It's highly likely we'll see another billion-dollar jackpot in the coming days, with $940 million on the line in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing.
The game's giant prizes come with miniscule chances of actually winning — winners overcome odds of roughly 1 in 302.6 million. That's not deterring players, though, and those small odds are what makes huge jackpots as the prize rolls over each time.
The prize is now the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history. July has been a hot month for lottery prizes after a ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles won the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot.
Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Since mid-April, there have been 28 drawings without a grand prize winner.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is $422 million.
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 28, 2023:
The winning numbers were: 5-10-28-52-63, Mega Ball: 18 and Megaplier: 5.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $940 million, Mega Millions (estimated), July 28, 2023
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T03:51:59 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
UN says it’s forced to cut food aid to millions globally because of a funding crisis
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.
He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver aid to everyone in need, but it was aiming for between $10 billion and $14 billion, which was what the agency had received in the past few years.
“We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Skau said.
He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 (being) even more dire.”
“The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”
Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting disasters, persistent food price inflation and mounting debt stress — all during a slowdown in the global economy.
WFP is looking to diversify its funding base, but he also urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”
Asked why funding was drying up, Skau said to ask the donors.
“But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, (are) not where they were in 2021-2022,” he said.
Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said. In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and in June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.
In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”
“Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Skau said.
He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-tern solutions to conflicts, poverty, development and other root causes of the current crisis.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T03:52:04 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ |
TAMPA, Florida — With the summer heat in full force, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 22.7 percent of the U.S. is being covered by moderate to exceptional drought.
With this number being an increase from last week's 21.6 percent, Florida specifically can feel it.
In the Tampa Bay area, extreme drought climbed by 4 percent from the week before. Surrounding cities are seeing moderate drought while others show a decrease in percentage.
The U.S. Drought Monitor explains some historic impacts seen with the level of drought including things like:
- Fire danger is extreme; fire restrictions increase
- Fish kills occur; toxic algae blooms appear
- Nesting bird populations grow with increased nesting area; mosquitoes increase
- Saltwater species replace freshwater species; sea intrusion
- Air and water quality are poor; water salinity is high; river and lake levels are low
- Bears and snakes change food and water habitats
- Large increase of wildfire abundance; fire danger is elevated; burn bans are implemented
- Lawns and landscapes go dormant
Here in Florida, most of our rainfall happens during our summer months — that hasn't been the case this year. It's been so dry that many of our coastal counties are in severe drought from Pinellas County down south.
The normal cooling thunderstorms we see in the afternoon have been replaced with an extra hot steambath that has included higher dewpoints or humidity.
Those factors, when combined with temperatures, make it feel like the triple digits for several hours every day by late morning lingering into the early evening.
The extra thick air bringing those suffocating heat index values is related to why it's been so dry. It's all about the west wind and it's not our friend when it comes to breaking out of this drought. The westerly flow or "steering flow" is coming in off the super-heated water making us feel like we live in a sauna.
The good news is this pattern will likely break down in August and September as the tropical influence of cyclones and peak water temperatures help to change and break down the pattern.
10 Tampa Bay's Mike Prangley contributed to this report. | https://www.wtsp.com/article/weather/tampa-bay-drought-florida/67-8e23d3d9-eb18-44c8-ab51-0f602b67abce | 2023-07-29T03:52:05 | 1 | https://www.wtsp.com/article/weather/tampa-bay-drought-florida/67-8e23d3d9-eb18-44c8-ab51-0f602b67abce |
NBA tells teams Lillard would honor contract in any trade, warns of discipline for saying otherwise
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA told teams Friday that Damian Lillard and his agent confirmed that the All-Star guard would honor his contract in any potential trade, despite the agent saying Lillard only wanted to be dealt to the Miami Heat.
A memo sent to general managers and obtained by The Associated Press also warned that Lillard would be subject to discipline by the league if he or Aaron Goodwin make additional comments suggesting he won’t fully perform the requirements of his contract in the event of a trade.
Lillard told the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month he wanted to be traded and Goodwin subsequently made clear his preference was Miami.
“Dame’s position won’t change,” Goodwin told AP on July 6. “This entire situation was about building an opportunity for Portland to win or giving him another opportunity that he wants, which is Miami.”
The league said it interviewed Lillard and Goodwin, along with several teams with whom Goodwin spoke. Goodwin denied telling teams that Lillard would refuse to play for them and the teams provided descriptions that were “mostly, though not entirely, consistent with Goodwin’s statements to us.”
Players are not allowed to publicly request trades. The league also stated in the memo that it told the Players Association that further comments such as Goodwin’s will be subject to discipline.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ | 2023-07-29T03:52:10 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ |
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A Pierce County jury has convicted Terry Kohl of reckless vehicular homicide and reckless vehicular assault for hitting two 12-year-old girls with a stolen vehicle last January in Parkland.
One was killed, and the other was severely injured during the incident.
Court documents say deputies found Immaculee Goldade and Kathleen Olson on 104th Street East near 25th Avenue East.
A 911 caller reported the two girls were hit by a large vehicle, which left the scene.
Goldade was pronounced deceased at the scene, and Olson was taken to the hospital to be treated for multiple injuries, including a lacerated liver.
Deputies learned that the vehicle was stolen and a tip led them to Terry Kohl. He faced eight charges for the hit-and-run and an earlier, related burglary.
On Thursday, he was found guilty on all charges. Kohl’s sentencing is scheduled for August 11. He faces up to 23 years in prison.
Court documents say that Kohl admitted to driving the vehicle that hit the two girls.
He told investigators that he had smoked methamphetamine early that morning, and he woke up right after the collision to the vehicle jostling and claimed he didn’t know he hit the two girls until two days later.
Sgt. Darren Moss of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department says deputies are finding more people driving under the influence.
“Our deputies are arresting more people because we’re finding more people passed out behind the wheel of a running vehicle,” he said. “They pass out from them using drugs, and now they wake up and are driving around in a vehicle while they’re high, and it’s extremely dangerous for the rest of the community.”
In addition to an increase in DUI arrests, Moss says the county is also struggling to deal with an increase in vehicle thefts, and that a stolen vehicle is increasingly becoming part of a larger, more dangerous crime spree.
“The stolen vehicle is not just being used as a vehicle. It’s being used as a weapon, it’s being used as a tool to commit a burglary, it’s being used as a tool to evade capture for more serious crimes,” Moss said.
The Goldade family issued a statement to KING 5 that reads, “We are extremely grateful to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for doing such a great job on this case and for the Pierce County Prosecutor Liz Dasse, who worked tirelessly to help bring justice for Immaculee, Kathleen, and all the other victims."
Watch KING 5's top stories playlist: | https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/pierce-county-man-guilty-2022-hit-and-run/281-5c2ecd7e-0866-4aed-b391-757f76d0fac7 | 2023-07-29T03:54:21 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/pierce-county-man-guilty-2022-hit-and-run/281-5c2ecd7e-0866-4aed-b391-757f76d0fac7 |
The Kickback with Blondo, Guilt Vacation, 8 p.m. Friday, 1867 Bar. It’s been five years since The Kickback played Lincoln — at one point the South Dakota-gone-to-Chicago band’s home away from home. Kickback leader Billy Yost has a new acoustic album and the band is stopping at 1867 Bar on a four-date tour that will wind up with the members at the top of a festival bill in their home state. Always an indie rock blast, a Kickback show is a don’t-miss.
Hemlock with Blue Felix, 7 p.m. Saturday, 1867 Bar. Metal’s Hemlock is celebrating three decades on the road with its “Dirty Thirty” tour that stops at 1867 Bar on Saturday. Originally from Las Vegas, the independent band relocated to Iowa to be in the middle of the country, where it can go out in any direction easier. The band has recorded 16 albums, without a label, and toured with Lamb of God and others.
Larry Fleet with Stephen Wilson Jr., 8 p.m. Saturday, Bourbon Theatre. Tennessee native Larry Fleet grew up influenced by Merle Haggard and Marvin Gaye, and now counts Willie Nelson and Jake Owen among his fans. Tagged as the future of traditional country music, the singer-songwriter just played The Ryman Auditorium, the mother church of country, for the first time and sold the place out.
Earth Groans with By The Thousands, Revi, 6 p.m. Sunday, 1867 Bar. South Dakota metalcore band Earth Groans released its “Tongue Tied” EP in March and is heading south to Lincoln to support that album at 1867 Bar on Sunday. Since the release of its debut EP in 2017, the band has steadily grown in the heavy metal scene, gathering millions of streams and playing shows and festivals across the country.
Shaw Davis & the Black Ties, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Zoo Bar. Shaw Davis & the Black Ties is one of the hottest young bands on the blues rock circuit, where it's gaining notoriety for its raw, psychedelic blend of blues and roots rock. The Florida trio, led by 24-year-old guitarist Davis, has played more than 300 shows since it formed six years ago and represented south Florida at the 2018 International Blues Challenge.
Jeff Crosby, 6 p.m. Thursday, Zoo Bar. Singer/songwriter Jeff Crosby got noticed a few years ago when a pair of his songs, “This Old Town” and “Oh Love, Oh Lord,” were featured in FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.” Crosby, an Idaho native now located in L.A., has performed with Widespread Panic and seen his songs recorded by Reckless Kelly.
30 incredible moments at Pinnacle Bank Arena
KISS Concert at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 7.22.16
Florida Georgia Line
Cher
Eric Church
Elton John
Pink in Lincoln, 3/6/18
Lorde at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Garth Brooks Concert, 10.20.2017
Metallica
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Carrie Underwood performs in Lincoln
Jason Aldean, 09/19/2013
Katy Perry
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
Fleetwood Mac
Pearl Jam
Michael Bublé
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Shania Twain at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Billy Joel Concert
Alice Cooper pyro
Stevie Nicks
Paul McCartney
Blake Shelton performs at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Lil' Wayne performs at Pinnacle Bank Arena
JAKE OWEN
Bob Seger
Cyndi Lauper
Bon Jovi Concert
John Mayer
Justin Bieber Performs at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 6.21.16
Miranda Lambert, 10/10/2013
Reach the writer at 402-473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com. On Twitter @KentWolgamott | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-july-28-aug-3/article_e7abd996-2a3c-11ee-b554-4f352e8737c2.html | 2023-07-29T03:54:21 | 0 | https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/music/heres-whats-going-on-in-lincolns-music-scene-july-28-aug-3/article_e7abd996-2a3c-11ee-b554-4f352e8737c2.html |
SEATTLE — The annual Canoe Journey is making its return to Washington this year after a hiatus of four years.
About 100 canoes landed in Suquamish in front of the Tribe’s House of Awakened Culture on Friday. Organizers are anticipating about 9,000 people from tribes across the Pacific Northwest and British Colombia to stay for two days before the final landing at Alki Beach in Seattle.
Families will be released on Sunday morning for the final stage of the journey to Alki Beach. Suquamish canoes joined the other families in Bellingham on Lummi land as they paddle to the last leg of the 2023 journey.
Kate Ahvakana, a Suquamish tribal member, discussed what makes the canoe journey special, saying people tap into their ancestral culture. That includes activities like performing traditional songs and dance, eating traditional foods and distributing wealth.
"When you go on canoe journeys, as you pull on the highways of our ancestors, things come back,” Ahvakana said.
The annual Canoe Journey has not resumed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Paddle to Muckleshoot is a cultural event for Indigenous people along the West Coast that celebrates their way of life.
Here were the stops and dates for the 2023 Canoe Journey:
- Lummi (July 23)
- Sammish (July 24)
- Swinomish (July 25)
- Tulalip (July 26 and July 27)
- Suquamish (July 28 and 29)
- Muckleshoot (July 30)
- Muckleshoot Community Center (July 31 - Aug. 6)
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/2023-canoe-journey-seattle/281-11e27254-22a5-499a-8f9c-dcbec3da191b | 2023-07-29T03:54:28 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/2023-canoe-journey-seattle/281-11e27254-22a5-499a-8f9c-dcbec3da191b |
WASHINGTON — It's highly likely we'll see another billion-dollar jackpot in the coming days, with $940 million on the line in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing.
The game's giant prizes come with miniscule chances of actually winning — winners overcome odds of roughly 1 in 302.6 million. That's not deterring players, though, and those small odds are what makes huge jackpots as the prize rolls over each time.
The prize is now the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history. July has been a hot month for lottery prizes after a ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles won the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot.
Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Since mid-April, there have been 28 drawings without a grand prize winner.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is $422 million.
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 28, 2023:
The winning numbers were: 5-10-28-52-63, Mega Ball: 18 and Megaplier: 5.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $940 million, Mega Millions (estimated), July 28, 2023
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T03:54:34 | 1 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
Chloe and Halle Bailey took a break to celebrate the summer season at the Miu Miu Summer Club Malibu at the Malibu Pier. The sister duo rocked a chic navy blue Miu Miu looks to commemorate the event.
Chloe and Halle Bailey Look Cute In Miu Miu
Chloe and Halle Bailey shied away from their demanding schedules to get cute and enjoy the pleasures of being outside. The artists attended the Miu Miu’s Summer Club in Malibu, draped in Miu Miu looks that are summer-approved. Chloe looked sporty fly in a $3,100 Miu Miu Technical Silk mini dress featuring zip fastening and a drawstring waist. She paired her look with white New Balance sneakers, a Miu Mui bag, pearl, and beaded necklaces. The “Treat Me” singer wore her hair in a braided wavy half-up, half-down ‘do.
Halle Bailey kept it cool in a $2,650 ankle-length Miu Miu dress boasting a zip fastening and drawstring waist. The “Little Mermaid” actress adorned her look with white thong sandals, white Miu Miu sunglasses, and popping red toe and fingernails. She rocked her gorgeous locs in a braided high ponytail that fell down her back. The actress kept her jewelry to a minimum, rocking diamond drop earrings that grazed her collarbone.
The sisters seemed to enjoy themselves as they snapped pictures by the water. Both girls posted pictures of themselves at this event to their Instagram with captions that alluded to them having a great time.
The Bailey sisters are known for their undeniable talent and fashionable ensembles. They have shut down a few red carpets in designer gowns that deserve awards. Chloe’s signature look includes body-hugging styles that accentuate her curvy body, and Halle usually goes for alluring fashions that embrace her majestic vibes.
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Chloe And Hailey Bailey Are Summer-Chic In Navy Blue Miu Miu Looks was originally published on hellobeautiful.com | https://wtlcfm.com/3580848/chloe-and-hailey-bailey-are-summer-chic-in-navy-blue-miu-miu-looks/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:02 | 1 | https://wtlcfm.com/3580848/chloe-and-hailey-bailey-are-summer-chic-in-navy-blue-miu-miu-looks/ |
Adiz ‘Bambi’ Benson got together with her girls to celebrate her divorce from rapper Lil Scrappy in a sexy strapless little black dress that screamed Black Barbie.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvM9Hn1LSxr/
Bambi Is Back Outside
‘LHHATL’ reality star Bambi is getting her groove back after going through a public split from her husband, Lil Scrappy. The model’s friends threw her a divorce bash to honor her new journey, and the beauty entrepreneur showed up to the party snatched! She wore a mini black dress that showed her long, flawless limbs. The rapper complemented her frock with matching opera-length gloves, oversized sunglasses, and bejeweled ankle-strap sandals. She wore her hair in a high, blonde ponytail cascading down her shoulders. Bambi’s makeup was done perfectly, featuring a soft glam look and popping pink lips.
Bambi posted the fly picture with the caption, “Next time I go outside ima tell my friends … “please don’t post anything” cuz honey …. .” Her text referred to her girls Erica Mena and Sierra Gates, who confronted Lil Scrappy about his and Bambi’s martial issues. “Go easy on my friends ’cause they were emotional too during that time. It was upsetting for them to see me in such a fragile state,” the artist said about her friends in an Instagram Live. She admitted that while she wished things could have been handled differently, she understands that her friends were taking up for her.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvNcZdwL6nZ/
Bambi’s divorce party comes on the heels of Lil Scrappy’s divorce soiree. On Instagram Live, the “BamLanta” lyricist stated that having a divorce party was somewhat “sad.” Still, she eventually embraced it and continued celebrating with her loved ones throughout the night. “I was like, oh my gosh, this is a divorce party. This is weird. But then we went to another party afterward, a little after party. And I was like, my friends and family are out here with me, so let’s have a good time,” said Bambi.
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Bambi Celebrates Her Divorce From Lil Scrappy In A Sexy Little Black Dress was originally published on hellobeautiful.com | https://wtlcfm.com/3580849/bambi-celebrates-her-divorce-from-lil-scrappy-in-a-sexy-little-black-dress/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:08 | 1 | https://wtlcfm.com/3580849/bambi-celebrates-her-divorce-from-lil-scrappy-in-a-sexy-little-black-dress/ |
Taylor Swift Eras Tour breaks Marshawn Lynch's 'Beast Quake' record for seismic activity at Lumen Field
SEATTLE - Looking back at Taylor Swift’s back-to-back sold-out Eras Tour concerts at Lumen Field, it turns out the Swifties in the stands set off seismic activity as they cheered for the "Shake It Off" pop star.
Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a seismologist and geology professor at Western Washington University, measured a 2.3 magnitude "Swift-quake" using a seismometer located near Lumen Field, rivaling the infamous "Beast Quake" in 2011.
The Beast Quake was a seismic event that occurred at Lumen Field in 2011 when the Seattle Seahawk's Marshawn Lynch scored a touchdown during a playoff game. The crowd's celebration shook the ground at the stadium enough to register on seismometers.
Caplan-Auerbach says Taylor Swift fans have given the former NFL running back a run for his money.
However, she noted that despite the ground shaking during the Taylor Swift concert, the event was technically not an earthquake.
Now, Caplan-Auerbach is quick to point out that the seismic data from the Beast Quake and Swift Quake may not be a fair comparison. She says that there is a chance that the ground-shaking activity from the Swifties could have been caused by the sound system, while the Beast Quake was likely caused solely by the Seahawk fans.
Looking at the data, the seismologist points out that the largest sounds are in the range of 1-3 hertz, meaning that energy was pushed into the ground at 1.03 times per second. Her guess is that this was caused by fans dancing in the crowd rather than the actual music.
She looked at data from a seismometer for the two dates Swift performed at Lumen Field and discovered that the line registering seismic activity for those dates was virtually identical, which confirmed the shaking was coming from the concerts.
When asked how much the Swift concerts shook the ground compared to the Beast Quake of 2011, Caplan-Auerbach noted a significant difference.
"It shook the ground twice as strong as the original Beast Quake," she said. "So, that was fun to see, that this event was really, really quite an energetic event from a seismic perspective."
You can submit your own findings from the Eras Tour concerts to Caplan-Auerbach here.
Part of this seismic activity is largely influenced by the type of ground upon which Seattle rests. According to Caplan-Auerbach, the geology of the area is a landfill, describing it as soft and soupy. Because of this, ground shaking, such as those caused by raucous fans at a music concert or football game, is amplified. | https://www.fox29.com/news/fans-set-off-2-3-magnitude-quake-during-taylor-swifts-tour-stop-in-seattle | 2023-07-29T03:55:13 | 0 | https://www.fox29.com/news/fans-set-off-2-3-magnitude-quake-during-taylor-swifts-tour-stop-in-seattle |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The grieving family of a man who was slain in Buffalo’s West Side last month is offering a cash reward for any information that helps put his killer behind bars.
Andrew Spears was fatally shot on Baynes Street between West Ferry Street and Breckenridge Street while he sat in his Jeep on June 9. He was 36-years-old. Spears’ death has left his loved ones wracked with grief — a grief made all the more painful by the fact that the identity of his killer remains shrouded in mystery.
“Fridays are my worst days,” Spears’ mother, Kathy Marks, told News 4’s Patrick Ryan. “From the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, my head automatically plays out, time for time — I know exactly everything that happened that day.”
The Buffalo Police Department told News 4 that the investigation into Spears’ death is ongoing. Marks said investigators are regularly in touch with the family.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $7,500 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the person who shot Spears. His loved ones have also raised $10,000, which the family is offering as an additional reward. Spears’ parents and siblings, as well as Spears’ girlfriend, Melanie Gugino, have left posters across the City of Buffalo in an effort to spread word of the unsolved homicide and find the person responsible.
“Don’t be scared. That’s the problem with our streets right now is that so much of this is going on and no one wants to come forward,” Marks said. “But if [someone] came forward, it is anonymous. Your name would never come out. But we can maybe prevent this from happening to someone else.”
Anyone who may have any information regarding the homicide of Andrew Spears is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of WNY at 716-867-6161.
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***
Justin McMullen is a Western New York native who joined the News 4 team in 2023. You can read more of his work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/family-of-west-side-homicide-victim-offering-large-reward-for-information-on-killer/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:13 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/family-of-west-side-homicide-victim-offering-large-reward-for-information-on-killer/ |
Mega Millions drawing: Check tickets for opportunity to claim $910 million jackpot
PHILADELPHIA - Check your tickets!
Here are the winning numbers for the $910 million Mega Millions drawing:
52 28 5 63 10 18
The estimated $910 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The jackpot is now the eighth-largest ever in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after someone in Los Angeles won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history.
The $910 million prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $464.2 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Associated Press contributed to this article. | https://www.fox29.com/news/mega-millions-drawing-check-tickets-for-opportunity-to-claim-910-million-jackpot | 2023-07-29T03:55:19 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/mega-millions-drawing-check-tickets-for-opportunity-to-claim-910-million-jackpot |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The festivals that keep Western New York hopping in the summer depend on good weather to succeed. News 4 spoke with people trying to enjoy these events without blowing a gasket
“It’s not stopping people from coming and St. Patrick’s Day is also not the weather of Ireland, so we are a hearty group. We can handle whatever you throw at us,” Mary Kay Heneghan, owner and founder of Rince Na Tiarna Irish Dance, said.
With several festivals this weekend, many were trying to beat the heat while enjoying their favorite summer activities. At the Outer Harbor, Irish Festival was in full swing, showcasing the food, music and dancing of Ireland.
“Well it could be worse. It could be raining. I’m happy its not raining at least. Keep hydrated, lots of sunscreen for the Irish. We were planning on being hot anyways. There’s a lot of dancing going on here,” Kevinah and Fiona Dargan from The Banshee Irish Pub told News 4.
“Well there will be a few refreshments and we have to hydrate between the refreshments too,” James Rogers of Grand Island said.
At Canalside, people were out and about Friday evening as the clouds rolled in and the lake breeze picked up. They say they waited to go outside until the heat of the day passed.
“I wanted to get back inside to the AC ASAP. Get some ice cream. Didn’t want to come outside until this time,” Reale Barney of Buffalo added.
“We dress light, put a lot of sunscreen on and hydrate and drink a lot of water,” Jaime Krieger of West Seneca continued.
Meanwhile in Cheektowaga, the Polish American Festival was underway and people were out in full force, wearing traditional Polish costumes and enjoying the night.
“It looks like there’s more people here for opening day than last year. I don’t think it affected it. It affected it for the better,” organizer Eddy Dobosiewicz said.
“The heat’s been pretty bad, especially working out in the heat during the day. It’s cooling down now for the festival so not too horrible,” Paul Donahue of Cheektowaga said.
Both festivals go all weekend long. For more information on the Buffalo Irish Festival, click here. For more on the Polish American Arts Festival, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Tara Lynch is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as a reporter in 2022. She previously worked at WETM in Elmira, N.Y., a sister station of News 4. You can follow Tara on Facebook and Twitter and find more of her work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/summer-heat-across-wny-festival-goers-try-to-stay-calm-cool-and-collected/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:19 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/summer-heat-across-wny-festival-goers-try-to-stay-calm-cool-and-collected/ |
New York (PIX11) — A 60-year-old yellow cab driver was chased and brutally beaten on Sixth Avenue in Herald Square by a mob of people.
The Pakistani immigrant’s son tells PIX11 News his father is mostly bedridden after the beatdown Wednesday near 35th Street following a confrontation.
“He was pretty badly injured,” said Sarmad Butt who rushed to his father’s side at the ER fearing the worst.
“I was like what the hell, I saw him in that condition it was the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, his face was all bruised,” Butt recalled.
The man is too frail to speak publicly and is nursing the bruises and wounds he got during the confrontation, but it’s the mental scars that will also take time to heal.
“I don’t think he wants to go back to work soon enough,” added Butt.
The New York City Taxi Workers Alliance says attacks like this are far too common for its drivers working an often-thankless job.
“Imagine doing a job 60-70 hours a week when you’re constantly under threat,” said Bhairavi Desai, the union’s executive director.
Police already arrested Howard Colley, 35, and Natalie Morgan, 51, both of Brooklyn, and charged them with misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief and issued desk-appearance tickets.
Detectives are still searching for three more suspects, two females and a male.
Drivers with decades of service believe stronger consequences need to come to those willing to hurt or kill a cab driver.
“The city is not doing anything against violations and not punishing people assaulting drivers,” complained driver, Javaid Tariq.
Just days earlier an Uber driver, Yadav K. Dhungel was nearly stabbed to death on the FDR by a crazed man who tried to carjack him before jumping off the roadway.
That driver, also a father of two, is still hospitalized, and a GoFundMe has been started for his medical expenses. | https://pix11.com/news/son-of-beaten-60-year-old-cab-driver-speaks-with-pix11-news/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:22 | 1 | https://pix11.com/news/son-of-beaten-60-year-old-cab-driver-speaks-with-pix11-news/ |
Police search for man they say was upskirting women inside Suburban Square Trader Joe's
ARDMORE, Pa. - Police in Montgomery County are searching for a man accused of targeting unsuspecting female shoppers at an area grocery store. Police say the man took upskirt photos of women and he is still out there.
"I am terribly shocked that something like that would occur at Trader Joe’s, in the square," said Trish O’Connor. She’s concerned about what Lower Merion Police say a man is wanted for. They say he took inappropriate pictures of women inside a Trader Joe’s in Suburban Square.
"If he’s doing this what’s he going to do next? Is this a progression? That’s what concerns me," said O’Connor.
Police say the upskirting incident happened Friday afternoon on July 21st inside the store. They say a customer reported catching the man in the act.
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"They saw a man walk in walk around the aisles and bend down and place his phone down near the bottom of their skirt and he appeared to be taking photos," said Detective Sergeant Michael Kennan, with Lower Merion Police.
Investigators say that customer then took photos of the suspect. Police were also able to get more pictures from store security cameras. They say the woman also told them the man was walking around the store doing the same thing to other women who were shopping and unaware.
"Then he walked out without making any purchases," said Detective Sergeant Keenan.
Michael Kaplan was leaving Trader Joe’s with his girlfriend Friday evening when he learned what happened. He says it doesn't surprise him.
"Unfortunately, a lot of people out there do things that are messed up. And it does concern me because it’s people’s safety and I hope he’s caught and get in trouble," said Kaplan.
Police want to hear from anyone who has seen the suspect or knows him. They also remind shoppers to be aware of who is passing by in store aisles. It could help prevent upskirting or some other crime, like someone trying to steal a wallet or purse.
Anyone with information that could help with the investigation is urged to contact Detective Jim Black at 610-645-6231 or Detective Sergeant Michael Keenan at 610-645-6228. | https://www.fox29.com/news/police-search-for-man-they-say-was-upskirting-women-inside-suburban-square-trader-joes | 2023-07-29T03:55:25 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/police-search-for-man-they-say-was-upskirting-women-inside-suburban-square-trader-joes |
Schwarber hits HR, Wheeler has 11 Ks as Phillies beat Pirates 2-1 for fourth win in five games
PITTSBURGH - Kyle Schwarber broke out of a slump by hitting a two-run home run and reaching base in all five plate appearances, Zack Wheeler struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Friday night.
Schwarber’s blast, his 27th of the season, came off All-Star Mitch Keller in the third inning and carried into the Phillies’ bullpen in center field. Brandon Marsh walked to lead off the inning before Schwarber unloaded with one out.
Schwarber, 1 for 22 in his previous seven games, also doubled and walked three times. Bryson Stott had two hits for Philadelphia.
That was enough offense for Wheeler (8-5), who gave up one run and three hits while walking one after being winless in his previous three starts. He was removed from the game following a 42-minute rain delay in the seventh inning.
Craig Kimbrel worked around a two-out walk in a scoreless ninth for his 17th save as the Phillies won for the fourth time in five games.
Keller (9-7) has lost all three starts since pitching in the All-Star Game on July 11 in Seattle. He lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and six hits with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Ji Man Choi hit a run-scoring double in the fourth to draw the Pirates to 2-1. Pittsburgh had runners on second and third with one out, but Wheeler escaped further trouble.
The Pirates have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games.
TARP TROUBLE
The PNC Park grounds crew had major trouble getting the infield covered during the delay.
It was unable to get the tarp completely unfurled and the first base line was left uncovered. After the rain stopped, workers were forced to apply a drying agent to the uncovered area, significantly lengthening the delay.
PHILLIES FACE DECISION
The Phillies must decide Saturday whether to keep right-hander Noah Song on their major-league roster or place him on waivers.
The 26-year-old Song was taken by the Phillies from Boston in the winter meeting draft in December with hopes he would play after military service.
Song reported to major league spring training on Feb. 23 after the Navy granted his transfer from active duty to the reserves. Song hadn’t pitched in a professional game since Aug. 29, 2019, for Class A Lowell.
Song went 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA in eight games in stints with three of Philadelphia’s minor league teams. Song’s 30-day rehab assignment ended this week, forcing the Phillies to decide whether to add the Rule 5 pick to the active roster or expose him to waivers and offer him back to the Red Sox if he is not claimed.
SUSPENSION REDUCED
Major League Baseball reduced the suspension of Pirates left-handed reliever Angel Perdomo by a game to two games Friday and he will be eligible to pitch Saturday.
Perdomo was ejected from Tuesday’s game when he hit San Diego’s Manny Machado in the back with a pitch immediately after giving up a home run to Juan Soto. MLB suspended Perdomo the next day.
ROSTER MOVE
The Pirates recalled OF Josh Palacios from Triple-A Indianapolis. He takes the roster spot of 1B Carlos Santana, who was traded to Milwaukee on Thursday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (lower back inflammation) had a full workout for a second straight day Friday. He began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday but has been unable to play since then. ... INF/OF Ji Hwan Bae (left ankle sprain) is expected to begin a rehab assignment early next week with Indianapolis. ... It has yet to be determined if INF Tucupita Marcano (right knee ligament) will need surgery after he was placed on the 60-day IL on Tuesday. ... SS Oneil Cruz (fractured left ankle), who has been out since April 10, has progressed to hitting underhand tosses but there is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (9-6, 4.25 ERA) faces rookie RHP Quinn Priester (1-1, 9.28) on Saturday night. | https://www.fox29.com/sports/schwarber-hits-hr-wheeler-has-11-ks-as-phillies-beat-pirates-2-1-for-fourth-win-in-five-games | 2023-07-29T03:55:31 | 0 | https://www.fox29.com/sports/schwarber-hits-hr-wheeler-has-11-ks-as-phillies-beat-pirates-2-1-for-fourth-win-in-five-games |
Click to read highlights from the story:
- Artificial intelligence is already being used in novel political ways, from a Republican National Committee video showing fictional images of a dystopian future to a Super PAC skirting campaign coordination rules by using an AI version of a presidential candidate to fundraise.
- Some states, like Washington, are requiring any political ads to label AI-generated images. Others are banning “deepfake” images in the runup to Election Day.
- Wisconsin lawmakers are expecting to look deeper into regulating AI, but laws may not be in place in time for the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Heading into the 2024 election, Wisconsin faces a new challenge state lawmakers here have so far failed to address: generative artificial intelligence.
AI can draft a fundraising email or campaign graphics in seconds, no writing or design skills required. Or, as the Republican National Committee showed in April, it can conjure lifelike videos of China invading Taiwan or migrants crossing the U.S. border made entirely of fictional AI-generated footage.
More recently, a Super PAC supporting a Republican presidential candidate’s bid to make the Milwaukee debate stage on Aug. 23 used an AI-generated video of that candidate to fundraise — which one campaign finance expert called an “innovative” way around campaign finance rules that would otherwise ban a Super PAC and candidate from coordinating on an ad.
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Technology and election experts say AI’s applications will both “transform” and threaten elections across the United States. And Wisconsin, a gerrymandered battleground that previously weathered baseless claims of election fraud, may face an acute risk.
Yet Wisconsin lawmakers have not taken official steps to regulate use of the technology in campaigning, even as other states and Congress introduce and begin to implement guardrails.
Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, told Wisconsin Watch he hasn’t “related (AI) too much to elections just yet.”
In the Senate’s Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection, “it just hasn’t come up yet,” said Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick.
Election committee members in both chambers expressed interest in possible remedies but doubt that they could pass protections before the next election cycle.
Rep. Clinton Anderson, D-Beloit, is drafting a bill that would mandate disclosure of AI, sometimes called “synthetic media,” in political ads, something experts call a basic step lawmakers could take to regulate the technology.
“If we wait til 2024, it’s gonna be too late,” Anderson said in an interview. “If we can get this minimum thing done, then maybe we can have a conservation about, ‘What’s the next step?’ ”
“No matter where you fall politically, I think you should want some transparency in campaigns,” he added.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission declined to comment.
The AI threat: ‘Real creepy real fast’
Several lawmakers said AI repackages old problems in new technology, noting voters have encountered deceptive visuals and targeted advertising before.
But generative AI makes such content cheaper, easier and faster to produce. New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice notes that Russian-affiliated organizations spent more than $1 million a month in 2016 to produce manipulative political ads that could be created today with AI for a fraction of the cost.
Dietram Scheufele, who studies science communication and technology policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that while some of the doomsday predictions about AI are overblown, “we’re definitely entering a new world.”
The technology, he said, “gets real creepy real fast.”
Scheufele cited a prior study in which researchers morphed candidates’ faces with the participant’s own face in a way that remained undetectable to the participant. They found that people who were politically independent or weakly partisan were more likely to prefer the candidates whose faces had been — unbeknownst to them — morphed with their own.
“This was done a long time ago before the idea of actually doing all of this in real time became a reality,” Scheufele said. But today, “the threshold for producing this stuff is really, really low.”
Campaigns could micro-target constituents, crafting uniquely persuasive communications or advertisements by tailoring them to a person’s digital footprint or likeness. Darrell West, who studies technology at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, calls this “precise message targeting,” writing AI will allow campaigns to better focus on “specific voting blocs with appeals that nudge them around particular policies and partisan opinions.”
AI will also quicken the pace of communications and responses, permitting politicians to “respond instantly to campaign developments,” West wrote. “AI can scan the internet, think about strategy, and come up with a hard-hitting appeal” in minutes, “without having to rely on highly paid consultants or expert videographers.”
And because AI technology is more accessible, it’s not just well-funded campaigns or interest groups that might deploy it in elections. Mekela Panditharatne, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, described several ways outside actors might use the technology to deceive or influence voters.
Aside from using deepfakes to fabricate viral controversies, they could produce legions of social media posts about certain issues “to create the illusion of political agreement or the false impression of widespread belief in dishonest election narratives,” Panditharatne wrote. They could “deploy tailored chatbots to customize interactions based on voter characteristics.”
They could also use AI to target elections administrators, either through deluges of complaints from fake constituents or elaborate phishing schemes.
“There is plenty of past election disinformation in the training data underlying current generative AI tools to render them a potential ticking time bomb for future election disinformation,” Panditharatne wrote.
For Scheufele, one major concern is timing. It can take seconds for AI to create a deepfake; it can take days for reporters to debunk it. AI-driven disinformation deployed in the days before an election could sway voters in meaningful ways.
By the time people realized the content was fake, Scheufele said, “the election is over and we have absolutely no constitutional way of relitigating it.”
“This is like making the wrong call in the last minute of the Super Bowl and the Patriots win the Super Bowl, even though they shouldn’t have,” Scheufele said. “They’re still going to be Super Bowl champions on Monday even though we all know that the wrong call was made.”
Guardrails of democracy
In the abstract, every single aspect of AI is “totally manageable,” Scheufele said.
“The problem is we’re dealing with so much in such a short period of time because of how quickly that technology develops,” he said. “We simply don’t have the structures in place at the moment.”
But Wisconsin lawmakers could take initial steps toward boosting transparency.
In May, Washington state passed a law requiring a clear disclaimer about AI’s use in any political ad. Anderson’s team looked to Washington’s law as a model in drafting a Wisconsin bill.
Printed ads with manipulated images will need a disclosure “in letters at least as big as any other letters in the ad,” according to The Spokesman-Review. Manipulated audio must “have an easily understood, spoken warning at the beginning and end of the commercial.” For videos, a text disclosure “must appear for the duration” of the ad.
A similar bill addressing federal elections has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. A March 2020 proposal banning the distribution of deepfakes within 60 days of a federal election and creating criminal penalties went nowhere.
Krug called Washington’s law a “pretty interesting idea.”
“If (an ad is) artificially created, there has to be some sort of a disclaimer,” Krug said.
However, he indicated Republicans may wait to move legislation until after Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, convenes a task force later this year on AI in government.
Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, another elections committee member, noted Wisconsin law already prohibits knowingly making or publishing “a false representation pertaining to a candidate or referendum which is intended or tends to affect voting at an election.”
“I think you could read the plain language of that statute and say that a deepfake would violate it,” he said. “But obviously, whenever you have new technology, I think it’s worth coming back and making explicitly clear that an existing statute is intended to apply to that new technology.”
Just the beginning
Scheufele, Anderson, Spreitzer and Smith all said that Wisconsin should go beyond mandating disclosure of AI in ads.
“The biggest concern is disinformation coming from actors outside of the organized campaigns and political parties,” Spreitzer said. Official entities are easier to regulate, in part because the government already does.
Additional measures will require a robust global debate, Scheufele said. He likened the urgency of addressing AI to nuclear power.
“What we never did for nuclear energy is really have a broad public debate about: Should we go there? Should we actually develop nuclear weapons? Should we engage in that arms race?” he said. “For AI, we may still have that opportunity where we really get together and say, ‘Hey, what are the technologies that we’re willing to deploy, that we’re willing to actually make accessible?’ ”
The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. | https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/07/28/ai-is-starting-to-affect-our-elections-wisconsin-has-yet-to-take-action/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:35 | 0 | https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/07/28/ai-is-starting-to-affect-our-elections-wisconsin-has-yet-to-take-action/ |
By Danielle Kaeding | WPR
A lawsuit filed against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources seeks to overturn the agency’s guidance on when people have the right to use public waterways, arguing it’s an unlawful policy that expands public access.
Waterfront property owner Thomas Reiss of Ixonia is suing the agency, DNR Secretary Adam Payne and its policymaking board in Jefferson County Circuit Court. According to the July 11 complaint, Reiss and his attorneys argue agency documents that say people may use public water bodies as long as they “keep their feet wet” contradict state law and the state’s public trust doctrine.
That doctrine holds that navigable waters are protected by the state for the benefit of the public. The DNR enforces the public’s rights to use those waterways up to the ordinary high water mark or a distinctive mark on the shoreline.
Reiss and his attorneys argue people using airboats are trespassing beyond that point when the nearby Rock River floods his land during times of high water. Attorneys say airboat operators claim the DNR’s guidance justifies their use of standing water on his land, resulting in extraordinary noise and damage to his property. They say the Jefferson County Sheriff has refused to cite people for trespassing.
“(T)he guidance causes law enforcement’s confusion and inaction in response to members of the public trespassing on the Reiss Property in reliance on the guidance,” the complaint states.
Attorneys for Reiss didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. They want the court to declare that the DNR’s guidance is an unlawfully adopted rule that contradicts state law and can’t be enforced. They say the agency’s authority to enforce the public’s rights under the public trust doctrine doesn’t extend beyond navigable waters or land above the ordinary high water mark. They note the agency’s documents tell property owners they have “exclusive use” of exposed lake or river beds during low water levels.
“But none clearly and explicitly addresses the limits on public access beyond the (ordinary high water mark) during flooding or extraordinary high-water levels,” the complaint states.
A DNR spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation. In a letter issued prior to the lawsuit, a DNR attorney said the public’s right to use navigable waters isn’t determined by “any law or policy enforced or administered by the department,” but rather the Wisconsin Constitution and interpretation of case law.
DNR Staff Attorney Michael Kowalkowski said the DNR hasn’t asserted any authority over the lands in question. He also said the agency hasn’t advised members of the public that they may or may not access water flooding the Reiss property when the Rock River is high.
“As has been previously communicated to you, the actions of members of the public are not subject to the department’s control,” wrote Kowalkowski. “Any issue your client has with where members of the public traverse may be a matter of trespass or damage to property, which must be addressed at the local level where authority for enforcement of the law lies.”
Kowalkowski noted the agency hasn’t determined the ordinary high water mark on the Reiss property or whether water on his land is navigable. The agency defines navigable waters as any waterway that can float a canoe or small watercraft at some time during the year. Attorneys for Reiss argue airboats are designed to operate in only inches of water.
Rob Lee, an attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the lawsuit may be premature since the DNR hasn’t issued determinations on navigability or where that water mark lies on the Reiss property. Even so, he said it highlights conflict that can arise between private property rights and the public’s rights to use waterways during times of high water.
“There could be some tension between people who can no longer see where the ordinary high water mark is because it’s submerged …and (waterfront property owners) who do have a general idea where it is getting upset because that boundary is being crossed and they think that is their private property,” Lee said.
A new DNR rule that went into effect this month has set up a process for landowners to request determinations about the navigability of waters on their property or where the ordinary high water mark lies. Lee said seeking those determinations could potentially prevent conflicts between the public and private property owners like Reiss.
“I think having those determinations could very well empower them here and make their case all the stronger if there does remain an issue,” Lee said. “At this point, we just don’t know.”
This story was produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and is being republished by permission. See the original story here. | https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/07/28/lawsuit-seeks-to-overturn-dnr-guidance-on-publics-right-to-access-waterways/ | 2023-07-29T03:55:41 | 0 | https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/07/28/lawsuit-seeks-to-overturn-dnr-guidance-on-publics-right-to-access-waterways/ |
CHICAGO — Chicago police are asking for help finding a missing 14-year-old girl last seen July 21.
Leila Arreola is described as being about 4 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 80 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
She was last seen near the 2300 block of North Central Park.
According to information from the Chicago Police Department, a group of unknown people may be harboring Arreola at an unknown spot.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Five SVU detectives at 312-746-6554. | https://wgntv.com/missing/chicago-police-looking-for-missing-14-year-old-girl-who-may-be-with-unknown-people/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:38 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/missing/chicago-police-looking-for-missing-14-year-old-girl-who-may-be-with-unknown-people/ |
KENOSHA, Wisc. — Two people are dead and two others are injured after a driver crashed into a store in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The crash happened around 3:25 a.m. at the Play it Again Sports store in the 4000 block of 75th Street.
Five people were inside the truck when the driver partially crashed into the store, according to police.
Two people were killed and two people were critically injured, police said.
Their identities haven’t been released.
The crash is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call police at 262-605-5203 or report tips anonymously to Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333. | https://wgntv.com/news/kenosha/2-dead-2-critically-injured-after-driver-crashes-into-kenosha-business/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:44 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/news/kenosha/2-dead-2-critically-injured-after-driver-crashes-into-kenosha-business/ |
(NEXSTAR) — Is it your lucky day? Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is a massive $940 million, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history. Winning numbers for the July 28 jackpot are: 52, 28, 5, 63, and 10. The Mega ball number is 18. Friday’s Megaplier is 5X.
The estimated $940 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The $940 million pot on the line Friday night will be that high only if a single player wins and they choose to be paid through an annuity of one immediate payment or 30 annual allotments. But jackpot winners nearly always take the cash in a lump sum, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Tickets are $2 and there are a total of nine ways to win a prize. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Fridays.
USA Mega, which tracks Mega Millions statistics, says the most common Mega Millions numbers are 17, 10, 14, 31 and 4 for the first five numbers. The most common Mega ball number is 22.
The biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history is $1.537 billion back in 2018 and was claimed by one lucky winner in South Carolina.
If no one claims Friday’s jackpot, the next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 1. | https://wgntv.com/news/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:50 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/news/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
From blistering hot wings to an unusual milkshake, here's what's new at Epcot Food & Wine
Headed to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival anytime in the next few months?
Journalists and bloggers recently were invited to check out some of the new food offerings at this year's event, which runs through Nov. 18. They included tongue-blistering wings, a dessert that's almost too beautiful to eat and a milkshake that's so strange you can't not try it.
Kevin Downing, chef of Epcot Festivals, said this year's festival features more than 25 marketplaces, and about 35% of the dishes being served are new.
As an incentive to visit Epcot multiple times during the event, new marketplaces will open in August and in late September.
Downing gave a quick rundown of rundown of what's new and delicious.
More Disney:Florida summers sizzle: Where can guests chill at Walt Disney World parks?
Wing, wing, wing
Courtesy of muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, the Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey has introduced the Unnecessarily Spicy, Yet Extremely Tasty Scotch Bonnet Pepper-Curry Wings with a cool cucumber yogurt. The name pretty much describes these flavorful heat bombs. If you're brave enough to try them, be sure to dredge each wing through the yogurt sauce first to mitigate some of the heat.
And if you're really brave, wash the wings down with a Pickle Milkshake. It's a beautiful concoction, but you'll have to judge for yourself how well vanilla ice cream and pickling spice mix together.
The Brew-Wing Lab also has more traditional Garlic-Parmesan and Traditional Buffalo wings for the less brave. Or try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sticky Wings for a surprisingly tasty take on two childhood favorites.
Not a carnivore? The Impossible Buffalo Chicken Tenders with celery and ranch and the Buffalo Brussels Sprouts with plant-based blue cheese and plant-based ranch are delicious.
Flavors of America
The Flavors of America marketplace in the American Adventure has a new look this year, Downing said, with a focus on regional favorites.
The Italian Hot Beef Sandwich on a French roll, with shaved beef, spicy Giardiniera and au jus, is a staple of the Midwest, he said.
There's also Cioppino, a seafood stew with saffron-infused tomato-fennel broth served with a crostini.
"It's really traditional, or typical, of the Pacific Northwest," Dowining said.
Chilaquiles, corn tortilla chips tossed in salsa verde with Ranchero Chicken, queso fresco, cilantro-lime crema and a soft-poached egg is representative of the American Southwest," he said.
Flavors from Fire
Located in World Discovery, Flavors from Fire has a new grilled dish this year: a Chimichurri Marinated Skirt Steak Taco served in a corn tortilla with crushed avocado, grilled corn salsa, pickled red onions, queso fresco and cilantro-lime cream.
"It's a nice easy hand-held that our guests can enjoy and walk around with," Downing said.
Flavors from Fire also has dish for non-meat eaters, the Impossible Burger Slider with wasabi cream and spicy Asian slaw.
Canada
The Canadian Filet Mignon has long been a fan favorite, Downing said.
"We're giving it a new look this year," he said. "We've just added a couple of components. We've added a truffle Boursin mashed potato. It still has the mushrooms. It's still the same filet, but we are finishing it this year with a nice Boursin butter that will melt nicely over the top of the steak."
The steak pairs nicely with the Chateau des Charmes Cabernet Sauvignon also available at the Canada marketplace, he said.
Dessert time
Disney chefs have reimagined some of the desserts that have been available in the past.
In the Tangierine Cafe: Flavors of the Medina in Morocco, the Pistachio Cake with cinnamon pastry cream and candied walnuts is a gorgeous work of art.
The plant-based guava cake in Shimmering Sips near Port of Entry is topped with non-dairy whipped cream and coconut. Wash it down with a tropical, berry, blood orange or beer mimosa.
Festival details
The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival runs through Nov. 18.
Park admission starts at $109 per day. Food and beverages in the festival are an extra charge.
Florida residents can buy a four-day pass for $299, valid through Sept. 29, with blackout dates Sept. 1-4.
Eat to the Beat concerts are held Thursday through Monday and feature musical acts such as Ruben Studdard with Haley Reinhart (Aug. 11-12), Joey Fatone & Friends (Aug. 12-21), Hoobastank (Oct. 13-14 and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Nov. 10-11).
Visit disneyworld.disney.go.com for more information.
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard. | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/07/28/bite-into-these-new-dishes-at-the-2023-epcot-food-wine-festival/70488530007/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:51 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/07/28/bite-into-these-new-dishes-at-the-2023-epcot-food-wine-festival/70488530007/ |
CHICAGO — North Central College Political Science Professor Stephen Maynard Caliendo joined WGN Evening News to discuss the latest political news.
Some of the topics included:
- New charges former President Donald Trump is facing
- Senators McConnell and Feinstein
- The southern border in Texas
- Hunter Biden
- A hearing on UFOs
Watch the video in the player above for this story. | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/north-central-college-professor-discusses-this-weeks-political-headlines/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:56 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/north-central-college-professor-discusses-this-weeks-political-headlines/ |
Triple-core SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches from Florida, lands boosters at Cape Canaveral
Some Space Coast residents were likely awoken by the deep rumble of 27 SpaceX Merlin engines at Kennedy Space Center late Friday.
At 11:04 p.m. EDT, a Falcon Heavy rocket – essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together – produced five million pounds of thrust to lift off from pad 39A on an easterly trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean. The heavy-class rocket boosted Jupiter 3, the largest communications satellite ever built by Maxar Technologies, to geostationary orbit for EchoStar.
Did the boosters land at the Cape?
In signature SpaceX style, about three minutes into Falcon Heavy's flight, the twin side boosters shut down and separated from the center core to somersault and beeline back toward the Cape. The return trip generated sonic booms which could be heard – and felt – throughout the Space Coast and across Central Florida between eight and 10 minutes after liftoff.
The near-simultaneous booster landings occurred seconds apart at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Landing Zones 1 and 2. Though Friday marked the third time SpaceX has executed the double booster ballet this year, it's still a relatively rare experience, having only been completed six times since Falcon Heavy began flying in 2018.
Friday's liftoff marked the 38th to fly from the Space Coast this year.
What was the payload?
Kuiper investment:Amazon to build $120 million Kuiper satellite processing facility at KSC
Roughly the size of a school bus, the Jupiter 3 satellite is the largest ever built by Maxar. Weighing in around nine tons, with its solar arrays fully deployed, it nearly matches the wingspan of a commercial airliner.
The massive satellite was delivered to the Space Coast last month with the help of an Antonov AN-124, one of the world's largest cargo aircraft specifically designed for transporting oversized and heavy loads for commercial and military operations.
Jupiter 3 will join a fleet of Hughes Network Systems satellites to deliver broadband internet to rural and remote locations.
"Jupiter 3 will enable us to serve more customers, especially where cable and fiber can't, so they can do everything they want – including work at home, study online, play games, engage in their communities, and stay in touch with family and friends," Hamid Akhavan, CEO of Hughes's parent company EchoStar, said in a release.
HughesNet currently boasts more than a million customers across North and South America. The addition of the Jupiter 3 satellite should increase that capacity by hundreds of thousands more.
When's the next launch?
Rocket launch schedule:Upcoming Florida launches and landings
The next liftoff expected from the Space Coast is tentatively set to be another SpaceX Falcon 9 with more Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Timing on when that launch is set to fly is still undetermined because SpaceX has yet to confirm the mission's existence or a targeted launch date with the Eastern Range.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Jamie Groh at JGroh@floridatoday.com and follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie. | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2023/07/28/triple-core-spacex-falcon-heavy-launches-from-florida-lands-boosters/70430296007/ | 2023-07-29T03:56:57 | 0 | https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2023/07/28/triple-core-spacex-falcon-heavy-launches-from-florida-lands-boosters/70430296007/ |
These thunderstorms were unleashing lightning punctuated, flooding downpours in the wake of Friday’s steamy 80-degree dew points and triple-digit heat indices
“NNE” winds to bring weekend heat and humidity relief
STORMS EXPLODED RAPIDLY AND DRAMATICALLY IN THE HOT, HUMID, UNSTABLE AIR LATE FRIDAY
The color enhanced satellite animation shows the cold cloud tops expanding and the storm develop vertically.
The TRUE COLOR visible evening satellite animation shows the towering thunderheads casting shadows on the surrounding terrain as the sun sets.
SOURCE: Courtesy of College of DuPage
ATMOSPHERIC RUNDOWN
For Friday, July 28, 2023
- Here in Chicago, our observational guru and veteran National Weather Service Chicago observer Frank Wachowski reports O’HARE picked up 0.29” overnight and MIDWAY checks in with 0.35” at the South Side site
- Some heavier 24-hour rainfalls in and near the following communities here in Illinois and Indiana from volunteer CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborate Rain, Hail and Snow Network— https://www.cocorahs.org/) | https://wgntv.com/weather/weather-blog/powerhouse-t-storms-erupt-friday-night/ | 2023-07-29T03:57:02 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/weather/weather-blog/powerhouse-t-storms-erupt-friday-night/ |
PHOENIX, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) ("4Front" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, announced that it has entered into a consulting agreement with Leo Gontmakher, Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the "Consulting Agreement"). Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, the Company has agreed to: (i) pay Mr. Gontmakher an annual base fee of US$400,000 payable in regular installments; (ii) issue 6,000,000 subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company (each a "SVS") at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS as a signing bonus; (iii) if Mr. Gontmakher completes the initial term of the Consulting Agreement ending December 31, 2023, issue 1,800,000 SVS if certain financial metrics of the Company are achieved by year-end 2023 and such number of SVS sufficient to make him a 1.00% owner calculated on a fully diluted basis to the extent not the case at the time of issuance, such SVS to be priced in accordance with the Canadian Securities Exchange policy at the time of issuance; and (iv) if Mr. Gontmakher remains continuously retained through the date of the closing of a transaction that results in a Change in Control (as defined in the Consulting Agreement), Mr. Gontmakher shall be eligible to receive a portion of the transaction bonus pool allocated for senior executives, which shall be equal to 1.00% of the fair market value of all consideration paid to the Company's stockholders in the transaction, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
In addition, the Company has agreed to issue 3,300,250 SVS at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS to Mr. Gontmakher in connection with his fiscal year-end 2022 compensation package (collectively with the issuances contemplated by the Consulting Agreement, the "Gontmakher Issuances").
The Company also announced that it has agreed to issue a total of 9,853,830 restricted share units ("RSUs"), at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.165 based on the closing price of the SVS on July 27, 2023, to certain officers and employees of the Company in payment of fiscal year-end 2022 bonus entitlements. The RSUs are fully vested as of the grant date and represent the right to receive one (1) SVS upon the earliest to occur of a change in control, disability, death, unforeseeable emergency, separation from service other than for cause, or the date that is eighteen (18) months following the grant date, each as more particularly described in the applicable restricted share unit agreement (collectively, the "RSU Grant").
Additionally, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with its senior secured lender, LI Lending, LLC (the "Lender") to extend the maturity date, reduce the interest payable, and expand the third-party financings available under the December 17, 2020 Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement ("Loan") between 4Front and the Lender on the terms and conditions set out in the amending agreement (collectively, the "Extension"), as initially announced in a press release dated May 6, 2023. Under the Extension, the Lender has extended the maturity date of the Loan to May 1, 2026 and reduced the interest payable to 12.0% per year, payable monthly.
Currently, the Lender holds a senior secured position on all assets of 4Front and certain of its subsidiaries and the right of consent over any additional financings secured by those assets. Pursuant to the Extension, the Lender consents to equipment financing collateralized by 4Front equipment of up to US$5 million; secured convertible debt senior to the Loan collateralized by all assets of 4Front of up to US$10 million; and secured debt senior to the Loan collateralized by the assets of new Illinois retail locations of up to US$20 million, with Lender agreeing to take a junior secured position on those assets.
Under the terms of the Extension, the Lender will receive a number of warrants equal to 33% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date (US$17,061,000) each exercisable into one SVS for a term equal to the term of the Loan and with an exercise price not less than US$0.17 (each a "Warrant"). If 4Front obtains a bona fide offer from a third party to refinance the Loan within six months of the effective date of the definitive documents effectuating the Extension, the Lender will have the option to match the proposed terms of the offer or keep the Loan in force; upon exercise of either option, the Lender's Warrant coverage will be reduced to 30% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan up to US$8 million, 75% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan in excess of US$8 million (up to the US$10 million maximum), 100% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. The Extension also provides that the Company will pay the Lender an origination fee equal to 1.00% of the Loan balance at the current maturity date (US$51 million), payable in cash on May 1, 2024.
Under the terms of the Extension, while the Loan is outstanding, if 4Front unilaterally removes its CEO or President from their current positions without either cause or Lender consent the maturity date of the Loan will be accelerated to the date that is 30 days after the first unilateral removal.
Leo Gontmakher, the CEO and a director of the Company, and Roman Tkachenko, a director of the Company, each own 14.28% of the Lender.
Participation of related parties of the Company in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant constitute "related party transactions" as defined under Multilateral Instrument - 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that participation in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant by insiders will not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization and also because the SVS trade only on the Canadian Securities Exchange. A material change report was not filed in connection with the participation of the insiders at least 21 days in advance of the closing of the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant, which the Company deemed reasonable in the circumstances.
4Front is a national, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator who owns or manages operations and facilities in strategic medical and adult-use cannabis markets, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington. Since its founding in 2011, 4Front has built a strong reputation for its high standards and low-cost cultivation and production methodologies earned through a track record of success in facility design, cultivation, genetics, growing processes, manufacturing, purchasing, distribution, and retail. To date, 4Front has successfully brought to market more than 20 different cannabis brands and over 1800 products, which are strategically distributed through its fully owned and operated Mission dispensaries and retail outlets in its core markets. As the Company continues to drive value for its shareholders, its team is applying its decade of expertise in the sector across the cannabis industry value chain and ecosystem. For more information, visit https://4frontventures.com/.
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking, such as statements containing the terms and conditions of the proposed Extension, the entering into of definitive documentation and regulatory approval and other forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words and phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "could," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "expect," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "outlook," "effort," "target" or the negative of such words and other comparable terminology. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Any forward-looking statements expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond 4Front's control. Therefore, you are cautioned against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable law, including Canadian and U.S. federal securities laws, 4Front does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform them to actual results or revised expectations.
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BEIJING, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Tarena International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEDU) ("Tarena" or the "Company"), a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China, today announced that it received a written notification from the Staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") dated July 28, 2023, indicating that the Company no longer meets the continued listing requirement of minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares ("MVPHS") for the Nasdaq Global Select Market, as set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(C), because the Company's MVPHS for the last 30 consecutive business days was below the minimum MVPHS requirement of US$15,000,000.
Pursuant to the Nasdaq Listing Rules, the applicable grace period to regain compliance is 180 calendar days, or until January 24, 2024. The Company can cure this deficiency if its MVPHS closes at US$15,000,000 or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the compliance period. The Company's management is looking into various options available to regain compliance and maintain its continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. In the event the Company does not regain compliance prior to the expiration of the compliance period, it will receive written notification that its securities are subject to delisting. Alternatively, the Company may apply to transfer the Company's securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market, subject to the Nasdaq Capital Market's continued listing requirements.
About Tarena International, Inc.
Tarena is a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China. Through its innovative education platform combining live distance instruction, classroom-based tutoring and online learning modules, Tarena offers professional education courses in IT and non-IT subjects. Its professional education courses provide students with practical skills to prepare them for jobs in industries with significant growth potential and strong hiring demand. Tarena also offers IT-focused supplementary STEAM education programs, including computer coding and robotics programming courses, etc., targeting students between three and eighteen years of age. Aiming to encourage "code to learn," Tarena embraces the latest trends in STEAM education and technology to develop children's logical thinking and learning abilities while allowing them to discover their interests and potential.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Tarena may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including any business outlook and statements about Tarena's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Many factors, risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak; Tarena's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to continue to attract students to enroll in its courses; its ability to continue to recruit, train and retain qualified instructors and teaching assistants; its ability to continually tailor its curriculum to market demand and enhance its courses to adequately and promptly respond to developments in the professional job market; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand recognition, its ability to maintain high job placement rate for its students, and its ability to maintain cooperative relationships with financing service providers for student loans.
Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Tarena's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Tarena does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations Contact
Tarena International, Inc.
Email: ir@tedu.cn
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SOURCE Tarena International, Inc. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ | 2023-07-29T03:57:42 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ |
LONDON, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VAPORESSO, a leading innovator in the vaping industry, has received well-deserved recognition at this year's London Design Awards, with four of its groundbreaking products being awarded for their exceptional design. The London Design Awards is an international competition that recognises exceptional designs and outstanding creative projects worldwide, celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of the international design community.
The four distinguished products from VAPORESSO - the COSS, ECO NANO, LUXE XR, and XROS 3 NANO - have showcased the brand's formidable innovative prowess and have also been recognized with awards from many organizations. VAPORESSO's latest groundbreaking offering, the VAPORESSO COSS, is regarded as a game-changer in the vaping industry. It tackles existing issues with a thoughtful design that seamlessly caters to user habits. Its slogan, 'Convenient Operating, Smart Supplying', perfectly encapsulates the product's core values of INNOVATION, RELIABILITY, and STYLE.
"Winning these awards is a testament to the creativity, skill, and dedication of our team," said Jimmy Hu, Vice President of VAPORESSO, "We are thrilled to have our efforts recognised on such a prestigious global platform. It validates our commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality products that enhance the vaping experience for our customers."
The London Design Awards, held annually, applauds outstanding design achievements across various creative sectors. It acknowledges exemplary projects, products, and professionals who demonstrate innovation, creativity, and excellence within their respective industries. Meanwhile, the London Design Awards not only honours design excellence but also fosters creativity, encourages innovation, and facilitates collaborations between designers and design-driven businesses. The awards have grown in stature and popularity since their inception, attracting a wide range of participants from various design fields.
The recognition from the London Design Awards underscores VAPORESSO's dedication to creating products that exceed customer expectations and further solidifies its position as a thought leader in the industry. It also acts as an external validation of VAPORESSO's capabilities and quality of work, building trust and confidence among potential customers.
About VAPORESSO
Established in 2015, VAPORESSO is committed to creating a smoke-free world and enhancing the quality of life for its users. Through continuous innovation, stringent quality control, and substantial commitment, VAPORESSO produces products that cater to all levels and styles of vapers.
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Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has more political money than most of his Republican presidential rivals, and he has not been shy about spending it.
Where that money is ultimately going, however, is a mystery.
Scott entered the 2024 race with a war chest of $22 million, and his campaign raised $5.8 million from April through June. In that same time, he laid out about $6.6 million, a significant clip — but most of it cannot be traced to an actual vendor.
Instead, roughly $5.3 million went to two shadowy entities: newly formed limited liability companies with no online presence and no record of other federal election work, whose addresses are Staples stores in suburban strip malls. Their minimal business records show they were set up by the same person in the months before Scott entered the race.
Masking the companies, groups and people ultimately paid by campaigns — effectively obscuring large amounts of spending behind businesses and convoluted consulting arrangements — has become common as political candidates and organizations test the limits of campaign finance law.
Federal law requires campaigns to disclose their spending, including itemized details of their vendors, as a safeguard against corruption and in the interest of transparency. But as in many aspects of campaign finance law, campaigns have found workarounds, and the body that oversees such regulations, the Federal Election Commission, is perpetually hamstrung by partisan deadlock.
Matt Gorman, a senior communications adviser for the Scott campaign, said, “These are independent companies we contract with to provide services to the campaign, including managing multiple consultants. Payments to those companies are disclosed like all others on our FEC report.”
The FEC has allowed committees to not itemize subvendor payments when those payments are an extension of the original vendor’s work. But in recent years, this interpretation of the law has widened into a gaping loophole that campaigns are exploiting. Experts say it is illegal for campaigns to pay campaign staff members through limited liability companies, or for vendors to serve merely as conduits to hide the ultimate recipient of campaign money.
In recent years, the FEC, whose six commissioners are deadlocked between the parties three to three, has essentially allowed campaigns to get away with minimal disclosures.
A spokesperson for the commission declined to comment.
Indeed, while the use of limited liability companies by Scott’s campaign is striking in its scale, it is not unique among Republican presidential candidates.
The campaign of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida made two payments last quarter, totaling more than $480,000, for “travel” to a company in Athens, Georgia. The company was set up around the time he entered the race and lists Paul Kilgore — a Republican political operative — as a manager.
Neither Kilgore nor the DeSantis campaign responded to requests for comment.
Former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign was the subject of litigation over its use of limited liability companies run by campaign staff and family members that were allegedly conduits for hundreds of millions of dollars of spending. His campaign defended the practice, saying the intermediary companies were acting as the primary vendors.
“The idea of disclosing payments in this way defeats the whole purpose of campaign finance disclosure law,” said Saurav Ghosh, a former FEC lawyer and the director of federal campaign finance reform for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit campaign ethics group that sued the FEC over the 2020 Trump campaign’s actions.
He added, “It’s been a problem for a while, but like most that go on unaddressed, it has a tendency to get worse, and I think this one is getting worse.”
According to FEC filings last week, the Scott campaign made $4.3 million in payments from April 1 to June 30 to a company called Meeting Street Services LLC. The money included $2.8 million for “placed media” and more for digital fundraising, strategy and video production.
Meeting Street Services has no online presence and has not been paid by any other campaign, records show. Its listed address, in North Charleston, South Carolina, is a Staples store. Records show that the company was set up in Delaware in August 2022, and its incorporation documents list only one name — Barry Benjamin — as an authorized representative.
According to business records in South Carolina, the company is managed by AMZ Holdings LLC, a company set up in May 2021 and based at the same Staples store in North Charleston. AMZ’s Delaware incorporation documents were also signed by Benjamin.
Scott’s campaign did not provide information about Benjamin or further details about the companies. Efforts to independently determine Benjamin’s identity were unsuccessful.
There are several notable absences in the campaign’s second-quarter filing, including Targeted Victory, a major political fundraising firm that has said it works for the campaign, and FP1 Strategies, a political advertising firm, which was also reportedly brought on by the campaign. Several people from the two firms who are working for the campaign also do not appear in the disclosure.
Scott’s use of Meeting Street Services LLC predates his entry into the presidential race. In the last four months of 2022, his Senate campaign paid the company more than $4.5 million, filings show, for television ads, digital fundraising and other consulting.
And his presidential campaign reported an additional $1 million spent with Meeting Street Services in the first quarter of this year, even though his campaign had not officially begun.
The Scott campaign also made more than $940,000 in payments last quarter to Advanced Planning and Logistics, a limited liability company set up in December 2022 — again, by Benjamin — and whose listed address is a Staples store in Fairfax, Virginia. The company received multiple payments for air travel and event production. Again, Scott’s campaign was the only campaign that paid the company.
In 2020, the Trump campaign reported paying hundreds of millions of dollars to two companies, one set up by a former campaign manager and the other by campaign officials.
Neither the campaign nor the companies themselves reported specifically what the money was being spent on.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint to the FEC, accusing the Trump campaign of using the companies as “conduits” to conceal other vendors. The commission’s general counsel recommended that the FEC find that the campaign had broken the law by misreporting payments, and begin an investigation into the Trump campaign’s relationships with vendors and subvendors.
But the commission deadlocked last year in a vote on the matter, which meant no action could be taken. The Campaign Legal Center sued the commission, but a federal judge — while expressing sympathy for the desire of transparency — dismissed the case late last year, saying that the commissioners had discretion.
“It is a lot easier to follow the money when you have a paper trail,” the judge opened his opinion.
The Campaign Legal Center has appealed. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/the-mystery-of-how-tim-scotts-campaign-is-spending-its-millions/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-29T03:57:50 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/the-mystery-of-how-tim-scotts-campaign-is-spending-its-millions/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
1 woman dead in Zachary shooting
Published: Jul. 28, 2023 at 9:52 PM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
ZACHARY, La. (WAFB) - A woman is dead after a shooting in Zachary according to the Zachary Police Department.
Officials stated the shooting occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday, July 28. Police chief Darryl Lawrence stated the shooting occurred at the corner of New Weis Road and Lee Street.
Details are limited at this time we will update this story once more information is provided.
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Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/29/1-woman-dead-zachary-shooting/ | 2023-07-29T03:57:50 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/29/1-woman-dead-zachary-shooting/ |
Mayor’s Youth Program prepares hundreds of kids to enter the workforce
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There’s a crucial program underway to help prepare hundreds of kids in Baton Rouge to enter the workforce.
The Mayor’s Youth Workforce Experience offers young people an opportunity to earn income while engaging in valuable educational and work experience.
Leaders say the goal is to give 500 youth the skills and support they need to be successful in the workplace and in life.
“They’ve got certifications, they got experience, they got these soft skills, they’re building these connections with their workplace mentors, with their host sites. In theory you would want these host sites to hire them once they’re of age and stay here,” said Maliah Mathis, a program manager.
Over the course of 8 weeks, each participant was paired with a mentor and a paid internship.
Students in the program expressed the importance of this opportunity.
“Some kids don’t have anything. They don’t have anything to look up to, or people to look up to,” said Alijah Banks.
“As long as they put themselves out there and give them the opportunity to explore what they like and what they don’t like, that’s probably the biggest thing they can get out of this program,” said Ava Heims.
Other resources offered in the program include mental health services, substance abuse treatment, tutoring and mentoring.
“We won’t see change until people help,” said Zion Ross, a program mentor. “Who did it for you? Everybody has a mentor. Everybody has someone they can look up to, and you can be that person for someone.”
The plan is to continue this next summer, and create more opportunities to hopefully retain young talent in Baton Rouge.
“This creates a pathway to success by providing young adults with a chance to discover interests, build skills, and explore careers through experiences that can serve as the foundation for educational and professional success,” said Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome.
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Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/29/mayors-youth-program-prepares-hundreds-kids-enter-workforce/ | 2023-07-29T03:57:56 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/29/mayors-youth-program-prepares-hundreds-kids-enter-workforce/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.
He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver aid to everyone in need, but it was aiming for between $10 billion and $14 billion, which was what the agency had received in the past few years.
“We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Skau said.
He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 (being) even more dire.”
“The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”
Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting disasters, persistent food price inflation and mounting debt stress — all during a slowdown in the global economy.
WFP is looking to diversify its funding base, but he also urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”
Asked why funding was drying up, Skau said to ask the donors.
“But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, (are) not where they were in 2021-2022,” he said.
Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said. In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and in June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.
In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”
“Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Skau said.
He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-tern solutions to conflicts, poverty, development and other root causes of the current crisis. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-29T03:57:56 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
PHOENIX, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) ("4Front" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, announced that it has entered into a consulting agreement with Leo Gontmakher, Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the "Consulting Agreement"). Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, the Company has agreed to: (i) pay Mr. Gontmakher an annual base fee of US$400,000 payable in regular installments; (ii) issue 6,000,000 subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company (each a "SVS") at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS as a signing bonus; (iii) if Mr. Gontmakher completes the initial term of the Consulting Agreement ending December 31, 2023, issue 1,800,000 SVS if certain financial metrics of the Company are achieved by year-end 2023 and such number of SVS sufficient to make him a 1.00% owner calculated on a fully diluted basis to the extent not the case at the time of issuance, such SVS to be priced in accordance with the Canadian Securities Exchange policy at the time of issuance; and (iv) if Mr. Gontmakher remains continuously retained through the date of the closing of a transaction that results in a Change in Control (as defined in the Consulting Agreement), Mr. Gontmakher shall be eligible to receive a portion of the transaction bonus pool allocated for senior executives, which shall be equal to 1.00% of the fair market value of all consideration paid to the Company's stockholders in the transaction, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
In addition, the Company has agreed to issue 3,300,250 SVS at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS to Mr. Gontmakher in connection with his fiscal year-end 2022 compensation package (collectively with the issuances contemplated by the Consulting Agreement, the "Gontmakher Issuances").
The Company also announced that it has agreed to issue a total of 9,853,830 restricted share units ("RSUs"), at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.165 based on the closing price of the SVS on July 27, 2023, to certain officers and employees of the Company in payment of fiscal year-end 2022 bonus entitlements. The RSUs are fully vested as of the grant date and represent the right to receive one (1) SVS upon the earliest to occur of a change in control, disability, death, unforeseeable emergency, separation from service other than for cause, or the date that is eighteen (18) months following the grant date, each as more particularly described in the applicable restricted share unit agreement (collectively, the "RSU Grant").
Additionally, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with its senior secured lender, LI Lending, LLC (the "Lender") to extend the maturity date, reduce the interest payable, and expand the third-party financings available under the December 17, 2020 Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement ("Loan") between 4Front and the Lender on the terms and conditions set out in the amending agreement (collectively, the "Extension"), as initially announced in a press release dated May 6, 2023. Under the Extension, the Lender has extended the maturity date of the Loan to May 1, 2026 and reduced the interest payable to 12.0% per year, payable monthly.
Currently, the Lender holds a senior secured position on all assets of 4Front and certain of its subsidiaries and the right of consent over any additional financings secured by those assets. Pursuant to the Extension, the Lender consents to equipment financing collateralized by 4Front equipment of up to US$5 million; secured convertible debt senior to the Loan collateralized by all assets of 4Front of up to US$10 million; and secured debt senior to the Loan collateralized by the assets of new Illinois retail locations of up to US$20 million, with Lender agreeing to take a junior secured position on those assets.
Under the terms of the Extension, the Lender will receive a number of warrants equal to 33% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date (US$17,061,000) each exercisable into one SVS for a term equal to the term of the Loan and with an exercise price not less than US$0.17 (each a "Warrant"). If 4Front obtains a bona fide offer from a third party to refinance the Loan within six months of the effective date of the definitive documents effectuating the Extension, the Lender will have the option to match the proposed terms of the offer or keep the Loan in force; upon exercise of either option, the Lender's Warrant coverage will be reduced to 30% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan up to US$8 million, 75% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan in excess of US$8 million (up to the US$10 million maximum), 100% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. The Extension also provides that the Company will pay the Lender an origination fee equal to 1.00% of the Loan balance at the current maturity date (US$51 million), payable in cash on May 1, 2024.
Under the terms of the Extension, while the Loan is outstanding, if 4Front unilaterally removes its CEO or President from their current positions without either cause or Lender consent the maturity date of the Loan will be accelerated to the date that is 30 days after the first unilateral removal.
Leo Gontmakher, the CEO and a director of the Company, and Roman Tkachenko, a director of the Company, each own 14.28% of the Lender.
Participation of related parties of the Company in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant constitute "related party transactions" as defined under Multilateral Instrument - 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that participation in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant by insiders will not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization and also because the SVS trade only on the Canadian Securities Exchange. A material change report was not filed in connection with the participation of the insiders at least 21 days in advance of the closing of the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant, which the Company deemed reasonable in the circumstances.
4Front is a national, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator who owns or manages operations and facilities in strategic medical and adult-use cannabis markets, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington. Since its founding in 2011, 4Front has built a strong reputation for its high standards and low-cost cultivation and production methodologies earned through a track record of success in facility design, cultivation, genetics, growing processes, manufacturing, purchasing, distribution, and retail. To date, 4Front has successfully brought to market more than 20 different cannabis brands and over 1800 products, which are strategically distributed through its fully owned and operated Mission dispensaries and retail outlets in its core markets. As the Company continues to drive value for its shareholders, its team is applying its decade of expertise in the sector across the cannabis industry value chain and ecosystem. For more information, visit https://4frontventures.com/.
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking, such as statements containing the terms and conditions of the proposed Extension, the entering into of definitive documentation and regulatory approval and other forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words and phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "could," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "expect," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "outlook," "effort," "target" or the negative of such words and other comparable terminology. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Any forward-looking statements expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond 4Front's control. Therefore, you are cautioned against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable law, including Canadian and U.S. federal securities laws, 4Front does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform them to actual results or revised expectations.
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LINDOS, Greece (AP) — As tourists start to trickle back to the Greek island of Rhodes, some people are spending their vacation on empty beaches amongst charred trees and burnt land.
The fires, spurred by a sweltering heat wave that blanketed the country, triggered a huge evacuation of residents and tourists on the island last weekend as forests burned for a week.
As wildfires scorched the land, tourist and residents worked to extinguish fires by seaside resorts. By Friday, temperatures eased somewhat, and calmer winds helped firefighters contain the blazes.
But the damage was already done.
An inland nature reserve was damaged. The deserted island has been promised state support.
Fires have been raging across Greece, including outside the capital Athens and in Rhodes, fueled by three consecutive heat waves. Five people have died in the fires, including two firefighter pilots. Temperatures pushed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Climate change is making the world hotter and is charged this year by the natural and cyclical El Nino event, which warms the Pacific. The Mediterranean – from Spain to Turkey to North Africa — has withered under record-breaking temperatures over the summer. July is the hottest month globally ever recorded, and it’s likely 2023 will be the hottest year.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/tourist-hotspot-rhodes-burns-as-successive-deadly-heat-waves-ravage-greece/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-29T03:58:03 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/tourist-hotspot-rhodes-burns-as-successive-deadly-heat-waves-ravage-greece/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
BEIJING, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Tarena International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEDU) ("Tarena" or the "Company"), a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China, today announced that it received a written notification from the Staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") dated July 28, 2023, indicating that the Company no longer meets the continued listing requirement of minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares ("MVPHS") for the Nasdaq Global Select Market, as set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(C), because the Company's MVPHS for the last 30 consecutive business days was below the minimum MVPHS requirement of US$15,000,000.
Pursuant to the Nasdaq Listing Rules, the applicable grace period to regain compliance is 180 calendar days, or until January 24, 2024. The Company can cure this deficiency if its MVPHS closes at US$15,000,000 or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the compliance period. The Company's management is looking into various options available to regain compliance and maintain its continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. In the event the Company does not regain compliance prior to the expiration of the compliance period, it will receive written notification that its securities are subject to delisting. Alternatively, the Company may apply to transfer the Company's securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market, subject to the Nasdaq Capital Market's continued listing requirements.
About Tarena International, Inc.
Tarena is a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China. Through its innovative education platform combining live distance instruction, classroom-based tutoring and online learning modules, Tarena offers professional education courses in IT and non-IT subjects. Its professional education courses provide students with practical skills to prepare them for jobs in industries with significant growth potential and strong hiring demand. Tarena also offers IT-focused supplementary STEAM education programs, including computer coding and robotics programming courses, etc., targeting students between three and eighteen years of age. Aiming to encourage "code to learn," Tarena embraces the latest trends in STEAM education and technology to develop children's logical thinking and learning abilities while allowing them to discover their interests and potential.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Tarena may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including any business outlook and statements about Tarena's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Many factors, risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak; Tarena's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to continue to attract students to enroll in its courses; its ability to continue to recruit, train and retain qualified instructors and teaching assistants; its ability to continually tailor its curriculum to market demand and enhance its courses to adequately and promptly respond to developments in the professional job market; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand recognition, its ability to maintain high job placement rate for its students, and its ability to maintain cooperative relationships with financing service providers for student loans.
Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Tarena's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Tarena does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations Contact
Tarena International, Inc.
Email: ir@tedu.cn
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SOURCE Tarena International, Inc. | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:06 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ |
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late Friday night after bringing heavy winds and rain that left more than a million people without power in southern China.
After making landfall Friday morning in southern Fujian province, where at least 400,000 people were evacuated, the storm flooded streets and toppled electric transmission towers in the province. Over a million households were left without power, according to the state-backed Xiamen Evening News.
The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm at 11 p.m. Friday night, China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV announced.
Businesses and summer school classes had been ordered suspended and the public was urged to stay indoors. In the city of Quanzhou by China’s southern coast, authorities reported some 50 individuals sustained minor injuries. Residents shared photos on social media showing downed trees with roots fully out of the ground Saturday morning.
The tropical storm is expected to move its way farther inland in China, bringing heavy rains to the capital, Beijing.
Earlier in the week, the storm grazed past Taiwan’s main island after hitting the Philippines ‘ main island of Luzon, where it produced landslides, flooding and downed trees. The storm displaced thousands and caused 41 deaths — including 27 killed in the capsizing of a passenger ship. About 20 others remained missing, including four coast guard personnel whose boat overturned while on a rescue mission in hard-hit Cagayan province, officials said Saturday, adding that they were monitoring another approaching storm. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-29T03:58:09 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
LONDON, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VAPORESSO, a leading innovator in the vaping industry, has received well-deserved recognition at this year's London Design Awards, with four of its groundbreaking products being awarded for their exceptional design. The London Design Awards is an international competition that recognises exceptional designs and outstanding creative projects worldwide, celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of the international design community.
The four distinguished products from VAPORESSO - the COSS, ECO NANO, LUXE XR, and XROS 3 NANO - have showcased the brand's formidable innovative prowess and have also been recognized with awards from many organizations. VAPORESSO's latest groundbreaking offering, the VAPORESSO COSS, is regarded as a game-changer in the vaping industry. It tackles existing issues with a thoughtful design that seamlessly caters to user habits. Its slogan, 'Convenient Operating, Smart Supplying', perfectly encapsulates the product's core values of INNOVATION, RELIABILITY, and STYLE.
"Winning these awards is a testament to the creativity, skill, and dedication of our team," said Jimmy Hu, Vice President of VAPORESSO, "We are thrilled to have our efforts recognised on such a prestigious global platform. It validates our commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality products that enhance the vaping experience for our customers."
The London Design Awards, held annually, applauds outstanding design achievements across various creative sectors. It acknowledges exemplary projects, products, and professionals who demonstrate innovation, creativity, and excellence within their respective industries. Meanwhile, the London Design Awards not only honours design excellence but also fosters creativity, encourages innovation, and facilitates collaborations between designers and design-driven businesses. The awards have grown in stature and popularity since their inception, attracting a wide range of participants from various design fields.
The recognition from the London Design Awards underscores VAPORESSO's dedication to creating products that exceed customer expectations and further solidifies its position as a thought leader in the industry. It also acts as an external validation of VAPORESSO's capabilities and quality of work, building trust and confidence among potential customers.
About VAPORESSO
Established in 2015, VAPORESSO is committed to creating a smoke-free world and enhancing the quality of life for its users. Through continuous innovation, stringent quality control, and substantial commitment, VAPORESSO produces products that cater to all levels and styles of vapers.
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SOURCE VAPORESSO | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/vaporesso-wins-big-london-design-awards-2023-with-four-innovative-vaping-products/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:13 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/vaporesso-wins-big-london-design-awards-2023-with-four-innovative-vaping-products/ |
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The troubled brother of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez was charged Friday, now in federal court, with new counts of threatening and stalking after authorities say he threatened to shoot up the University of Connecticut and kill three people in another state.
Dennis Hernandez was ordered to be held in custody after his appearance in the court in Hartford. A message seeking comment was sent Friday night to his attorney.
The new charges came days after it emerged that Hernandez was arrested July 18 on state charges after police said he threatened to kill officers and then urged them to shoot him at his home in Bristol. Officers had gone there after two people close to him raised concerns about his mental health, police said.
The arrest report said the 37-year-old had sent threatening messages, including ones about carrying out a shooting at UConn. He was a Huskies quarterback and wide receiver who went by DJ Hernandez in the mid-2000s.
Court filings in the new federal case include the same messages. Some say the writer is struggling financially, is frustrated at seeing other people get hired as coaches, feels owed by UConn, is planning on “taking down everything” and doesn’t care “who gets caught in the crossfire.”
“I’ve died for years now and now its others peoples turn,” read a July 7 message sent to a woman in Hernandez’s life. It followed a message the day before that warned: “UConn’s gonna see how accurate I am too with my targets.”
Hernandez told another person that he drove July 7 to UConn’s campus in Storrs and to Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he coached quarterbacks during the 2010-11 season, according to court papers.
He had been due in state court that day on another case stemming from allegations that he threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto ESPN’s property in Bristol.
UConn police confirmed that a vehicle linked to Hernandez was on campus that day. Brown has said that its investigation didn’t indicate Hernandez had been on campus in recent weeks.
Hernandez is due back in state court Tuesday and in federal court Aug. 11.
His younger brother, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, killed himself in 2017 while serving a murder sentence. | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nfl/aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-29T03:58:15 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nfl/aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Veteran Lance Lynn helped the Chicago White Sox to the playoffs in 2021.
He’ll look to aid the Los Angeles Dodgers after the Sox traded the right-hander Friday.
Joining him in Los Angeles will be reliever Joe Kelly, who previously won World Series titles with the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was the first to report the trade news.
The Sox received Double-A right-handed starter Nick Nastrini, Double-A right-handed reliever Jordan Leasure and veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson, whose big-league career began with the Sox in 2015.
The Sox also sent right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros. The team announced both trades Friday afternoon.
With the trade of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, that’s five pitchers the Sox have dealt ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Lynn has one of the highest ERAs in baseball among qualified pitchers this season at 6.47. But he’s also among the major-league leaders in strikeouts (144) and innings (119 2/3).
Sox manager Pedro Grifol spoke about Lynn’s importance before Wednesday’s game.
“His steadiness. How he understands the role that he’s got in being the veteran guy in a rotation,” Grifol said. “He understands the leadership part of it that he’s had to take on with younger starters. It means a lot to any ballclub.
“Him taking the ball every five days and never complaining about anything and giving you 100 pitches plus? It means the world to any team and to any manager knowing that this guy’s going to go out there — whether he gives up three in the first or none in the first or five in the first — he’s going to be pitching in the seventh inning. There’s a lot of value to Lance Lynn.”
The Sox acquired Lynn in a trade in December 2020. He played a major role in the Sox winning their first division title since 2008, going 11-6 in 2021 with a 2.69 ERA. He fell five innings short of leading the American League in ERA.
Lynn made the AL All-Star team and placed third in the AL Cy Young Award voting.
He was limited to 21 starts in 2022, missing the first two-plus months of the season because of a right knee injury suffered in spring training.
Lynn started slowly last season, going 1-3 with a 7.50 ERA in his seven starts before the All-Star break. Bu he turned it on in the second half, going 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA in his 14 starts after the break. This season he has been hurt by home runs (28).
Kelly, who went on the IL on July 5 with right elbow inflammation, has a 4.97 ERA, one save, 11 holds and 41 strikeouts in 31 appearances this season.
His best stretch started at the end of April when he compiled a 10-game scoreless streak from April 30-May 23.
Kelly signed a two-year deal with the Sox before the 2022 season and went 2-7 with a 5.54 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 72 appearances. His stint with the team was delayed when he began 2022 on the IL with a right biceps nerve injury. He made 43 appearances last season.
He had two trips to the IL this season — a right groin strain April 9-24 and the elbow inflammation. He was reinstated from the IL on July 22.
Lynn and Kelly will provide the Dodgers with plenty of big-game postseason experience: Lynn has pitched in 27 postseason games and Kelly 40.
Graveman recorded 27 holds in 2022, tied for the third-highest in a season for a White Sox pitcher.
The right-hander has spent the bulk of this season as the top ninth-inning option. He is 3-4 with a 3.56 ERA, eight saves and 41 strikeouts in 44 games.
He joined the Sox ahead of the 2022 season, signing a three-year deal. He went 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 39 appearances. The 27 holds were tied for first in the American League.
Graveman took on more ninth-inning responsibilities this season when the Sox were without Liam Hendriks. Graveman has 24 career saves: 10 with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 and 14 during his time with the Sox.
() | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/28/chicago-white-sox-at-the-trade-deadline-lance-lynn-joe-kelly-go-to-la-dodgers-and-kendall-graveman-sent-to-houston-astros/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:25 | 0 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/28/chicago-white-sox-at-the-trade-deadline-lance-lynn-joe-kelly-go-to-la-dodgers-and-kendall-graveman-sent-to-houston-astros/ |
(NEXSTAR) — Is it your lucky day? Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is a massive $940 million, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history. Winning numbers for the July 28 jackpot are: 52, 28, 5, 63, and 10. The Mega ball number is 18. Friday’s Megaplier is 5X.
The estimated $940 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The $940 million pot on the line Friday night will be that high only if a single player wins and they choose to be paid through an annuity of one immediate payment or 30 annual allotments. But jackpot winners nearly always take the cash in a lump sum, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Tickets are $2 and there are a total of nine ways to win a prize. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Fridays.
USA Mega, which tracks Mega Millions statistics, says the most common Mega Millions numbers are 17, 10, 14, 31 and 4 for the first five numbers. The most common Mega ball number is 22.
The biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history is $1.537 billion back in 2018 and was claimed by one lucky winner in South Carolina.
If no one claims Friday’s jackpot, the next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 1. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:25 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
North Dakota State Fair Events: Saturday, July 29 Video Unforgettable Highlights from the 2023 North Dakota … Video 4-H & FFA members showcase talents and future leaders … Video Business Beat: New rideshare app gives more money … Video
Unforgettable Highlights from the 2023 North Dakota … Video 4-H & FFA members showcase talents and future leaders … Video Business Beat: New rideshare app gives more money … Video
4-H & FFA members showcase talents and future leaders … Video Business Beat: New rideshare app gives more money … Video
Baseball: Chiefs cruise on day 3 of Class AA state … Video Baseball: Class B state tournament action begins … Video Baseball: Bismarck, Minot advance at Class AA state … Video Baseball: Hazen Astros in a familiar place preparing … Video
Baseball: Class B state tournament action begins … Video Baseball: Bismarck, Minot advance at Class AA state … Video Baseball: Hazen Astros in a familiar place preparing … Video
Baseball: Bismarck, Minot advance at Class AA state … Video Baseball: Hazen Astros in a familiar place preparing … Video
by: Carolyn Gurske Posted: Jul 28, 2023 / 09:37 PM CDT Updated: Jul 28, 2023 / 09:37 PM CDT Rain is on the way. Learn when we’re likely to see rain this weekend in your full forecast.
Amazon has ‘Barbie’ fever too — and the fashion deals … Amazon is joining the “Barbie” movie hype with lots of new deals on pink clothing! Find the best pink clothing you can wear when you go to see the movie.
How to pre-order the Spider-Man 2 PS5 and accessories Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is one of the biggest games scheduled to release this year, and so are PS5 accessories. Find all the best Spider-Man PS5 accessories here.
Digital detox tips for kids Want to limit screen time? Try a digital detox for kids. Going electronics-free means it’s essential to have other activities lined up to engage kids. | https://www.kxnet.com/weather/carolyns-full-forecast-at-9pm-7-28/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:31 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/weather/carolyns-full-forecast-at-9pm-7-28/ |
PHOENIX, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - 4Front Ventures Corp. (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) ("4Front" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, announced that it has entered into a consulting agreement with Leo Gontmakher, Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the "Consulting Agreement"). Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, the Company has agreed to: (i) pay Mr. Gontmakher an annual base fee of US$400,000 payable in regular installments; (ii) issue 6,000,000 subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company (each a "SVS") at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS as a signing bonus; (iii) if Mr. Gontmakher completes the initial term of the Consulting Agreement ending December 31, 2023, issue 1,800,000 SVS if certain financial metrics of the Company are achieved by year-end 2023 and such number of SVS sufficient to make him a 1.00% owner calculated on a fully diluted basis to the extent not the case at the time of issuance, such SVS to be priced in accordance with the Canadian Securities Exchange policy at the time of issuance; and (iv) if Mr. Gontmakher remains continuously retained through the date of the closing of a transaction that results in a Change in Control (as defined in the Consulting Agreement), Mr. Gontmakher shall be eligible to receive a portion of the transaction bonus pool allocated for senior executives, which shall be equal to 1.00% of the fair market value of all consideration paid to the Company's stockholders in the transaction, subject to applicable terms and conditions.
In addition, the Company has agreed to issue 3,300,250 SVS at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.17 per SVS to Mr. Gontmakher in connection with his fiscal year-end 2022 compensation package (collectively with the issuances contemplated by the Consulting Agreement, the "Gontmakher Issuances").
The Company also announced that it has agreed to issue a total of 9,853,830 restricted share units ("RSUs"), at a deemed issue price of CAD$0.165 based on the closing price of the SVS on July 27, 2023, to certain officers and employees of the Company in payment of fiscal year-end 2022 bonus entitlements. The RSUs are fully vested as of the grant date and represent the right to receive one (1) SVS upon the earliest to occur of a change in control, disability, death, unforeseeable emergency, separation from service other than for cause, or the date that is eighteen (18) months following the grant date, each as more particularly described in the applicable restricted share unit agreement (collectively, the "RSU Grant").
Additionally, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with its senior secured lender, LI Lending, LLC (the "Lender") to extend the maturity date, reduce the interest payable, and expand the third-party financings available under the December 17, 2020 Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement ("Loan") between 4Front and the Lender on the terms and conditions set out in the amending agreement (collectively, the "Extension"), as initially announced in a press release dated May 6, 2023. Under the Extension, the Lender has extended the maturity date of the Loan to May 1, 2026 and reduced the interest payable to 12.0% per year, payable monthly.
Currently, the Lender holds a senior secured position on all assets of 4Front and certain of its subsidiaries and the right of consent over any additional financings secured by those assets. Pursuant to the Extension, the Lender consents to equipment financing collateralized by 4Front equipment of up to US$5 million; secured convertible debt senior to the Loan collateralized by all assets of 4Front of up to US$10 million; and secured debt senior to the Loan collateralized by the assets of new Illinois retail locations of up to US$20 million, with Lender agreeing to take a junior secured position on those assets.
Under the terms of the Extension, the Lender will receive a number of warrants equal to 33% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date (US$17,061,000) each exercisable into one SVS for a term equal to the term of the Loan and with an exercise price not less than US$0.17 (each a "Warrant"). If 4Front obtains a bona fide offer from a third party to refinance the Loan within six months of the effective date of the definitive documents effectuating the Extension, the Lender will have the option to match the proposed terms of the offer or keep the Loan in force; upon exercise of either option, the Lender's Warrant coverage will be reduced to 30% of the Loan balance as of the current maturity date. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan up to US$8 million, 75% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. If 4Front obtains permitted secured debt senior to the Loan in excess of US$8 million (up to the US$10 million maximum), 100% of the Warrants will become exercisable by cashless exercise. The Extension also provides that the Company will pay the Lender an origination fee equal to 1.00% of the Loan balance at the current maturity date (US$51 million), payable in cash on May 1, 2024.
Under the terms of the Extension, while the Loan is outstanding, if 4Front unilaterally removes its CEO or President from their current positions without either cause or Lender consent the maturity date of the Loan will be accelerated to the date that is 30 days after the first unilateral removal.
Leo Gontmakher, the CEO and a director of the Company, and Roman Tkachenko, a director of the Company, each own 14.28% of the Lender.
Participation of related parties of the Company in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant constitute "related party transactions" as defined under Multilateral Instrument - 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that participation in the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant by insiders will not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization and also because the SVS trade only on the Canadian Securities Exchange. A material change report was not filed in connection with the participation of the insiders at least 21 days in advance of the closing of the Gontmakher Issuances and RSU Grant, which the Company deemed reasonable in the circumstances.
4Front is a national, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator who owns or manages operations and facilities in strategic medical and adult-use cannabis markets, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington. Since its founding in 2011, 4Front has built a strong reputation for its high standards and low-cost cultivation and production methodologies earned through a track record of success in facility design, cultivation, genetics, growing processes, manufacturing, purchasing, distribution, and retail. To date, 4Front has successfully brought to market more than 20 different cannabis brands and over 1800 products, which are strategically distributed through its fully owned and operated Mission dispensaries and retail outlets in its core markets. As the Company continues to drive value for its shareholders, its team is applying its decade of expertise in the sector across the cannabis industry value chain and ecosystem. For more information, visit https://4frontventures.com/.
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking, such as statements containing the terms and conditions of the proposed Extension, the entering into of definitive documentation and regulatory approval and other forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words and phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "could," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "expect," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "outlook," "effort," "target" or the negative of such words and other comparable terminology. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Any forward-looking statements expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond 4Front's control. Therefore, you are cautioned against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable law, including Canadian and U.S. federal securities laws, 4Front does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform them to actual results or revised expectations.
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SOURCE 4Front Ventures Corp. | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:45 | 1 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ |
BEIJING, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Tarena International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEDU) ("Tarena" or the "Company"), a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China, today announced that it received a written notification from the Staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") dated July 28, 2023, indicating that the Company no longer meets the continued listing requirement of minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares ("MVPHS") for the Nasdaq Global Select Market, as set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(C), because the Company's MVPHS for the last 30 consecutive business days was below the minimum MVPHS requirement of US$15,000,000.
Pursuant to the Nasdaq Listing Rules, the applicable grace period to regain compliance is 180 calendar days, or until January 24, 2024. The Company can cure this deficiency if its MVPHS closes at US$15,000,000 or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the compliance period. The Company's management is looking into various options available to regain compliance and maintain its continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. In the event the Company does not regain compliance prior to the expiration of the compliance period, it will receive written notification that its securities are subject to delisting. Alternatively, the Company may apply to transfer the Company's securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market, subject to the Nasdaq Capital Market's continued listing requirements.
About Tarena International, Inc.
Tarena is a leading provider of IT professional education and IT-focused supplementary STEAM education services in China. Through its innovative education platform combining live distance instruction, classroom-based tutoring and online learning modules, Tarena offers professional education courses in IT and non-IT subjects. Its professional education courses provide students with practical skills to prepare them for jobs in industries with significant growth potential and strong hiring demand. Tarena also offers IT-focused supplementary STEAM education programs, including computer coding and robotics programming courses, etc., targeting students between three and eighteen years of age. Aiming to encourage "code to learn," Tarena embraces the latest trends in STEAM education and technology to develop children's logical thinking and learning abilities while allowing them to discover their interests and potential.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Tarena may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including any business outlook and statements about Tarena's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Many factors, risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak; Tarena's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to continue to attract students to enroll in its courses; its ability to continue to recruit, train and retain qualified instructors and teaching assistants; its ability to continually tailor its curriculum to market demand and enhance its courses to adequately and promptly respond to developments in the professional job market; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand recognition, its ability to maintain high job placement rate for its students, and its ability to maintain cooperative relationships with financing service providers for student loans.
Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Tarena's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Tarena does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations Contact
Tarena International, Inc.
Email: ir@tedu.cn
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SOURCE Tarena International, Inc. | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:52 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/tarena-announces-receipt-nasdaq-notification-regarding-minimum-market-value-publicly-held-shares/ |
LONDON, July 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VAPORESSO, a leading innovator in the vaping industry, has received well-deserved recognition at this year's London Design Awards, with four of its groundbreaking products being awarded for their exceptional design. The London Design Awards is an international competition that recognises exceptional designs and outstanding creative projects worldwide, celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of the international design community.
The four distinguished products from VAPORESSO - the COSS, ECO NANO, LUXE XR, and XROS 3 NANO - have showcased the brand's formidable innovative prowess and have also been recognized with awards from many organizations. VAPORESSO's latest groundbreaking offering, the VAPORESSO COSS, is regarded as a game-changer in the vaping industry. It tackles existing issues with a thoughtful design that seamlessly caters to user habits. Its slogan, 'Convenient Operating, Smart Supplying', perfectly encapsulates the product's core values of INNOVATION, RELIABILITY, and STYLE.
"Winning these awards is a testament to the creativity, skill, and dedication of our team," said Jimmy Hu, Vice President of VAPORESSO, "We are thrilled to have our efforts recognised on such a prestigious global platform. It validates our commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality products that enhance the vaping experience for our customers."
The London Design Awards, held annually, applauds outstanding design achievements across various creative sectors. It acknowledges exemplary projects, products, and professionals who demonstrate innovation, creativity, and excellence within their respective industries. Meanwhile, the London Design Awards not only honours design excellence but also fosters creativity, encourages innovation, and facilitates collaborations between designers and design-driven businesses. The awards have grown in stature and popularity since their inception, attracting a wide range of participants from various design fields.
The recognition from the London Design Awards underscores VAPORESSO's dedication to creating products that exceed customer expectations and further solidifies its position as a thought leader in the industry. It also acts as an external validation of VAPORESSO's capabilities and quality of work, building trust and confidence among potential customers.
About VAPORESSO
Established in 2015, VAPORESSO is committed to creating a smoke-free world and enhancing the quality of life for its users. Through continuous innovation, stringent quality control, and substantial commitment, VAPORESSO produces products that cater to all levels and styles of vapers.
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SOURCE VAPORESSO | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/vaporesso-wins-big-london-design-awards-2023-with-four-innovative-vaping-products/ | 2023-07-29T03:58:58 | 0 | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/vaporesso-wins-big-london-design-awards-2023-with-four-innovative-vaping-products/ |
Katy Depot hosts Barbie dream night
DENISON, Texas (KXII) - Just like a scene from the movie: Barbie meets the real world. This time in downtown Denison.
On Friday night, Denison’s Katy Depot got into the Barbie spirit with it’s very own Barbie dream night.
Ray’s Mercantile was filled to the brim with Barbie and Ken-ergy.
“We have everything Barbie you would ever want,” owner Lucas Ridley said. “Anything pink.”
Ridley also added that Barbie merchandise will still be available after Friday’s event.
“We’ll have it until inventory runs out,” Ridley said. “It is very limited inventory, but we’ll have it for probably a few weeks.”
The Barbie movie had a record breaking opening weekend last Friday bringing in $52,000,000 in the U.S. and Canada.
“I cried,” Barbie fan and Calera resident Lacey Phelps said. “There were some really touching parts and then there were some parts that were just hilarious.”
“it was motivational, inspirational, but also really funny and really cute,” Barbie fan and Denison resident Zoe Reed said.
Stafford House Provisions also got in on the action with their own brand new Barbie-inspired pink drink.
“People are loving it so much, we decided to make it a permanent part of our menu,” Stafford House owner Dana Stafford said. “I think it’ll be like Barbie, it’s going to stick around forever.”
The event symbolized the resurgence for Barbie and the Katy Depot, and it’s looking like the hype for both won’t be slowing down any time soon.
“I’ve grown up in Denison and to see downtown Denison thrive is really awesome,” Reed said.
“We’re super excited to see the growth with lofts going on upstairs and residents coming in and then the growth of the retail,” Stafford said. “I think it’s just going to be a hopping place in the near future.”
Copyright 2023 KXII. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2023/07/29/katy-depot-hosts-barbie-dream-night/ | 2023-07-29T03:59:24 | 1 | https://www.kxii.com/2023/07/29/katy-depot-hosts-barbie-dream-night/ |
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey is seeking help from the federal government as Warren County continues to recover from its devastating flash flooding two weeks ago.
Gov. Phil Murphy is asking the Biden Administration to approve a Major Disaster Declaration for the state.
Murphy says the declaration is needed to get federal aid "critical" to the recovery.
On the weekend of July 14 to July 16, flooding in Warren County tore up roads and bridges and left many homes and businesses damaged. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/nj-governor-seeks-federal-aid-for-flood-damaged-warren-county/article_ded16326-2da8-11ee-abb5-abe7496f2394.html | 2023-07-29T04:00:20 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/nj-governor-seeks-federal-aid-for-flood-damaged-warren-county/article_ded16326-2da8-11ee-abb5-abe7496f2394.html |
Rapper Travis Scott has released “Utopia,” his first album in five years and his first major release since 10 people died at his 2021 Astroworld music festival.
The star-studded 19-track “Utopia” features Beyoncé, SZA, Drake, Sampha, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Future, Bon Iver, James Blake, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, and many more.
The LP, Scott's fourth full-length, was originally announced back in 2020 and follows 2018’s “Astroworld.” In November 2019, 10 people died as a result of compression asphyxia during a massive crowd surge during Scott's Astroworld festival. A grand jury declined to file charges against Scott earlier this year.
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Also Friday, Houston police released files that showed that some workers were concerned about the crowd conditions at the show. The 1,300-page report also included a summary of an interview with Scott in which he said he did not hear calls from the crowd to stop the show.
The first track from the album, the popetón -adjacent “K-pop”, was released on July 21 and features the Weeknd and Bad Bunny. The release spans genres — an eclectic mix of autotune ambient ballads (“My Eyes”), ferocious bars ("Looove"), futuristic trap ("Lost Forever," Telekinesis"), and beyond.
In addition to the album, Scott hosted a one-night-only release of his feature film, “Circus Maximus” at select theaters on Thursday night.
Entertainment News
“Utopia” was originally scheduled to be celebrated with a livestreamed concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but was canceled due to “complex production issues,” Live Nation said in a statement. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/travis-scott-returns-to-spotlight-with-utopia-album-drop-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/4546462/ | 2023-07-29T04:00:36 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/travis-scott-returns-to-spotlight-with-utopia-album-drop-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/4546462/ |
MCCLELLAN PARK, Calif. — A fire at a hanger near the Sacramento McClellan Airport was put out Friday night, according to the Sacramento Metro Fire Department.
At first only one engine responded to a fire alarm on Bailey Loop, but the fire was upgraded to a second alarm for additional resources due to "low visibility and heat" coming from a hanger and office space.
The fire was found in the attic and knocked down without any injuries. No one was in the building during the fire.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fire-hanger-sacramento-county/103-34f69c3d-4d53-420d-a78e-f2221e5a39ec | 2023-07-29T04:00:36 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fire-hanger-sacramento-county/103-34f69c3d-4d53-420d-a78e-f2221e5a39ec |
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — A letter calling to end what is being called a public safety crisis was sent to elected leaders in Oakland and Alameda County this week. The two community leaders who wrote the letter said they want a public safety state of emergency declared.
Deadly shootings, home invasions, carjackings, illegal sideshows, businesses robbed at gunpoint, and a gun used to rob an 80-year-old ice cream vendor are just some of the crimes that have happened throughout the City of Oakland recently.
Bishop Bob Jackson of the Acts Full Gospel Church spoke about what the church is hearing from families in East Oakland and elsewhere in the city.
“Help! When the police tell you to shore up your backdoor to make sure the ones who are committing home invasions will have a harder time kicking your front door down, you better know the city’s in trouble,” Bishop Jackson said.
That call for help is the focus of an urgent letter from Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams and Bishop Jackson to Oakland and Alameda County elected leaders. The letter calls for leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency to end what this letter says is Oakland’s public safety crisis.
“We need a citywide meeting with the leaders and the powers that be to come together and talk about how we go about devising a plan, of how we abate these problems, of how we’ve been suffering with for way too long in the City of Oakland, ” Bishop Jackson said.
A call is being made for elected leaders to:
- Acknowledge and declare a public safety emergency
- Seek assistance from California, Alameda County and state law enforcement
- Provide job training and mentorship so the youth will have alternatives to crime
The letter cites failed leadership, the movement to defund the police and the district attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who commit life threatening crimes. Oakland NAACP President Adams says no one is being singled out.
The call to end Oakland’s public safety crisis is going out to all elected and appointed public officials responsible for public safety.
“Everyone should come together. We’re not singling out just one person,” Adams said. “Everyone needs to come together on this issue — even — including me. This is a crisis.”
Adams and Jackson both say, so far, they have not received a response from the mayor, chief of police or the Alameda County district attorney. KRON4 reached out to those city and county leaders as well but as of now, we have not heard back. | https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-community-leaders-demand-action-from-city-county-on-public-safety/ | 2023-07-29T04:00:38 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-community-leaders-demand-action-from-city-county-on-public-safety/ |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/10th-avenue-reopens-after-fiery-crane-collapse/4546333/ | 2023-07-29T04:00:42 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/10th-avenue-reopens-after-fiery-crane-collapse/4546333/ |
CHICAGO — Officers searching the apartment of a Chicago man accused of fatally stabbing a man on a restaurant's roof discovered the body of a young woman in his refrigerator earlier this month, authorities said.
Brandon Sanders, 33, has not been charged in the death of Iman Al-Sarraj, 18, whose beaten body was found in early July in a refrigerator at his apartment in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood.
But he was arrested June 29 and charged with murder, robbery and burglary in the May killing of Rasim Katanic, a 69-year-old who was a Bosnian War refugee, WLS-TV reported.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage shows Sanders climbing a stairwell on May 12 to a rooftop where Katanic was working on a cooler compressor atop Tahoora Sweets & Bakery. Katanic was later found stabbed to death on that roof.
At his bail hearing, Sanders’ attorney said, “There are some issues with a mental state.” Sanders remains held without bail.
Katanic’s daughter, Aida Sutardio, told the Chicago Sun-Times her father had retired at 66 but continued doing maintenance work for longtime clients of his heating, ventilation and air conditioning business, including the restaurant where he was found on the roof.
She said she is having a difficult time grasping “that he was slaughtered on top of a roof.”
“We never thought that this is how his life would end,” Sutardio said.
The Associated Press left telephone messages Friday with the Cook County State's Attorney’s Office seeking comment on the status of the investigation into Al-Sarraj's death.
Al-Sarraj's father, Khalil Sarraj, said his daughter was born in Chicago after he came to the United States from Israel. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces,” he said. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 | 2023-07-29T04:00:43 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 |
A swimmer was hospitalized Friday night in critical condition after he was pulled from the water at a Queens beach.
Emergency responders descended upon Jacob Riis Park following reports that a 19-year-old swimmer had gone missing and was feared to have drowned. Police got that call around 7:45 p.m.
Almost two hours later, screams came from the beach when a group of teens found the swimmer's body had washed up to the shore.
Police officers rushed to perform chest compressions before lifting the 19-year-old onto a dune buggy and getting him to an ambulance.
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The swimmer appeared unconscious and unresponsive.
Dominick Nixon had been out swimming Friday and was walking by the water when he said he felt a toe.
"We got close, I put my flashlight on, it was him. We just started screaming," he told News 4.
News
The call to police came well after 6 p.m., which is when NYC lifeguards no longer patrol the city beaches.
Friday night's drowning scare comes one day after a 15-year-old boy from the Bronx went missing off Coney Island. Good Samaritans were able to pull out and save his brother, but the missing teen has not been recovered.
Weekend beachgoers are advised to be on alert for a high risk of strong rip currents Saturday for Coney Island and other beaches in the area, including Long Island's south shore. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/19-year-old-swimmer-critical-after-pulled-from-water-at-jacob-riis-park/4546478/ | 2023-07-29T04:00:49 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/19-year-old-swimmer-critical-after-pulled-from-water-at-jacob-riis-park/4546478/ |
WASHINGTON — It's highly likely we'll see another billion-dollar jackpot in the coming days, with $940 million on the line in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing.
The game's giant prizes come with miniscule chances of actually winning — winners overcome odds of roughly 1 in 302.6 million. That's not deterring players, though, and those small odds are what makes huge jackpots as the prize rolls over each time.
The prize is now the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history. July has been a hot month for lottery prizes after a ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles won the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot.
Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Since mid-April, there have been 28 drawings without a grand prize winner.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is $422 million.
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 28, 2023:
The winning numbers were: 5-10-28-52-63, Mega Ball: 18 and Megaplier: 5.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $940 million, Mega Millions (estimated), July 28, 2023
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T04:00:49 | 0 | https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/19-year-old-swimmer-pulled-from-waters-off-the-rockaways/4546477/ | 2023-07-29T04:00:55 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/19-year-old-swimmer-pulled-from-waters-off-the-rockaways/4546477/ |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/a-i-assisted-brain-implant-helps-quadriplegic-man/4546344/ | 2023-07-29T04:01:01 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/a-i-assisted-brain-implant-helps-quadriplegic-man/4546344/ |
A Long Island man is giving hope to 100 million people thanks to a groundbreaking surgery.
Artificial intelligence has helped a quadriplegic man regain feeling and movement in his arm and hand years after an accident left him paralyzed.
"Now I can reach to my check, reach to my chin," Keith Thomas said.
Three years ago, the Massapequa man broke his neck in a pool accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
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"It was always one step forward, two steps back. We were just praying for his survival," Michelle Bennett, his sister, says of the ordeal.
Thomas' sister has helped care for the 45-year-old since the incident. So it was fitting that Bennett's touch was among the first things her brother felt, thanks to what doctors call a breakthrough procedure.
"Now I'm just waiting to regain more strength so I can wipe the tears away from my eyes," Thomas said.
News
Thomas broke down Friday while thanking the Northwell Health team that is helping to restore his movement and feeling.
"Keith is a true pioneer here doing something that hasn't been done before," Chad Bouton, of the Institute of Bioelectric Medicine, said.
Bouton led the clinical study designed to help people like Thomas overcome his paralysis. In a 15-hour surgery last March, doctors implanted five microchips in Thomas' brain. The computer technology, with the help of A.I., reconnected Thomas' brain with his spinal cord and the rest of his body.
"We actually had to have Keith awake during a small portion of the surgery. He felt his thumb, he felt his finger," Dr. Ashesh Mehta, Thomas' surgeon, said.
His doctors say an electronic bridge was able to bypass Thomas' injury.
"I didn't think that was possible at first, all this movement. Going forward I'm thinking maybe it is," he said.
Thomas' ability to move has improved dramatically since the surgery, giving his loved ones hope for an even better future.
"He's not doing it just for himself, he's doing it for all the others," Bouton said.
And that hope now also extends to the 100 million people worldwide suffering from paralysis. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/groundbreaking-a-i-brain-surgery-helps-ny-quadriplegic-man-regain-movement/4546084/ | 2023-07-29T04:01:07 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/groundbreaking-a-i-brain-surgery-helps-ny-quadriplegic-man-regain-movement/4546084/ |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-balloon-festival-takes-flight-this-weekend/4546287/ | 2023-07-29T04:01:13 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-balloon-festival-takes-flight-this-weekend/4546287/ |
FORT WORTH, Texas — Authorities on Friday identified a 77-year-old Fort Worth woman killed when someone shot through her apartment's walls and window.
Ora Faye Griffin lived alone at The Aspen apartment complex on the city's eastern side. Fort Worth police have not yet said whether she was targeted in the shooting.
Someone called 911 to report gunshots at 4:40 a.m. June 28, officials said. Police did not arrive at the scene until more than an hour later.
Bullets flew through the woman's apartment, into her neighbor's pantry. That resident and another say they went next door to check on the woman.
When Griffin did not answer their knocks, the neighbors say they broke into the apartment and discovered the 77-year-old on the floor. The two say they tried to rescue Griffin, but it's not clear whether she had already died.
"She was really sweet," said Sebani Rusamira, who lives in the apartment complex. She recalled seeing the woman with her dog.
"That was just an old lady living her life," Rusamira continued. "Anybody who'd harm someone of that age - it's senseless, honestly."
Fort Worth police say they did not initially assign the report highest priority because the first 911 callers did not tell dispatchers someone might've been injured in the shooting. Sgt. Jason Spencer said all officers on-shift were already working other crimes, so no one checked on the scene until another 911 caller reported a victim at 5:49 a.m.
Police arrived eight minutes after that call, which escalated the report from priority two to priority one, Spencer said.
"I'm saddened and disappointed that it took them that long because that woman definitely deserved fast-acting first responders," Rusamira said.
Some neighbors say they shared security video with police. One resident told WFAA his camera caught a person getting out of a car to shoot at Griffin's apartment.
Police have not yet identified a suspect. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/77-year-old-killed-shot-through-walls-police-fort-worth/287-aef6ddaa-351e-4057-ba85-2f5c11d038e3 | 2023-07-29T04:01:19 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/77-year-old-killed-shot-through-walls-police-fort-worth/287-aef6ddaa-351e-4057-ba85-2f5c11d038e3 |
Just moments before rap superstar Travis Scott took the stage at the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival, a contract worker had been so worried about what might happen after seeing people getting crushed that he texted an event organizer saying, “Someone’s going to end up dead,” according to a police report released Friday.
The texts by security contract worker Reece Wheeler were some of many examples in the nearly 1,300-page report in which festival workers highlighted problems and warned of possible deadly consequences. The report includes transcripts of concertgoers' 911 calls and summaries of police interviews, including one with Scott conducted just days after the event.
The crowd surge at the Nov. 5, 2021, outdoor festival in Houston killed 10 attendees who ranged in age from 9 to 27. The official cause of death was compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car. About 50,000 people attended the festival.
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“Pull tons over the rail unconscious. There’s panic in people eyes. This could get worse quickly,” Reece Wheeler texted Shawna Boardman, one of the private security directors, at 9 p.m. Wheeler then texted, “I know they’ll try to fight through it but I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Scott’s concert began at 9:02 p.m. In their review of video from the concert's livestream, police investigators said that at 9:13 p.m., they heard the faint sound of someone saying, “Stop the show.” The same request could also be heard at 9:16 p.m. and 9:22 p.m.
In an Aug. 19, 2022, police interview, Boardman’s attorneys told investigators that Boardman “saw things were not as bad as Reece Wheeler stated” and decided not to pass along Wheeler’s concerns to anyone else.
A grand jury declined to indict anyone who was investigated over the event, including Scott, Boardman and four other people.
During a police interview conducted two days after the concert, Scott told investigators that although he did see one person near the stage getting medical attention, overall the crowd seemed to be enjoying the show and he did not see any signs of serious problems.
“We asked if he at any point heard the crowd telling him to stop the show. He stated that if he had heard something like that he would have done something,” police said in their summary of Scott's interview.
Hip-hop artist Drake, who performed with Scott at the concert, told police that it was difficult to see from the stage what was going on in the crowd and that he didn’t hear concertgoers’ pleas to stop the show.
Drake found out about the tragedy later that night from his manager, while learning more on social media, police said in their summary.
Marty Wallgren, who worked for a security consulting firm hired by the festival, told police that when he went backstage and tried to tell representatives for Scott and Drake that the concert needed to end because people had been hurt and might have died, he was told “Drake still has three more songs,” according to an interview summary.
Daniel Johary, a college student who got trapped in the crush of concertgoers and later used his skills working as an EMT in Israel to help an injured woman, told investigators hundreds of people had chanted for Scott to stop the music and that the chants could be heard “from everywhere.”
“He stated staff members in the area gave thumbs-up and did not care,” according to the police report.
Richard Rickeada, a retired Houston police officer who was working for a private security company at the festival, told investigators that from 8 a.m. the day of the concert, things were “pretty much in chaos,” according to a police summary of his interview. His concerns and questions about whether the concert should be held were “met with a lot of shrugged shoulders,” he said.
About 23 minutes into the concert, cameraman Gregory Hoffman radioed into the show’s production trailer to warn that “people were dying.” Hoffman was operating a large crane that held a television camera before it was overrun with concertgoers who needed medical help, police said.
The production team radioed Hoffman to ask when they could get the crane back in operation.
Salvatore Livia, who was hired to direct the live show, told police that following Hoffman’s dire warning, people in the production trailer understood that something was not right, but “they were disconnected to the reality of (what) was happening out there,” according to a police summary of Livia’s interview.
Concertgoer Christopher Gates, then 22, told police that by the second or third song in Scott's performance, he came across about five people on the ground who he believed were already dead.
Their bodies were “lifeless, pale, and their lips were blue/purple,” according to the police report. Random people in the crowd – not medics – provided CPR.
The police report was released about a month after the grand jury in Houston declined to indict Scott on any criminal charges in connection with the deadly concert. Police Chief Troy Finner had said the report was being made public so that people could “read the entire investigation” and come to their own conclusions about the case. During a news conference after the grand jury’s decision, Finner declined to say what the overall conclusion of his agency’s investigation was or whether police should have stopped the concert sooner.
The report’s release also came the same day that Scott released his new album, “Utopia.”
More than 500 lawsuits were filed over the deaths and injuries at the concert, including many against concert promoter Live Nation and Scott. Some have since been settled. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/people-were-dying-houston-police-release-final-report-into-astroworld-hours-after-travis-scott-drops-new-album/4546521/ | 2023-07-29T04:01:19 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/people-were-dying-houston-police-release-final-report-into-astroworld-hours-after-travis-scott-drops-new-album/4546521/ |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/tri-state-gets-through-second-day-of-dangerous-heat/4546345/ | 2023-07-29T04:01:25 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/tri-state-gets-through-second-day-of-dangerous-heat/4546345/ |
HOUSTON — Over the past three days, Callie, her dog Giselle -- who is a fantastic puppy sniffer -- and a group of volunteers have been scouring Houston's storm drains looking for dogs she says are trapped.
Why is she doing this?
"Because I can’t sleep knowing there are puppies in there going to die,” Callie said.
Since the search effort started, the group has managed to save two of the lost litter. She said there are two others underground that she can still hear.
“I know they’re still in there, I just think they’re further down," she said.
Volunteers spent Friday night searching after dark for the remaining litter, wading through nasty water and fighting through nests of cockroaches.
They are hoping it won't be too much longer before the dogs, they are crying, are found. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/houston-puppies-stuck-in-storm-drain/285-f8b32d33-edf3-4616-b137-ae7fd612ecb2 | 2023-07-29T04:01:25 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/houston-puppies-stuck-in-storm-drain/285-f8b32d33-edf3-4616-b137-ae7fd612ecb2 |
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a four-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018.
“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," Biden said in a statement. It was his first acknowledgement of the child.
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” he said. "Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”
Hunter Biden's paternity was established by DNA testing after Roberts sued for child support, and the two parties recently resolved outstanding child support issues. The president's son wrote about his encounter with Roberts in his 2021 memoir, saying it came while he was deep in addiction to alcohol and drugs, including crack cocaine.
“I had no recollection of our encounter,” he wrote. “That’s how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I’ve taken responsibility for.”
An attorney for Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for failing to acknowledge the granddaughter. According to a person familiar with the matter, he was taking the cue from his son while the legal proceedings played out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Hunter Biden has four other children, including a son, Beau, born by his wife Melissa Cohen in 2020. He was named after the president's late son who died of cancer in 2015, leaving behind two children.
Biden's grandchildren have played a distinctive role in his presidency, often accompanying the president or first lady on trips and making regular visits to the White House. The president has also credited his grandchildren with persuading him to challenge then-President Donald Trump for the White House in 2020.
Biden's statement was first reported by People Magazine. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-acknowledges-seventh-grandchild-hunters-daughter/507-ad6442fa-448f-4603-bb7e-17493e4449f0 | 2023-07-29T04:01:31 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-acknowledges-seventh-grandchild-hunters-daughter/507-ad6442fa-448f-4603-bb7e-17493e4449f0 |
WASHINGTON — It's highly likely we'll see another billion-dollar jackpot in the coming days, with $940 million on the line in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing.
The game's giant prizes come with miniscule chances of actually winning — winners overcome odds of roughly 1 in 302.6 million. That's not deterring players, though, and those small odds are what makes huge jackpots as the prize rolls over each time.
The prize is now the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and the fifth-largest in Mega Millions history. July has been a hot month for lottery prizes after a ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles won the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot.
Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Since mid-April, there have been 28 drawings without a grand prize winner.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is $422 million.
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 28, 2023:
The winning numbers were: 5-10-28-52-63, Mega Ball: 18 and Megaplier: 5.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest lottery jackpots ever?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $940 million, Mega Millions (estimated), July 28, 2023
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T04:01:37 | 1 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed “I will get the job done” but shied away from attacking former President Donald Trump as the two top rivals for the Republican presidential nomination were making rare appearances at the same Iowa campaign event on Friday night.
Despite Trump being charged a day earlier with additional counts over his retention of classified documents that could shake up the race, DeSantis stuck to his standard campaign speech, mostly targeting President Joe Biden. The Florida governor also repeated his frequent promise to halt the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, an allusion to Trump's legal troubles, but offered no specific thoughts on the cases against him. That's despite Trump also bracing to be charged soon in Washington over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“The time for excuses is over. We must get the job done," DeSantis said. "I will get the job done."
Trump frequently avoids attending multicandidate events in person, questioning why he would share a stage with competitors who are badly trailing him in polls. But with Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus less than six months away, the former president joined a dozen other GOP hopefuls in speaking to about 1,200 GOP members and activists at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
He also opened an Iowa campaign office in Urbandale, outside Des Moines, prior to the main event — and wasn't shy about slamming his competitors around the same time DeSantis was taking the stage at the dinner.
“I understand the other candidates are falling very flat ... it’s like death,” Trump said, adding, “There’s no applause, there’s no nothing.”
More than 100 people packed the small office, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and shirts. They had waited in 100-degree weather to enter, and the poorly ventilated office quickly became sweltering. Staff handed out water bottles, and people fanned themselves with campaign handouts. Some used paper towels to wipe away sweat.
DeSantis is Trump’s strongest primary competitor but has been trying to reset his stalled campaign for two weeks. He's increasingly focusing on Iowa in its efforts on trying to derail Trump.
The governor's stumbles have raised questions about whether another candidate might be able to emerge from the field and catch the former president. Some evangelicals, who can be determinative in the state’s caucuses, have pointed to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s upbeat message and pulpit-style delivery as strengths that could help him rise there.
Scott, who also spoke Friday night and didn't mention Trump or the cases against him, held a town hall the previous day in Ankeny with Iowa’s Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. Afterward, Scott took a swipe at DeSantis over the Florida governor's support for new standards that require the state's teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
The only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, Scott said all Americans should recognize how “devastating” slavery was. “There is no silver lining” to slavery, he added.
DeSantis has also faced criticism from teachers and civil rights leaders, as well as mounting pushback from some of his party's most prominent Black elected officials. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said he hoped officials might “correct” parts of the curriculum addressing lessons on the developed skills of enslaved people. Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt and Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman now also running in the GOP presidential primary, have also criticized DeSantis.
Still, the governor continued to dig in on the issue, saying at a pre-dinner event in Oskaloosa on Friday, “D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left." The governor has defended the new school curriculum, saying, “I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards."
John Niemeyer, 52, from Kalona, Iowa, attended DeSantis' event and was impressed. But, as a high school teacher, he’s not a fan of some of the governor's positions on education policy.
“I don’t want to make our classrooms a political battlefield,” he said, adding that it would be a “mistake” to make the issue the forefront of his campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris made her own Iowa stop on Friday, seeking to draw a contrast with the Republicans as she looked to lift President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. Harris met in Des Moines with activists and discussed abortion rights, after Reynolds recently signed a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
“I do believe that we are witnessing a national agenda that is about a full-on attack on hard won freedoms and hard won rights,” the vice president said.
Hours later, many Lincoln Day Dinner attendees wore “Trump Country” stickers, including 72-year-old Diane Weaver of Ankeny, Iowa.
“I think he makes America great," said Weaver, a retiree who plans to caucus for Trump. “I think he did it once and I think he can do it again.”
West Des Moines resident Jane Schrader chose to wear her “Trump Country” sticker on her pants instead of at eye level. “I’m not quite dyed-in-the-wool. I’m a supporter, but not that kind,” said the retired physician, explaining her sticker placement.
Trump did face criticism from some rivals, including former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, who in his speech declared, "As a party, we need a new direction for America and for the GOP.” The crowd offered only a muted reaction — but refrained from booing, which Trump critics at Republican primary events often face.
DeSantis, meanwhile, ducked chances Friday to criticize Trump over the additional charges he faces even before his speech.
“We have engaged when appropriate,” DeSantis told reporters in Oskaloosa, adding that he's not interested in "relitigating the latest superseding indictment.”
The governor has pledged to eventually visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties and is in the midst of a two-day state bus tour organized by a super PAC supporting his run. But he faces fresh questions about his strategy and path forward.
After his fundraising reports showed him burning through donations, the governor cut more than a third of his campaign staff.
DeSantis' cash crunch seems to be driving the campaign to rely even more on the efforts of the super PAC Never Back Down to take up the work typically done by campaign staff. Super PACs can receive unlimited sums from donors but are barred under federal rules from donating to candidates or coordinating with campaigns on how their money is spent.
While presidential campaigns have been supplemented before by the work of super PACs, which frequently use deeper coffers to run expensive television ads, the work Never Back Down has done to promote DeSantis has been more expansive. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-desantis-republican-iowa-lincoln-day-dinner/507-35b0317a-5fff-4915-b243-aee60a360db2 | 2023-07-29T04:01:44 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-desantis-republican-iowa-lincoln-day-dinner/507-35b0317a-5fff-4915-b243-aee60a360db2 |
ARLINGTON, Texas — Satou Sabally had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists — the first triple-double in franchise history — and the Dallas Wings beat the short-handed Washington Mystics 90-62 Friday night.
Arike Ogunbowale and Teaira McCowan each scored 18 points for Dallas (14-10) and Natasha Howard added 14 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Awak Kuier scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Maddy Siegrist scored 10.
McCowan scored 10 points as Dallas jumped to 14-7 lead midway through the first quarter before Washington's Shatori Walker-Kimbrough answered with a layup. The Mystics then went scoreless for more than four minutes before Myisha Hines-Allen hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first quarter to make it 24-12.
The Mystics trimmed their deficit to seven points when Cyesha Goree hit a jumper with 3:25 left in the third quarter but Dallas scored the next 12 points — capped when Ogunbowale hit a 3-pointer less than two minutes later — and Washington got no closer.
Walker-Kimbrough led the Mystics with 14 points. Brittney Sykes scored 12 with five steals and Natasha Cloud added 11 points.
Regular starters Elena Delle Donne (ankle), Ariel Atkins (ankle) and Shakira Austin (hip) as well as reserve Kristi Toliver (plantar fasciitis) did not play for the Mystics.
Washington (13-11) has lost four of its last five games. | https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/wnba/dallas-wings/sabally-record-first-triple-double-franchise-history-wings-beat-mystics-90-62/287-8ec021d7-200f-47b8-9a51-8d5aebe75c8c | 2023-07-29T04:01:50 | 0 | https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/wnba/dallas-wings/sabally-record-first-triple-double-franchise-history-wings-beat-mystics-90-62/287-8ec021d7-200f-47b8-9a51-8d5aebe75c8c |
Community hero laid to rest in Boyd County, Ky.
BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) - A hero in his community was laid to rest Friday.
Bob Gainer served Boyd County in a number of ways for more than 50 years.
Officials say he was instrumental in starting the countywide ambulance service, implementing advanced life support services in the state, and starting the 911 dispatch center in Ashland.
Those who knew Gainer say his legacy in the community will live on for many years to come.
“Bob was instrumental in this county, um, with not only the fire service in our department, but also Boyd County EMS,” said Westwood Deputy Fire Chief Tim England. “We would not have the EMS service we have now if it was not for Bob.”
Gainer was also a firefighter and served on the Board of Commissioners of the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department.
Copyright 2023 WSAZ. All rights reserved. | https://www.wsaz.com/2023/07/29/community-hero-laid-rest-boyd-county-ky/ | 2023-07-29T04:02:11 | 0 | https://www.wsaz.com/2023/07/29/community-hero-laid-rest-boyd-county-ky/ |
Trump returns to National Archives a classified document he denied was real
(CNN) — The top-secret document that former President Donald Trump discussed at a 2021 meeting at his New Jersey golf club was included in the 15 boxes returned to the National Archives in January of last year, according to a source familiar with the matter. But Trump has denied it was real.
Trump was charged Thursday with retaining the classified document, described as a “presentation concerning military activity in a foreign country,” which CNN has reported is Iran, as part of the superseding indictment. He had previously been charged with retaining 31 other documents. The Iran war plan document, however, stands out as the only one from the 15 boxes Trump initially returned – before any subpoena was issued or search was conducted – that has led to any criminal charge.
In the new court filing, the document is described as having been in Trump’s possession from the day he left the White House in 2021 until January 17, 2022, the same date Trump is said to have returned boxes to the National Archives after many months of requests to do so.
While the July 2021 Bedminster meeting was described in the original indictment, prosecutors did not say at the time whether they had located the document Trump was allegedly showing. The new charge makes clear they have the document and believe the former president had it in his possession at the time of the meeting at which he discussed it with people not cleared to view classified material. An audio recording of the meeting first aired by CNN captures a moment when Trump seems to indicate that he is holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran.
“These are the papers,” Trump says in the recording.
Trump has denied that the papers he showed at the meeting included a classified government document, claiming he had referred only to news articles.
“There was no document,” Trump told Fox News on June 19. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.”
Trump’s attorneys previously said they were unable to find the document. They also told CNN that Trump and his staff did not review in advance materials in the boxes the former president returned to the Archives and have not been told what documents were recovered from Mar-a-Lago. | https://www.wishtv.com/news/politics/trump-returns-to-national-archives-a-classified-document-he-denied-was-real/ | 2023-07-29T04:03:03 | 1 | https://www.wishtv.com/news/politics/trump-returns-to-national-archives-a-classified-document-he-denied-was-real/ |
(NEXSTAR) — Is it your lucky day? Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is a massive $940 million, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history. Winning numbers for the July 28 jackpot are: 52, 28, 5, 63, and 10. The Mega ball number is 18. Friday’s Megaplier is 5X.
The estimated $940 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The $940 million pot on the line Friday night will be that high only if a single player wins and they choose to be paid through an annuity of one immediate payment or 30 annual allotments. But jackpot winners nearly always take the cash in a lump sum, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Tickets are $2 and there are a total of nine ways to win a prize. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Fridays.
USA Mega, which tracks Mega Millions statistics, says the most common Mega Millions numbers are 17, 10, 14, 31 and 4 for the first five numbers. The most common Mega ball number is 22.
The biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history is $1.537 billion back in 2018 and was claimed by one lucky winner in South Carolina.
If no one claims Friday’s jackpot, the next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 1. | https://www.wane.com/top-stories/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T04:03:05 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/top-stories/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
‘UnPHILtered’: Famous Gaither quintuplets turning 40
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The story of the Gaither children has captured the nation’s eyes for decades. They’re the first surviving black quintuplets in the country, born right here in Indiana, and now, they’re about to celebrate their 40th birthday in August. For Friday’s UnPHILtered, News 8 anchor Phil Sanchez sits down with them to discuss their upbringing. | https://www.wishtv.com/news/unphiltered/unphiltered-famous-gaither-quintuplets-turning-40/ | 2023-07-29T04:03:09 | 1 | https://www.wishtv.com/news/unphiltered/unphiltered-famous-gaither-quintuplets-turning-40/ |
Northwestern University fired head baseball coach Jim Foster on Thursday, days after the university let go of head football coach Pat Fitzgerald amid an investigation into hazing allegations.
Foster was "relieved of his duties effective immediately," Athletic Director Derrick Gragg said in an announcement posted to the university's athletics page.
Gragg did not give details behind Foster's termination but said "many factors were considered" before the decision was made.
"Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest level, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive," Gragg said.
"As the Director of Athletics, I take ownership of our head coaching hires and we will share our next steps as they unfold," he added.
Northwestern Head Baseball Coach Jim Foster has been relieved of his duties effective immediately, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg announced Thursday.https://t.co/C4HXwjJEE1
— Northwestern Athletics (@NU_Sports) July 13, 2023
Assistant coach Brian Anderson, a former MLB player who won a World Series ring with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, will take over as interim coach.
While it is unclear what led to Foster's termination as head coach, both The Chicago Tribune and 670 The Score reported that Foster allegedly led a toxic culture within the baseball program, as his alleged bullying and verbally abusive behavior led to a human resources investigation by the university.
670 The Score reported that Foster also allegedly made racist statements and discouraged players from reporting their injuries. When asked about this allegation by the Chicago radio station he denied all allegations, calling them "ridiculous."
Both current and former players and alumni told The Tribune that they alerted university officials of Foster's behavior before the start of the 2023 season. The university's investigation found "sufficient evidence" that Foster engaged in bullying and abusive behavior, The Tribune reported.
A Northwestern athletics spokesperson declined NPR's request for comment regarding the investigation and Foster's termination.
Foster was hired in June 2022 by the university, which went 24-27 this past season. Before his tenure at Northwestern, Foster was the head coach at West Point, where he led the Black Knights to four consecutive league titles and NCAA playoff tournament appearances.
News of Foster's termination comes days after the university parted ways with its long-time football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, following an investigation into hazing allegations.
The university announced it had previously suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay after reviewing the investigation's executive summary. Though the university said there was no "sufficient" evidence that coaches knew about the misconduct from Fitzgerald, University President Michael Schill said Fitzgerald "should have known."
"Northwestern University is an extraordinary university with an exceptional athletics program. I am committed to ensuring that the misconduct that occurred in our football program never happens again anywhere in our university community," Schill said in a letter to the community.
Northwestern has yet to name Fitzgerald's replacement.
NPR's Dustin Jones contributed to this report. contributed to this story
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/2023-07-14/northwestern-baseball-coach-jim-foster-is-fired-days-after-football-hazing-scandal | 2023-07-29T04:03:57 | 1 | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/2023-07-14/northwestern-baseball-coach-jim-foster-is-fired-days-after-football-hazing-scandal |
Even cacti in Desert Southwest are having a tough time in historic heat
According to the National Park Service, saguaro cactus is iconic to the Sonoran Desert landscape. The plants are typically the tallest vegetation in the desert, growing to more than 30 feet. The NPS estimates the average life span of the cactus is 150 years.
PHOENIX – A streak of record temperatures across the Desert Southwest and one of the slowest starts to the monsoon season in recent memory is likely playing a role in the demise of some cacti in the region, according to experts at Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden.
The saguaro cactus is iconic to the Sonoran Desert landscape and, according to the National Park Service, can grow to over 30 feet tall and have an average lifespan of 150 years.
Recently, plant experts have seen an increase in reports of cacti that are falling, losing arms and changing shape, leading some to suggest that climate change is behind it.
"Everybody always has thought that cacti are perfectly adapted to heat and drought," said Tania Hernandez, a cactus scientist at the Desert Botanical Garden. "For that reason, nobody has studied how more extreme temperatures than these can affect them."
WHAT SEASON DO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES GROW IN?
Hernandez said the plants are adapted to the heat but, at some point, need cooler days and more water to relieve stress brought on by the extreme heat wave.
The chance of rainfall is typically common between June 15 and the end of September but got off to a slow start due to weather patterns likely caused by a strengthening El Niño in the Pacific Ocean.
Many cities in the Southwest, including Phoenix, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, usually report the year's heaviest rainfall during monsoon season.
Typically, the pattern can lead to a community seeing 40-50% of its annual rainfall, which helps alleviate drought conditions and lead to cacti storing the moisture.
‘CORN SWEAT’ IN THE MIDWEST CAN CAUSE SOME OF THE MOST OPPRESSIVE HUMIDITY IN THE US
"All the ecosystems depend on those rains, the late summer rains - we call them monsoon," Hernandez told Reuters during a recent interview. "Plants can hold on during the whole dry season for the wet season to arrive, but they just can’t hold long, and if the rain doesn’t arrive on time, the plant starts suffering from internal damage."
In addition to cacti, other native plants are feeling the impacts from the extreme heat, which shows no signs of letting up.
Phoenix is setting records on a nearly daily basis and recently broke the warmest low temperature ever recorded on July 28 by the overnight reading dropping to just 93 degrees. The city has also recently reported reaching 115 degrees or warmer for 15 days this year – a new all-time record. | https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/arizona-cactus-heat-suffering-plants | 2023-07-29T04:03:59 | 1 | https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/arizona-cactus-heat-suffering-plants |
Updated July 21, 2023 at 6:03 PM ET
At this year's Latin Alternative Music Conference, thousands of people showed up to see Colombian rock star Juanes perform at Central Park's SummerStage – so much so that the show had to be shut down just two songs into his set.
Tomas Cookman, founder of the LAMC, says that turnout reflects the conference's biggest year yet. But it wasn't always like that.
The LAMC started 24 years ago when after crowding into panels at festivals like SXSW, Cookman looked around and realized: "We need a platform, we need a place where we can put together a bunch of different people to talk about where Latin music can go."
The alternative label, he says, wasn't so much meant to emphasize punk kids in heavy flannels as it was intentional about focusing on music, not getting radio play in the pop-oriented Latin market of the early 2000s. But as Latin music has blown up globally over the last two decades, Cookman says, the alternative has made its way into the mainstream – and not just because of the explosion of reggaeton (though he did find Bad Bunny's name once or twice on registration forms from past conferences).
"Whether it was a punk rock band from Buenos Aires or a hip-hop duo from Panama or a cool pop weird act from Madrid, they always found a place at the LAMC," Cookman explains.
The LAMC, in return, uses its Discovery Award every year to recognize artists breaking down misconceptions that there's one look or sound to Latin music. This year, there are two recipients: Dawer x Damper and Usted Señalemelo.
The first is a duo of Colombian brothers who released their debut LP, Donde Machi, last November. They play with Afro-futurism, hip-hop, dancehall, and several influences from Colombia's Pacific coast; Dawer x Damper are from the Aguablanca district of Cali, where many Afro-Colombian people from the Pacific regions move for better work and economic opportunities.
"So many cultures from around the entire country converge there, and thanks to that, the Aguablanca district is permeated with Black culture," says Dawer, aka Edwar Vergara.
Thematically, the brothers' lyrics focus on themes of social empowerment, love, and family – a never-ending reflection of how the private home life affects the public community and vice versa, they explain. They don't hesitate to shout out el barrio, the working-class neighborhood where they come from, and the community programs they say launched their artistic pursuits.
"There's no better way for us to be authentic than to take el barrio and wear it as a flag because if we came out denying el barrio, we were going to look like everything but our real selves," explains Damper, aka Luis Vergara.
The brothers played one of the several showcases at this year's LAMC, celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
"For us, it's a huge source of pride to have [Afro-Latinidad] represented here, not just for representation's sake but from the consciousness of being a Black person in Latin America and in the music industry," says Damper.
Working in a completely different musical tradition, the other Discovery Award winners this year hail from Mendoza, Argentina: Usted Señalemelo is a trio of friends who've known each other since they were kids and maintain that playfulness in their artistic relationship.
"The name of the band is a tongue twister," says drummer Lucca Beguerie Petrich. "We love playing with words and giving each other nicknames, making stuff up...we thought it was funny because we were 12 when we named the band."
Fresh off the release of their album TRIPOLAR in May, Usted Señalemelo pays homage to Argentina's rich legacy of rock en español while pushing the genre's boundaries with poppy synths and lush orchestral arrangements that weave in and out throughout the record.
The contemplative lyrics came to fruition over several years and highlight the tensions between polar opposites – night and day, light and dark, men and women, explains vocalist Juan Mango. He credits producers Rafa Arcaute and Nico Cotton with elevating the project further.
"Working with two producers at that level made our compositions and our work grow tremendously," he says.
Usted Señalemelo played two showcases at this year's LAMC. The Discovery Award, on the heels of the album release and the beginning of their U.S. tour, is both overwhelming and affirmative of the band's years of hard work, says Petrich.
This year's LAMC allowed Dawer x Damper and Usted Señalemelo to perform in New York City for the first time – but it won't be the last.
"I think that's the beauty of Latin music today and why it's not so much a Latin boom. This is here forever," says Cookman.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-21/the-artists-shaking-up-the-industry-at-the-latin-alternative-music-conference | 2023-07-29T04:04:03 | 1 | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-21/the-artists-shaking-up-the-industry-at-the-latin-alternative-music-conference |
Oregon Health Plan is Oregon's version of Medicaid (California has Medi-Cal); people who do not make much money can get their basic healthcare needs covered. But if they make a little MORE money, they end up not eligible.
For those people, Oregon is working on something called a Basic Health Program, BHP, to provide free care for an income bracket less close to the bottom. One snag: early analysis shows that the people who make too much money to qualify for even BHP could see their premiums go up because of the creation of BHP.
The issues are near and dear to the hearts of the people in Health Care for All Oregon, HCAO. The vice-president of HCAO's board, Dr. Antonio (Tony) Germann and Michael Collins, Director of Managed Care for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs give an interview about overall efforts to get health insurance to more people, and about BHP in particular. | https://www.ijpr.org/show/the-jefferson-exchange/2023-07-26/thu-9-am-a-look-at-oregons-new-basic-health-program | 2023-07-29T04:04:09 | 1 | https://www.ijpr.org/show/the-jefferson-exchange/2023-07-26/thu-9-am-a-look-at-oregons-new-basic-health-program |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 86F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..
Tonight
Showers in the evening with some clearing overnight. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023.
Moosic Greenwood Fire Department trucks and state police block Interstate 81 northbound near mile marker 181.7 after a motorcycle crash in Moosic on Friday, July 28, 2023. | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/crime-emergencies/interstate-81-north-closed-in-moosic-due-to-crash/article_2f19b007-8ab4-5fdc-bc82-12f992ba685b.html | 2023-07-29T04:04:46 | 0 | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/crime-emergencies/interstate-81-north-closed-in-moosic-due-to-crash/article_2f19b007-8ab4-5fdc-bc82-12f992ba685b.html |
After being held to just three hits in their last game, Buffalo's batters broke out again Friday night.
The Bisons scored in each of the first four innings, including a four-spot in the fourth that chased Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Will Warren, and rolled to a 12-2 rout of the RailRiders at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
Warren, who came into the game having pitched scoreless outings in three of his last four starts, allowed nine runs in three-plus innings, though just seven were earned. He entered the game with a 4.39 ERA at Triple-A, but left with it up to 5.52. Warren allowed seven hits, walked six and struck out just two.
The RailRiders (12-11, 46-51) had the leadoff runner on base in every inning, finished with as many hits (11) as Buffalo and worked six walks. But the Bisons walked 10 times and had just four strikeouts to the RailRiders' 10. Buffalo also got two big hits: a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning by Spencer Horwitz, and a three-run home run in the sixth by Tyler Heineman.
Estevan Florial and Everson Pereira each had three-hit nights for the RailRiders, with Florial coming through with a two-run, two-out single in the second inning that momentarily tied the game at 2. But Warren walked the first two batters in the bottom of the inning and Buffalo's go-ahead rally kicked into gear.
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Heineman dropped down a bunt toward Jake Lamb at third base, and his throw across the diamond sailed into the base line enough that it caused first baseman Carlos Narvaez to miss the catch, allowing one run to score. Ernie Clement added a sacrifice fly and Buffalo led, 4-2.
The Bisons added another run in the third when Davis Schneider doubled and scored on Luis De Los Santos' grounder up the middle. Then, they blew it open in the fourth.
The first six batters reached base, with Warren allowed three singles, a double and a walk before the RailRiders went to the bullpen. With runners on first and third, umpires called Warren for a balk that scored a run to make it 6-2. A walk and a bunt single loaded the bases, then Horwitz drilled a fly ball to deep center to plate three more runs for a 9-2 lead.
Though innings started well for the RailRiders, they went south quickly. After the leadoff hitter reached safely, just twice did the next hitter not make an out. In the third inning, Austin Wells followed Everson Pereira's base hit with a walk against starter Paxton Schultz, only for the next three hitters to go down in order without putting a ball in play. In the fourth, Jesús Bastidas and Brandon Lockridge shot grounders through the infield for singles, only for Florial to then bang into a double play.
On defense, the RailRiders turned a season-high four double plays. But at the plate, they hit into three twin killings and finished 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position as Buffalo (49-50, 15-9) secured at least a split of the six-game series. | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/sports/railriders/buffalo-pounds-warren-railriders/article_4ad61f57-e077-5808-8fd6-15835970d6bc.html | 2023-07-29T04:04:52 | 0 | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/sports/railriders/buffalo-pounds-warren-railriders/article_4ad61f57-e077-5808-8fd6-15835970d6bc.html |
Blood drive supports community, keeps memory of Nathan Artz alive
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – The Nathan Artz Blood Drive which started after a heartbreaking loss is now a beacon of hope for many.
It has grown into one of the biggest blood drives in the state.
KMOT’s Ethan Wiley has more.
St. Therese, Church of the Little Flower, may seem ordinary from the outside, but inside, incredible things are happening.
The Artz family is now holding its ninth annual blood drive in Nathan’s honor.
Nathan was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer at fourteen. Blood transfusions played a vital role in his nearly three-year battle.
“He wanted to return. And he just really, really prayed for his donors. So, we are trying to pass it forward for him,” said Brenda Artz, Nathan’s mom.
Nathan’s twin, Eric, said those who help make the drive happen are appreciated by his family.
“We have a team that came in from Bismarck, people that come from Minot. And they work really hard so we’re very supportive of them,” said Deacon Eric Artz.
Teresa Johnson, the Account Manager at Vitalant for the northwest part of the state, said the drive is emotional and unique.
“A lot of memorial blood drives, they do start to dwindle after three, four, five years they start to dwindle. However, this blood drives just keeps getting bigger,” said Johnson.
Nathan’s mom said he found solace in serving.
“Nathan offered his suffering for others. So, he always found a purpose to his suffering,” said Brenda.
The blood drive brought in more than 100 donors Friday, myself included, averaging in almost twenty pints of blood an hour.
The blood drive takes place late July or early August every year.
They also offer free food and snacks to those who donate.
Copyright 2023 KFYR. All rights reserved. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/07/29/blood-drive-supports-community-keeps-memory-nathan-artz-alive/ | 2023-07-29T04:04:58 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/07/29/blood-drive-supports-community-keeps-memory-nathan-artz-alive/ |
How they scored
Buffalo first: Warren first. Barger walks. Clement flies out. With Horwitz batting, Barger steals second. Horwitz walks. Schneider doubles, Barger scores, Horwitz scores. Buffalo 2, RailRiders 0
RailRiders second: Schultz pitching. Chaparro walks. Narvaez strikes out. Lamb walks, Chaparro to second. Bastidas flies out, Chaparro to third. Lockridge walks, Lamb to second. Florial singles, Chaparro scores, Lamb scores, Lockridge to second. Buffalo 2, RailRiders 2
Buffalo second: De Los Santos walks. Lantigua walks, De Los Santos to second. Heineman hits a sacrifice bunt, De Los Santos to third, Lantigua to second, missed catch error by 1B Narvaez, Heineman to first, De Los Santos scores. Eden strikes out. Barger walks, Lantigua to third, Heineman to second. Clement hits a sacrifice fly, Lantigua scores. Buffalo 4, RailRiders 2
Buffalo third: Schneider doubles. Martinez grounds out, Schneider to third. De Los Santos singles, Schneider scores. Buffalo 5, RailRiders 2
Buffalo fourth: Heineman singles. With Eden batting, Heineman steals second. Eden singles, Heineman to third. With Barger batting, balk by Warren, Heineman scores, Eden to second. Barger walks. Clement singles, Eden to third, Barger to second. Horwitz doubles, Eden scores, Barger scores, Clement scores. Buffalo 9, RailRiders 2
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Buffalo sixth: Gomez pitching. Schneider walks. Martinez flies out. Misiewicz pitching. De Los Santos grounds out, Schneider to second. Lantigua walks. Heineman homers, Schneider scores, Lantigua scores. Buffalo 12, RailRiders 0
Off the rails
- LHP Nestor Cortes made his second rehab start for Double-A Somerset on Friday, tossing four scoreless innings against Bowie. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out five. The Yankees have indicated Cortes will need one more rehab start, but have not said where it would be. Next week, the RailRiders are home, Somerset will be in Akron, Ohio and High-A Hudson Valley is in Wilmington, Delaware.
- To make room for OF Aaron Judge, the Yankees sent SS Oswald Peraza back to the RailRiders.
- Veteran corner infielder Jake Lamb had his first multi-hit game with the RailRiders, going 2 for 3 with a walk and a run. Lamb batted .317 with a .945 OPS in 34 games with the Los Angeles' Angels Triple-A affiliate this year, but is off to a 7-for-37 (.189) start in 11 games with the RailRiders.
Saturday's game
SWB RailRiders (12-11, 46-51) at Buffalo Bisons (15-9, 49-50), Sahlen Field, 6:05 p.m.
Probable pitchers: RailRiders RHP Clayton Beeter (1-1, 3.26) vs. Buffalo RHP Wes Parsons (2-2, 4.73) | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/sports/railriders/game-report-buffalo-12-railriders-2/article_7a7db875-39cb-521b-b8f6-4e51cf0cf11e.html | 2023-07-29T04:04:58 | 1 | https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/sports/railriders/game-report-buffalo-12-railriders-2/article_7a7db875-39cb-521b-b8f6-4e51cf0cf11e.html |
Photos and video from the annual archery and music festival at Mont du Lac Resort in Superior, which runs through Sunday. The event includes target courses, vendors, food, live music and more.
SUPERIOR — Bowfest is back as archery and outdoor enthusiasts are making the trip to Mont du Lac Resort in Superior for the four-day event.
The 7th annual Bowfest began Thursday and will wrap up on Sunday. According to their website, Bowfest is the world’s largest outdoor archery and music festival. It offers six unique courses with more than 100 targets, live music, food, vendors, hunting celebrities and more.
Musical acts this year included Hairball, Sydney Hansen and Stone on Thursday and the Silver Mullet Band, Noise Pollution and Free Fallin on Friday. For Saturday, the Who’s Who Band, Ember and U2 Tribute Band are scheduled to perform.
For more details, visit
bowfest.com
or call 218-626-3797.
Dan Williamson joined the Duluth News Tribune in June 2021 where he's involved in digital content such as video, photos and podcasts. Previously, he worked in television broadcasting as a Sports Director/Anchor at WDIO-TV in Duluth, Sports Director/Anchor in Bismarck, N.D., News and Sports Anchor at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, and Reporter/Photographer/Editor with the syndicated show "Life to the Max" in Eden Prairie. He was also the Development Director for the Duluth Salvation Army. Williamson grew up in Alexandria, graduated from St. Cloud State University and has lived in Duluth since 2012. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/archers-taking-aim-at-bowfest | 2023-07-29T04:05:20 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/archers-taking-aim-at-bowfest |
ROCHESTER — The Duluth Post 71 Cubs dropped their finale at Minnesota state American Legion baseball tournament, finishing pool play 0-3 with a 3-1 loss to Wayzata on Friday.
Duluth tied the game in the second inning after two singles and a sacrifice set up Peyton Call to hit into a fielder's choice that scored Jayger Atkinson.
The Cubs were held to a single hit over the next four frames and fell behind for good after three consecutive Wayzata doubles in the top of the seventh inning drove in two runs.
Carter Kilroy had a one-out single for Duluth but that was all the offense the Cubs could muster.
Atkinson finished 2-for-3 to lead the Duluth offense, which finished with six singles.
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Jack Teachworth pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on 11 hits. He struck out three without a walk. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/duluth-cubs-exit-state-legion-tourney-with-0-3-record | 2023-07-29T04:05:30 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/duluth-cubs-exit-state-legion-tourney-with-0-3-record |
DES MOINES, Iowa — Perry Johnson wants to be president, but the Republican hopeful does not qualify for the party’s debate next month. The entrepreneur hopes to earn a spot with the help of some provocative t-shirts.
Johnson’s campaign offered “Fire Biden” shirts outside of the Iowa Events Center Friday while Johnson and other Republican candidates attended the Lincoln Dinner inside.
The Republican National Committee requires candidates to have more than 40,000 unique donations and at least one percent of support in several polls to qualify for the August 23 debate in Milwaukee.
People donated as little as $1 to Johnson’s campaign in exchange for a “Fire Biden” shirt. His campaign organizers say they are proud of the strategy and the shirts.
“This shirt doesn’t matter who you’re supporting on the Republican side,” said campaign coordinator Vanessa Treft. “We’ve had Trump supporters, Perry Johnson supporters, DeSantis supporters, they just all love the t-shirts. I can’t even tell you how many we’ve gone through in my three weeks here.”
Seven candidates have qualified for the Milwaukee debate so far:
- Former President Donald Trump
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy of Ohio
- Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota | https://who13.com/news/politics/presidential-candidate-perry-johnson-asks-for-campaign-donations-with-fire-biden-shirts/ | 2023-07-29T04:05:33 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/politics/presidential-candidate-perry-johnson-asks-for-campaign-donations-with-fire-biden-shirts/ |
DULUTH — A seven-run fourth inning for the visiting Thunder Bay Border Cats was more than enough to end the Duluth Huskies' winning streak at seven games in a 15-2 thumping on Friday night at Wade Stadium.
Duluth scored first when Brandon Compton's RBI single brought in Raymond Velazquez, but it would be 12-1 before the Huskies got on the board again after Thunder Bay scored three in the second inning, two in the third and seven in the fourth. Duluth committed five defensive errors over the course of those three innings and seven for the game.
Calyn Halvorson and Velazquez finished with two hits apiece to lead the Duluth offense.
D.J. Burke allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits in three innings to take the loss.
Duluth (16-8) and Thunder Bay will take their series north of the border for two more games in Ontario starting on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/huskies-thumped-to-end-winning-streak | 2023-07-29T04:05:40 | 0 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/huskies-thumped-to-end-winning-streak |
(NEXSTAR) — Is it your lucky day? Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is a massive $940 million, the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history. Winning numbers for the July 28 jackpot are: 52, 28, 5, 63, and 10. The Mega ball number is 18. Friday’s Megaplier is 5X.
The estimated $940 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The $940 million pot on the line Friday night will be that high only if a single player wins and they choose to be paid through an annuity of one immediate payment or 30 annual allotments. But jackpot winners nearly always take the cash in a lump sum, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Tickets are $2 and there are a total of nine ways to win a prize. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Fridays.
USA Mega, which tracks Mega Millions statistics, says the most common Mega Millions numbers are 17, 10, 14, 31 and 4 for the first five numbers. The most common Mega ball number is 22.
The biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history is $1.537 billion back in 2018 and was claimed by one lucky winner in South Carolina.
If no one claims Friday’s jackpot, the next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 1. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T04:06:23 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
BOISE — This summer, Boise School District began work on constructing Dallas Harris Elementary School and remodeling and renovating Collister Elementary School. These projects were made possible by voters who passed the 2017 bond for $172.5 million, which needed a 66.67% ‘yes’ vote to be approved and received an 86% approval vote, BSD Public Affairs Administrator Dan Hollar said.
After the bond’s approval, BSD began 22 projects, Hollar said, and right now, the district’s 2017 bond projects are about 90% completed. Both Dallas Harris and Collister are expected to continue construction during the upcoming school year.
COLLISTER ELEMENTARYConstruction on Collister began this June and is expected to be completed in a year, Principal Tara Coe said.
While the original portion built in 1912 is still standing, the rest of Collister Elementary, located on Catalpa Drive west of Hill Road, has been demolished. So this year, students will be attending school at Fort Boise Learning Center on 300 W Fort Street instead of Collister, Coe said. Prior to the current renovations, the three-story school had accessibility and safety issues.
“If we had certain students, we had to make sure that their classroom was in a place that was accessible for all,” Coe said. “Now there will be an elevator in the new part of the building that will allow for access to all classrooms for everyone.”
When the now-demolished addition was added to the original elementary school, the main office became central to the school and the entrance to the school was down a hallway. While Collister had cameras set up and visitors were required to buzz in to enter the school, there was a long stretch of hallway before people entering the school would reach the office.
“That was always concerning to me,” Coe said. “Making sure we can always have eyes on kids at all times, it’s just how it is now.”
After the renovations are completed and the school is reopened, administration will have more control over visitors and parents dropping things off for their children.
“This update will really improve student safety,” Coe said. “To know that we were on a list and that those major things that could be improved and that our community supported us, that was just really heartwarming.”
Collister Elementary’s renovation is estimated to cost over $16.2 million, according to Hollar.
The district is trying to maintain the “small school feel” the Collister has, so the remodel is meant to update what is needed, but maintain its historical aspects, like the school’s original wood and windows. After the renovations are completed, Collister will have a slightly larger footprint with one additional classroom.
“It will continue to be a really great community school,” Coe said. “Just knowing that in a year from now, our students are going to be in a safe building that still is a part of the community is important.”
The school is currently figuring out transportation for students who will be bussing next year, because most students who usually walked to school will now ride the bus. The bus schedule is anticipated to be released in August, Coe said.
DALLAS HARRIS ELEMENTARYAccording to Dallas Harris Elementary School Principal Wendi Forrey, for the first time in BSD history, two schools will be residing at the same site: Riverside and Dallas Harris.
Dallas Harris will open around October and is expected to cost $21.1 million, according to Hollar. The goal, Forrey said, is to have students attending school at the new building before November. The school was initially anticipated to reach completion this August, but steel supply chain issues stalled the build early on, Forrey said.
The new school will have capacity for 500 students, Forrey said. A majority of the students that will be attending Dallas Harris would have attended Riverside, so they are familiar with the school.
“Our hope is that the students don’t really feel much of the bumps in the road, they just are at school one day, and the next day they’re at Dallas Harris,” Forrey said. “We really want to take care of them, and one of the ways we’re taking care of them is their teacher and their classmates will all be the same.”
From the start of the upcoming school year to the end, students at Dallas Harris will have the same teachers and the same classmates, just a newer school to move into before the holidays. And Riverside Elementary won’t be as crowded as people might think, because everyone aside from the additional teachers and staff, would have already been attending the school anyway, said Kali Riden, kindergarten teacher at Dallas Harris.
Riden’s children, Michael and Jane, will be attending Dallas Harris and making the transition to the new building with her this year.
“We’re all very ready,” Riden said. “As a parent, I just am so excited for the school to open. I want it to already be open, but I also understand things take time and good things come to those who wait. And there’s a lot of things that are being taken into account for the school so I actually appreciate them taking their time and opening it right.”
The transition might be better mid-year, Riden said, giving students the opportunity to meet their new teachers and classmates and get used to them before moving buildings.
Dallas Harris is filling a need for a neighborhood school in East Boise, on South Barnside Way between East Parkcenter Boulevard and East Warm Spring Avenue.
“It’s time to be able to walk to a community school,” Riden said. “The Boise school district kind of prides itself on having neighborhood schools.”
When the time comes this fall, the entire Dallas Harris community will be involved with the transition, that will probably take place over a weekend, to the new elementary school, Forrey said.
“Even without kids of your own, these are our kids and our future,” Riden said. “I’m thankful I live in a place that recognizes the value of investing in our children. Even with all the growth in Boise, we haven’t lost sight of what makes our communities thrive.” | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/boise-school-district-construction-to-continue-through-upcoming-school-year/article_b458b068-2cc2-11ee-80ce-d710da9f254e.html | 2023-07-29T04:06:32 | 1 | https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/boise-school-district-construction-to-continue-through-upcoming-school-year/article_b458b068-2cc2-11ee-80ce-d710da9f254e.html |
HOUSTON — Scientists have woken up a 46,000-year-old roundworm.
They said the roundworm, which was of a previously unknown species, spent those tens of thousands of years deep in the Siberian permafrost. According to the Washington Post, once it was revived, researchers said it started having babies!
The findings of this roundworm were detailed Thursday in PLOS Genetics.
“It’s kind of super fascinating finally to suddenly see life, living animals crawling out of a piece of soil that been deep frozen for 46,000 years,” Dr. Philipp Schiffer from the University of Cologne told CBS News.
The Washington Post said the roundworms, also called nematodes, were brought back to life by warming the soil they were in.
The species is now known as Panagrolaimus kolymaensis. They're able to suspend metabolism, which is known as cryptobiosis.
Right now, scientists are focused on how the species adapted through that time. Schiffer said it could teach us about conservation biology and how, at a molecular level, species can adapt through changing climates.
You can read a whole lot more about these nematodes in the Washington Post. | https://www.wthr.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 | 2023-07-29T04:07:26 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 |
HAPEVILLE, Ga. — A video shows how a Hapeville officer responding to a call to remove a child ended with him buying the boy a new PlayStation 5 (PS5), which is truly a heartwarming way to level up the situation.
Officer Colleran from the City of Hapeville Police Department was called out to a neighborhood on Monday, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.
When he met the young man in question, Officer Colleran learned the real reason behind the kid's presence in the area - he was on a mission to save up for a PlayStation 5 by doing yard work, including weed-pulling, grass-cutting and hedge-trimming. The youngster's entrepreneurial spirit struck a chord with the officer, who happens to be a gamer himself.
Impressed by the boy's ambition, Officer Colleran hatched a plan. Teaming up with some of his friends, the officer not only secured a brand-new PS5 for the kid but also threw in a gift card to cover the membership, allowing him to jump right into the gaming action.
The police department's video captured the precious moment the officer revealed the PS5 to the kid. As the he laid eyes on the console, his hands flew up to his face before embracing Officer Colleran in a hug.
Officer Colleran also made sure to let the young gamer know that they'd soon be teaming up in the virtual world for some gaming sessions. | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/community/video-hapeville-police-officer-colleran-facebook-kid-ps5-gift/85-7c5ef30f-8d35-45de-82e5-1a4fe611dcd3 | 2023-07-29T04:07:32 | 1 | https://www.wthr.com/article/news/community/video-hapeville-police-officer-colleran-facebook-kid-ps5-gift/85-7c5ef30f-8d35-45de-82e5-1a4fe611dcd3 |