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BALTIMORE — Vicious winds hit Northwest Baltimore Friday as the storms passed through. It was a level of damage those in Reisterstown weren't expecting.
"They said it was a possible thunderstorm and the next thing you know the winds started kicking up, we saw the lightning come down over here,” said Kena Humm who is visiting her mom from out of town.
It's not exactly how Humm pictured the start to the weekend going. "You could see that there was more damage than what we even thought, we knew it probably hit a tree but we didn't know it was going to be that many,” said Humm.
She said the emergency alert on her phone read 80 miles per hour winds were hitting the area.
"We just stayed inside the power went out and then his wheel barrel flipped over, he actually had it on the ground and it flipped it back up,” said Humm.
Down the street, a tree barely missing the front of one house as it knocked over and a car on the side, receiving the same treatment.
But one family on the other side of the neighborhood was not so lucky.
"I used to have a sunroom on the back, that's gone. All the rain spout and soffits all gone, the back porch is gone. The carport is collapsed,” said Wesley Smith who had a tree fell on hi house.
Smith has been living in Country Club Estates for 30 years and said he's never seen this many trees down from a storm. Fearing what he might see after more assessments are done when it's daylight.
"I’m not sure what's still holding the tree up, it's still on the roof and on the side of the house. So i don't know whether it's going to keep falling or what,” said Smith.
Smith said his wife and dog were inside when the tree fell but were not hurt. They were extremely startled though. | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/storms-damage-homes-in-reisterstown | 2023-07-29T04:20:55 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/storms-damage-homes-in-reisterstown |
FALLSTON, Md. — New damage reports are coming out from Friday's storm.
Harford County Fire and EMS are reporting a tree falling on a home in the 2800 block of Greene Road.
A Special Operation Team for the department says that nobody was in the home during the time of the fall.
A building inspector was called. Moores and Greene Roads was shut down.
During tonight’s storm, a tree fell into a home in the 2800 block of Greene Road, #BaldwinMD. @FallstonFireCo Volunteer Firefighters and @HarfordCoDES Special Operations Team checked, nobody was home. A building inspector has been called. Moores and Greene Roads are shut down. pic.twitter.com/Jvw4fLGj9s
— Harford Co., MD Fire & EMS (@HarforCoFireEMS) July 29, 2023 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/tree-falls-on-home-in-fallston-during-heavy-storm-conditions | 2023-07-29T04:21:01 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/local/tree-falls-on-home-in-fallston-during-heavy-storm-conditions |
Dear Amy: My friend “Annie” and I are both in our mid-20s and love musicals. We decided to travel to New York in October to see a few shows. The tickets were fairly pricey, so I was planning on saving money by staying with a friend who lives in the city. I thought my friend could probably make room for Annie, too.
After we agreed on the dates and shows, Annie sent me a screenshot with an order confirmation for her tickets, accompanied by a message saying she’d invited her husband and hoped that was okay. I was frustrated. It was the first time in our planning she’d mentioned her husband coming. The way she did it really boxed me in.
Her husband and I are friends, but the past few times he joined us for shows he fell asleep and audibly snored. If she had brought it up earlier, I would have pushed back.
I now have two questions: First, my friend can’t host three extra people in their tiny apartment. Is it all right if I leave Annie and her husband to find a hotel on their own?
How do I express that even though I like her husband, I don’t always want him included on every trip; and that she needs to ask way earlier in the planning process if she wants to bring him?
— Broadway Blues
Broadway: Younger couples sometimes feel the need to do every single thing together (more seasoned couples offer one another more latitude), and I have a theory that “Annie’s” husband might have wheedled his way in, just as she was perusing the online theater seating chart for her ticket.
But even if Annie felt danced into a corner, she absolutely should have run this change past you before committing.
You fear that your friend’s choice has transformed your fun two-person Broadway weekend into a production of Sartre’s famous three-character play “No Exit” (“Hell is other people”), but I hope you will take this as a valuable lesson to always communicate and clarify. (Trust me, this lesson is worth the price of a Broadway ticket.)
Tell her now, “I’m frustrated. I thought this was a two-person weekend. I like your husband, but now I feel like a third wheel. I really wish you had discussed this with me beforehand. Also, unfortunately there is no way my friend can squeeze in three extra people, so can you two find a place to stay?”
After telling her this, I hope you will simply will yourself into having a fun time in New York. If you let this frustration defeat you, the weekend really will have been a waste.
Dear Amy: Should I decline opportunities to see friends or family if it is to attend an unpleasant activity? My friends love watching painfully terrible movies and discussing the plot and production in excruciating detail. And my family is upset that I don’t want to attend sporting events that I no longer enjoy due to my poor vision, auditory sensitivities, and overall lack of interest.
I just want to enjoy their company without these dreadful background distractions that are not in my wheelhouse, and they show disappointment when I decline or offer a quieter alternative. I’ve tried to make the best of it, but I can’t even attend ironically.
— Unironic in Illinois
Unironic: It’s a shame you can’t attend these movie events, even ironically, because a sense of irony (or of seeing the humor) can be extremely helpful — especially when listening to others gasbag on about a terrible movie. I wonder, also, if these friends might be interested in viewing a movie of your choosing?
Overall, if you don’t want to attend a gathering — for any reason — then don’t attend. Your best strategy is to learn to tolerate others’ disappointment if you choose not to attend a gathering where you will be uncomfortable.
Your friends and family are trying to include you, and even when declining — you should thank them for the invitation.
Dear Amy: I am flabbergasted by the letter from “Disturbed” telling us about the wedding invitation she received that was asking for donations toward the honeymoon destination, the wedding cake, etc. I hope most potential newlyweds would understand how off-putting it actually is.
I had a beautiful wedding and requested nothing from my guests, except their treasured attendance!
— Put Off
Put Off: Marrying couples may have misunderstood my off-repeated advice that they need to finance their own weddings.
(I never intended that their guests should pay.)
© 2023 by Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/ask-amy-friend-trip-husband-show/ | 2023-07-29T04:21:13 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/ask-amy-friend-trip-husband-show/ |
She recently overstepped a boundary by putting on the full-court press for me to cave in: 5 a.m. text messages, sometimes 6 a.m., thrice daily calls or more! And instead of caving in, I finally just blocked her number. Sweet, sweet relief. Now she is calling friends of mine whom she barely knows, crying that I am ignoring her. HELP? I don’t even think I want to be friends with her anymore.
— Let It Gooo …
Let It Gooo …: You answered your own question. The way to handle it is to stop the routine in which you “hedge, hem and haw, and end up feeling put upon” until you cave and just:
1. Say no.
2. Mean it.
3. Don’t cave.
That means you decline to take part in the conversation when your friend pressures you to change your answer. Texts at 5 a.m.? Are you kidding me? Maybe if she’s stranded by the side of the road; otherwise, mute city. Every time you cave, you teach her how hard she needs to push to change your no to a yes. (“Gift of Fear” 101, just in a different context.) You won’t get “peace” from encouraging persistence.
It’s a matter of understanding that people have to take no for an answer if that’s the only answer you give them. And that’s your decision: You are in complete control of holding your own lines.
So, sure, this friendship sounds as if it’s over — but if you don’t want it to be, then make your limits clear to her and hold firm. No means no, I won’t respond when you pressure me, and, yes, I will block and ignore you if you don’t respect my decisions — so it’s up to you if you want to keep being my friend on those terms. That is sweet relief.
Readers’ thoughts:
· What are you telling the mutual friends? (I assume they are mutual.) If it’s anything other than, “Yes, she has asked me to do something five or six times and I stopped answering because she won’t take no for an answer,” you’re not providing them with the info they need to stop passing this info on to you.
· Is your friend not taking no for an answer? Or is she not getting a direct no, and not taking the hint you are sending because you “hedge, hem and haw”?
When I mean no, I usually say no, and probably only “hedge, hem and haw” when I would like to say yes but there are obstacles involved. Some of us need direct communication, because we stink at trying to understand indirect communication that seem to clear to others.
Make sure you have clearly said, “I don’t want to do X, and calls and texts at 5 a.m. are not acceptable.” You don’t have to do this, but it is kinder than ending a friendship without having done it (assuming, of course, that you haven’t). | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/carolyn-hax-needy-friend-no/ | 2023-07-29T04:21:19 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/carolyn-hax-needy-friend-no/ |
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. | https://www.1011now.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:21:25 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
Dear Miss Manners: I’ve heard a few people using the phrase “Don’t you want to …” as a way to disguise nosy, unsolicited opinions. For instance:
“Don't you want to take a break from working and just travel for a while?”
None of these are my own situation, but I find this tactic irritating. A person would already be doing (or attempting) these things if they wanted to and were able to. If pointing out this rudeness in others is rude, what is the appropriate response?
“Of course we thought about that …” and then let the sentence trail off, along with your ever so slightly condescending expression.
Miss Manners warns you not to be surprised when your busybody friends follow up with, “Don't you want to finish that sentence?”
Dear Miss Manners: I am a terrible gardener. Fifteen years ago, I planted an avocado tree. It lost all the fruit immediately, and it was more than 10 years before it grew more. Three avocados, to be exact.
In the years since, the tree has yielded a few more avocados each season, sometimes as many as nine or 10. I count them when they appear and look forward to enjoying one avocado a week for nine or 10 weeks, picking them accordingly.
One friend asked for an avocado. I did not want to give up one of my few fruits, but I did anyway. Knowing the peculiarities of my avocados, I warned her that she should wait at least two weeks before cutting into it.
She didn’t do this. Instead, she cut it open when she believed she had waited long enough, and she found it unripe. She threw it away, thereby wasting one of my precious treats.
When another acquaintance asked me about the fruit, I said vaguely, “There aren't very many.” She begged me for one anyway. I fear the same thing will happen, although I will not ask about it.
I’m sorry to be stingy, but is there a polite way to say no to people who ask me for this fruit?
“I am afraid that my gardening skills are lacking and the fruit from my tree is barely edible. When both my tree and I get better at this, I will be happy to share.”
And then, Miss Manners suggests, you enjoy your one piece a week with the shades drawn.
Dear Miss Manners: What is your opinion on replying to a compliment with “I know?” My children have tried to assure me it is the appropriate response for the new generation, but it rankles me every time. Has “thank you” really gone out of fashion?
Amusingly, this approach may be an overcorrection of the equally irksome response — “No, I look terrible!” — some older generations had adopted.
Miss Manners assures you that neither brazen confirmation nor self-deprecating denial is necessary when given a compliment. “Thank you” is the only proper response, fashionable or not. It is timeless.
New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday through Saturday on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com. You can also follow her @RealMissManners.
© 2023 Judith Martin | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/miss-manners-question-dont-you-want/ | 2023-07-29T04:21:25 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2023/07/29/miss-manners-question-dont-you-want/ |
Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko arrested
Top Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested on Friday following a scuffle with security forces stationed outside his residence.
The firebrand politician said in a post on social media that soldiers had filmed him with their phones as he returned from mosque prayers on Friday, prompting him to snatch one of the phones and ask them to delete the video.
Senegal's public prosecutor said that Sonko "stole" the phone of a soldier whose vehicle broke down near the political leader's home and issued a "subversive" message on social media.
Sonko, 49, has been mired in a flurry of legal woes, which he says are a bid to keep him out of politics.
In June, Sonko was sentenced in absentia for two years in jail for immoral behavior towards individuals younger than 21, which makes him ineligible to run for president in next year's election.
He has denied any wrongdoing and is yet to be taken to prison.
What did Sonko say to his supporters?
Since the court proceedings, the opposition leader has stayed at his home in Dakar, saying that gendarmes stationed outside were stopping him from leaving.
The case against Sonko had sparked some of the most violent protests in Senegal's history with hundreds of his supporters clashing with security forces on the streets.
Following Friday's incident, Sonko called on his supporters to prepare for resistance in his statement on microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter.
"They seem to be trying to kick down the door," he said.
"I ask the people to stand ready to face this endless abuse," Sonko added.
Media reports said that people could be seen gathering outside Sonko's home on Friday evening, while protests took place in some areas in the capital as the news of his arrest broke.
dvv/sri (AFP, Reuters) | https://www.dw.com/en/senegal-opposition-leader-ousmane-sonko-arrested/a-66382016 | 2023-07-29T04:21:25 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/senegal-opposition-leader-ousmane-sonko-arrested/a-66382016 |
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.1011now.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ | 2023-07-29T04:21:31 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ |
NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – Judie and Floran Becher have lived in Neenah since 1981 and have never had a problem receiving mail until recently.
Scott Becher, son of Judie and Floran, helps take care of his parents and has reached out to the post office numerous times. When he finally got a hold of a supervisor, he says they told him that they were withholding their mail and 40 other residents.
They have since received notices from the Postal Service that their mailbox was noncompliant with USPS guidelines. Scott told Local 5 that the notices then included a warning that read, “We may hold your mail if you don’t comply.”
The following are each notice that the family received.
- The mailbox needs to be 8 inches from the curb.
- The mailbox is too high.
- The mailbox is not level and is unstable.
After every notice, Floran Becher, who is turning 83 in a couple of weeks, made various attempts to fix their mailbox so they could proceed to get their mail. According to the United States Postal Service, your mailbox is required to be 41 to 45 inches in height, and the mailbox must be placed 6 to 8 inches from the curb.
Their mailbox was off by half an inch, and the Post Office held the Becher’s mail for several weeks. That mail included 4 pension checks and bills for electricity, cable, insurance, and credit card.
Scott also says the Post Office held his parents’ mail without telling them, which made him concerned. It is the family’s hope that the issue will be resolved quickly and that any future complications will be avoided. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/family-in-neenah-has-mail-withheld-by-postal-service/ | 2023-07-29T04:22:57 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/family-in-neenah-has-mail-withheld-by-postal-service/ |
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. | https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:02 | 0 | https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – If art is your thing, downtown Green Bay is the place to be this weekend.
That’s because Downtown Green Bay, Inc. is hosting its first-ever ArtFest.
“We wanted to really reinvent an art festival it’s going to be more than just looking down booths, just come on down create memories we have so many hands-on experiences,” said Samantha Mirkes with Downtown Green Bay, Inc.
The event features a wide array of art from traditional paintings to sculptures, wood carving, music, culinary art, music, and dancing. There’s also live art demonstrations and activities that allow patrons to make their own art.
Among a sea of unique and creative people and artwork, David Hipwell’s art still stands out. He’s made a name for himself by painting cheeseheads onto things like Mount Rushmore and painting Packers players into famous paintings like the Mona Lisa.
He said his fun-spirited creations get a lot of laughter from anybody who stops by his booth.
“I’m more interested in talking about art than I am in selling, I mean I want to sell but I’m kind of interested in art,” said Hipwell.
Jose Jimenez is another one of the artists displaying his work at ArtFest. He said he’s originally from Costa Rica and his dad who was also an artist as well as his homeland were his inspirations for his woodwork.
Organizers said that proceeds from the event will go towards beautification projects for downtown Green Bay.
The festival runs through Sunday. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
“They’re business people and this is their livelihood, it’s something that they care passionately about, so being able to support those community members is super important,” said Mirkes.
For more information about ArtFest, click here. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/first-ever-artfest-begins-in-green-bay/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:03 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/first-ever-artfest-begins-in-green-bay/ |
Animal Care Centers of New York sees massive cat influx
NEW YORK - This week Animal Care Centers of New York—announced their shelters could not take in any more cats as they had reached critical capacity.
"We've just had a gigantic influx," says Adoption Supervisor Amy Wagner. "Whether it's from kitten season or people surrendering—we just need the help of the several million New Yorkers to help with our 450 cat population right now."
Cages lined the hallways of the center in East Harlem—for those looking for their forever friend, the shelters in Manhattan, Staten Island, and Brooklyn are open daily.
"Once they do adopt, we offer vouchers to make it affordable for their first vet visits," adds Wagner. "We don't want anybody to be scared about financial situations."
Alexis Pugh, the Director of Life Saving Centers for Best Friends Animal Society, adds fostering or volunteering is a great way to be part of the solution.
"One thing that we know at Best Friends Animal Society because we track data across the country so closely, is that many shelters are struggling, just like the ACC of New York—where the number of animals coming in, is exceeding the number of animals that are going back out through adoption or foster. It doesn't require a permanent commitment, but you can help ease the strain of capacity issues like what they're dealing with at ACC right now."
The key to ending the cycle, however, is ensuring access to basic veterinary care says Will Sweigert the Executive Director of Flatbush Cats.
"Cats in the street or in overcrowded shelters are just symptoms of a problem," adds Sweigert. "The real problem is that 50% of New Yorkers who own pets cannot afford a basic vet visit and so every year we have the same issue where shelters are flooded with cats and dogs—and we're not able to rescue or adopt our way out of this."
Flatbush Cats is currently finishing construction on a brand new non-profit spay-neuter clinic in Brooklyn—aimed at addressing this issue.
"Once we can give New Yorkers and our community members access to the basic veterinary care that they need and their pets deserve, then a few years later, we won't have overcrowded shelters and we can give every animal the life they all deserve. "
The new clinic is expected to be open in the fall. | https://www.fox5ny.com/news/animal-care-centers-of-new-york-sees-massive-cat-influx | 2023-07-29T04:23:05 | 1 | https://www.fox5ny.com/news/animal-care-centers-of-new-york-sees-massive-cat-influx |
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.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:08 | 1 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Laundry Love Green Bay recently celebrated five years of helping families by simply paying for their laundry.
Local 5 stopped by on the 4th Friday of the month when they provided free laundry at the Corner Coin Laundry on Mather Street. It was packed!
But it felt more like a party.
Volunteers helped folks get their washing and drying done and provided dinner and snacks.
Among the dozens who were taking Laundry Love up on its offer was Willie Pope of Howard. She had just finished work in Titletown and was there with her toddler son.
“For us it’s wonderful,” Pope told Local 5. “Because we have a lot of stuff, and that’s a lot of money we don’t have right now.”
Lead Director Natasha Atkinson says they always have a lot of children. “We love spending time with our neighbors and growing our community,” she said. “There’s no better way to get to know people than while waiting for your laundry to get done.”
For more information on Laundry Love Green Bay, click here. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/laundry-love-green-bay-is-building-community-simply-by-paying-for-peoples-laundry/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:09 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/laundry-love-green-bay-is-building-community-simply-by-paying-for-peoples-laundry/ |
Community demands answers and honors Reverend Tommie Jackson at vigil
STAMFORD - Dozens of people gathered at the government center in Stamford on Friday night to pay their respects and seek answers concerning the tragic death of Reverend Tommie Jackson.
The 69-year-old reverend, known for his service to the Rehoboth Fellowship Church and Faith Tabernacle Church in Stamford, lost his life this past Monday when he went to retrieve his mail from his mailbox, just across the street from his home on Wire Mill Road and was struck and killed by a Stamford police cruiser.
Connecticut State Police held a press conference to share initial findings from their investigation into Jackson's death, revealing that Officer Zachary Lockwood, the driver of the cruiser, made an evasive steering maneuver before the collision occurred.
Authorities say Officer Lockwood acted promptly, performing CPR on Reverend Jackson, but the reverend could not be revived.
"Preliminary reports indicate that the emergency lights were activated at the time in the police cruiser," stated Katherine Cummings, Connecticut State Police Lieutenant.
The Jackson family's attorney says Reverend Jackson’s widow, a member of the Stamford Board Of Police Commissioners, claimed she didn’t see any lights or hear sirens. The family is also questioning whether the officer’s cell phone played a role in the accident.
In the meantime, Officer Lockwood has been placed on administrative leave as state police conduct their investigation.
At Thursday's vigil, the anger was put on pause for a moment to remember Reverend Tommie Jackson. They signed little notes on his photos and held hands to remember a larger-than-life figure. A man who faithful churchgoers say brought out the best in his congregation and made people believe in the greater good.
"He loved to serve the people until the day he died" said his widow, Dorye Jackson. | https://www.fox5ny.com/news/community-demands-answers-and-honors-reverend-tommie-jackson-at-vigil | 2023-07-29T04:23:11 | 0 | https://www.fox5ny.com/news/community-demands-answers-and-honors-reverend-tommie-jackson-at-vigil |
(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.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:15 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – On Wednesday, safety Darnell Savage expressed his love for Green Bay and the rich history that comes with being a Packer.
The Packers drafted Savage in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he’ll be heading into his fifth season in Green Bay. When asked about being back in town for training camp, Savage expressed his love and appreciation for the organization and its fans.
“It’s a blessing, honestly,” Savage expressed. “Just everything that comes with being a Packer, it’s surreal.”
Being the only community-owned team, the fans, and community members have embraced the culture surrounding the Packers. Whether it’s wearing cheese head hats, tailgating, or having thousands of people invade Lambeau Field for ‘Family Night,’ the opportunity to ride bikes to practice with kids during training camp has been a tradition that made Savage appreciate the fan base.
“That was here long before I got here and it’ll be here forever,” Savage said. “It’s easy to appreciate it.”
When Savage was a rookie and experienced training camp for the first time, he told Local 5 that he was blown away by how many fans came out to watch practice.
“I made a joke; when I first got here, and I saw how many people came here for our first open practice – I don’t even think it was training camp yet, I think it was an OTA practice – I was like ‘Do these people work?” Savage laughed. “Everybody’s at practice.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/packers/its-surreal-darnell-savage-explains-why-being-a-packer-is-special/ | 2023-07-29T04:23:21 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/packers/its-surreal-darnell-savage-explains-why-being-a-packer-is-special/ |
PITTSBURGH — A community gathered to remember the life of 17-year-old Brandon Thomas. Thomas was stabbed to death at a party under Panther Hollow Bridge in Schenley Park early Thursday morning.
PHOTOS: Community remembers high school student who died after a stabbing in Schenley Park
His mother tells Channel 11 he was trying to break up a fight when he was stabbed. He later died at a hospital.
Hundreds made their way to Mt. Washington Friday evening. Many carried balloons or candles and wore t-shirts commemorating the life of someone they said was loved by all.
“He was my best friend. I love him to death. It’s a cruel world,” one friend told us.
“It means a whole to me. He was loved by everyone, and by everybody showing up, you can see they all cared. He was a fun-loving person and cared about everybody. And, as you can see, they cared about him,” his mom Shatera Linnen said.
His twin sister stood alongside her.
“I’m just not okay. It’s like, I’m just torn. He was ripped away from me,” she said.
No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
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PITTSBURGH — The “Pit2Work Workforce Development Program” that inspired a visit from First Lady Jill Biden graduated its first class.
The graduation was held on Friday.
The program provides free training in the skills and certifications needed for jobs in the construction industry.
“First and foremost it is an investment in yourself, the training you received during the program and the connections you made have opened opportunities for you to pursue rewarding careers in the building trades,” said a member of the program.
The graduates earn letters of recommendation and are invited to a career fair for union apprenticeship opportunities.
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WASHINGTON — (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won't be easy.
“We're going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons' assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government's borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown," said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won't even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn't feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. ”So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics."
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got 'til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done," McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don't want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn't happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don't want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year's spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn't vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts "would have just been devastating.”
“That's the challenge we're going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA's decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. "I think that's ridiculous."
It's a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/members-congress/5JAGYIEIV7QUQ2DZ43UYHQRJFE/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:18 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/members-congress/5JAGYIEIV7QUQ2DZ43UYHQRJFE/ |
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.kens5.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 | 2023-07-29T04:24:24 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/nation-world/chicago-police-find-woman-dead-in-refrigerator/507-1ad830b3-25ba-4509-b0ce-c6a282b5fa37 |
CHICAGO — (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.
None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.
As the 2024 election approaches, community organizations are preparing for what they expect to be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting communities of color and immigrant communities. They say the tailored campaigns challenge assumptions of what kinds of voters are susceptible to election conspiracies and distrust in voting systems.
"They're getting more complex, more sophisticated and spreading like wildfire," said Sarah Shah, director of policy and community engagement at the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org. " What we saw in 2020, unfortunately, will probably be fairly mild in comparison to what we will see in the months leading up to 2024."
A growing subset of communities of color, especially immigrants for whom English is not their first language, are questioning the integrity of U.S. voting processes and subscribing to Trump's lies of a stolen 2020 election, said Jenny Liu, mis/disinformation policy manager at the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Still, she said these communities are largely left out of conversations about misinformation.
“When you think of the typical consumer of a conspiracy theory, you think of someone who’s older, maybe from a rural area, maybe a white man,” she said. “You don’t think of Chinese Americans scrolling through WeChat. That’s why this narrative glosses over and erases a lot of the disinformation harms that many communities of colors face.”
In addition to general misinformation themes about voting machines and mail-in voting, groups are catering their messaging to communities of color, experts say.
For example, immigrants from authoritarian regimes in countries like Venezuela or who have lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be "more vulnerable to misinformation claiming politicians are wanting to turn the U.S. into a Socialist state," said Inga Trauthig, head of research for the Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. People from countries that have not recently had free and fair elections may have a preexisting distrust of elections and authority that may make them vulnerable to misinformation as well, Trauthig said.
Disinformation efforts often hinge on topics most important to each community, whether that is public safety, immigration, abortion, education, inflation or alleged extramarital affairs, said Laura Zommer, co-founder of the Spanish-language fact-checking group Factchequeado.
“It takes advantage of their very real fear and trauma from their experiences in their home countries,” Zommer said.
Other vulnerabilities include language barriers and a lack of knowledge of the U.S. media landscape and how to find credible U.S. news sources, several misinformation experts told The Associated Press. Many immigrants rely on translated content for voting information, leaving space for bad actors to inject misinformation.
“These tactics exploit information vacuums when there’s a lot of uncertainty around how these processes work, especially because a lot of election materials may not be translated in the languages our communities speak or be available in forms they are likely to access,” said Clara Jiménez Cruz, another co-founder of Factchequeado.
Misinformation can also arise from mistranslations. The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found examples of mistranslations in Colombian, Cuban and Venezuelan WhatsApp groups, where "progressive" was translated to "progresista," which carries "far-left connotations that are closer to the Spanish words 'socialista' and 'comunista.'"
Disinformation, often in languages like Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi, flows onto social media apps like WhatsApp and WeChat heavily used by communities of color.
Minority communities that believe their views and perspectives aren’t represented by the mainstream are likely to “retreat into more private spaces” found on messaging apps or groups on social media sites like Facebook, Trauthig said.
“But disinformation also targets them on these platforms, even though it may feel to them to be that safer space,” she said.
Messages on WhatsApp are also encrypted and can’t be easily seen or traced by moderators or fact-checkers.
“As a result, messages on apps like WhatsApp often fly under the radar and are allowed to spread and spread, largely unchecked,” said Randy Abreu, policy counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which leads the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition.
Abreu also raised concerns about Spanish YouTube channels and radio shows that are growing in popularity. He said the coalition is tracking more and more YouTube and radio personalities who are spreading misinformation in Spanish.
A 2022 report by the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters tracked 40 Spanish-language YouTube videos spreading misinformation about U.S. elections. Many of these videos remained on the platform, despite violating YouTube election misinformation policy, the report said.
Amid changes in voting policies at state and local levels, advocates are sounding the alarm on how disinformation about voting in 2024 may target communities of color. Many of these efforts have surged as Asian American, Black and Latino communities have grown in political power, said María Teresa Kumar, founding president of the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino.
“Disinformation is, at its core, meant to be a sort of voter suppression tactic for communities of color,” she said. “It targets communities of color in a way that feeds into their already justifiable concerns that the system is stacked against them."
The tactics also feed into a history “as old as the Jim Crow era of attempting to disenfranchise people of color, going back to voter intimidation and suppression efforts after the Civil Rights Act of 1866,” said Atiba Ellis, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
While many of the same recycled claims around alleged fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections are expected to resurface, experts say disinformation campaigns will likely be more sophisticated and granular in attempts to target specific groups of voters of color.
Trauthig also raised concerns about how layoffs and instability at social media platforms like Twitter may leave them less prepared to tackle misinformation in 2024. It also remains to be seen how new social media platforms like Threads will approach the threat of misinformation. Changes in policies like WhatsApp launching a "Communities" function connecting multiple groups and expanding group chat sizes may also "have big implications for how quickly misinformation will spread on the platform," she said.
In response to the mounting threat of misinformation, Indian American Impact is ramping up its fact-checking efforts through what the organization says is the first fact-checking website specifically for South Asian Americans. Shah said the group is drawing inspiration from 2022 projects, including a voting toolkit using memes with Bollywood characters and passing out Parle-G crackers with voting information stickers at Indian grocery stores.
Cruz of Factchequeado is paying close attention to misinformation in swing states with significant Latino populations like Nevada and Arizona. And Liu of Asian Americans Advancing Justice is reviewing misinformation trends from previous elections to strategize about how to inoculate Asian American voters against them.
Still, they say there is more work to be done.
Critics are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English. Government and election officials should also make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers, organize media literacy trainings in community spaces and identify “trusted messengers” in communities of color to help approach trends in misinformation narratives, experts said.
“These are not monolithic groups,” Cruz said. “This disinformation is very specifically tailored to each of these communities and their fears. So we also need to be partnering with grassroots organizations in each of these communities to tailor our approaches. If we don’t take the time to do this work, our democracy is at stake.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy 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.wpxi.com/news/politics/election/FSP5WS2L5Q6VT75JMZ3QRL72LM/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:24 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/election/FSP5WS2L5Q6VT75JMZ3QRL72LM/ |
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. | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:26 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
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.kens5.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T04:24:30 | 1 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
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.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/typhoon-doksuri-is/KZUJATJYGLIC27FQ3S43XTU7IY/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:30 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/typhoon-doksuri-is/KZUJATJYGLIC27FQ3S43XTU7IY/ |
Plane that crashed in Green Lake County was headed to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
The crash happened near State 49 and Townline Road in the township of Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN – The pilot and passenger of a plane that crashed in a cornfield July 27 in Green Lake County while on their way from South Bend, Indiana, to Oshkosh for the EAA AirVenture Fly-In & Convention have been treated and released from the hospital.
The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Friday afternoon that the single-engine aircraft lost power and they tried an emergency landing. The plane flipped upon impacting the corn while the landing was being attempted. The pilot and passenger were reported to have suffered minor injuries.
The crash happened near State 49 and Townline Road in the township of Brooklyn and was reported around 1 p.m. July 27.
Drowning victim identified:Green Lake County drowning victim identified as 37-year-old Sun Prairie man
An occupant of the plane had gone to the nearest residence to report the incident, the sheriff’s office said.
The plane crash was the third in the region since July 22 as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 runs through July 30 at Wittman Regional Airport.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews. | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/green-lake-county-plane-crash-plane-was-going-to-eaa-airventure-oshkosh/70489476007/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:36 | 0 | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/green-lake-county-plane-crash-plane-was-going-to-eaa-airventure-oshkosh/70489476007/ |
WASHINGTON — (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won't be easy.
“We're going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons' assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government's borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown," said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won't even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn't feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. ”So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics."
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got 'til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done," McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don't want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn't happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don't want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year's spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn't vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts "would have just been devastating.”
“That's the challenge we're going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA's decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. "I think that's ridiculous."
It's a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wftv.com/news/members-congress/5JAGYIEIV7QUQ2DZ43UYHQRJFE/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:36 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/members-congress/5JAGYIEIV7QUQ2DZ43UYHQRJFE/ |
SAN ANTONIO — As a kid most of us loved feeding wild animals because it gave us a chance to get up close and personal with them. In tonight's Verify we look into one very popular waterfowl that gets a lot of attention. Ducks! We see them everywhere. Ponds. Zoos. Lakes. Even crossing the road. And they love food!
THE QUESTION
Is it true that feeding a duck bread could be harmful to their health?
THE SOURCES
- Joseph San Miguel, Director of Agriculture for the San Antonio Zoo
- Texas Parks and Wildlife
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Here's what San Miguel had to say. He told us, "It's just not the thing. You want to be feeding a duck all the time. It's not the staple of their diet. Shouldn't be."
San Miguel also said feeding a duck will sustain them for a period of time, but it should never be the primary source of their diet. He says at the Zoo their ducks are fed a special diet on a regular basis. San Miguel added, "They're called extruded diets and it's like dog food and it's formulated for waterfowl. So it has all of our valuable nutrients and vitamins and proteins and things that they need."
In an educational video Texas Parks and Wildlife said, "In a natural setting, ducks feed on seeds, aquatic plants and invertebrates such as snails and insects. People generally feed bread, popcorn and chips which lack nutritional value and are a poor substitute for a duck's diet."
So yes, it is true. Feeding ducks bread can be harmful to their health.
San Miguel also told us if you're out with your kids, whether it is going to a park or going to the zoo that feeding the ducks is a fun thing, the birds love it and it attracts them to you. It just isn't the healthiest option, and a well balanced diet, like for humans, is always the best option. | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/verify/verify-feeding-ducks-bread-can-be-harmful-to-their-health/273-471a0d37-c7a2-4164-b90e-08994262b4cc | 2023-07-29T04:24:36 | 0 | https://www.kens5.com/article/news/verify/verify-feeding-ducks-bread-can-be-harmful-to-their-health/273-471a0d37-c7a2-4164-b90e-08994262b4cc |
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.wpxi.com/sports/nba-tells-teams/GK3QMZOTXILTHGEAS7TTHVDZCM/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:36 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/sports/nba-tells-teams/GK3QMZOTXILTHGEAS7TTHVDZCM/ |
LOCAL
Green Lake County drowning victim identified as 37-year-old Sun Prairie man
The man's body was recovered from the lake after a search that lasted about 24 hours.
Brandon Reid
Fond du Lac Reporter
GREEN LAKE - Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the man who drowned at Big Green Lake July 20.
The sheriff’s office identified the victim as Simil Sebastian, 37, of Sun Prairie.
Sebastian’s body was recovered from the lake July 21 after a search first started about 24 hours earlier when the 911 Dispatch Center received a call of a possible drowning on the lake at around 4:30 p.m. July 20.
Officials have said no foul play is suspected. No further details were provided by the sheriff's office July 28.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews. | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/green-lake-drowning-victim-identified-as-37-year-old-sun-prairie-man/70489004007/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:42 | 0 | https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/green-lake-drowning-victim-identified-as-37-year-old-sun-prairie-man/70489004007/ |
CHICAGO — (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.
None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.
As the 2024 election approaches, community organizations are preparing for what they expect to be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting communities of color and immigrant communities. They say the tailored campaigns challenge assumptions of what kinds of voters are susceptible to election conspiracies and distrust in voting systems.
"They're getting more complex, more sophisticated and spreading like wildfire," said Sarah Shah, director of policy and community engagement at the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org. " What we saw in 2020, unfortunately, will probably be fairly mild in comparison to what we will see in the months leading up to 2024."
A growing subset of communities of color, especially immigrants for whom English is not their first language, are questioning the integrity of U.S. voting processes and subscribing to Trump's lies of a stolen 2020 election, said Jenny Liu, mis/disinformation policy manager at the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Still, she said these communities are largely left out of conversations about misinformation.
“When you think of the typical consumer of a conspiracy theory, you think of someone who’s older, maybe from a rural area, maybe a white man,” she said. “You don’t think of Chinese Americans scrolling through WeChat. That’s why this narrative glosses over and erases a lot of the disinformation harms that many communities of colors face.”
In addition to general misinformation themes about voting machines and mail-in voting, groups are catering their messaging to communities of color, experts say.
For example, immigrants from authoritarian regimes in countries like Venezuela or who have lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be "more vulnerable to misinformation claiming politicians are wanting to turn the U.S. into a Socialist state," said Inga Trauthig, head of research for the Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. People from countries that have not recently had free and fair elections may have a preexisting distrust of elections and authority that may make them vulnerable to misinformation as well, Trauthig said.
Disinformation efforts often hinge on topics most important to each community, whether that is public safety, immigration, abortion, education, inflation or alleged extramarital affairs, said Laura Zommer, co-founder of the Spanish-language fact-checking group Factchequeado.
“It takes advantage of their very real fear and trauma from their experiences in their home countries,” Zommer said.
Other vulnerabilities include language barriers and a lack of knowledge of the U.S. media landscape and how to find credible U.S. news sources, several misinformation experts told The Associated Press. Many immigrants rely on translated content for voting information, leaving space for bad actors to inject misinformation.
“These tactics exploit information vacuums when there’s a lot of uncertainty around how these processes work, especially because a lot of election materials may not be translated in the languages our communities speak or be available in forms they are likely to access,” said Clara Jiménez Cruz, another co-founder of Factchequeado.
Misinformation can also arise from mistranslations. The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found examples of mistranslations in Colombian, Cuban and Venezuelan WhatsApp groups, where "progressive" was translated to "progresista," which carries "far-left connotations that are closer to the Spanish words 'socialista' and 'comunista.'"
Disinformation, often in languages like Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi, flows onto social media apps like WhatsApp and WeChat heavily used by communities of color.
Minority communities that believe their views and perspectives aren’t represented by the mainstream are likely to “retreat into more private spaces” found on messaging apps or groups on social media sites like Facebook, Trauthig said.
“But disinformation also targets them on these platforms, even though it may feel to them to be that safer space,” she said.
Messages on WhatsApp are also encrypted and can’t be easily seen or traced by moderators or fact-checkers.
“As a result, messages on apps like WhatsApp often fly under the radar and are allowed to spread and spread, largely unchecked,” said Randy Abreu, policy counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which leads the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition.
Abreu also raised concerns about Spanish YouTube channels and radio shows that are growing in popularity. He said the coalition is tracking more and more YouTube and radio personalities who are spreading misinformation in Spanish.
A 2022 report by the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters tracked 40 Spanish-language YouTube videos spreading misinformation about U.S. elections. Many of these videos remained on the platform, despite violating YouTube election misinformation policy, the report said.
Amid changes in voting policies at state and local levels, advocates are sounding the alarm on how disinformation about voting in 2024 may target communities of color. Many of these efforts have surged as Asian American, Black and Latino communities have grown in political power, said María Teresa Kumar, founding president of the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino.
“Disinformation is, at its core, meant to be a sort of voter suppression tactic for communities of color,” she said. “It targets communities of color in a way that feeds into their already justifiable concerns that the system is stacked against them."
The tactics also feed into a history “as old as the Jim Crow era of attempting to disenfranchise people of color, going back to voter intimidation and suppression efforts after the Civil Rights Act of 1866,” said Atiba Ellis, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
While many of the same recycled claims around alleged fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections are expected to resurface, experts say disinformation campaigns will likely be more sophisticated and granular in attempts to target specific groups of voters of color.
Trauthig also raised concerns about how layoffs and instability at social media platforms like Twitter may leave them less prepared to tackle misinformation in 2024. It also remains to be seen how new social media platforms like Threads will approach the threat of misinformation. Changes in policies like WhatsApp launching a "Communities" function connecting multiple groups and expanding group chat sizes may also "have big implications for how quickly misinformation will spread on the platform," she said.
In response to the mounting threat of misinformation, Indian American Impact is ramping up its fact-checking efforts through what the organization says is the first fact-checking website specifically for South Asian Americans. Shah said the group is drawing inspiration from 2022 projects, including a voting toolkit using memes with Bollywood characters and passing out Parle-G crackers with voting information stickers at Indian grocery stores.
Cruz of Factchequeado is paying close attention to misinformation in swing states with significant Latino populations like Nevada and Arizona. And Liu of Asian Americans Advancing Justice is reviewing misinformation trends from previous elections to strategize about how to inoculate Asian American voters against them.
Still, they say there is more work to be done.
Critics are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English. Government and election officials should also make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers, organize media literacy trainings in community spaces and identify “trusted messengers” in communities of color to help approach trends in misinformation narratives, experts said.
“These are not monolithic groups,” Cruz said. “This disinformation is very specifically tailored to each of these communities and their fears. So we also need to be partnering with grassroots organizations in each of these communities to tailor our approaches. If we don’t take the time to do this work, our democracy is at stake.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy 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.wftv.com/news/politics/election/FSP5WS2L5Q6VT75JMZ3QRL72LM/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:42 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/politics/election/FSP5WS2L5Q6VT75JMZ3QRL72LM/ |
TORONTO — (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 39th home run — for a streak of three homers in three at-bats over two games — before being sidelined due to cramping for a second consecutive game.
Ohtani was replaced by pinch-hitter Michael Stefanic when his at-bat came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning due to leg cramps. The Blue Jays beat the Angels 4-1 Friday.
Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani was removed because of cramping in both of his calves.
“We’ll evaluate it tomorrow when he gets up,” Nevin said. “It’s just cramping right now. It’s kind of in both legs. He’s done a lot of work the last two days and wasn’t able to go.”
Ohtani homered twice in the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit on Thursday before leaving with cramps. He threw an eight-strikeout, one-hitter in the opener for his first career MLB shutout.
The two-way superstar became the first player to throw a shutout in one game of a doubleheader and hit one homer — much less two — in the other.
Thursday’s performance against the Tigers came hours after the team confirmed Ohtani will stay with the Angels for the rest of the season before he becomes a free agent.
Nevin said Ohtani’s soreness developed after he grounded out to begin the eighth inning.
“He came in and was trying to get some work done and just kept cramping up,” Nevin said.
Stefanic struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Jordan Romano as Toronto ended the Angels’ four-game winning streak.
On Friday, Ohtani homered on the first pitch he faced, going deep in three straight at-bats. His drive to right came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman and traveled 397 feet.
Ohtani streak of homers ended when he struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from Gausman in the third. He singled off Gausman in the sixth and grounded out to shortstop against left-hander Tim Mayza in the eighth, slowing up as he approached first base.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb 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.wpxi.com/sports/ohtani-homers-3/WPX3HQ73K5FSTCXESVNYCIDTKQ/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:42 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/sports/ohtani-homers-3/WPX3HQ73K5FSTCXESVNYCIDTKQ/ |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Syracuse Ukrainian Festival kicked off today, July 28, at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church on Tompkins Street.
A variety of Ukrainian foods, such as borscht, kielbasa, holubtsi and pyrohy will be available at the festival. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served at a fast food stand as well.
Live music and dancing will be featured by local Ukrainian artists, and Meier’s Creek Brewing will be providing a special festival beer.
The festival will go on tomorrow, July 29, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the church. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/ukrainian-festival-opens-up-at-st-john-the-baptist-church/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:43 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/ukrainian-festival-opens-up-at-st-john-the-baptist-church/ |
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.wftv.com/news/politics/trump-his-top-2024/KY35FPIRKH7G7XJM6JO67FAKPQ/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:48 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/news/politics/trump-his-top-2024/KY35FPIRKH7G7XJM6JO67FAKPQ/ |
(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.localsyr.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:49 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
CHICAGO – Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.
None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.
As the 2024 election approaches, community organizations are preparing for what they expect to be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting communities of color and immigrant communities. They say the tailored campaigns challenge assumptions of what kinds of voters are susceptible to election conspiracies and distrust in voting systems.
“They’re getting more complex, more sophisticated and spreading like wildfire,” said Sarah Shah, director of policy and community engagement at the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org. “ What we saw in 2020, unfortunately, will probably be fairly mild in comparison to what we will see in the months leading up to 2024."
A growing subset of communities of color, especially immigrants for whom English is not their first language, are questioning the integrity of U.S. voting processes and subscribing to Trump's lies of a stolen 2020 election, said Jenny Liu, mis/disinformation policy manager at the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Still, she said these communities are largely left out of conversations about misinformation.
“When you think of the typical consumer of a conspiracy theory, you think of someone who’s older, maybe from a rural area, maybe a white man,” she said. “You don’t think of Chinese Americans scrolling through WeChat. That’s why this narrative glosses over and erases a lot of the disinformation harms that many communities of colors face.”
Tailoring disinformation
In addition to general misinformation themes about voting machines and mail-in voting, groups are catering their messaging to communities of color, experts say.
For example, immigrants from authoritarian regimes in countries like Venezuela or who have lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be “more vulnerable to misinformation claiming politicians are wanting to turn the U.S. into a Socialist state,” said Inga Trauthig, head of research for the Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. People from countries that have not recently had free and fair elections may have a preexisting distrust of elections and authority that may make them vulnerable to misinformation as well, Trauthig said.
Disinformation efforts often hinge on topics most important to each community, whether that is public safety, immigration, abortion, education, inflation or alleged extramarital affairs, said Laura Zommer, co-founder of the Spanish-language fact-checking group Factchequeado.
“It takes advantage of their very real fear and trauma from their experiences in their home countries,” Zommer said.
Other vulnerabilities include language barriers and a lack of knowledge of the U.S. media landscape and how to find credible U.S. news sources, several misinformation experts told The Associated Press. Many immigrants rely on translated content for voting information, leaving space for bad actors to inject misinformation.
“These tactics exploit information vacuums when there’s a lot of uncertainty around how these processes work, especially because a lot of election materials may not be translated in the languages our communities speak or be available in forms they are likely to access,” said Clara Jiménez Cruz, another co-founder of Factchequeado.
Misinformation can also arise from mistranslations. The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found examples of mistranslations in Colombian, Cuban and Venezuelan WhatsApp groups, where “progressive” was translated to “progresista,” which carries “far-left connotations that are closer to the Spanish words ‘socialista’ and ‘comunista.’”
How disinformation spreads
Disinformation, often in languages like Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi, flows onto social media apps like WhatsApp and WeChat heavily used by communities of color.
Minority communities that believe their views and perspectives aren’t represented by the mainstream are likely to “retreat into more private spaces” found on messaging apps or groups on social media sites like Facebook, Trauthig said.
“But disinformation also targets them on these platforms, even though it may feel to them to be that safer space,” she said.
Messages on WhatsApp are also encrypted and can’t be easily seen or traced by moderators or fact-checkers.
“As a result, messages on apps like WhatsApp often fly under the radar and are allowed to spread and spread, largely unchecked,” said Randy Abreu, policy counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which leads the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition.
Abreu also raised concerns about Spanish YouTube channels and radio shows that are growing in popularity. He said the coalition is tracking more and more YouTube and radio personalities who are spreading misinformation in Spanish.
A 2022 report by the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters tracked 40 Spanish-language YouTube videos spreading misinformation about U.S. elections. Many of these videos remained on the platform, despite violating YouTube election misinformation policy, the report said.
Disinformation and disenfranchising communities of color
Amid changes in voting policies at state and local levels, advocates are sounding the alarm on how disinformation about voting in 2024 may target communities of color. Many of these efforts have surged as Asian American, Black and Latino communities have grown in political power, said María Teresa Kumar, founding president of the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino.
“Disinformation is, at its core, meant to be a sort of voter suppression tactic for communities of color,” she said. “It targets communities of color in a way that feeds into their already justifiable concerns that the system is stacked against them."
The tactics also feed into a history “as old as the Jim Crow era of attempting to disenfranchise people of color, going back to voter intimidation and suppression efforts after the Civil Rights Act of 1866,” said Atiba Ellis, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
While many of the same recycled claims around alleged fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections are expected to resurface, experts say disinformation campaigns will likely be more sophisticated and granular in attempts to target specific groups of voters of color.
Trauthig also raised concerns about how layoffs and instability at social media platforms like Twitter may leave them less prepared to tackle misinformation in 2024. It also remains to be seen how new social media platforms like Threads will approach the threat of misinformation. Changes in policies like WhatsApp launching a “Communities” function connecting multiple groups and expanding group chat sizes may also “have big implications for how quickly misinformation will spread on the platform,” she said.
In response to the mounting threat of misinformation, Indian American Impact is ramping up its fact-checking efforts through what the organization says is the first fact-checking website specifically for South Asian Americans. Shah said the group is drawing inspiration from 2022 projects, including a voting toolkit using memes with Bollywood characters and passing out Parle-G crackers with voting information stickers at Indian grocery stores.
Cruz of Factchequeado is paying close attention to misinformation in swing states with significant Latino populations like Nevada and Arizona. And Liu of Asian Americans Advancing Justice is reviewing misinformation trends from previous elections to strategize about how to inoculate Asian American voters against them.
Still, they say there is more work to be done.
Critics are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English. Government and election officials should also make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers, organize media literacy trainings in community spaces and identify “trusted messengers” in communities of color to help approach trends in misinformation narratives, experts said.
“These are not monolithic groups,” Cruz said. “This disinformation is very specifically tailored to each of these communities and their fears. So we also need to be partnering with grassroots organizations in each of these communities to tailor our approaches. If we don’t take the time to do this work, our democracy is at stake.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/29/election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:51 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/29/election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ |
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.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wftv.com/news/world/typhoon-doksuri-is/KZUJATJYGLIC27FQ3S43XTU7IY/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:54 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/news/world/typhoon-doksuri-is/KZUJATJYGLIC27FQ3S43XTU7IY/ |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – A break from the heat and eventually humidity for Central New York this weekend. Details below…
Highs return to the 90s Friday
It may not have been a heat wave, but it certainly was a very warm stretch to end the week. On Friday we cracked 90 degrees for the seventh time in 2023 and the humidity made it feel like the mid 90s.
It is another warm and humid overnight with low temperatures for most within a few degrees of 70.
This weekend a 50/50 split
We will have some scattered showers and thunderstorms to contend with on Saturday. It won’t be a day-long washout, however, with some dry time and partial sunshine still in the mix. A frontal system is moving through midday and early afternoon and that seems to be the most likely time for showers and storms. If you have outdoor plans, keep an eye to the sky and on the Live Doppler 9 app.
At this point, the threat for severe weather seems to be centered south and east of Central New York. We think that heavy downpours and frequent lightning are still possible with any storm that moves through.
The highlight of Harborfest in Oswego, the fireworks show, comes Saturday evening and it looks like the weather cooperates. Showers should be out of the region before sunset and temperatures are in the 70s.
When does it cool down?
Our temperatures start to back off over the weekend. Even with a good deal of sunshine we expect temperatures only in the mid to upper 70s. More importantly, the dew points drop into the 50s to close out the weekend on Sunday which will feel very refreshing! Sunday certainly looks to be the pick day of the weekend, with more in the way of sunshine.
It looks like this change to cooler and less humid air is going to last for a while. There is a cold front coming through on Monday with a few showers and perhaps a thunderstorm. In the wake of this front is another pleasant air mass taking us into the middle of next week and the beginning of August.
Keep checking the latest 7-day forecast. | https://www.localsyr.com/weather/heat-humidity-to-break-this-weekend-with-storms/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:55 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/weather/heat-humidity-to-break-this-weekend-with-storms/ |
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won't be easy.
“We're going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons' assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government's borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown," said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won't even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn't feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. ”So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics."
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got 'til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done," McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don't want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn't happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don't want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year's spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn't vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts "would have just been devastating.”
“That's the challenge we're going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA's decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. "I think that's ridiculous."
It's a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/29/members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T04:24:57 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/29/members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ |
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.wftv.com/sports/nba-tells-teams/GK3QMZOTXILTHGEAS7TTHVDZCM/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:01 | 0 | https://www.wftv.com/sports/nba-tells-teams/GK3QMZOTXILTHGEAS7TTHVDZCM/ |
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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.localsyr.com/weather/saturday-harborfest-and-mowing-forecast/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:01 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/weather/saturday-harborfest-and-mowing-forecast/ |
TAIPEI – 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.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/29/typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:03 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/29/typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ |
TORONTO — (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 39th home run — for a streak of three homers in three at-bats over two games — before being sidelined due to cramping for a second consecutive game.
Ohtani was replaced by pinch-hitter Michael Stefanic when his at-bat came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning due to leg cramps. The Blue Jays beat the Angels 4-1 Friday.
Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani was removed because of cramping in both of his calves.
“We’ll evaluate it tomorrow when he gets up,” Nevin said. “It’s just cramping right now. It’s kind of in both legs. He’s done a lot of work the last two days and wasn’t able to go.”
Ohtani homered twice in the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit on Thursday before leaving with cramps. He threw an eight-strikeout, one-hitter in the opener for his first career MLB shutout.
The two-way superstar became the first player to throw a shutout in one game of a doubleheader and hit one homer — much less two — in the other.
Thursday’s performance against the Tigers came hours after the team confirmed Ohtani will stay with the Angels for the rest of the season before he becomes a free agent.
Nevin said Ohtani’s soreness developed after he grounded out to begin the eighth inning.
“He came in and was trying to get some work done and just kept cramping up,” Nevin said.
Stefanic struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Jordan Romano as Toronto ended the Angels’ four-game winning streak.
On Friday, Ohtani homered on the first pitch he faced, going deep in three straight at-bats. His drive to right came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman and traveled 397 feet.
Ohtani streak of homers ended when he struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from Gausman in the third. He singled off Gausman in the sixth and grounded out to shortstop against left-hander Tim Mayza in the eighth, slowing up as he approached first base.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb 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.wftv.com/sports/ohtani-homers-3/WPX3HQ73K5FSTCXESVNYCIDTKQ/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:07 | 1 | https://www.wftv.com/sports/ohtani-homers-3/WPX3HQ73K5FSTCXESVNYCIDTKQ/ |
TANZANIA – 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.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:09 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ |
NEW YORK – 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 | https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/29/nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ | 2023-07-29T04:25:15 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/29/nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ |
The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship continues this weekend with round 13, the Belgian Grand Prix, which takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and will see the Saturday Sprint race return.
The Spa circuit is nestled within the beautiful Ardennes hills and features a long, unrelenting track that serves as a stern test for car and driver. The average speed approaches 145 mph, making it one of the fastest laps of the season, and drivers experience over 5 g in some of the turns, such as Turn 10, known as Pouhon. The cars also run at full throttle for almost 80% of the lap.
Stretching 4.35 miles, Spa has the longest track on the calendar, resulting in the race lasting only 44 laps—the lowest on the calendar. The track is so big that it’s not unusual to have varying weather conditions at different parts. For example, rain at one end and sunshine at the other. The current forecast calls for heavy rain throughout the weekend, which has already resulted in some calls for the race to possibly be canceled.
The first and third sectors at Spa feature long straights and flat-out sections, but the second sector is twisty. This makes it challenging to find the right balance and set-up compromise, particularly with the wing level.
The track surface is on the abrasive side, meaning tires get quite the workout. Pirelli has nominated its mid-range compounds: the C2 as the White hard, C3 as the Yellow medium, and C4 as the Red soft.
The Belgian round will mark 2023’s third running of the Saturday Sprint race, after the Azerbaijan and Austrian Grands Prix. This season, the Sprint race has been made a standalone event rather than the qualifier for the main race, as was previously the case. It still has championship points on the table for both drivers and teams, however.
The round is the last stop before the summer break and will see some teams run upgrades, including Mercedes-Benz AMG whose cars will feature a new design for the side pods.
Going into the weekend, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 281 points. Fellow Red Bull driver Perez is second with 171 points and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is third with 139 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 452 points, versus the 223 of Mercedes and 184 of Aston Martin in second and third places. Last year’s winner in Belgium was Verstappen, driving for Red Bull.
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Anyone looking to take delivery of Lamborghini’s Revuelto supercar better be prepared to wait (or pay hefty markups on the used market) as the car’s production run for the next two years is already allocated, the automaker announced this week.
Despite an upgrade to Lamborghini’s plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese to accommodate more automated processes, production of the Revuelto is still very much a hands-on affair, with plenty of traditional handcrafted skills retained, ensuring production will remain limited. According to Lamborghini, around 500 staff are dedicated to the car’s production.
The Revuelto was revealed in March as the successor to the Aventador. It’s Lamborghini’s first plug-in hybrid and is powered by a sophisticated setup combining a newly developed V-12 and three electric motors for a combined output of 1,000 hp.
The Revuelto isn’t just an Aventador with more power, though. It represents a ground-up redesign that in addition to electrification includes a new carbon-fiber tub, a new 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and that new V-12.
Lamborghini quotes performance numbers of 2.5 seconds in the 0-62 mph run and a top speed of 218 mph.
Lamborghini hasn’t announcing pricing for the Revuelto in the U.S., but in other markets the car is priced from 500,000 euros (approximately $548,700). Deliveries are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Lamborghini’s Urus will be the automaker’s next plug-in hybrid. The SUV will go the electrified route starting in the first half of 2024. A plug-in hybrid successor to the Huracán will then arrive toward the end of 2024. Further out, Lamborghini plans to launch an electric vehicle in 2028. It was confirmed by the automaker in April as a 2+2 grand tourer.
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- “Wanted: The Escape Of Carlos Ghosn” debuts Aug. 25—watch the trailer | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T04:26:42 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ |
It’s official.
The College of Southern Idaho sent six sophomores onto four-year programs, the school announced in a press release on Friday.
The most recent additions include Gracie Tentinger (University of South Alabama), Saige Nielsen (Utah Valley University) and Makenzie Evans (University of Antelope Valley).
Tentinger leaves behind an outstanding record at CSI as she prepares to contribute her hitting power to the NCAA DI South Alabama Jaguars who compete in the Sun Belt Conference.
She will battle against conference foe Louisiana, the defending Sun Belt Conference champions.
South Alabama finished 39-14 overall and 20-4 in conference.
During Tentinger’s time as a Golden Eagle, she earned NJCAA All-American honors her freshman and sophomore season. This past spring, she finished with a .514 batting average, Region 18 First-Team honors and made the Region 18 All-Tournament Team.
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She holds the all-time CSI career record with 106 RBIs and 38 home runs. Those 38 home runs also gave her a first-place ranking in NJCAA standings.
Nielsen follows standout catcher Rachael Brown, who signed earlier this year, to NCAA DI Utah Valley University.
The pair will now take their skills into the Western Athletic Conference.
Nielsen earned Region 18 Tournament MVP as a freshman. During her sophomore season, she held a .382 batting average with 25 doubles, 20 home runs and 68 RBIs, finishing as a Region 18 All-Tournament selection.
Evans travels to the University of Antelope Valley in Lancaster, California, a program that competes in NAIA’s California Pacific Conference.
Evans, a transfer from Snow College her sophomore year, finished with a .292 batting average, and five home runs.
From the circle, Evans posted a 5.47 ERA with a 5-2 record in 21 appearances for the Golden Eagles.
They follow Gracie Walters (Portland State University), and Brooke Merrill (Weber State University)
Walters, a right-handed pitcher, holds the season record at CSI for strikeouts per seven-inning game with 9.46. The standout pitcher also ranks second in career strikeouts with 329 and sixth in career wins with 32.
She earned NJCAA All-American honors this season and was named Region 18 Pitcher of the Year and Region 18 Tournament MVP.
Portland State University and Weber State University both compete in the Big Sky Conference, and Walters now prepares to battle her old teammate, Merrill.
The Golden Eagles softball team won back-to-back Region 18 titles, and two straight appearances at the Women’s College World Series. | https://magicvalley.com/sports/college/csi/csi-softball-sophomores-signs/article_e3be3dba-2d7a-11ee-9f6a-7f107b5d72af.html | 2023-07-29T04:26:50 | 0 | https://magicvalley.com/sports/college/csi/csi-softball-sophomores-signs/article_e3be3dba-2d7a-11ee-9f6a-7f107b5d72af.html |
Mercedes-Benz has introduced an update to its mid-size van family to help keep the vehicles fresh until the arrival of successor models based on a dedicated electric vehicle platform later this decade.
The sole mid-size van Mercedes currently sells in the U.S. is the Metris. In other markets, the Metris is known as the Vito and is sold alongside a luxury version called the V-Class. The Vito and V-Class also come in electric form, known as the eVito and EQV respectively.
While the Vito has been updated, there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. as an updated Metris. The current Metris is still available to U.S. buyers but will be phased out later this year.
The updates to the mid-size van family include tweaks to the exterior styling highlighted by an enlarged grille and new light signatures for the headlights. There’s also a new dash design that adopts a single panel integrating both a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch infotainment screen in the plush V-Class and EQV. In the Vito and eVito commercial models, the dash sticks to analog gauges with a 5.5-inch screen in the center, plus a 10.3-inch infotainment screen. Buyers also have five new colors to choose from, along with various wheel patterns ranging from 17-19 inches in diameter.
Mercedes has also added new digital services and safety features, one of which is an updated Active Brake Assist feature that now functions in intersections. Active Brake Assist is a collision warning system that supports the driver by automatically adding extra braking pressure when necessary, and activating automatic emergency braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes.
No change has been made to the powertrains meaning buyers have a series of diesels to choose from, including 4- and 6-cylinder options, plus an electric powertrain in the eVito and EQV.
While the U.S. will soon lose the Metris, Mercedes in May said it will bring a luxury mid-size van to this market later this decade. It will be based on the new Van.EA platform. The dedicated EV platform will spawn its first model in 2026, though Mercedes hasn’t revealed the model’s identity.
Mercedes said it expects electric vans to account for 50% of its van sales by 2030.
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One game now stands between Minico and the Idaho American Legion Single A State Championship game, after the Storm beat Northern Lakes Mountaineers 8-3 on Friday in Nampa.
The Storm don’t look to be slowing down either, after suffering an opening rounds loss to Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen, their hitting power has sent out 18 hits and four doubles over the past two games.
Cayden Fletcher, who finished 2-for-3, stepped up in the middle of the batting order against the Mountaineers and led the Storm with three RBIs.
Fletcher holds four hits and eight RBIs over the course of three games played in this tournament.
Jayden McKenzie has nailed a double in the past two games.
There was no shortage of hitting for Minico against the Mountaineers. Logan Mabey went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Cole Huff went 2-for-3 and Spencer Pease went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
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The Storm took an early lead in the third inning, using two sacrifice flies and a walk to put four runs on the board.
Jase Murphy, the winning pitcher, struck out eight, gave up three hits and two runs (one earned) over five and two-thirds innings.
Minico will battle Idaho Falls JNS. That game is set for 10 p.m. Saturday at Rodeo Park in Nampa.
A win there would put Minico in the championship game with a chance to become back-to-back state champions. | https://magicvalley.com/sports/high-school/baseball/minico-legion-baseball-state-tournament/article_b9b84bc2-2d8a-11ee-9aef-f789226ed9b3.html | 2023-07-29T04:26:56 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/sports/high-school/baseball/minico-legion-baseball-state-tournament/article_b9b84bc2-2d8a-11ee-9aef-f789226ed9b3.html |
Porsche earlier this week revealed more than just a first look at its lounge-like road-trip fast-charging stations, to be laid out along some top routes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Within details for these design-savvy charging oases there was a bigger technology reveal: Its EVs in the future, it hinted, may charge above 300 kw and perhaps closer to 400 kw.
That message came within how the automaker explained the charging hardware situated at these Porsche Charging Lounges. They’ll be “perfectly tailored to the requirements of Porsche drivers on long journeys,” the company explained. That means a current max charge power of 300 kw from the Alpitronic hardware at those stations, it explained, but it then stated: “By the start of next year, 400 kw per charging point should be possible.”
Since its launch, the Porsche Taycan has been capable of 800-volt DC fast-charging up to 270 kw—made more reproducible for 2022—offering a 5-80% charge in as little as 22.5 minutes.
The 2024 Porsche Macan Electric, which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2024 and built on the PPE platform jointly developed by Porsche and Audi, will inherit the Taycan’s 800-volt charging. But Porsche has suggested that PPE may be capable of a bit more.
While the Macan may stretch closer to 300 kw, it has to be another future vehicle that fast-charges at an even higher rate, taking advantage of those 400-kw connectors.
But the charger announcement may be teasing a product that’s yet to come and farther in the future. Will that be the Boxster-inspired electric sports car, which might include the 718 badge; a production version of the 900-volt Mission X concept the brand recently revealed; or another new EV from the sports-car brand? Or all of the above?
Porsche has said that by 2030 over 80% of the vehicles it delivers globally will be fully electric—although it’s suggested that the last gasoline model it will make will be the 911.
That said, a model that might take advantage of a 400-kw connector might top out higher than the Lucid Air, which reaches a max just over 300 kw, and the GMC Hummer EV with the largest dual-layer pack, which can at times pull the full power from a 350-kw connector.
Such a model tapping the potential of a 400-kw connector might not be coming until 2025 or 2026, but when it does, then Porsche looks prepared with the infrastructure.
The Taycan is already approaching its intended gas-station refueling times—if the infrastructure’s there. With some carefully planned charging stops, one crossed the U.S. last year at real-world highway speeds with just 2.5 hours of charging.
As for those lounges, Porsche aims to place them close to “busy routes with significant traffic flow,” make them open 24/7, barrier-free, and part of the Ionity network, and provide centralized billing and a very comfortable environment. If the images provided, showing woodgrain finishes, bright interiors, workout areas, and rooftop solar cells are any indication, it looks like a very pleasant environment compared to the edge of the Walmart parking lot or strip-mall access road.
Although Porsche has no plans to build these charging oases in the U.S. as of yet, fellow VW Group entity Electrify America offers 350-kw connectors at many of its 809 U.S. fast-charging locations. And the national fast-charging network set to be bankrolled by seven automakers, announced earlier this week, with 350-kw connectors as a baseline, will help support these even-faster-charging EVs.
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- 2018-2023 Nissan Leaf EV recalled for cruise-control acceleration flaw | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ | 2023-07-29T04:26:56 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ |
Tasia Cobbs throws knives and hatchets for a living.
She loves it, too.
Cobbs, a Twin Falls resident, encountered her newfound passion on a job search. She noticed a business in town, Bearded Axe, and applied without knowing how it would change her life.
She later became a manager and now an ambassador of local ax throwing.
“I never went (ax throwing) before,” Cobbs told the Times-News. “I saw it on TV once. I heard about it being like a little trendy thing but I went in there and I was like, ‘This is the coolest place. It would be so cool to put up boards, throw axes, teach people and run leagues.’ Create a community in Twin Falls like that.”
Cobbs will compete at the Far-Thro Axe Throwing Tournament, which started Thursday, in Fargo, North Dakota. Cobb said this tournament marks the first televised all-women’s ax-throwing final. The finals will be broadcast on Fargo’s NBC and CBS affiliates, according to the event website.
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Cobbs went 4-2 in Friday’s knives-throwing competition and represents the Magic Valley as the only competitor from the area. Ax throwing occurs Saturday.
Cobbs found a passion when she entered a World Axe Throwing League. Her newfound ax-throwing endeavors unlocked a sense of community, opportunities to travel across the country, two trips to the World Axe Throwing Championship and many friendships.
Cobbs traverses the country in pursuit of ax-throwing titles thanks to sponsorships from Bearded Axe and the Choctaw Nation tribe of Oklahoma.
She said she dabbled in ax throwing and found focus in a non-impact sport.
“We are older and if you don’t want to go play softball, if you don’t want to play these hard-impact sports, you can hang out, have a beer or two, hang with your friends and challenge yourself,” Cobbs said. “It is great.”
Cobbs said Philadelphia remains her farthest trip for a tournament and recently won top female in the knives discipline at Jumping Jackalope in Spokane, Washington, and the Capital City Classic in Virginia. She also won a ladies’ tournament last year in the hatchet discipline.
Fellow Twin Falls ax throwers Vince Prater and Jackson Woolley will compete next weekend in Salt Lake City.
Adam Engel is the sports editor at the Times-News. He can be reached via phone at 208-735-3288, via Adam.Engel@magicvalley.com or via Twitter @AdamEngel9. | https://magicvalley.com/sports/tasia-cobbs-twin-falls-idaho-ax-throwing-fargo-bearded-axe/article_a27210b2-2d97-11ee-a54d-6b026f770245.html | 2023-07-29T04:27:02 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/sports/tasia-cobbs-twin-falls-idaho-ax-throwing-fargo-bearded-axe/article_a27210b2-2d97-11ee-a54d-6b026f770245.html |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two weeks into the the actors strike, Max Greenfield is urging the studios and their CEOs to return to the bargaining table.
“Be the heroes, come to the table, make a deal,” said Greenfield, who co-stars in the CBS sitcom “The Neighborhood.” “My hope is these guys get organized and have a real conversation with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA so that we can get to a resolution,” he said, referencing the unions for the writers and actors, respectively.
Greenfield spoke at a charity ping pong event at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, joined by his co-star Cedric the Entertainer.
“We struck because our deal was up and it’s time to adjust to what has changed in the business. To make a minor adjustment feels disproportionate to what has obviously changed in a massive, massive way,” Greenfield said. “Until we feel like we’re getting fair compensation and we feel like we’re protected, this is going to continue to go on.”
Bryan Cranston, who had fiery words for Disney CEO Bob Iger at a New York rally on Tuesday, acknowledged things are “going very, very slowly.”
“Until we’re able to get back to the table, which we are more than willing to do and we’ve told them so, we want to keep talking through this strike,” he said. “We want to end this as soon as possible.”
On July 14, actors joined striking screenwriters who walked out in May. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America are striking for fair pay and protections involving the use of artificial intelligence, among other issues.
There has reportedly been no negotiating between the unions and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers since shortly after the actors hit the picket lines.
“I think when people realize that the artists are the people that are making this and nothing is going to get made without the actors and the writers, maybe that will force a little more flexibility in the negotiations,” Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck said.
Actor and entrepreneur Danny Trejo urged the studios to look beyond Hollywood’s highest-paid actors and consider the financial plight of those working behind the scenes.
“One of the problems is people on top are making a lot of money right now and they don’t want to share,” he said. “We’ve got people that are in SAG that can’t even afford to live in LA. It’s like, wait a minute guys, we got to just be fair.
“Figure if one of your kids was trying to get into the movies and was working as an extra or just made it into SAG, they couldn’t live in LA,” Trejo said, imagining the offspring of a Hollywood CEO. “Oh no wait, yes they could. They could live in Beverly (expletive) Hills with you, punk.”
Trejo filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy earlier this year and owes over $2 million in back taxes to the IRS, according to a report by KABC-TV.
“I make good money, but right now I’m buried in taxes, so I have to work that out,” he said. “This strike is killing me. I can’t pay what I’m supposed to be paying for my taxes, so man, imagine the guy that’s making $18 an hour and not working all the time.”
Actor Holly Robinson-Peete, a SAG member since 1977, said it’s important for the actors’ union to communicate the economic issues behind the strike.
“We’re not just a bunch of spoiled people that want more and we’re greedy,” she said. “The majority of our union are people who are not working very often, can’t really make a living at this. It’s going to take an incredible amount of patience and messaging, and we just got to stick to it.” | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-actor-max-greenfield-urges-studio-ceos-to-be-the-heroes-and-make-a-deal-in-hollywood-strikes/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:10 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-actor-max-greenfield-urges-studio-ceos-to-be-the-heroes-and-make-a-deal-in-hollywood-strikes/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Adidas said Friday that it is releasing a second batch of high-end Yeezy sneakers after cutting ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear brand seeks to unload the unsold shoes while donating to groups fighting antisemitism.
The online sale, to start Wednesday through Adidas smartphone apps and its website, follows an earlier set of sales in May. Models that will be available include the Yeezy Boost 350 V2, 500, and 700 as well as the Yeezy Slide and Foam RNR.
The company cut ties with Ye in October after he made antisemitic and other offensive remarks online and in interviews. That left Adidas holding 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of unsold Yeezys and searching for a responsible way to dispose of them.
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in May that selling the popular sneakers and donating some of the profits was the best solution to deal with the unsold inventory and make a difference. He said the company spoke with nongovernmental organizations and groups that were harmed by Ye’s comments and actions.
Part of the profits from the sales of the Yeezy shoes will go to the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
Shoes sold directly by Adidas in North America will include blue square pins established by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism as a symbol of solidarity in rejecting antisemitism, the company said.
The Anti-Defamation League calls the sale “a thoughtful and caring resolution” for the unsold merchandise and that “any attempt to turn the consequences of (Ye’s) actions into something that ultimately benefits society and the people he has hurt is most welcome.”
Adidas declined to give details on numbers of shoes that would be released for sale and how much of the proceeds would be donated. Asked if Ye would receive royalties from the sales, the company would only say that “we will honor our contractual obligations and enforce our rights but will not share any more details.”
The company said Monday that the first sale of Yeezy shoes helped its preliminary second-quarter financial results and contributed to it raising its outlook for the year — from a high single-digit decline in revenue to a mid-single digit decline.
That would still amount to an operating loss of 450 million euros (more than $494 million) this year, instead of a loss of 700 million euros.
Adidas, which reports its earnings for the first half of the year on Thursday, said it expected future Yeezy sales to further boost its results. | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-adidas-to-release-second-batch-of-yeezy-sneakers-after-breakup-with-ye/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:16 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-adidas-to-release-second-batch-of-yeezy-sneakers-after-breakup-with-ye/ |
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Justin Coleman loved his time as a student and athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill. He graduated in 2016.
"It was just a great environment. It was a dream come true being able to be there," said Coleman.
The UNC Alum said he had friends from different communities and was exposed to different cultures.
"It's such an inclusive place and, and it was kind of a melting pot because you had people coming from all over the country," he said.
But there's concern the diverse student body he experienced not too long ago may not be the same for the next generation of Tarheels.
After millions of dollars and years of fighting to keep UNC's race-conscious admission programs, it all comes to an end. Coleman said it's disheartening.
"I definitely think Affirmative Action, takes steps in the right direction, as far as making sure that, kids that may not have the same advantages have a chance to be able to go to the schools," said Coleman.
In a three-page resolution, UNC's Board of Trustees approved measures that prohibit the university from using race in its admissions decisions following the Supreme Court's ruling last month that UNC's admissions program violated the 14th Amendment.
Board Chairman David Boliek said the resolution confirms the university's commitment to comply with the law.
"It certainly represents the commitment by our board, to not unlawfully discriminate against anybody to allow everybody to learn," said Boliek.
Applicants can still use personal statements to show how they overcame adversity but race-based preferences are not allowed.
"What we're hoping happens is, is that the admissions team looks at what I believe will be honest and honest answers from students," said Boliek. "The essays are designed to show the admissions team, a couple of things one, a little bit about yourself, but also, how do you write what are your writing skills."
But the resolution comes with pushback.
The only no vote was from Board member Ralph Meekins who said the board is moving too fast and the resolution goes too far.
"I just don't think it's good timing. I think it sends the wrong message. I know our university, the administration, the faculty, and the staff, want to do all that it is legally able to do to create a diverse student body," said Meekins.
At this week's board of trustees meeting Meekins expressed concern about possible legal ramifications behind the resolution.
"One of the problems with this decision is it goes beyond the Supreme Court decision, which still merely deals with admissions, and it goes into hiring and contracting.
We asked Chairman Boileck what the board is doing to make sure UNC's Campus remains diverse.
"I firmly believe that we're going to continue to have a very vibrant and diverse community. But you know, we'll have to see, because this is uncharted waters," said Boliek. | https://abc11.com/unc-admissions-supreme-court-affirmative-action-ruling-scotus/13566262/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:23 | 0 | https://abc11.com/unc-admissions-supreme-court-affirmative-action-ruling-scotus/13566262/ |
DALLAS (AP) — The combat boots and dog tags Alan Alda wore while playing the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye on the beloved television series “M-A-S-H” sold at auction Friday for $125,000.
Alda held onto the boots and dog tags for more than 40 years after the show ended but decided to sell them through Heritage Auctions in Dallas to raise money for his center dedicated to helping scientists and doctors communicate better.
The buyer’s name wasn’t released.
Alda, 87, said he wore the boots and dog tags for the 11-season run of the show about a Korean War medical unit. His character, Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, was a talented surgeon who helped ease the stress of working in a war zone with quips and practical jokes. The show’s final episode, which aired in 1983 and was written and directed by Alda, was the most watched TV show in U.S. history.
The boots and dog tags, given to him by the costume department, “made an impression on me every day that we shot the show,” said Alda, who won five Emmys for his work on the sitcom.
Alda said auctioning off the dog tags and boots now made sense. “I saw this as a chance to put them to work again,” he said.
The money raised from the auction will go to the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York, which aims to help scientists and doctors communicate better through the use of improvisational exercises and other strategies.
_____
Associated Press writer Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report. | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-boots-and-dog-tags-alan-alda-wore-on-m-a-s-h-sell-at-auction-for-125000-that-will-go-to-charity/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:23 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-boots-and-dog-tags-alan-alda-wore-on-m-a-s-h-sell-at-auction-for-125000-that-will-go-to-charity/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida on Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees against Disney’s efforts to neutralize the governor’s takeover of Disney World’s governing district.
The judge in state court in Orlando denied Disney’s motion in the lawsuit that says the company wrongly stripped appointees of powers over design and construction at Disney World when it made agreements with predecessors, who were supporters.
The case is one of two lawsuits stemming from the takeover, which was retaliation for the company’s public opposition to the so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation championed by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers. In the other lawsuit, in federal court in Tallahassee, Disney says DeSantis violated the company’s free speech rights.
The governor has touted his yearlong feud with Disney in his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, often accusing the entertainment giant of being too “woke.” Disney has accused the governor of violating its First Amendment rights.
Attorneys for Disney had argued that any decision in state court would be moot since the Republican-controlled Legislature already has passed a law voiding agreements that the company made with a prior governing board made up of Disney supporters that gave design and construction powers to the company.
The entertainment giant had asked that the state court case be put on hold if it’s not dismissed until the federal lawsuit in Tallahassee was resolved since they covered the same ground and that lawsuit was filed first.
In that case, Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in an effort to stop the takeover, saying the governor was violating the company’s free speech and “weaponizing the power of government to punish private business.”
DeSantis wasn’t a party in the state court lawsuit.
The fight between DeSantis and Disney began last year after the company, facing significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. But before the new board came in, the company made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and construction.
In response, DeSantis and Florida lawmakers passed the legislation that repealed those agreements.
Disney announced in May that it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development. Disney had planned to build the campus about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-disneys-efforts-to-neutralize-governing-district-takeover/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:30 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-disneys-efforts-to-neutralize-governing-district-takeover/ |
The 75th Emmy Awards are the latest production to be put on pause due to the Hollywood strikes and will not air as planned in September.
A person familiar with the postponement plans but not authorized to speak publicly pending an official announcement confirmed the delay Friday. No information about a new date was immediately available.
The Emmy Awards were scheduled to be broadcast on Fox on Sept. 18. Rules laid out by the actors’ union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, say stars cannot campaign for the Emmys or attend awards shows while on strike.
Writers are also not permitted to work on awards shows until the strike ends.
Whenever the next Emmy Awards are held, HBO will walk in as the leading contender. The network is up for 74 awards for three of its top shows: “ Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us.”
“Ted Lasso” has the most comedy category nominations with 21, including best comedy series and best actor for Jason Sudeikis.
Roughly 65,000 SAG-AFTRA actors and 11,500 Writers Guild of America screenwriters are on strike, calling for better pay, structure with residual payments and protection from the use of artificial intelligence. | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-the-emmy-awards-are-postponed-due-to-the-hollywood-actors-and-writers-strike-source-says/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:36 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-the-emmy-awards-are-postponed-due-to-the-hollywood-actors-and-writers-strike-source-says/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
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.
“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.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-travis-scott-drops-utopia-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:43 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-travis-scott-drops-utopia-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/ |
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.fox43.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T04:27:45 | 1 | https://www.fox43.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
NEW YORK (AP) — The entertainment publication Variety, under fire this week for an article it published about former CNN chief Jeff Zucker’s interest in his old employer, revised the piece on Friday to reflect some of the complaints about it.
None of its changes affected what was written about Zucker, however. He has called for the story to be retracted.
The article by Tatiana Siegel, which initially ran online Tuesday, depicted Zucker as badmouthing his successor at CNN, Chris Licht, while simultaneously trying to buy the news organization that fired him in early 2021. Licht’s unsuccessful run atop the struggling news network ended with his firing in May.
The dispute also points to the dangers inherent in the use of confidential sources by journalists. There are at least a dozen claims made in the story that Variety did not attribute to a named source that were denied on the record, either in the story or after publication, leaving it up to readers to decide who to believe.
“There used to be a time when Variety held its content and its reporters to a high standard of truth and facts in journalism, but those days are clearly over,” said Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for Zucker. “It is stunning to read a piece that is so patently and aggressively false. On numerous occasions, we made it clear to the reporter and her editors that they were planning to publish countless anecdotes and alleged incidents that never happened. They did so anyway. The piece is a total joke.”
Variety’s co-editor-in-chiefs, Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, said in a statement Friday that they have been carefully following the conversation about the story.
“The story was heavily vetted and deeply sourced,” they said. “Everyone included in the story was asked to comment and given the chance to respond. We stand by our reporting and our award-winning reporter.”
The piece is also critical of two reporters who have covered CNN, Tim Alberta of The Atlantic and Dylan Byers of Puck. Both of those news organizations complained of inaccuracies and, in the changes made on Friday, Variety added their specific denials.
Zucker’s team hasn’t sought to hide ill feelings toward Licht, but strongly denied he has tried to buy CNN.
The story begins with an anecdote about Zucker, “with tears in his eyes,” approaching David Zaslav in Miami Beach in March. Zaslav is CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, current owners of CNN, and Variety said Zucker complained that Licht was unfairly maligning him in the press. Zaslav wanted to know if Zucker was trying to assemble investors to buy CNN.
Byers, writing for Puck, said “multiple sources” said no such run-in at the Faena Hotel ever took place and Zucker’s spokeswoman said that anecdote wasn’t checked with them; Variety says it was.
The story outlines several specific efforts made by Zucker, or on his behalf, to convince investors to join him in buying CNN. The story includes his denials: “Any allegation or insinuation that Jeff has made any effort to purchase CNN is unequivocally false,” Heller said. Zucker is now head of a private equity firm, RedBird IMI.
At one point, Variety also floated the theory that a secret group of investors was using Zucker’s name without his knowledge to approach Warner Bros. Discovery about buying CNN.
In a June 4 article, The New York Times reported that Zucker was not in talks to buy CNN, although “he has told some associates he would be interested in acquiring the network” if it came up for sale one day, the newspaper said.
The Variety article “struck me as utterly implausible and sophomoric,” Byers wrote for Puck this week.
Variety’s piece called Byers “a former Zucker disciple at CNN who, by his own admission, wrote about Licht incessantly and even took a victory lap after his exit.” The piece described Byers as a writer of “Zucker fan fiction” and criticized him for a conflict of interest in not disclosing in any of his articles that Zucker once had discussions about funding Puck, an online subscription news service.
In its revision on Friday, Variety quoted Puck’s co-founder, Jon Kelly, saying the discussions with RedBird were not disclosed by Byers because “Dylan was intentionally unaware of them.”
For The Atlantic, Alberta wrote a widely-read story that seen by many as being instrumental in Licht’s dismissal by Zaslav. Variety was critical of Alberta, and accused the reporter of using material in his story that he had agreed to keep off the record — a serious charge of malfeasance against a journalist.
As with Byers, Variety didn’t change what it had written about Alberta. But it added a paragraph to its story using some of what Alberta had written on social media, including a denial that he had used off-the-record material, and disputing Variety’s claim of how many times he had met with Licht while reporting the story.
The story was reposted on Variety’s home page. The only indication that it had been changed was a note at its end: “This story was updated on July 28 to reflect new statements from Kelly and Alberta.” | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-variety-revises-article-on-former-cnn-chief-jeff-zucker-that-was-sharply-criticized/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:49 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ap-variety-revises-article-on-former-cnn-chief-jeff-zucker-that-was-sharply-criticized/ |
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.fox43.com/article/sports/baseball/schwarber-hits-hr-wheeler-11-ks-phillies-beat-pirates-2-1-fourth-win-five-games/521-d8b2c753-2847-4974-8494-907e4f67a558 | 2023-07-29T04:27:51 | 0 | https://www.fox43.com/article/sports/baseball/schwarber-hits-hr-wheeler-11-ks-phillies-beat-pirates-2-1-fourth-win-five-games/521-d8b2c753-2847-4974-8494-907e4f67a558 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.
Together, the figures provided the latest signs that the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation may succeed without triggering a recession, an outcome known as a “soft landing.”
A price gauge closely monitored by the Fed rose just 3% in June from a year earlier. That was down from a 3.8% annual increase in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% from May to June, up slightly from 0.1% the previous month.
Last month’s sharp slowdown in year-over-year inflation largely reflected falling gas prices, as well as milder increases in grocery costs. With supply chains having largely healed from post-pandemic disruptions, the costs of new and used cars, furniture and appliances also fell in June.
The cost of some services, though, continued to surge. Average prices of movie tickets rose 0.5% from May to June, and are up 6.2% from a year earlier. Veterinary services, up 0.5% last month, are 10.5% higher than a year ago. And restaurant meal prices increased 0.4% in June; they’re up 7.1% from 12 months earlier.
A measure of “core” prices, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, did remain elevated even though it also eased last month. Economists track core prices because they are considered a better signal of where inflation is headed. Those still-high underlying inflation pressures are a key reason why the Fed raised its short-term interest rate Wednesday to a 22-year high.
Core prices were still 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, well above the Fed’s target, though down from 4.6% in May. From May to June, core inflation was just 0.2%, down from 0.3% the previous month, an encouraging sign.
A separate report Friday from the Labor Department showed that a gauge of wages and salaries grew more slowly in the April-June quarter, suggesting that employers were feeling less pressure to boost pay as the job market cools.
Employee pay, excluding government workers, rose 1%, down from 1.2% in the first three months of 2023. Compared with a year earlier, wages and salaries grew 4.6%, down from 5.1% in the first quarter.
The Fed is closely watching the pay gauge, known as the employment cost index. Smaller wage increases should slow inflation over time, because companies are less likely to need to raise prices to cover their higher labor costs.
Taken together, Friday’s data “will provide further support to the view that the economy is in the midst of a soft landing,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. The softer wage data, she suggested, “will be welcomed by Fed officials.”
Americans’ average paychecks are still growing briskly, boosting their ability to spend and underscoring the economy’s resiliency. The inflation report that the Commerce Department issued Friday showed that consumer spending jumped in June, despite two years of high inflation and 11 Fed rate hikes over 17 months. From May to June, consumer spending rose 0.5%, up from 0.2% the previous month.
“Better push out those recession forecasts by another quarter,” Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at investment bank Santander, wrote in a research note.
The inflation gauge that was issued Friday, called the personal consumption expenditures price index, is separate from the better-known consumer price index. Earlier this month, the government reported that the CPI rose 3% in June from 12 months earlier.
The Fed prefers the PCE index because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps — when, for example, consumers shift away from pricey national brands in favor of cheaper store brands. And housing costs, which are among the biggest inflation drivers but many economists think aren’t well-measured, carry about half the weight in the PCE than the CPI.
With inflation now steadily cooling, consumers are becoming more optimistic about the economy, a trend that could lead them to keep spending and driving growth.
On Friday, the University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index rose in June to its highest level since October 2021, though it has still recovered only about half of the drop caused by the pandemic. And earlier this week, the Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose this month to its highest point in two years.
The U.S. economy is in a hopeful but precarious place: A solid job market is bolstering hiring, lifting wages and keeping unemployment near a half-century low. Yet inflation is weakening rather than rising, as it typically does when unemployment is low. That suggests that the Fed may be able to achieve a soft landing.
The Fed’s policymakers, though, are concerned that the steadily growing economy could help perpetuate inflation. This can occur as persistent consumer demand enables more companies to raise prices, thereby keeping inflation above the Fed’s target and potentially causing the central bank to raise rates even higher.
The latest evidence of the economy’s resilience came Thursday, when the government reported that it grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the April-June quarter — faster than analysts had forecast and an acceleration from a 2% growth rate in the first three months of the year.
At a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate, now at about 5.3%, was high enough to restrain the overall economy and likely tame inflation over time. But Powell added that the Fed would need to see more evidence that inflation has been sustainably subdued before it would consider ending its rate hikes.
Powell declined to offer any signal of the central bank’s likely next moves. In June, Fed officials had forecast two more rate hikes this year, including Wednesday’s.
“I would say it is certainly possible that we would raise (rates) again at the September meeting, if the data warranted,” Powell said Wednesday, “and I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting.” | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T04:27:55 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ |
Tesla is ramping up efforts to open showrooms on tribal lands where it can sell directly to consumers, circumventing laws in states that bar vehicle manufacturers from also being retailers in favor of the dealership model.
Mohegan Sun, a casino and entertainment complex in Connecticut owned by the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, announced this week that the California-based electric automaker will open a showroom with a sales and delivery center this fall on its sovereign property where the state’s law doesn’t apply.
The news comes after another new Tesla showroom was announced in June, set to open in 2025 on lands of the Oneida Indian Nation in upstate New York.
“I think it was a move that made complete sense,” said Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, which has lobbied for years to change Connecticut’s law.
“It is just surprising that it took this long, because Tesla had really tried, along with Lucid and Rivian,” she said, referring to two other electric carmakers. “Anything that puts more electric vehicles on the road is a good thing for the public.”
Brown noted that lawmakers with car dealerships that are active in their districts, no matter their political affiliation, have traditionally opposed bills allowing direct-to-consumer sales.
The Connecticut Automotive Retail Association, which has opposed such bills for years, says there needs to be a balance between respecting tribal sovereignty and “maintaining a level playing field” for all car dealerships in the state.
“We respect the Mohegan Tribe’s sovereignty and the unique circumstance in which they operate their businesses on Tribal land but we strongly believe that this does not change the discussion about Tesla and other EV manufacturers with direct-to-consumer sales, and we continue to oppose that model,” Hayden Reynolds, the association’s chairperson, said in a statement. “Connecticut’s dealer franchise laws benefit consumers and provide a competitive marketplace.”
Over the years in numerous states, Tesla has sought and been denied dealership licenses, pushed for law changes and challenged decisions in courts. The company scored a victory earlier this year when Delaware’s Supreme Court overturned a ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit Tesla from selling its cars to directly customers.
At least 16 states have effectively changed their laws to allow Tesla and other direct-to-consumer manufacturers to sell there, said Jeff Aiosa, executive director of the Connecticut dealers association. He doesn’t foresee Connecticut changing its law, noting that 32 “original equipment manufacturers,” a list that includes major car companies like Toyota and Ford, currently abide by it.
“It’s not fair to have an unlevel playing field when all the other manufacturers abide by the state franchise laws and Tesla wants this exception to go around the law,” he said. “I would suggest their pivoting to the sovereign nation is representative of them not wanting to abide by the law.”
Tesla opened its first store as well as a repair shop on Native American land in 2021 in New Mexico. The facility, built in Nambé Pueblo, north of Santa Fe, marked the first time the company partnered with a tribe to get around state laws, though the idea had been in the works for years.
Brian Dear, president of the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico, predicted at the time that states that are home to tribal nations and also have laws banning direct car sales by manufacturers would likely follow New Mexico’s lead.
“I don’t believe at all that this will be the last,” he said.
Tesla’s facility at Mohegan Sun, dubbed the Tesla Sales & Delivery Center, will be located at a shopping and dining pavilion within the sprawling casino complex. Customers will be able to test drive models around the resort. and gamblers will be able to use their loyalty rewards toward Tesla purchases.
Tesla also plans to exhibit its solar and storage products at the location. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:01 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s banking sector could withstand a severe economic downturn without depleting their financial buffers against losses, the European Central Bank said Friday.
A survey of 98 large and medium-sized banks done by the ECB’s supervisory arm in conjunction with the European Banking Authority showed that even in the most adverse scenario — a fall of almost 10% in economic outpoint over three years — banks would still have enough capital to cover losses and then some.
The stress test was not a pass-fail exercise for banks in the 20 countries that use the euro currency. Rather, results for individual banks will be used by banking regulators in determining how much capital they need to hold in reserve.
Banks are crucial to the European economy because companies get most of their financing from them, instead of from financial markets — the opposite of the situation in the U.S.
The ECB took over supervision of the biggest banks after the eurozone debt crisis more than a decade ago, when bank losses led to heavy bailout costs for governments. National supervisors were perceived to have been less than vigilant on developing risks.
Scrutiny of bank finances has grown after the failure of three U.S. banks amid rising interest rates that led to losses on investments and mass withdrawal of deposits. The financial turmoil then hit Credit Suisse, a globally significant bank that had long-running problems, leading the Swiss government to engineer an emergency takeover by rival UBS to prevent further banking chaos.
Switzerland is not part of the European Union, where some of the safeguards instituted after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis were more widely applied. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:15 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ |
Ethan Schmidt-Crockett, one of Phoenix’s notorious alt-right trolls, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges stemming from anti-Semitic harassment at a Scottsdale synagogue.
The 25-year-old entered the plea to charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing during an arraignment in Scottsdale City Court. The next hearing in the case is set for August.
From smashing Pride displays at Target stores to threatening LGBTQ+ people and bullying employees wearing masks at a Mesa wig shop, Schmidt-Crockett has roamed the streets of Phoenix and its suburbs on various bigoted crusades. More recently, he has set his sights on targeting synagogues and spewing antisemitic hate speech.
Yet despite a few arrests and misdemeanor charges — not to mention widespread public outcry — Schmidt-Crockett has not faced any serious legal repercussions for his actions. He got away without any jail time — though he did receive three years of probation — for harassing employees of Sunny's Hair and Wigs in Mesa for the store’s mask policy in 2021.
The store, which provides wigs for cancer patients, has maintained strict masking policies to protect its immunocompromised patrons.
These new charges in Scottsdale, however, may carry some jail time. The disorderly conduct charge is a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail. The trespassing charge is a class 3 misdemeanor, which could mean up to 30 days in jail. At the hearing, Judge James Blake commented that prosecutors were "seeking jail time" for the incident.
Scottsdale police began investigating Schmidt-Crockett after receiving a report that he had caused a disturbance at a local synagogue, Congregation Beth Tefillah, on May 6, according to a police incident report. Officers found the video Schmidt-Crockett posted on social media of the incident, which shows Schmidt-Crockett barging into the synagogue and yelling "Jesus Christ is the Messiah."
A man at the synagogue, who appeared to be familiar with Schmidt-Crockett, forced him out of the building. "I know you," the man told him, according to the video. "You're not welcome here."
Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, founder of Congregation Beth Tefillah, told police that Schmidt-Crockett engaged in similar harassment during a stop at the synagogue on May 18, 2022. “He seems a little deranged and created fear among myself and others. Who knows what the limit of his craziness is,” Allouche told officers, according to the incident report.
Schmidt-Crockett said little in the courtroom on Wednesday. He met with prosecutors for a time before his arraignment but apparently did not agree to a plea.
Stopped by New Times outside of the courthouse, Schmidt-Crockett appeared somewhat dazed and then said, "Jesus Christ is the Messiah." Asked about his plea, he said, "Yeah. It's whatever." | https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/right-wing-troll-ethan-schmidt-crockett-facing-months-in-scottsdale-jail-16776368 | 2023-07-29T04:28:18 | 1 | https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/right-wing-troll-ethan-schmidt-crockett-facing-months-in-scottsdale-jail-16776368 |
MILAN (AP) — French luxury conglomerate Kering has reached a cash deal to purchase a 30% stake in Italian fashion house Valentino for 1.7 billion euros from a Qatari investment firm.
With the purchase, Kering is seeking to shore up its revenue stream as it struggles to turn around former powerhouse Gucci. Kering on Thursday reported first-half revenues of 10.1 billion euros, up 2%, as Gucci sales stagnate.
Under the deal announced Thursday, Kering has the option to buy 100% of Valentino no later than 2028. The partnership could lead to the Qatari investment firm, Mayhoola, becoming a shareholder in Kering, as well as other potential “joint opportunities,” the statement said.
Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault expressed admiration for “the evolution of Valentino under Mayhoola ownership,” which Kering said turned Valentino “into one of the most admired luxury houses in the world.”
“I am very pleased of this first step in our collaboration with Mayhoola to develop Valentino and pursue the very strong strategic journey of brand elevation,’’ citing the role of Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini, who “will continue to lead.”
Gucci, which accounts for nearly half of Kering revenues, is in the throes of a relaunch, with a new management team and a new creative director, Sabato De Sarn o, who will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week in September.
Valentino, founded by Valentino Garavani in 1960, recorded revenues of 1.4 billion euros in 2022. Pierpaolo Piccoli has been creative director at Valentino since 2008, working alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri from 2008-16. With its corporate base in Milan and design studio in Rome, the fashion house is a mainstay of Paris fashion week with its womenswear and couture collections while recently returning menswear to Milan. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:23 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ |
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. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:27 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
TOKYO (AP) — An official in charge of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says the upcoming release of treated radioactive water into the sea more than 12 years after the reactors’ meltdown marks “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decades-long decommissioning process.
Junichi Matsumoto, the corporate officer in charge of treated water management for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also pledged to conduct careful sampling and analysis of the water to make sure its release is safely carried out in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency standards.
The water is being treated with what’s called an Advanced Liquid Processing System, which can reduce the amounts of more than 60 selected radionuclides to government-set releasable levels, except for tritium, which the government and TEPCO say is safe for humans if consumed in small amounts.
“The release of the ALPS-treated water into the sea is a major milestone for us, as well as for the decommissioning of the plant,” Matsumoto said in an interview with The Associated Press at TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo.
“In order to steadily advance decommissioning, the ever-growing amounts of water was a pressing issue that we could not put off, and we had a sense of crisis,” said Matsumoto, a nuclear engineering expert. “We still have to tackle far more challenging and higher-risk operations such as removal of melted debris and spent fuel” from the damaged reactors, he said.
Another task for TEPCO is combatting the damage to the reputation of Fukushima fisheries caused by the water release, he said.
A massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water, which has since leaked continuously. The water is collected, filtered and stored in around 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.
Large amounts of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the reactors. Robotic probes have provided some information about its status, but it remains largely unknown.
The government and TEPCO say the water must be removed to make room for the plant’s decommissioning, and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks because much of the water is still contaminated and needs retreatment.
The release plan has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the accident. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.
Matsumoto said the key to gaining understanding is to patiently explain the situation by providing scientific evidence.
“It is difficult, but we hope to make it as easy to understand as possible,” he said. “If we describe (the water release) in one word, it’s safe.”
“As the operator responsible for the accident, we must admit TEPCO is a company that is not fully trusted. We must keep up the effort and sincerely respond to any concern,” Matsumoto said. “It is our responsibility to demonstrate we can carry out the water release as planned, and that’s how we can regain public trust.”
The government said the release is set to start this summer but hasn’t set the date amid protests. TEPCO has obtained safety permits for all of the equipment needed for the release and is currently carrying out training so the water release team can begin work at any time, Matsumoto said.
“It’s not like just turning a faucet to run tap water,” he said.
Scientists generally agree that the environmental impact of the treated wastewater would be negligible, but some call for more attention to dozens of low-dose radionuclides that remain in it, saying data on their long-term effects on the environment and marine life are insufficient and the water requires close scrutiny.
The treated water will be diluted with massive amounts of seawater and will be released gradually over many years.
Matsumoto acknowledged that treated water that came in contact with the damaged nuclear fuel contains radionuclides such as uranium and plutonium that are not in water that is routinely released from healthy nuclear plants around the world.
He said the total concentration of radionuclides in the water meets government standards after treatment, and after dilution the wastewater will be fully safe and have a minimal environmental impact, according to the IAEA, which has provided assistance in evaluating the release plan.
Matsumoto said he has struggled to manage the massive amounts of contaminated water to keep it from escaping into the environment and safely stored at the plant since the accident.
There were instances in which plant workers had no other choice but to dump some into the sea or temporarily put it inside a basement or in temporary water tanks, Matsumoto recalled.
Now, after taking measures to minimize the seeping of rainwater and groundwater into the reactor buildings and establishing a stable water management system, the amount of contaminated water has come down to less than one-fifth of what it used to be, he said. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:30 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ |
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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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German economy is still failing to grow, figures showed Friday, as the country that should be the industrial powerhouse for all of Europe struggles with high energy prices, rising borrowing costs and a lagging rebound from key trading partner China.
Economic output in Germany stagnated in the April-to-June quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said. That follows a decline of 0.1% in the first three months of the year and a drop of 0.4% in the last three months of 2022 as the energy shock from Russia’s war in Ukraine echoed through Europe’s largest economy.
It comes after the International Monetary Fund forecast this week that Germany would be the globe’s only major economy to shrink this year, even with weak economic growth around the world amid rising interest rates and the threat of growing inflation.
In Germany, the economy has been buffeted by several challenges. Above all, its long-term dependence on Russian natural gas to fuel industry backfired when the invasion of Ukraine led to the loss of most of Moscow’s supply and to higher costs for energy-intensive industries such as metals, glass, cars and fertilizer.
Higher interest rates from the European Central Bank have weighed on construction projects that depend on borrowing. Meanwhile, the rebound in China, Germany’s largest trade partner, after the end of drastic COVID-19 restrictions has been less than many had hoped for.
The second-quarter economic performance was “far from satisfactory,” said Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
He urged action on his proposal to cap energy prices for industry with government help, which has run into skepticism in parts of the governing coalition, and more investment in future-oriented technology such as renewable energy.
“What Germany needs is a targeted impulse for investment and breathing room for our energy-intensive industry,” he said.
Longer-term factors such as an aging population, lagging use of digital technology in business and government, excessive red tape that holds back business launches and public construction projects, and a shortage of skilled labor also have weighed on the economy.
Yet the slowdown does not resemble a classic recession because jobs are abundant, with companies competing for workers and complaining of skills shortages. The unemployment rate was only 2.9% in May, well below the eurozone’s 6.5% — one of the lowest rates on record.
Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING, has described Germany’s situation as a “slowcession,” with the economy “stuck in the twilight zone between stagnation and recession.”
He said Friday that recent data “do not bode well for economic activity in the coming months.”
“In fact, weak purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books, as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the U.S. economy, all argue in favor of weak economic activity,” Brzeski said in a note.
Germany’s woes are calling forth comparisons with the late 1990s, when high labor costs held back the country’s competitiveness. A series of labor market reforms under former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2003-2004 helped restore economic growth and Germany’s position as an export powerhouse selling industrial machinery and vehicles to the rest of the world.
Germany’s current account surplus of $290 billion, the broadest measure of foreign trade, was the highest in the world in 2019, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. It remained above 7% of GDP for six straight years but fell to 4.2% last year. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:37 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ |
NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Japan explored collaborating in critical technologies, including semiconductors and resilient supply chains, as part of plans to reach a target of $35.9 billion Japanese investment in the country by 2027, officials said on Friday.
Foreign Ministers of India and Japan, S. Jaishankar and Yoshimasa Hayashi, met in New Delhi on Thursday and also discussed ways to deepen defense equipment and technology cooperation. Hayashi is on a two-day visit to the Indian capital.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global supply of parts and raw materials needed to complete a variety of products – from cars to computer chips.
Hayashi and Jaishankar also emphasized the crucial role of a strong partnership between India and Japan in ensuring an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and rules-based, a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry said.
They discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including the Quad grouping that also includes the United States and Australia, the statement said. The grouping aims at countering the growing challenge posed by an aggressive China in the region.
Japan considers India an indispensable partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said at a meeting with business leaders from the two countries.
He said he has been encouraging Japanese companies to invest in 15 key sectors identified by India as eligible for subsidies. These include telecommunications equipment, automobiles, and applied chemical batteries.
“All of this has led to the remarkable growth in Japanese investment into crucial technologies such as medical equipment, electronics, and household electric appliances,” Hayashi said.
Jaishankar and Hayashi expressed satisfaction at the strengthening of defense and security cooperation between the two countries, including regular exercises and talks between all three services, the statement said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to build a chipmaking industry suffered a potential setback earlier this month as electronics giant Foxconn backed out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd.
In February last year, the two companies announced their joint venture to manufacture chips and display panels in India.
India has made building a chipmaking sector a national priority as part of a self-reliance policy to secure stable supplies. It is offering financial incentives of up to 50% of project costs under a $10 billion plan for semiconductor and display manufacturing projects.
India and Japan share strong economic ties. Trade between the two was worth $20.57 billion in fiscal year 2021-2022. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:44 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A merger that would have created one of the largest health service companies in the Upper Midwest has been scrapped.
Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health announced Thursday that they would not proceed with the merger they had been discussing since late last year. It would have created a system with more than 50 hospitals and about 78,000 employees.
This is the second time in a decade that the two companies considered a merger but failed to complete it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The latest attempt drew fierce opposition at the University of Minnesota, which has a partnership with Fairview. The university sold its teaching hospital to Fairview in 1997 and opposed the idea of an out-of-state entity owning the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. The merged system would have been based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s largest city.
Statements from the two companies’ CEOs stated that without support from stakeholders, it was determined that the merger couldn’t move forward.
The companies first considered merging in 2013 but met with strong political opposition.
Minnesota lawmakers this spring gave the state attorney general additional power to scrutinize health care mergers, including the Sanford-Fairview proposal.
The affiliation between Fairview and the University of Minnesota includes financial support from Fairview for the school’s academic medicine mission. This agreement continues through 2026, but both parties have an option to signal by the end of this year if they want to end the partnership. Fairview has said the current agreements are not financially sustainable. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-merger-talks-end-between-large-health-care-systems-in-minnesota-south-dakota/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:51 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-merger-talks-end-between-large-health-care-systems-in-minnesota-south-dakota/ |
Each year, the Phoenix Rescue Mission hands out more than 600,000 bottles of water to people living on the streets.
Every day, case managers with PRM, like Sergio Armendariz, load up a PRM Hope Coach with lifesaving essentials to hit the city's streets. Those essentials include water, snacks, and some basic necessities, like deodorant and a toothbrush.
"Especially in Phoenix, you could go down any area, and I can go through pretty much all or most of my hygiene and water just because of the amount of people who are living on the street," Armendariz said.
"This is typically a spot where there's always a lot of people," he said.
One man he came across, David, said he'd been experiencing homelessness for about two years.
"It's just tough out here," David said. "I can barely walk, or get out of bed."
He told Armendariz that he wanted to get out of the hot Phoenix sun that day. Armendariz called some of his contacts at PRM and other local non-profit organizations to see what was available.
A lot of times, that's not a quick or easy task for him because of the number of people experiencing homelessness looking to get off the streets.
"I think, with this job, that's the toughest part about it is being able to find bed space," Armendariz said. "Sometimes, it's just not enough. That's why I'm huge on more shelter space."
SEE MORE: How much heat is too much for the human body?
David ended up not wanting to start a year-long recovery program, which would have gotten him a space at a shelter that had room that week.
Armendariz understands why making the decision to make a change can be difficult for some people. Five years ago, he was in the same place as the people he now serves.
"Every day, I get to wake up and I give thanks to God for having a place to sleep, a shelter, restoration with my family, restoration with my kids, with my extended family," he said.
"It's just been amazing, really. Freedom - the freedom to just live my life, go to work every day, and do something that I really enjoy doing, and it has its difficulties, but, ultimately, I'm here to help."
Phoenix Rescue Mission is currently doing its "Code:Red Summer Heat Relief" campaign through the end of August.
If you'd like to help or donate, visit their website.
This story was originally published by Amelia Fabiano at Scripps New Phoenix.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kxlf.com/advocates-rush-to-help-those-living-with-homelessness-in-record-heat | 2023-07-29T04:28:57 | 0 | https://www.kxlf.com/advocates-rush-to-help-those-living-with-homelessness-in-record-heat |
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. | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:57 | 1 | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Procter & Gamble reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits and revenue, showing that the appetite for established brands like Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper is still strong even as the consumer products company pushes up prices.
P&G increased prices by about 7% across various brands from the same period last year, less than the 10% increase in third quarter. Global volume fell 1% in the quarter, however, still an improvement over a 3% drop in volume during the third quarter, and a 6% drop in the second quarter.
During a call with analysts Friday, Chairman and CEO Jon Moeller said higher prices are tied to company innovations and aren’t going away.
Examples include Cruiser 360 diapers, made for babies that move around a lot. Sales have increased 33% over the past 12 months, according to Andre Schulten, the company’s chief financial officer. And a detox body wash sold in China called Safeguard goes for twice the market average price. Sales have almost doubled in the past year.
“When you have a strong innovation program, it compels consumers to try even better performing products,” Moeller said.
During the fourth quarter prices for fabric care, as well as home and health care, went up 6% and grooming products rose 9%. Beauty items rose 8%.
Pricing has been a boost to sales growth in nearly all of P&G’s past 51 quarters, Moeller said.
The easing of volume declines may be encouraging news for P&G and other producers after recent evidence of a pushback by shoppers to seemingly relentless price hikes coming from a broad spectrum of retailers and companies the make products for them.
Conagra Brands, which makes Slim Jim beef jerky, Duncan Hines cake mix and more, said this month that smaller price increases have not translated to higher sales volume. The company raised prices 15% in the quarter before that and it didn’t dent demand.
Also this month, PepsiCo said higher prices lifted the company’s revenue in the second quarter but snack food volumes fell 3% in the April-June period, while beverage volumes dropped 1%. The company said that price increases could start to moderate in the second half of this year.
Overall inflation continues to slow and on Friday, the U.S. reported that the consumer price index, which is followed closely because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps, rose in June at the slowest pace in more than two years.
Procter & Gamble Co., based in Cincinnati, reported net income of $3.39 billion, or $1.37 per share, in the quarter ended June 30. That compares with $3.06 billion, or $1.21 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Sales rose 5% to $20.6 billion from $19.51 billion in the quarter.
Analysts were expecting $1.32 per share on sales of $20.01 billion, according to FactSet.
P&G expects fiscal 2024 sales growth in the range of 3% to 4% versus the prior year. The company expects organic sales growth, which excludes deals and currency moves, to be in the range of 4% to 5%.
P&G expects net earnings per share growth in the range of 6% to 9% for the current year. This outlook equates to a range of $6.25 to $6.43 per share, with a mid-point estimate of $6.34, or an increase of 7.5%. Analysts were expecting $6.37 per share.
Shares rose more than 3% Friday.
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Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-pgs-better-than-expected-4q-results-show-consumers-appetite-for-iconic-brands-despite-price-hikes/ | 2023-07-29T04:28:59 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-pgs-better-than-expected-4q-results-show-consumers-appetite-for-iconic-brands-despite-price-hikes/ |
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.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE 4Front Ventures Corp. | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:04 | 0 | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/4front-announces-executive-team-equity-compensation-details-signs-definitive-agreement-extension-senior-secured-debt/ |
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7 Days | https://www.krgv.com/gallery-videos/border-wars-tonight-at-the-payne-arena | 2023-07-29T04:29:06 | 0 | https://www.krgv.com/gallery-videos/border-wars-tonight-at-the-payne-arena |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers voted Friday to approve an amended but divisive law on Russian influences believed to be targeting the opposition and criticized by the U.S. and the European Union.
The law was proposed in May by Poland’s ruling right-wing Law and Justice party and critics see it as primarily targeting opposition leader and former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, before a parliamentary election scheduled for this fall. Following criticism, President Andrzej Duda proposed urgent amendments to tone it down.
The lower house, or Sejm, voted 235-214 with four abstentions to reject the Senate’s veto to the draft law amended by Duda. It only now requires Duda’s signature to take effect.
The amended bill calls for a commission to check whether between 2007 and 2022 politicians have taken decisions under Russia’s influence that could threaten Poland’s security. Duda has said it is needed for transparency’s sake and to prevent Russia from influencing Poland’s stability in the future.
Poland is supporting neighboring Ukraine to fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion and is supplying weapons, humanitarian aid and political backing for Kyiv. That has drawn harsh comments from Moscow.
The previous, more restrictive law is currently in effect, but the commission members haven’t been chosen yet.
When it takes effect, the law will create a powerful committee by experts but not lawmakers to investigate Russian influence in Poland and name politicians who allegedly allowed them, thus barring them in practice from holding public positions. However, critics say it is primarily targeting Tusk, who also served as a top EU official.
Law and Justice accuses Tusk of having been too friendly toward Russia and President Vladimir Putin as prime minister between 2007 and 2014, and making gas deals favorable to Moscow before he went to Brussels to be the president of the European Council between 2014 and 2019.
Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and Tusk are longtime political rivals.
Critics say the law violates the Polish Constitution and could keep government opponents from holding public office by having a negative effect on their eligibility, especially in a parliamentary election later this year. Amendments by Duda, who holds a law doctorate, allowed for the commission verdict to be appealed to court.
The U.S. State Department and EU authorities have strongly criticized the law in its first version and expressed concerns about Poland’s democracy. The 27-member EU, which Poland joined in 2004, also threatened to take measures, if it became fully clear that such a law would undermine democratic standards.
When Duda proposed the amendments in June, he also bowed partially to critics and sent the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal for a review for conformity with the supreme law. That verdict is still pending. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-polands-lawmakers-approve-a-divisive-law-on-russian-influence/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:06 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-polands-lawmakers-approve-a-divisive-law-on-russian-influence/ |
RICHMOND, Va. — The mighty James. A watery wonderland drawing outdoor enthusiasts like a magnet. From kayakers to canoeists, it provides a river of relief from sizzling temperatures.
But 75 miles up river from Richmond two boaters see opportunity.
“This is the Cadillac experience of the James out here,” said Captain Will Cash.
Captains Will Cash at the bow and Will Smith at the stern helm the James River Batteau Company out of Scottsville.
”I think the middle James is about as special river than I’ve ever been on,” said Captain Will Smith. “More or less, this is smack in the middle of what is known as America’s Founding River.”
It's tour business nearly 15 years in the making.
”We’ve been talking about doing this forever so we said lets give this idea a try and here we are,” explained Cash.
Launched last summer, the friends from high school are riding a wave of success — at two miles an hour.
“So Batteau is the French word for boat,” said Smith. ”To start a business that is about a boat that 99% of the general public has never heard of it may have been a risky proposition.”
The Amherst County natives power their vessel and ply these shallow waters using a pole and old-fashioned elbow grease. Which is exactly the point.
“We get some steps that is for sure,” said Cash.
The Wills whisk their customers back two centuries to a time, when the Batteau ruled the river
”This has been an extremely looked over aspect of our history and unfortunately not a lot of Virginians know anything about,” said Smith.
Hundreds of flat-bottomed boats were fueling the Commonwealth’s economy for decades.
”Rivers like this, with the James River Basin here, this would have been this would have been the most important super highway really of the era,” explained Smith. “It is intricate to understanding the settlement of Virginia.”
Their business isn’t just about the bottom line. The captains pay homage to the forgotten boaters who toiled between Lynchburg and Richmond so long ago.
“It is a testament to their will and strength to be able to get these boats down the James,” said Cash.
The men are steering a tradition that began in the 1770s.
“The vast majority of men would have been enslaved African Americans, poor whites operating boats and a fair amount of freedmen operating boats as well,” said Smith.
The Batteau’s impact ebbed from the James River when railroads were introduced.
“The peak batteau year would have been 1830,” said Smith.
Gone are the cargoes of tobacco, sugar and tea. These 21st century Batteaumen entertain and educate customers offering tours by day and cruises at sunset along a stretch of the river dripping with natural beauty.
“Lots of wildlife out here. We’ve seen bald eagles, osprey bobcat and bear seen things like that out here,” said Cash. “So yeah this is one of the best places to come to and enjoy central Virginia and what it has to offer.”
Their ancient vessel is actually quite new.
“Most of the people just look and say ‘that is a gorgeous boat,” said Smith. “I don’t know what that is but I want to be on that boat.”
Last winter, the friends built their 45-foot boat christened Morning Dew by hand which was a months long labor of love. They created a craft unlike most others on James.
“When we first started doing it, we had people taking us for gator fishermen,” said Smith, laughing.
Potential customers like Sita Rose Young admire the captains’ conviction.
“It is so cool. We want to be part of the tour,” said Seta. “When you get synced up with nature to that level and know how to navigate a river like this. Priceless.”
For Smith, Batteau life has been part of family lore since he was born.
“I was afforded a front row seat to the resurgence of this watercraft and I consider that a privilege to bring that to the public,” said Smith.
Smith’s dad Ralph founded the James River Battaeu Fest in 1987. The same year Will was born.
“Clearly when my father introduced me to these boats he thought he was going to show me a special part of the world but I don’t think he thought it would be a career path but here we are,” said Smith.
Ralph’s son finds comfort following in his father’s wake.
“I see it almost as a sacred duty to be able to carry this on and I hope I’m making him proud,” said Smith.
Steering a hobby into a full-time calling with your lifelong friend.
“It is a story in Virginia that a lot of people don’t know,” said Cash. ”For sure. Will and I are lucky to do this.”
Will Smith and Will Cash, making a splash on the James River.
“We’ve spent a lot of hours out here in this water,” said Smith.
Captaining a new venture from stem to stern. A voyage that is also keeping the past afloat.
”We consider ourselves among the first full-time Batteaumen in about 150 years at this point so,” said Smith. “If people don’t talk about it or carry it on these things disappear.”
You can learn more about the James River Batteau Company here. | https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-river-batteau-july-28-2023 | 2023-07-29T04:29:10 | 0 | https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-river-batteau-july-28-2023 |
Shohei Ohtani pulled for pinch hitter in 9th due to cramps
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:06 pmByESPN.com news
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 39th home run Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, but was removed from the game for the second straight day because of cramps.
Manager Phil Nevin said afterward that Ohtani was removed because of cramps in both calves and that he would be re-evaluated Saturday. A day earlier, Ohtani left the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit because of cramps.
Asked about a possible injured list stint for Ohtani, Nevin said, “We’re not even thinking of that.”
“We’ll evaluate it tomorrow when he gets up,” Nevin said. “It’s just cramping right now. It’s kind of in both legs. He’s done a lot of work the last two days and wasn’t able to go.”
Ohtani threw a one-hitter in the opener against the Tigers on Thursday for his first career MLB shutout, then homered twice in the second game.
Nevin said Ohtani’s soreness Friday night developed after he grounded out to begin the eighth.
“He came in and was trying to get some work done and just kept cramping up,” Nevin said.
Ohtani was replaced by pinch hitter Michael Stefanic when his at-bat came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Stefanic struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Jordan Romano as Toronto won 4-1 to end the Angels’ four-game winning streak.
After being greeted with a loud ovation from the sellout crowd of 42,106 on Friday, Ohtani homered on the first pitch he faced, going deep in three straight at-bats over two games. He threw a one-hitter in the opener Thursday for his first career MLB shutout, then homered twice in the second game.
Ohtani’s 397-foot drive Friday came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman. His streak of homers ended when he struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from Gausman in the third. Ohtani singled in the sixth and grounded out against left-hander Tim Mayza in the eighth.
Before the game, Nevin said Ohtani would get an extra day of rest before his next start, which was scheduled for next Thursday’s home game against Seattle.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247463 | 2023-07-29T04:29:10 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247463 |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin courted leaders from Africa at a summit on Friday, hailing the continent’s growing role in global affairs and offering to expand political and business ties.
Addressing the Russia-Africa summit for a second day, Putin said Moscow would closely analyze a peace proposal for Ukraine that African leaders have sought to pursue.
“This is an acute issue, and we aren’t evading its consideration,” the Russian leader said, emphasizing that his government was treating the African initiative with respect and “looking at it attentively.”
He encouraged the African leaders to talk to Ukraine, which has refused to engage in talks until Russian troops pull back. “I believe it’s necessary to also talk to the other side, although we are grateful to our African friends for their attention to the issue,” Putin said at the St. Petersburg summit.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said African leaders were looking forward to engaging further with Putin later Friday on their peace proposal.
“It is our hope that constructive engagement and negotiation can bring about an end to the ongoing conflict,” Ramaphosa, who leads sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed country, said, adding in South Africa, “our own history has taught us that this is indeed possible.”
Without specifically mentioning the fighting in Ukraine, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni denounced those who foment ideologically-driven military conflicts as “time and opportunity wasters,” adding that “human history will move on, whether they like it or not.”
“The only justified wars are the just wars, like the anti-colonial wars,” Museveni said. “Wars of hegemony will fail and waste time and opportunity. Dialogue is the correct way.”
In the public portion of a late night meeting Friday about the peace proposal, Putin repeated to the African leaders his explanations for the conflict’s origins and Russia’s actions in it, without giving any specific reaction to their suggestions. The African leaders said they expected to hear Putin’s detailed reactions in a subsequent closed part of the meeting.
In his speech, Putin reaffirmed his pledge that Russia will maintain steady supplies of grain and other agricultural products to the continent after its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine. Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has fueled concerns of a global food crisis.
“Russia will always be a responsible international supplier of agricultural products and will continue to support the countries and region in need by offering free grain and other supplies,” the Russian leader said.
He declared at the summit’s opening Thursday that Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic each will receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of Russian grain in the next three to four months.
In comparison, the U.N. World Food Program shipped 725,000 tons of grain to several countries, including Somalia, under the Black Sea deal.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres responded to Putin’s pledge of no-cost grain shipments by noting that such donations of grain can’t compensate for the impact of Moscow cutting off grain exports from Ukraine, which along with Russia is a top supplier to the world market.
Guterres said the U.N. was in contact with Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and other countries to try to reestablish the year-old agreement, under which Ukraine exported more than 32 million tons of grain. The resumption of shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports allowed global food prices to drop significantly from the levels they reached after Putin sent troops into the neighboring country.
The deal brokered a year ago by the U.N. and Turkey reopened Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked by fighting and provided assurances that ships entering them wouldn’t be attacked. Russia declined to renew the agreement last week, complaining that its own exports were being held up.
Putin used the summit to repeat his accusations against the West of obstructing the export of Russian grain and fertilizers, including proposed no-cost supplies of fertilizers to Africa.
The Russia-Africa summit marks a renewed Kremlin effort to bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage. Africa’s 54 nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Only 17 heads of state were at the summit, compared to 43 at the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, a sharp drop in attendance that the Kremlin has attributed to what it described as “outrageous” Western pressure to discourage African countries from showing up.
Putin hailed Africa’s role in the emerging “multipolar world order,” noting that “the era of hegemony of one or several countries is receding into the past, albeit not without resistance on the part of those who got used to their own uniqueness and monopoly in global affairs.”
“Russia and Africa are united by an innate desire to defend true sovereignty and the right to their own distinctive path of development in the political, economic, social, cultural and other spheres,” he said.
He said Russia plans to expand trade and economic ties with Africa and continue efforts to relieve their debt burden by writing off another $90 million of their debts.
Putin noted that Moscow also stands ready to bolster defense ties with African countries by helping train their military and expanding supplies of military equipment, some of them on a no-cost basis.
___
This story corrects the amount that Ukraine exported under the Black Sea deal to 32 million tons.
___
Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-putin-woos-african-leaders-at-a-summit-in-russia-with-promises-of-expanding-trade-and-other-ties/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:13 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-putin-woos-african-leaders-at-a-summit-in-russia-with-promises-of-expanding-trade-and-other-ties/ |
Reds reward manager David Bell with 3-year contract extension
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:07 pmByESPN.com news
LOS ANGELES — The Cincinnati Reds, riding the momentum of a surprisingly exhilarating season, agreed to a three-year extension with manager David Bell on Friday, keeping him at his position through the 2026 season.
Bell, 50, is midway through his fifth year in Cincinnati and the last on his previous contract. The Reds lost 100 games last year but have experienced a dramatic turnaround on the back of an exciting young nucleus, sitting 56-48 while 1½ games out of first place in the National League Central. If they can fend off the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, they’d become the first team in major league history to go from triple-digit losses to a division title from one season to the next.
“I absolutely love our players,” Bell said prior to the series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Love our team, love the direction we’re headed in, and I really feel strongly about where we’re headed. A lot of wins ahead, a lot of success ahead, and I’m truly, truly honored to be able to do this, a job that I love, in the city of Cincinnati.”
Bell, the son of longtime third baseman and current Reds executive Buddy Bell, was born and raised in Cincinnati, helping to lead Archbishop Moeller High School to the baseball state championship in 1989 and getting drafted in the seventh round the following year. A 12-year major league career was followed by a four-year stint managing in the Reds’ minor league system, which Bell parlayed into coaching stints with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals from 2013 to 2017.
The Reds re-hired Bell as their manager in October of 2018, following a one-year stint in player development with the San Francisco Giants. Bell then led the Reds to the playoffs during the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020 and an 83-win season in 2021 before struggling with a rebuilding team the following summer.
The Reds are now outfitted with an array of dazzling young players, led by hard-throwing starting pitcher Hunter Greene and dazzling young shortstop Elly De La Cruz. The likes of Will Benson, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer and Andrew Abbott have also matriculated to the big leagues and thrived this season.
“I’m excited about where we are, I’m excited about where we’re going,” Reds general manager Nick Krall said. “Are we there yet? No. We still have work to do. But at the same time, it’s been a lot of fun to watch these players grow, these coaches grow, and our team, organization, get better, and it’s from the minor leagues all the way to the big leagues.” | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247465 | 2023-07-29T04:29:16 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247465 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s rally got back on track Friday following more encouraging profit reports and the latest signal that inflation is loosening its chokehold on the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 1% to its highest close in more than 15 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 176 points, or 0.5% after breaking a 13-day winning streak the day before. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.
Stocks have been rising recently on hopes high inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates. That in turn could allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession. The S&P 500 closed out its third straight winning week and its ninth in the last 11.
A report on Friday bolstered those hopes, saying the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Perhaps just as importantly, data also showed that total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers looking for bigger raises, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means the Federal Reserve’s hike to interest rates on Wednesday will be the final one of this cycle. The federal funds rate has leaped to a level between 5.25% and 5.50%, up from virtually zero early last year. High interest rates work to lower inflation by slowing the entire economy and hurting prices for stocks and other investments.
Critics, though, say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast. The full effects of the Fed’s rate hikes have yet to make their way fully through the system. Other parts of the economy could still crack under the pressure, like the three U.S. bank failures this spring that shook confidence. Plus, inflation remains above the Fed’s target level, and the central bank could have to keep the brakes on the economy a while to get it down to target.
“Don’t underestimate central bank commitment to 2% inflation,” Bank of America economists wrote in a BofA Global Research report.
Still, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally and lead the market Friday.
Microsoft, Apple and Amazon each rose at least 1.4% and were the three strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.
Companies also continued to deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Roughly halfway through the earnings season, more companies than usual are topping profit forecasts, according to FactSet.
Intel rose 6.6% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter, when analysts were expecting a loss.
Food giant Mondelez International climbed 3.7% after reporting stronger results for the spring than expected. The company behind Oreo and Ritz also raised its forecasts for financial results for the full year.
On the losing end was Exxon Mobil. It fell 1.2% and was the heaviest single weight on the S&P 500. It reported weaker profit for the spring than expected, though its revenue topped forecasts.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 44.82 points to 4,582.23. The Dow added 176.57 to 35,459.29, and the Nasdaq jumped 265.55 to 14,316.66.
In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% after the Bank of Japan made moves that could allow longer-term interest rates to rise. Stocks rose in China and were modestly higher across Europe.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.95% from 4.00% late Thursday. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans.
The two-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, fell to 4.87% from 4.92%.
Yields dipped after a survey said sentiment among U.S. consumers wasn’t quite as high in July as thought, though it was still the strongest reading since October 2021.
The report from the University of Michigan also said expectations for inflation inched up in July but remain well below where they were last year. The Fed wants to keep such expectations anchored because it fears a vicious cycle where expectations for high inflation only worsen it.
___
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-stock-market-today-asian-shares-mixed-tokyo-falls-as-bank-of-japan-adjusts-bond-purchase-policy/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:20 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-stock-market-today-asian-shares-mixed-tokyo-falls-as-bank-of-japan-adjusts-bond-purchase-policy/ |
NBA sends memo to teams addressing Damian Lilard’s trade request
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:08 pmByTIM BONTEMPS
In the wake of posturing about Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard’s desire to play only for the Miami Heat by his agent, Aaron Goodwin, the NBA sent a memo to all 30 teams Friday stating that any player, or his agent, who makes public or private comments indicating he won’t “fully perform the services called for under his player contract in the event of a trade” will be subject to discipline.
The memo, which was obtained by ESPN, said the league had interviewed Lillard and Goodwin in the wake of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting earlier this month that Goodwin called other teams and warned them against trading for Lillard because he would be unhappy anywhere but Miami.
Goodwin also stated to multiple outlets that his client wanted to play only for the Heat.
The NBA said in the memo that Goodwin “denied stating or indicating to any team that Lillard would refuse to play for them.” It went on to say that the “relevant teams” provided descriptions of their communication with Goodwin that were “mostly, though not entirely, consistent with Goodwin’s statements to us.”
Lillard and Goodwin also told the NBA he would fulfill his contract regardless of where he was traded.
The NBA said it had informed the National Basketball Players Association that any private or public comments like this will be subject to discipline. The league already has rules about publicly issuing trade requests, though they are allowed to be done privately.
Lillard informed the Blazers on July 1 that he would like to be traded after the team used the third pick in last month’s NBA draft on star point guard prospect Scoot Henderson. Speaking to reporters during the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said it could take “months” to complete a Lillard trade.
Lillard has played his entire 11-year NBA career for the Blazers.
“I think what I’ve learned more than anything is patience is critical,” Cronin said. “Don’t be reactive. Don’t jump at things just to seemingly solve a problem. I think the teams that have ended up in the most positive situations post-trade have been the ones that have been really diligent in taking their time and not been impulsive, or the teams that really kept their urgency under control.
“So I think that’s how my approach has been with this and will be with this. We’re going to be patient; we’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months.” | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247467 | 2023-07-29T04:29:23 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247467 |
Bill Arkoosh, 87, of Gooding died Friday, July 28, 2023, at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Arrangements are under the care of Demaray Funeral Service—Gooding Chapel.
Harvey L. Brauburger, 67, of Richfield died Friday, July 28, 2023, at The Cove of Cascadia in Bellevue. Arrangements are under the care of Demaray Funeral Service—Shoshone Chapel.
Armendine “Amy” Osthoff Berry, 79, of Twin Falls died Friday, July 28, 2023, at Harmony Place Living in Twin Falls. Arrangements are under the care of Demaray Funeral Service—Gooding Chapel.
Bryan Harris Jr., 91, of Twin Falls died Thursday, July 27, 2023. Arrangements are under the care of Wilks Magic Valley Funeral Home, Twin Falls. | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/death-notices/article_5efc7dc6-2d6b-11ee-be97-eb5d647c9e31.html | 2023-07-29T04:29:24 | 1 | https://magicvalley.com/news/local/obituaries/death-notices/article_5efc7dc6-2d6b-11ee-be97-eb5d647c9e31.html |
NEW YORK (AP) — The fate of U.S. trucking company Yellow Corp. isn’t looking good.
After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time.
Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company has some 30,000 employees across the country.
Here’s what you need to know.
Not yet. But industry experts suspect that a bankruptcy filing could come any day now.
People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the company could seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week — with some noting that a significant amount of customers have already started to leave the carrier.
Meanwhile, according to FreightWaves, employees were told to expect the filing Monday. Yellow laid off an unknown number of employees Friday, the outlet later reported, citing a memo that stated the company was “shutting down its regular operations.”
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. As of this week, he estimates that number is down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups earlier this week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow media contacts did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’ requests for comment on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
The reports of bankruptcy preparations arrive just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with general president Sean O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On Sunday, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
Talks between Yellow and the Teamsters, which also represents UPS’s unionized workers, are ongoing. The current contract expires in March 2024.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
If Yellow files for bankruptcy and customers continue to take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow declares bankruptcy and liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-trucking-company-yellow-corp-is-reportedly-preparing-for-bankruptcy-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:27 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-trucking-company-yellow-corp-is-reportedly-preparing-for-bankruptcy-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ |
Dodgers trade for Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly in latest additions
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:08 pmByALDEN GONZALEZ
The Los Angeles Dodgers added an experienced arm to their short-handed rotation and a familiar face to the back end of their bullpen Friday, acquiring starter Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the Chicago White Sox, the teams announced.
In exchange, the White Sox received outfielder Trayce Thompson, who was originally drafted by Chicago in 2009, along with minor league starter Nick Nastrini and minor league reliever Jordan Leasure.
Lynn and Kelly join shortstop Amed Rosario and utilityman Enrique Hernandez among the Dodgers’ acquisitions this week, all of whom could be free agents after the season. Lynn and Kelly both have club options for next season and are making a combined $27.5 million in 2023.
Lynn, 36, has struggled mightily through the second season of a two-year, $38 million extension he signed with the White Sox in July 2021, posting a 6.47 ERA in 119⅔ innings while allowing a major-league-high 28 home runs. Lynn waived his no-trade clause to accept the move to Los Angeles.
“Outside of the batted-ball stuff, his under-the-hood stuff is not that much different than it’s been in the past,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. “As well as doing some digging, we think there’s some suggestions we have with pitch usage that should be helpful. So getting him in our environment with our pitching guys and the energy that guys will have around him is really exciting.”
Kelly — who, like Hernandez, was a fan favorite on the 2020 Dodgers team that won the championship to end the COVID-19-shortened season — has posted a 4.97 ERA in 29 innings, striking out 41 batters and walking 12. The 35-year-old right-hander has served two stints on the injured list this season because of a groin strain and elbow inflammation.
“The people of Los Angeles know Joe, and I would argue that his stuff is even better than it was when he was with us – the velocity, the curveball, all that stuff,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think for Joe specifically, there’s been some on the IL, off, and I also think that, he’s a guy, like most players, when they’re in a winning environment, they thrive.”
The Dodgers began the week in desperate need of starting pitching and had been among the most aggressive suitors for Lynn, despite his underwhelming numbers. The Dodgers are in first place in the National League West and sit 15 games over .500, but they have thrived despite issues throughout their rotation.
Julio Urias has had an up-and-down year, Clayton Kershaw is on the injured list, Dustin May has been lost for the season, Walker Buehler is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and Noah Syndergaard struggled mightily before getting sent to the Cleveland Guardians in the Rosario deal, forcing rookie starters Emmet Sheehan, Bobby Miller and Michael Grove to take on more of a workload than the Dodgers initially hoped.
The bullpen was also an issue in the early part of the season, but Dodgers relievers have posted a major-league-best 2.67 ERA this month, with the likes of Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Brasier, Phil Bickford, Yency Almonte and Brusdar Graterol stepping up late in games.
In Lynn, Kelly, Rosario and Hernandez, the Dodgers have acquired four veteran players who are having relatively underwhelming seasons. Rosario and Hernandez will bounce around the middle infield and not spend most of their time at shortstop, the position they’ve played full-time in 2023.
All four believe they can improve in L.A.
“I would argue we’ve raised the floor and the ceiling,” Roberts said. “With [Hernandez], there’s a familiarity, there’s something that we feel like we can tap into, essentially give him some opportunities versus [left-handed pitchers], use the versatility on defense. And I think that with Joe, familiarity, and I mentioned the culture part of it. I think there are some things with Lance — the sequencing, the strikeout rates, there are certain things that can raise that ceiling. And then with Amed — his buy-in, his athleticism. He’s now the fastest player on our ballclub, so that speed element, the ability to move around the diamond, to lengthen our ballclub versus left-handed pitching has raised the ceiling.”
Thompson hit .155 in 36 games for the Dodgers this season, his second in his latest stint in Los Angeles. He hit three of his five home runs this year in his first game of 2023, on April 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Thompson has been on the injured list since June with a left oblique strain and had recently started a rehab assignment with the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate.
The White Sox, 22 games below .500 and 13 games out of first place despite playing in the weak American League Central, sent starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday and are expected to shed more veterans before Tuesday’s trade deadline. The White Sox had gone into a rebuilding phase hoping to establish themselves as a legitimate contender, but a division title in 2021 was followed by a .500 finish in 2022.
The end of the 2023 season, the first under rookie manager Pedro Grifol, could trigger another rebuilding cycle on the South Side. | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247469 | 2023-07-29T04:29:30 | 1 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247469 |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two taxi drivers have been arrested in the Mexican city of Cancun for assaulting a van carrying foreign tourists, prosecutors said Friday.
The events in the Caribbean coast resort on Thursday were the latest in a months-long string of assaults on vehicles that medallion-cab drivers suspect of being operated by ride-hailing apps such as Uber.
Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said such behavior will not be tolerated.
“Strong action will be taken to ensure that the state is a safe destination for local inhabitants and visitors,” the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Local residents posted video on social media showing at least two uniformed cab drivers bashing a Chevy Suburban with poles and other objects.
The van driver attempts to escape with the vehicle’s tailgate open, according to the footage, and the tourists’ luggage spills into the street. Three women can later be seen retrieving their luggage from the street.
“What are you doing?” cries one woman in English as belligerent cabbies mill around the scene, carrying what looked like improvised cudgels. “That is not okay.”
A local business owner who filmed the incident invited the women to take refuge in her store. The video shows the taxi drivers chasing the driver of the Suburban down the street until he reached a police officer.
The state prosecutors’ office said two taxi drivers were charged with robbery, and causing damage and injuries.
Local media reported the Suburban was not run through a ride-hailing app but by a local, non-medallion limousine service. Past incidents of taxi drivers attacking private vehicles in Cancun were based on the mistaken assumption they were Uber cars.
Cancun residents organized a boycott of medallion taxis in January following a week of blockades and violent incidents by drivers protesting the ride-hailing app Uber.
Road blockades, stone throwing and cabbies physically getting in the way had prevented tourists from boarding Uber vehicles. The U.S. issued a travel advisory warning that “past disputes between these services and local taxi unions have occasionally turned violent, resulting in injuries to U.S. citizens in some instances.”
Ride-hailing app s were blocked in Cancun until January, when a court granted an injunction allowing Uber to operate. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-two-taxi-drivers-arrested-in-mexican-resort-of-cancun-for-assaulting-van-carrying-foreign-tourists/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:33 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-two-taxi-drivers-arrested-in-mexican-resort-of-cancun-for-assaulting-van-carrying-foreign-tourists/ |
Bengals say Joe Burrow likely out ‘several weeks’ with calf
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:09 pmByESPN.com news services via logo
July 28, 2023, 3:39 PM
CINCINNATI — Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Friday that quarterback Joe Burrow will be sidelined “several weeks” after suffering a right calf strain in practice a day earlier.
Burrow was carted off the field Thursday after scrambling to his right and pulling up with a noncontact injury.
This is the third straight summer that Burrow’s time in the lineup has been interrupted by a medical issue. In 2021, he was recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee and last year he suffered a ruptured appendix that required surgery days before camp started.
But Taylor brushed aside any concerns, instead pointing out that Burrow’s several days of work prior to this injury is more than he’s had in the two previous camps.
“Joe got more days this July than he’s ever had in the NFL,” Taylor said. “So, I feel really good about that and the progress we’ve made during those July practices with Joe, and when he’s able to get back we’ll be able to get the work that we need.”
The Bengals open the season against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 10. In the meantime, Taylor said quarterbacks Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning will split first-team reps. The Bengals also will likely look to add a quarterback to take some of the load off that pair.
Taylor said the quarterbacks will alternate days with the first-team offense as they battle for the No. 2 job.
“You might see two days in a row where one guy’s taking [snaps] with the 1s. Don’t read too much into it,” Taylor said. “We’re in the early parts of camp. We’re going to give those guys a lot of opportunity. That’s the silver lining here. These guys get a chance to go with the first group and get a lot of work, a lot more work than they would have gotten.”
While it won’t eliminate concerns related to Burrow’s absence, the Bengals’ passing game was still impressive Friday. Browning took advantage of playing with receiver Ja’Marr Chase, hitting the Pro Bowl wideout for a pair of big plays.
“We had some big, explosive plays and were pretty efficient in the red zone,” Browning said. “Obviously, I was working with some guys I was not used to working with. … It’s definitely nice. There were a couple routes where I’m throwing to Ja’Marr and it’s like, ‘Damn, he’s wide open.’
“It was like, wow.”
Veteran safety Michael Thomas reluctantly admitted the offense looked good in Burrow’s absence. As Browning walked by Thomas’ locker, Thomas raised his eyebrows and offered a compliment.
“Pretty good day!” he said. “Pretty good day.”
In a more serious moment, Thomas said the Bengals’ significant experience will anchor the team in Burrow’s absence.
“We have a lot of guys returning who have played some meaningful football in January and even in February,” he said. “You never want to lose your quarterback. That’s the one piece you need to have to have success. But it’s a process and we have time. He’s going to do everything in his power to get back and take care of himself.”
Burrow, a fourth-year player out of LSU, is coming off his best season as a pro and is in contract discussions with the Bengals on a deal that could make him the highest-paid player in the NFL. | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247471 | 2023-07-29T04:29:36 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247471 |
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government wants to raise the fuel economy of new vehicles 18% by the 2032 model year so the fleet would average about 43.5 miles per gallon in real world driving.
The proposed numbers were released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which eventually will adopt final mileage requirements.
Currently the fleet of new vehicles must average 36.75 mpg by 2026 under corporate average fuel economy standards adopted by the administration of President Joe Biden, who reversed a rollback made by former President Donald Trump.
The highway safety agency says it will try to line up its regulations so they match the Environmental Protection Agency’s reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But if there are discrepancies, automakers likely will have to follow the most stringent regulation.
In the byzantine world of government regulation, both agencies essentially are responsible for setting fuel economy requirements since the fastest way to reduce greenhouse emissions is to burn less gasoline.
“I want to make clear that EPA and NHTSA will coordinate to optimize the effectiveness of both agency standards while minimizing compliance costs,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said.
A large auto industry trade group which includes General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Stellantis and others said requirements from the agencies should be lined up. “If an automaker complies with EPA’s yet-to-be-finalized greenhouse gas emissions rules, they shouldn’t be at risk of violating CAFE rules (from NHTSA) and subject to civil penalties,” John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement.
However the alliance has said the EPA’s proposed cut in carbon emissions will require a huge increase in electric vehicle sales that’s not attainable by 2032. The EPA says the industry can reach the greenhouse gas emissions goals if 67% of new vehicles sold in 2032 are electric. Currently, EVs make up about 7% of new vehicle sales.
NHTSA said its proposal includes a 2% annual improvement in fuel mileage for passenger cars, and a 4% increase for light trucks. It’s proposing a 10% improvement per year for commercial pickup trucks and work vans. Automakers can meet the requirements with a mix of electric vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and efficiency improvements in gas and diesel vehicles.
The agency says the new regulations will save more than $50 billion on fuel over the vehicles’ lifetimes and save more than 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050 if NHTSA’s preferred alternative is adopted. The standards would cut new-vehicle fuel consumption nearly in half by the 2035 model year, and benefits will exceed costs by $18 billion, the agency said.
NHTSA will take comments from the public for 60 days before drafting a final regulation. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:39 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ |
Big 12 looking to add one more school to get to 14
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:10 pmByHEATHER DINICH
The Big 12 is interested in adding one more school, which would eventually bring the conference membership to 14 teams after Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC in 2024, multiple Big 12 sources told ESPN.
The Big 12 athletic directors met with commissioner Brett Yormark on Friday morning, one day after Colorado announced it would leave the Pac-12 and join the Big 12 following the 2023-24 season.
“Fourteen seems to be our best number,” a source told ESPN. “Now that we’re at 13, who’s going to be the first to make a move to start having a conversation with us was the general discussion today. We talked about a lot of different schools, but it’s more about, ‘Hey, we’ve got room for one more and who wants to be the first to really want to be a part of the Big 12 now and join us?'”
With Big 12 co-founders OU and Texas playing their final season in the league, the Big 12 has added Cincinnati, Houston, BYU and UCF for this season.
As uncertainty continues to loom over the Pac-12, which will dwindle to nine members, sources have indicated that Arizona has sparked interest within the Big 12. Arizona president Bobby Robbins, however, has previously said publicly that he wanted to see the Pac-12’s new media deal before making any monumental decisions.
“Once we have that,” he said on June 7, “we have degrees of freedom to make informed decisions.”
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said last week at the league’s media day in Las Vegas that he was confident the media deal would be done in the near future. Kliavkoff said getting the right deal has been more important to the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors than “getting the expeditious one.”
In June, following Big 12 spring meetings in West Virginia, a source told ESPN that UConn and Gonzaga were “certainly talked about” as potential members, but a 14-team league would be focused on a school that would also add value with its football program, as opposed to a basketball-only addition.
That doesn’t rule out UConn, which has made significant strides under coach Jim Mora, and would add to the league’s strong basketball narrative Yormark has touted.
The question is whether the Pac-12’s remaining members have the patience to continue to wait for the media deal, or whether others will “be the first to make a move.” | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247473 | 2023-07-29T04:29:43 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247473 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesotans can legally possess and grow their own marijuana for recreational purposes starting Tuesday, Aug. 1, subject to limits meant to keep a lid on things while the state sets up a full-blown legal cannabis industry.
The Democratic-controlled Minnesota Legislature approved a massive legalization bill and Democrat Gov. Tim Walz signed it in May.
At least one Minnesota tribe plans to take advantage of its sovereignty and allow sales right away. But the state projects most legal retail sales won’t begin until early 2025, while it creates as licensing and regulatory system for the new industry.
Legalization followed a debate between critics who fear for the impacts on public safety and young people, and supporters who argue that prohibition of the drug had failed. Backers of the law framed legalization noted that people of color were more likely than whites to be arrested for minor offenses, and to suffer lasting consequences in employment and housing.
Minnesota is the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana, more than a decade after Colorado and Washington did so.
It comes as New York struggles to end the illicit trade while failing to quickly license legal shops with a focus on “social equity” and New Mexico punishes retailers for illegally selling weed sourced from California — amid wider gluts and plummeting prices for pot farmers.
Farmers, like members of the public, can’t legally move cannabis across state lines amid the ongoing federal ban.
Here’s a look at what will and won’t change in Minnesota as of Aug. 1:
WHAT’S LEGAL
Adults 21 and older can possess and travel in the state with 2 ounces of cannabis flower, 8 grams of concentrate and 800 milligrams worth of THC-containing edible products such as gummies and seltzers. They can have up to 2 pounds of cannabis flower at home.
Low-potency edibles made with THC from industrial hemp were legalized last year. They’ve been subject to a 10% marijuana tax since July 1.
That tax will apply to other marijuana products as they become licensed for sales, but not on sovereign tribal lands.
It remains illegal under federal law to bring marijuana in from out of state.
RETAIL WEED
The Red Lake Nation plans to sell recreational marijuana at its existing medical cannabis dispensary starting Aug. 1. But that’s on its remote reservation in northwestern Minnesota. It’s not clear yet if other tribes will follow.
While states like New Mexico managed to legalize and regulate marijuana within a year of legalization, Minnesota will take a bit longer.
Like New York, the Minnesota law gives priority to social equity considerations for awarding licenses. That can mean applicants from low-income areas that have felt disproportionate effects from marijuana being illegal, people whose convictions have been expunged, and military veterans who lost their honorable status due to a marijuana-related offense, to name a few.
That includes a long list of license categories for cannabis-related businesses, with application fees ranging from $250 for delivery services to $10,000 for growers and product manufacturers.
Local governments can’t ban cannabis sales, but they can limit the number of retailers to one per 12,500 residents.
MINNESOTA GROWN
Adults can grow up to eight plants at home, with no more than four flowering at a time. The plants must be grown in an enclosed, locked space that’s not open to public view, whether that’s indoors or in a garden.
Retailers can start selling marijuana seeds if they comply with labeling and other requirements set by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
WHERE AND WHERE NOT TO TOKE
Cannabis can be legally consumed on private property, including private homes. Eventually it will be allowed at special events where organizers have permits.
But it’s still illegal to smoke or vape cannabis anywhere that tobacco smoking is prohibited, including most businesses, apartment buildings and college campuses. Nothing in the state law prohibits smoking it on a public sidewalk, but local ordinances might.
Cannabis use remains illegal in all forms while driving, in public schools, on school buses, in state prisons, and on federal property. It can’t be smoked or vaped where a minor could inhale it.
GUNS AND GANJA
Federal law still bars cannabis consumers from owning firearms or ammunition.
That’s despite Second Amendment-friendly provisions in the Minnesota law. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has said that regardless of Minnesota’s new law, a “current user” of marijuana is defined as an “unlawful user” for federal purposes. That means people following state law are still prohibited from having guns and ganja.
Gun purchasers must fill out an ATF form saying whether or not they use marijuana. Lying on the form is a felony under federal law.
CLEANING SLATES
Minor marijuana convictions, like possession of small amounts, will began to be automatically expunged starting in August. More than 60,000 Minnesotans could benefit, but the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the process could take up to a year to clear everyone’s record.
A special Cannabis Expungement Board will be formed to review felony convictions to determine eligibility case by case.
REGULATING IT
The Office of Cannabis Management will oversee the cannabis industry in Minnesota. It’s starting to list job positions, with applications for the office’s first executive director open through July 31.
The office will also take over the running of Minnesota’s medical marijuana program, which won’t be taxed.
Tribal governments will set their own rules. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:47 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ |
Rays past Astros, 4-3
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:11 pmHOUSTON (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer early and José Siri doubled and scored the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
The game was tied entering the ninth when Siri, who played for Houston last season, doubled to left field off Ryan Pressly (3-3) and moved to third on a sacrifice fly by Christian Bethancourt. The Rays took a 4-3 lead when Siri scored on a sacrifice fly by Yandy Díaz.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash raved about Siri’s work in the ninth.
“It was a big at-bat against a really tough pitcher … that’s what he can do,” Cash said. “He can change the game with his speed and certainly impacted it right there.”
Siri said that it meant “very much” to lead the Rays to a win against his former team.
“They know the capabilities and the abilities that I have from when I played here,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “And that’s life that I was able to do it against them.”
Houston manager Dusty Baker noted that not many people would have gotten to second on a ball hit to shallow left field.
“That was a hustle double and Siri, out of the box he was thinking two,” Baker said. “That was good baserunning on his part.”
Wander Franco singled after that before Pressly hit Luke Raley with a pitch. But Randy Arozarena popped out to leave them stranded.
Pete Fairbanks walked Chas McCormick with one out in the ninth, but he was erased when pinch-hitter Yainer Díaz grounded into a force out. Fairbanks then struck out pinch-hitter Mauricio Dubon to get his 13th save.
The victory was just Tampa Bay’s third in the last 11 games and the team’s sixth this month.
Lowe’s three-run homer came in the first inning and Houston tied it on a two-run shot by José Abreu in the fourth.
Tampa Bay starter Shane McClanahan allowed eight hits and three runs in five innings. Colin Poche (8-3) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win.
Houston’s Cristian Javier yielded three hits and three runs with eight strikeouts in six innings to remain winless since June 3.
“His velocity was good … he was, he was a lot better tonight than he had been in probably four or five starts,” Baker said.
Franco tripled with one out in the first before Javier plunked Arozarena with two outs in the inning. Lowe then smacked his homer to the seats in right field to make it 3-0.
Jose Altuve led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and scored on a groundout by Jeremy Peña to cut it to 3-1.
Javier retired seven straight after Lowe’s homer before walking Arozarena to start the fourth. Arozarena stole second before moving to third on a single by Lowe. Javier hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch to load the bases.
But he escaped the jam by striking out Josh Lowe and Siri before René Pinto lined out to end the inning.
Yordan Alvarez singled with no outs in the fourth before Abreu’s soaring shot to left field tied it at 3-3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cash said RHP Zach Eflin (left knee discomfort) is still day to day after injuring his knee Wednesday. Cash said they’re hoping he can make his next start but that they’ll know more in the next day or two.
GRAVEMAN RETURNS
The Astros acquired reliever Kendall Graveman from the White Sox in exchange for minor league catcher Korey Lee Friday. Graveman spent the last two months of the 2021 season with Houston after being traded from Seattle.
UP NEXT
Tampa Bay RHP Taj Bradley (5-6, 5.30 ERA) opposes RHP Hunter Brown (6-7, 4.19) when the series continues Saturday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247475 | 2023-07-29T04:29:49 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247475 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While Nashville International Airport hums to the tune of live music in a terminal filled with tourists and locals alike, this trendy gateway to Tennessee has quietly confronted an identity crisis.
Under a new state law, there is no clear agreement now about who’s in charge of airport operations. The confusion comes at a time when the airport is booming, its annual passengers having more than doubled over the past decade to 21.8 million by the 2023 fiscal year.
The nonprofit Metro Nashville Airport Authority and state officials argue that a new group of state appointees has lawfully taken over the authority’s board. But federal officials and the city contend the old board picked by Nashville’s mayor still has power.
Both boards met at the same time last week across town from each other.
The dispute heads to a hearing Friday in a state court in Nashville.
Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers approved plans for the state to make enough appointments to control the airport’s board starting in July. The change was among several passed by legislators seeking to curtail the power of the heavily Democratic city, whose metro council sunk a bid to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville.
The city has filed suit against the state over the changes to the airport authority, which manages, operates, finances and maintains the international airport and a smaller one in Nashville. In the meantime, the authority installed the new board members on July 1, saying it can’t defy state law without a court order.
Citing the Tennessee Constitution, the city’s lawsuit argues the state violated home rule protections by singling out Nashville without requiring either a local referendum or a two-thirds vote of the metro council for the change.
The state responded that Nashville can’t make its claims because the airport authority is independent of the local government.
City leaders, however, reached out and received input from the Federal Aviation Administration, which can veto certain changes to the airport’s governance. The federal agency said it would keep recognizing the pre-July 1 board until a court decides the lawsuit.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper, a Democrat, has cried foul on the Republican change.
“Nashville’s airport has grown very successfully over the years by the direction of this board, and that’s unquestionable,” Cooper said during a recent meeting of the board he selected. “Any state action is purely about politics.”
Tennessee’s situation isn’t unprecedented. Due to FAA and court action, North Carolina’s 2013 law to shift control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the city to a separate regional board never came to fruition. Mississippi’s 2016 law to reconfigure Jackson’s airport remains blocked by an ongoing legal challenge. Georgia lawmakers flirted with flipping the Atlanta airport’s governance in 2019 but opposition sank the proposal.
Nashville officials say the state is upending an airport board without complaints about its performance, even during a time of extensive expansion.
In the 2023 budget year, the airport unveiled a new lobby, added more restaurants and live music, opened an additional parking garage and made progress toward an onsite hotel. The airport hosts country, jazz and bluegrass concerts in its terminals and exhibits the work of local artists.
The facility has endured growing pains, too, marked by passenger pickup lines sometimes stretching well past a nearby interstate exit.
Lawmakers passed the change despite predictions in April by former FAA official Kirk Shaffer that it would create competing boards in “a messy and costly stalemate that damages all involved,” possibly jeopardizing federal grant money.
So far, the fight is largely unfolding in court filings. The city says lost grant money could halt projects to accommodate more flights, spurring cancellations and delays. The state and the airport authority argue the grants aren’t in jeopardy. The authority said Nashville officials are making “sky-is-falling” exaggerations.
Republican lawmakers contend the state deserves more say over the growing airport because of its regional impact. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said lawmakers created “the legally sanctioned board.”
As an intervenor in the lawsuit, the airport authority has remained neutral on whether the new law is unconstitutional. Updates to the FAA have never resulted in the federal agency directing the authority to stop following the state law, while even worse disruptions would result from an order to temporarily return to the preexisting board, the authority wrote.
The state-majority board met at the airport on Wednesday, conducting standard-fare business on contracts and reports. At the same time, the members of the mayoral-picked board gathered in city hall, reiterating that the FAA still acknowledges them while criticizing the state law and approving an outside attorney hire.
In a letter to the Nashville community at large, the authority’s CEO has acknowledged the “frustration and confusion” caused by the dispute. But he said the authority is responsible for staying legally compliant.
“As an airport authority, we do not take political positions,” airport authority President and CEO Doug Kruelen wrote in the July 6 letter. | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-whos-in-charge-of-nashvilles-airport-us-and-tennessee-officials-disagree-under-a-new-state-law/ | 2023-07-29T04:29:54 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/news/business/ap-whos-in-charge-of-nashvilles-airport-us-and-tennessee-officials-disagree-under-a-new-state-law/ |
Rangers place All-Star catcher Jonah Heim on 10-day IL
Posted/updated on: July 28, 2023 at 11:12 pmSAN DIEGO (AP) — The AL West-leading Texas Rangers placed All-Star catcher Jonah Heim on the 10-day injured list Friday with a strained tendon in his left wrist.
Heim came out of a game at Houston on Wednesday after hurting his wrist on an awkward swing in the fourth inning. Heim is batting .280 with an .816 OPS, and has 14 home runs and a career-high 70 RBIs in 90 games.
Heim has started 80 of 103 games this season. The switch-hitter leads big league catchers in RBIs (66), hits (89), doubles (23), and runs (tied, 47). His .413 average with runners in scoring position is third-highest among qualifiers.
Mitch Garver started at catcher in the opener of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.
The Rangers also recalled outfielder Bubba Thompson from Triple-A Round Rock, optioned right-hander Owen White to Round Rock and activated right-hander Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Sborz went 4-4 with a 4.54 ERA in 29 relief appearances before being placed on the 15-day IL on July 15 with right biceps tendinitis.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247477 | 2023-07-29T04:29:56 | 0 | https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1247477 |
SAN FRANCISCO — The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant "X" sign that was installed Friday on top of the downtown building formerly known as Twitter headquarters as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.
City officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.
The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand's iconic bird and logo from the side of the building, saying they hadn't taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.
Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week.
Erecting a sign on top of a building also requires a permit, Hannan said Friday.
"Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation," he said in an email.
Musk unveiled a new "X" logo to replace Twitter's famous blue bird as he remakes the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year. The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has long been fascinated with the letter X and had already renamed Twitter's corporate name to X Corp. after he bought it in October. One of his children is called "X." The child's actual name is a collection of letters and symbols.
On Friday afternoon, a worker on a lift machine made adjustments to the sign and then left.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate | 2023-07-29T04:29:57 | 1 | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate |
LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — On a hot July evening, hundreds filed into the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Blakely to say goodbye to a man who was a father, educator and coach.
"As a cousin of Jack's I can tell you that I am not surprised with the amount of people here," said cousin Mary Rinaldi. "He wasn't just loved in my hometown of Dunmore, he was loved in our region and even beyond that."
Former Dunmore high school football coach, Jack Henzes passed away earlier this week at the age of 87.
Leaving behind memories that Dunmore high school graduate and former all-state defensive lineman, Tim Drewes says he'll never forget.
"Coach use to drop off Christmas gifts at my house when I was a young boy, I'd wake up Christmas morning and there'd be a package from Santa Henze's which I loved every year," said Drewes. "It was always Dunmore football gear."
Drewes had been learning from Coach Henzes for more than 20 years.
Taking the lessons, he was taught on the field and applying them to succeed in everyday life.
"You know he taught me how to drive which I'm a good driver because of him," said Drewes. "He would give the shirt off his back to anyone."
"Doing things the right way was a big thing for Jack Henzes, so for our area it's a gigantic loss and for such a great man to not be with us anymore it's sad, it's a very sad day," said Assistant football coach at mid valley George Pachucy.
Henzes, who retired with the third most wins in Pennsylvania high school football history was never afraid to go out of his way and help other athletes said Pachucy, even if they took the field for an opposing team.
"I was getting recruited by a school and I needed a pair of shoulder pads for camp and I went to Scranton prep and hours weren't back in yet he took me to Dunmore's equipment shed and fitted himself for pair shoulder pads," said Pachucy. "He said if yours aren't back by the season and you'll like them, you can keep them the entire year and I think we played them like three or four." | https://www.wnep.com/article/life/coach-remembered-for-what-he-did-on-and-off-field/523-3b30f329-5296-436b-92fa-a3476d39e973 | 2023-07-29T04:29:57 | 0 | https://www.wnep.com/article/life/coach-remembered-for-what-he-did-on-and-off-field/523-3b30f329-5296-436b-92fa-a3476d39e973 |
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.wnep.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d | 2023-07-29T04:30:03 | 1 | https://www.wnep.com/article/news/nation-world/mega-millions-940m-jackpot-winning-numbers-friday-july-28-2023/507-f6918143-63c8-4129-ba3c-afd22afbc18d |
A University of Notre Dame professor has filed a defamation lawsuit against a student-run publication over news coverage of her abortion-rights work. The case is raising questions about press freedom and academic freedom at one of the nation’s preeminent Catholic universities.
Tamara Kay’s suit, filed in May, alleges falsehoods in two articles published by The Irish Rover in the past academic year. The Rover defended its reporting as true in a motion filed earlier this month to dismiss the case, under a law meant to protect people from frivolous lawsuits over matters of public concern.
Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology, asks for unspecified punitive damages after she “has been harassed, threatened, and experienced damage to her residential property” and “continues to experience mental anguish” because of the two articles.
Published in October and March after public events in which Kay participated, the articles cover her remarks about her support for abortion rights. The lawsuit alleges that the articles contained “false and defamatory” information, arguing that they misinterpreted a sign on her door about helping students access healthcare and denying two quotes about academic freedom and her work at a Catholic institution.
“The note on my door referenced sexual assault, and the inadequate resources and support for student survivors at Notre Dame,” Kay told The Associated Press via email.
She added that she had asked the Rover’s faculty advisors to retract or correct the story, and that Notre Dame officials refused to intervene on her behalf.
“All of this is utterly devastating,” Kay said. She said her public writing and public speech “are all fair game for reporting and critique, as long as that reporting is accurate. It has not been.”
Notre Dame’s Office of Media Relations didn’t answer repeated requests for comment from the AP. Neither did Kay’s attorney in the lawsuit.
In the motion filed under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law, the Irish Rover argued that – as an “independent, non-profit, student publication ‘devoted to preserving the Catholic identity of Notre Dame’” – its coverage of a Notre Dame professor’s public statements and actions about abortion qualify under the law’s public interest and free speech criteria.
The motion added that the stories were “at least substantially true” and “did not contain defamatory imputation.” Exhibits include a transcript of the March event and since-deleted tweets by Kay last fall referring Notre Dame colleagues to websites with information on where to find abortion providers and how to procure abortion pills.
That “targeted advocacy” — just as Indiana’s abortion ban first went briefly into effect — motivated Notre Dame student W. Joseph DeReuil, 21, to seek comments from Kay and write a news story, he told the AP.
DeReuil, the Rover’s editor-in-chief during the last academic year, said he is a practicing Catholic and believes the Church’s teaching that life starts at conception and thus abortion is intentional killing.
“I do wish at times that, I guess, Notre Dame would take, as an institution, a stronger stance in favor of the Catholic position on some of these issues,” he said.
He added that he condemned harassment of abortion rights advocates and specifically the threats mentioned in the lawsuit by Kay.
DeReuil said he was confident his reporting was factually correct and hoped the suit would be dismissed, instead of consuming his senior year.
“You’ll face pushback, but you can still be a normal, cheerful, happy student,” he said. “It’s not going to affect you negatively in the long term if you’re standing up for what you believe is true.”
The Rover’s attorney, James Bopp, Jr., said lawsuits like this can create a chilling effect.
“If we fail, it will send the message that if you speak out about the abortion issue, then you risk punishment through the legal system, and particularly if you speak out on the pro-life side,” said Bopp, who has worked on major national cases on behalf of anti-abortion and free speech causes.
While the Church’s position on abortion is unwavering, not all Catholics agree with it. Some oppose it based on their sense of Catholic teachings about individual conscience or social justice, said professor Samira Mehta, an expert on gender and religion at the University of Colorado.
It’s rare to have faculty sue students for libel over an issue broaching “diametrically opposed worldviews,” said Jonathan Gaston-Falk, an attorney with the Student Press Law Center. The organization defends press freedom rights for high school and college journalists and their advisors; it is not involved in this litigation.
“Libel can be boiled down to a false statement of fact that harms somebody’s reputation” – and is published with knowledge of that falsity and malice if the person is a public figure, Gaston-Falk added.
According to Indiana law, courts have six months to rule on an anti-SLAPP motion.
Indiana was the first state to enact sweeping abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.fox16.com/news/national/ap-a-notre-dame-professor-sues-a-student-publication-over-its-coverage-of-her-abortion-rights-work/ | 2023-07-29T04:30:02 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/news/national/ap-a-notre-dame-professor-sues-a-student-publication-over-its-coverage-of-her-abortion-rights-work/ |