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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo was found guilty Friday on two charges related to the death of his 27-year-old pregnant lover.
The jury convicted Verdejo on the charge of kidnapping that leads to a death and one count of causing the death of an unborn child. The 12 jurors could not reach unanimous verdicts on the charge of intercepting and stealing vehicle with the consequence of causing a death or the charge of carrying a weapon to commit a violent crime.
U.S. District Judge Pedro Delgado Hernandez set a Nov. 3 sentencing session, at which Verdejo could face a penalty of up to life in prison.
Federal prosecutors relied on the testimony of more than 30 people, including key witness Luis Antonio Cádiz, a friend of Verdejo who also was charged in the case. He pleaded guilty last year after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors but hasn’t been sentenced.
Cádiz testified that Verdejo had pressured Rodríguez to get an abortion before she was killed.
He testified that the day of the killing, Verdejo punched Rodríguez and injected her with a substance that Cádiz believed to be heroin before they both tied her limbs to a cement block and threw her off a busy bridge in broad daylight.
A pathologist testified that Rodríguez, 27, was still alive when she was thrown into the lagoon below the bridge.
Cádiz said he made an anonymous 911 call days later to provide the location of Rodríguez’s body.
An autopsy determined Rodríguez had fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative used for horses and other animals, in her system.
Her death outraged many in Puerto Rico who keep demanding that authorities do a better job of protecting domestic violence victims.
Verdejo represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics and became a professional boxer that year. He finished his career in the lightweight division with a 27-2 record, with 17 knockouts. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/28/felix-verdejo-guilty-lover-death-puerto-rico/13bc1b26-2dc2-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:14:44 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/28/felix-verdejo-guilty-lover-death-puerto-rico/13bc1b26-2dc2-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr.’s grand slam in the 10th inning gave the Kansas City Royals an 8-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
“I knew he was trying to attack me, didn’t want to walk me,” Witt said. “I tried to let him come to me and just make something happen.”
Brady Singer struck out a season-high 10 in five innings for the Royals, who needed their 13th comeback win of the season after Jorge Polanco’s two-run double with two outs in the ninth tied it at 4-all.
“We did some things all right tonight, but we had plenty of opportunities early in the game. We left a lot of people on base. Some of it was our doing, some was just bad luck,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We ran into trouble with command late in the game. It was frustrating not to win these kinds of games with the way we came back.”
Minnesota went ahead on Kyle Farmer’s RBI single in the 10th off Taylor Clarke (2-4) before Witt won it with his 17th homer of the season off Jhoan Duran (2-5).
“The quickness of the swing, to pull it nonetheless, that’s what stood out to me the most,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “As far as the emotion, to see the guys get something like that, Bobby especially, but the whole team. The relief, the elation of it is really cool to see.”
Kyle Isbel hit a leadoff 400-foot home run off Twins starter Sonny Gray in the third. It was the first homer allowed by Gray against the Royals since August 2014.
Witt also had an RBI double in the sixth and a run-scoring single in the eighth.
Gray pitched six innings and gave up three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Gray extended a 15-game winless streak dating back to April 30 against Kansas City.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: Nick Pratto (left groin strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Samad Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding move.
ROSTER MOVES
Twins: The Twins activated Jorge Polanco from the 10-day injured list. RHP Cole Sands was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Minnesota also activated RHP Dylan Floro, who was acquired in a trade with Miami on July 26.
UP NEXT
RHP Jordan Lyles (1-12, 6.19 ERA) will take the mound for the Royals on Saturday. RHP Bailey Ober (6-4, 2.76 ERA) will counter for Minnesota. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/28/royals-twins-witt-grand-slam/cecf511c-2dc2-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:14:50 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/28/royals-twins-witt-grand-slam/cecf511c-2dc2-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
These works about wildlife are newly available through the Allen County Public Library.
“What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds”
by Jennifer Ackerman
Illuminating the rich biology and natural history of owls, the most elusive of birds, the New York Times bestselling author takes us around the globe and through human history to understand the complex nature of these extraordinary creatures.
“Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark”
by Greg Skomal
A leading great white shark expert sheds light on these apex predators and the fascinating story behind their resurgence. He also discusses ways that humans can coexist with these fearsome creatures.
“George: A Magpie Memoir”
by Frieda Hughes
The daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath recalls how she moved to the countryside to start a new life, but instead found herself rescuing a baby magpie and embarking on an unlikely journey toward joy and connection.
“Beastly: The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us”
by Keggie Carew
An award-winning nature writer shares a deeply researched collection of stories about the incredible amount of ways in which animals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land and our civilization.
“The Elephants of Thula Thula”
by Francoise Malby-Anthony
The owner of a game reserve in South Africa with an extraordinary family of elephants whose adventures have captured hearts around the world shares the joys and challenges of a life dedicated to keeping the animals in her care safe from poachers and other threats.
“The Deadly Balance: Predators and People in a Crowded World”
by Adam Hart
The predators that can hunt, kill and eat us occupy a unique place in the human psyche. Hart looks at our relationship with these animals from a conservation perspective. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/books/new-library-books/article_a2ee5ad8-2b11-11ee-bda7-637f78859ac8.html | 2023-07-29T05:14:53 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/books/new-library-books/article_a2ee5ad8-2b11-11ee-bda7-637f78859ac8.html |
(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://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:14:55 | 0 | https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
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.kait8.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T05:14:55 | 0 | https://www.kait8.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
DENVER — Zack Gelof and Ramon Laureano homered, JP Sears won for the second time this season and the Oakland Athletics broke a three-game losing streak with an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
“We followed the game plan,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “This park can get you out of the right approach, and from the onset we stayed through the middle, we stayed through the other side of the field, and you saw the results. We were able to add onto a lead, which we haven’t been able to do. Overall it was a good night.
Oakland took a 7-2 lead into the eighth inning, but the Rockies closed to 7-5 on pinch-hitter Michael Toglia’s run-scoring single and Jurickson Profar’s two-run double. Lucas Erceg, Oakland’s third pitcher of the inning, got two groundouts to end the inning.
Laureano hit a 429-foot homer leading off the ninth.
Sears (2-7) gave up four hits including a homer to Randal Grichuk, struck out five and walked one in five innings while breaking a four-game losing streak. Sears has not missed a turn in the rotation this season, but his only other victory came against Milwaukee on June 11. A’s starting pitchers are 10-47 this season.
“It was good to get a big lead early, so I could go out and attack those guys,” Sears said. “It’s an adjustment (pitching at Coors Field). You can’t think too much about it. Some of the late movement on some of your pitches may not be there. Just knowing when to be a little more aggressive and a little less aggressive to guys.”
Gelof has 10 hits, seven for extra bases, since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 14. He has reached base in 10 of his 12 games.
“Competing against the best players in the word is pretty special,” Gelof said. “I want to do this for a long time. I love playing this game. I’m going to keep trying to have a blast out there and bring some energy.”
After Laureano singled in Rooker in the first inning, Langeliers tripled in the first run of a three-run second for a 4-0 lead. His was the only ball the A’s got out of the infield in a rally fueled on errors by third baseman Ryan McMahon and second baseman Alan Trejo, a hit batter and a fielder’s choice that did not result in an out.
Allen drove in Langeliers with Oakland’s only other hit in the second, a liner the caromed off Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (4-11), who was activated from the injury list before the game.
Langeliers doubled with two outs in the third inning and scored on Allen’s triple to make it 5-0.
Grichuk’s 445-foot homer in the fourth inning broke Sears’ shutout. Gelof’s 393-foot homer with two outs in the fifth made it 7-1.
Freeland gave up nine hits and five runs, three earned, in his first start since suffering a right shoulder injury when he dove for an popup in San Francisco on July 9. He struck out three and hit a batter.
“Kyle’s stuff was good,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We didn’t help him.”
The Rockies have lost three in a row.
FAMILY REUNION
Rockies 1B CJ Cron returned from the injury listed Friday to face his father Chris, Oakland’s hitting coach, a career first. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world for a baseball dad,” said Chris, who spent 12 years as a player with two brief stops in the majors and has been a minor league coach or manager since retiring in 1995.
Cron was 1 for 5 with a single. Cron and Grichuk, who have expiring contracts, have been mentioned as possible trade candidates.
TRAINERS RO0M
Athletics: OF Esteury Ruiz (shoulder) was 1 for 2 with a triple and a throwing error in five innings in his first rehab game at Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday. There is no timeline for his return. He leads the AL with 43 stolen bases. … RHP Mason Miller (UCL strain) threw a 20-pitch fastball/changeup bullpen Wednesday and is scheduled to throw another before beginning a rehab assignment.
Rockies: RHP Chase Anderson (shoulder inflammation) was placed on the IL retroactive to July 15 when Freehand was activated for his start Friday. RHP Tommy Doyle was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace RHP Riley Pint, who was optioned to Albuquerque on Wednesday. … RHP Tyler Kinley (elbow) has made four rehab appearances and could return during the homestand that ends Wednesday. … 2B Brendan Rodgers (left shoulder) homered for Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday and has made 33 plate appearances on a rehab assignment. The Rockies have set 40-50 as a benchmark before considering his return.
UP NEXT
Rockies RHP Chris Flexen (0-4, 7.71 ERA) is to face A’s RHP Paul Blackburn (1-2, 5.06) in the second game of a three-game series. Flexen will make his first appearance for the Rockies after appearing in 17 games with Seattle this season.
___ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/athletics-rockies/a27944e0-2dc4-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:14:56 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/athletics-rockies/a27944e0-2dc4-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
“Never buy a beach house. Don’t even dream about one. ... If you must do something, pray for the people that own beach houses. Pity them. Certainly don’t, under any circumstance, envy them.”
And so it begins, the story of how Kathleen Deane ended up being a miserable new owner of an East Coast beach “cottage” (a nice way of saying very tiny shack) in a small town named Whitbey.
Shortly after her husband, Tom, decided he needed to find himself all by himself after 30 years of marriage, Kathleen boxed up what was necessary and left Kansas City in pursuit of an oceanfront view at the age of 59. Surely it would be as magical as her childhood friend, Josie, portrayed it to be in all the Christmas cards she had sent over the years – a new start with sand between her toes and a salty breeze running through her hair. Surely.
In Elizabeth Castellano’s debut novel, “Save What’s Left,” the idea of a carefree life watching the sun rise while taking a peaceful stroll collecting shells merely steps from your very own beach home is all but crashed down like a giant wave during a hurricane. Chronicling her main character’s discovery of what seaside living is really like in a town where everybody knows each other’s business and people squabble over issues at public hearings, Castellano sets a hilarious tone for readers within the first few chapters.
Just days into her new life, Kathleen barely has had time to start judging all these locals for not just enjoying their picture-perfect views before she finds herself among them in an outrage over her new neighbors (even though she has yet to meet them). Her problem: the Sugar Cube – a new mega-mansion going up within feet of her tiny piece of what-should-have-been paradise.
With the help of her new best friend, Rosemary (the curmudgeonly woman who lives across the street), Kathleen starts composing lengthy emails to the town supervisor listing all the violations her new absentee neighbors are committing while building their gigantic nuisance of a house. Before she knows it, she’s attending zoning board meetings and doing research on all the permits that have to be filed to build such a monstrosity.
Readers can’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of a woman in search of a simple and fulfilling retirement in a small beach town who instead turns out to be in a full-time war against town officials and her neighbors. With that said, even with the funny, clever writing, “Save What’s Left” could be seen as a pointless story because not much happens if a driving plot is what readers seek. Simply put, this is a book about a woman who writes repetitive letters complaining about people not following the rules in a town where she’s the newcomer.
If readers go in without the expectation of a fast-paced novel and just enjoy the banter and the setting, then Castellano’s debut may be satisfactory for some. However, the lack of events and the somewhat rushed and far-fetched ending will likely leave most people with a disappointed feeling. Sometimes humor and smart writing just can’t make up for a lackluster plot.
Christy Keller is a page designer for The Journal Gazette. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/books/woman-relocates-to-beach-town-looking-for-a-peaceful-retirement-but-finds-quite-the-opposite/article_a0130676-2b5a-11ee-bcff-5b3c75e547a0.html | 2023-07-29T05:14:59 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/books/woman-relocates-to-beach-town-looking-for-a-peaceful-retirement-but-finds-quite-the-opposite/article_a0130676-2b5a-11ee-bcff-5b3c75e547a0.html |
INDIANAPOLIS – Police are investigating after a person was shot and killed Friday night on Indy’s east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded to the 3400 block of North Emerson Avenue just before midnight.
When officers arrived, they located a person who had been shot. They were taken to an area hospital where they later died.
No other information was given.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS. | https://cbs4indy.com/news/person-shot-killed-on-indys-east-side-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:01 | 0 | https://cbs4indy.com/news/person-shot-killed-on-indys-east-side-2/ |
SAN FRANCISCO — Moved up in the batting order, Triston Casas homered and hit an RBI double to back Kutter Crawford, and the Boston Red Sox beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.
Crawford (5-5) dueled with Giants ace Logan Webb (8-9), striking out seven with one walk, while allowing one run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Crawford surrendered only Michael Conforto’s RBI single in the sixth.
Casas, batting sixth, doubled in a run in the second and hit his 16th homer for a 2-0 lead in the fifth.
Pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder provided a key insurance run for the Red Sox on his RBI single in the eighth before Joc Pederson homered in the bottom half.
Kenley Jansen, the fourth Red Sox reliever, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 23rd save. Boston swept a quick two-game home series with the Braves and then moved a season-best nine games over .500 at 56-47 on Friday.
Giants prospect Marco Luciano singled leading off the sixth for his first major league hit after being called up Wednesday to face Oakland. His parents flew in from the Dominican Republic and got to see the milestone Friday.
TOUGH STRETCH
The Red Sox began a grueling stretch of 32 games in 34 days — not that manager Alex Cora is counting the games as a whole because it would be too daunting looking at it that way.
“No, I’m not playing that game. We’ve got six in a row, we get an off day. I know we get an off day this week,” Cora said. “Then after that it’s 10, then an off day, then 14. I know the schedule.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale cane out of his live batting practice throwing session well and is likely to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday as he works back from inflammation in his pitching shoulder. ... C Reese McGuire (strained right oblique) will catch back-to-back nine-inning rehab games Saturday and Sunday with the hope he will join the Red Sox next week. ... SS Trevor Story (elbow surgery) isn’t ready to join the team on this road trip. ... The club will reassess RHP Corey Kluber (inflamed pitching shoulder) after he “didn’t feel great after the last one,” according to Cora. ... Boston planned to activate new RHP reliever Mauricio Llovera on Saturday after acquiring him from the Giants this week.
Giants: RHP Keaton Winn began experiencing soreness in his throwing elbow after his last start and is scheduled to be examined Saturday by team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki. ... SS Brandon Crawford didn’t come off the injured list as he had aimed to do — his first day eligible — but went through a extensive workout to test his inflamed left knee. ... OF Mitch Haniger has begun baseball activities like throwing and hitting as he recovers from a fractured right forearm and isn’t limited in his lower half for running workouts. ... 2B Thairo Estrada also is increasing the intensity each day of his baseball activities while recovering from a broken left hand.
UP NEXT
Lefty James Paxton (6-2, 3.46 ERA) takes the mound Saturday for Boston, while San Francisco had yet to name its starter.
___ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/casas-red-sox-giants/8a2a7034-2dca-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:02 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/casas-red-sox-giants/8a2a7034-2dca-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
USC still preparing for European tour as Bronny James recovers at home after cardiac arrest
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Bronny James continues to recover after going into cardiac arrest, his Southern California teammates have been at practice to prepare for a 10-day exhibition tour of Greece and Croatia that begins next week.
The tour will run from from Aug. 5-15 and see the Trojans visit Athens and Mykonos, Greece, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Teams are allowed to go on a foreign tour once every four years under NCAA rules.
James was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday and is resting at home, according to a statement from the hospital. His father, Lakers superstar LeBron James, also posted on social media that his family is “safe and healthy.”
Bronny James will continue to undergo tests to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, which occurred Monday morning during a workout at USC’s Galen Center.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart abruptly stops beating, because of a problem with its electrical activity. While uncommon in young people, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading medical cause of death in young athletes. Some studies have estimated one sudden cardiac death in 50,000 to 80,000 young athletes each year.
No information has been made public about what may have caused Bronny James’ cardiac arrest. But one of the most common causes in young athletes is an underlying problem with the heart’s structure, such as a genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that leads to a thickened heart muscle more prone to irregular electrical activity. A more rare cause is commotio cordis, which occurs when someone receives a sharp blow to the chest during a specific part of the heartbeat’s cycle — what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin earlier this year.
James was the second high-profile USC basketball recruit to go into cardiac arrest in the last year. Vincent Iwuchuwku also was stricken during a workout last July, but the 7-foot-1 center returned to the court six months later and appeared in 14 games.
It’s too soon to know how James’ playing career could be affected, especially without a lot of information being made public. Various experts point to James’ quick move out of intensive care and being released three days later as encouraging.
The upcoming trip is important for the Trojans as James recovers. USC had the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class, including the top-rated player in guard Isaiah Collier.
James committed to the Trojans in May after the 6-foot-3 18-year-old became one of the nation’s top prospects as a two-way point guard for Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California.
He is the sixth McDonald’s All-American to come to USC since Andy Enfield became coach in 2013.
With his family fame and huge social media following, Bronny James also has the top name, image and likeness valuation in sports at $6.3 million, as estimated by On3.com. He is the oldest of LeBron and Savannah James’ three children.
___
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham and AP Health & Science Writer Lauran Neergard contributed to this report.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/lebron-james
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:02 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ |
PHOENIX — Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy hit back-to-back, two-run doubles in a four-run first, Logan Gilbert threw 6 1/3 strong innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the skidding Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 on Friday night.
Seattle jumped all over D-backs starter Tommy Henry (5-4) in the first, scoring four runs on four hits, including three doubles. Seattle loaded the bases when three of the first four batters reached, then Raleigh and Murphy followed with their doubles that each brought home a pair of runs.
That was more than enough of a cushion for Gilbert (9-5), who navigated through the D-backs’ lineup with relative ease. The lanky right-hander gave up two runs on nine hits, striking out five and walking none.
Paul Sewald worked the ninth for his 21st save, which broke his career high of 20 set last season.
Eugenio Suárez had an RBI single in the seventh to push Seattle’s advantage to 5-0. Second-year star Julio Rodríguez had two hits, including a double, and added a stolen base.
Henry settled down for the D-backs after his tough start, giving up four runs on six hits over six innings, while walking one and striking out six. Ketel Marte had three hits.
TWO-RUN WILD PITCH
The D-backs cut the Mariners’ lead to 5-2 in the seventh when two runs scored on a wild pitch by Matt Brash.
The play started when Brash threw a breaking ball in the dirt that trickled away from Raleigh despite his attempt to block it.
Arizona’s Jose Herrera sprinted for home as Raleigh chased down the ball. The catcher then made an errant throw to Brash, who was covering home, and it allowed Geraldo Perdomo to score all the way from second.
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday night. The D-backs will send RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-4, 8.81 ERA) to the mound, while the Mariners will counter with RHP Bryan Woo (1-3, 4.91 ERA).
___ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/mariners-diamondbacks/f3ff992c-2dc9-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:04 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/mariners-diamondbacks/f3ff992c-2dc9-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
Willie Reed died a hero in 2013. He was 76.
His reward for telling the truth at a murder trial was being driven from his home and forced to live discreetly under a new name, Willie Louis, in faraway Chicago.
Early one August morning in 1955, 18-year-old Willie Reed was walking to a store down the main road of Drew, Mississippi, when he was passed by a green and white 1955 Chevrolet pickup. He saw four white men in the cab; in the rear were some black men and one young black male.
The truck turned into a nearby plantation and parked in front of the barn. As he passed the structure, Reed testified that he “heard somebody hollering, and I heard some licks like someone was whipping somebody.” He also heard someone scream out: “Mama, save me!”
That somebody was Emmett Till.
A 14-year-old Chicago kid down south visiting family, Till’s crime was whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a 21-year-old married white woman. Till had no understanding of the violent levy he was about to pay at the hands of Carolyn’s husband.
That night, Aug. 28, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, stormed into Emmett’s uncle’s home. The two men dragged Till from his bed. They drove him to the barn and beat him. They shot him. They tied a barbed-wire laced cotton-gin fan around his neck and dumped his body into the Tallahatchie River.
This death coincided with the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed in 1863.
In time, we’ve realized what Reed was sacrificing by facing his fellow Mississippians – although one wonders why people still believe America wasn’t two separate, unequal states of being based on race.
“I don’t want to diminish the role played by the other witnesses, but his act, in some sense, was the bravest act of them all. He had nothing to gain: He had no family ties to Emmett Till; he didn’t know him,” David T. Beito, a historian at the University of Alabama who has written about the Till case, told the New York Times in Willie Louis’ obituary. “He was this 18-year-old kid who goes into this very hostile atmosphere.”
Bryant and Milam were found not guilty by an all-white, all-male jury. And there was one more bend in the eventual arc of justice that is summed up online by the National Museum of African American History & Culture: “(Bryant and Milam) later sold their story for $4,000 to Look magazine bragging about the murder as a form of Southern justice implemented to protect white womanhood.”
There is a photo of Mamie Till-Mobley weeping as her son’s body arrives at a Chicago train station. It is heart-wrenching. It would’ve been understandable if she had folded into herself to forget and to be forgotten.
Instead, Till-Mobley bravely insisted on an open casket at Emmett’s funeral. His life had to mean more than another murdered Black American by Southern extremists.
More than 50,000 people paid their respects at Roberts Temple Church of God in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Jet, an African American weekly magazine, took the story national by running a photo of Emmett’s mutilated corpse next to a picture of mother and child together.
Emmett Till’s death activated his mother, who later became a teacher, and a generation of civil rights leaders.
“One hundred days after Till’s murder, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus and was arrested for violating Alabama’s bus segregation laws,” the African American museum recounted. “Reverend Jesse Jackson told Vanity Fair (1988) that ‘Rosa said she thought about going to the back of the bus. But then she thought about Emmett Till and couldn’t do it.’ ”
Eight years to the day of Emmett Till’s death, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial. He delivered his dream to hundreds of thousands of people in a stirring oratory to what America should be about.
President Joe Biden established a monument on Monday to honor Emmett Till and his mother. The monument will bridge two states – Illinois and Mississippi. Attempts to mark where Till’s body was found have been fired upon for years. Finally, in 2019, a bulletproof sign was erected.
If any of this shocks you, that’s OK. The Black men involved in Emmett Till’s death were there under duress. I cannot imagine how one carries through life those images of Emmett Till’s body and his cries for mother and God.
History is complicated.
Willie Louis, nee Reed, is a hero for this age, as attempts to wash away history are carried out in state capitals. Instead of leaning toward the better angels of our nature by accepting the truth of prior transgressions, some politicians perversely believe they’re balancing American values when justifying past conditions.
Those sins haunt us – as they should – and beliefs of racial superiority still affect us today.
Fred McKissack is editorial page editor of The Journal Gazette. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/boldness-be-thy-friend/article_85515106-2d73-11ee-86cf-9b38b354c0bf.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:05 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/boldness-be-thy-friend/article_85515106-2d73-11ee-86cf-9b38b354c0bf.html |
Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Hamburg European Open
Arthur Fils will face Alexander Zverev in the Hamburg European Open semifinals on Saturday, July 29.
In this Semifinal matchup, Zverev is the favorite (-375) against Fils (+270) .
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Match Information
- Tournament: The Hamburg European Open
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: MatchMaker Sports Gmbh
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
- Court Surface: Clay
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Alexander Zverev has a 78.9% chance to win.
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Fils eliminated No. 4-ranked Casper Ruud, 6-0, 6-4.
- Zverev was victorious 6-3, 6-4 versus Luca van Assche in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- In his 29 matches over the past year across all court types, Fils has played an average of 21.4 games (20.7 in best-of-three matches).
- Fils has played 14 matches on clay over the past 12 months, and 22.2 games per match (21.2 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 42 matches in the past 12 months across all court types, Zverev is averaging 26.0 games per match (22.6 in best-of-three matches) and winning 53.2% of those games.
- Zverev has averaged 24.1 games per match (21.4 in best-of-three matches) and 9.7 games per set in 22 matches on clay surfaces in the past 12 months.
- Dating back to 2015, Fils and Zverev have not matched up on the court.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/arthur-fils-vs-alexander-zverev-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-hamburg-european-open/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:08 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/arthur-fils-vs-alexander-zverev-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-hamburg-european-open/ |
SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove pitched six strong innings on the night his boyhood hero, Jake Peavy, was inducted into the Padres’ Hall of Fame, Fernando Tatis Jr. homered and San Diego beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 7-1 on Friday night.
Musgrove grew up a Padres fan in suburban El Cajon and idolized Peavy, who won the 2007 NL Cy Young Award. Musgrove began wearing Peavy’s No. 44 after he was traded to the Padres before the 2021 season.
The Rangers, managed by former Padres skipper Bruce Bochy, lost for the fifth time in seven games but kept a two-game lead over Houston.
The Rangers added a bit of drama when they loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth and Luis Garcia walked Marcus Semien. Garcia then struck out former Padres player Travis Jankowski to end it.
Tatis homered to right-center off Dane Dunning (8-4) with one out in the fifth, his 18th, to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. He added an RBI single during the four-run sixth.
The Padres, who have underwhelmed despite having baseball’s third-highest payroll, also got RBIs from two of their other stars, Juan Soto and Manny Machado. Soto hit an RBI single in the first and Machado had a sacrifice fly in the third and a two-run single in the sixth. Gary Sanchez added an RBI double in the sixth.
NICE PLAY
Machado made a sensational play at third to end the seventh when he dove to his left to snag Leody Taveras’ grounder and threw him out while on his backside. First baseman Jake Cronenworth held onto the throw and then fell over.
HALL OF FAME
Peavy was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame along with former owner John Moores during a pregame ceremony. It was under Moores’ ownership that the Padres built Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
RANGERS PROSPECTS
Wyatt Langford, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, made his professional debut Friday night with the ACL Rangers in a game at the ACL Mariners in Peoria, Arizona. He started in left and batted third. Others making their debuts in that game were 1B Anthony Calarco (undrafted free agent), 2B Devin Hurdle (undrafted free agent) and RF Quincy Scott (ninth round).
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: Placed All-Star C Jonah Heim on the 10-day injured list with a strained tendon in his left wrist. He came out of a game at Houston on Wednesday after hurting his wrist on an awkward swing in the fourth inning. Mitch Garver started Friday night.
UP NEXT
Texas LHP Martin Perez (8-3, 4.91 ERA) and Padres RHP Yu Darvish (7-7, 4.80) are scheduled to start Saturday night.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/padres-rangers-musgrove-tatis-peavy-bochy/04440d12-2dcb-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:10 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/padres-rangers-musgrove-tatis-peavy-bochy/04440d12-2dcb-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
A moderate Democratic incumbent will face off against a moderate Republican City Council member in Fort Wayne’s mayoral election in November, a seeming aberration in a polarized political era.
It’s not as if polarizing forces have not hit Indiana’s thriving second-largest city. Critics hammered Democratic Mayor Tom Henry for the police crackdown on George Floyd protests, and hometown Pulitzer-prize winner Charlie Savage, a Journal Gazette alumnus, highlighted real political divides in his Politico feature “When the Culture Wars Hit Fort Wayne.”
Fort Wayne’s choice of moderation for 2023 is not unique for states and municipalities. New Yorkers replaced a leftist with a far more moderate mayor; Georgians reelected a governor unfavored by Donald Trump; and San Francisco and Chicago sent a prosecutor and mayor packing for being too liberal on crime.
So, are these indications of broader moderation in state and local elections? Will these trends hit Indiana elections in 2024?
Political scientists differ on the reasons for America’s polarized parties. Some argue that Americans are genuinely divided on race, religion, gender and cultural issues. Existing regional divides get supercharged by social mobility, where people move to match their preferred lifestyle, which has brought a red and blue America.
Within Indiana, many have bolted for the burgeoning doughnut counties surrounding Indianapolis, and others flock to Bloomington or trendy downtowns in Indy and Fort Wayne. This concentration of lifestyles and political beliefs makes moderation of one party, much less two, less likely.
A contending political science view of polarization holds that Americans are generally moderate and weary of ideologically extreme, out-of-touch Washington leaders, whom a sensationalist media rewards. Choosing between cultural warriors means their pragmatic beliefs are ignored; they are turned off and feel unrepresented.
This polarization debate has consumed political scientists for two decades, but the explanations co-exist more than conflict. There are far more culturally divided partisans than when Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar won massive reelections in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Both lost their next elections badly in culturally driven election years to the regret of moderates and joy of activists.
Local party officials complain that national issues have rained down on them. Not being able to break through with local dimensions heightens divisions. And with the loss of local media to contextualize politics on the ground, national cable outlets drive a polarized agenda.
The irony is that the culture wars actually started 60 years ago at the grassroots level with debates about prayer in school, desegregation, reproductive health care and policing. The difference now is that ambitious politicians seize on these divides to win primary elections, where ideological party activists dominate.
Studies indicate that moderates often avoid running because of the ideological purity primary hurdle.
With three massive statewide elections for president, U.S. Senate and governor, 2024 will be a telling year for whether there is a moderation trend in Indiana. It’s a case study for how statewide candidates will pitch their campaigns.
Will Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, with a compelling résumé for governor as a former state legislator, state auditor and a portfolio of agricultural issues, run touting this experience and the administration’s successes with budget surpluses and legislative wins? Or will she bank on cultural issues and hedge on the administration’s policies during the pandemic that many Republicans – and some rivals – criticize?
Scholars, politicians and the media have to figure out the tension of moderation and polarization. Investment in local and state media outlets are vital to highlight the state and local dimensions of issues, rather than have them folded into national media narratives. Moderates have to run to offer an option.
If the public really is frustrated with only extreme choices in primaries, then representative democracy is faltering.
Finally, scholars should acknowledge that polarization has benefits – if reflective of public views – such as increased voter participation.
Fifty years ago, political observers complained the parties lacked clear positions for voters and participation levels were low.
We saw a record year for turnout in 2020. Meanwhile, while the Fort Wayne moderate mayoral face-off is a compelling story, the primary voter turnout that produced it was only slightly higher than 10%.
Michael R. Wolf is a professor and department chair in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He wrote this for the Indiana Capital Chronicle. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/local-political-races-run-in-opposition-to-national-hyperpartisan-trend/article_0e157484-2c7c-11ee-b0ed-17d42a495f1b.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:11 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/local-political-races-run-in-opposition-to-national-hyperpartisan-trend/article_0e157484-2c7c-11ee-b0ed-17d42a495f1b.html |
Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023
In the ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023 semifinals on Saturday, Fabio Fognini faces Joris de Loore.
With -175 odds, Fognini is favored over de Loore (+125) for this match.
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Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Match Information
- Tournament: The ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Tennisclub Zug
- Location: Zug, Switzerland
- Court Surface: Clay
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Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Fabio Fognini has a 63.6% chance to win.
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Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Trends and Insights
- Fognini advanced past Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, de Loore took down No. 209-ranked Matteo Gigante, winning 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
- Fognini has played 39 matches over the past 12 months (across all court surfaces), and 25.3 games per match (23.5 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 16 matches on clay over the past year, Fognini has played an average of 24.8 games (22.0 in best-of-three matches).
- de Loore has played two matches in the past year across all court types, averaging 22.5 games per match (22.5 in best-of-three matches) and winning 42.2% of those games.
- de Loore has averaged 18.0 games per match (18.0 in best-of-three matches) and 9.0 games per set in one match on clay courts in the past year.
- This is the first time that Fognini and de Loore have matched up in the last five years.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/fabio-fognini-vs-joris-de-loore-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-atp-challenger-zug-switzerland-men-singles-2023/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:15 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/fabio-fognini-vs-joris-de-loore-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-atp-challenger-zug-switzerland-men-singles-2023/ |
BALTIMORE — Anthony Santander said it felt like a playoff game at Camden Yards.
In the eighth inning alone, Santander made a lunging, sliding catch in right field, and second baseman Adam Frazier made a diving stop on Anthony Rizzo’s grounder with a man on second.
“Great defense, great pitching, that’s how we win baseball games,” Santander said.
Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, going toe to toe with New York’s Gerrit Cole, who went seven. Félix Bautista (6-1) struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Kahnle (1-1) couldn’t match that in the bottom half, allowing Santander’s one-out drive that went well beyond the fence in right-center field.
The Orioles remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the AL East, and they now lead the last-place Yankees by nine.
The game was delayed 2 hours, 32 minutes by rain, but that did little to dampen the enthusiasm of a crowd that included a mix of Yankees fans cheering Judge and Orioles fans embracing their first-place team.
“Right before the start of the game, it felt like a playoff game,” Santander said. “That’s good to have those fans to support us. Hopefully they can continue to do that.”
Judge lined out to right field on the first pitch to him in the first, but he reached base the other three times he came up.
Anthony Volpe was robbed twice by stellar Baltimore defense. Third baseman Ramón Urías made a diving stop on his one-hopper in the fifth. In the eighth, Volpe led off with a fly to right that Santander reached out and caught before sliding on his stomach across the grass.
New York eventually had two on and two out that inning when Rizzo’s grounder looked headed to right field. Frazier’s diving play prevented that.
“Defense won us the game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Adam Frazier, diving play off Rizz. Santander with a great diving catch. We turned some double plays.”
Each team had only four hits. Rodriguez was one of Baltimore’s prized prospects, and after being sent back to the minors for a bit, he may be finding a groove.
“I just love his delivery right now and the tempo of his delivery,” Hyde said. “Just really, really competitive.”
DEADLINE OUTLOOK
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said it’s no secret that the Orioles are working on potentially adding pitching upgrades at the trade deadline. He said the team has the wherewithal to make “good baseball trades” even if it means adding payroll.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Elias said he hopes OFs Cedric Mullins (right adductor groin strain) and Aaron Hicks (left hamstring strain) can return and play a large part of August. ... Elias said LHP John Means (left elbow UCL surgery) and RHP Mychal Givens (right shoulder inflammation) will probably be pitching in games in the Florida Complex League in the early part of August.
UP NEXT
Baltimore’s Tyler Wells (7-5) takes the mound against New York’s Clarke Schmidt (6-6) on Saturday night. Schmidt will be on extended rest, having last pitched July 21.
___
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“A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.”
– Abraham Lincoln,
Sept. 30, 1859
(address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society)
I recently devoured author and historian Jon Meacham’s latest, “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle,” a wonderfully written book about the struggles Lincoln faced in his life, from his meager, poverty-stricken upbringing in the harsh conditions of rural Indiana and Kentucky through the weighty challenges he confronted as president during the Civil War when the future of the republic hung in the balance.
What fascinated me most was that even though it was a full biography of Lincoln’s life and struggles, Meacham didn’t feel compelled to chronicle every intricate detail of every battle during the war.
Instead, he focused on the overall morality of the Civil War, especially describing how Lincoln’s religious faith evolved and grew stronger during the most seminal events and challenges of his life.
While reading this magnificent biography, I was struck by the books Lincoln read and most liked during his lifetime; some had such a profound impact on the Illinois “railsplitter” that their fundamental lessons would serve him well when confronted with the scourge of war and eventually as the moral crusader of the 19th century.
It’s been well documented that Lincoln absorbed a great deal of William Shakespeare’s work along with the King James Bible, which many believe helped him develop the distinctive rhythm and structure of his writings and speeches. Lincoln would often recite out loud sonnets and passages from “King Lear” and “Macbeth.”
A number of historians have written, for example, that just days before his assassination, Lincoln read loudly from a speech from “Macbeth” about the death of Duncan the king, which included the line, “after life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.”
From an early age, Lincoln was an astute reader of the Bible.
William E. Barton, one of the early 20th century’s most admired writers and lecturers on the life of Lincoln, once wrote that Lincoln “read the Bible, honored it, quoted it freely, and it became so much a part of him as visibly and permanently to give shape to his literary style and to his habits of thought.”
I became curious about how many of these books from Lincoln’s personal library are still considered relevant today.
Many of the books cited by Meacham as works most admired by Lincoln still resonate today and I’m sure are still widely read: John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress”; the classic travelogue “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe; and “The Age of Reason” by Thomas Paine, his influential pamphlet which challenges traditional religion and the legitimacy of the Bible.
Other favorite books of Lincoln might not be as widely read as they were in the 19th century.
High on Lincoln’s reading list was “Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation” by Robert Chamber, originally published in 1844; it brought together various ideas of stellar evolution (how a star changes over time) and the progressive transmutation of species (the change of one species into another). The book became an international bestseller. Much of its narrative, however, was strongly blasted by the clergy and eventually by leading scientists who pointed out many flaws.
Despite its criticisms, it was an important work, which predated Charles Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” by 15 years.
Jim Secord, professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Cambridge, thinks, “ ‘Vestiges’ really was very significant not only for Lincoln but for many Americans of his generation. Its main argument that nebular condensation led to the formation of the solar system and then to the development of planets, species and humans by natural laws is broadly supported by modern science.
“The book’s significance,” Secord explained, “really is as the first text in English to develop a broadly evolutionary cosmology that takes into account the findings of scientific geology, astronomy and other sciences.”
“The Life of Washington” by Mason Locke Weems, a biography of George Washington, was another book consumed by the young Lincoln. It was first published in 1800 and became an instant bestseller.
When the fifth edition of the book was published in 1806, Weems mentioned, for the first time, the story of Washington and the cherry tree. By the 1830s, the story became embedded into American culture. Historians today roundly dismiss the cherry tree story as pure fiction; that never happened.
According to Benjamin L. Huggins, research associate professor and associate editor of the Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia, “Weems’ biography was very popular in the 19th century, but it is filled with invented material and myths, and modern historians consider it completely unreliable.”
A look at Lincoln’s favorite books indicates he craved expanding his depth of knowledge every chance he got, such as when reading “Aesop’s Fables,” credited to the slave and storyteller who lived in Greece between 620 and 564 B.C.
The book chronicles 725 known parables. Most feature personified animals, which generally have a one-to-one figurative relationship with a vice or virtue. Aesop throws these animals into different environments with different combinations then suggests what effect it has on them in a social setting.
In seeking a sharper understanding of 19th century liberalism, Lincoln liked to read “Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy” (first published in 1785), a classic work by William Paley, an English clergyman and philosopher. Paley attacked the slave trade and the wickedness of slavery in general.
The book was considered a significant piece of writing which focused public attention to the immoral practice of slavery. In the book, Paley also developed some of the leading scientific, theological and ethical ideas of the time, including civil liberties and constitutional government.
Azis Rana, a legal scholar and professor of law at Cornell University, thinks Paley was “a major philosophical and religious figure for early Americans, given his effort to provide a rational account of the existence of God in keeping with Enlightenment principles.”
“Today,” Rana explained, “he is still studied in religious studies and theology programs. I think he tends to be less commonly found on syllabi in political theory, intellectual history and philosophy.”
“Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy” was also on the college reading list of Thaddeus Stevens, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the party during the 1860s.
With such a keen interest in American history, it’s probably no surprise to find William Grimshaw’s “History of the United States: From Their First Settlement as Colonies” on Lincoln’s list. The book was originally published in 1822.
Grimshaw was from Greencastle, Ireland, and emigrated to the United States in 1815, settling in Philadelphia. He wrote a number of history books.
His “History of the United States” was his most celebrated. Grimshaw advanced the idea that large swaths of the American West should be seized by the United States, an idea which would later become more broadly defined as “manifest destiny.”
According to David Gerleman, a professor in the history department at George Mason University, “Grimshaw’s book (published in 1832) has never been used in any modern classrooms, nor should it be. It was written long before history as a discipline or social science was founded, not containing, for example, any source or citation record of any kind.
“Much like Parson Weems’ fanciful biography of Washington,” Gerleman added, “it is one man’s tale of what he thinks the history was and not one grounded in academic fact.”
Of all the books on Lincoln’s personal reading list, arguably, the most well known is Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” or “Life Among the Lowly.” It was the second best-selling book of the 19th century, right behind the Bible.
Stowe, a staunch abolitionist born into a prominent family of Northern white preachers, sketches the story of an enslaved character, Uncle Tom, described as saintly and dignified, who saves the life of Little Eva, a frail, angelic daughter of a Southern slave owner, while being transported by boat to an auction in New Orleans. It more generally chronicles the harsh and punishing treatment of slaves forced to cope with the separation of families.
The two-volume novel is widely hailed as one of the most influential books of the 19th century, which brought to light the immorality of slavery to a wider audience; and caused others, who previously had remained silent, to speak out publicly against slavery.
Robert S. Levine, a scholar of American and African American literature at the University of Maryland, College Park, tells me that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is still being taught in college classrooms, “though undergraduate students these days have trouble with long works.”
“As editor of The Norton Anthology of American Literature,” Levine says, “I created a 100-page version of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ for the anthology (Volume B), which I find very teachable. Some these days find the novel racist and sentimental; others (including myself) see the novel as doing key anti-racist and anti-slavery cultural work during the 1850s.”
A book not mentioned by Meacham is “The Columbian Orator” which, according to Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, appears to have had a meaningful impact on Lincoln.
“The Columbian Orator,” published in 1797, is a collection of political essays, poems and dialogues collected and written by Caleb Bingham, an educator in New England. The striking body of work includes speeches by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and some imagined speeches by Socrates and Cato, among other historical figures.
In addition to Lincoln, “The Columbian Orator” reportedly served as a source of inspiration for abolitionist, social reformer, statesman and writer Frederick Douglass.
There weren’t many public libraries, and no Barnes & Noble bookstores or ordering books online through Amazon in Lincoln’s day. Books were largely scarce for the young Lincoln; but he did manage to get his hands on what he could.
The books he did find were some of the best literature available. It’s safe to assume some of his favorite books served him well up through his assassination in April 1865.
His was a life well lived and, apparently, well-read. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/the-lincoln-library-presidents-best-loved-books-offer-insight-on-his-intellectual-evolution/article_903d3ffa-2beb-11ee-969f-c7e9411c3e40.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:18 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/the-lincoln-library-presidents-best-loved-books-offer-insight-on-his-intellectual-evolution/article_903d3ffa-2beb-11ee-969f-c7e9411c3e40.html |
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
On Saturday, Matteo Arnaldi (No. 76 in the world) meets Alexei Popyrin (No. 90) in the semifinals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
Arnaldi is the favorite (-150) in this match, compared to the underdog Popyrin, who is +115.
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Matteo Arnaldi has a 60.0% chance to win.
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Arnaldi advanced past No. 33-ranked Jiri Lehecka, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Popyrin beat No. 287-ranked Dino Prizmic, winning 7-6, 7-5.
- Arnaldi has played 24.5 games per match (23.2 in best-of-three matches) in his 35 matches over the past year (across all court types).
- On clay, Arnaldi has played 18 matches over the past 12 months, totaling 24.5 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) while winning 54.2% of games.
- In the past year, Popyrin has competed in 47 total matches (across all court types), winning 49.3% of the games. He averages 28.0 games per match (25.3 in best-of-three matches) and 10.6 games per set.
- On clay surfaces, Popyrin has played 16 matches and averaged 26.7 games per match (26.0 in best-of-three matches) and 10.2 games per set.
- Dating back to 2015, Arnaldi and Popyrin have not competed against each other.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/matteo-arnaldi-vs-alexei-popyrin-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:21 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/matteo-arnaldi-vs-alexei-popyrin-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — New Zealand striker Hannah Wilkinson has helped create two milestones at the Women’s World Cup.
The Ferns were greeted with a fan-made sign at their next match in Wellington: “Gay for soccer, gay for Wilkie,” it read.
The 95 out participants make up roughly 13% of the 736 total players at the Women’s World Cup, more than doubling the 40 players and coaches Outsports counted in 2019.
The 2023 tournament also is hosting the first openly trans and non-binary player in either a men’s or Women’s World Cup, Quinn of Canada.
“Last World Cup was so big, especially with the visibility of the U.S. women’s national team winning and (Megan Rapinoe) fighting with (Donald) Trump. So I think that was a huge year for LGBTQ+ visibility,” said Lindsey Freeman, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
“It’s just the ad hoc, fun culture of women’s soccer that you’re seeing in this World Cup,” said Freeman, who is in New Zealand conducting research on the topic.
Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports, agreed. “In the Western world, it’s such a non-issue that it really just doesn’t get talked about,” he said. “And I think that’s in a good way.”
VISIBILITY
Prior to the start of the tournament, FIFA designated eight socially conscious armbands team captains could wear throughout the Women’s World Cup. The decision came after “One Love” armbands were denied to men’s teams in Qatar in 2022.
The armbands being used this year include anti-discriminatory sayings and multiple colors, but the rainbow version Germany wanted to use is not allowed. None of the available options explicitly mention LGBTQ+ rights.
The decision has led many players to express their support in more creative ways across Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand midfielder Ali Riley was interviewed on the official Women’s World Cup broadcast after her team’s upset of Norway. Her painted fingernails, left hand in the colors of the pride flag and right hand as the trans flag, were clearly visible as she held her head and fought back tears.
“She’s such an advocate and she’s definitely someone who uses her platform in such a positive way. We are all so proud of her and the way she represents the LGBTQ+ community,” teammate CJ Bott said. “Good on her. We’re all backing her, and we all back the community as well.”
The Philippines, making its Women’s World Cup debut, took home its own historic win over New Zealand 1-0 thanks to the foot of Sarina Bolden. Bolden’s Instagram bio reads, “i just wanna have fun n b gay.”
Irish star Katie McCabe wowed fans with a goal directly from a corner kick. She’s also made tabloid news for her relationships with other players.
Thembi Kgatlana, who has scored in the tournament for South Africa, has a patch of her hair dyed rainbow colors.
“My personality is very big for me, and my hair has become a part of my personality,” Kgatlana said. “And I did this rainbow because I want to represent all the people that are part of the LGBTQ and cannot talk while in countries where they’re oppressed.”
FAN EXPERIENCE
Kristen Pariseau and her wife started a U.S. women’s national team supporters group on Facebook ahead of traveling to this year’s Women’s World Cup. Aside from some hateful users she blocked, it’s been “super LGBT friendly.”
She and her wife did not go to Qatar for the 2022 men’s World Cup to avoid referencing each other as friends and receiving questions on their sexuality. In New Zealand, she said she’s met many same-sex couples at games and while traveling around the country.
“Everywhere you turn, it’s like, ‘Oh, my wife, my girlfriend.’ It’s been so welcoming and open,” Pariseau said. “In a way, it is kind of cool to be where there’s a lot of other people like you.”
Kelsie Bozart took her own pride flag armband to the United States’ second match in Wellington, along with a pride scarf.
“If you look back a couple years, I feel like it just wasn’t really talked about or there just wasn’t much of a presence,” Bozart said. “But moving forward I feel like, especially for the U.S., they’ve done an amazing job of just incorporating pride and LGBTQ.”
NOT UNIVERSAL
Though this year’s tournament has highlighted vast gains for the LGBTQ+ community in women’s soccer, advocates feel there is still work to be done.
According to Buzinski and Outsports, there were at least 186 LGBTQ+ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Women outnumbered men by a 9:1 ratio. There also were no confirmed out players at the 2022 men’s World Cup.
“I think women’s sports have always been open,” Denmark striker Pernille Harder said, adding that there are many role models for women who want to come out.
Freeman said it would be good to see men feel the same level of comfort.
“What can happen in the women’s game, I would love to spill over to the men’s game,” she said. “Because obviously, there’s way more queer players in the men’s game and it’s just not safe for them to come out.
“If you want to say that you’re in an inclusive space, you really have to be an inclusive space,” Freeman added. “And I think that that includes also holding the World Cup in places where it’s fine to be a queer person.”
___
Max Ralph is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
___
Contributing reporters included Joe Lister in Wellington and Rafaela Pontes in Auckland, students in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State, and Clay Witt in Sydney, Australia, a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/29/womens-world-cup-lgbtq/ec6f9638-2dc6-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:22 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/29/womens-world-cup-lgbtq/ec6f9638-2dc6-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
I underestimated the impact of my limited resources when seeking a solution to a problem affecting an overlooked population. I discovered that using one’s voice matters.
Navigating a statewide system for my octogenarian parents living in Maryland led to the discovery that a large part of the population lacked access to the COVID-19 vaccine. After months of research and phone calls to numbers listed on the state website, I eventually gained the attention of decision makers who helped resolve the problem.
This experience helped me understand that systems are run by people who may not have full information when forming solutions and that using one’s voice does matter.
I appreciate the sacrifices elected officials make to govern. They take the time to learn about people and issues, and analyze solutions. Despite their vast resources for gathering information, they still need input from those impacted by policies and legislation.
They need to hear from us. We need to use our voice.
When we use our voice, we stay informed, and staying informed prompts us to speak up.
In a recent research project, Purdue Fort Wayne associate professor Sarah LeBlanc examined ways “period poverty” limits opportunities for women. Her research spurred action when she developed a campaign to share information widely and partnered with other organizations to implement solutions.
Her campaign has resulted in greater awareness and supplies distributed in schools and communities where they are needed most. Learning leads to action.
We need to use our voice because even a small voice can make a difference.
I was not a resident of Maryland when I advocated for equal access. COVID vaccine supplies were lagging at the time, especially in rural communities. When vaccine distribution began, there were no call centers in the state. Information on websites was not clear and contained errors.
I was not in a position to help eradicate these problems. I could, however, make decision makers aware that their online registration system for the vaccine denied access for those who lacked the ability to access the internet.
Unwilling to remain powerless, I contacted editors from local and regional media. This resulted in an article about many who had struggled to get the vaccine. I also received a call from the governor’s office.
Even a small voice matters.
We need to use our voice because some of the best solutions come from those who have struggled to find a solution.
When Michelle Obama’s doctor warned that her daughter’s weight was trending in an unhealthy direction, she modified food choices for her family and later used her position as first lady to increase access to healthier food choices, and she made exercise cool.
In her book, “Becoming,” she described that pivotal moment when the doctor explained health risks that could be averted with better food choices and exercise, habits that have declined among our youth. She hired a meal planner to make healthy meals for her family and mused that if her husband occupied the White House one day, she would develop ways for all families to have healthy meals.
Her initiative to overcome a challenge her family faced resulted in more community gardens, healthier food choices served in schools, and greater access to healthy food choices for underserved populations.
We need to use our voice because we often speak for others who may not be able to use their voice. You may have the courage others do not possess. You may have expert knowledge few have to contribute to conversations that will impact many. You may have the persuasive skills required to advocate for positive change.
No matter the asset, you are using influence for the sake of others who can’t.
The Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation emerged to address the health and labor challenges families face when a parent is not able to read. With an understanding that reading is foundational for learning and opens doors of opportunity, Barbara Bush developed reading programs for young people. She gave voice to the needs of those unable to advocate for themselves by using hers to create programs that offered a better future.
Strong, collaborative communities rely on voices from multiple stakeholders. How can you add yours?
Cheri Hampton-Farmer is a Fort Wayne consultant and educator. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/the-power-of-a-single-voice-opportunities-abound-for-meaningful-community-contributions/article_10925a68-2bd9-11ee-878c-b7d790835d48.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:24 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columnists/the-power-of-a-single-voice-opportunities-abound-for-meaningful-community-contributions/article_10925a68-2bd9-11ee-878c-b7d790835d48.html |
Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
In the semifinals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Saturday, Stan Wawrinka (ranked No. 72) faces Lorenzo Sonego (No. 43).
In this Semifinal matchup against Sonego (+100), Wawrinka is the favorite with -125 odds.
Looking to place a bet on this or other tennis matches? Head over to BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, and sign up today with our link!
Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Stan Wawrinka has a 55.6% chance to win.
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Trends and Insights
- Wawrinka is looking to stay on track after a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 59-ranked Roberto Carballes Baena in Friday's quarterfinals.
- Sonego advanced to the semifinals by taking down No. 104-ranked Jaume Munar 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday.
- Wawrinka has played 27.3 games per match (24.6 in best-of-three matches) in his 40 matches over the past year (across all court surfaces).
- On clay, Wawrinka has played 11 matches over the past year, totaling 28.7 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) while winning 49.7% of games.
- Sonego has averaged 25.4 games per match (22.7 in best-of-three matches) through his 55 matches played in the past year across all court surfaces, while winning 50.8% of the games.
- Sonego has averaged 27.9 games per match (23.1 in best-of-three matches) and 9.8 games per set in 13 matches on clay courts in the past 12 months.
- Wawrinka and Sonego have not played each other since 2015.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/stan-wawrinka-vs-lorenzo-sonego-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:28 | 0 | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/stan-wawrinka-vs-lorenzo-sonego-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
Two years and four days after 18-year-old Ariona Darling died while under suicide watch at the Allen County Jail, her family’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Monday against county officials, the jail’s medical and mental health contractor and four of their employees.
The suit is the latest jail-related legal action taken against the county since U.S. District Judge Damon Leichty ordered the Allen County Commissioners and sheriff in March 2022 to develop a plan to address long-term solutions to overcrowding and understaffing problems that have plagued the facility for decades.
In siding with former inmate Vincent Morris in his suit filed in January 2020, Leichty found the jail’s physical structure, and inadequate medical treatment and recreation, led to problems that violate the inmates’ constitutional rights under the Eighth and 14th amendments.
The commissioners presented the County Council a plan last week to build a $324 million jail at 2911 and 2955 Meyer Road. The council rejected the proposal and the accompanying 0.2% local income tax increase to fund it.
Any resulting delay in the construction of a new jail or the renovation of the existing one could result in a heavier impact on taxpayers due to the price of materials, supply-chain disruptions and higher lending costs, Commissioner Nelson Peters said. And if progress stalls in addressing the jail problem, Judge Leichty could appoint a special master to oversee the jail and the compliance process.
“And as I sought to find out what a special master could do in this case, he could effectively strip the county of its ability right now, until there’s a reasonable solution, to run the jail,” Peters told The Journal Gazette.
At last week’s meeting, County Councilman Kyle Kerley, R-at large, accused the commissioners of mismanagement. He criticized their hiring of the Elevatus architectural firm, which he said submitted a bid three times higher than the lowest-priced estimate received.
Kerley’s assessment has been shared by vocal opponents to a new jail, the Help Not Handcuffs coalition, as well as County Councilman and former sheriff Ken Fries, R-at large, who wants the commissioners to hire another consultant to determine whether the existing jail can be refurbished for the county’s present and future needs.
“The process has been cloaked in darkness; it has not been transparent,” Fries told The Journal Gazette. “And that’s not the way, I believe, government should work. They’re expecting us to go to the taxpayers and say, ‘We’re going to take money out of your pockets for a jail you don’t want.’ ”
The Help Not Handcuffs coalition believes more people could be run through the county’s many problem-solving courts, but Allen County Prosecutor Mike McAlexander said at last week’s council meeting the higher number of inmates isn’t due to a lack of alternatives. Most of the jail’s detainees have been offered an alternative and have reoffended, he said, leaving the justice system little choice but incarceration.
“We have the best problem-solving courts in the state of Indiana. We have the most problem-solving courts in the state of Indiana,” Peters said Wednesday. “While this morning’s jail count was hovering around the 700 mark, we’ve got 9,200 people in those programs. I don’t know where you go at this particular point with that argument.”
Peters believes the commissioners will bring to council a scaled-down version of the proposal. Fries, however, is adamant a second consultant should examine expansion at the present jail as an alternative to building new.
“If they say it can’t be done, that we have to build a new jail, I’m behind you 100%,” Fries said.
Peters believes that step to be unnecessary. A feasibility study revealed at a public hearing in February 2022 showed the most likely options to address jail overcrowding were a $25 million vertical expansion of the existing jail or a $300 million facility at a new location. Elevatus authored the feasibility study.
The next hearing before Leichty will be 10 a.m. Sept. 29. Peters expects the judge “to have fairly strong opinions” about last week’s County Council meeting vote.
The county, however, has managed to keep the jail population near the judge’s target of 732 inmates. Perhaps Leichty would be agreeable to allow more time for the commissioners to explore alternatives to a new jail.
On June 27, 2021, a teenage girl took her own life while confined at the Allen County Jail. That should provide incentive for the commissioners, sheriff and County Council to hammer out a compromise to address overcrowding and understaffing at the jail. Failing that, they – and county taxpayers – risk being excluded from the process by a court-appointed special master. | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/county-impasse-on-jail-improvements-risks-court-appointed-special-master/article_5e747a60-2d6c-11ee-a26f-53a588fb4a9e.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:30 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/county-impasse-on-jail-improvements-risks-court-appointed-special-master/article_5e747a60-2d6c-11ee-a26f-53a588fb4a9e.html |
Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Truist Atlanta Open
Taylor Fritz (No. 9 ranking) will face Jeffrey John Wolf (No. 46) in the semifinals of the Truist Atlanta Open on Saturday, July 29.
With -250 odds, Fritz is the favorite against Wolf (+190) for this matchup.
Looking to place a bet on this or other tennis matches? Head over to BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, and sign up today with our link!
Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Match Information
- Tournament: The Truist Atlanta Open
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Atlantic Station
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Court Surface: Hard
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Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Taylor Fritz has a 71.4% chance to win.
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Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Fritz beat No. 439-ranked Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 6-2.
- Wolf came out on top 6-2, 6-3 versus Dominik Koepfer in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- Fritz has played 68 matches over the past 12 months across all court surfaces, and 26.2 games per match (24.1 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 44 matches on hard courts over the past 12 months, Fritz has played an average of 25.8 games (24.3 in best-of-three matches).
- Wolf is averaging 24.5 games per match (22.3 in best-of-three matches) through his 59 matches played in the past 12 months across all court types, winning 52.6% of those games.
- Wolf has averaged 24.9 games per match (22.8 in best-of-three matches) and 9.9 games per set in 41 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months, winning 52.7% of those games.
- This is the first time that Fritz and Wolf have played in the last five years.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/taylor-fritz-vs-jeffrey-john-wolf-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ | 2023-07-29T05:15:35 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/taylor-fritz-vs-jeffrey-john-wolf-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ |
Russia solely to blame for warfare in Ukraine
In the July 21 edition of The Journal Gazette was the latest iteration of Tim Tiernon’s ongoing condemnation of the United States and its support of Ukraine in that country’s self-defense in the face of Russian aggression.
And as is customary with Tiernon, the reader must wade through a number of loosely related topics, such as the destruction of chemical weapons by the U.S. and the use of napalm in World War II, before finally arriving at his central theme from the outset of the war in Ukraine: “War in Ukraine is the result of American meddling and western Ukrainians rallying against ethnic Russians in the east.”
Yes, he continues to lay the blame for this conflict at the feet of the U.S. and the Ukrainians. Of course, by inference he remains an apologist for Vladimir Putin, since following his faulty reasoning the U.S. and the Ukrainians provoked him to invade Ukraine. But nobody crossed Russian borders militarily; nobody bombed and strafed Russian territory. In late February 2022, Putin simply sent Russian forces into the sovereign nation of Ukraine without provocation.
The perpetrator of this war is Russia, despite what Tiernon’s fuzzy thinking has led him to believe. He remains way out of step with reality.
David Oberstar
Fort Wayne
Help is available with insurance shopping
Maintaining health care coverage outside of the annual open enrollment period is top of mind this year as the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is winding down. Qualifying life events may make you eligible for certain coverage throughout the year.
• Losing coverage, including job-based, individual and student plans.
• Losing coverage through a parent’s plan when turning age 26.
• Getting married or divorced; having a baby or adopting a child; or a death in the family.
• Moving or relocating outside of your ZIP code and/or state.
• Change in income.
If these or other life changes impact your health coverage, that may allow you and your family access to medical care and preventive services to help you stay healthier.
If the most important thing is to stay covered, the next is not to panic. You have options.
• If you are working and eligible through your employer, contact your benefits administrator to enroll in your employer coverage.
• If you are younger than 26 and do not have health insurance, you can extend coverage through your parent’s or guardian’s plan as long as you continue to pay the premiums.
• If you are not eligible for an employer insurance plan, Indiana has affordable coverage options available to individuals and families. You may be eligible for health care plans through the healthcare.gov marketplace.
Health coverage decisions can be made simpler, and there are resources to help. Whether you choose to do your own research and enrollment, or engage outside services, finding what you are eligible for and what you can afford can help you find coverage and ensures access to care now.
UnitedHealthcare has created a free service that provides support for individuals who need to find new health insurance. Information is available at uhc.com/staycovered or by calling 888-595-3645.
Choosing the right health coverage may seem difficult as many people have never shopped for their own health insurance or worry they cannot afford it. Coverage options are available to help meet your unique care needs and financial situation. Be prepared; know what options there are because it is important to stay covered.
Kim Sonerholm
CEO, UnitedHealthcare of Indiana | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/letters/blame-rests-with-russia-help-in-insurance-shopping/article_920cbe0a-2718-11ee-a0e2-6feb13925481.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:36 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/letters/blame-rests-with-russia-help-in-insurance-shopping/article_920cbe0a-2718-11ee-a0e2-6feb13925481.html |
(T) – taped (JIP) – joined in progress
TodayTELEVISION
AUTO RACING
Formula One, Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race, ESPN2, 10:25 a.m.
Formula E, Hankook London E-Prix, CBS, noon
NASCAR Cup Series, qualifying, USA, 12:30 p.m.
Xfinity, Henry 180, NBC, 3 p.m.
Trucks, Worldwide Express 250, FS1, 7:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
MLB, L.A. Angels-Toronto, MLB Net, 3 p.m.
MLB, Detroit-Miami, FS1/Bally Detroit, 4 p.m.
MLB, N.Y. Yankees-Baltimore, Fox, 7 p.m.
MLB, Cleveland-Chicago White Sox, NBC Chicago, 7 p.m.
MLB, Chicago Cubs-St. Louis, Marquee, 7:15 p.m.
MLB, Cincinnati-L.A. Dodgers, Bally Indiana, 9 p.m.
BASKETBALL
TBT, teams TBD, ESPN2, noon/2 p.m.
GOLF
LPGA, Amundi Evian Championship, TGC, 5:30 a.m.
Champions, Senior Open Championship, NBC, noon
PGA, 3M Open, TGC, 1 p.m./CBS, 3 p.m.
HORSE RACING
Saratoga Live, Jim Dandy Stakes, Fox, 3 p.m.
LACROSSE
Athletes Unlimited, Colson-Apuzzo, ESPN2, 5 p.m.
Athletes Unlimited, Read-Moreno, ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.
MMA
UFC, prelims, ESPN, 7 p.m./ABC/ESPN, 8 p.m.
SOCCER
World Cup, France-Brazil, Fox, 6 a.m.
World Cup, Panama-Jamaica, Fox, 8:30 a.m.
RADIO
BASEBALL
MWL, TinCaps-West Michigan, 1380 AM, 7 p.m.
MLB, Chicago Cubs-St. Louis, 92.7 FM, 7:15 p.m.
SUNdayTELEVISION
AUTO RACING
Formula One, MSC Cruises Belgian Grand Prix, ESPN, 8:55 a.m.
NASCAR Cup Series, Cook Out 400, USA, 3 p.m.
NHRA, DENSO Sonoma Nationals, Fox, 4 p.m.
BASEBALL
MLB, L.A. Angels-Toronto, Peacock, noon
MLB, teams TBD, MLB Net, 1:30 p.m.
MLB, Detroit-Miami, Bally Detroit, 1:30 p.m.
MLB, Cleveland-Chicago White Sox, NBC Chicago, 2 p.m.
MLB, Chicago Cubs-St. Louis, Marquee, 2:15 p.m.
MLB, N.Y. Yankees-Baltimore, ESPN, 7 p.m.
BASKETBALL
BIG3, Week 6, CBS, 1 p.m.
WNBA, Minnesota-Connecticut, CBS Sports, 1 p.m.
WNBA, New York-Los Angeles, ESPN, 4 p.m.
WNBA, Seattle-Indiana, Bally Indiana, 4 p.m.
TBT, teams TBD, ESPN2, 4 p.m.
GOLF
LPGA Tour, Amundi Evian Championship, TGC, 5:30 a.m.
Champions, Senior Open Championship, NBC, noon
PGA Tour, 3M Open, TGC, 1 p.m./CBS, 3 p.m.
LACROSSE
PLL, Waterdogs-Archers, ABC, 3 p.m.
SOCCER
World Cup, South Korea-Morocco, Fox, 12:30 a.m.
World Cup, Switzerland-New Zealand, Fox, 3 a.m.
World Cup, Norway-Philippines, FS1, 3 a.m.
World Cup, Germany-Colombia, FS1, 5:30 a.m.
EPL, Summer Series, Aston Villa-Brentford, USA, noon
EPL, Summer Series, Chelsea-Fulham, NBC, 2:30 p.m.
Friendly, Borussia Dortmund-Manchester United, ESPN2, 8;55 p.m.
Leagues Cup, Monterrey-Seattle, FS1, 9 p.m.
World Cup, Japan-Spain, Fox, 3 a.m. (Mon.)
World Cup, Costa Rica-Zambia, FS1, 3 a.m. (Mon.)
World Cup, Canada vs. Australia, Fox, 6 a.m. (Mon.)
World Cup, Ireland-Nigeria, FS1, 6 a.m. (Mon.)
SOFTBALL
Athletes Unlimited, Rhodes-McCleney, ESPN, noon
RADIO
BASEBALL
MWL, TinCaps-West Michigan, 1380 AM, 2 p.m.
MLB, Chicago Cubs-St. Louis, 92.7 FM, 2:15 p.m.
TV listings subject to change | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/072923-weekend-lineup/article_ee7f8936-2d91-11ee-bcb1-37a8e2646573.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:37 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/072923-weekend-lineup/article_ee7f8936-2d91-11ee-bcb1-37a8e2646573.html |
INDIANAPOLIS – College football is bracing itself.
At the start of the 2024 season, much of what has become familiar about the sport in recent years will change drastically.
On the national level, that includes a move from four teams to 12 in the season-ending College Football Playoff and the departures of Red River rivals Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 to the new 16-team Southeastern Conference.
In the Big Ten, the adjustments coming next year are even more jarring: Erstwhile Pac-12 outfits and Rose Bowl opponents USC and UCLA will join the league. The conference will suddenly span from coast to coast, balloon to 16 teams and, in the process, shift away from the East-West divisional structure that has created so much imbalance toward the East since it was instituted in 2014.
But before all of that can happen, one more football season must be played.
In 2023, for the last time, just four teams will be selected for the playoff; USC and UCLA will try to win a Pac-12 title on the way out the door; Purdue will battle for a second straight Big Ten West title; and Indiana has to face league powers Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State in the same year once again.
For now, everything in the Big Ten is status quo. During Big Ten football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday, new conference Commissioner Tony Petitti made his first appearance at the annual event. He spoke about the dichotomy of having another year of relative normalcy – or, at least, normalcy as it has been practiced for the last decade – before the floodgates of change open officially next summer.
“I don’t think there’s any distraction,” said Petitti, the former chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. “I think we’re able to do two things at once, look forward and at the same time do everything we need to do day in and day out for this football season. Not just for football, but for the rest of the schedule this year for Big Ten sports.
“I feel like we have the staff and the depth. We’ve done some things internally to shore up our staff to be able to do that, to put more energy into the integration of UCLA and USC.”
As the league office gears up for the new arrivals, some of the conference’s coaches are already making preparations for the new challenges those teams will present, like travel to the West Coast for conference games.
“Step one, to me, is talking to people who have done it,” Indiana coach Tom Allen, whose team is slated to play USC on the road in 2025, told the IndyStar. “I go through and say, ‘OK who’s had to make these trips and done them successfully?’ Because there is an adjustment.
“What day do you take off? When do you get there? How do you adjust the guys’ sleep? So, to me, I want to trust the guys that have successfully done it. We’ll start that here very soon.”
Conventional wisdom holds that Allen’s team will be helped more than almost any other in the league by the dissolution of the divisional structure. In 2024, IU will not have to face Ohio State or Michigan and will have UCLA visit Bloomington.
For the seventh-year Hoosiers coach, a balancing act is required when it comes to keeping attention on the present while preparing for the future.
“You compartmentalize,” Allen said Thursday at media days. “We know what’s coming next, but we haven’t spent any time dealing with that right now. I have a systematic way of trying to approach that with regards to (director of football operations Mike Doig) and how we’re planning ahead with him, but from a football perspective we’re not talking about anything except what’s ahead of us in Week 1 (against Ohio State).
“But also I can’t have just tunnel vision on things. I have to have a big-picture view of where we’re going, so I just think it’s an exciting time, … but right now the main focus is and the one focus is getting our team ready for fall camp and ready for the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
New Purdue coach Ryan Walters emphasized his appreciation of the Big Ten’s decision to make Boilermakers-Hoosiers one of the conference’s 11 protected rivalries to be played annually under the new scheduling model, which will commence in 2024, noting “We don’t wear red in the building.” Otherwise, however, his gaze is centered on what’s coming this fall.
“My focus right now is on practice one of fall camp and (Week 1 opponent) Fresno State,” the first-year head coach said. “I think if you look too far ahead in the future, you miss what’s right in front of you and this profession, this game, it’s too hard to win as it is to not be solely focused on the task at hand before looking ahead.”
But though the coaches’ focus is on the upcoming season, that of Petitti and the conference office has to be spread around, not only to the preparations for welcoming USC and UCLA, but to potential opportunities for more additions.
At media days, the new commissioner, who took over in May with USC and UCLA already on the way, downplayed the possibility of further expansion.
“The direction I’m getting from leadership, our presidents and chancellors, athletic directors, is to focus on UCLA and USC,” Petitti said. “I believe we have a good plan in motion.”
But his words were overtaken by events just a few hours later Wednesday night, when reports leaked that in 2024 Colorado would return from the Pac-12 to the Big 12, its home until 2010. That move throws the future of the Pac-12 into even further doubt and potentially sends marquee brands like Oregon and Washington scrambling for a new home.
In college sports, change waits for nothing, even with a football season on the horizon. | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/colleges/iu/big-ten-football-braces-for-change-but-one-season-remains/article_f44b0158-2d7b-11ee-80df-0fa44fc5b65f.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:43 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/colleges/iu/big-ten-football-braces-for-change-but-one-season-remains/article_f44b0158-2d7b-11ee-80df-0fa44fc5b65f.html |
Nick Holder looks back to last year’s City Championship – when he tied for second place with a three-day total of 4 under – and understands how much it influenced everything he’s done on a golf course since.
“It was definitely a different feel for me and it’s a lot different than playing in college tournaments,” said Holder, who is on Purdue Fort Wayne’s golf team. “But just being that close to winning and not being able to get it done, it just stuck in my mind the past year and pushed me to play better.
“I will say, I learned a lot also because there were 100 to 200 people watching us that final back nine and I learned to control my breathing, to take deep breaths and just focus on ‘one shot at a time’ out there on the course, not thinking ahead.”
Jonny Filler won last year’s City Championship – which was held at Autumn Ridge Golf Course – at 7 under, edging Holder and Kevin Irons by three strokes.
Holder played well in the final round with a 1-over 73, but it wasn’t up to what he’d done in the first two rounds with a 70 and a 69, and he observed how some more experienced competitors went lower down the stretch to reshape the leader board. Filler, for instance, had a final-round 69 and Irons a 70.
The experience was informative for Holder throughout his college season and now as he prepares for this year’s City Championship – run by the Fort Wayne Golf Association – which is Aug. 5 to 7 at Pine Valley Country Club.
“Me and Callahan (Elzey), who was my caddie, we put a good game plan together (last year),” Holder said. “We tried to play pretty conservative for the most part, a lot of fairways and greens, and a lot of consistent play led to me being in a spot I wanted to be in the last day, in the final group. I just couldn’t get it done on the back nine the final day, but I learned a lot of things and can only ask to put myself in the same position and do it right this time.”
Holder, 22, a former Bishop Dwenger golfer, was a big part of PFW’s success last season. As a redshirt freshman, his 74.74 stroke average was behind only Kasey Lilly’s 73.05 and Hunter Mefford’s 73.59.
Twice, Holder shot 4-under 67s – tied for the program’s low last season – and he helped the Mastodons to the school’s first Horizon League championship.
“It was awesome, definitely a confidence booster to see some success for all the hard work that not only I, but all of us, did behind the scenes that no one saw besides us,” Holder said. “Finally being able to do something cool and put our names in the history books was awesome.”
The Mastodons finished 13th at their NCAA regional at Bath, Michigan, in May, when Holder had a three-day total of 10 over, the best ever by a Mastodons golfer at a regional.
“It was cool going out there and battling it out against those Power Five schools, that was fun,” Holder said. “Just seeing how our games stacked up against theirs and also seeing the gap between the Power Five and the Mid Majors, that really pushed us all this summer to work on our games and try to close that gap and put us in the same position next season.”
PFW’s players will certainly be ones to watch at this year’s City Championship. Lilly shot a 1-under 71 in the qualifier July 22 at Cherry Hill, and Mefford and Jadden Ousley are expected to compete at Pine Valley, which is the Mastodons’ home course.
Other FWGA players to watch include: Filler; 2021-champion Rory Ransburg; 2020-champion Heath Peters; Johnny Strawser; Joe Hayden; Chris Schweitzer; Travis Hemsoth; Hunter Melton; Evan Riecke; Bailey Marquardt; Carson Stohler; Garrett Leeper; and Garrett Willis. Nine-time champion Tom Kelley, who last won in 2000, is also expected to compete.
Holder, who enjoys going up against the players of various ages and experiences that the City Championship provides, will again have Elzey on the bag. Elzey, one of the area’s finest golfers over the past decade, is Holder’s swing coach and a longtime friend, and someone who has experienced the rigors of this three-day event, including dealing with a large gallery following the leaders on the final day.
“He’s known me my whole life and actually caddied for me in my first tournament out at Shoaff Park. It was like a six-hole tournament,” said Holder, who will be playing in the City Championship for a third time. “He’s kind of been like a big brother to me, growing up and playing golf, … and he’s awesome at keeping my mind where it needs to be during a tournament, not getting upset over certain shots. And he has so much experience playing himself and is awesome at reading the greens. I’d like to think it’s a good duo between us.”
The City Championship has been held annually since 1926. | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/colleges/local-colleges/2nd-place-finish-at-city-championship-drove-pfws-nick-holder-to-success-now-he-wants/article_bcaeb54e-2972-11ee-b398-6bc472176833.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:49 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/colleges/local-colleges/2nd-place-finish-at-city-championship-drove-pfws-nick-holder-to-success-now-he-wants/article_bcaeb54e-2972-11ee-b398-6bc472176833.html |
BLAINE, Minn. – With the FedEx Cup two weeks away, Lee Hodges can breathe easier. Justin Thomas can’t.
Hodges birdied four of his last six holes for a 7-under 64 and a four-stroke lead over Tyler Duncan on Friday after almost two rounds of the 3M Open.
A nearly two-hour afternoon weather delay led to play being suspended due to darkness with six players yet to finish – none within 10 shots of the lead.
Hodges, the first-round leader and 74th in the FedEx Cup points race, was at 15-under 127. He was 3 under on the front nine and added a 33-foot birdie putt on No. 13, followed by birdies from 14 feet on No. 14 and 11 feet on No. 17.
A lengthy last-hole putt was not enough to overcome a couple bad holes as Thomas aims to make the FedEx Cup playoffs for the eighth straight season.
He birdied four of his last five holes to shoot an even-par 71, leaving him 2 under for the tournament and two strokes short of the cut line.
Thomas, at No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings, has missed five cuts in his last seven starts. The top 70 next week after the Wyndham Championship will advance to the playoffs.
Looking to stay in strong consideration for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Thomas has just two top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments since mid-February.
Defending champion Tony Finau (66), J.T. Poston (66), Brandt Snedeker (68) and Kevin Streelman (68) are at 10-under 132.
CHAMPIONS: At Bridgend, Wales Steven Alker moved to the top of the Senior British Open leader board with a 3-under 68 after Miguel Angel Jimenez followed up a round to remember with one to forget.
Playing on his birthday, Alker hit four birdies in the second round along with a bogey at the par-4 10th. The New Zealander is 4 under overall and leads his fellow 52-year-old Alex Cejka (71) of Germany by a shot at Royal Porthcawl.
Alker is chasing his second major victory in the over-50 ranks. He won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship last year.
Overnight leader Jimenez had an opening-round 5-under 66 but dropped down to an eight-way tie for eighth after a 5-over 76.
LPGA/EUROPEAN: In Evian-Les-Bains, France, Celine Boutier posted a 2-under 69 in the second round of the Evian Championship to move to 7 under overall, giving her a one-shot lead.
But surprise overnight leader Paula Reto dropped down the leaderboard after a 4-over 75.
The 29-year-old Boutier, who was two shots back from Reto overnight, is looking to become the first Frenchwoman to win the tournament, which became a major in 2013.
Her solid round kept her narrowly ahead of Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit, who carded 67, and Japan’s Yuka Saso (69), in a tie for second. They are one shot ahead of Nasa Hataoka of Japan (67), Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (68) and American Alison Lee (71). | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/golf/fridays-golf-roundup/article_a791354a-2d89-11ee-84d9-0f71b464127e.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:55 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/golf/fridays-golf-roundup/article_a791354a-2d89-11ee-84d9-0f71b464127e.html |
If you have an outdoor experience you’d like to share, email your stories and photos to The Journal Gazette at jgsports@jg.net. Please provide full names, ages, hometowns, type of animal and when and where caught. Photos must be jpegs.
If you have an outdoor experience you’d like to share, email your stories and photos to The Journal Gazette at jgsports@jg.net. Please provide full names, ages, hometowns, type of animal and when and where caught. Photos must be jpegs. | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/outdoor-experiences/article_bd0e53a0-2904-11ee-807e-1fbf242e7d61.html | 2023-07-29T05:15:57 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/outdoor-experiences/article_bd0e53a0-2904-11ee-807e-1fbf242e7d61.html |
The Downtown Throwdown, formerly known as Thrash in the Bash, is returning to the August First Friday lineup in Wabash for the first time since its 2019 showdown at the monthly street festival.
It is set for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. It is presented by the Apache Wrestling Club, a wrestling club for elementary and middle school kids in Wabash.
The Downtown Throwdown is open to the public with wrestling classes between 6U and Junior. This friendship format, folk-style wrestling tournament will have open, on-site registration from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wrestling will begin on Miami Street at 6 p.m.
For questions or more information about the Downtown Throwdown, contact Ross Haughn via rossadamhaughn@hotmail.com or 260-571-8627.
Lifetime Sports Academy finishes 25th season
The twenty-fifth season of the Lifetime Sports Academy wrapped up July 21 with an award ceremony at McMillen Park for children and parents.
More than 850 participants in 2023 and over 31,300 since its inception, developed skills in the lifetime sports of golf, tennis and swimming.
Group lessons were offered to boys and girls, ages 7 to 18 for seven weeks in June and July. Lessons focused on skill development.
Each year, the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department provides certified coaching and highly trained professionals who direct lessons in swimming, tennis and golf.
This year, 1,735 golf lessons, 1,116 tennis lessons and 554 swim lessons were given. Participants have the opportunity to earn new tennis rackets, golf clubs, and more.
In 2023, 50 sets of golf clubs and 25 tennis rackets were earned. Since its beginning in 1998, Lifetime Sports Academy has awarded more than 2,194 tennis rackets and over 1,485 sets of golf clubs to participants who passed their skills tests.
“We’re proud to reach the twenty-five-year mark for the Lifetime Sports Academy,” Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Director Steve McDaniel said in a news release. “Teaching the life-long sports of tennis, golf and swimming at no cost is key to the mission that was started by Jerry Fox, Tom Jehl and Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation – and we couldn’t do it without the strong public-private partnership.”
“Over 31,300 youth have had the opportunity to participate in athletic activities that they may never have had the chance to try, if not for this program,” McDaniel said. “They come to McMillen Park, they have some fun, learn new skills and some even go on to play sports in high school and area youth leagues. It’s a phenomenal program for the community and for our department.”
Sport Club U16 boys at nationals
The Sport Club U16 Bremen boys team recently competed in the US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup, which was held July 7-11 at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kan.
The team finished 0-3 in Pool A, scoring two goals while allowing six. Sport Club U16 Bremen opened pool play with a 2-1 loss to Fire FC out of Utah on Friday, July 7. On Saturday, July 8, Sport Club lost by the same result to Storm Black out of New Jersey.
Sport Club closed out pool play with a 2-0 loss to NC Rush Triad out of North Carolina on Sunday, July 9. NC Rush Triad ultimately advanced to the championship game after finishing with a 2-0-1 record in group play.
FC Ballyhoo Black, the Pool B winner, claimed a 5-1 victory in the finals to win the U16 national championship. | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/recreation-briefs-downtown-throwdown-wrestling-tournament-returning-to-wabash/article_787b721e-2903-11ee-bbf0-430326eb180f.html | 2023-07-29T05:16:03 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/recreation-briefs-downtown-throwdown-wrestling-tournament-returning-to-wabash/article_787b721e-2903-11ee-bbf0-430326eb180f.html |
Solunar Tables Jul 28, 2023 1 hr ago Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save AMPM MinorMajorMinorMajorSunday2:408:503:009:20Monday3:359:554:0510:25Tuesday4:4010:555:0511:25Wednesday5:45 6:1012:00Thursday6:4012:307:151:00Friday7:401:308:101:55Saturday8:352:259:052:50Sunday9:253:159:553:40 Plan your day so you will be fishing or hunting during these times to find the best action. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for an hour. Minor periods are shorter. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Most Popular Recent divorce filings in Allen County Construction worker dies after line boring machine incident Court records detail arrest of father, daughter accused of fatal Tuesday shooting Fort Wayne Pride presses on Husband pleads guilty to driving drunk before fatal crash that killed his wife Stocks Market Data by TradingView | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/solunar-tables/article_22d4a83e-2904-11ee-84ef-2bceb0a6c3a3.html | 2023-07-29T05:16:09 | 1 | https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/recreation/solunar-tables/article_22d4a83e-2904-11ee-84ef-2bceb0a6c3a3.html |
Fort Wayne artists open for Ludacris
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Whether you were part of the large crowd to see Ludacris live Friday night or you just passed on by, you could hear that energetic show going on.
But what you may not know is the show was opened by some artists who were born and raised in 21Country.
As folks lined the sidewalk at Headwaters Park to see Ludacris perform, Kevin Kohrman, or DJ Double K, was one of the artists from 21Country opening for the Grammy-winning artist.
“Got the adrenaline pumping and we’re still standing upright so I think we’re doing alright,” Kohrman said. “It’s absolutely packed, everyone’s having a good time. This is going to be an experience to remember for Fort Wayne for sure.”
An experience for Kohrman to remember as well, as not many artists get the chance to open for hip-hop legends like Ludacris.
I asked Kohrman what it was like to do it in front of his hometown crowd.
“It means everything man,” Kohrman said. “To get an icon like that, to get the chance to perform alongside them and I just DJ’d Chingy’s set and I’ve been playing those songs forever! It was pretty special.”
What wasn’t special was the brutal heat Friday night. But, as Kohrman was soaking from the sweat, he made sure to soak in the moment as well.
“Epic night in Fort Wayne Indiana,” Kohrman said.
Copyright 2023 WPTA. All rights reserved. | https://www.21alivenews.com/2023/07/29/fort-wayne-artists-open-ludacris/ | 2023-07-29T05:16:11 | 1 | https://www.21alivenews.com/2023/07/29/fort-wayne-artists-open-ludacris/ |
Climatological and precipitation information provided by the National Weather Service at 7 p.m. daily.
Friday records
High temperature 91
High one year ago 91
Normal 84
Record: 1916 98
Low temperature 71
Low one year ago 66
Normal 63
Record: 1900 49
Maumee stage 2.04 feet
Cooling degree-days
The difference between the day’s average temperature and a base of 65 degrees.
For Friday 16
For July 254
Rainfall
For Friday 0.11 inch
For July 4.54 inches (0.86)
For the year 23.72 inches (−0.17)
Relative humidity
Highest 94% at 3 a.m.
Lowest 54% at 4 p.m.
Average 74%
Skywatch
Sunrise 6:34 a.m.
Sunset 9 p.m.
Moonrise 6:47 p.m.
Moonset 3:29 a.m. Sunday
Full Moon
Aug. 1
Last Quarter
Aug. 8
New Moon
Aug. 16
First Quarter
Aug. 24 | https://www.journalgazette.net/weather/weather-journal/article_4a20a942-2d8c-11ee-94e1-d7bc31d5f588.html | 2023-07-29T05:16:17 | 0 | https://www.journalgazette.net/weather/weather-journal/article_4a20a942-2d8c-11ee-94e1-d7bc31d5f588.html |
Honor Flight Northeast Indiana to celebrate veterans with purple hearts
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - For nearly 20 years, Honor Flight Northeast Indiana has given veterans a trip to remember to honor their service, but in a little over a week, the organization will celebrate a special group of vets.
“We are doing a purple heart flight for our purple heart recipient veterans on purple heart day, which is Aug. 7,” said Cathy Berkshire, president of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana
The U.S. Military awards the purple heart to service members injured or killed in the line of duty. Honor Flight Northeast Indiana will soon take off with over 100 of these hallowed heroes, an idea that got delayed initially.
“One of our board members presented it to the board of directors about a year ago about possibly doing a purple heart flight in the future, we just kind of tabled it,” Berkshire said.
When the group learned they would receive WOWO’s 2022 “Penny Pitch” fund for local non-profit’s, the plan could march forward.
“We as a board decided we needed to do this purple heart flight,” Berkshire said. “We needed to do something special, something over the top with the Penny Pitch funds the community donated and raised for Honor Flight.”
The trip will make its final approach at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum where Berkshire expects an army of support.
“We are anticipating 5000 people out there in the public,” Berkshire said. “We encourage everyone to come out and bring your kids. When you shake the hand of one of these veterans, these veterans are extremely decorated. They really deserve our honor, respect and a huge welcome home. Most of these veterans never received a welcome home.”
If you’d like to support the veterans, you have two chances on Aug. 7, you can line up along North Clinton Street just south of the MLK bridge at around 4 a.m. as the busses pass by, or you can make you way to the coliseum at 8 p.m. the same day. For more information head to www.hfnei.org/purple-heart-trip.
Copyright 2023 WPTA. All rights reserved. | https://www.21alivenews.com/2023/07/29/honor-flight-northeast-indiana-celebrate-veterans-with-purple-hearts/ | 2023-07-29T05:16:17 | 1 | https://www.21alivenews.com/2023/07/29/honor-flight-northeast-indiana-celebrate-veterans-with-purple-hearts/ |
CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The video showing the moment a woman was pulled from a car that crashed into a Cape Coral canal was just released by the Cape Coral Police Department.
The more than 14 hours of body-worn camera footage released by CCPD shows police officers and firefighters working together to save Flabia Paredes-Lamas, 30, who drove her car into the canal just after 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
The crash happened on NE 12th Street, just off Andalusia Boulevard.
According to an original report from the police department, as officers were responding, Paredes-Lamas was on the phone with 911. All of a sudden, the call dropped as dispatchers heard her take one final breath.
Moments later, the first officer arrived on the scene.
“4302. The vehicle is fully submerged underwater,” an officer said in a newly released body cam recording.
From the banks of the canal, they could still see the lights from the car sitting just beneath the water.
“4330. Myself and Tango 42 are going to go in the water. Someone’s still in the vehicle,” another officer called over the radio.
Moments later, all the camera could see if the ground as he took his vest off and ventured into the canal.
For several excruciatingly long minutes, police and firefighters are desperately trying to reach Paredes Lamas.
“4302. They have a female out of the vehicle,” an officer called over the radio in the recording.
When they do, her limp and motionless body, barely breathing, is pulled from the water.
“She’s got water in her mouth,” yelled a first responder.
“Ready? One, two, three,” they yelled in unison while lifting her up a ladder.
Call it modern medicine or a miracle, but in the middle of the night, medics managed to bring Paredes-Lamas back to life.
Footage shows her wrapped in a blanket and sitting in the back of the ambulance.
But now the story turns from a heroic rescue to how did she end up in the canal in the first place?
Friend: “In Lehigh to bring her here.”
Officer: “So you picked her up in Lehigh, brought her home.”
Friend: “Yes.”
Officer: “Thirty minutes ago?”
Friend: ” Yes.”
Officer: “And then she called you guys and said she was in a canal?”
Friend: “Yes.”
Paredes-Lamas friend, who just minutes before dropped her off at her house, also jumped in the canal to help.
So why did she drive into the canal?
“I don’t have a great nose, but I swear I smell alcohol,” said a paramedic in the ambulance.
“We have reason to believe that you’re impaired. You drove your vehicle into a canal,” a police officer told Paredes-Lamas.
“I want to go home,” Paredes-Lamas responded. “Take me. I’m tired. I’m falling asleep. Right now, I want to go home.”
Less than an hour after her near-lifeless body was carried from the canal, she’s now in the middle of a field sobriety test. Officers said she failed.
“I’m going to place you under arrest for DUI,” an officer told Paredes-Lamas.
She was booked into the Lee County Jail later that morning.
Fast forward to early July, Paredes-Lamas entered a no-contest plea to the charge of DUI.
A judge sentenced her to 6 months probation, mandatory DUI school, 50 hours of community service, and other penalties. | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/07/27/body-cam-video-shows-heroic-rescue-by-cape-coral-police-firefighters/ | 2023-07-29T05:17:02 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/07/27/body-cam-video-shows-heroic-rescue-by-cape-coral-police-firefighters/ |
(The Hill) — A federal judge in Montana issued a temporary restraining order on Friday, blocking the state from enforcing a law that bans certain drag performances, writing in an order that the law likely suffers from “constitutional maladies.”
Montana’s House Bill 359, passed by the state’s majority Republican legislature and signed into law by GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte in May, prohibits schools or libraries that receive state funding from hosting a drag story hour or “sexually oriented performance.” Performances are also prohibited from taking place in public or in the presence of a minor.
A group of 10 plaintiffs challenged the law in federal court earlier this month, arguing that the bill is “breathtakingly ambiguous and overbroad.” Plaintiffs include Adria Jawort, a transgender and two-spirit author whose lecture at a public library in Butte was canceled last month after officials determined that having her speak posed “too much of a legal risk” under the new law.
Montana Pride, the host of an annual LGBTQ Pride celebration in Helena, joined the lawsuit last week, arguing that city officials — as a result of the law — have withheld permits that are needed for this year’s Pride festival, which is slated to run from July 30 to August 6.
“The thirtieth annual Montana Pride is slated to begin in less than two days,” Chief Judge Brian Morris wrote in Friday’s order. “Plaintiffs, along with the approximately 15,000 Montanans who wish to attend the events, cannot avoid chilled speech or exposure to potential civil or criminal liability under H.B. 359 in the absence of the extraordinary remedy of a [temporary restraining order.]”
Republicans in the state legislature this session had argued the law was necessary to protect children from “mature themes” and obscene material.
But “Montana law already protects minors from obscene material,” Morris wrote Friday.
On top of that, the state conceded during a July 26 hearing that the statutory text of House Bill 359 regulates speech and expression outside of what is considered “legally obscene.”
The law additionally “contains no carveout for speech or expression with serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value,” Morris argued, and the First Amendment protects “at least some of the speech and expression” regulated by the law.
Morris noted in the order that the only two other district courts to have considered First Amendment challenges to similar state drag bans in Tennessee and Florida “have confirmed that those laws constitute facially content-based restrictions” and are therefore discriminatory.
A federal judge in June ruled that a Tennessee law banning drag shows in public or where children could view them is unconstitutional. The same month, a federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a similar ban on drag performances.
Attorneys for the state had sought to distinguish the Montana law from those of Florida and Tennessee on the basis that those laws failed to define “lewd.” But Morris on Friday argued that Montana’s drag ban also failed to define it.
The measure also fails to define “lascivious,” “flamboyant or parodic persona,” “salacious dancing” and “sexual manner,” Morris wrote. “The absence of definitions for these terms raises concerns for the Court about vagueness and overbreadth.”
In a statement to the Montana Free Press following Friday’s order, Montana Pride’s lead organizer, Kevin Hamm, said the court “got it right.”
“As I said throughout the legislature, drag is art. And drag bans not only infringe on free speech, but they are crafted (by design) to be so broad to allow for discrimination against trans & nonbinary people as well,” state Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr posted Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to Morris’s decision.
Zephyr, one of two openly transgender lawmakers in Montana, was censured by House Republicans in April after she said legislators who voted to pass a bill banning gender-affirming health care for transgender minors would have “blood on your hands.”
In a statement to The Hill, Emily Flower, a spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R), who is a defendant in the case, said the state will present its response at an upcoming preliminary injunction hearing.
“We look forward to presenting our written response and full argument at the upcoming preliminary injunction hearing to defend the law and protect minors from sexually oriented performances,” she said. | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/federal-judge-halts-montana-ban-on-drag-performances/ | 2023-07-29T05:17:59 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/federal-judge-halts-montana-ban-on-drag-performances/ |
(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.cenlanow.com/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:00 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
(KTLA) – A labor union representing thousands of hotel housekeepers in Southern California is asking Taylor Swift to postpone her upcoming concerts at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood until they are paid “a living wage.”
UNITE HERE Local 11 published an open letter to the pop star in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.
“We make beds, clean bathrooms, and take care of every guest need. Your shows make our hotels a lot of money,” the letter reads. “In Los Angeles, hotels are doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming. They also add junk fees on rooms, just like Ticketmaster does. But we see none of it.”
Hotel workers have been staging labor actions in the Los Angeles area since the start of July as they negotiate for increased pay and benefits. They have also joined striking Hollywood writers and actors on the picket lines.
Experts predict Swift’s 52-night, 20-city tour will become the highest-grossing of all time. It is also having a notable economic impact on each city she visits with the surge of Swifties snatching up hotel rooms at jacked-up rates.
She is slated to perform six straight nights at SoFi Stadium beginning August 3.
Union leaders hope Swift will lend support to their cause.
“She has taken on corporate greed to make sure artists get fairly compensate and that those workers behind the scenes in her own music get the treatment they deserve,” Ada Briceno, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, said at a rally on Thursday outside of the Hyatt Regency at LAX.
There is no indication the pop star is considering postponing her Inglewood shows. KTLA’s request for comment on Thursday was not immediately returned. | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/taylor-swift-urged-to-postpone-los-angeles-area-shows/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:02 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/taylor-swift-urged-to-postpone-los-angeles-area-shows/ |
(NEXSTAR) – It’s been a rough week for Trader Joe’s after the popular grocery store chain had to notify customers on Thursday and Friday about products potentially containing foreign matter.
On Friday, Trader Joe’s announced it was recalling frozen falafel balls (SKU# 93935) that may contain rocks.
The recalled falafel was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington D.C.
One day earlier, Trader Joe’s warned customers that its “Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup” may contain insects. Trader Joe’s says there have not been reported cases of illness from the soup.
The recalled soup (SKU# 68470) has the Use By dates of 07/18/23 – 09/15/23.
A third recall, updated Tuesday to include a sell by date, warns that there may be rocks in the company’s Almond Windmill Cookies and the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Those cookies have the following dates:
- Almond Windmill Cookies: SELL BY 10/02/23 and 10/19/23 through 10/21/23
- Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies: SELL BY 10/17/23 through 10/21/23
In all of the recalls, anyone who bought or received a donation containing one of the potentially tainted items is urged to throw it away or return it to Trader Joe’s for a refund.
Customers with questions may contact Trader Joe’s Customer Relations at (626) 599-3817 [Mondays-Fridays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT] or send Trader Joe’s an email. | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/trader-joes-recalls-falafel-and-broccoli-cheddar-soup-for-possible-rocks-insects/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:04 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/trader-joes-recalls-falafel-and-broccoli-cheddar-soup-for-possible-rocks-insects/ |
HURON, Ohio (WJW) – A suspected bank burglar was busted when he gave new meaning to the term “direct deposit.”
Police in Huron, Ohio watched as the suspected bank thief dropped from the ceiling over the drive-thru, right in front of their eyes.
Police body camera video obtained by the WJW shows the incident. Officers can be heard ordering the suspect on the ground, and then helping get him out of the recycling can. The suspect was not injured.
“In my 35-plus years in law enforcement, this is the first time I ever saw a suspect fall into a garbage can,” said Huron Police Chief Terry Graham.
Graham said around 2:12 a.m. Wednesday, police received an alarm from the VacationLand Federal Credit Union located on University Drive East.
While checking the building, officers could hear noises coming from inside the roof area over the drive-thru.
They also noticed the recycling can positioned in the middle of the drive-thru lane, directly under a roof access door. The officers heard noises coming from inside the bank and patiently waited.
“I am most impressed with our officers’ patience in a very difficult situation,” the chief said. “The tactics they used, I think, substantially contributed to no one being injured and the suspect being taken into custody.”
Tristan Heidl, 27, was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, possession of criminal tools and safecracking.
Police say Heidl had a backpack full of construction tools.
“He did get inside the bank and attempt to open numerous areas in the bank that contain money,” the chief said.
Police say Heidl was unable to get inside the safe and crash-landed with empty pockets.
“He didn’t get a dime,” Graham said.
Heidl is being held in the Erie County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He is due back in court soon. | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/watch-ohio-bank-burglary-suspect-falls-from-ceiling-lands-in-recycling-can-near-officers/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:04 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/watch-ohio-bank-burglary-suspect-falls-from-ceiling-lands-in-recycling-can-near-officers/ |
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.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:18 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/un-says-its-forced-cut-food-aid-millions-globally-because-funding-crisis/ |
ACADIANA, La. (KLFY) – From low paying wages to state regulations, many daycares face the challenge of not only having qualified employees, but having enough of those qualified employees.
An Acadiana daycare director says there is a process when it comes to hiring early childhood care employees. These processes include fingerprint and background checks, as well as childcare classes and a mandatory 12 certification hours in a six-month period.
With these processes in place, the question now becomes, why has Pumpkin Patch Daycare joined 3 other facilities in having employees under investigation?
A daycare director says there are challenges in finding qualified employees with experience. Such as the low paying status of the position, with employment websites listing position’s pay as low as $9 per hour. The low wage has resulted in several teachers and instructors resigning across Acadiana. With a limited wage, the number of applicants will also be limited to a younger group with less experience.
A second challenge comes from federal law requiring a state regulated ratio of instructors to students. These regulations include one instructor for every ten, 4-year-old children, and one instructor for every 8 preschoolers.
A daycare director says the need to fill this ratio can make many facilities desperate to fill the role, resulting in younger employees without an established track record of childcare.
When asking the director for any possible solutions to keep employees up to standard, the director tells me all directors should be involved and present on campus to make any needed corrections as soon as their needed.
The director also says what’s truly needed is employees that have both a love for the job and a patience for the kids, both factors that you can’t teach. | https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/struggle-to-find-daycare-employees-a-growing-problem/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:19 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/state-news/struggle-to-find-daycare-employees-a-growing-problem/ |
USC still preparing for European tour as Bronny James recovers at home after cardiac arrest
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Bronny James continues to recover after going into cardiac arrest, his Southern California teammates have been at practice to prepare for a 10-day exhibition tour of Greece and Croatia that begins next week.
The tour will run from from Aug. 5-15 and see the Trojans visit Athens and Mykonos, Greece, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Teams are allowed to go on a foreign tour once every four years under NCAA rules.
James was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday and is resting at home, according to a statement from the hospital. His father, Lakers superstar LeBron James, also posted on social media that his family is “safe and healthy.”
Bronny James will continue to undergo tests to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, which occurred Monday morning during a workout at USC’s Galen Center.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart abruptly stops beating, because of a problem with its electrical activity. While uncommon in young people, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading medical cause of death in young athletes. Some studies have estimated one sudden cardiac death in 50,000 to 80,000 young athletes each year.
No information has been made public about what may have caused Bronny James’ cardiac arrest. But one of the most common causes in young athletes is an underlying problem with the heart’s structure, such as a genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that leads to a thickened heart muscle more prone to irregular electrical activity. A more rare cause is commotio cordis, which occurs when someone receives a sharp blow to the chest during a specific part of the heartbeat’s cycle — what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin earlier this year.
James was the second high-profile USC basketball recruit to go into cardiac arrest in the last year. Vincent Iwuchuwku also was stricken during a workout last July, but the 7-foot-1 center returned to the court six months later and appeared in 14 games.
It’s too soon to know how James’ playing career could be affected, especially without a lot of information being made public. Various experts point to James’ quick move out of intensive care and being released three days later as encouraging.
The upcoming trip is important for the Trojans as James recovers. USC had the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class, including the top-rated player in guard Isaiah Collier.
James committed to the Trojans in May after the 6-foot-3 18-year-old became one of the nation’s top prospects as a two-way point guard for Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California.
He is the sixth McDonald’s All-American to come to USC since Andy Enfield became coach in 2013.
With his family fame and huge social media following, Bronny James also has the top name, image and likeness valuation in sports at $6.3 million, as estimated by On3.com. He is the oldest of LeBron and Savannah James’ three children.
___
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham and AP Health & Science Writer Lauran Neergard contributed to this report.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/lebron-james
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:25 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ |
NEW ORLEANS – Dylan Crews of LSU baseball and Angel Reese of LSU women’s basketball were named the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s James C. Corbett Award winners on Friday as the state’s top amateur athletes after leading their teams to national championships earlier this year.
Crews, a junior from Longwood, Fla., batted .426 (110-for-258) for the 2023 National Champions with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 70 RBI and 100 runs. A consensus First-Team All-American, he was the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft on July 9 by the Washington Nationals.
Crews was voted the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s best amateur baseball player, and he was named the Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year.
He finished No. 1 in the nation in runs scored (100), No. 1 in walks (71), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.567), No. 2 in base hits (110) and No. 3 in batting average (.426).
He completed the year with a reached base streak of 75 games, which included all 71 games of this season and the last four games of the 2022 season.
Crews is a two-time member of the SEC Community Service Team for his exemplary work in the Baton Rouge area with families affected by autism, and he was voted to the 2023 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Crews is the ninth LSU baseball player to win the Corbett Award, joining pitcher Alex Lange (2015), pitcher Aaron Nola (2013), pitcher Louis Coleman (2009), catcher Brad Cresse (2000), shortstop Brandon Larson (1997), second baseman Warren Morris (1996), shortstop Russ Johnson (1994) and second baseman Todd Walker (1993).
Reese, a sophomore from Baltimore, Maryland, was a unanimous First Team All-America player, leading the Tigers to their first-ever women’s basketball national championship. In her first season at LSU, Reese led the SEC in scoring (23.0 ppg) and rebounding (15.4 RPG) as she became just the fourth player in conference history to lead the league in both categories. She set SEC records in rebounds (555), free throws made (240) and free throws attempted (339).
Reese was a double-double machine during the season. She recorded a double-double in all of LSU’s first 23 games, setting the LSU record for consecutive double-doubles. She finished the season with a total of 34 double-doubles to set the NCAA record. Her record-setting double-double came with 15 points and 10 rebounds in LSU’s national championship victory over Iowa when the Tigers scored an NCAA national championship record 102 points.
Reese also won the BET Award for Sportswoman of the Year and the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award.
Reese takes home the sixth Corbett Award for LSU women’s basketball as Seimone Augustus (2003-2006) and Sylvia Fowles (2007) claimed the first five.
The Corbett Award was created in 1967 and named in honor of the late James J. Corbett to commemorate his many contributions to intercollegiate athletics and specifically to the Sugar Bowl. At the time of his death, Mr. Corbett was the Athletic Director at Louisiana State University. These awards are presented annually to the most outstanding amateur male and female athletes in the State of Louisiana. The Corbett recipients are selected each year by members of the N.O. Sports Hall of Fame Committee, based on nominations submitted by the state’s sportswriters, sportscasters and sports information directors.
(Press release provided by LSU Athletics) | https://www.cenlanow.com/uncategorized/lsu-baseball-basketball-stars-named-corbett-award-winners/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:25 | 0 | https://www.cenlanow.com/uncategorized/lsu-baseball-basketball-stars-named-corbett-award-winners/ |
Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Hamburg European Open
Arthur Fils will face Alexander Zverev in the Hamburg European Open semifinals on Saturday, July 29.
In this Semifinal matchup, Zverev is the favorite (-375) against Fils (+270) .
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Match Information
- Tournament: The Hamburg European Open
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: MatchMaker Sports Gmbh
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
- Court Surface: Clay
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Alexander Zverev has a 78.9% chance to win.
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Arthur Fils vs. Alexander Zverev Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Fils eliminated No. 4-ranked Casper Ruud, 6-0, 6-4.
- Zverev was victorious 6-3, 6-4 versus Luca van Assche in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- In his 29 matches over the past year across all court types, Fils has played an average of 21.4 games (20.7 in best-of-three matches).
- Fils has played 14 matches on clay over the past 12 months, and 22.2 games per match (21.2 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 42 matches in the past 12 months across all court types, Zverev is averaging 26.0 games per match (22.6 in best-of-three matches) and winning 53.2% of those games.
- Zverev has averaged 24.1 games per match (21.4 in best-of-three matches) and 9.7 games per set in 22 matches on clay surfaces in the past 12 months.
- Dating back to 2015, Fils and Zverev have not matched up on the court.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/arthur-fils-vs-alexander-zverev-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-hamburg-european-open/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:31 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/arthur-fils-vs-alexander-zverev-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-hamburg-european-open/ |
Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023
In the ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023 semifinals on Saturday, Fabio Fognini faces Joris de Loore.
With -175 odds, Fognini is favored over de Loore (+125) for this match.
Looking to place a bet on this or other tennis matches? Head over to BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, and sign up today with our link!
Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Match Information
- Tournament: The ATP Challenger Zug, Switzerland Men Singles 2023
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Tennisclub Zug
- Location: Zug, Switzerland
- Court Surface: Clay
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Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Fabio Fognini has a 63.6% chance to win.
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Fabio Fognini vs. Joris de Loore Trends and Insights
- Fognini advanced past Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, de Loore took down No. 209-ranked Matteo Gigante, winning 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
- Fognini has played 39 matches over the past 12 months (across all court surfaces), and 25.3 games per match (23.5 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 16 matches on clay over the past year, Fognini has played an average of 24.8 games (22.0 in best-of-three matches).
- de Loore has played two matches in the past year across all court types, averaging 22.5 games per match (22.5 in best-of-three matches) and winning 42.2% of those games.
- de Loore has averaged 18.0 games per match (18.0 in best-of-three matches) and 9.0 games per set in one match on clay courts in the past year.
- This is the first time that Fognini and de Loore have matched up in the last five years.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/fabio-fognini-vs-joris-de-loore-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-atp-challenger-zug-switzerland-men-singles-2023/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:38 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/fabio-fognini-vs-joris-de-loore-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-atp-challenger-zug-switzerland-men-singles-2023/ |
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
On Saturday, Matteo Arnaldi (No. 76 in the world) meets Alexei Popyrin (No. 90) in the semifinals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
Arnaldi is the favorite (-150) in this match, compared to the underdog Popyrin, who is +115.
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Matteo Arnaldi has a 60.0% chance to win.
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Matteo Arnaldi vs. Alexei Popyrin Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Arnaldi advanced past No. 33-ranked Jiri Lehecka, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Popyrin beat No. 287-ranked Dino Prizmic, winning 7-6, 7-5.
- Arnaldi has played 24.5 games per match (23.2 in best-of-three matches) in his 35 matches over the past year (across all court types).
- On clay, Arnaldi has played 18 matches over the past 12 months, totaling 24.5 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) while winning 54.2% of games.
- In the past year, Popyrin has competed in 47 total matches (across all court types), winning 49.3% of the games. He averages 28.0 games per match (25.3 in best-of-three matches) and 10.6 games per set.
- On clay surfaces, Popyrin has played 16 matches and averaged 26.7 games per match (26.0 in best-of-three matches) and 10.2 games per set.
- Dating back to 2015, Arnaldi and Popyrin have not competed against each other.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/matteo-arnaldi-vs-alexei-popyrin-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:44 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/matteo-arnaldi-vs-alexei-popyrin-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
In the semifinals of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Saturday, Stan Wawrinka (ranked No. 72) faces Lorenzo Sonego (No. 43).
In this Semifinal matchup against Sonego (+100), Wawrinka is the favorite with -125 odds.
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Stan Wawrinka has a 55.6% chance to win.
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Stan Wawrinka vs. Lorenzo Sonego Trends and Insights
- Wawrinka is looking to stay on track after a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 59-ranked Roberto Carballes Baena in Friday's quarterfinals.
- Sonego advanced to the semifinals by taking down No. 104-ranked Jaume Munar 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday.
- Wawrinka has played 27.3 games per match (24.6 in best-of-three matches) in his 40 matches over the past year (across all court surfaces).
- On clay, Wawrinka has played 11 matches over the past year, totaling 28.7 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) while winning 49.7% of games.
- Sonego has averaged 25.4 games per match (22.7 in best-of-three matches) through his 55 matches played in the past year across all court surfaces, while winning 50.8% of the games.
- Sonego has averaged 27.9 games per match (23.1 in best-of-three matches) and 9.8 games per set in 13 matches on clay courts in the past 12 months.
- Wawrinka and Sonego have not played each other since 2015.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/stan-wawrinka-vs-lorenzo-sonego-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:51 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/stan-wawrinka-vs-lorenzo-sonego-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Truist Atlanta Open
Taylor Fritz (No. 9 ranking) will face Jeffrey John Wolf (No. 46) in the semifinals of the Truist Atlanta Open on Saturday, July 29.
With -250 odds, Fritz is the favorite against Wolf (+190) for this matchup.
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Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Match Information
- Tournament: The Truist Atlanta Open
- Round: Semifinals
- Date: Saturday, July 29
- Venue: Atlantic Station
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Court Surface: Hard
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Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Taylor Fritz has a 71.4% chance to win.
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Taylor Fritz vs. Jeffrey John Wolf Trends and Insights
- In the quarterfinals on Friday, Fritz beat No. 439-ranked Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 6-2.
- Wolf came out on top 6-2, 6-3 versus Dominik Koepfer in the quarterfinals on Friday.
- Fritz has played 68 matches over the past 12 months across all court surfaces, and 26.2 games per match (24.1 in best-of-three matches).
- In his 44 matches on hard courts over the past 12 months, Fritz has played an average of 25.8 games (24.3 in best-of-three matches).
- Wolf is averaging 24.5 games per match (22.3 in best-of-three matches) through his 59 matches played in the past 12 months across all court types, winning 52.6% of those games.
- Wolf has averaged 24.9 games per match (22.8 in best-of-three matches) and 9.9 games per set in 41 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months, winning 52.7% of those games.
- This is the first time that Fritz and Wolf have played in the last five years.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/taylor-fritz-vs-jeffrey-john-wolf-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ | 2023-07-29T05:18:58 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/taylor-fritz-vs-jeffrey-john-wolf-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ |
Applications deadline nears for Cedar Arts Fest
Published 6:04 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
OSAGE — The application deadline for exhibitors in the third annual Cedar Arts Fest, which will showcase the works of Mitchell County and area artists, is fast approaching.
Deadline for application is Aug. 11. The arts festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Leeman Education Center in Osage. The event, sponsored by the Fine Arts Council of Mitchell County, is held in conjunction with Autumn Artistry. The FACMC this year is partnering with the Cedar Valley Seminary, who operates the Leeman Center.
The event features both those artists who do not care to sell works, and vendors.
Generous set-up time will be available on Friday evening prior to the event and on Saturday morning before the show opens at 10 a.m.
Entrants must be 18 years old although those younger will be considered if a request is made.
All exhibitors must register. For an application form, visit the Facebook page for the Fine Arts Council of Mitchell County (Facebook.com/FineArtsofMitchellCounty), or contact Deb Nicklay at lovethurber@gmail.com; or Pat Mackin, at mackinpatrick@rocketmail.com. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/applications-deadline-nears-for-cedar-arts-fest-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:20 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/applications-deadline-nears-for-cedar-arts-fest-2/ |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Tonight
Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The annual Luzerne Fire Department chicken barbecue will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27. Cost is $12. Meal includes one-half chicken, baked potato, corn on the cob, roll, and dessert. Tickets can be purchased from department members or by stopped at the fire station between 6 and 8 p.m. most evenings. For information or to order tickets in advance, call the fire department at 570-287-7006 or contact Ron at 570-288-2249. Leave a message if there is no answer.
In other fire department news, second notices will be going out for this year’s annual fund drive in the next few weeks. For information, contact the fire department at 570-287-7006.
Community yard sale
A fall yard sale in Swoyersville is planned from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. To get your home on the list, email Mayor Christopher Concert at swoyersvillemayor@gmail.com.
Christmas in July event
A Christmas In July event is planned tonight at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Elks Lodge 109, 39 Evans St., Pringle. Public is welcome. Donations will be accepted for the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital at Christmas. Suggested donations include items for infants and toddlers such as bottles, rattles, musical toys and light-up toys; items for teens, coloring books, Lego kits board games and monetary gifts. Unwrapped gifts will be accepted for the Maddy’s Gift collection. Complimentary wimpies and hot dogs will be served.
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Forty Fort church flea market
Forty Fort United Methodist Church will hold a flea market and craft fair from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. Rain date is Sept. 16.
Pickle festival
Next Saturday is the famous second annual “Pickle This Pickle That Pickle Fest,” scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at 1000 Camryn Way, Forty Fort.
Catholic men’s conference
A Catholic men’s conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7 at Holy Redeemer High School, Wilkes-Barre. To attend, register online at www.BeACatholicMan.com, or by mail to: “Be a Catholic Man Inc.”, P.O Box 669, Wyalusing, PA 18853. Include your name, address, email and parish with your check payable to “Be a Catholic Man Inc.” with “Men’s Conference” on the memo line of the check. Cost is $40. Early bird price is $30 until Sept. 8. Students are $15 and priests/deacons are admitted free. For information, contact Mike Kilmer at 570-721-0872 or mkilmer@thekilmergroup.com.
Barbara Pitcavage writes about the West Side. Contact her at rocko1245@aol.com.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil. If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/lifestyles/community/columns/luzerne-fire-department-plans-annual-chicken-barbecue/article_7f59c992-d8da-509a-b2a7-db0d9808b036.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:20 | 1 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/lifestyles/community/columns/luzerne-fire-department-plans-annual-chicken-barbecue/article_7f59c992-d8da-509a-b2a7-db0d9808b036.html |
Ask a Trooper: Like driver’s license, proof of insurance must be in vehicle
Published 5:57 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
Question: I read your article last week on not having a driver’s license in possession, what about proof of insurance in your vehicle.
Answer: Every driver is required to carry proof of insurance while driving. They must also produce proof of insurance when requested by an officer during a traffic stop or an incident such as a crash. You can be cited for no proof of insurance and the same rules apply as no driver’s license in possession penalties. The citation will be dropped if you provide proof of insurance to traffic court before the court date. If you do not, the citation turns into a no insurance citation which is a misdemeanor violation.
Proof of insurance can be in electronic form, meaning text-based or imaged-based content that can be shown on a computer or other digital device. So a photograph of the actual insurance card or screen shot is sufficient.
Information required for proof of insurance:
1. The insured’s name;
2. The policy number;
3. The policy dates of coverage;
4. The make, model, and year of the vehicle insured;
5. The vehicle identification number or at least the last three digits of that number; and
6. The name of the obligor providing coverage.
You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention, and always drive sober. Help us drive Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths. If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson – Minnesota State Patrol at 2900 48th Street NW, Rochester MN 55901-5848. (Or reach him at, Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us) | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/ask-a-trooper-like-drivers-license-proof-of-insurance-must-be-in-vehicle/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:26 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/ask-a-trooper-like-drivers-license-proof-of-insurance-must-be-in-vehicle/ |
Wyoming Valley
The 90th annual reunion of the Lidy-Larnerd families will be held at McDade Park, Scranton, on Sunday, Aug. 6. This is a bring-your-own picnic lunch with a business meeting at 2 p.m. in Pavilion 2. The original families first settled in Northeast Pennsylvania prior to 1810. The reunion has been held since 1910 under various family names starting as Lidy-Ogden and has moved to various locations starting at Nay Aug Park in 1910, and including the Lidy family farm at Lidyville, the Larnerd farm at Yostville, the Miller farm at Spring Brook, and many public parks such as Ross Park in Binghamton, Euarana Park in Weatherly, and Frances Slocum State Park. The related lines (major / minor) that descend from Elizabeth Stovers Engler and Christian Leidy include: Lampman (Shales, Wood, Morse, Torr); Vanderburg (Jacques, Tench, Kyte, and Oliver); Ogden (Cole, Carr, Buckland, Hayden, Dolph, Mill); Lidy (Davies, Collins, Brown, Powell, Jumper and Van Louvender); Ahrens (Flight, Malone, Benjamin, Hughes, Haines, Sutter); Larnerd (Robson, Webb, Krieg), Benedict (Siley, Sheppleman); Milligan (Franz, Lewis, and Bullock); Stroh; Keefe (Algar, Kline); and Miller. Many of their descendants still live in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Pike and Wayne counties. Contact the family historian, Richard Reese, at one4info@ptd.net for information.
A Catholic men’s conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7 at Holy Redeemer High School, Wilkes-Barre. To attend, register online at www.BeACatholicMan.com, or by mail to: “Be a Catholic Man Inc.”, P.O Box 669, Wyalusing, PA 18853. Include name, address, email and parish with a check payable to “Be a Catholic Man Inc.” with “Men’s Conference” on the memo line of the check. Cost is $40. Early bird price is $30 until Sept. 8. Students are $15 and priests/deacons are admitted free. For information, contact Mike Kilmer at 570-721-0872 or mkilmer@thekilmergroup.com.
Nanticoke area
West Side Playground, 389 W. Grand St., Nanticoke, will hold its bi-monthly bingo on Tuesday, Aug. 2. There are cash prizes, two magic numbers, food, refreshments and door prizes. Doors open at 5 p.m. Games start at 6. Facility is non-smoking. Call 570-905-0524 for information.
West Side
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The Forty Fort United Methodist Church will open a food pantry on Wednesday, Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to noon. In cooperation with the CEO/Weinberg Food Bank and the church family, the pantry will be open the second Wednesday of each month. The pantry is open to all in need. Park in the back lot and use the Yeager Avenue door.
Wilkes-Barre area
The North End Slovak Citizens Club will meet at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at the club, 635 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre. Robert Palchanis will be in charge of the meeting. This will be the club’s first meeting after the summer break.
Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will hold the third and last of its “Why Cook Wednesday” dinners of the summer with an ala carte Ukrainain festival food takeout dinner on Wednesday, Aug. 16. Order from a menu of festival foods including holubtsi (piggies), $3 each; pyrohy (pierogies), three for $3; kovbasa and kapusta (kielbasa and sauerkraut), $5 each; halushki (cabbage and noodles), $3 per pint and pagash (potato pizza), $2 a cut. Orders can be picked up from 4 to 7 p.m. in the school hall, North River and West Chestnut streets, Wilkes-Barre. Event is take out only and pre-orders are encouraged. Order by calling the school hall kitchen at 570-829-3051. Bake sale items are available and tickets will also be sold for a basket raffle.
Bear Creek Twp. Volunteer Hose Company will hold is annual picnic from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, on the fire department grounds, Route 115. There will be a variety of foods, a barbecue chicken dinner, live entertainment throughout the day, games for children, a basket raffle stand, and merchandise for sale to support the hose company including garden flags, tumblers and related items. Public is welcome. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/lifestyles/community/community-digest-07-29-23/article_c0a23a7d-b23b-5e20-b792-3bee309dff1d.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:26 | 0 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/lifestyles/community/community-digest-07-29-23/article_c0a23a7d-b23b-5e20-b792-3bee309dff1d.html |
USC still preparing for European tour as Bronny James recovers at home after cardiac arrest
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Bronny James continues to recover after going into cardiac arrest, his Southern California teammates have been at practice to prepare for a 10-day exhibition tour of Greece and Croatia that begins next week.
The tour will run from from Aug. 5-15 and see the Trojans visit Athens and Mykonos, Greece, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Teams are allowed to go on a foreign tour once every four years under NCAA rules.
James was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday and is resting at home, according to a statement from the hospital. His father, Lakers superstar LeBron James, also posted on social media that his family is “safe and healthy.”
Bronny James will continue to undergo tests to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, which occurred Monday morning during a workout at USC’s Galen Center.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart abruptly stops beating, because of a problem with its electrical activity. While uncommon in young people, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading medical cause of death in young athletes. Some studies have estimated one sudden cardiac death in 50,000 to 80,000 young athletes each year.
No information has been made public about what may have caused Bronny James’ cardiac arrest. But one of the most common causes in young athletes is an underlying problem with the heart’s structure, such as a genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that leads to a thickened heart muscle more prone to irregular electrical activity. A more rare cause is commotio cordis, which occurs when someone receives a sharp blow to the chest during a specific part of the heartbeat’s cycle — what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin earlier this year.
James was the second high-profile USC basketball recruit to go into cardiac arrest in the last year. Vincent Iwuchuwku also was stricken during a workout last July, but the 7-foot-1 center returned to the court six months later and appeared in 14 games.
It’s too soon to know how James’ playing career could be affected, especially without a lot of information being made public. Various experts point to James’ quick move out of intensive care and being released three days later as encouraging.
The upcoming trip is important for the Trojans as James recovers. USC had the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class, including the top-rated player in guard Isaiah Collier.
James committed to the Trojans in May after the 6-foot-3 18-year-old became one of the nation’s top prospects as a two-way point guard for Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California.
He is the sixth McDonald’s All-American to come to USC since Andy Enfield became coach in 2013.
With his family fame and huge social media following, Bronny James also has the top name, image and likeness valuation in sports at $6.3 million, as estimated by On3.com. He is the oldest of LeBron and Savannah James’ three children.
___
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham and AP Health & Science Writer Lauran Neergard contributed to this report.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/lebron-james
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:26 | 0 | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/29/usc-still-preparing-european-tour-bronny-james-recovers-home-after-cardiac-arrest/ |
BCA completes testing on all sexual assault kits from 2015 inventory
Published 5:24 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
By Nina Moini
Nearly eight years after the state asked local law enforcement agencies to send over all untested sexual assault kits, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday those tests have been completed.
In 2015, a national controversy over the number of untested rape kits prompted Minnesota legislators to pass a law that required all police departments and sheriffs’ offices to count the number of untested kits and explain why they were there.
The probe found untested sexual assault kits from offenses dating back to the 1990s. Agencies cited reasons like insufficient evidence, conflicting statements, and dismissed charges.
The BCA said it received 2,366 sexual assault kits from local law enforcement agencies that were cleared for testing from the 2015 inventory. The Duluth Police Department, Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and St. Cloud Police Department had among the biggest backlogs at the time.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said federal funding made it possible to start testing the kits in 2019.
State lawmakers this year considered passing a law that would require a 90-day turnaround time for sexual assault kits but opted to make it a goal the BCA “must strive” to meet.
Evans said on Thursday the BCA expects to reach a 90-day turnaround time for such kits this fall, but he said he believes most victim survivors could reasonably see results in around 30 days thanks to additional funding that came from the latest legislative session.
“We certainly believe here at the BCA that with adequate funding a 30-day turnaround time would be a really good place to be in terms of providing answers that aid the entire investigative process so that is certainly our goal as well,” Evans said.
Evans said the BCA also started a sexual assault kit tracking program one year ago that would track a kit from the time it leaves the BCA until the time it goes through testing. Evans said victim survivors, hospitals, prosecutors and law enforcement can all stay informed on the status of a kit using the software.
“They have a secure login that is specific to their case so that we protect their privacy, and only the right people have access to that system,” Evans said.
The BCA has recently added a second robot that can process 80-90 samples at a time, Evans said.
The BCA said 357 of the 2,366 tested kits had DNA profiles that matched convicted offenders in the state’s database, and around 130 individuals who had not been previously identified in any cases.
The Minneapolis Police Department also reported an extra 1,700 untested kits in 2019.
Evans said the BCA has gotten through 1,339 of those and the remaining ones will be completed by early next year. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/bca-completes-testing-on-all-sexual-assault-kits-from-2015-inventory/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:32 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/bca-completes-testing-on-all-sexual-assault-kits-from-2015-inventory/ |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Tonight
Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
More than 40 people have applied to be the next president of Luzerne County Community College, said Bob Bertoni, college trustee and search committee chairman.
Last December, Luzerne County Community College President Thomas P. Leary announced plans to retire when his contract expires on June 30, 2024. Applications for the job were due last month.
The search committee will narrow the number of applicants under consideration down to six to eight and conduct virtual interviews with them on Zoom, Bertoni said. After that, the final three to five candidates will be interviewed in person, Bertoni said.
The college is looking for a president with at least 10 years of “professional experience in a leadership position in the private, public or academic sector,” an ad posted earlier this year said.
The annual salary range posted for the job is $150,000 to $199,999. Last October, the college board of trustees voted to increase Leary’s salary from $196,711 to $202,613.
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Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, and a doctorate degree is preferred.
Skills for the job include being a “fair leader who can ensure the College is an inclusive environment that promotes diversity and fairness for all” and being an “experienced leader who has a comprehensive understanding of Pennsylvania’s higher education system, its funding sources and governing regulations.”
Job responsibilities include: “works effectively with business leaders, and develops and advances partnership with business and industry to assure responsiveness to workforce development and economic needs” and “works effectively with municipal, state and federal legislators to garner support for funding, policy and other initiatives that benefit Luzerne County Community College.”
Leary, 71, has been working at the community college for 48 years and has been president since 2007. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/education/more-than-40-apply-to-run-luzerne-county-community-college/article_d3b89a64-a550-52c6-a512-cd67bec9dafe.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:32 | 0 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/education/more-than-40-apply-to-run-luzerne-county-community-college/article_d3b89a64-a550-52c6-a512-cd67bec9dafe.html |
Convictions: July 17-24
Published 5:29 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
— Ethan Greeley Dulitz, 24, Austin, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for felony predatory offender-knowingly commits act or fails to fulfill registration requirement.
— Alycia Marie Gomez, 23, Austin, was sentenced to two years supervised probation and fined $250 for gross misdemeanor DWI refuse to submit to chemical test; breath or test refusal or failure. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 180 days in jail.
— Nicholas Alan Hinkle, 37, Austin, was sentenced to two years supervised probation and fined $500 for gross misdemeanor DWI-operate motor vehicle-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 317 days in jail. He was given credit for 47 days served.
— Eh Moo La Htoo, 23, Austin, was sentenced to 180 days local confinement and fined $500 for gross misdemeanor DWI-operate motor vehicle-body contains any amount schedule I/II drugs-not marijuana. He was given credit for 56 days served.
— Jesus Fabian Mendez, 27, Austin, was sentenced to four years supervised probation for felony fifth degree drugs possession. He must follow several conditions.
— Tremayne Anthony Miller, 38, Austin, was sentenced to five years supervised probation and fined $200 for felony first degree DWI-refuses to submit to breath test. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 60 months in prison.
— Jake Matthew Underwood, 31, Austin, was sentenced to one year supervised probation and fined $500 for gross misdemeanor DWI-operate motor vehicle-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 180 days in jail.
— Forrest James Vorwald, 26, Austin, was sentenced to one year supervised probation and fined $300 for gross misdemeanor DWI operate motor vehicle-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 180 days in jail.
— Scott Thomas Weber, 61, Austin, was sentenced to one year supervised probation and fined $500 for gross misdemeanor operate motor vehicle-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 180 days in jail.
— Shay Reh, 21, Austin, was sentenced to one year supervised probation and fined $500 for gross misdemeanor DWI-operate motor vehicle-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 178 days in jail. He was given credit for two days served.
— Kevin Osborn Coats, 27, Fairmont, was sentenced to two years supervised probation and fined $200 for felony fourth degree assault-correction employee-intentionally transfers bodily fluids. He must follow several conditions. Failure to do so could result in 13 months in prison.
— Patricia Ruth Stevens, 62, Blooming Prairie, was sentenced to one year supervised probation and fined $300 for gross misdemeanor third degree DWI-alcohol concentration .08 within two hours and aggravated factor. She must follow conditions. Failure to do so could result in 180 days in jail. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/convictions-july-17-24-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:38 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/convictions-july-17-24-2/ |
WILKES-BARRE — Renowned stone preservation expert Jon Appell conducted a workshop at the Wilkes-Barre City Cemetery on Friday as part of his 48 State Tour of Restoring America’s Cemeteries.
And more than two dozen people showed up to avail themselves of Appell’s knowledge and expertise, with a several-hour crash course in headstone cleaning and restoration.
Mayor George Brown welcomed Appell and those in attendance. The Wilkes-Barre City Cemetery Restoration Committee he appointed a few years ago hosted the free event, which included a free pizza lunch and refreshments and ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“I’m shocked that this many people are interested in headstone repair,” said committee member Joan Cavanaugh, who has been involved in cleanup and genealogy research at the cemetery for about the past 10 years. “Some came from New York and Delaware. I can’t believe it.”
The workshop began with Appell taking a tour of the cemetery assisted by committee member Bill Lewis, a Wilkes-Barre native and also a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Cavanaugh, 68, of the city’s East End, said the cemetery is filled with graves of Civil War veterans and at least one veteran of the Pennamite-Yankee Wars in the latter part of the 18th century.
Appell described the various types of stone used for headstones and monuments and how years of acid rain caused by industrial pollution caused certain types of stone to deteriorate more than others.
Attendees of all ages, including a few children, learned how to use D/2 — a pH neutral, biodegradable solution and soft-fiber brushes to clean decades of grime and dirt off the headstones.
Appell said his company, Southington, Connecticut-based Atlas Preservation, self-funded the 48-State Tour, which is free and open to the public “to teach people practical, hands-on skills to repair gravestones.” Atlas sells kits and supplies such as the D/2 and brushes used for cleaning and epoxy and fine marble sand used for repair.
Lewis, 64, of Jenkins Twp., was delighted to have Appell work to restore the headstone of his great-great-grandfather, William Covert, who lived from 1821 to 1875.
“His grandfather is Tunis Covert, who’s buried (nearby). He was recruited for Sullivan’s Army in Easton, met a Wilkes-Barre girl and stayed here. When he died in 1811, his wife remarried and became the second wife of Jesse Fell, the guy who burned anthracite and started the Industrial Revolution. This (William Covert) is his grandson. His son was Richard, who drove the stagecoach between Easton and Wilkes-Barre,” Lewis said.
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William Covert’s marble headstone had cracked in half, likely victim to a fallen branch from the giant maple tree towering over the gravesite.
“These tablet stones are the single biggest problem. They’re a terrible design,” Appell told the crowd. “They never should have made one of them and then made probably hundreds of thousands of them all over America into Canada. They’re fragile, they snap easily. Additionally, the marble got softer as it weathered.”
“They got away from these, and the stone started to get thicker,” Appell said. “They got away from the 2-inch and went to 4-inch, ultimately monuments and bigger monuments, and then eventually transitioned out of marble, for the most part, into granite.”
After cleaning and drying both pieces of the marble tablet, Appell, with the help of an attendee, dug a small trench all the way around the lower part of the Covert headstone. He poured some coarse gravel around the base and, after making sure it was level, covered the gravel with dirt so the tablet would have a safer, more secure base.
“This piece is worse than that one because when you set marble in the ground like that, it stays wet; it generally just disintegrates,” Appell said. “You put a coarse gravel around it, we’re afforded a lot more protection. But, going into soil is not good, especially if it’s clay. It depends on the soil type. If it’s an alkaline soil, actually, it’ll be okay. But most soil is acidic and moisture combined with soil is awful for marble.”
Appell mixed together a clear, ultraviolet-stable epoxy adhesive and spread it over the top edge of the headstone. Committee member Lou Zuzelski, who had initially suggested to the other committee members that they invite Appell to include the cemetery on his tour, held the top part of the marble tablet as Appel made sure the two pieces were plumb and attached clamps to hold them in place.
Next, Appell added fine marble sand to the remaining epoxy mixture and applied the infill mixture with various sizes of tuck pointers and then a margin trowel — and sometimes with just his fingers — to fill in any gaps between the two pieces of headstone.
“Basically, we’re patching marble with marble with an epoxy binder,” he said.
Appell said the mixture would be permanently set with an hour to 90 minutes. He developed this technique about nine years ago, he said.
“This was just a really exciting moment,” a delighted Lewis said of Appell’s work. “It’s incredible.” | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/expert-teaches-headstone-preservation-at-wilkes-barre-city-cemetery/article_ec6463e5-03ee-5bd5-86c2-a1c3668eea17.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:38 | 1 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/expert-teaches-headstone-preservation-at-wilkes-barre-city-cemetery/article_ec6463e5-03ee-5bd5-86c2-a1c3668eea17.html |
Education Briefs
Published 6:02 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
North Dakota State University Spring 2023 Grads List
Austin
Seth Lumley, Political Science
Blooming Prairie
Kennedy Jo Chicos, Human Development and Family Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison 2023 Grads List
Hayfield
Gracie Becker, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Arts, English
Sydney Schmidt, School of Med & Public Health, Doctor of Medicine, Medicine
University of Wisconsin-Stout 2023 Grads List
Grand Meadow
Alexandra Lubahn, BFA Interior Design | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/education-briefs-139/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:44 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/education-briefs-139/ |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Tonight
Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Jake Sypeck, 8 of Sugarloaf and Rionne Heeter, 13 of Blakeslee dance to the song Ymca along with one of their counselors as a challenge at the first stop of their scavenger hunt in Downtown Pittston Friday morning.
Charlie Giambrone of Camp sight feeds Tommy Allurgucci, 7 of Wyoming a treat of vanilla gelato at their second scavenger hunt location at Coffee Inclusive.
Lily Morgan, 14 of Hazleton and Anthony Basilio, 19 of Wilkes-Barre lad their group down Broad st. in Pittston during a Camp sight scavenger hunt in Downtown Pittston Friday morning.
Rionne Heeter, 13 of Blakeslee dances to the song Ymca as a challenge after going to the first location in Camp Sight's Scavenger Hunt in Downtown Pittston Friday morning.
Kristina Ramos, 17 of Ashley and Robert Hernandez, 13 of Shavertown enjoy a treat of chocolate gelato after making it to their second scavenger hunt location of Coffee Inclusive
Northeast Sight Services’ InSight Kids Club of NEPA’s Camp Sight participated in a scavenger hunt through downtown Pittston on Friday. Camp Sight is a two-week day camp for children ages 6-18 who are blind or visually impaired. The camp gives participants a chance to learn the social and daily living skills they’ll need to grow into independent, productive members of the community. It also provides an important network of support with peers who are living with some of the same challenges. Friday’s scavenger hunt included stops at the Pittston Memorial Library, Coffee Inclusive, Riverfront Park, the Greater Pittston YMCA, Grace and Park Boutique, Community Bank and Pittston Popcorn. ABOVE: Lily Morgan, 14, of Hazleton, right, and Anthony Basilio, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, lead their group down Broad Street during the scavenger hunt. RIGHT: Kristina Ramos, 17, of Ashley, left, and Robert Hernandez, 13, of Shavertown, enjoy chocolate gelato at Coffee Inclusive.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil. If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/photos-camp-sight-campers-join-scavenger-hunt/article_c5d74bec-7db8-5989-bc0b-f132cd219526.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:44 | 1 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/photos-camp-sight-campers-join-scavenger-hunt/article_c5d74bec-7db8-5989-bc0b-f132cd219526.html |
Guest Commentary: Beating extreme heat
Published 5:56 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
By Thomas Sivak
Regional Administrator for FEMA
The days of sweltering hot temperatures are upon us. That means extreme heat interrupts the best of our summertime events -— from family cookouts to baseball games in the park and outdoor races to raise funds for our favorite charitable organizations.
We all know that uncomfortable feeling: when we’re sweaty, tired and weak, nauseous and sometimes even faint. These are all serious effects of high heat and they should not be ignored. But high temperatures can cause much more serious health issues -— and even death, if we are not properly prepared when extreme heat is on the radar.
So, what does preparation look like? In emergency management, we often say high heat is a predictable surprise. Most of the time, weather forecasters alert us when temperatures are going to be unusually high. Don’t ignore this alert. It is a first indication that a pending threat that may be heading your way. When that’s the case, there are a few things you can do to beat the heat, keep your family safe, and enjoy the activities that make summer, well — summer.
• Avoid direct heat and strenuous outdoor activities if possible. When you can’t, wear lightweight clothing and keep plenty of water on hand to stay hydrated.
• Know the symptoms of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. It’s not uncommon to feel sick when temperatures are extremely high. Check out Ready.gov/heat to get details on the symptoms and tips on how to treat them.
• Never leave pets or people in vehicles that are not running.
• Check in on elderly neighbors, children, and individuals with disabilities. All communities are impacted by extreme heat but it poses a more serious threat to underserved and at-risk populations where homes are not equipped with air conditioning and where aging populations, children, and individuals with disabilities have difficulty with mobility. I recommend checking in with local officials and making a list of places that are identified as cooling centers in your community. Identify organizations that might be able to help with transportation needs during a heatwave.
When it comes to extreme heat, it’s important that communities band together to take quick action to reduce its impacts. In FEMA Region 5, we’re moving the needle forward to increase safety and educate communities. We co-hosted an Extreme Heat Summit in Chicago in early May, where we brought subject matter experts together to share experiences and best practices when it comes to confronting extreme heat events.
The conversations were robust, and they were designed to help our local, state, federal, territorial and tribal partners shore up preparedness capabilities and build a plan, before extreme heating events occur. This includes understanding safety barriers of individual neighborhoods in our communities, building clear and concise communications plans before incidents occur, and being intricately aware of how extreme heat impacts power grids and other infrastructure in our communities.
During the two days of conversations, we identified both immediate and long-term actions to guide next steps. FEMA is now developing agency recommendations that will shape future engagements aimed at supporting our partners and providing resources, where possible, that enhance the safety of people across the country, especially those most vulnerable to high-heat events.
But true disaster readiness requires all of us—and it starts with personal preparedness. Take the necessary steps now to protect against the impacts of extreme heat. My team at FEMA, alongside our whole community partners, will continue to do what we can to prepare, while creating opportunities to enhance resilience so no community is left behind in the face of this increasingly common and extremely dangerous threat. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/guest-commentary-beating-extreme-heat/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:50 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/guest-commentary-beating-extreme-heat/ |
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Guest Commentary: Boys of Tomorrow season wraps up
Published 5:54 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
By Jacqi Ruhter
Austin Aspires Communications & Marketing Coordinator
As the sun sets on another successful Boys of Tomorrow (BOT) season, we reflect on the growth, camaraderie, and excitement that filled the past six weeks. The BOT Club, a cherished program designed for young men who have completed third to seventh grades, has once again proven its impact in nurturing confident, self-aware, and motivated individuals. This transformative summer initiative, led by Austin Aspires, not only trains the participants for a 5K fun run, but also provides a supportive space for personal development, meaningful discussions, and exciting field trips.
The boys who eagerly embarked on the BOT journey this summer have evolved into young men of resilience, with newfound skills and a profound understanding of their capabilities. Throughout the program, they engaged in various activities and experiences that fostered personal growth and the forging of lasting friendships.
Mornings commenced with invigorating physical activities, setting a spirited tone for the day ahead. These exercise sessions not only prepared the boys for the culminating 5K fun run but also instilled a sense of energy and enthusiasm that carried them through the day’s events.
Over the course of six weeks, each week brought unique learning opportunities that combined personal exploration, mental well-being, and teamwork. The young men delved into discovering and harnessing their strengths, nurturing their mental health, and even ventured into the realm of robotics by collaboratively building a moving bot. Additionally, they were taught the importance of respectful communication, self-motivation, and self-care practices.
Beyond the classroom, the BOT participants embarked on thrilling weekly field trips that added an extra layer of excitement to their summer adventure. Exploring attractions such as the Waterpark of Minnesota, The Hormel Institute, Niagara Caves, and indulging in rock climbing and kayaking in the lake created cherished memories that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Austin Aspires extends heartfelt gratitude to the numerous guest speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to impart their knowledge and wisdom to this extraordinary group of young men. The influence of these role models played a significant role in inspiring and shaping the boys’ aspirations for the future.
But our appreciation doesn’t stop there. We want to express a HUGE thank you to charitable individual community donors and Medicap Pharmacy, as well as Shoe Sensation and The Downtown Grill for providing great discounts on their services. Their unwavering support as well as generous grants have made it possible for us to provide this program free of charge to all participants.
As the BOT Season draws to a close, we eagerly await the return of many of these remarkable boys next year, while warmly embracing the prospect of welcoming new participants into the fold. Austin Aspires remains committed to nurturing the potential of the next generation and is grateful for the generous support of the community and grant funders who make this life-changing program possible.
Through the Boys of Tomorrow program, our community’s young men are not just gaining physical prowess but are also building essential life skills, fostering meaningful connections, and creating memories that will propel them forward on their journey to becoming well-rounded, confident, and compassionate individuals. Together, we continue to invest in a brighter future, one BOT participant at a time. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/guest-commentary-boys-of-tomorrow-season-wraps-up/ | 2023-07-29T05:19:56 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/guest-commentary-boys-of-tomorrow-season-wraps-up/ |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Tonight
Mostly cloudy skies. Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The final Rockin’ the River concert of the season was held Friday evening at the River Common at Millennium Circle in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Hundreds flocked to the stage along the Susquehanna River to hear The Badlees, with Joe Burke & Co., rock out.
The 5th annual concert series was also held July 14 and July 21. Satisfaction: A Tribute to The Rolling Stones, with The Tribe; and An Evening with Stevie: A Tribute to Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac, with Plus 3 performed the first two shows. The free events included food vendors and adult beverages from Susquehanna Brewing Company. “These shows have given us some wonderful nights of great music, great food and community spirit, right along the Susquehanna,” said Alan Stout, executive director of Visit Luzerne County. Event organizers said they expect the event to continue next year.
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Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil. If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/photos-the-badlees-rock-the-river/article_9df8ca6e-8b5f-504a-aebf-0807bee1acb4.html | 2023-07-29T05:19:56 | 1 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/photos-the-badlees-rock-the-river/article_9df8ca6e-8b5f-504a-aebf-0807bee1acb4.html |
In Your Community: Duplicate Bridge
Published 5:59 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
Duplicate Bridge Tuesday winners were:
• First place: Edna Knoble and Gail Schmidt
• Second place: Jim Fisher and Dave Ring
• Third place: Ron Peters and Vandy Newman
• Fourth place: Lorraine Quinlivan and Barb Rofshus
• Fifth place: Bill Momsen and Larry Crowe.
Wednesday winners were:
• First Place: Larry Crowe and Jim Fisher
• Second place: Barb Rofshus and Paul Hanson
• Third place: Gail Schmidt and Dave King
• Fourth place: Carolyne Higgins and Connie Johnson
• Fifth place: Millie Siever and Joyce Crowe
• Sixth place (tie): Mike Liedell and Cal Ripple and Ron Peters and Vandy Newman | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/in-your-community-duplicate-bridge-86/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:02 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/in-your-community-duplicate-bridge-86/ |
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Tonight
Mostly cloudy skies. Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Heather Anderson and Tracy Stine of Navient stand with Bill Jones, president and CEO of United Way, after bringing in donations of school supplies and hygiene items.
Megan Valkenburg, a community engagement manager for the United Way of Wyoming Valley, carries a box of notebooks to place with other donated supplies Friday morning.
Megan Valkenburg, a community engagement manager for the United Way of Wyoming Valley, places a box of school supplies and hygiene products on other donated supplies Friday morning.
Heather Anderson and Tracy Stine of Navient stand with Bill Jones, president and CEO of United Way, after bringing in donations of school supplies and hygiene items.
Megan Valkenburg, a community engagement manager for the United Way of Wyoming Valley, carries a box of notebooks to place with other donated supplies Friday morning.
Megan Valkenburg, a community engagement manager for the United Way of Wyoming Valley, places a box of school supplies and hygiene products on other donated supplies Friday morning.
WILKES-BARRE — United Way of Wyoming Valley officials accepted hygiene items and school supplies Friday from supporters and representatives from local businesses during its “Helping Kids Thrive” drive.
The donations help ensure children in need receive basic hygiene items and school supplies through the United Way Nurse’s Pantry Program, an in-school resource.
There are 27 nurse’s pantries spanning across eight school districts in the Wyoming Valley, said Bill Jones, president and CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley.
The school districts include Wilkes-Barre Area, Wyoming Valley West, Hanover Area, Greater Nanticoke Area, Northwest, Pittston Area, Wyoming Area and Crestwood.
Jones said nurse’s pantries in schools are important for any young people who need items like feminine hygiene products, soap, shampoo, deodorant or clothes.
“When they need those things, they need them and this provides them some support and relief in their time of need,” he said.
The Nurse’s Pantry Program started as a pilot program in 2018 in five elementary schools in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, Jones said.
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Last year, the Nurse’s Pantry Program helped more than 4,000 young people in need in area schools, he said. This year, he expects there will be a greater need.
The United Way of Wyoming Valley is focused on reducing poverty among children and Jones said poverty hasn’t gotten worse.
“As interest rates and the cost of loans and inflation have gone up, it makes it harder for families who are living in poverty to afford these things when there are so many other critical things they need to pay for like rent, car bills, gas and increased costs for groceries,” Jones said. “Now, we really rely on the generosity of our donors and the community to be able to support the initiative.”
Tracy Stine, senior director, and Heather Anderson, executive assistant at Navient in Hanover Twp., were among the many local business representatives who supported the “Helping Kids Thrive” drive on Friday.
They donated about $1,000 worth of hygiene products and school supplies for young people in need. They said they accept monetary and product donations at Navient and they support the United Way’s drive every year.
“We like to keep all of our donations in the community and this supports eight local school districts within our community and we’re very proud to be a part of that,” Anderson said. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/united-way-accepts-donations-for-nurses-pantries-in-area-schools/article_01b89275-62c2-5a0f-853b-4bb4c60f18af.html | 2023-07-29T05:20:02 | 0 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/united-way-accepts-donations-for-nurses-pantries-in-area-schools/article_01b89275-62c2-5a0f-853b-4bb4c60f18af.html |
Austin Public Schools would like to extend a huge thank you to the Austin Early Risers Kiwanis, Faith Church, and the Austin Eagles Club for their generous $3,500 donation to the Kids Closet program. Now in its eighth year, the Kids Closet program provides elementary-aged students with needed clothing essentials such as socks, underwear, and t-shirts. “This really started with the recognition that teachers were buying these things for their students out of their own pockets,” said Kiwanis’ Rick Young. “And now most of our fundraising for the year goes to support this. We’ve really enjoyed getting to see the program flourish.” The donation will be split evenly between Woodson Kindergarten Center, Banfield Elementary School, Neveln Elementary School, Southgate Elementary School, Sumner Elementary School, the Community Learning Center, and Austin Head Start. Photo provided | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/in-your-community-early-risers-kiwanis-donates-to-kids-closet/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:08 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/in-your-community-early-risers-kiwanis-donates-to-kids-closet/ |
Get a hit, and pass the hot bat down the lineup.
That’s exactly what the Back Mountain National Major boys did Friday afternoon.
National exploded for nine runs in the fifth inning to rally from a three-run deficit as it picked up a 10-4 victory over Section 1 champion DuBois in the Pennsylvania Major Baseball Tournament.
The victory keeps Back Mountain alive in the consolation bracket. National will face the winner of East Side and Mifflinburg on Saturday at 5 p.m. It still needs four straight wins to capture a state championship.
Through four innings, it looked like the season was in dire straits.
An uncharacteristic five errors lead to four DuBois runs. The clutch hit just wasn’t there as Back Mountain stranded six on the basepaths.
Carter Samanas changed the game with his shot down the third-base line for a stand-up double to start the fifth. It started a snowball that turned into a massive avalanche that DuBois couldn’t slow down.
Johnny Comitz matched his teammate with a double to right-center to score one, trimming the DuBois lead to 4-2. Following Dom Smacchi’s infield single, Ben Nulton — hitting out of the No. 11 hole — destroyed a pitch that bounced off the scoreboard in left-center for a three-run shot as Back Mountain had its first lead of the afternoon, 5-4.
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National was just getting started.
After back-to-back singles by Thomas Fostock and Jack Oliver got another rally fired up, the hot bat of Trever Cunningham prevailed again as he crushed a three-run homer — his second of the state tournament — that bounced off the scoreboard as National was out and rolling. Back Mountain added two more in the frame on RBIs by Landon James and Comitz.
National sent 14 batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring nine runs on 10 hits. More importantly, a three-run deficit on the scoreboard to start the frame turned into a six-run advantage.
James, National’s fourth pitcher of the afternoon, held DuBois down in the sixth as two consecutive fielder’s choices and a strikeout kept the season alive.
The District 31 champ, one day removed from being held to four hits, exploded Friday, racking up 17 hits and no strikeouts against two DuBois pitchers. Comitz and hot-hitting Gavin Bayer each had three, while Oliver and George Rolland each had two singles.
Back Mountain coach John Oliver used four pitchers as his son, Jack, picked up the victory in relief. Lorenzo Zangardi got the start, and went two innings, while Rolland entered as the team’s second pitcher.
National won’t have Jack Oliver, Bayer or Michael Viglone eligible to throw Saturday, but should Back Mountain advance, both Oliver and Bayer would be ready for Sunday. Viglone threw in the 4-0 loss to Media on Thursday, and would be eligible should the team make Monday’s championship. | https://www.citizensvoice.com/sports/little-league-nine-run-fifth-boosts-back-mountain/article_c79ec933-35b0-5c7e-bbd6-e4187395ba00.html | 2023-07-29T05:20:08 | 0 | https://www.citizensvoice.com/sports/little-league-nine-run-fifth-boosts-back-mountain/article_c79ec933-35b0-5c7e-bbd6-e4187395ba00.html |
Jamey Helgeson: The role of advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families
Published 5:44 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
In a society that strives for inclusivity and equality, the advocacy support provided by LIFE Mower County has become an indispensable lifeline for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families.
LIFE Mower County’s advocacy support goes beyond mere assistance; it champions the rights and well-being of those with IDD, ensuring their voices are heard. LIFE Mower County acts as a powerful catalyst for positive change, advocating for increased accessibility to education, healthcare, and job opportunities tailored to individual needs. By raising awareness about the unique challenges faced by individuals with IDD, we help break down the barriers that have long hindered their full integration into society.
For families, LIFE Mower County offers a much-needed support network. Caring for a loved one with IDD can be emotionally and financially overwhelming, leading to feelings of isolation. LIFE Mower County provides a compassionate space for families to connect, share experiences, and access valuable resources. Through workshops and events, we equip families with the knowledge and skills to create nurturing environments where their loved ones can thrive.
Additionally, LIFE Mower County advocates tirelessly for the implementation and improvement of policies that safeguard the rights of individuals with IDD. By collaborating with local authorities and community leaders, we ensure that the concerns of this marginalized group are represented in legislative decisions, promoting a more inclusive society.
Above all, the impact of advocacy support at LIFE Mower County extends beyond the individual and family. It fosters a culture of empathy and understanding, encouraging communities to embrace diversity and celebrate the unique strengths of each individual. By creating a society that values and supports all its members, we move towards a brighter, more compassionate future for everyone.
In conclusion, the advocacy support provided by LIFE Mower County proves to be an invaluable asset in empowering the lives of individuals with IDD and their families. With their unwavering commitment to inclusion and equality, they are shaping a society where every individual can lead a fulfilling life, breaking down barriers and building bridges towards a more compassionate world.
Seeking sponsors and tasting partners
Get ready to tantalize your taste buds with an unforgettable culinary experience at the highly anticipated Taste of Mower County event. This exceptional culinary affair, hosted by LIFE Mower County, promises an evening of exquisite flavors, games, fun, and charitable giving, all while supporting a worthy cause.
The event, set to take place at Holiday Inn Austin Conference Center on Sunday, Oct. 15, will showcase signature dishes prepared by some of the finest chefs in Mower County. Attendees can expect to embark on a delectable journey, savoring an array of meticulously crafted culinary delights that represent the diverse flavors and culinary talents of the region.
To make this event truly successful, LIFE Mower County is actively seeking sponsors and tasting partners. By becoming a sponsor, local businesses can align themselves with a reputable cause while gaining valuable exposure to a diverse audience. Tasting partners, on the other hand, can showcase their culinary expertise and delight attendees with their unique creations, all while contributing to the success of the evening.
Sponsorship packages are available at various levels, offering businesses an opportunity to showcase their commitment to corporate social responsibility. For those interested in becoming a tasting partner, LIFE Mower County welcomes collaborations that will not only allow chefs to display their talents but also provide an unforgettable experience for the attendees.
Mark your calendars now and prepare for an unforgettable evening of culinary excellence, entertainment, and charitable giving. Join the Taste of Mower County event and indulge in a culinary adventure while supporting LIFE Mower County. Your presence and contributions will make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities.
For sponsorship and tasting partner inquiries, please visit https://www.lifemowercounty.org/tomc, call 507-433-8994, or email info@lifemowercounty.org.
Together, let’s savor the flavors of Mower County and make a positive impact on our community!
Upcoming Events
Sunday: Special Olympics Regional South Bocce Competition
Sunday: Youth/Family: Summerset Theater Play
Monday: People First Aktion Club
Tuesday: Tracy Byrd Concert at Freeborn County Fair
Wednesday: Youth/Family: Sibshops
Wednesday: Mark Wills Concert at Freeborn County Fair
Thursday: Jackson Dean Concert at Freeborn County Fair
Friday: Youth/Family: Kite Flying
Saturday: Youth/Family: Archery
July 8: Dining Out/Bingo with Friends
July 9: Youth/Family: Alcohol Ink Coffee Mugs
July 9: Special Olympics Bocce
July 10: Self-Advocates Minnesota Meeting
July 12: Youth/Family: Parent and Caregiver Coffee Chats
You can see the full calendar at https://tinyurl.com/LIFEMCCalendar | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/jamey-helgeson-the-role-of-advocacy-for-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities-and-their-families/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:14 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/jamey-helgeson-the-role-of-advocacy-for-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities-and-their-families/ |
Letter to the Editor: Praise for helping make community a clean place
Published 5:34 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
To the editor:
Many thanks to Gale Heidecker, Mayo Clinic main entrance attendant, who picks up litter, not only on the hospital grounds and south side of Oakwood Cemetery along the bike trail, but also all over town as he bikes or walks.
Rosalie Seltz
Austin, MN | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/letter-to-the-editor-praise-for-helping-make-community-a-clean-place/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:20 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/letter-to-the-editor-praise-for-helping-make-community-a-clean-place/ |
Liberian community to celebrate its independence day
Published 6:21 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
Those in Austin of Liberian descent will be celebrating their country’s independence day next weekend.
The Liberian Association for Progress is inviting the public to Liberia’s 176th Independence Day Celebration starting at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 6, at the Veteran’s Pavilion.
A program will be held at 4:30 p.m. and the event will end at 5:30 p.m. During the programming, there will be an inauguration ceremony for Liberian Association for Progress president Sam Wylie and his staff as well as a number of speakers including current Faribault City Council member and former Austin resident Adama Youhn Doumbouya.
According to Joseph Tarpeh, community chairman and former president of the Liberian Association for Progress, the Independence Day celebration, now in its fourth year, is a chance to not only celebrate the country of Liberia and its people but to also welcome the community to come out and get to know their neighbors.
“That’s why you see us reaching out,” Tarpeh said. “We want to be known because if you look at the history of Liberia, Liberia has a deep tie to America. We want Austin to know we are here.”
“Austin is our community,” he added.
Liberia declared itself independent from the United States in 1847, basing its constitution on the American Constitution.
For the around 100 citizens of Liberia currently in Austin, this year’s celebration is a point of fortitude after several years of trying to find foundation in the community.
“We had challenges, but we were able to persevere,” Tarpeh said. “People want to belong. People want to identify.”
Both Sen. Gene Dornink and Rep. Patty Mueller will be in attendance at the upcoming event and there will also be a recognition of members of the Liberian community who have excelled, as well as those who have recently become U.S. citizens.
Along with those recognitions will be graduating high school seniors and the presentation of scholarships for those who are moving on to college.
“There will be plenty of food — Liberian and American because we are a mixed culture,” Tarpeh added.
However, there is another avenue to this celebration as it marks the continued progress of those from Liberia who continue to seek a good life in the community.
The event is also a fundraiser as the group seeks to help work toward consolidating those of African backgrounds in one cultural organization.
Tarpeh said that another driving force behind the celebration is being part of the City of Austin.
“Liberians want to live and experience the American dream,” Tarpeh said. “They work hard as every other citizen to experience that. They want a better life for their family and themselves. They work pretty hard on that. Because of that they find Austin to be a place of calm and peace.” | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/liberian-community-to-celebrate-its-independence-day/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:20 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/liberian-community-to-celebrate-its-independence-day/ |
New law allows students to opt out of shooter drills
Published 5:58 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
By Dana Ferguson
Starting this school year, Minnesota teachers and families can expect to see changes in the way schools prepare for the possibility that an armed intruder enters their building.
Active shooter simulations — where school staff, police officers and others act out an attack at a school by a person with a gun using effects such as fake gunshots or blood — can’t take place on a day when more than half of students are expected to be present at school. And students won’t be required to participate, under a law that takes effect Tuesday.
Families will have to be notified at least 24 hours before a school puts on an active shooter drill, which wouldn’t include those elements made to make it feel real. Those conducting the drill will also have to announce that the drill is not a real intruder situation. Students will be allowed to opt out of the drills, and schools will be required to provide time for classes to debrief and offer mental health support.
“We’ve heard stories of students that when they go into the drill, they don’t know if it’s real or if it’s fake,” the law’s author, Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said. “It’s traumatizing children. It is scaring children and that is not the environment where a child is going to learn how to add and to read.”
Maye Quade said the law was shaped by students and teachers. New Jersey and Washington state have enacted similar measures. The drills in Minnesota will also have to be accessible, developmentally and age appropriate, culturally aware, trauma-informed and inclusive of student accommodations.
“Ideally, this is a piece of legislation that I’ll be able to repeal someday because we won’t need it anymore. But right now, until we address the broader issue of gun violence, we’ll continue to have active shooter drills and we at least need some guardrails, definitions and parameters around what those are,” she said.
Schools will also have to provide evidence-based violence prevention training to students in middle and high school. The state departments of health and public safety next year will issue resources schools can use for that training and update the resources every two years. From there, school districts could tweak the training based on local input.
The training must cover warning signs that a person might pose a threat to himself or others. And it has to cover how to take threats seriously and ask for help.
The proposal had bipartisan backing at the Capitol. Supporters said it would help prepare students and teachers for an armed intruder incident while minimizing trauma for those who participate in drills and simulations.
“Simulating a situation like that for students, I don’t think is really productive,” said Education Minnesota President Denise Specht. “That kind of a drill is very traumatic for students and adults.”
Jillian Peterson is a professor of criminal justice at Hamline University who has studied the life histories of mass shooters. That work helped her write a book about preventing mass shootings.
Peterson said that drills and simulations vary by district and by state, and research hasn’t clearly shown that they help students respond to an attack.
“Post-Columbine, so post-1999, we’ve been in this real kind of ‘Let’s harden our schools,’ and bulletproof doors and active shooter drills and simulations,” Peterson said. “And now, I think there’s this recognition that that is not working. It didn’t work. And in fact, in some ways, could be making matters worse.”
While she wasn’t involved in writing or passing the legislation, Peterson said the law takes the right approach.
“We need to be seeing kids and noticing kids in crisis, and having resources available for them,” Peterson said. “We want warm, welcoming environments where kids trust adults and will report when they’re concerned about somebody. And I think Minnesota has actually been at kind of the front end of making some of these changes, and recognizing that school safety and mental wellness are kind of one in the same.”
The state doesn’t mandate that schools conduct active shooter drills. But it does require five lockdown drills, five fire drills and a tornado drill each school year. State guidance says the lockdown drills need to prepare teachers to clear hallways and secure their classrooms in case of an emergency.
Rick Kaufman, executive director of community relations and emergency management for Bloomington schools, said his district has taken similar steps in recent years to let families know ahead of time when a drill is planned and walk parents through school safety protocols each semester. Parents and students have appreciated the heads up, he said.
“We want to create learning,” Kaufman said. “We don’t want to [put] a barrier in by that kind of surprise, shock and awe that these unannounced drills. There’s no learning in there.” | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/new-law-allows-students-to-opt-out-of-shooter-drills/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:26 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/new-law-allows-students-to-opt-out-of-shooter-drills/ |
Pipeline construction in Minnesota ruptured an aquifer for the 4th time
Published 5:28 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A fourth aquifer breach has been confirmed in northern Minnesota stemming from a Canadian oil company’s construction of an oil pipeline replacement in the region, state officials said.
Officials with Enbridge Energy and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the breach occurred near Moose Lake in Aitkin County. Officials said Enbridge is working to fix the rupture, in which the layer of earth above an aquifer is punctured, causing the water to leak to the surface and possibly introducing pollutants.
It’s the fourth confirmed breach along the Line 3 pipeline route, which started operating in the fall of 2021 and generated fierce opposition from environmental activists and Native American tribes. Last October, state regulators announced that Enbridge would pay more than $11 million for water quality violations and the three previous aquifer breaches.
An aquifer is a natural underground reserve of fresh water capable of being tapped by wells. Environmentalists say such groundwater reserves face a multitude of threats from human populations, including depletion from overuse, pollution from agriculture and septic systems and contamination from pipeline construction and spills.
Groundwater at the Moose Lake breach is flowing to the surface at about 10 to 15 gallons per minute, department officials said. That’s “considerably lower” than the rate at which groundwater initially flowed from the other three breaks, the agency said.
Enbridge will submit a plan to correct the Moose Lake area damage and will implement it when it’s approved, company spokeswoman Juli Kellner said in a statement. The aquifer breaches don’t involve the pipe itself, she said. It stems from sheet-metal piling driven into the ground used to reinforce the trenches that crews work in. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/pipeline-construction-in-minnesota-ruptured-an-aquifer-for-the-4th-time/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:32 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/pipeline-construction-in-minnesota-ruptured-an-aquifer-for-the-4th-time/ |
Roger Boughton: Rick Young has lived a life of service
Published 5:39 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
Unsung heroes are those who make a real difference in a community like Austin. They are those special heroes who make the non-profits hum, the charities flourish and the small businesses prosper. You may not hear as much about them in the media, but you benefit from their dedication to their work and their ability to make their contribution to the community and their neighbors lives a little better.
This hero was an oral surgeon for over 29 years, helping multiple people with urgent and timely care. Upon retirement he entered his second life.
Today, I share with you the story of a very special person by the name of Rick Young. He was a hero long before he and his wife Carol moved to Austin in 1988. He grew up in Alaska where he graduated from high school and moved to Iowa, where he received his dental degree at the University of Iowa. He was an oral surgeon when he landed in Austin in 1988.
Rick retired from being an oral surgeon after 29 years and started a new life of volunteering. His goal was to give back to the community. It resulted from he and Carol falling in love with Austin those many years ago. Also, it was in his nature to be busy and not sit at home. His life quickly filled up with his involvement in being a board member of the Austin Symphony, Northwestern Singers, Austin Public Library, Early Risers Kiwanis, the Hormel Historic Home, the Austin Area Arts Board and an Austin Area Foundation board member. When not attending board meetings you might find him riding throughout Mower County delivering meals on wheels for the county.
Rick is quick to tell anyone who will listen how welcoming the community of Austin was to he and his family upon their arrival those many years ago. His wife Carol, daughters Amanda and Janelle and son Paul were welcomed with open arms. The school system was superb and a community treasurer. However, even heroes have challenges in their life as he and Carol lost their daughter Janelle this past January to illness.
Rick sees a bright future for the community of Austin during the next decade. He intends to remain in Austin and be a part of that future as this is where his friends live. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/roger-boughton-rick-young-has-lived-a-life-of-service/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:38 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/roger-boughton-rick-young-has-lived-a-life-of-service/ |
Steps Forward: A new county position is opening the door to resources that will help frequent flyers stay out of jail
Published 6:54 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik was seeing what many were seeing at the Mower County Jail — a cycle of recidivism that saw familiar faces cycling through the system.
There were familiar stories driving the cycle: mental health issues, substance abuse and continued destructive behaviors.
“There were several individuals who were regularly coming in our doors for very short stays,” Sandvik said. “We were seeing completely off the wall behaviors or reactions to stabilizing and then immediately upon release backsliding and coming back through.”
“It’s kind of an ongoing thing,” Sandvik continued.
However, a new position created by the county is hoping to stem and ultimately break the cycle by providing a connective bridge to resources outside of the jail.
Alysha Carlisle is Mower County’s first-ever community resource navigator, a position born out of a collaborative effort of county departments, state organizations and community organizations that at its heart provides those who are considered frequent flyers an opportunity to continue to find stabilization outside of a jail stay in order to stay out of jail.
“I think it’s having that conversation,” Carlisle said. “Not ‘why did you do that?’ What do you need? I think that’s what this position is, is just helping address whatever unmet needs they have.”
The position is not an effort to excuse the crime that landed the person in jail, but rather it’s recognizing the large gap that exists when a person leaves the jail and recognizing that those things that led to the arrest need to be fixed.
Working primarily out of the jail, Carlisle is that bridge, using partnerships within the community to get help for people who may be struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues — issues that can often lead to return stays.
Seeing the need
The creation of the position reaches back about a year and a half when the Mower County Sheriff’s Office began advocating for a social worker that could work directly with inmates in an attempt to curb recidivism, mostly appearing in the form minor offenses.
Often, these offenses were driven by the familiar stories of mental health challenges and drug and alcohol abuses, that ironically would be stabilized in the jail. However, that stabilization brought on by removing the person from the root cause of their incarceration was lost the moment they left the jail.
“The minute they get back out into the real world, their issues were those resources weren’t directly or readily available, even though many of them wanted to continue down that better path,” Sandvik said. “They fell back into chemical usage, self medicating, not medicating. A lot of these people were in for minor nuisance crimes. They are very much disrupting society, but having this planning and getting that help in place is very, very important.”
Carlisle’s position and work is not intended to provide those resources directly, but rather acts as a guide to community resources. The position required a collaboration be put in place that involved Health and Human Services, law enforcement, governmental bodies and those institutions that specialize in the kind of help needed by the inmates.
“Mental health providers, law enforcement, Health and Human Services, people from substance abuse fields. This position really came from that conversation,” said Health and Human Services Manager Casey Lind. “We’re having individuals that are going into our jail and into custody that have mental health needs, substance abuse needs or even some things beyond behavioral health.”
Carlisle started her new position in January. Her background includes graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in social work from Winona State University as well as spending a stint in cancer research at Mayo Clinic and working with Project Legacy in Rochester.
Project Legacy is similar in scope to Mower County’s navigator position, but focuses instead on youth development.
In what can frequently involve complicated and tangled back stories for many of the inmates, Carlisle instead keeps the vision of a better future simple.
“Just remembering they are people and coming into any interaction remembering these people could potentially be my neighbor,” she said. “When you come in that way and treat them that way it goes better.”
Important next steps
Carlisle’s work is not an involuntary program for those incarcerated, but instead puts the initiative on the shoulders of those who find themselves in the Mower County Jail.
In other words, they have to want to take those important next steps.
Carlisle does not initiate things with people, but rather gets referrals from jail staff who maybe recognize issues in those at the jail or who carry requests from the incarcerated.
“If they want the services, they know I exist. They reach out to me” she said, explaining that concerns of those in jail are often more than just mental health or substance abuse. They can be societal. “I’m able to check off what their need is. Housing. Are you worried about food? Do you need mental health services? A lot of things can’t be initiated until they are out of custody, but we can get the ball rolling, at least while they are there.”
That can mean any number of things including getting a bed reserved in a drug and alcohol treatment facility, helping them find resources to assist with home needs or helping ensure they do not return to a lifestyle that landed them in jail in the first place.
“Going straight from jail to treatment and back into the community seems to work a lot better,” Carlisle said.
However, not all the weight is put on the incarcerated themselves to seek help. It’s being helped along by the staff in the jail who facilitate early connections.
“The staff are helping promote the program and helping educate our customers as to what this really is and what it really means,” Sandvik said. “Someone who has chemical issues, addiction issues or choose to meet with programming personnel. Jail staff are helping to see this person is amenable to new ideas and taking help.”
Collaboration
While Carlisle’s position as navigator has produced welcome fruits, it simply wouldn’t be possible without connections outside of the courts and law enforcement. To work efficiently, it needs people and groups working toward a common goal.
“That’s something I hit heavy on in the jail,” Carlisle said. “I’m just the person that creates the connections. I think what a lot of people in the community just forget is a lot of us grew up with caregivers we could trust, that loved us, that provided for us. A lot of people in the jail did not experience that. They don’t trust anyone. They don’t want help because help often comes with strings attached.”
Carlisle said that organizations and businesses in Austin have become an important part of the connections that are providing people a solid base to continue improving once their stay in jail is over.
Not only does it make the process easier, but it shows people that there is something worth walking toward.
“Me building those relationships is where the magic happens,” she said.
Vind agreed.
“It speaks to the power of collaboration, too,” he said. “This position is really centered around collaboration. It was having meetings with all of those places. How do we work together helping individuals and public safety? How do we find where those things meet and make sure we get the individual connected to what’s important for them?”
“All of that collaboration has turned into helping support Alysha then going out and building collaborations with community partners,” he added.
A key in this collaboration is continuing the work after. Carlisle’s position doesn’t work if follow-up isn’t part of the overall program. That means meaningful results can take time as early pushes sometimes do not work.
“I text people all the time. If I don’t hear from them I’m texting them, I’m calling them,” Carlisle said. “They know I’m kind of there to keep them accountable. Too often people give up when they see people relapse or don’t show up.”
The future
It’s still too early to get definitive statistics as to how the program is going. Carlisle is still early into the two-year pilot program, and yet all parties involved are reticent of early successes and hopeful optimism.
However, it does require a certain level of patience, because the question of return offenders is not a question that gets solved overnight.
“We’re seeing people getting services they need and not coming back,” Carlisle said. “It’s redefining what success is. Maybe they are still coming back, but it’s been three months this time. We’re seeing a change in the way people think. Just this willingness to receive help and ask for it, I think, is one of the biggest changes I’ve seen since I’ve started.”
Sandvik is also seeing gradual changes. Carlisle provides a face that’s not a uniform or somebody in authority telling them what to do.
“We’re seeing interest grow,” Sandvik said. “We’re definitely excited. We’re very excited in seeing the interest and the connections and really thrilled with the hard work Alysha is doing in connecting to the community resources to get buy-in and get that whole layer in place.”
For Carlisle though, her work isn’t just connections. Rather, it’s rooted in hope.
“I think it shows people that are incarcerated that despite what’s happening there is still hope. You’re worthy of hope,” she said. “We’re going to have those things in place for you. By getting them connected to resources while they are in jail … showing them there are people in the community that care while they are incarcerated is important.” | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/steps-forward-a-new-county-position-is-opening-the-door-to-resources-that-will-help-frequent-flyers-stay-out-of-jail/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:40 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/steps-forward-a-new-county-position-is-opening-the-door-to-resources-that-will-help-frequent-flyers-stay-out-of-jail/ |
Tim Penny: Early reading sets a base for lifelong success
Published 5:42 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
July marks one of my favorite months at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF). It is the time of year when we get to distribute more than 20,000 books to organizations that work with young children in our 20-county region.
The importance of early literacy cannot be overstated. Not only does it build a strong foundation for children’s cognitive and language development, but reading together can be an important bonding time for families. However, according to Minnesota Compass, only 49% of southern Minnesota’s third graders are proficient in reading which is just slightly above the state average.
At a legislative level we have seen a recent push to improve this number through a renewed focus on phonics teaching. At SMIF, we have been doing our part to support reading in young children through our Early Literacy Grant program.
This month we are distributing 22,350 books through the grant program — in English, Spanish, and bilingual formats — to 53 organizations including libraries, schools, public health organizations and child care centers. The beauty of this program lies in the fact that these books will be taken home by the children that these organizations serve, potentially sparking a lifelong love for reading.
Our Early Literacy Grant program wouldn’t be possible without the generous contributions from Minnesota-based publishing companies, ABDO and Capstone. This collaboration ensures that families have access to a diverse selection of books to read to their children, fostering a love for reading and expanding their horizons. Their consistent support through the years has enabled us to distribute more than 230,000 books throughout the region.
As we continue to invest in early literacy initiatives, we hope to witness a rise in reading proficiencies across southern Minnesota. The dedication and commitment of our partner organizations and grant recipients in nurturing the love of reading in young children is inspiring. Together, we are paving the way for a future where children are prepared for success in every aspect of life.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can reach me at timp@smifoundation.org or 507-455-3215. | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/tim-penny-early-reading-sets-a-base-for-lifelong-success/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:46 | 1 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/tim-penny-early-reading-sets-a-base-for-lifelong-success/ |
What to know as recreational marijuana becomes legal in Minnesota on Aug. 1
Published 5:15 pm Friday, July 28, 2023
MINNEAPOLIS — 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.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ | 2023-07-29T05:20:52 | 0 | https://www.austindailyherald.com/2023/07/what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ |
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.apr.org/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate | 2023-07-29T05:21:19 | 1 | https://www.apr.org/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate |
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.wbaa.org/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate | 2023-07-29T05:21:25 | 0 | https://www.wbaa.org/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate |
Mercury vs. Sky Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - July 30
The Phoenix Mercury (6-17) will attempt to stop an eight-game road slide when squaring off against the Chicago Sky (9-14) on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at Wintrust Arena, airing at 4:00 PM ET on ESPN3 and AZFamily.
There is no line set for the game.
Rep your team with officially licensed Mercury gear! Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, and much more.
Mercury vs. Sky Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET
- Where: Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois
- TV: ESPN3 and AZFamily
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on the Sky or Mercury with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use our link for the best new user offer, no promo code required!
Mercury vs. Sky Score Prediction
Prediction: Sky 89 Mercury 77
Spread & Total Prediction for Mercury vs. Sky
- Computer Predicted Spread: Chicago (-11.6)
- Computer Predicted Total: 165.8
Mercury vs. Sky Spread & Total Insights
- Phoenix's record against the spread is 7-15-0.
- Phoenix has played 22 games this season, and nine of them have hit the over.
Watch live WNBA games without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo!
Mercury Performance Insights
- Offensively, the Mercury are the worst team in the league (75.8 points per game). Defensively, they are eighth (83.5 points allowed per game).
- On the boards, Phoenix is worst in the WNBA in rebounds (30.7 per game). It is sixth in rebounds conceded (34.6 per game).
- In 2023, the Mercury are worst in the WNBA in turnovers committed (15.9 per game) and second-worst in turnovers forced (12.4).
- The Mercury make 6.7 3-pointers per game and shoot 32.2% from beyond the arc, ranking eighth and ninth, respectively, in the league.
- The Mercury give up 7.5 3-pointers per game and concede 34.3% from beyond the arc, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively, in the WNBA.
- Phoenix takes 33.4% percent of its shots from beyond the arc, and 24.4% of its made shots are from there. Inside the 3-point line, it attempts 66.6% of its shots, with 75.6% of its makes coming from there.
Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mercury-sky-wnba-picks-predictions/ | 2023-07-29T05:22:47 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mercury-sky-wnba-picks-predictions/ |
(CNN) — The Ukrainian military is doubling down on efforts to break through thick Russian defenses in its counteroffensive in the south, which has struggled to gain momentum since being launched at the beginning of June.
Ukrainian officials have said little about what fresh units are being committed to the offensive, but the military has clearly added recently-minted units equipped with western armor in at least one important segment of the southern front.
The challenges faced by the Ukrainians are perhaps less to do with numbers and more to do with capabilities, training and coordination, factors that are critical when an attacking force is faced with such an array of defenses.
Fragments of geolocated video show that western armor such as Bradley fighting vehicles have been part of the renewed assault and that experienced units have been brought into the fray. But tight operational security on the part of the Ukrainians precludes a full assessment of what is being done to reboot the counteroffensive – and where.
There’s still debate about the size of the additional effort.
George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War – a Washington-based group – told CNN: “We had not seen any evidence of a battalion-level attack and certainly no brigade-level attacks. If the Ukrainians are indeed committing full battalions and brigades now as reported, that would mark a clear new phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
A Ukrainian brigade is roughly 3,000 troops.
Mines and more mines
For weeks Ukrainian forces have struggled to break through Russian lines because of layers of defenses: tank traps, other obstacles and dense minefields. According to some Ukrainian accounts, they have resorted to using small groups of military engineers working through forested areas to cut a path through or evade these minefields.
But navigating them will not break the back of Russian defenses. Satellite imagery shows multiple layers of Russian fortifications, sometimes 20 kilometers deep: breach one and another awaits.
Despite hurried training, some of it in western Europe, Ukrainian forces appear to be struggling to carry out combined arms operations: the use of multiple different assets to suppress and degrade Russian defenses both in the air and on the ground.
“Russian attack helicopters and fighter-bombers are exploiting weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defenses, enabling the Russians to strike Ukrainian ground forces. Conducting a mechanized penetration of this magnitude while the adversary has air superiority is extremely difficult,” says Barros at the ISW.
“Operations are more sequential than synchronized,” says analyst Franz-Stefan Gady after a visit to the front lines and extensive conversations with the Ukrainian military.
“Ukraine will have to better synchronize and adapt current tactics, without which western equipment will not prove tac[tically] decisive in the long run. This is happening but it is slow work in progress.”
Gady says that in addition, Ukrainian troops he spoke with “are all too aware that lack of progress is often more due to force employment, poor tactics, lack of coordination (between) units, bureaucratic red tape/infighting, Soviet style thinking etc.”
He says that makes the Ukrainians more vulnerable as they try to advance, and there is some evidence of that in the few videos that have emerged on social media.
“It’s not just about equipment. There’s simply no systematic pulling apart of the Russian defensive system that I could observe,” Gady tweeted. “Weakening Russian defenses to a degree that enables maneuver,” which will include the use of cluster munitions, is a critical task in the weeks ahead.
The commitment of new units this week does appear to have enabled the Ukrainians make modest advances south of the town of Orikhiv, edging closer to the important Russian hub of Tokmak some 20 kilometers to the south of the current frontline.
There are other modest successes further east, but the few frontline accounts to have emerged speak of unceasing Russian aviation and artillery strikes.
Kostyantyn Denysov, a member of the Freedom Legion, said the fighting was relentless.
“In a word, it’s hell,” he told RFE/Radio Liberty this week. “There are small arms battles along the entire contact line, counter-battery fighting.”
“Their helicopters are flying here in pairs and shelling our positions, Su-25 assault aircraft are working, dropping bombs on our guys’ heads. Many units have been brought here to try not only to stop our movement, but also to recapture lost positions in certain areas.”
The Ukrainian military’s critical need is to gain momentum - and force Russian commanders to make painful choices about where and how to deploy their units.
It is far too early to tell whether the Ukrainian counteroffensive has entered a more dynamic phase. The ISW cautions that “this kind of penetration battle will be one of the most difficult things for Ukrainian forces to accomplish.”
Nor can the Ukrainians focus their entire effort on the south. The Russians still hope to make tactical advances of their own in the north and eastern fronts, so the Ukrainians have to retain substantial and capable forces along the straggling northern front.
As former Australian general Mick Ryan writes: “General Gerasimov, who we assume retains overall command of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, is implementing a defensive strategy. But concurrently he is conducting offensive activities at the tactical and operation levels,” especially along the front that leads north from Kreminna to Kupyansk.
The Kremlin has seized upon the slow progress of the Ukrainian counter-offensive: a rare opportunity to go beyond damage limitation.
President Vladimir Putin said on July 21 that it was “clear today that the Western curators of the Kiev regime are certainly disappointed with the results of the counteroffensive that the current Ukrainian authorities announced in previous months.”
But this conflict has been a graveyard of premature declarations.
There are factors that may work in Ukraine’s favor.
George Barros at the ISW says the Ukrainians may be able to exploit geographical advantages.
“Russian defensive lines are not all contiguous or uniformly suited for strong defence. Some lines are bisected by water features or difficult terrain. Some lines are arrayed in such a manner that it could make a controlled withdrawal from one prepared defensive line to the other difficult.”
Pointing to successful Ukrainian attacks along the Mokri Yaly river, Barros says that “many such exploitable terrain intricacies exist along the southern frontline.”
Russian units are suffering battle fatigue, with insufficient rotation or relief even as reinforcements are brought forward. Elements of the 58th Combined Arms Army have been fighting in Zaporizhzhia non-stop for nearly two months.
Its commander, Major General Ivan Popov, was dismissed earlier this month for complaining to the Russian Defense Ministry about the situation.
Most observers say that in contrast, Ukrainian morale remains robust.
Even so, Gady contends that “Russian forces, even if severely degraded and lacking ammo, are likely capable of delaying, containing or repulsing individual platoon- or company-sized Ukrainian advances unless these attacks are better coordinated & synchronized along the broader frontline.”
The long road
Some Ukrainian officials have complained that allied expectations have been unreasonable given the depth of Russian defenses and Russian air superiority – and the speed with which they have had to stand up new brigades.
While grateful for Western equipment such as mine engineering vehicles and cluster munitions, they say much more is needed. F16s would neutralize Russia’s air superiority; longer-range artillery would accelerate the damage to the Russian military’s logistics.
Absent an unexpected collapse of Russian lines, Ukrainian gains “are likely to occur over a long period of time and interspersed with lulls and periods of slower and more grinding efforts as the Ukrainians come to successive Russian defensive lines and themselves require relief and rotation,” says the ISW.
Gady concurs. “I suspect this will remain a bloody attritional fight with reserve units being fed in incrementally in the coming weeks and months,” he tweeted.
If that is the case, and this conflict begins to resemble the static frontlines that began to solidify in Donbas in 2015-16, when Russian-backed forces captured Ukrainian territory, other questions arise.
Will western governments begin to exert pressure on Ukraine to seek a settlement? And given the losses suffered thus far, Russia’s ability to generate reinforcements and the uncertainties surrounding the US presidential election - will the Ukrainian government’s own calculations shift?
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
THE-CNN-WIRE (TM) & © 2023 CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC., A TIME WARNER COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | https://www.channel3000.com/news/national-and-world-news/what-ukraine-must-do-to-win-in-its-southern-push-and-what-russia-has-in/article_970c7f48-23e0-55a8-ba0b-919dcfce4b57.html | 2023-07-29T05:23:19 | 0 | https://www.channel3000.com/news/national-and-world-news/what-ukraine-must-do-to-win-in-its-southern-push-and-what-russia-has-in/article_970c7f48-23e0-55a8-ba0b-919dcfce4b57.html |
On this day in history, July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer marry in lavish ceremony
The first-ever televised royal wedding drew 750 million viewers
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married on this day in history, July 29, 1981.
The first-ever televised royal wedding was watched by an estimated 750 million people in 74 countries, said the BBC's website.
An additional 600,000 people stood on the streets of London, hoping to get a glimpse of the future king, 32, on his wedding day.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JULY 28, 1954, OSCAR-WINNING FILM ‘ON THE WATERFRONT’ IS RELEASED
The bride, 20, wore a custom-made gown sewn by former husband-and-wife designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
The dress, which was made of silk and taffeta, featured a 25-foot train, mother-of-pearl sequins, and about 10,000 pearls, said Brides.com.
It barely fit in the carriage that Diana rode in with her father to St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
David Emanuel later told British Vogue that the dress "was typical of early '80s style — overblown, romantic, flouncy — but we had to get it right because we knew it would go down in history."
Diana's wedding dress was top-secret, and the Emanuels even code-named her "Deborah" to avoid suspicion, said the Brides publication.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JUNE 21, 1982, PRINCE WILLIAM, HEIR TO THE BRITISH THRONE, IS BORN
"She was just lovely, really kind of easygoing. We never had any special instructions about how to make the wedding dress," Elizabeth Emanuel told People magazine.
"That added a bit to the fun of it all, made it bit of an adventure."
They also made a second secret wedding dress in case the original design was leaked, they said.
This backup dress was less ornate than the one Diana wore on her wedding day, but "we wanted to make sure that we had something there. It was for our own peace of mind, really."
Sticking to wedding traditions, Diana also wore something old, new, borrowed and blue, said Smithsonian Magazine.
Aside from her new dress, the Spencer Tiara that Diana wore was both old and borrowed, said the same source.
Her "something blue" was a small blue bow sewn onto the dress, they said.
The wedding location of St. Paul's Cathedral in London was a break from royal tradition, said Smithsonian.
The last royal wedding to occur at St. Paul's was the 1501 nuptials between Arthur, Prince of Wales, and Catherine of Aragon.
The location was not the only non-traditional thing from this wedding.
Their vows, as well, broke from the norm.
Diana did not vow to "obey" Charles in her vows, something the future king agreed to after "very serious" with his future bride, said Smithsonian Magazine.
Diana also flubbed the name of her groom, mixing up his names, said the same source.
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"Charles, meanwhile, said ‘thy goods' instead of my ‘my worldly goods’" in his vows, the publication also noted.
While the wedding was meant to invoke a modern-day fairytale, the marriage did not last.
Diana and Charles, who had two sons together — William, born in June 1982, and Harry, born in September 1984 — separated in 1992.
They officially divorced in 1996.
Diana was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997.
In 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles.
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The eldest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was crowned King of England on May 6, 2023, at London’s Westminster Abbey.
His wife, Queen Camilla, was beside him. | https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-july-29-1981-prince-charles-lady-diana-spencer-marry-lavish-ceremony | 2023-07-29T05:23:19 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-july-29-1981-prince-charles-lady-diana-spencer-marry-lavish-ceremony |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a 4-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018.
“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," Biden said in a statement. It was his first acknowledgement of the child.
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” he said. "Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”
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Hunter Biden's paternity was established by DNA testing after Roberts sued for child support, and the two parties recently resolved outstanding child support issues. The president's son wrote about his encounter with Roberts in his 2021 memoir, saying it came while he was deep in addiction to alcohol and drugs, including crack cocaine.
“I had no recollection of our encounter,” he wrote. “That’s how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I’ve taken responsibility for.”
An attorney for Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for failing to acknowledge the granddaughter. According to a person familiar with the matter, he was taking the cue from his son while the legal proceedings played out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Hunter Biden has four other children, including a son, Beau, born to his wife Melissa Cohen in 2020. He was named after the president's late son who died of cancer in 2015, leaving behind two children.
Biden's grandchildren have played a distinctive role in his presidency, often accompanying the president or first lady on trips and making regular visits to the White House. The president has also credited his grandchildren with persuading him to challenge then-President Donald Trump for the White House in 2020.
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Biden’s statement was first reported by People Magazine. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/29/nation/biden-openly-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-daughter-son-hunter-an-arkansas-woman/ | 2023-07-29T05:23:19 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/29/nation/biden-openly-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-daughter-son-hunter-an-arkansas-woman/ |
MADISON, Wis. -- Severe thunderstorms knocked out power to tens of thousands in southern Wisconsin Friday night.
A strong line of storms raced from northwest to southeast starting Friday evening and into the night, prompting multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings.
As of 11 p.m., the storms had moved out of south-central Wisconsin and into the Milwaukee area.
In the storms' wake, people across the state found themselves without power.
MG&E reported more than 13,000 customers in the Madison area, particularly on the city's north side, are in the dark as of 11 p.m. A notice on the company's website said it is not able to estimate when customers' power will be restored.
Alliant Energy, meanwhile, reported more than 21,000 customers across the state without power, including nearly 12,000 in Sauk County and more than 3,600 in Juneau County, as of 10 p.m. The company's outage map was not updating with additional information as of late Friday.
We Energies reported more than 20,000 Wisconsin customers are without power as of 11 p.m., including more than 8,200 in Jefferson County and nearly 2,000 in Dodge County.
Prior to the main line of storms moving into the region, another cell prompted multiple tornado warnings in southwestern Wisconsin. News 3 Now's Platteville Skycam captured a wall cloud forming prior to the tornado warning's issuance.
Large hail was also reported in parts of Grant and Lafayette counties; viewers shared photos of hail up to the size of golf balls and tennis balls.
News 3 Now and Channel3000.com will have additional coverage of the storms on Saturday. | https://www.channel3000.com/news/tens-of-thousands-without-power-in-southern-wisconsin-following-storms/article_0d1fa11c-2dbc-11ee-bb7b-e3501f1d2fc6.html | 2023-07-29T05:23:25 | 0 | https://www.channel3000.com/news/tens-of-thousands-without-power-in-southern-wisconsin-following-storms/article_0d1fa11c-2dbc-11ee-bb7b-e3501f1d2fc6.html |
Florida human trafficker used adult woman as 'bait' on dating app, lured girl into sexual contract: Sheriff
Florida police say that the 56-year-old suspect used a sexual contract to trick a minor into performing sexual acts
A Florida man was arrested on human trafficking charges after tricking a minor with mental handicap into a sexual contract, police said.
According to Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Al Nienhuis 56-year-old James Peter Houllis took advantage of one adult woman and one minor with mental handicaps.
"This particular individual really had some creative ways to abuse women," Sheriff Nienhuis said in a press conference.
On Monday, July 10, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said that they were contacted by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office about the possible location of a runaway teen.
When authorities arrived, they found Houllis, the unidentified teen girl and the unidentified adult woman. Police said that they initially did not suspect human trafficking and were under the impression that the minor victim was 18 and was kicked out of her home.
After taking her to a runaway shelter to reunite with her father, the teen told workers and deputies that she had met Houllis and the unidentified adult victim on an uncommon social media dating platform.
"It was not a common social media platform that we hear about every day," Sheriff Nienhuis said. "It had some unusual sexual type things."
As the teen began to share more about the harrowing tale, officials realized that the young girl and the adult woman were being trafficked by the 56-year-old.
Police said that before the young girl had run away, Houllis, who was posing as the adult victim, reached out to the young teen and convinced the minor to agree to a "dominant-submissive" contract that had clauses promising an ocean side home in exchange for sex.
The contact included "sexual activities with the dominant that might be outside her comfort zone but not painful," police said.
CALIFORNIA MAN RECORDED HIMSELF STABBING WOMAN TO DEATH, SHARED VIDEO ON FACEBOOK: POLICE
The contract also stated that the ‘submissive’ would always respond to the sexual needs of the ‘dominant’ in any manner he saw fit in exchange for food, drinks and the utilities associated with the home.
"Hard to believe, but that's what the documents said," Sheriff Nienhuis said, noting that the contract gave graphic details on the expected sexual acts.
After verbally agreeing to the contract, Houllis chartered an Uber ride for the teen and brought her to his home where she was given her own bedroom and food. After Houliss, the teen victim and the adult victim watched a movie and had marijuana, the three of them "engaged in sexual activity," police said.
According to police, on July 10, the teen took photos of the suspect sitting on a couch naked before deputies arrived to investigate the report that she was a runaway teen.
On Tuesday, July 11, Houllis was charged with unlawful sexual activity of a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Police said that during the investigation, they realized that the adult was also a victim of human trafficking.
"As the investigation unfolded, it became apparent that [the adult victim] was also a victim of human trafficking by our suspect," Sheriff Nienhuis said.
According to Nienhuis, the adult victim said she felt obligated by her own contract with Houllis, and when she tried to refuse to have sex with the minor, he physically forced her on the teenage victim.
"Young adult victim number 1 advised that our suspect physically strangled the juvenile during sexual activity, and because she knew how rough [Houllis] could be, she actually traded places with the victim to keep that juvenile victim safe," he said.
Officials said before this incident, Houllis sold the adult victim for sex to multiple men in Colorado. Nienhuis said the suspect met her online while she was still a juvenile and groomed her into isolation from her family.
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According to police, Houllis has a history of domestic violence and has lived in 53 different places since 1980 including California, Colorado, Miami, Hudson and Hollywood before moving to Spring Hill and believe there may be more victims.
The sheriff said that both victims are in a safe place receiving treatment. | https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-human-trafficker-used-adult-woman-bait-dating-app-lured-girl-sexual-contract-sheriff | 2023-07-29T05:23:25 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-human-trafficker-used-adult-woman-bait-dating-app-lured-girl-sexual-contract-sheriff |
PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that turned the U.S. Southwest into a blast furnace throughout July is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.
Forecasters expect that by Monday at the latest, people in metro Phoenix will begin seeing high temperatures under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month. As of Friday, the high temperature in the desert city had been at or above that mark for 29 consecutive days.
Already this week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell under 90 (32.2 C) for the first time in 16 days, finally allowing people some respite from the stifling heat once the sun goes down.
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Temperatures are also expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.
The downward trend started Wednesday night, when Phoenix saw its first major monsoon storm since the traditional start of the season on June 15. While more than half of the greater Phoenix area saw no rainfall from that storm, some eastern suburbs were pummeled by high winds, swirling dust and localized downfalls of up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) of precipitation.
Storms gradually increasing in strength are expected over the weekend.
Scientists calculate that July will prove to be the hottest globally on record and perhaps the warmest human civilization has seen. The extreme heat is now hitting the eastern part of the U.S, as soaring temperatures moved from the Midwest into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where some places are seeing their warmest days so far this year.
The new heat records being set this summer are just some of the extreme weather being seen around the U.S. this month, such as flash floods in Pennsylvania and parts of the Northeast.
And while relief may be on the way for the Southwest, for now it's still dangerously hot. Phoenix’s high temperature reached 116 (46.7 C) Friday afternoon, which is far above the average temperature of 106 (41.1 C).
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“Anyone can be at risk outside in this record heat,” the fire department in Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, warned residents on social media while offering ideas to stay safe.
For many people such as older adults, those with health issues and those without access to air conditioning, the heat can be dangerous or even deadly.
Maricopa County, the most populous in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported this week that its public health department had confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of July 21, with 249 more under investigation.
Results from toxicological tests that can takes weeks or months after an autopsy is conducted could eventually result in many deaths listed as under investigation as heat associated being changed to confirmed.
Maricopa County confirmed 425 heat-associated deaths last year, and more than half of them occurred in July.
Elsewhere in Arizona next week, the agricultural desert community of Yuma is expecting highs ranging from 104 to 112 (40 C to 44.4 C) and Tucson is looking at highs ranging from 99 to 111 (37.2 C to 43.9 C).
The highs in Las Vegas are forecast to slip as low as 94 (34.4 C) next Tuesday after a long spell of highs above 110 (43.3 C). Death Valley, which hit 128 (53.3 C) in mid-July, will cool as well, though only to a still blistering hot 116 (46.7 C).
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In New Mexico, the highs in Albuquerque next week are expected to be in the mid to high 90s (around 35 C), with party cloudy skies. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/29/nation/extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ | 2023-07-29T05:23:25 | 0 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/29/nation/extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ |
Astroworld worker says organizers 'disregarded' A/C, power problem in medical tent: full report
HOUSTON - The Houston Police Department has released their 1,266-page report into the Astroworld tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 10 people in 2021.
In a statement Friday, HPD said their investigation into the deadly incident on Nov. 5, 2021, is complete.
SUGGESTED: Grand jury declines criminal charges for Travis Scott in Astroworld tragedy
"Following the conclusion of grand jury proceedings regarding the Travis Scott Astroworld Concert, the Houston Police Department pledged to publicly release the investigative report detailing HPD’s investigation into the incident," HPD stated.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 05: Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 05, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage)
The document includes interviews with witnesses, answers to questionnaires, and investigators’ notes. Police say some information – like dates of birth, social security numbers and addresses – have been redacted in accordance with applicable law and privacy concerns.
"We continue to pray for the victims and families affected by the Astroworld tragedy," HPD said in the statement.
*Click here to read the full report.
Last month, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said that a grand jury had issued six no-bills in the case, meaning no criminal charges would be filed in the incident. The grand jury declined to indict six people, including Travis Scott. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/astroworld-tragedy-report-houston-police-release-1266-page-document-say-investigation-is-complete | 2023-07-29T05:23:41 | 1 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/astroworld-tragedy-report-houston-police-release-1266-page-document-say-investigation-is-complete |
Bear takes dip in Burbank swimming pool amid LA heatwave
BURBANK, Calif. - Hot bear summer is apparently in full effect in Los Angeles County.
The Burbank Police Department responded to a call of a bear in a swimming pool Friday. Props to the Burbank PD staffer for taking a scenic video as the bear is seen lounging and taking brief glances of the city's beautiful hillside.
It is unknown if the furry intruder asked Burbank PD to Airdrop the flattering videos to their phone.
On a much more serious note, Burbank PD shared several tips on what the community should do if they encounter bears.
In a flyer below, police are warning the public to never feed the furry animals and keep dogs leashed: | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/bear-takes-dip-in-burbank-swimming-pool-amid-la-heatwave | 2023-07-29T05:23:47 | 1 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/bear-takes-dip-in-burbank-swimming-pool-amid-la-heatwave |
Taylor Swift Eras Tour breaks Marshawn Lynch's 'Beast Quake' record for seismic activity at Lumen Field
SEATTLE - Looking back at Taylor Swift’s back-to-back sold-out Eras Tour concerts at Lumen Field, it turns out the Swifties in the stands set off seismic activity as they cheered for the "Shake It Off" pop star.
Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a seismologist and geology professor at Western Washington University, measured a 2.3 magnitude "Swift-quake" using a seismometer located near Lumen Field, rivaling the infamous "Beast Quake" in 2011.
The Beast Quake was a seismic event that occurred at Lumen Field in 2011 when the Seattle Seahawk's Marshawn Lynch scored a touchdown during a playoff game. The crowd's celebration shook the ground at the stadium enough to register on seismometers.
Caplan-Auerbach says Taylor Swift fans have given the former NFL running back a run for his money.
However, she noted that despite the ground shaking during the Taylor Swift concert, the event was technically not an earthquake.
Now, Caplan-Auerbach is quick to point out that the seismic data from the Beast Quake and Swift Quake may not be a fair comparison. She says that there is a chance that the ground-shaking activity from the Swifties could have been caused by the sound system, while the Beast Quake was likely caused solely by the Seahawk fans.
Looking at the data, the seismologist points out that the largest sounds are in the range of 1-3 hertz, meaning that energy was pushed into the ground at 1.03 times per second. Her guess is that this was caused by fans dancing in the crowd rather than the actual music.
She looked at data from a seismometer for the two dates Swift performed at Lumen Field and discovered that the line registering seismic activity for those dates was virtually identical, which confirmed the shaking was coming from the concerts.
When asked how much the Swift concerts shook the ground compared to the Beast Quake of 2011, Caplan-Auerbach noted a significant difference.
"It shook the ground twice as strong as the original Beast Quake," she said. "So, that was fun to see, that this event was really, really quite an energetic event from a seismic perspective."
You can submit your own findings from the Eras Tour concerts to Caplan-Auerbach here.
Part of this seismic activity is largely influenced by the type of ground upon which Seattle rests. According to Caplan-Auerbach, the geology of the area is a landfill, describing it as soft and soupy. Because of this, ground shaking, such as those caused by raucous fans at a music concert or football game, is amplified. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fans-set-off-2-3-magnitude-quake-during-taylor-swifts-tour-stop-in-seattle | 2023-07-29T05:23:53 | 0 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fans-set-off-2-3-magnitude-quake-during-taylor-swifts-tour-stop-in-seattle |
(KRON) — One person was hospitalized after a shooting in Downtown Oakland on Friday, the Oakland Police Department confirmed to KRON4.
The victim was located in the area of 19th Street and Broadway. OPD said the shooting happened just before 8:30 p.m.
The victim said they did not know where the shooting happened, according to police.
The scene remains active. Anyone with information is asked to call OPD at (510) 238-3326.
Another shooting happened in Oakland Friday night on the 1200 block of 83rd Ave. One person had a gunshot wound and three had lacerations, possibly from glass. | https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/one-injured-in-downtown-oakland-shooting/ | 2023-07-29T05:23:57 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/one-injured-in-downtown-oakland-shooting/ |
French President Macron visits his counterpart in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region in the first-ever visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation.
As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri Lanka, France had pledged cooperation in debt restructuring to help the island nation recover from its economic crisis.
Macron arrived in Sri Lanka Friday night, following his trip to the South Pacific region, to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Sri Lanka’s president’s office said.
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised France’s significant role in global affairs, particularly in areas such as climate mitigation, global debt restructuring, and matters related to the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.
“Sri Lanka and France are two Indian Ocean nations that share the same goal: an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In Colombo we confirmed it: strengthened by 75 years of diplomatic relations, we can open a new era of our partnership,” Macron said in a Twitter message after the meeting.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ | 2023-07-29T05:23:58 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ |
Hunter Biden's daughter, Navy, publicly acknowledged by president for 1st time
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a four-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018.
"Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," Biden said in a statement. It was his first acknowledgement of the child.
"This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter," he said. "Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy."
Hunter Biden's paternity was established by DNA testing after Roberts sued for child support, and the two parties recently resolved outstanding child support issues. The president's son wrote about his encounter with Roberts in his 2021 memoir, saying it came while he was deep in addiction to alcohol and drugs, including crack cocaine.
"I had no recollection of our encounter," he wrote. "That’s how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I’ve taken responsibility for."
An attorney for Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FILE - Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, arrives at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for failing to acknowledge the granddaughter. According to a person familiar with the matter, he was taking the cue from his son while the legal proceedings played out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Hunter Biden has four other children, including a son, Beau, born by his wife Melissa Cohen in 2020. He was named after the president's late son who died of cancer in 2015, leaving behind two children.
Biden's grandchildren have played a distinctive role in his presidency, often accompanying the president or first lady on trips and making regular visits to the White House. The president has also credited his grandchildren with persuading him to challenge then-President Donald Trump for the White House in 2020.
Biden's statement was first reported by People Magazine. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/hunter-bidens-daughter-navy-publicly-acknowledged-by-president-for-1st-time | 2023-07-29T05:23:59 | 0 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/hunter-bidens-daughter-navy-publicly-acknowledged-by-president-for-1st-time |
(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.kron4.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ | 2023-07-29T05:24:03 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/mega-millions-here-are-the-winning-numbers-for-940m-jackpot-2/ |
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
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.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T05:24:04 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ |
Lori Vallow: So-called 'Doomsday Mom' set to learn her prison sentence
PHOENIX - Sentencing for Lori Vallow is scheduled for July 31.
Vallow, also known as the so-called ‘Doomsday Mom,’ was found guilty in May 2023 of killing her two kids, both of whom once lived in Chandler. Vallow was also found guilty of conspiring in the murder of Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy, among other offenses.
In the aftermath of Vallow's guilty verdict, her lawyers requested a new trial, but the request was later denied by a judge.
A recap of the Lori Vallow case
The case of Lori Vallow is rooted in the East Valley portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
"She needs help. She needs some serious help," Vallow's fourth husband, Charles Vallow, told police officers in a video.
Charles sounded the alarm to Gilbert Police in 2019 about Vallow's mental health, as the mother of three became transfixed on preparing for the end of the world.
Charles would hire attorney Taylor Larson to file for divorce.
"Not often that someone comes in and says 'hey, I want to get a divorce, and it's because my wife think she's a goddess, and she can't die, and that she's trying to murder me,'" said Larson.
Charles would later be shot and killed by Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, in Chandler. Cox himself would later die as well. Police say a $1 million life insurance was the motive in Charles' death.
The case took a turn when Vallow moved her two children, seven-year-old Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan to Rexburg, Idaho. The kids disappeared shortly after, sparking a nationwide search.
"You had law enforcement agencies in Chandler and Gilbert, Arizona involved. You've had law enforcement in Idaho, Utah, Hawaii and the FBI. I mean, you had multiple agencies looking at various parts of this thing," said Rich Robertson, a private investigator with R3 Investigations.
In June 2020, authorities discovered the remains of JJ and Tylee buried in the backyard of Daybell.
Members of the jury in Vallow's murder trial were convinced that Vallow used her religious beliefs to justify the murders.
For the victims' loved ones, it has been a long road.
"I hope that nobody ever has to go through this. I hope nobody ever has to see and hear the details of what happened to JJ, to Tylee, and to Tammy," said JJ Vallow's grandfather, Larry Woodcock.
"At the end of the day Monday, I hope that the judge has sentenced her, and once that's done, I'm putting it behind me, and she's dead to me. I have to look at it that way because I can't live with it anymore," said Tammy Daybell's aunt, Vicki Hoban.
What sort of sentence could Vallow get?
Vallow will not be sentenced to death, as an Idaho judge ruled, prior to Vallow's trial, that she will not face the death penalty.
Lori, however, faces up to life in prison without parole.
What about Chad Daybell?
Chad Daybell's trial is officially set for April 2024. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/lori-vallow-so-called-doomsday-mom-set-to-learn-her-prison-sentence | 2023-07-29T05:24:05 | 1 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/lori-vallow-so-called-doomsday-mom-set-to-learn-her-prison-sentence |
After an attack on Salman Rushdie, the Chautauqua Institution says its mission won’t change
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. (AP) — For a single, unthinkable moment last summer, the Chautauqua Institution was a hostile place for the freedom of expression that has been its hallmark for 150 years: As Salman Rushdie was about to speak, an audience member leapt onto the stage and stabbed the celebrated author more than a dozen times.
By the next day, Chautauqua Institution President Michael Hill recently recounted, the decision had been made not only to resume programming, but to “double down on what Mr. Rushdie stands for, what our speakers and preachers and artists stand for — which is the free exchange of ideas and the belief that society is stronger when we do that.”
A year later, Rushdie, blinded in one eye by the assault, is recovering from the attack. The Chautauqua Institution is recovering, too.
Programming and revenue for the arts and intellectual retreat in the rural southwest corner of New York was disrupted for two seasons by COVID-19. Then the attack further shattered the return to normal that regular visitors had so craved.
With a new nine-week summer season now under way, well-tended gardens are in bloom and rocking chairs are back out on the porches of Victorian- and cottage-style homes.
Security has been strengthened, though the gated compound remains open to anyone who buys a pass to enter.
“We look at the work that we do under a different lens since” the stabbing, Hill said during an interview in his office, which overlooks Bestor Plaza, a lush expanse of greenery anchoring the 750-acre (303-hectare) grounds. “The attack was an attempt at silencing, which underscores the need for institutions like ours to not stay silent.”
As an institution, Chautauqua defies easy explanation.
“NPR camp for grown-ups” is the description preferred by Erica Higbie, who owns a house on the grounds.
Located on the shore of Chautauqua Lake, the institution is a self-contained community with lecture halls, houses of worship, cafes, shops, a library, post office and bookstore, along with private homes, rentals and the Athenaeum Hotel, which served as former President Bill Clinton’s executive mansion for a week in 1996 as he prepared for his debate with Republican challenger Bob Dole.
Aside from boating and golf, the 4,400-seat, open-air amphitheater is a main draw, with a summer entertainment lineup this year offering concerts by Diana Ross and Bonnie Raitt, ballet and theater productions and performances by the house Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
But for Higbie and many others, the primary appeal exists in the institution’s 19th Century beginnings as a summer educational experiment in which daily lectures are curated around weekly explorations of anything from politics to infrastructure and faith to friendship.
“I am a lecture junkie,” Higbie said from her porch as people navigated the grounds on foot, bikes and scooters. The speed limit for the rare vehicle traffic is 12 mph. The retired teacher takes in a daily morning lecture and may hear two more in the afternoon at the amphitheater and the Hall of Philosophy.
Through the decades, Susan B. Anthony advocated for women’s rights at the institution and President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his 1936 “I Hate War” speech in the amphitheater. Former Vice President Al Gore spoke about the climate crisis and Supreme Court Judges Robert H. Jackson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are among countless others who have offered insights.
Rushdie’s appearance came during a week last year exploring home as “a place for human thriving.”
Henry Reese, co-founder of the City of Asylum Pittsburgh, was about to interview “The Satanic Verses” author about violence against writers when Rushdie was attacked as the men sat in armchairs on the amphitheater’s sunken stage.
Rushdie, the target of a decades-old fatwa by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for his death, was stabbed in the neck, stomach, chest, hand and right eye. Reese suffered bruises and a gash to his forehead.
With alleged assailant Hadi Matar awaiting trial in a nearby courthouse, Reese is scheduled to return to the institution on the anniversary of the attack, Aug. 12. His appearance is expected to kick off a week exploring freedom of expression, imagination and the resilience of democracy. Republican strategist Karl Rove and Democratic strategist David Axelrod are among other invited guests.
It would have been out of character for the institution to do anything but pick up where it left off after the assault, regular guest lecturer Eboo Patel said.
“Not a single artist or speaker canceled,” Patel, founder of Interfaith America in Chicago, said by phone.
“Chautauqua recognizes that it has a responsibility to its own community, honestly to American civilization and the human spirit, and it’s back up in 24 to 48 hours. That’s stunning,” he said.
Property owners differed on how far the institution should go to ensure personal safety, said Higbie, the president of the Chautauqua Property Owners Association.
“Everybody was in shock for a long time,“ Higbie said.
Visitors say they notice more security and protocols at events. Amphitheater patrons can bring only clear bags inside, for example, and may be scanned or asked to walk through a weapons detector.
Even so, “I never hesitated for a minute” to return, said Michael Crawford of Washington, D.C., as he chatted with Mary Pat McFarland of Philadelphia. The two sat on one of the red benches placed around the grounds to invite discussion.
A handful of musicians with violins, guitars and a small harp played an impromptu jam session beneath a tree nearby.
Hill said he sees his role as “teeing up” issues for engagement, so shying away from difficult ones would be a disservice at a time when civic discourse is in short supply.
“It’s about bringing divergent viewpoints for people to digest,” Hill said. “For us to have made the decision to stop bringing speakers who may be controversial in any way would have been for us to stop doing our mission.”
“It would have been,” he said, “to literally stop the reason this place was created.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ | 2023-07-29T05:24:11 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ |
US to send Taiwan $345 million military aid package
WASHINGTON - The U.S. on Friday announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administration's first major package drawing on America's own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China.
The White House's announcement said the package would include defense, education and training for the Taiwanese. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters ahead of the announcement.
U.S. lawmakers have been pressuring the Pentagon and White House to speed weapons to Taiwan. The goals are to help it counter China and to deter China from considering attacking, by providing Taipei enough weaponry that it would make the price of invasion too high.
While Chinese diplomats protested the move, Taiwan's trade office in Washington said the U.S. decision to pull arms and other materiel from its stores provided "an important tool to support Taiwan's self-defense." In a statement, it pledged to work with the United States to maintain "peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait."
FILE - Armed vehicles launch smoke during the annual Han Guang anti-landing drill at Bali beach, New Taipei City on July 27, 2023. (Sam Yeh / AFP) (Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)
The package is in addition to nearly $19 billion in military sales of F-16s and other major weapons systems that the U.S. has approved for Taiwan. Delivery of those weapons has been hampered by supply chain issues that started during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been exacerbated by the global defense industrial base pressures created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The difference is that this aid is part of a presidential authority approved by Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles — so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales. This gets weapons delivered faster than providing funding for new weapons.
The Pentagon has used a similar authority to get billions of dollars worth of munitions to Ukraine.
Taiwan split from China in 1949 amid civil war. Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains China’s right to take over the now self-ruled island, by force if necessary. China has accused the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a "powder keg" through the billions of dollars in weapons sales it has pledged.
The U.S. maintains a "One China" policy under which it does not recognize Taiwan’s formal independence and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island in deference to Beijing. However, U.S. law requires a credible defense for Taiwan and for the U.S. to treat all threats to the island as matters of "grave concern."
Getting stockpiles of weapons to Taiwan now, before an attack begins, is one of the lessons the U.S. has learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pentagon deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks told The Associated Press earlier this year.
FILE - Armed vehicles and Taiwan military soldiers attend the annual Han Guang anti-landing drill at Bali beach, New Taipei City on July 27, 2023. (SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine "was more of a cold-start approach than the planned approach we have been working on for Taiwan, and we will apply those lessons," Hicks said. Efforts to resupply Taiwan after a conflict erupted would be complicated because it is an island, she said.
China regularly sends warships and planes across the center line in the Taiwan Strait that provides a buffer between the sides, as well as into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, in an effort to intimidate the island’s 23 million people and wear down its military capabilities.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, said in a statement Friday that Beijing was "firmly opposed" to U.S. military ties with Taiwan. The U.S. should "stop selling arms to Taiwan" and "stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait," Liu said. | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/us-to-send-taiwan-345-million-military-aid-package | 2023-07-29T05:24:11 | 1 | https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/us-to-send-taiwan-345-million-military-aid-package |
Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse
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.”
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.”
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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ | 2023-07-29T05:24:17 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ |
Fresh charges tie Trump even more closely to coverup effort. That could deepen his legal woes
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a stunning new allegation in an already serious case: Former President Donald Trump sought to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The latest criminal charges unsealed Thursday deepen Trump’s legal jeopardy, alleging a more central role for the former president than previously known in a cover-up that prosecutors say was meant to prevent them from recovering top-secret documents he took with him after he left the White House. Coming as Trump braces for possible additional indictments related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the new allegations strengthen special counsel Jack Smith’s already powerful case against Trump while undercutting potential defenses floated by the former president, experts say.
“Before these new charges, you could maybe try some sort of defense that ‘this was all a mistake, it was my staff’ or confusion about what documents he actually had,” said former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor.
“But especially now, when you’re trying to destroy video footage,” he added, “that’s kind of the final nail in the coffin. I don’t see much in the way of a defense, not a real defense. All he can do is claim he’s being persecuted and hope for a holdout juror or something.”
Trump resorted to that familiar playbook on Friday, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform that “this is textbook Third World intimidation by rabid, lawless prosecutors.” He insisted during an interview with radio host John Fredericks that he did nothing wrong and accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate his staff into making up lies about him.
Later Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to prosecutors. Trump said he was told they were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
The new Florida charges came as a surprise given that Trump and his legal team have been focused on the prospect of an additional indictment in Washington — possibly within days — related to his efforts to cling to power after he lost to President Joe Biden. Trump received a letter this month informing him that he’s a target in that probe, and his lawyers met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Hours after that meeting, Smith revealed the new classified documents case charges on top of a 38-count indictment issued last month against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta. The updated indictment includes a detailed chronology of phone conversations and other interactions between Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, in the days after the Justice Department last June drafted a subpoena for security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.
Video from the home would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in an effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
The day after a draft subpoena was sent to the Trump Organization, the indictment says, Trump called De Oliveira and spoke with him for about 24 minutes. Though the details of that conversation are not included in the indictment, De Oliveira is described by prosecutors as asking a Mar-a-Lago information technology staffer several days later how long the server retained footage for and is quoted as telling the employee that “the boss” wanted it deleted.
Lawyers for Nauta, who has pleaded not guilty, and De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations. De Oliveira is expected to make his first court appearance in Miami on Monday.
To the extent that evidence of Trump’s involvement in trying to delete video is circumstantial rather than direct, it might present a challenge for prosecutors, said David Aaron, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor who has worked on cases involving the mishandling of classified documents.
But if they can tie the effort to Trump, he added, “it’s devastating in its own right, because it doesn’t matter at that point what he thought he had the right to do, or whatever other defense he’s going to have about the classified documents. That’s in and of itself very bad.”
It could also help prosecutors establish that Trump knew what he was doing was wrong because “you only delete video of what you’ve done if you think it’s going to get you in trouble,” Aaron said. And Trump’s own accusations against others, like his claims against Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential race, could boomerang against him.
Trump has claimed that Clinton deleted emails from her private server for the purpose of obstructing a criminal investigation into her own handling of classified information — something the FBI and Justice Department never alleged — but now stands himself accused of scheming to delete evidence he feared would be incriminating.
“He has specifically criticized other public figures for deleting data when he says they thought they were going to be in trouble,” Aaron said. “So if you needed to prove his consciousness of guilt, it’s not just an obvious thing that you would ask the jury to rely on common sense for — he’s actually made statements about what it means when someone does this.”
Trump and Nauta are set for trial next May, though it’s not clear if that date will hold.
Smith’s team also added a new count of willful retention of national defense information related to a classified document about a Pentagon plan of attack on a foreign country prosecutors say Trump showed off during a July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort.
That charge comes after Trump repeatedly claimed he didn’t have any secret documents when he spoke, only magazine and newspaper clippings, even though an audio recording captured him saying “this is secret information.” The document was returned to the government in January 2022, months before the subpoena for classified records.
It’s not clear why prosecutors moved now to indict another one of Trump’s underlings, though bringing charges against De Oliveira that could carry significant prison time adds serious pressure on him, potentially increasing the odds that he could decide to cut a plea deal and cooperate.
“But, you know, Trump seems to inspire a lot of loyalty, at least in some people,” Eliason said. “Maybe they are holding out for the idea that he is reelected and he can pardon them.”
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Richer reported from Boston.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ | 2023-07-29T05:24:23 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/political-news/fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ |