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When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled to the ground, exhausted and dehydrated, but urged his wife to carry on with little Marie and catch up to dozens of other migrants ahead.
“God willing, we will meet again in Libya,” he told them.
Nyimbilo eventually made it there — only to find out days later that his wife and daughter almost certainly did not.
A graphic photo widely shared on social media shows the lifeless body of a Black woman with braided hair next to a little girl, their faces down in the sand. The child is curled up next to the woman, her bare feet red and swollen, likely from walking on blistering hot sand.
Nyimbilo said he immediately recognized his wife’s yellow dress, pulled up on her body, and his daughter’s black sandals, sitting beside them. He shared recent photographs with The Associated Press showing them in the same clothing. He said he hasn’t heard from his wife, Matyla Dosso, who also went by Fatima, or their daughter since that day in the desert, July 16.
Nyimbilo believes Matyla and Marie are among more than a dozen Black migrants Libyan border guards say they’ve found dead in the desert border area of the North African nations since Tunisian authorities began conducting mass expulsions in early July. Nyimbilo is from Cameroon; his wife, Ivory Coast. They lived for years in Libya but hoped to finally make it to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.
The Libyan police border guard in al-Assa, near the Tunisian border, found the woman and child in the July 19 photo dead, spokesperson Maj. Shawky al-Masry said. He declined to provide further details or say where the bodies are now.
Different border units have found at least 10 bodies on the Libyan side since last week, including that of another small child.
Black Africans in Tunisia have faced increasing discrimination and violence since President Kais Saied’s February remarks that sub-Saharan migrants are part of a plot to alter the country’s identity and demographics. He said “hordes of irregular migrants” bring “violence, crime and unacceptable practices.” The speech to his security council inflamed longstanding tensions throughout the region and country, but particularly between Tunisians and migrants in the port city of Sfax and other eastern coastal towns.
Tunisia has replaced Libya as the main point of departure for people attempting the deadly Mediterranean crossing to Italy, according to United Nations and other figures. Through July 20, more than 15,000 foreign migrants were intercepted by Tunisian authorities — more than double that period last year, Interior Minister Kamel Fekih told Parliament this week. He blasted the influx of sub-Saharan migrants and said Tunisia can’t accept becoming “a transit country.”
Tunisian authorities have responded to rising tensions with a crackdown on Black migrants and refugees, and some have been rounded up from coastal cities and sent to Libya or Algeria — countries with their own long track records of grave human rights violations, abuses against migrants and collective deportations.
Human rights organizations, Libyan authorities and migrants themselves have accused Tunisia of violating international law with the mass expulsions across its borders. Tunisian authorities long skirted a direct response to those accusations, but on Thursday, the Interior Ministry rejected any responsibility about “Africans outside its borders,” a clear reference to those in the desert. The ministry stressed Tunisia’s right to protect borders and insisted it carries out its “humanitarian duty.”
Officials also issued a warning against publication of content from social networks and in news outlets, and made a veiled reference in a recent statement to prison sentences of up to 10 years for anyone circulating information it deems incorrect.
This week, hundreds of people — including pregnant women and children — remain trapped in the border area between Tunisia, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea, while others are stranded on the Algeria side, U.N. agencies said, urging their immediate rescue.
Libyan authorities have stepped up security near Tunisia and found hundreds of migrants stranded in temperatures that surpassed 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). They’ve shared dramatic photos and videos on social media of their desert encounters with exhausted migrants desperate for water, as well as graphic images of the deceased.
Libyan guard Ali Wali said his team has seen through binoculars Tunisian security forcing migrants toward Libya. He said his unit finds more than 100 daily: “Some migrants spent up to three days with no food and water in the desert.”
Without elaborating, Wali said those found are handed to relevant authorities. U.N. agencies and the Libyan Red Crescent say they’ve provided food, water and other assistance.
But according to another security official, migrants were taken to detention centers run by Libya’s Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration, notorious for abuse. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Despite the growing evidence of abuse against some migrants in Tunisia and issues at the border, European leaders have doubled up their show of support for Saied, offering hundreds of millions of euros to stabilize the country with hopes it will also reduce migration.
That didn’t deter Nyimbilo and his family.
Nyimbilo and his wife had already tried to get to Europe. Their previous five attempts to cross the Mediterranean, from Libya to Italy, all failed. Each time, they were intercepted by EU-equipped Libyan forces and imprisoned. Nyimbilo told AP his wife was raped twice in front of their child in detention.
“We had no more hope,” Nyimbilo said of their time in Libya, where Marie couldn’t even attend school because she’s the child of immigrants. “This country has traumatized us so much.”
So, on July 13, they left the coastal city of Zuwara and trekked through the desert with other migrants, making it to the border in the early hours of July 15. They continued to the town of Ben Guerdane, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Tunisia.
The group split up to avoid attracting attention. But they grew desperate for water. Nyimbilo and his family walked to a main road in search of help. That’s when a police car stopped and detained them, he said, and officers found their registration papers.
“When they saw it and realized we had left Libya, they beat us,” Nyimbilo said. The next day, he said, they were loaded onto a truck with other migrants and dropped at the border, without water.
Today, he said, he struggles to cope with his loss and to realize he’ll never see his wife or daughter again. They’d survived so much — failed voyages to Europe, assaults, even the 2019 bombing of the Tajoura detention center. He can hardly accept that Matyla and Marie died in the desert.
“A bottle of water could have saved my family,” he said.
___
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain; Ganley from Paris; and Magdy from Cairo. Sarah El Deeb contributed from Beirut. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-29T06:26:37 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Santa Fe Little League got as close as it ever had to a World Series.
The league, though, will have to wait for the 2024 season, as its last hope came up painfully short Thursday evening.
Once again, the Santa Fe Little League Senior Softball All-Star team battled District 9 Little League from Waco, Texas, for the Little League Southwest Region title, but District 9 halted a sixth-inning rally that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win in Pikeville, La.
It was the third straight region title for District 9, which advances to next week’s Little League World Series in Delaware to defend its World Series title. For many of the players on the Santa Fe Senior Softball team, it was the second straight year they came one win away from advancing.
Eight players were on the Junior Softball squad that lost in that division’s Southwest region. Santa Fe manager Maria Cedillo, who guided both teams, said this loss will sting for a while for the players.
She saw it in the eyes of her daughter, starting pitcher Nadia Cedillo, after the game.
“You could see the tears well up in her eyes,” coach Cedillo said. “It was within our grasp. A couple of hits, that’s what it came down to.”
If there was a consolation for Santa Fe, coach Cedillo said the District 9 coaches told her and the team they were the toughest opponent it has faced over the past two years.
“They showed us a lot of respect in that regard,” Cedillo said. “Their coach couldn’t speak highly enough of our team.”
Still, District 9 got the hits that Santa Fe didn’t. Nadia Cedillo allowed just six hits and one walk in her complete-game effort, but some of those hits were crucial, as was the walk.
She opened the game by surrendering a walk to Ky-Li Alonzo, who then stole second and scored on Journee White’s bunt to first baseman Mia Duran for the game’s first run.
Then, there were the plays District 9’s defense made that Santa Fe didn’t. Duran committed errors on consecutive ground balls, with the second allowing Alonzo to score for a 2-1 lead. Pitcher Christi McGuire added an RBI double that proved to be the crucial run for District 9.
It almost became a 4-1 lead for District 9 in the sixth, as it got its first two batters on base thanks to a single and a fielding error by Santa Fe third baseman Mariella Ruiz. It set up a double steal, which led to a throwing error by Ruiz. But Ka’Sara Brooks was called out at home trying to advance on the play, as Mia Duran backed up the play and threw to catcher Abrielle Herrera for the tag.
Buoyed by the play, Santa Fe made one final push, as Jamie Cisneros singled and moved to third on Abigail DeHerrera’s double to open the bottom of the sixth. Ruiz popped up to first base, then Cisneros scored on Leah Gutierrez’s grounder to McGuire for the second out. She helped when District 9 catcher Diana Salomon lost the ball tagging Cisneros for a 3-2 margin.
Coach Cedillo said District 9’s defense was stout and took away Santa Fe’s “small-ball” strategy.
“They covered bunts very well,” she said. “We knew we were going to have to hit the ball, and it does hang a little bit [because of the humidity]. Still, we were swinging and battling to just give it a good fight.”
Outgoing Santa Fe Little League President Aaron Ortiz said the league’s performance this year, in which it won four state titles and had two teams reach the Southwest Region tournament (Senior Softball and 50/70 Intermediate Baseball), was a sign the league is competing at the highest level. He hopes that means the league will one day get its first all-star team to the World Series — soon.
“I think at some point, we’re going to kick that door down,” Ortiz said. “We’re not just knocking on the door. We’re pounding on it and we’re going to knock it down. And when that happens, it’s going to be an eye-opening experience for a lot of people.” | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/district-9-outlasts-santa-fe-little-league-for-southwest-region-senior-softball-title/article_433287b2-2cd9-11ee-a5f5-dbbe35f6e8e7.html | 2023-07-29T06:26:42 | 1 | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/district-9-outlasts-santa-fe-little-league-for-southwest-region-senior-softball-title/article_433287b2-2cd9-11ee-a5f5-dbbe35f6e8e7.html |
In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like.
Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the state’s southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service — although scientists said the context for Monday’s reading is complicated.
“It was like there was no difference between humidity of the air and going into the water,” said Chelsea Ward of Fort Myers, Florida.
Triple-digit ocean temperatures are stunning even in Florida, where residents are used to the heat and where many retirees find refuge from cold, northern winters. Several other nearby spots reached the mid-90s (about 35 Celsius). A storm finally came through on Wednesday, helping water temperatures drop back down in to the more temperate 80s (about 29 Celsius).
Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh. Every summer, millions grab their swimsuits for a day on the beach and a chance to cool off in the water — a break from everyday work and worry. Pools offer the same relief and a place for friends to gather. But when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost.
Ward, 47, doesn’t keep her beach bag in her car anymore even though she lives minutes away from the beach in Fort Myers. Lately, the water is just too hot. On Sunday, when her friend asked if she wanted to go to the beach, the two decided against it after discovering the water temperature was around 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).
When it’s hot, the body cools down by sweating, which evaporates and releases heat. Dipping into the ocean is typically so refreshing because heat efficiently transfers from your body into the water. But as water temperatures climb, that effect diminishes and you lose less heat less quickly, according to Michael Mullins, a Washington University toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
A hot tub — or a stretch of ocean water hotter than body temperature — reverses the transfer of heat into your body. That’s not a pleasant experience on a sizzling, humid, Florida day.
“It would feel,” Mullins said, “like you are swimming in soup.”
ICE BLOCKS FOR YOUR POOL? WHY NOT
People already tend not to swim that much in the Florida waters that were so extremely hot earlier this week. The water can get muddy and there are alligators and crocodiles in the area, too.
But high temperatures anywhere can make swimming less pleasant. Through Friday, Phoenix endured highs above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) every day this month. Pools are warm. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the northwest in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Stefanee Lynn Thompson, 50, wanted to keep guests cool for a pool party she hosted Sunday. The heat had raised the pool’s temperature to 96 degrees (36 Celsius).
Her friend recommended she go buy ice blocks. She ran to the grocery store, picked up 40 of them and dumped them in the pool. She set up fans, too. All that hard work dropped the pool’s temperature a grand total of 4 degrees (7 degrees Celsius).
“When it’s 120 out, anything helps,” Thompson said.
Recently, ocean temperatures off the western coast of Florida have been a few degrees above normal, sitting around 88 to 90 degrees (31-32 degrees Celsius). It’s not just humans that suffer when the oceans warm. Sea corals are bleaching. They can be hurt when water temperatures rise above the upper 80s (low 30 degrees Celsius).
July has been so hot that scientists announced a global heat record even before the month ended. Climate change is creating a hotter world, warming oceans and making some storms more destructive. Sea surface temperatures are somewhat above average around Florida, but they are far higher in parts of the North Atlantic near Newfoundland where they are as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) hotter than usual.
The extremely high sea surface temperatures recorded earlier this week off Florida’s southern tip were caused by lots of sun, little wind and no storms.
“I’ve never seen temperatures 100 degrees in Florida Bay in the 21 years I’ve been in the Keys,” said Andy Devanas, science officer at the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida.
IS THE WATER THAT WARM EVERYWHERE?
And there are some questions about how representative Monday’s 101.2-degree reading in Manatee Bay were. Water there is shallow and thus heats up quickly. If there’s lots of sediment, that can raise temperatures, too, according to David Roth, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
By contrast, stop by the YMCA pools on the North Shore of Massachusetts near Boston and you’ll descend into water that’s around 78 to 80 degrees (26 to 27 degrees Celsius). The ocean nearby is cooler, too. Sea surface temperatures off Cape Cod, for example, barely touched the mid-70s (about 24 degrees Celsius) this week.
When Maria Argueta, 38, has time off from her job at an open-air decorative plant nursery in Homestead, Florida, she’ll go with her family to swim.
“This year, the heat is stronger,” she said.
The hot ocean water doesn’t bother her, but sometimes she takes her 2-year-old son and other members of the family to the Venetian Pool, a public facility in Coral Gables fed by water from an aquifer that’s always in the 70s. The very cool water, she said, is refreshing.
Florida’s humid weather makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool the body down. People in south Florida know the ocean doesn’t tend to offer real relief from that suffocating heat.
“You aren’t getting much cooling at all,” Roth said. “Nobody goes into the water in South Florida in the summer really except to swim, because it is comfortable to swim, but it is not refreshing.”
___
AP journalist Seth Borenstein contributed reporting from Washington, Dupuy reported from New York and Phillis reported from St. Louis. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-29T06:26:43 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Country music singer Tyler Childers' new music video is getting a lot of attention. The Kentucky native featured the kind of love story you don't often see in country music, and he had help from a couple of prominent Kentucky authors.
Childers focuses on storytelling in his music but doesn't limit himself to his own experiences.
"One thing that makes Tyler a great artist is that he has great empathy. When you have empathy, you realize that there's power in all stories and not just your own story," said Silas House, Kentucky Poet Laureate and a friend of Childers.
For his newest music video, Childers approached House and his husband, author Jason Kyle Howard, to come up with a storyline to fit the love song, "In Your Love," written by Childers and Geno Seale.
"This is one love story that hasn't been told before, and it's past due being told," House said.
Childers wanted to feature a gay love story in the video, written by gay people.
"It's a working-class story, and when you think about gay love stories, that's not the first image or the first jobs or people that come to mind," Howard said.
Howard came up with the idea of featuring two coal miners, Matthew and Jasper. He and House wrote the story together.
"Jasper and Matthew are both closeted coal miners in the 1950s, living in a place where they can't really be very open about who they are," House said.
Matthew and Jasper become a couple, trying to hide their relationship. Another miner notices them and attacks Matthew.
"They defend themselves, and they decide to leave the mining industry and become full-time farmers, so they go from industry to an agrarian lifestyle, and they live on this farm together," House said.
"The notion of being underground and the metaphor of that, living in secret, living in darkness, and then the light being shown. We thought a lot about the symbolism of that," Howard said.
The story turns tragic, though, as Matthew develops black lung. Jasper cares for him until he dies on their farm.
"The song is really about a love that transcends even death. It's a kind of cosmic love," House said.
"The best part has been hearing from people who've said, 'I've never seen myself in a country music video, and today, I did,'" House said.
For two gay men from Appalachia, it's an opportunity to let people know they're seen and valued.
"For me, it would have meant everything to turn on CMT and to see LGBTQ representation, because when I was a little gay boy growing up in the early to mid-90s, I didn't have that. I wasn't able to see that reflected in my native culture," Howard said.
"I think it was important to him (Childers) to show representation from the region that rarely gets shown. The best thing about this video is a lot of people are seeing themselves for the first time in a country music video. To our knowledge, it's the first ever storyline like this in a country music video released by a major label," House said.
House said the timing of the project was important.
"We're also living in a time of great anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation, and so, I think, we all felt like we were all part of fighting back, and that's a really great feeling," he said.
"We need more love in the world today, and so this was a vehicle for love," Howard said.
"One thing that art can do is make people feel seen and make people feel loved. That's a really important thing," House said.
You can watch the video here. | https://www.lex18.com/news/with-help-of-kentucky-authors-tyler-childers-new-music-video-breaks-new-ground | 2023-07-29T06:26:45 | 1 | https://www.lex18.com/news/with-help-of-kentucky-authors-tyler-childers-new-music-video-breaks-new-ground |
BALTIMORE — With Aaron Judge back in the mix, the Yankees had to make a few roster moves on Friday.
The Yankees activated Judge for their series opener in Baltimore. To make space on the big league roster, they demoted infield prospect Oswald Peraza.
The Yankees could have removed an outfielder with Judge back, but maintaining depth was important there, as he will need some DH and off days as he returns from a torn ligament in his right big toe that’s not 100% healed yet.
Outfielders Greg Allen, Billy McKinney and, to a lesser extent, Jake Bauers could have all been alternatives for Peraza, but none of them have options. Peraza does, so he became the odd man out again after losing the Yankees’ starting shortstop battle to Anthony Volpe in the spring.
While Peraza has played well at Triple-A, he hasn’t done much with limited major league opportunities this season. Still, Aaron Boone is pleased with the professionalism Peraza has shown all year as he’s bounced back and forth between the majors and minors.
“Just proud of the way he’s not been discouraged by anything and gone out and had another valuable, really strong season,” Boone said of Peraza, who has slashed .261/.352/.495 for the RailRiders. “Like he’s played well, and that’s not an easy thing to do.”
CALHOUN CUT
The Yankees also designated Willie Calhoun for assignment on Friday following the conclusion of a rehab assignment for a quad injury. Calhoun had hit well over a stretch prior to the injury, but he’s better served as a designated hitter than as an outfielder. Also out of options, there wasn’t any room left for him on the 40-man roster.
“He did a nice job with us,” Boone said. “Really, really enjoyed the person, too. He was a guy that was a lot of fun to be around while also taking advantage of some opportunities and doing a really nice job with us. So those are the hard decisions that sometimes unfortunately have to come up in the course of the season.”
I(NFIELD)KF
With Judge back, Peraza gone and Josh Donaldson on the injured list, Boone said that Isiah Kiner-Falefa will get more looks at third base moving forward. An infielder by trade, Kiner-Falefa has mostly played the outfield this season after working out there in spring training.
A Gold Glover at the hot corner in 2020, Kiner-Falefa has played left, center, right, second, short and third this season. He’s also pitched four times.
COINCIDENTAL COVERUP
Carlos Rodón drew the admiration of the popular Uni Watch blog after he apparently covered up the Yankees’ Starr Insurance patch, an advertisement, during the early innings of his last start. “Hero Pitcher Covers Up Yanks’ Uni Ad,” read part of the website’s headline for a story about the apparently rebellious act.
However, Rodón told the Daily News that covering the patch was not intentional.
“I had no idea,” he said.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/28/yankees-notebook-oswald-peraza-willie-calhoun-caught-in-roster-shuffle-with-aaron-judges-return/ | 2023-07-29T06:26:45 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/28/yankees-notebook-oswald-peraza-willie-calhoun-caught-in-roster-shuffle-with-aaron-judges-return/ |
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Five people were wounded, two critically, in a late Friday shooting in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood that saw “dozens and dozens” of bullets fired, said police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Two of the victims were in critical condition and three appeared to be stable, said Diaz. Four of those injured were taken to Harborview Medical Center and the other was treated at the scene.
Police were searching for at least two suspects.
The people injured were in their 20s and had been attending a community outreach event for distributing food clothes and toys, Diaz told members of the media in a news conference at about 10:30 p.m. The giveaway is held each Friday, he said.
It was not immediately known, Diaz said, if the victims were targeted or what unfolded just before the shooting.
The shooting, which occurred just before 9 p.m. in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South, drew a massive police response and brought Mayor Bruce Harrell and Diaz to the scene.
“Honestly, this is really disturbing,” Diaz said, “when you have victims that were really just trying to do an outreach effort, trying to help people…get people on the right path- And this is what they end up getting hit with.”
Diaz lamented the violence, noting that police recently have recovered the largest amount of guns they have in 15 years, Diaz said.
The shooting occurred in front of a building once home to a King Donut shop.
This is a developing story and will be updated. | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/5-people-shot-in-seattles-rainier-beach-neighborhood/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-29T06:26:50 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/5-people-shot-in-seattles-rainier-beach-neighborhood/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Santa Fe’s Mariella Ruiz slides into home in 2022 against Roadrunner in the Little League Juniors Softball Southwest Regional Tournament in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe All Stars won 16-0 in four innings. This year, Ruiz advanced to the national Little League Home Run Derby that will be held next month during the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
All-Stars infielder Aubri Prada snags a grounder as Albuquerque’s Andrea Garza heads to second July 12 during Santa Fe’s 8-10 All-Stars state championship win in Las Vegas, N.M.
Santa Fe’s Mariella Ruiz slides into home in 2022 against Roadrunner in the Little League Juniors Softball Southwest Regional Tournament in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe All Stars won 16-0 in four innings. This year, Ruiz advanced to the national Little League Home Run Derby that will be held next month during the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
All-Stars infielder Aubri Prada snags a grounder as Albuquerque’s Andrea Garza heads to second July 12 during Santa Fe’s 8-10 All-Stars state championship win in Las Vegas, N.M.
Kaia Ortiz’s softball role models don’t go to college or compete on the international stage.
It’s Nadia Cedillo and Leah Gutierrez from the Santa Fe Little League Senior Softball All-Star team.
The 10-year old, who is the daughter of outgoing Santa Fe Little League President Aaron Ortiz, wants to emulate what those two have done on the diamond, especially after the pair almost helped make history Thursday evening. Santa Fe lost to reigning World Series champion West Texas District 9 Little League 3-2 in the Southwest Region Tournament championship. It showed just how far the sport has come in Santa Fe in such a short time.
And the older players are setting the tone for the rest of the players in the league.
“Younger girls, like my daughter, they look up to them and they try to mimic them and they play the game to try to be like them,” Ortiz said.
It’s a far cry from where softball was on the sports pecking order in the previous decade.
Ortiz said he remembers not even having a team competing in that division in the league five years ago. Now, the Junior Softball team reached the Southwest Regional championship last year, and the bulk of those players were on the Senior Softball group that almost became the league’s first entry into the Little League World Series in a baseball or softball division.
After a season in which the league won three state titles and had two teams — the Senior Softball and the 50/70 Intermediate Baseball All-Stars — advance to the regional tournament, Santa Fe Little League appears to growing in stature locally and regionally.
Softball has seen a sudden surge in popularity — and success.
“This year, close to 300 girls were playing softball,” Ortiz said. “We saw it in all divisions, and all of them were competitive. That was nice to see, and the girls the are enjoying playing and they are pushing themselves to get better.”
The result was two state softball titles (Senior and 8-10 divisions) and a Junior Softball team that reached the state championship game earlier this month.
Maria Cedillo, who coached both region championship teams, said the current group of older players have been together for several years. In the case of Nadia Cedillo, her daughter, and Gutierrez, they have been playing together since they were 4 years old.
While the team is full of experience, coach Cedillo said the chemistry the team possesses helps it stand out. The bulk of the Senior Softball team plays on club teams, and they also played together with the now defunct local American Amateur Baseball Congress along with Little League.
She said it was an important quality when playing the likes of District 9, which rolled through its opponents by a combined 52-0 score in last year’s Southwest Region tournament. In fact, the 3-2 score in the championship game was the closest District 9 has come to losing in two years.
“Athletically and physically, their girls are bigger and stronger-looking than what we in New Mexico have,” coach Cedillo said. “We’re shorter, smaller and a lot younger, but we play with a ton of heart and determination.”
Ortiz said the league also made a concerted effort to work with club teams over the years to accommodate players who want to do both. The league plays games during the week, which leaves the weekends for club tournaments. Ortiz and coach Cedillo said that arrangement allows players to get more playing time overall, as well as prevent them from having to choose between the two levels.
Maria Cedillo, who coaches both levels, said giving kids more of a chance to play helps with their development.
“The more reps we can get, the better we can become because we’re already behind [compared to players in other states],” she said. “When Little League is going on, we get all of our reps during the week. The weekend is the opportunity to have a more elevated level of competition, especially if there are tournaments to be played.”
All of those increased repetitions have showed on an individual level, as well. Santa Fe Little League won two straight Little League West Regional Home Run Derbies (Jaslene Ramirez in 2021, Nadia Cedillo in 2022) and Mariella Ruiz advanced to the national derby that will be held during the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., next month.
Ortiz’s daughter is one of three New Mexico players selected in her age group for the U.S. Specialty Sports All-American Games scheduled in Florida next week. She will play for the South region, which encompasses New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
That lends hope that the recent spate of success Santa Fe Little League has experienced will continue. Ortiz said while softball has been at the forefront of the league’s improvement, he sees similar gains coming in baseball, especially after the Intermediate Baseball team reached a regional tournament.
While his term ends in October, Ortiz said he will continue to coach and be involved in Little League. And he hopes he will see all of the work the league’s administrators, coaches, players and parents have been put forward will be rewarded with something special — like a World Series berth in any division.
“It takes a lot of time and effort on everybody’s part,” Ortiz said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds.” | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/senior-softball-teams-success-legacy-shaped-by-surge-in-sports-popularity/article_745cc568-2d98-11ee-9bdd-331519eb67c4.html | 2023-07-29T06:26:51 | 1 | https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sports/senior-softball-teams-success-legacy-shaped-by-surge-in-sports-popularity/article_745cc568-2d98-11ee-9bdd-331519eb67c4.html |
The trades kept coming Friday for the Chicago White Sox.
They were involved in a five-player deal with the Dodgers, sending starter Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly to Los Angeles for minor-league right-handed pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure and veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson.
The Sox also dealt reliever Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros for minor-league catcher Korey Lee.
“A continuation of what we started (Wednesday) in terms of taking players that quite frankly we never envisioned needing to move on from when we acquired them,” general manager Rick Hahn said Friday. “But given the type of season we’ve had, it makes sense to improve our future at the cost of the current ‘23 club.
“We have mixed feelings and some disappointment involved in trading guys like Lance and Kendall and Joe. However a great deal of excitement certainly at our end of the building about the prospects we received in exchange.”
The Sox have traded five pitchers in three days as part of a sell-off for a team that entered Friday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians at 22 games under .500. Friday’s moves come after the Sox sent starter Lucas Giolito and reliver Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.
“As players, we didn’t do our job here and make a run as we should have,” Lynn said. “But they’re getting pieces to do what they need to do to build around the young talent that’s still here. There’s still a lot of talent in that locker room.”
Lynn has one of the highest ERAs in baseball among qualified pitchers this season at 6.47. But he’s also among the major-league leaders in strikeouts (144) and innings (119 2/3).
The Sox acquired Lynn in a trade in December 2020. He played a major role in the Sox winning their first division title since 2008, going 11-6 in 2021 with a 2.69 ERA. He fell five innings short of leading the American League in ERA.
Lynn made the AL All-Star team and placed third in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2021. A knee injury impacted last season. This season has been filled with inconsistencies, including surrendering 28 home runs.
“There’s still stuff that I’m doing well,” Lynn said. “There’s some things I need to clean up so hopefully I’m able to do that and help the team down the stretch here.
“But I still have the stuff to get outs in the big leagues so I’m going to go and make sure I do everything I can to be successful here down the stretch.”
Kelly has a 4.97 ERA, one save, 11 holds and 41 strikeouts in 31 appearances this season.
He won a World Series title with the Dodgers in 2020.
“I think my personality type is, love the adrenaline, love the big moments so I’m super stoked to go back,” Kelly said.
Lynn and Kelly will provide the Dodgers with plenty of big-game postseason experience: Lynn has pitched in 27 postseason games and Kelly 40.
The Sox got three players in return, including the Dodgers No. 9 prospect in Nastrini. The 23-year-old is 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 17 starts this season with Double-A Tulsa in the Texas League.
Leasure, 24, is 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA, 56 strikeouts and nine saves in 29 relief appearances with Tulsa.
“Nastrini, we view him as having a very solid four-pitch mix, command of all four with significant upside,” Hahn said. “Leasure is another power arm. Obviously has some gaudy strikeout numbers in Double A.”
Thompson, 32, has been on the injured list since June 4 with a strained left oblique. He is slashing .155/.310/.366 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 36 games this season. He played for the Sox in 2015 and 2018.
“Between the lines, he provides us with some versatility, the ability to play all three outfield positions,” Hahn said. “Complement the left-handed hitters we have in the corners and back up Luis (Robert Jr.) in center field. As importantly, Trayce is a class individual. He’s a great teammate.”
Like Kelly, Graveman is going back to a familiar spot having spent a portion of 2021 with the Astros.
“Going back to Houston, I know a lot of people there, the relationships have been built,” Graveman said. “So that’s exciting.
“I played in the World Series for that team. It’s an organization that also has believed in me in the past and trusted me with taking the ball and pitching for that team. I’m thankful for them once again believing in me on that front too.”
Graveman has spent the bulk of this season as the top ninth-inning option. He is 3-4 with a 3.48 ERA, eight saves and 42 strikeouts in 45 games.
In exchange, the Sox get the No. 5 prospect in the Astros organization in Lee.
The 25-year-old is slashing .283/.328/.406 with 18 doubles, five home runs, 32 RBIs, 37 runs and 12 stolen bases in 68 games this season with Triple-A Sugar Land in the Pacific Coast League.
“Very strong catch-and-throw type,” Hahn said. “Good leader on the field, high energy.”
It’s been an active week for the Sox. Hahn said it was impossible to prognosticate whether any more moves are on the way before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“We still have players of interest of other clubs, and we’re still having talks,” he said. “There’s a few days left until the deadline. So we’re going to continue talking, and if there’s something that makes sense, we’ll pull the trigger.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/chicago-white-sox-at-the-trade-deadline-lance-lynn-joe-kelly-go-to-la-dodgers-and-kendall-graveman-sent-to-houston-astros/ | 2023-07-29T06:26:52 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/chicago-white-sox-at-the-trade-deadline-lance-lynn-joe-kelly-go-to-la-dodgers-and-kendall-graveman-sent-to-houston-astros/ |
PHOENIX — They sort of travel in packs and dress similarly — stretchy golf pants, quarter zips, sometimes with their team logos, and sometimes a cap for sun protection. Though in the climate-controlled air of Chase Field, there isn’t a need for a hat.
They appear at major-league and minor-league parks throughout the season, carrying backpacks filled with notebooks attached to clipboards, laptops and radar guns. Like an endangered species, they are fewer in numbers than years past, particularly post-COVID.
But in the days leading up to the MLB trade deadline, professional scouts from most of the 30 teams are everywhere. With teams either looking to be buyers, sellers or both, the scouts use the precious few days to see potential trade targets in person for one last glimpse and report.
So many times, far too many to remember, it’s a trade never consummated, a target never acquired and a wasted report that goes with the rest.
On Friday, a large group of professional scouts from opposing teams — most of them contenders — were in attendance to watch the Mariners pick up a 5-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.
A similar number of scouts were with the Mariners during the previous three-game series in Minneapolis, with some teams sending a fresh set of eyes to Arizona to watch possible trade targets.
Most were there to see Logan Gilbert make his 21st start of the season. The lanky right-hander and former first-round pick may or may not be available in a trade — depending on who you ask.
But if Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners president of baseball operations, is open to moving Gilbert, there would be plenty of contenders and some noncontenders looking to add a proven starter with four years of club control before he reaches free agency.
“Not really thinking about it,” catcher Cal Raleigh said of the team’s record and direction. “We know we want to be buyers at the deadline. We want to compete. We want to keep going in this thing. It’s still far from over and we’ve played a lot of good baseball lately and we’ve just got to keep it going. We know that we’ve won some games before and backtracked. We have to keep our head down and keep winning games.”
Why would the Mariners want to trade Gilbert? They don’t. He’s a player they drafted, developed and depend on.
But even with a third straight win that pushed their record to 53-50, which is only the second time this team has been three games over .500 this season, the Mariners are a flawed team. They are lacking an offensive punch with no upper-level player prospects in their system who are ready to help this year, next year or possibly 2025.
So if a team were to overwhelm them with an offer for young, controllable position-player talent, at least two, and maybe a pitching prospect, the Mariners would have to listen. And that might not be high enough, according to reports.
Why not rookies Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo? Well, both have limited experience and workload issues that wouldn’t allow them to be immediate help to a contender.
While he doesn’t seek out the information, Gilbert has family, friends and teammates who read and relay the reports.
“You hear things,” he said. “It’s part of the business. I’m not too worried about it. I just kind of keep my head down and trust in God’s plan and what he’s got for me. That’s pretty much it.”
Gilbert made 32 starts last year, pitching 185 2/3 innings. He is poised to pitch close to 200 innings this season. He’s got power stuff that is still evolving.
Scouts watched as Gilbert improved to 9-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.83, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless over the first six innings while allowing seven hits with five strikeouts.
Given a 4-0 lead before he threw a pitch, Gilbert relied heavily on his fastball and splitter — particularly to left-handed hitters.
He was removed from the game with one out in the seventh and Seattle leading 5-0, after allowing a single to Jose Herrera and a double to Geraldo Perdomo.
When Matt Brash uncorked a slider in the dirt that got past Raleigh, Herrera raced home for Arizona’s first run of the game. Raleigh’s throw to Brash, who was covering on the play, was offline and got past him and rolled toward second base. It allowed Perdomo to race home with the second run, cutting Seattle’s lead to 5-2.
Both runs were charged to Gilbert. Brash managed to limit the damage to just the two runs.
Was it his final start? It seems unlikely to happen, though the early deals confirm that it is shaping up to be a seller’s market. Should the Mariners sell? It’s not just Gilbert. Closer Paul Sewald is another high commodity and catcher Tom Murphy, who is a free agent after the season, also will attract interest. Sewald had a save and Murphy continues to hit well.
The Mariners aren’t sure what Dipoto thinks of this team. A year ago, they knew he would add. This year, they know they’ve played themselves into a purgatory. A year ago, it would have seemed impossible for the Mariners to trade Gilbert. It still seems that way to him and his teammates.
“We’re closing in on it,” Gilbert said. “I love it here. This is all I’ve known, so it’s got a special place in my heart. Hopefully I’ll stay here, but just given everything I have, and I love the guys, too, so it’s just what I’m used to. Hopefully in a few days, I’ll be past it.”
The Mariners jumped on Diamondbacks starter Tommy Henry literally from his first pitch of the game, which J.P. Crawford ripped into right field for a leadoff double. Julio Rodriguez followed with a single to left and stole second. After Eugenio Suarez struck out, Teoscar Hernandez was walked to load the bases.
They didn’t remain loaded for long.
Batting right-handed, Raleigh pulled a hard ground ball just inside the third-base bag and down the left-field line for a double that scored two runs. Getting the start at designated hitter, Murphy laced a double into the gap in left-center to score two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
Henry would settle in after the first-inning debacle. Turning to his slider, which the Mariners don’t like, he retired 17 of the next 19 batters he faced.
The Mariners picked up another run in the top of the seventh. Jose Caballero walked, stole second and scored on Suarez’s soft single to center. | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/logan-gilbert-shows-mlb-scouts-another-strong-start-as-mariners-beat-diamondbacks/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-29T06:26:56 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/logan-gilbert-shows-mlb-scouts-another-strong-start-as-mariners-beat-diamondbacks/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Only one thought ran through Adbert Alzolay’s head as he watched his last pitch fly toward the grass beyond Busch Stadium’s center-field wall.
“How did he hit that ball?”
Alzolay located his 1-2 fastball up and away to St. Louis Cardinals pinch-hitting lefty Alec Burleson, exactly where the Cubs closer wanted it with two outs. Burleson instead barreled the ball to dead center, sending Mike Tauchman drifting toward the yellow 400-foot marker emblazoned on the wall.
He perfectly timed his jump to rob Burleson of a walk-off two-run homer for the final out. Tauchman’s game-saving catch in the 3-2 victory Friday night secured the Cubs’ season-high seventh consecutive win and moved them above .500 for the first time since May 6.
The Cubs dugout emptied onto the field when Tauchman barrel-rolled off the ground and pulled the ball out of his glove, setting off a celebration. Miguel Amaya hopped out of his crouch behind the plate while Alzolay pounded his chest toward the rookie catcher and then greeted Tauchman with a high-five and hug on the infield dirt. Nico Hoerner could only stand there and take it all in after minutes earlier he had provided to that point the game’s defining defensive sequence with a nifty double play for the first outs of the ninth.
“Probably the most dramatic single play I’ve been a part of in the big leagues,” Hoerner said of Tauchman’s catch. “As far as just the game and where we’re at in the season and obviously pretty big implications, just a pretty amazing moment.”
Initially, as he tracked the ball, Tauchman didn’t think it would get that close to the wall. But as soon as he felt the warning track dirt beneath his feet, Tauchman knew he had 2½ to 3 steps before he needed to jump.
“As outfielders we’re taught get to the wall and then you have time to make the adjustments you need to,” Tauchman said. “So you have that internal clock or feeling of, I’ve got to go up now and it just coincided with the ball coming down. I didn’t know I was right at the wall until I turned to catch the ball, but just happy to make the play for the team in that spot.”
In the ninth inning, with the Cubs clinging to a one-run lead, the Cardinals challenged them on the four balls put in play with expected batting averages of .630, .430, .490 and .490. A team built on defense up the middle saved the day.
With their victory Friday night versus the Cardinals, the Cubs (51-50) clinched their first season-series win against them since 2017. They sit 3½ back of the final wild-card spot and 4½ games out of first place in the division.
Manager David Ross bluntly put the game in perspective: “We don’t win that game early in the season.”
“When things are going good, stuff like that — guys are playing with a lot of focus and concentration,” Ross said. “There’s no quit in this group.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/mike-tauchmans-walk-off-homer-robbery-saves-game-in-chicago-cubs-7th-straight-win-moving-them-above-500-for-1st-time-since-may-6/ | 2023-07-29T06:26:58 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/mike-tauchmans-walk-off-homer-robbery-saves-game-in-chicago-cubs-7th-straight-win-moving-them-above-500-for-1st-time-since-may-6/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand went from Women’s World Cup darlings to the brink of elimination in a five-day span and its shot at advancing into the knockout round hinges on its Sunday match against Switzerland.
Switzerland sits comfortably atop Group A following a win over the Philippines and a draw against Norway, and anything but a loss to New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland would push La Nati through to the next round.
New Zealand’s trek is far more perilous after the Football Ferns lost 1-0 to the Philippines, a tournament-newcomer. It was a massive letdown for New Zealand, which opened the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Norway that captivated its nation.
New Zealand and the Philippines are tied for second in Group A headed into Sunday’s games that determine which two teams advance. The Philippines play Norway at the same time New Zealand tries to advance to the knockout round for the first time in tournament history.
It’s the fourth meeting between the nations, first since 2014, with New Zealand twice beating the Swiss in the Cyprus Women’s Cup.
Switzerland, which has a clean sheet so far in the tournament, is trying to reach the knockout round in its second tournament appearance.
NORWAY-PHILIPPINES
There’s drama in the Norway camp ahead of Sunday’s must-win Group A match against the Philippines, a first-time Women’s World Cup participant that has a shot at advancing into the knockout round.
It was Norway, the 12th-ranked team in the world, that was supposed to have an easier path out of group play. But the Grasshoppers lost to co-host New Zealand in the tournament’s opening game and a draw with Switzerland has them sitting last in the group.
The frustration boiled over when winger Caroline Graham Hansen had an angry outburst for being dropped from the starting lineup against Switzerland.
“I feel I have been stepped on for a whole year – everyone says all the time that we have to stand together as a team and as a nation, but I feel I’ve been on the receiving end,” Graham Hansen seethed. “Nothing comes for free in life, but I thought I had earned a certain amount of respect, but maybe that wasn’t the case.”
Although the Barcelona player apologized for her comments the very next day, it seems that many of her teammates are struggling with their belief that Graham Hansen was not wrong to be upset but should have handled it internally.
Hege Riise, the coach who took over the Norwegian team last August, has tried to put the matter to rest.
“We have worked through it and we will continue to talk together,” Riise said. “We are always open and receptive to an apology. She has given that and she will give the same to the players. It is accepted.”
Norway must beat the Philippines to have any chance to advance out of the group.
The Philippines, meanwhile, surprisingly are tied with New Zealand for second in the group following a shock 1-0 win over the Football Ferns. The victory gave the Philippines three points, but New Zealand holds the edge in the tiebreaker.
Even so, a victory over Norway for the 46th-ranked team in the world could give the edge to the Philippines depending on the results of New Zealand’s game against Switzerland.
The two Group A matches are being played simultaneously.
GERMANY-COLOMBIA
Colombia star forward Linda Caicedo trained with her team the day before the showdown with Germany for top spot in Group H.
The 18-year-old cancer survivor dropped to the ground this week in a training session but appears to be fit for the match in Sydney. Caicedo scored in Colombia’s 2-0 win over South Korea in its opening game.
A win over Germany would guarantee Colombia a spot in the knockout round with a game to spare; a draw or loss would mean Group H won’t be settled until the last day of group play on Aug. 3.
Germany, which thumped Morocco 6-0 in its opening match, would advance with a win over the Colombians.
“Colombia has a certain type of passion and they really bring that onto the pitch. I find that quite impressive,” German midfielder Lina Magull said Saturday though a translator. “It’s just part of how they are and how they play football. That is the difference from European football, where we are more focused on tactical issues, technical concentration. But football is not just one way of playing, and that’s the beauty of this game.”
Colombia has also gained a reputation at this World Cup for physical play: a tune-up match behind closed doors against Ireland before the start of the tournament was called off after 20 minutes when a player was hurt and the Irish complained it was getting out of hand.
Germany features Alexandra Popp, one of the best players in the world, and she scored twice in the win over Morocco. But the Germans will be without starting left back Felicitas Rauch, who injured her knee in training.
Germany has advanced to the knockout round at all eight previous editions of the World Cup, winning it twice.
SOUTH KOREA-MOROCCO
South Korea and Morocco play Sunday in Adelaide, South Australia state, in a contest between the two last-place teams in Group H.
Both teams lost their opening matches of the tournament: South Korea was a 2-0 loser to Colombia, while Germany routed Morocco 6-0.
Morocco, one of eight teams making its debut in the tournament, was extremely overwhelmed by the Germans, and South Korea appears to be a bit more prepared. South Korea lost its game on defensive errors — two of which led to Colombia’s goals. It was South Korea’s fifth consecutive World Cup loss dating to the 2015 tournament.
Morocco has not only lost six consecutive games, but the Atlas Lionesses have been held scoreless in that span.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/soccer/womens-world-cup-co-host-new-zealand-tries-to-avoid-elimination-in-match-against-switzerland/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-29T06:27:03 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/soccer/womens-world-cup-co-host-new-zealand-tries-to-avoid-elimination-in-match-against-switzerland/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
The Mets might be gearing up to become a trade deadline seller, but they didn’t play like it Friday night at Citi Field.
Pete Alonso’s two home runs and Max Scherzer’s seven-inning gem helped the Mets defeat the Washington Nationals 5-1 in the second game of a four-game series. The Mets (49-54) lead the series 2-0 heading into what could be an eventful weekend.
With the most reliable part of an unreliable bullpen now gone, the Mets needed a big starting pitching performance. Scherzer (9-4) delivered against the team he won a World Series with four years ago, holding the Nats (43-61) to one run on six hits over seven solid innings. One day after his 39th birthday, Scherzer lowered his ERA to 4.01 on the season.
This further fueled the speculation surrounding his future. Scherzer is unlikely to be dealt before the Tuesday trade deadline and has full no-trade protection. He also has been vocal about his commitment to the Mets and winning in Queens. However, it’s tough to quiet the noise at this time of year.
Alonso now has 30 bombs on the season and became the second player in franchise history to hit 30 or more home runs in four different seasons. Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza is the only other Mets player to accomplish the feat.
His first blast came in the fifth. With Scherzer and left-hander MacKenzie Gore (6-9) deadlocked in a scoreless duel, Alonso put the Mets on the board with a three-run second-decker. It went 453 feet to left center to put the Mets up 3-0.
The only run Scherzer allowed was a solo shot to Luis Garcia in the seventh. Alonso took away all hope of the Nats coming back with another monster two-run homer in the bottom of the frame. He took Rico Garcia back 423 feet to center field.
With a four-run lead, the Mets didn’t need Robertson, their former closer, but still went to their best high-leverage arm in left-hander Brooks Raley, who earned the save after the Mets traded Robertson one night prior. Raley gave up a one-out single to Garcia before inducing an inning-ending double play.
It might have been his final time in a Mets uniform.
The roster could look a lot different over the next few days. The team hasn’t punted the season but they know the odds of reaching postseason contention aren’t good. We’ll learn a lot about the Mets in the coming days, but as for Friday, it was a feel-good win that followed a tough night.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/pete-alonso-mashes-2-homers-as-mets-take-series-opener-against-nationals/ | 2023-07-29T06:27:04 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/pete-alonso-mashes-2-homers-as-mets-take-series-opener-against-nationals/ |
Tuesday’s trade deadline is fast approaching, and the Orioles are buyers for the first time in six years.
It’s uncharted territory for Mike Elias as the Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager. He considered buying at last year’s deadline but ultimately maintained the status quo of the Orioles’ rebuild rather than make a push for a playoff spot. A year later, Baltimore owns the best record in the American League and is atop an AL East that is on pace to be one of the best divisions in the history of the sport.
When Elias took over a rebuilding club in November 2018 coming off a 115-loss season, he didn’t envision less than five years later he’d be leading a club on pace to win nearly 100 games.
“I’d like to say I set out to be in first place five years from starting, especially with everything that we went through, but I did not. I never sat down and wrote that out,” Elias said during a news conference four days before MLB’s trade deadline Tuesday at 6 p.m. “I’m very happy with the spot that this organization’s in right now. … But it’s very clear to me that this season’s not over, and we have a lot of work left to do. We haven’t won anything yet.”
Elias touched on a wide range of topics Friday, from the evolving deadline to what he could add to the Orioles’ roster to his willingness to trade prospects. Here are three takeaways:
A delicate balance
When asked if the Orioles, as currently constructed, are good enough to compete for a World Series in 2023, Elias had a simple response: “Yes, I do,” he said.
However, that doesn’t mean the fifth-year general manager is automatically going to rest on his club’s laurels and sit on his hands as the circuit’s other top teams gobble up the top players on the market.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t want to improve,” Elias continued. “The [Los Angeles] Dodgers are pretty good, too, and they’re bringing some extra help in [trading for Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly and Cleveland Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario], so obviously we’re looking at that. I think very clearly this team has revealed itself to be as capable as anyone in arguably all of baseball right now to make a playoff run.
“We’re right there with anyone I think.”
But there’s a delicate balance Elias and executives of other deadline buyers are attempting to strike, calculating what is the right amount to give up to bolster the 2023 club. The Orioles entered the season with a 10.4% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. Those odds are now 82.9%, with a 3.4% chance to win the World Series.
“We’re trying to win, we’re in first place, it’s awesome,” Elias said. “We want to make a deep playoff run, we want to get in the World Series. Whatever you want to call it, we want to do that. But unless we have information that the world is ending in November, a big part of my job is worrying about the overall health of the team over the next several years.”
Baltimore owns the sport’s No. 1 farm system, according to Baseball America, with seven players inside the publication’s top 100 prospects. How many of those players — and, even more difficult to discern, whom to part ways with — is the question for Elias in the coming days.
“I think with the position that our players have put us in right here and how well things are going so far and where we are, I think it’s fair to say that if we get within reach of something, we’re going to reach for it a little bit to help this team,” Elias said.
With that said, though, Elias added: “We can’t set the minor league system on fire just because we’re in first place. It’s just our job to balance all that.”
A push for pitching
The Orioles have already made one trade this month, acquiring right-handed reliever Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics. Fujinami’s potential is perhaps as high as anyone in the Orioles’ bullpen not named Félix Bautista, but the Japan native has mostly struggled in his first MLB season.
Elias, whose news conference Friday was his first since the club acquired Fujinami, said he hopes the hard-throwing pitcher becomes a high-leverage reliever for the Orioles, joining All-Stars Yennier Cano and Bautista.
Elias said he “would bet heavily” that any additions the Orioles make at the deadline would be for another pitcher — whether that’s a starter or a reliever.
“I think it’s no secret that that would be the areas of the team where we could, A, either use more depth, or B, look for upgrades. So we’re working on that right now,” he said.
While the Orioles lack a top-line starting pitcher like most of the best teams have, the price for one is much higher than for another bullpen arm. Elias said he views Baltimore’s middle relief as an area for improvement.
“We’ve got a great back half of the bullpen, but there’s a couple of spots that are in flux,” Elias said. “Any team can improve the middle part of their part of their bullpen. … Obviously, we’ve got the best closer in the game right now, and relative to him, the middle spots are an area that we can look around for and we’re doing that in addition to the Fujinami trade.”
The Orioles’ potential need for a starting pitcher could also be greater considering three of the members of their rotation — Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez — are within 20 innings of their single-season highs for innings pitched at any level. Elias said those starters’ workloads are a consideration, but added that there isn’t “any science” that proves innings limits keep pitchers healthy.
A plethora of prospects
An argument for the Orioles to make a splash at the deadline is based on the fact that they have such a rich farm system to pull from. After left-hander Cade Povich’s promotion to Triple-A, 10 of the Orioles’ top 17 prospects, according to Baseball America, are with the Norfolk Tides. That list includes third baseman Coby Mayo, outfielder-first baseman Heston Kjerstad, shortstop Joey Ortiz and second baseman Connor Norby — all of whom are or were ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects.
Much of Elias’ first four years were spent on talent acquisition, and that system has worked in developing a potent pipeline. That hard work, though, doesn’t make it harder to part ways with those players if that’s what it takes to get a deal done at the deadline, Elias said.
“That’s not going to make us hug those guys more than we should because we did a good job scouting and developing them,” he said. “I don’t believe that’s going to make us any more reluctant to make a trade. I think we’re making trades because we feel that the value that we’re getting back in a different way, shape and form is worth the value that we’re losing.”
“It’s tough trading away young players,” he later added. “But I think what’s nice for us is we have some players that we rate really, really highly in our system and they’re also on the top 100 lists and stuff. It’s not like us overrating our own guys.”
Elias described the state of the deadline as “thin” with few “pure sellers,” creating a “seller’s market.” However, that could change this weekend.
“There’s a couple really interesting teams right now that still haven’t declared what they’re doing,” Elias said. “We’re talking to a lot of them and kind of have some eyes on some stuff. We’ll see what they end up doing. We may end up having waited and they don’t sell.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/three-takeaways-from-orioles-gm-mike-elias-pre-trade-deadline-news-conference/ | 2023-07-29T06:27:10 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/three-takeaways-from-orioles-gm-mike-elias-pre-trade-deadline-news-conference/ |
Happy Birthday to the queen Winnie Harlow.
The Jamaican beauty hails from Mississauga, Canada, and was first discovered by OG model Tyra Banks during the 21st season of America’s Next Top Model. Becoming a model was a stark contrast from how she was treated as a child because she has a skin condition called vitiligo which causes some parts of her skin to be completely white and pale. It all started when Banks found her on Instagram.
While Harlow had mixed feelings about the show’s effect on her career, she’s forever appreciative of the experience and chance to shine.
“It has nothing to do with being ungrateful, and more over [sic] nothing to do with ‘shade’ to Tyra,” Harlow explained in a comment to a fan. “She was the first person of higher status to make me feel like I could be a model and not only am I grateful for that, it’s something I’ll never forget.”
From there, her career skyrocketed, and she’s since scored major spreads in Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Dazed, Complex, a member of Victoria Secret’s 2018 Fashion Show, and has worked with brands like Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Swarovski, Nike, and Puma.
Speaking of Puma, she’s also romantically linked to one of the athletic brand’s pillar athletes, Los Angeles Laker and MNA CHamp Kyle Kuzma. The two made it Instagram official last summer, and she even visited him in the NBA Bubble.
In honor of Winnie’s birthday, we gathered some of the super model’s hottest Instagram photos:
CASSIUS Gems: Model Winnie Harlow’s Hottest Instagram Pictures was originally published on cassiuslife.com | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/cassius-gems-model-winnie-harlows-hottest-instagram-pictures/ | 2023-07-29T06:27:56 | 0 | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/cassius-gems-model-winnie-harlows-hottest-instagram-pictures/ |
We may be among the hottest month ever recorded, but it’s never too early to start planning your winter fits.
Thankfully, one of the most iconic street brands, Billionaire Boys Club, is hooking up with legendary winter weather outfitter Moncler to ensure you’re still fresh when the temperatures finally drop.
Both brands have yet to announce the collaboration officially, but thanks to the Instagram account hidden.ny –which is known for spotting streetwear pieces relatively early– we got a sneak peek at what will hopefully be available for fans to cop.
According to the Instagram account’s post, you can expect a puffer jacket –one of Moncler’s most notable offerings– that appears to have imprinted dollar signs, a nod to a design that BBC often uses. There’s also a cool twist on the Moncler logo that still features the brand’s name at the bottom, but instead of the usual “M,” there’s the BBC astronaut head logo.
Another photo shows a t-shirt with Billionaire Boys Club’s arch logo, but the Moncler logo encompasses the astronaut’s head.
Lastly is what appears to be a black varsity jacket in wool, with leather sleeves and white detail on the ribbed cuffs. Across the back is the mash-up logo seen on other pieces in the collection.
Highsnobiety reports that the collection will also include some interesting footwear and that Moncler says the collection will be more extensive than people expect.
“From puffer coats, t-shirts, and varsity jackets to padded boots and trail-ready sneakers, Billionaire Boys Club’s Moncler line looks to be unusually extensive for a collection outside of the Genius line,” Highsnobiety writes.
See how hyped Twitter is about the forthcoming collection below.
Photos Leak Of Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club & Moncler Collaboration, Twitter Thanks Bubble Coat Gawds was originally published on cassiuslife.com | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/photos-leak-of-pharrells-billionaire-boys-club-moncler-collaboration-twitter-thanks-bubble-coat-gawds/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:03 | 0 | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/photos-leak-of-pharrells-billionaire-boys-club-moncler-collaboration-twitter-thanks-bubble-coat-gawds/ |
10 dogs die after air conditioning in truck fails during traffic delay
HOBART, Ind. (WLS) - Ten dogs died in Indiana during a drive from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Michigan.
Authorities said the driver did not know the air conditioning in the truck’s cargo failed.
Police arrived at a Lake Station, Indiana, gas station Thursday night for a report that 19 German shepherds became overheated while being transported to a training facility.
Ten of the dogs died as a result, according to officials.
WARNING: Some may find the content of this video disturbing.
The Humane Society of Hobart was called to the scene.
Police in Lake Station say the driver of the van, who picked the dogs up from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was bound for a training facility in Michigan, was unaware that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck failed in the sweltering heat.
“We had cooling vans and animal care and control vehicles ready to transport. And because we were asking for that paperwork, it seemed to make the owner mad and so he said that he would not allow us to help,” Jenny Webber, with the Humane Society of Hobart, said.
Lake Station police posted a narrative of the situation on Facebook, calling it a “freak event” and not a matter of neglect on the part of the truck’s driver.
They went on to write the “scene was chaotic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.”
The humane society said they believe the dogs were traveling to a Michigan trainer to become police dogs.
“This is truly a sad day for all of us,” Webber added.
Five German shepherds were still being treated in Lake Station and will go into the care of the humane society unless the owner claims the dogs.
The record-breaking temperatures stretching from coast-to-coast sparked heat alerts in multiple states.
Copyright 2023 WLS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:05 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ |
The past few days have been mind-boggling for many across the world, whether you’re a family man, a single mom of four or an avid basketball fan for a particular team in Los Angeles. Either way, the gut-wrenching cardiac arrest scare that affected the family of NBA icon LeBron James by way of his 18-year-old son, Bronny James, is still sending chills all across America.
Thankfully, we can now report straight from LeBron himself that Bronny is doing fine and on the path to recovery.
RELATED: LeBron James’ son Bronny Suffers Cardiac Arrest During USC Basketball Workout
James, 38, sent out a heartfelt “X” earlier today to show gratitude for the outpour of love his family has received since word first broke of his son’s heart attack on Monday (July 24), writing, “I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers. We feel you and I’m so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we’re ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us! #JamesGang”
Bronny was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center earlier today (July 27), and is reportedly at home resting up. Consulting cardiologist Dr. Merije Chukumerije said in a statement issued out by the hospital, “Mr. James was cared for promptly by highly-trained staff and has been discharged home, where he is resting. Although his workup will be ongoing, we are hopeful for his continued progress and are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.” He credits “the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff” for quite possibly saving the 6’3 teen prodigy’s life.
While details are still unclear on whether it was a blow to the chest that caused an unusual cardiac event or a deeper genetic issue that could possibly affect his meteoritic rise in professional basketball, what we do know is that whatever Young Bron decides will be met with love from all those around him.
Those at home, in particular.
As we send prayers to The James family during these trying times, we’d also like to send blessings along to the Black America Web family as a whole with a few tips that could help you or a loved one during a cardiac arrest crisis. They might seem simple, but think of these as a healthy reminder that can work as your digital heart attack kit. No need to thank us in the least bit.
Take a look below at 7 helpful health tips worth knowing when it comes to being proactive in the case of cardiac arrest:
- The One Thing Black Women Must Do To Prevent Heart Disease
- Men Can Get Healthier With 10 Little Words
- 5 “Fatty” Foods You Should Be Eating
The post Prayers Up, Bronny: 7 Ways To Be Prepared For Cardiac Arrest appeared first on Black America Web.
Prayers Up, Bronny: 7 Ways To Be Prepared For Cardiac Arrest was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
1. AED…ASAP!
Source:GettyWhether getting certified or just being able to locate one in an emergency, that little red box can be the difference between life and death.
2. Take A CPR Class
Source:GettyCPR is way more than just pumping on someone’s chest, and you can certainly do more damage if you don’t know where to apply pressure. Watching videos and going the step further to take a class is worth the time.
3. Watch For Warning Signs
Source:GettyNever ignore the little things, or feel like you can “tough it out.” Always pay attention to the signs being sent off by your body.
4. Always Call 911
Source:GettyIt might sound obvious, but you’d be surprise at how many people actually fear calling 9-1-1, especially if the cardiac arrest is drug-related. No matter the circumstances, always call the people being paid to help us in emergencies.
5. Find Aspirin If It’s An Emergency
Source:GettyAlthough not a cure, aspirin is one of the oldest and most effective ways to help someone having a heart attack while they’re waiting for emergency care.
6. Keep Nitroglycerin On Standby
Source:GettyIt’s not a common household drug cabinet essential, but having Nitroglycerin on deck can be life-saving in more serious cases. It doesn’t hurt to have it.
7. Know ‘Our’ Health
Source:Radio OneBlack people in general experience things differently than other races due to our unique genetic makeup, and it’s worth being informed on how all this melanin is affecting our bodies everyday.
We just so happen to have a podcast called Black Health 365 that keeps you in the loop on statistics in heart health, weight, diet and more. | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/prayers-up-bronny-7-ways-to-be-prepared-for-cardiac-arrest/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:10 | 1 | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/prayers-up-bronny-7-ways-to-be-prepared-for-cardiac-arrest/ |
2 separate meteor showers expected to peak this weekend
(CNN) - Mother nature will be putting on quite a show this weekend.
Stargazers will just have to look up to watch it.
Two meteor showers, the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids, are expected to peak Sunday and Monday evenings.
The Delta Aquariids are best seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but they will still be visible in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the southern part of the United States.
They will just be lower on the horizon and the best time to see them is around 2 a.m.
The only downside is that the nearly-full moon may make them harder to see.
As for the Alpha Capricornids, this shower produces just a few meteors per hour.
However, they will be especially bright and the moon shouldn’t obscure their light.
Special equipment is not needed to watch the showers, but it’s recommended to get as far away from artificial light as possible.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:11 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ |
Are humans alone in the universe? Well, according to David Grusch, a former United States military official, not only are we not alone, they are here as well. Grusch said under oath that he is “absolutely certain” the Government has alien corpses and vehicles from crash sites.
Scary isn’t it?
READ: U.S. Government Hiding Aliens? Former Military Official Testifies
The question “Are we alone” has been asked in real life and on film. Movies like “They Live” had Aliens living among us in secret. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” had alien parasites taking over our bodies. “Star Wars” gave us a whole new world and “Prometheus” made moviegoers wonder if extra0terrestials are the reason why we exist.
Due to whistleblower Grusch’s revelations, we asked Chat GPT its thoughts on the top 10 alien files of all time. Check out the list below and let us know if they got it right.
The article ‘They’re Here! The Top 10 Alien Movies of All Time!‘ was created with the help of ChatGPT
The post They’re Here! The Top 10 Alien Movies of All Time! appeared first on Black America Web.
They’re Here! The Top 10 Alien Movies of All Time! was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Steven Spielberg’s classic science fiction movie follows a young boy, Elliot, as he befriends an alien from outer space. As Elliot and his friends try to help the alien find its way home, they must outwit government agents who are determined to capture it. The film is filled with heartwarming moments and thrilling action sequences that have made it one of the most beloved movies of all time.
2. Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott’s horror classic follows a group of astronauts as they investigate a distress signal coming from a distant planet. When they arrive, they discover a strange creature that terrorizes them as they struggle to survive in the hostile environment. The film is filled with intense suspense and special effects that have made it a timeless classic in the sci-fi genre.
3. District 9 (2009)
Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi drama tells the story of an alien race known as “prawns” who are forced to live in a segregated area known as District 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The film follows Wikus van der Merwe, an official tasked with relocating them to another area, and his journey as he discovers the truth about their plight and helps them fight for their freedom.
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Steven Spielberg’s science fiction masterpiece tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday man who has an extraordinary encounter with aliens from outer space after witnessing strange lights in the sky near his home town. The film features stunning visuals and incredible special effects that make it one of Spielberg’s most iconic works.
5. War of the Worlds (2005)
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of H G Wells’ classic novel follows Ray Ferrier, an ordinary dockworker who must protect his children when aliens invade Earth and attempt to take over humanity using giant war machines called Tripods. The film features spectacular action sequences and special effects that bring Wells’ vision to life on screen in stunning fashion.
6. Arrival (2016)
Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction drama follows linguist Louise Banks as she attempts to communicate with aliens who have arrived on Earth in mysterious spacecrafts hovering above various locations around the world. With her unique skillset she must decipher their language before time runs out and prevent a global disaster from occurring due to misunderstanding between humanity and these enigmatic visitors from beyond our world..
7. Men In Black (1997)
Will Smith stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones in this hilarious science fiction comedy about two secret agents working for a top-secret organization known as Men In Black whose mission is to protect Earth from dangerous extraterrestrials living among us disguised as humans! Featuring action-packed sequences, memorable characters, witty dialogue, and plenty of laughs, this is one movie you won’t want to miss!
8. Signs (2002)
M. Night Shyamalan’s sci-fi thriller tells the story of Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, who discovers crop circles on his farm which leads him to believe that aliens may be attempting contact with humanity once again after years of silence since their last visit centuries ago.. With tension mounting throughout every scene this movie will keep you glued to your seat until its unexpected conclusion!
9. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
This classic sci-fi movie stars Michael Rennie as Klaatu , an alien sent from outer space on a mission to save humanity from itself by warning us against using nuclear weapons or facing destruction at our own hands. This groundbreaking movie was praised for its thought-provoking themes about peace, love, and understanding between different species. It also featured some truly remarkable visual effects for its time!
10. Independence Day (1996)
This blockbuster hit directed by Roland Emmerich stars Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and many more A-list actors battling against hostile aliens invading earth. With amazing visual effects, action-packed scenes, and plenty of humor Independence Day has become one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters ever! | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/theyre-here-the-top-10-alien-movies-of-all-time/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:17 | 1 | https://wzakcleveland.com/playlist/theyre-here-the-top-10-alien-movies-of-all-time/ |
Dream vs. Mystics Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - July 30
The Atlanta Dream (13-11) welcome in the Washington Mystics (12-11) after Allisha Gray scored 25 points in the Dream's 95-84 loss to the Liberty. The game airs on ESPN3, NBCS-DC, Monumental, and BSSO at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, July 30, 2023.
Bookmakers have not yet set a line for this matchup.
Rep your team with officially licensed Dream gear! Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, and much more.
Dream vs. Mystics Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET
- Where: Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia
- TV: ESPN3, NBCS-DC, Monumental, and BSSO
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on the Dream or Mystics with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use our link for the best new user offer, no promo code required!
Dream vs. Mystics Score Prediction
Prediction: Mystics 82 Dream 77
Spread & Total Prediction for Dream vs. Mystics
- Computer Predicted Spread: Washington (-4.6)
- Computer Predicted Total: 158.5
Dream vs. Mystics Spread & Total Insights
- Atlanta has 13 wins in 23 games against the spread this year.
- Atlanta has played 23 games this year, and 12 of them have gone over the total.
Watch live WNBA games without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo!
Dream Performance Insights
- The Dream are fourth in the WNBA with 85.0 points per game this season. At the other end of the court, they rank ninth with 85.1 points allowed per game.
- Although Atlanta is allowing 35.9 rebounds per game (second-worst in WNBA), it ranks third-best in the league by collecting 37.0 boards per contest.
- While the Dream rank in the bottom five in the WNBA in turnovers per game with 14.3 (third-worst), they rank sixth in the league with 13.2 forced turnovers per contest.
- The Dream are draining 7.1 threes per game (seventh-ranked in WNBA) this season, while owning a 35.5% three-point percentage (fourth-ranked).
- The Dream are allowing 7.5 treys per game this year (seventh-ranked in WNBA), and they are allowing a 32.7% three-point percentage (third-best).
- Atlanta is attempting 49.5 two-pointers per game this year, which account for 71.3% of the shots it has taken (and 76.5% of the team's baskets). Meanwhile, it is attempting 20.0 treys per contest, which are 28.7% of its shots (and 23.5% of the team's buckets).
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.wflx.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dream-mystics-wnba-picks-predictions/ | 2023-07-29T06:28:18 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dream-mystics-wnba-picks-predictions/ |
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://fox59.com/news/person-shot-killed-on-indys-east-side-3/ | 2023-07-29T06:30:05 | 0 | https://fox59.com/news/person-shot-killed-on-indys-east-side-3/ |
10 dogs die after air conditioning in truck fails during traffic delay
HOBART, Ind. (WLS) - Ten dogs died in Indiana during a drive from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Michigan.
Authorities said the driver did not know the air conditioning in the truck’s cargo failed.
Police arrived at a Lake Station, Indiana, gas station Thursday night for a report that 19 German shepherds became overheated while being transported to a training facility.
Ten of the dogs died as a result, according to officials.
WARNING: Some may find the content of this video disturbing.
The Humane Society of Hobart was called to the scene.
Police in Lake Station say the driver of the van, who picked the dogs up from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was bound for a training facility in Michigan, was unaware that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck failed in the sweltering heat.
“We had cooling vans and animal care and control vehicles ready to transport. And because we were asking for that paperwork, it seemed to make the owner mad and so he said that he would not allow us to help,” Jenny Webber, with the Humane Society of Hobart, said.
Lake Station police posted a narrative of the situation on Facebook, calling it a “freak event” and not a matter of neglect on the part of the truck’s driver.
They went on to write the “scene was chaotic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.”
The humane society said they believe the dogs were traveling to a Michigan trainer to become police dogs.
“This is truly a sad day for all of us,” Webber added.
Five German shepherds were still being treated in Lake Station and will go into the care of the humane society unless the owner claims the dogs.
The record-breaking temperatures stretching from coast-to-coast sparked heat alerts in multiple states.
Copyright 2023 WLS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ | 2023-07-29T06:30:17 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ |
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10 dogs die after air conditioning in truck fails during traffic delay
HOBART, Ind. (WLS) - Ten dogs died in Indiana during a drive from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Michigan.
Authorities said the driver did not know the air conditioning in the truck’s cargo failed.
Police arrived at a Lake Station, Indiana, gas station Thursday night for a report that 19 German shepherds became overheated while being transported to a training facility.
Ten of the dogs died as a result, according to officials.
WARNING: Some may find the content of this video disturbing.
The Humane Society of Hobart was called to the scene.
Police in Lake Station say the driver of the van, who picked the dogs up from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was bound for a training facility in Michigan, was unaware that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck failed in the sweltering heat.
“We had cooling vans and animal care and control vehicles ready to transport. And because we were asking for that paperwork, it seemed to make the owner mad and so he said that he would not allow us to help,” Jenny Webber, with the Humane Society of Hobart, said.
Lake Station police posted a narrative of the situation on Facebook, calling it a “freak event” and not a matter of neglect on the part of the truck’s driver.
They went on to write the “scene was chaotic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.”
The humane society said they believe the dogs were traveling to a Michigan trainer to become police dogs.
“This is truly a sad day for all of us,” Webber added.
Five German shepherds were still being treated in Lake Station and will go into the care of the humane society unless the owner claims the dogs.
The record-breaking temperatures stretching from coast-to-coast sparked heat alerts in multiple states.
Copyright 2023 WLS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:18 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ |
2 separate meteor showers expected to peak this weekend
(CNN) - Mother nature will be putting on quite a show this weekend.
Stargazers will just have to look up to watch it.
Two meteor showers, the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids, are expected to peak Sunday and Monday evenings.
The Delta Aquariids are best seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but they will still be visible in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the southern part of the United States.
They will just be lower on the horizon and the best time to see them is around 2 a.m.
The only downside is that the nearly-full moon may make them harder to see.
As for the Alpha Capricornids, this shower produces just a few meteors per hour.
However, they will be especially bright and the moon shouldn’t obscure their light.
Special equipment is not needed to watch the showers, but it’s recommended to get as far away from artificial light as possible.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:19 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ |
Fever vs. Storm Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - July 30
The Indiana Fever (6-18) hope to stop a four-game home losing skid when hosting the Seattle Storm (4-19) on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET.
Bookmakers have not yet set a line for this matchup.
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Fever vs. Storm Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
- TV: ESPN3, FOX13+, and Prime Video
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Fever vs. Storm Score Prediction
Prediction: Storm 88 Fever 77
Spread & Total Prediction for Fever vs. Storm
- Computer Predicted Spread: Seattle (-11.6)
- Computer Predicted Total: 164.9
Fever vs. Storm Spread & Total Insights
- Indiana has beaten the spread 13 times in 23 games.
- This year, 12 of Indiana's 23 games have hit the over.
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Fever Performance Insights
- The Fever's offense, which ranks seventh in the league with 81.4 points per game, has played better than their second-worst defense (85.7 points allowed per game).
- Indiana is grabbing 34.8 rebounds per game this year (fifth-ranked in WNBA), and it has ceded just 32.7 rebounds per game (second-best).
- The Fever rank seventh in the WNBA at 13.6 turnovers per contest, but they are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game, which ranks third-worst in the league.
- The Fever are averaging 6.4 threes per game (second-worst in WNBA), and they have a 32.5% three-point percentage (eighth-ranked).
- It's been a tough stretch for the Fever in terms of threes allowed, as they are surrendering 8.2 threes per game (third-worst in WNBA) and are allowing a 36.3% three-point percentage to opposing teams (third-worst).
- Indiana is attempting 49.6 two-pointers per game this year, which account for 71.5% of the shots it has taken (and 79.1% of the team's baskets). Meanwhile, it is attempting 19.8 treys per contest, which are 28.5% of its shots (and 20.9% of the team's buckets).
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The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship continues this weekend with round 13, the Belgian Grand Prix, which takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and will see the Saturday Sprint race return.
The Spa circuit is nestled within the beautiful Ardennes hills and features a long, unrelenting track that serves as a stern test for car and driver. The average speed approaches 145 mph, making it one of the fastest laps of the season, and drivers experience over 5 g in some of the turns, such as Turn 10, known as Pouhon. The cars also run at full throttle for almost 80% of the lap.
Stretching 4.35 miles, Spa has the longest track on the calendar, resulting in the race lasting only 44 laps—the lowest on the calendar. The track is so big that it’s not unusual to have varying weather conditions at different parts. For example, rain at one end and sunshine at the other. The current forecast calls for heavy rain throughout the weekend, which has already resulted in some calls for the race to possibly be canceled.
The first and third sectors at Spa feature long straights and flat-out sections, but the second sector is twisty. This makes it challenging to find the right balance and set-up compromise, particularly with the wing level.
The track surface is on the abrasive side, meaning tires get quite the workout. Pirelli has nominated its mid-range compounds: the C2 as the White hard, C3 as the Yellow medium, and C4 as the Red soft.
The Belgian round will mark 2023’s third running of the Saturday Sprint race, after the Azerbaijan and Austrian Grands Prix. This season, the Sprint race has been made a standalone event rather than the qualifier for the main race, as was previously the case. It still has championship points on the table for both drivers and teams, however.
The round is the last stop before the summer break and will see some teams run upgrades, including Mercedes-Benz AMG whose cars will feature a new design for the side pods.
Going into the weekend, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 281 points. Fellow Red Bull driver Perez is second with 171 points and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is third with 139 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 452 points, versus the 223 of Mercedes and 184 of Aston Martin in second and third places. Last year’s winner in Belgium was Verstappen, driving for Red Bull.
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- 2023 F1 standings: Verstappen grows title lead while McLaren shows resurgence | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix-preview/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:26 | 0 | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix-preview/ |
Anyone looking to take delivery of Lamborghini’s Revuelto supercar better be prepared to wait (or pay hefty markups on the used market) as the car’s production run for the next two years is already allocated, the automaker announced this week.
Despite an upgrade to Lamborghini’s plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese to accommodate more automated processes, production of the Revuelto is still very much a hands-on affair, with plenty of traditional handcrafted skills retained, ensuring production will remain limited. According to Lamborghini, around 500 staff are dedicated to the car’s production.
The Revuelto was revealed in March as the successor to the Aventador. It’s Lamborghini’s first plug-in hybrid and is powered by a sophisticated setup combining a newly developed V-12 and three electric motors for a combined output of 1,000 hp.
The Revuelto isn’t just an Aventador with more power, though. It represents a ground-up redesign that in addition to electrification includes a new carbon-fiber tub, a new 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and that new V-12.
Lamborghini quotes performance numbers of 2.5 seconds in the 0-62 mph run and a top speed of 218 mph.
Lamborghini hasn’t announcing pricing for the Revuelto in the U.S., but in other markets the car is priced from 500,000 euros (approximately $548,700). Deliveries are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Lamborghini’s Urus will be the automaker’s next plug-in hybrid. The SUV will go the electrified route starting in the first half of 2024. A plug-in hybrid successor to the Huracán will then arrive toward the end of 2024. Further out, Lamborghini plans to launch an electric vehicle in 2028. It was confirmed by the automaker in April as a 2+2 grand tourer.
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- “Wanted: The Escape Of Carlos Ghosn” debuts Aug. 25—watch the trailer | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:32 | 0 | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WIVB) — The championship reign for Buffalo’s alumni basketball team succumbed to the vaunted 2-3 zone synonymous with the name Boeheim.
Blue Collar U, winners of The Basketball Tournament and its $1 million prize last summer, was eliminated from this year’s bracket with a 69-54 loss to 2021 champion Boeheim’s Army in the Syracuse regional final on Friday night at The Oncenter War Memorial.
The Bulls built a 14-point in the first quarter before the home team switched to a zone defense that changed the course of the game.
Blue Collar U missed its last 20 shots from the perimeter, finishing 4-of-28 (14%) from 3-point range against an Orange opponent that had significantly more length and strength around the basket.
The Bulls weren’t that much better inside the arc (36%) and even struggled at the foul line (63%) while hustling to force 19 turnovers and grab 19 offensive rebounds, which amounted to 18 more field goal attempts.
With retired Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim sitting on the baseline to watch six of his former players, including son Jimmy, the team named in his honor used his signature defense to go on a 17-2 run and take a 31-30 lead into halftime after Blue Collar U established an early 21-7 advantage.
Grant Riller, a second-round NBA draft pick out of Charleston in 2020, led the Orange with 29 points, sinking the winning shot from long range during TBT’s signature Elam Ending.
Nick Perkins led the Bulls with 19 points and nine rebounds. Star guards C.J. Massinburg and Wes Clark combined for 11 points on 4-of-27 shooting. Massinburg matched Perkins with nine rebounds. This was the first time the Bulls lost in 12 TBT games with Clark in the lineup.
***
Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB roster in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. Born in Western New York, he has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in the region for publications including The Associated Press, Buffalo News and Niagara Gazette since 2005. Read more of his work here. | https://www.wivb.com/sports/university-at-buffalo-bulls-college-sports/blue-collar-u-bounced-from-tbt-by-boeheims-army/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:34 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/sports/university-at-buffalo-bulls-college-sports/blue-collar-u-bounced-from-tbt-by-boeheims-army/ |
Mercedes-Benz has introduced an update to its mid-size van family to help keep the vehicles fresh until the arrival of successor models based on a dedicated electric vehicle platform later this decade.
The sole mid-size van Mercedes currently sells in the U.S. is the Metris. In other markets, the Metris is known as the Vito and is sold alongside a luxury version called the V-Class. The Vito and V-Class also come in electric form, known as the eVito and EQV respectively.
While the Vito has been updated, there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. as an updated Metris. The current Metris is still available to U.S. buyers but will be phased out later this year.
The updates to the mid-size van family include tweaks to the exterior styling highlighted by an enlarged grille and new light signatures for the headlights. There’s also a new dash design that adopts a single panel integrating both a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch infotainment screen in the plush V-Class and EQV. In the Vito and eVito commercial models, the dash sticks to analog gauges with a 5.5-inch screen in the center, plus a 10.3-inch infotainment screen. Buyers also have five new colors to choose from, along with various wheel patterns ranging from 17-19 inches in diameter.
Mercedes has also added new digital services and safety features, one of which is an updated Active Brake Assist feature that now functions in intersections. Active Brake Assist is a collision warning system that supports the driver by automatically adding extra braking pressure when necessary, and activating automatic emergency braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes.
No change has been made to the powertrains meaning buyers have a series of diesels to choose from, including 4- and 6-cylinder options, plus an electric powertrain in the eVito and EQV.
While the U.S. will soon lose the Metris, Mercedes in May said it will bring a luxury mid-size van to this market later this decade. It will be based on the new Van.EA platform. The dedicated EV platform will spawn its first model in 2026, though Mercedes hasn’t revealed the model’s identity.
Mercedes said it expects electric vans to account for 50% of its van sales by 2030.
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- 2024 Porsche Panamera spy shots and video | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/mercedes-updates-v-class-ahead-of-dedicated-ev-successors-arrival/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:39 | 1 | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/mercedes-updates-v-class-ahead-of-dedicated-ev-successors-arrival/ |
Porsche earlier this week revealed more than just a first look at its lounge-like road-trip fast-charging stations, to be laid out along some top routes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Within details for these design-savvy charging oases there was a bigger technology reveal: Its EVs in the future, it hinted, may charge above 300 kw and perhaps closer to 400 kw.
That message came within how the automaker explained the charging hardware situated at these Porsche Charging Lounges. They’ll be “perfectly tailored to the requirements of Porsche drivers on long journeys,” the company explained. That means a current max charge power of 300 kw from the Alpitronic hardware at those stations, it explained, but it then stated: “By the start of next year, 400 kw per charging point should be possible.”
Since its launch, the Porsche Taycan has been capable of 800-volt DC fast-charging up to 270 kw—made more reproducible for 2022—offering a 5-80% charge in as little as 22.5 minutes.
The 2024 Porsche Macan Electric, which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2024 and built on the PPE platform jointly developed by Porsche and Audi, will inherit the Taycan’s 800-volt charging. But Porsche has suggested that PPE may be capable of a bit more.
While the Macan may stretch closer to 300 kw, it has to be another future vehicle that fast-charges at an even higher rate, taking advantage of those 400-kw connectors.
But the charger announcement may be teasing a product that’s yet to come and farther in the future. Will that be the Boxster-inspired electric sports car, which might include the 718 badge; a production version of the 900-volt Mission X concept the brand recently revealed; or another new EV from the sports-car brand? Or all of the above?
Porsche has said that by 2030 over 80% of the vehicles it delivers globally will be fully electric—although it’s suggested that the last gasoline model it will make will be the 911.
That said, a model that might take advantage of a 400-kw connector might top out higher than the Lucid Air, which reaches a max just over 300 kw, and the GMC Hummer EV with the largest dual-layer pack, which can at times pull the full power from a 350-kw connector.
Such a model tapping the potential of a 400-kw connector might not be coming until 2025 or 2026, but when it does, then Porsche looks prepared with the infrastructure.
The Taycan is already approaching its intended gas-station refueling times—if the infrastructure’s there. With some carefully planned charging stops, one crossed the U.S. last year at real-world highway speeds with just 2.5 hours of charging.
As for those lounges, Porsche aims to place them close to “busy routes with significant traffic flow,” make them open 24/7, barrier-free, and part of the Ionity network, and provide centralized billing and a very comfortable environment. If the images provided, showing woodgrain finishes, bright interiors, workout areas, and rooftop solar cells are any indication, it looks like a very pleasant environment compared to the edge of the Walmart parking lot or strip-mall access road.
Although Porsche has no plans to build these charging oases in the U.S. as of yet, fellow VW Group entity Electrify America offers 350-kw connectors at many of its 809 U.S. fast-charging locations. And the national fast-charging network set to be bankrolled by seven automakers, announced earlier this week, with 350-kw connectors as a baseline, will help support these even-faster-charging EVs.
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- 2018-2023 Nissan Leaf EV recalled for cruise-control acceleration flaw | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:46 | 1 | https://cw33.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.
Together, the figures provided the latest signs that the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation may succeed without triggering a recession, an outcome known as a “soft landing.”
A price gauge closely monitored by the Fed rose just 3% in June from a year earlier. That was down from a 3.8% annual increase in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% from May to June, up slightly from 0.1% the previous month.
Last month’s sharp slowdown in year-over-year inflation largely reflected falling gas prices, as well as milder increases in grocery costs. With supply chains having largely healed from post-pandemic disruptions, the costs of new and used cars, furniture and appliances also fell in June.
The cost of some services, though, continued to surge. Average prices of movie tickets rose 0.5% from May to June, and are up 6.2% from a year earlier. Veterinary services, up 0.5% last month, are 10.5% higher than a year ago. And restaurant meal prices increased 0.4% in June; they’re up 7.1% from 12 months earlier.
A measure of “core” prices, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, did remain elevated even though it also eased last month. Economists track core prices because they are considered a better signal of where inflation is headed. Those still-high underlying inflation pressures are a key reason why the Fed raised its short-term interest rate Wednesday to a 22-year high.
Core prices were still 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, well above the Fed’s target, though down from 4.6% in May. From May to June, core inflation was just 0.2%, down from 0.3% the previous month, an encouraging sign.
A separate report Friday from the Labor Department showed that a gauge of wages and salaries grew more slowly in the April-June quarter, suggesting that employers were feeling less pressure to boost pay as the job market cools.
Employee pay, excluding government workers, rose 1%, down from 1.2% in the first three months of 2023. Compared with a year earlier, wages and salaries grew 4.6%, down from 5.1% in the first quarter.
The Fed is closely watching the pay gauge, known as the employment cost index. Smaller wage increases should slow inflation over time, because companies are less likely to need to raise prices to cover their higher labor costs.
Taken together, Friday’s data “will provide further support to the view that the economy is in the midst of a soft landing,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. The softer wage data, she suggested, “will be welcomed by Fed officials.”
Americans’ average paychecks are still growing briskly, boosting their ability to spend and underscoring the economy’s resiliency. The inflation report that the Commerce Department issued Friday showed that consumer spending jumped in June, despite two years of high inflation and 11 Fed rate hikes over 17 months. From May to June, consumer spending rose 0.5%, up from 0.2% the previous month.
“Better push out those recession forecasts by another quarter,” Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at investment bank Santander, wrote in a research note.
The inflation gauge that was issued Friday, called the personal consumption expenditures price index, is separate from the better-known consumer price index. Earlier this month, the government reported that the CPI rose 3% in June from 12 months earlier.
The Fed prefers the PCE index because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps — when, for example, consumers shift away from pricey national brands in favor of cheaper store brands. And housing costs, which are among the biggest inflation drivers but many economists think aren’t well-measured, carry about half the weight in the PCE than the CPI.
With inflation now steadily cooling, consumers are becoming more optimistic about the economy, a trend that could lead them to keep spending and driving growth.
On Friday, the University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index rose in June to its highest level since October 2021, though it has still recovered only about half of the drop caused by the pandemic. And earlier this week, the Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose this month to its highest point in two years.
The U.S. economy is in a hopeful but precarious place: A solid job market is bolstering hiring, lifting wages and keeping unemployment near a half-century low. Yet inflation is weakening rather than rising, as it typically does when unemployment is low. That suggests that the Fed may be able to achieve a soft landing.
The Fed’s policymakers, though, are concerned that the steadily growing economy could help perpetuate inflation. This can occur as persistent consumer demand enables more companies to raise prices, thereby keeping inflation above the Fed’s target and potentially causing the central bank to raise rates even higher.
The latest evidence of the economy’s resilience came Thursday, when the government reported that it grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the April-June quarter — faster than analysts had forecast and an acceleration from a 2% growth rate in the first three months of the year.
At a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate, now at about 5.3%, was high enough to restrain the overall economy and likely tame inflation over time. But Powell added that the Fed would need to see more evidence that inflation has been sustainably subdued before it would consider ending its rate hikes.
Powell declined to offer any signal of the central bank’s likely next moves. In June, Fed officials had forecast two more rate hikes this year, including Wednesday’s.
“I would say it is certainly possible that we would raise (rates) again at the September meeting, if the data warranted,” Powell said Wednesday, “and I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting.” | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T06:32:59 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ |
Tesla is ramping up efforts to open showrooms on tribal lands where it can sell directly to consumers, circumventing laws in states that bar vehicle manufacturers from also being retailers in favor of the dealership model.
Mohegan Sun, a casino and entertainment complex in Connecticut owned by the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, announced this week that the California-based electric automaker will open a showroom with a sales and delivery center this fall on its sovereign property where the state’s law doesn’t apply.
The news comes after another new Tesla showroom was announced in June, set to open in 2025 on lands of the Oneida Indian Nation in upstate New York.
“I think it was a move that made complete sense,” said Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, which has lobbied for years to change Connecticut’s law.
“It is just surprising that it took this long, because Tesla had really tried, along with Lucid and Rivian,” she said, referring to two other electric carmakers. “Anything that puts more electric vehicles on the road is a good thing for the public.”
Brown noted that lawmakers with car dealerships that are active in their districts, no matter their political affiliation, have traditionally opposed bills allowing direct-to-consumer sales.
The Connecticut Automotive Retail Association, which has opposed such bills for years, says there needs to be a balance between respecting tribal sovereignty and “maintaining a level playing field” for all car dealerships in the state.
“We respect the Mohegan Tribe’s sovereignty and the unique circumstance in which they operate their businesses on Tribal land but we strongly believe that this does not change the discussion about Tesla and other EV manufacturers with direct-to-consumer sales, and we continue to oppose that model,” Hayden Reynolds, the association’s chairperson, said in a statement. “Connecticut’s dealer franchise laws benefit consumers and provide a competitive marketplace.”
Over the years in numerous states, Tesla has sought and been denied dealership licenses, pushed for law changes and challenged decisions in courts. The company scored a victory earlier this year when Delaware’s Supreme Court overturned a ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit Tesla from selling its cars to directly customers.
At least 16 states have effectively changed their laws to allow Tesla and other direct-to-consumer manufacturers to sell there, said Jeff Aiosa, executive director of the Connecticut dealers association. He doesn’t foresee Connecticut changing its law, noting that 32 “original equipment manufacturers,” a list that includes major car companies like Toyota and Ford, currently abide by it.
“It’s not fair to have an unlevel playing field when all the other manufacturers abide by the state franchise laws and Tesla wants this exception to go around the law,” he said. “I would suggest their pivoting to the sovereign nation is representative of them not wanting to abide by the law.”
Tesla opened its first store as well as a repair shop on Native American land in 2021 in New Mexico. The facility, built in Nambé Pueblo, north of Santa Fe, marked the first time the company partnered with a tribe to get around state laws, though the idea had been in the works for years.
Brian Dear, president of the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico, predicted at the time that states that are home to tribal nations and also have laws banning direct car sales by manufacturers would likely follow New Mexico’s lead.
“I don’t believe at all that this will be the last,” he said.
Tesla’s facility at Mohegan Sun, dubbed the Tesla Sales & Delivery Center, will be located at a shopping and dining pavilion within the sprawling casino complex. Customers will be able to test drive models around the resort. and gamblers will be able to use their loyalty rewards toward Tesla purchases.
Tesla also plans to exhibit its solar and storage products at the location. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:06 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ |
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WILKES-BARRE — Bill Jones, President and CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley, on Friday said the businesses, employees, and individual donors who support the “Helping Kids Thrive Drive” really do make a difference.
“These items have an immediate impact in the lives of the most vulnerable children in our community and we are very grateful for the support of the community,” Jones said.
The United Way of Wyoming Valley held its 3rd Annual “Helping Kids Thrive Drive” on Friday to help at-risk children meet their basic hygiene and school supply needs.
Items were dropped off at the United Way office, 100 North Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre. More than 30 businesses and their employees supported the drive this year.
Jones said the items collected will benefit the United Way’s Nurse’s Pantry program — an in-school resource that provides health, hygiene, and school supplies at no cost to children in need. The program is offered in 27 buildings in eight school districts throughout the Wyoming Valley.
The items collected included: soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, baby wipes, feminine products, lice kits, ChapStick, mouthwash, new socks, underwear, backpacks and school supplies for children.
“The Nurse’s Pantry is one of our most successful and important initiatives,” Jones said. “The program helps to eliminate barriers to student achievement by making sure children have some of their most basic needs met. It is very difficult for students to focus on their class work and remain in school when they are dealing with so many insecurities.”
Jones said the Nurse’s Pantry program started in the 2018-19 school year as a pilot program in the Wilkes-Barre School District and has grown rapidly since then. He said that the pantries helped more than 4,000 students last year.
Jones said items can be dropped off at the United Way office, 100 North Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Click now to support or get more information.Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615583/united-ways-helping-kids-thrive-drive-keeps-at-risk-students-in-school | 2023-07-29T06:33:07 | 0 | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615583/united-ways-helping-kids-thrive-drive-keeps-at-risk-students-in-school |
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The highway was closed between Route 2 exit in Lowell and U.S. 30 exit near Merrillville between 12:20 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., state police said.
Cody Rosenthal, 27, of Crown Point, was identified as the driver in the crash, police said.
Indiana hopes to make a good first impression to travelers headed south on Interstate 65 with a striking rest stop featuring wind turbines, pu…
Texas Roadhouse, Fairway Indoor Golf, Picky Pet Boutique, KAD Academy and Compass Travel Center opening; former Book Warehouse closes
He will serve a year in Lake County Community Corrections, six months in Kimbrough Community Corrections and two and a half years’ probation. | https://www.nwitimes.com/3-bedroom-home-in-crown-point---384-990/article_fd68d205-e7c1-5f4e-99ac-33ccb1aa9b86.html | 2023-07-29T06:33:07 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/3-bedroom-home-in-crown-point---384-990/article_fd68d205-e7c1-5f4e-99ac-33ccb1aa9b86.html |
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WASHINGTON — Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.
Together, the figures provided the latest signs that the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation may succeed without triggering a recession, an outcome known as a “soft landing.”
A price gauge closely monitored by the Fed rose just 3% in June from a year earlier. That was down from a 3.8% annual increase in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% from May to June, up slightly from 0.1% the previous month.
Last month’s sharp slowdown in year-over-year inflation largely reflected falling gas prices, as well as milder increases in grocery costs. With supply chains having largely healed from post-pandemic disruptions, the costs of new and used cars, furniture and appliances also fell in June.
The cost of some services, though, continued to surge. Average prices of movie tickets rose 0.5% from May to June, and are up 6.2% from a year earlier. Veterinary services, up 0.5% last month, are 10.5% higher than a year ago. And restaurant meal prices increased 0.4% in June; they’re up 7.1% from 12 months earlier.
A measure of “core” prices, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, did remain elevated even though it also eased last month. Economists track core prices because they are considered a better signal of where inflation is headed. Those still-high underlying inflation pressures are a key reason why the Fed raised its short-term interest rate Wednesday to a 22-year high.
Core prices were still 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, well above the Fed’s target, though down from 4.6% in May. From May to June, core inflation was just 0.2%, down from 0.3% the previous month, an encouraging sign.
A separate report Friday from the Labor Department showed that a gauge of wages and salaries grew more slowly in the April-June quarter, suggesting that employers were feeling less pressure to boost pay as the job market cools.
Employee pay, excluding government workers, rose 1%, down from 1.2% in the first three months of 2023. Compared with a year earlier, wages and salaries grew 4.6%, down from 5.1% in the first quarter.
The Fed is closely watching the pay gauge, known as the employment cost index. Smaller wage increases should slow inflation over time, because companies are less likely to need to raise prices to cover their higher labor costs.
Taken together, Friday’s data “will provide further support to the view that the economy is in the midst of a soft landing,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. The softer wage data, she suggested, “will be welcomed by Fed officials.”
Americans’ average paychecks are still growing briskly, boosting their ability to spend and underscoring the economy’s resiliency. The inflation report that the Commerce Department issued Friday showed that consumer spending jumped in June, despite two years of high inflation and 11 Fed rate hikes over 17 months. From May to June, consumer spending rose 0.5%, up from 0.2% the previous month.
“Better push out those recession forecasts by another quarter,” Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at investment bank Santander, wrote in a research note.
The inflation gauge that was issued Friday, called the personal consumption expenditures price index, is separate from the better-known consumer price index. Earlier this month, the government reported that the CPI rose 3% in June from 12 months earlier.
The Fed prefers the PCE index because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps — when, for example, consumers shift away from pricey national brands in favor of cheaper store brands. And housing costs, which are among the biggest inflation drivers but many economists think aren’t well-measured, carry about half the weight in the PCE than the CPI.
With inflation now steadily cooling, consumers are becoming more optimistic about the economy, a trend that could lead them to keep spending and driving growth.
On Friday, the University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index rose in June to its highest level since October 2021, though it has still recovered only about half of the drop caused by the pandemic. And earlier this week, the Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose this month to its highest point in two years.
The U.S. economy is in a hopeful but precarious place: A solid job market is bolstering hiring, lifting wages and keeping unemployment near a half-century low. Yet inflation is weakening rather than rising, as it typically does when unemployment is low. That suggests that the Fed may be able to achieve a soft landing.
The Fed’s policymakers, though, are concerned that the steadily growing economy could help perpetuate inflation. This can occur as persistent consumer demand enables more companies to raise prices, thereby keeping inflation above the Fed’s target and potentially causing the central bank to raise rates even higher.
The latest evidence of the economy’s resilience came Thursday, when the government reported that it grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the April-June quarter — faster than analysts had forecast and an acceleration from a 2% growth rate in the first three months of the year.
At a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate, now at about 5.3%, was high enough to restrain the overall economy and likely tame inflation over time. But Powell added that the Fed would need to see more evidence that inflation has been sustainably subdued before it would consider ending its rate hikes.
Powell declined to offer any signal of the central bank’s likely next moves. In June, Fed officials had forecast two more rate hikes this year, including Wednesday’s.
“I would say it is certainly possible that we would raise (rates) again at the September meeting, if the data warranted,” Powell said Wednesday, “and I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting.”
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Click now to support or get more information. | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615586/us-price-and-wage-increases-slow-further-in-the-latest-signs-of-cooling-inflation | 2023-07-29T06:33:12 | 1 | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615586/us-price-and-wage-increases-slow-further-in-the-latest-signs-of-cooling-inflation |
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The highway was closed between Route 2 exit in Lowell and U.S. 30 exit near Merrillville between 12:20 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., state police said.
Cody Rosenthal, 27, of Crown Point, was identified as the driver in the crash, police said.
Indiana hopes to make a good first impression to travelers headed south on Interstate 65 with a striking rest stop featuring wind turbines, pu…
Texas Roadhouse, Fairway Indoor Golf, Picky Pet Boutique, KAD Academy and Compass Travel Center opening; former Book Warehouse closes
He will serve a year in Lake County Community Corrections, six months in Kimbrough Community Corrections and two and a half years’ probation. | https://www.nwitimes.com/4-bedroom-home-in-portage---418-619/article_34425d0b-4180-58c7-8862-b876ca379258.html | 2023-07-29T06:33:12 | 0 | https://www.nwitimes.com/4-bedroom-home-in-portage---418-619/article_34425d0b-4180-58c7-8862-b876ca379258.html |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s banking sector could withstand a severe economic downturn without depleting their financial buffers against losses, the European Central Bank said Friday.
A survey of 98 large and medium-sized banks done by the ECB’s supervisory arm in conjunction with the European Banking Authority showed that even in the most adverse scenario — a fall of almost 10% in economic outpoint over three years — banks would still have enough capital to cover losses and then some.
The stress test was not a pass-fail exercise for banks in the 20 countries that use the euro currency. Rather, results for individual banks will be used by banking regulators in determining how much capital they need to hold in reserve.
Banks are crucial to the European economy because companies get most of their financing from them, instead of from financial markets — the opposite of the situation in the U.S.
The ECB took over supervision of the biggest banks after the eurozone debt crisis more than a decade ago, when bank losses led to heavy bailout costs for governments. National supervisors were perceived to have been less than vigilant on developing risks.
Scrutiny of bank finances has grown after the failure of three U.S. banks amid rising interest rates that led to losses on investments and mass withdrawal of deposits. The financial turmoil then hit Credit Suisse, a globally significant bank that had long-running problems, leading the Swiss government to engineer an emergency takeover by rival UBS to prevent further banking chaos.
Switzerland is not part of the European Union, where some of the safeguards instituted after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis were more widely applied. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:12 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ |
A popular car show returned to Wilkes-Barre Public Square on Friday. Cruzin’ the Square was held from 6-9 p.m., with a collection of vehicles from the 1930s through the 2010s. The Cruzin’ the Square Car Show will continue on the last Friday of each month through October on the following dates: Aug. 25, Sept. 29, and Oct. 27.
Before you move on, we invite you to become a Times Leader Advocate. You'll receive some great benefits, including our Diamond Card with local discounts and deals, access to our E-Edition, a faster, reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more. | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615589/cruzin-the-square-returns-to-downtown-wb | 2023-07-29T06:33:13 | 1 | https://www.timesleader.com/news/1615589/cruzin-the-square-returns-to-downtown-wb |
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The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell 12-2 to the Buffalo Bisons on Friday night. The team had 11 hits in the loss, including three each from Estevan Florial and Everson Pereira. The RailRiders had a leadoff baserunner in every frame.
Buffalo took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back walks put on two runners and an RBI double off the bat of Davis Schneider made it 2-0.
The RailRiders tied it up quickly in the next frame. Andres Chaparro and Jake Lamb drew walks. Then Florial roped a two-out single for a 2-2 game.
In the bottom half, the Bisons took back the lead. A pair of walks, an error, and a sacrifice fly gave them a 4-2 advantage.
The home team tacked on another one thanks to an RBI single from Luis De Los Santos.
In the fourth inning, a balk let Tyler Heineman come across the plate. After a pair of walks and a bunt single, the bases were loaded. Spencer Horwitz smoked a bases clearing double for a 9-2 lead.
Buffalo added three more in the sixth. Schneider and Rafael Lantigua walked to reach and Heineman sent a ball to left center field for a three-run homer. It was 12-2 Bisons.
Will Warren (L, 4-4) pitched the first three plus innings allowing nine runs, seven earned, on seven hits. He walked six. Michael Gomez, Anthony Misiewicz, and Zac Houston all threw in relief.
Paxton Schultz got the start allowing two runs on six hits in his four innings of work. Four bullpen arms combined for five shutout innings for Buffalo.
The RailRiders and Bisons meet up Saturday at 6:05 p.m. Righty Clayton Beeter gets the call on the mound.
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Click now to support or get more information. | https://www.timesleader.com/sports/1615571/buffalo-hits-double-digits-for-2nd-time-in-series-vs-railriders-in-12-2-victory | 2023-07-29T06:33:13 | 0 | https://www.timesleader.com/sports/1615571/buffalo-hits-double-digits-for-2nd-time-in-series-vs-railriders-in-12-2-victory |
After an attack on Salman Rushdie, the Chautauqua Institution says its mission won’t change
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. (AP) — For 150 years, the Chautauqua Institution has prided itself as a place that invites open dialogue and freedom of expression. But for a single moment last summer, that mission was threatened when an assailant attacked and stabbed provocative author Salman Rushdie as he was about to speak. Rushdie survived the attack and a year later continues to recover. The Chautauqua Institution is moving forward, too. Institution President Michael Hill says security has been increased but the institution is even more committed to its mission. The western New York destination has been described as NPR camp for adults, with its offering of daily lectures, arts and entertainment. | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:16 | 0 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ |
MILAN (AP) — French luxury conglomerate Kering has reached a cash deal to purchase a 30% stake in Italian fashion house Valentino for 1.7 billion euros from a Qatari investment firm.
With the purchase, Kering is seeking to shore up its revenue stream as it struggles to turn around former powerhouse Gucci. Kering on Thursday reported first-half revenues of 10.1 billion euros, up 2%, as Gucci sales stagnate.
Under the deal announced Thursday, Kering has the option to buy 100% of Valentino no later than 2028. The partnership could lead to the Qatari investment firm, Mayhoola, becoming a shareholder in Kering, as well as other potential “joint opportunities,” the statement said.
Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault expressed admiration for “the evolution of Valentino under Mayhoola ownership,” which Kering said turned Valentino “into one of the most admired luxury houses in the world.”
“I am very pleased of this first step in our collaboration with Mayhoola to develop Valentino and pursue the very strong strategic journey of brand elevation,’’ citing the role of Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini, who “will continue to lead.”
Gucci, which accounts for nearly half of Kering revenues, is in the throes of a relaunch, with a new management team and a new creative director, Sabato De Sarn o, who will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week in September.
Valentino, founded by Valentino Garavani in 1960, recorded revenues of 1.4 billion euros in 2022. Pierpaolo Piccoli has been creative director at Valentino since 2008, working alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri from 2008-16. With its corporate base in Milan and design studio in Rome, the fashion house is a mainstay of Paris fashion week with its womenswear and couture collections while recently returning menswear to Milan. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:19 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ |
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. – 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.” | https://www.wsls.com/entertainment/2023/07/29/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:21 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/entertainment/2023/07/29/after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ |
10 dogs die after air conditioning in truck fails during traffic delay
HOBART, Ind. (WLS) - Ten dogs died in Indiana during a drive from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Michigan.
Authorities said the driver did not know the air conditioning in the truck’s cargo failed.
Police arrived at a Lake Station, Indiana, gas station Thursday night for a report that 19 German shepherds became overheated while being transported to a training facility.
Ten of the dogs died as a result, according to officials.
WARNING: Some may find the content of this video disturbing.
The Humane Society of Hobart was called to the scene.
Police in Lake Station say the driver of the van, who picked the dogs up from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was bound for a training facility in Michigan, was unaware that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck failed in the sweltering heat.
“We had cooling vans and animal care and control vehicles ready to transport. And because we were asking for that paperwork, it seemed to make the owner mad and so he said that he would not allow us to help,” Jenny Webber, with the Humane Society of Hobart, said.
Lake Station police posted a narrative of the situation on Facebook, calling it a “freak event” and not a matter of neglect on the part of the truck’s driver.
They went on to write the “scene was chaotic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.”
The humane society said they believe the dogs were traveling to a Michigan trainer to become police dogs.
“This is truly a sad day for all of us,” Webber added.
Five German shepherds were still being treated in Lake Station and will go into the care of the humane society unless the owner claims the dogs.
The record-breaking temperatures stretching from coast-to-coast sparked heat alerts in multiple states.
Copyright 2023 WLS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:21 | 1 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/29/10-dogs-die-after-air-conditioning-truck-fails-during-traffic-delay/ |
Black Belt Eagle Scout’s latest record inspired by return home to Swinomish tribe’s ancestral lands
By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — The beginning of the pandemic was devasting for the leader of the indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout, Katherine Paul. All her tours, including one headlining across North America, were canceled and she feared her ascending music career might be over.
She got a day job at a nonprofit and returned to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s homelands in Western Washington. But as Paul, or KP to her friends, spent time in the cedar forests and walked along the Skagit River, she turned to her guitar to deal with the isolation and stress. Those snippets, recorded on her phone, provided the foundation for what would become songs on her powerful, grunge-soaked new record “The Land, The Water, The Sky.”
“I feel like if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have made this record,” said KP, who writes the songs, sings and plays guitar in the band that was the only Native American artist at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this month.
“I spent a lot of time outside. I spent a lot more time than normal going on hikes, being part of the land,” she continued. “It’s not like I never do that stuff but it brought me back to a place where this is who I am.”
The new record, which came out in February, helped launch what has probably been the most successful year so far for Black Belt Eagle Scout. The band toured Europe and will go to Australia later this year. Two of her songs, “Soft Stud” from an earlier record and “Salmon Stinta” from her latest, appear this season on the television series “Reservation Dogs.”
Reservation Dogs Music Supervisor Tiffany Anders said she was introduced to the band’s music by the show’s creator, Sterlin Harjo, when they started working on the second season.
“It’s always been important for us on this show to include Native American artists, but beyond representation, Black Belt Eagle Scout’s music is beautiful and emotional, and fits these characters, their world and landscape — and the vibe of the show,’” she said in a statement.
Then there was Pitchfork, a three-day festival that is a significant milestone for indie musicians. The festival is held every year in Chicago’s Union Park and this year’s headliners included Bon Iver, Big Thief and The Smile, which has members of Radiohead.
She admitted stepping on that stage last weekend was nerve-wracking given her high hopes for the show, a feeling compounded by concerns that storms could scuttle their performance. But as she launched into the blistering set of mostly new songs in front of thousands of eager fans, KP found solace in her guitar. She launched several long jams that were punctuated by her twirling her jet-black hair around to the point it obscured her face.
“It was totally a moment,” she said with a laugh.
“I kind of cried after we played because it felt so meaningful,” she added. “Like, I’ve always wanted to play this music festival. I remember trying to play one of the years before the pandemic when I was touring and it didn’t happen. This year, I was just so stoked to play.”
Reaching Pitchfork has been a long journey for the 34-year-old artist, who is a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and left her home on the reservation in LaConner, Washington, when she was 17 to attend Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and play rock music.
Growing up on the reservation off the Washington coast on islands in the Salish Sea, she drummed and sang cultural songs. As a teenager, she discovered local Pacific Northwest bands like Mount Eerie and the sounds of the Riot Grrrl movement and played one of her first gigs at a small bar called Department of Safety. She moved to Portland, Oregon, due to its outsized role in the indie scene that featured bands like Sleater-Kinney and quickly immersed herself in the music scene playing drums and guitar.
She joined an all-female outfit whom she met at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland. She went on to play a lot of small, basement shows with bands like Genders — whose wolf tattoo she still has on her left arm.
But she wanted to write her own songs and formed Black Belt Eagle Scout in 2013. Her early music was defined by her ethereal singing about love, friendship and healing — often only accompanied by minimal guitar strumming. But she did rock out on songs like “Soft Stud,” which featured searing solos.
“She is a really an authentic musician and she carries a lot of power on stage with her presence and sound,” Claire Glass, who plays guitar in the band and first saw KP seven years ago.
KP has said her Native American identify has always been present on her records. But her latest music paints a more vivid picture of life on the Swinomish reservation. There are references to chinook salmon, which are traditionally fished, and a powwow dance.
“I started thinking of feeling grateful for the life that I have been given; this place that I’m from; how much the land, the water, the sky means to me — being surrounded by it,” KP said of writing the song ”Don’t Give Up.” “It has so much more meaning because the land, that’s where my people are from.”
Her songs aren’t meant to directly confront issues like the crisis of missing and murdered Native American women or tribes’ forced relocation. It’s not the way she writes songs. Instead, she envisions them connecting with people, drawing more Native Americans to indie rock shows in places like Minneapolis, which has a vibrant Native American community, and inspiring young Native Americans to connect with her after shows.
“Isn’t me like being here existing with my music good enough? Can’t I just be who I am?” she asked, adding she doesn’t need to speak out from stage about these issues because being Native often means she is already wrestling with them. A judge, for example, ruled in March that BNSF Railway intentionally violated the terms of an easement agreement with the tribe by running 100-car trains carrying crude oil over the reservation.
“As a Native person, you know someone who is missing. Your tribe is trying to get your land back. Those are topics that are part of your every day life,” she said. ”I care about those things deeply but there are certain ways in which my music is, maybe not as direct, but it can be healing.”
KP also doesn’t want to be seen just as a rock musician or as a Native artist. “I am a musician who happens to be Native, but I am also a Native musician … I think I am always both,” she said.
Her latest record aims to show that.
“I kind of had in the back of mind, just kept thinking what would Built to Spill do,” KP said of the guitar-heavy, indie-rock band from the Pacific Northwest. “I’ve gone on tour with them and seen their three guitars at one point playing together and how they overlap and all these other things.”
It’s also a more collaborative effort with more musicians playing on the record— a departure for KP, who is accustomed to doing everything herself. A cellist who played with Nirvana, Lori Goldston, is featured on several songs, as are two violinists, as well as a saxophone and mellotron player.
Takiaya Reed, a first-time producer who is also in a doom metal band, described the experience of working on the record as “beautiful and amazing” and said the two bonded over their love of punk. Reid also brought her classical training and love of “heavier sounds” to the studio.
“We approached it fearlessly. It was wonderful to be expansive in terms of sonic possibilities,” she said.
KP also wanted to find a place for her parents, whom she had grown especially close to during the pandemic, to play on the record. She chose the song “Spaces,” which she described as having a “healing vibe.” Her dad, who is one of the main singers at the tribe’s cultural events, embraced the idea of lending his powerful powwow chant to the song. Her mom sang harmonies.
KP said: “It meant the world to me to have my parents sing because it felt like it was full circle in who I am.” | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:22 | 1 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ |
TOKYO (AP) — An official in charge of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says the upcoming release of treated radioactive water into the sea more than 12 years after the reactors’ meltdown marks “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decades-long decommissioning process.
Junichi Matsumoto, the corporate officer in charge of treated water management for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also pledged to conduct careful sampling and analysis of the water to make sure its release is safely carried out in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency standards.
The water is being treated with what’s called an Advanced Liquid Processing System, which can reduce the amounts of more than 60 selected radionuclides to government-set releasable levels, except for tritium, which the government and TEPCO say is safe for humans if consumed in small amounts.
“The release of the ALPS-treated water into the sea is a major milestone for us, as well as for the decommissioning of the plant,” Matsumoto said in an interview with The Associated Press at TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo.
“In order to steadily advance decommissioning, the ever-growing amounts of water was a pressing issue that we could not put off, and we had a sense of crisis,” said Matsumoto, a nuclear engineering expert. “We still have to tackle far more challenging and higher-risk operations such as removal of melted debris and spent fuel” from the damaged reactors, he said.
Another task for TEPCO is combatting the damage to the reputation of Fukushima fisheries caused by the water release, he said.
A massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water, which has since leaked continuously. The water is collected, filtered and stored in around 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.
Large amounts of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the reactors. Robotic probes have provided some information about its status, but it remains largely unknown.
The government and TEPCO say the water must be removed to make room for the plant’s decommissioning, and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks because much of the water is still contaminated and needs retreatment.
The release plan has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the accident. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.
Matsumoto said the key to gaining understanding is to patiently explain the situation by providing scientific evidence.
“It is difficult, but we hope to make it as easy to understand as possible,” he said. “If we describe (the water release) in one word, it’s safe.”
“As the operator responsible for the accident, we must admit TEPCO is a company that is not fully trusted. We must keep up the effort and sincerely respond to any concern,” Matsumoto said. “It is our responsibility to demonstrate we can carry out the water release as planned, and that’s how we can regain public trust.”
The government said the release is set to start this summer but hasn’t set the date amid protests. TEPCO has obtained safety permits for all of the equipment needed for the release and is currently carrying out training so the water release team can begin work at any time, Matsumoto said.
“It’s not like just turning a faucet to run tap water,” he said.
Scientists generally agree that the environmental impact of the treated wastewater would be negligible, but some call for more attention to dozens of low-dose radionuclides that remain in it, saying data on their long-term effects on the environment and marine life are insufficient and the water requires close scrutiny.
The treated water will be diluted with massive amounts of seawater and will be released gradually over many years.
Matsumoto acknowledged that treated water that came in contact with the damaged nuclear fuel contains radionuclides such as uranium and plutonium that are not in water that is routinely released from healthy nuclear plants around the world.
He said the total concentration of radionuclides in the water meets government standards after treatment, and after dilution the wastewater will be fully safe and have a minimal environmental impact, according to the IAEA, which has provided assistance in evaluating the release plan.
Matsumoto said he has struggled to manage the massive amounts of contaminated water to keep it from escaping into the environment and safely stored at the plant since the accident.
There were instances in which plant workers had no other choice but to dump some into the sea or temporarily put it inside a basement or in temporary water tanks, Matsumoto recalled.
Now, after taking measures to minimize the seeping of rainwater and groundwater into the reactor buildings and establishing a stable water management system, the amount of contaminated water has come down to less than one-fifth of what it used to be, he said. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:26 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ |
2 separate meteor showers expected to peak this weekend
(CNN) - Mother nature will be putting on quite a show this weekend.
Stargazers will just have to look up to watch it.
Two meteor showers, the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids, are expected to peak Sunday and Monday evenings.
The Delta Aquariids are best seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but they will still be visible in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the southern part of the United States.
They will just be lower on the horizon and the best time to see them is around 2 a.m.
The only downside is that the nearly-full moon may make them harder to see.
As for the Alpha Capricornids, this shower produces just a few meteors per hour.
However, they will be especially bright and the moon shouldn’t obscure their light.
Special equipment is not needed to watch the showers, but it’s recommended to get as far away from artificial light as possible.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:26 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/29/2-separate-meteor-showers-expected-peak-this-weekend/ |
CHICAGO – The beginning of the pandemic was devasting for the leader of the indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout, Katherine Paul. All her tours, including one headlining across North America, were canceled and she feared her ascending music career might be over.
She got a day job at a nonprofit and returned to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's homelands in Western Washington. But as Paul, or KP to her friends, spent time in the cedar forests and walked along the Skagit River, she turned to her guitar to deal with the isolation and stress. Those snippets, recorded on her phone, provided the foundation for what would become songs on her powerful, grunge-soaked new record “The Land, The Water, The Sky.”
“I feel like if the pandemic hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't have made this record,” said KP, who writes the songs, sings and plays guitar in the band that was the only Native American artist at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this month.
“I spent a lot of time outside. I spent a lot more time than normal going on hikes, being part of the land,” she continued. “It’s not like I never do that stuff but it brought me back to a place where this is who I am."
The new record, which came out in February, helped launch what has probably been the most successful year so far for Black Belt Eagle Scout. The band toured Europe and will go to Australia later this year. Two of her songs, “Soft Stud” from an earlier record and “Salmon Stinta” from her latest, appear this season on the television series “Reservation Dogs.”
Reservation Dogs Music Supervisor Tiffany Anders said she was introduced to the band's music by the show's creator, Sterlin Harjo, when they started working on the second season.
“It’s always been important for us on this show to include Native American artists, but beyond representation, Black Belt Eagle Scout’s music is beautiful and emotional, and fits these characters, their world and landscape — and the vibe of the show,'” she said in a statement.
Then there was Pitchfork, a three-day festival that is a significant milestone for indie musicians. The festival is held every year in Chicago's Union Park and this year's headliners included Bon Iver, Big Thief and The Smile, which has members of Radiohead.
She admitted stepping on that stage last weekend was nerve-wracking given her high hopes for the show, a feeling compounded by concerns that storms could scuttle their performance. But as she launched into the blistering set of mostly new songs in front of thousands of eager fans, KP found solace in her guitar. She launched several long jams that were punctuated by her twirling her jet-black hair around to the point it obscured her face.
“It was totally a moment,” she said with a laugh.
“I kind of cried after we played because it felt so meaningful,” she added. “Like, I’ve always wanted to play this music festival. I remember trying to play one of the years before the pandemic when I was touring and it didn’t happen. This year, I was just so stoked to play.”
Reaching Pitchfork has been a long journey for the 34-year-old artist, who is a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and left her home on the reservation in LaConner, Washington, when she was 17 to attend Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and play rock music.
Growing up on the reservation off the Washington coast on islands in the Salish Sea, she drummed and sang cultural songs. As a teenager, she discovered local Pacific Northwest bands like Mount Eerie and the sounds of the Riot Grrrl movement and played one of her first gigs at a small bar called Department of Safety. She moved to Portland, Oregon, due to its outsized role in the indie scene that featured bands like Sleater-Kinney and quickly immersed herself in the music scene playing drums and guitar.
She joined an all-female outfit whom she met at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland. She went on to play a lot of small, basement shows with bands like Genders — whose wolf tattoo she still has on her left arm.
But she wanted to write her own songs and formed Black Belt Eagle Scout in 2013. Her early music was defined by her ethereal singing about love, friendship and healing — often only accompanied by minimal guitar strumming. But she did rock out on songs like “Soft Stud,” which featured searing solos.
“She is a really an authentic musician and she carries a lot of power on stage with her presence and sound,” Claire Glass, who plays guitar in the band and first saw KP seven years ago.
KP has said her Native American identify has always been present on her records. But her latest music paints a more vivid picture of life on the Swinomish reservation. There are references to chinook salmon, which are traditionally fished, and a powwow dance.
“I started thinking of feeling grateful for the life that I have been given; this place that I'm from; how much the land, the water, the sky means to me — being surrounded by it," KP said of writing the song ”Don't Give Up." “It has so much more meaning because the land, that’s where my people are from."
Her songs aren't meant to directly confront issues like the crisis of missing and murdered Native American women or tribes' forced relocation. It's not the way she writes songs. Instead, she envisions them connecting with people, drawing more Native Americans to indie rock shows in places like Minneapolis, which has a vibrant Native American community, and inspiring young Native Americans to connect with her after shows.
“Isn’t me like being here existing with my music good enough? Can’t I just be who I am?” she asked, adding she doesn't need to speak out from stage about these issues because being Native often means she is already wrestling with them. A judge, for example, ruled in March that BNSF Railway intentionally violated the terms of an easement agreement with the tribe by running 100-car trains carrying crude oil over the reservation.
“As a Native person, you know someone who is missing. Your tribe is trying to get your land back. Those are topics that are part of your every day life," she said. ”I care about those things deeply but there are certain ways in which my music is, maybe not as direct, but it can be healing.”
KP also doesn't want to be seen just as a rock musician or as a Native artist. “I am a musician who happens to be Native, but I am also a Native musician ... I think I am always both,” she said.
Her latest record aims to show that.
“I kind of had in the back of mind, just kept thinking what would Built to Spill do,” KP said of the guitar-heavy, indie-rock band from the Pacific Northwest. “I've gone on tour with them and seen their three guitars at one point playing together and how they overlap and all these other things."
It's also a more collaborative effort with more musicians playing on the record— a departure for KP, who is accustomed to doing everything herself. A cellist who played with Nirvana, Lori Goldston, is featured on several songs, as are two violinists, as well as a saxophone and mellotron player.
Takiaya Reed, a first-time producer who is also in a doom metal band, described the experience of working on the record as “beautiful and amazing" and said the two bonded over their love of punk. Reid also brought her classical training and love of “heavier sounds” to the studio.
“We approached it fearlessly. It was wonderful to be expansive in terms of sonic possibilities,” she said.
KP also wanted to find a place for her parents, whom she had grown especially close to during the pandemic, to play on the record. She chose the song “Spaces,” which she described as having a “healing vibe." Her dad, who is one of the main singers at the tribe's cultural events, embraced the idea of lending his powerful powwow chant to the song. Her mom sang harmonies.
KP said: “It meant the world to me to have my parents sing because it felt like it was full circle in who I am." | https://www.wsls.com/entertainment/2023/07/29/black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:27 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/entertainment/2023/07/29/black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ |
Ex-New Mexico police informant headed to prison after admitting 5 bank robberies to feed addiction
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man who confessed to five bank robberies last year, including one bank he robbed twice, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. Jason Smeltzer made off with a total of less than $4,000 during the five robberies over five weeks in early 2022. The 41-year-old who once served as a confidential informant for Albuquerque police said he needed money to buy drugs to feed his fentanyl addiction. He had no weapon but handed notes to tellers claiming he was a vigilante helping law enforcement and asking that they “please” place bills in an envelop. He was arrested hours after the last heist. | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/ex-new-mexico-police-informant-headed-to-prison-after-admitting-5-bank-robberies-to-feed-addiction/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:28 | 0 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/ex-new-mexico-police-informant-headed-to-prison-after-admitting-5-bank-robberies-to-feed-addiction/ |
PHOENIX – 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.
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).
“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).
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.wsls.com/news/2023/07/29/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:29 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/news/2023/07/29/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ |
Dream vs. Mystics Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - July 30
The Atlanta Dream (13-11) welcome in the Washington Mystics (12-11) after Allisha Gray scored 25 points in the Dream's 95-84 loss to the Liberty. The game airs on ESPN3, NBCS-DC, Monumental, and BSSO at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, July 30, 2023.
Bookmakers have not yet set a line for this matchup.
Rep your team with officially licensed Dream gear! Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, and much more.
Dream vs. Mystics Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET
- Where: Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia
- TV: ESPN3, NBCS-DC, Monumental, and BSSO
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on the Dream or Mystics with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use our link for the best new user offer, no promo code required!
Dream vs. Mystics Score Prediction
Prediction: Mystics 82 Dream 77
Spread & Total Prediction for Dream vs. Mystics
- Computer Predicted Spread: Washington (-4.6)
- Computer Predicted Total: 158.5
Dream vs. Mystics Spread & Total Insights
- Atlanta has 13 wins in 23 games against the spread this year.
- Atlanta has played 23 games this year, and 12 of them have gone over the total.
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Dream Performance Insights
- The Dream are fourth in the WNBA with 85.0 points per game this season. At the other end of the court, they rank ninth with 85.1 points allowed per game.
- Although Atlanta is allowing 35.9 rebounds per game (second-worst in WNBA), it ranks third-best in the league by collecting 37.0 boards per contest.
- While the Dream rank in the bottom five in the WNBA in turnovers per game with 14.3 (third-worst), they rank sixth in the league with 13.2 forced turnovers per contest.
- The Dream are draining 7.1 threes per game (seventh-ranked in WNBA) this season, while owning a 35.5% three-point percentage (fourth-ranked).
- The Dream are allowing 7.5 treys per game this year (seventh-ranked in WNBA), and they are allowing a 32.7% three-point percentage (third-best).
- Atlanta is attempting 49.5 two-pointers per game this year, which account for 71.3% of the shots it has taken (and 76.5% of the team's baskets). Meanwhile, it is attempting 20.0 treys per contest, which are 28.7% of its shots (and 23.5% of the team's buckets).
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HUARINA – A 70-year-old man's feet sink into the soil as he passes abandoned boats where there used to be the water of Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world has receded to what Bolivian authorities say are critically low levels due to a persistent drought.
“It’s completely dry,” Jaime Mamani said in exasperation while walking along the new shoreline in Huarina, a farming town 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of La Paz where he is a community leader.
The National Service of Naval Hydrography declared an alert this week for the iconic lake after its surface fell 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) below the drought warning stage, or 3,807.8 meters (12492.7 feet) above sea level. But the agency says this is just the beginning of a situation that is worrying Indigenous Aymara communities that rely on the lake for their livelihoods and fear the dry spell could permanently impact the region’s flora and fauna.
The hydrology unit of Bolivia’s navy warned that water levels could reach historically low levels in the coming months. By December, there is a “high probability” Lake Titicaca will be 64 centimeters (more than 25 inches) below the drought alert level, breaking a low water record set in 1998 by 33 centimeters (almost 13 inches).
“In three months, the water has decreased by 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), and considering that radiation is much stronger during this time of the year … we expect it to keep decreasing,” Carlos Carrasco, a hydraulic engineer for the hydrography service said.
The drought is the result of a combination of factors, including natural phenomena like La Niña and El Niño, which arrived unusually early this year and have been particularly strong due in part to climate change, according to Lucía Walper, who heads up the Hydrological Forecasting Unit at Bolivia's National Meteorology and Hydrology Service.
But the vast lake is vital for this region of the Bolivian highlands, where hundreds of Aymara rural communities have relied on the blue body of water for millennia to practice subsistence farming and raise livestock.
Authorities in the Peruvian city of Puno also issued a warning about the declining water levels and expressed concern about the potential impact on tourism.
“We’re reaching a critical point. There will be a significant loss of water,” said Juan José Ocola, president of the Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca. The lake serves as the border between Bolivia and Peru.
Mateo Vargas, 56, a fisherman who has lived off the Lake Titicaca for 28 years, said he used to catch “lots” of fish daily. Now he considers himself lucky if he can catch six.
Vargas’ wife, Justina Condori, shares his concerns.
“The fish have vanished,” Condori, 58, said, predicting there will be famine if the current conditions persist.
Condori makes a living by renting boats to tourists. She worries fewer people will come to visit the lake, which at an elevation of 3,810 meters above sea level, is the largest body of freshwater in the Andes mountain range.
Evidence of the receding lake is seemingly everywhere. Women who sell fried fish and other snacks by the lake face rising costs for ingredients. Those who make a living transporting people from one side of the lake to the other are altering their routes because their rafts and boats no longer reach their usual docks.
Livestock farmers who rely on the plants that grow on the shores of the Titicaca to feed their animals are also seeing their livelihoods threatened.
The economic hardship is causing many residents of Huarina to migrate to other areas of the country, leaving behind mostly older townspeople, Mamani said. The waters of the Titicaca have always been shallow around the town, so the drought is even more visible there.
“There is a detriment to the economy of the inhabitants of the region,” he said.
Vargas, the fisherman, is also concerned about what the declining water levels will mean for the future.
“It looks like it will continue to decrease, day by day,” he said. “We’re worried because if we continue like this, what’s going to happen to our children?”
___
Follow AP's coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment | https://www.wsls.com/news/world/2023/07/29/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:30 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/world/2023/07/29/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German economy is still failing to grow, figures showed Friday, as the country that should be the industrial powerhouse for all of Europe struggles with high energy prices, rising borrowing costs and a lagging rebound from key trading partner China.
Economic output in Germany stagnated in the April-to-June quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said. That follows a decline of 0.1% in the first three months of the year and a drop of 0.4% in the last three months of 2022 as the energy shock from Russia’s war in Ukraine echoed through Europe’s largest economy.
It comes after the International Monetary Fund forecast this week that Germany would be the globe’s only major economy to shrink this year, even with weak economic growth around the world amid rising interest rates and the threat of growing inflation.
In Germany, the economy has been buffeted by several challenges. Above all, its long-term dependence on Russian natural gas to fuel industry backfired when the invasion of Ukraine led to the loss of most of Moscow’s supply and to higher costs for energy-intensive industries such as metals, glass, cars and fertilizer.
Higher interest rates from the European Central Bank have weighed on construction projects that depend on borrowing. Meanwhile, the rebound in China, Germany’s largest trade partner, after the end of drastic COVID-19 restrictions has been less than many had hoped for.
The second-quarter economic performance was “far from satisfactory,” said Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
He urged action on his proposal to cap energy prices for industry with government help, which has run into skepticism in parts of the governing coalition, and more investment in future-oriented technology such as renewable energy.
“What Germany needs is a targeted impulse for investment and breathing room for our energy-intensive industry,” he said.
Longer-term factors such as an aging population, lagging use of digital technology in business and government, excessive red tape that holds back business launches and public construction projects, and a shortage of skilled labor also have weighed on the economy.
Yet the slowdown does not resemble a classic recession because jobs are abundant, with companies competing for workers and complaining of skills shortages. The unemployment rate was only 2.9% in May, well below the eurozone’s 6.5% — one of the lowest rates on record.
Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING, has described Germany’s situation as a “slowcession,” with the economy “stuck in the twilight zone between stagnation and recession.”
He said Friday that recent data “do not bode well for economic activity in the coming months.”
“In fact, weak purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books, as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the U.S. economy, all argue in favor of weak economic activity,” Brzeski said in a note.
Germany’s woes are calling forth comparisons with the late 1990s, when high labor costs held back the country’s competitiveness. A series of labor market reforms under former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2003-2004 helped restore economic growth and Germany’s position as an export powerhouse selling industrial machinery and vehicles to the rest of the world.
Germany’s current account surplus of $290 billion, the broadest measure of foreign trade, was the highest in the world in 2019, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. It remained above 7% of GDP for six straight years but fell to 4.2% last year. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:33 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ |
‘God willing, we will meet again in Libya.’ A migrant family’s tale shows chaos at Tunisian border
By RENATA BRITO, ELAINE GANLEY and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press
When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled to the ground, exhausted and dehydrated, but urged his wife to carry on with little Marie and catch up to dozens of other migrants ahead.
“God willing, we will meet again in Libya,” he told them.
Nyimbilo eventually made it there — only to find out days later that his wife and daughter almost certainly did not.
A graphic photo widely shared on social media shows the lifeless body of a Black woman with braided hair next to a little girl, their faces down in the sand. The child is curled up next to the woman, her bare feet red and swollen, likely from walking on blistering hot sand.
Nyimbilo said he immediately recognized his wife’s yellow dress, pulled up on her body, and his daughter’s black sandals, sitting beside them. He shared recent photographs with The Associated Press showing them in the same clothing. He said he hasn’t heard from his wife, Matyla Dosso, who also went by Fatima, or their daughter since that day in the desert, July 16.
Nyimbilo believes Matyla and Marie are among more than a dozen Black migrants Libyan border guards say they’ve found dead in the desert border area of the North African nations since Tunisian authorities began conducting mass expulsions in early July. Nyimbilo is from Cameroon; his wife, Ivory Coast. They lived for years in Libya but hoped to finally make it to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.
The Libyan police border guard in al-Assa, near the Tunisian border, found the woman and child in the July 19 photo dead, spokesperson Maj. Shawky al-Masry said. He declined to provide further details or say where the bodies are now.
Different border units have found at least 10 bodies on the Libyan side since last week, including that of another small child.
Black Africans in Tunisia have faced increasing discrimination and violence since President Kais Saied’s February remarks that sub-Saharan migrants are part of a plot to alter the country’s identity and demographics. He said “hordes of irregular migrants” bring “violence, crime and unacceptable practices.” The speech to his security council inflamed longstanding tensions throughout the region and country, but particularly between Tunisians and migrants in the port city of Sfax and other eastern coastal towns.
Tunisia has replaced Libya as the main point of departure for people attempting the deadly Mediterranean crossing to Italy, according to United Nations and other figures. Through July 20, more than 15,000 foreign migrants were intercepted by Tunisian authorities — more than double that period last year, Interior Minister Kamel Fekih told Parliament this week. He blasted the influx of sub-Saharan migrants and said Tunisia can’t accept becoming “a transit country.”
Tunisian authorities have responded to rising tensions with a crackdown on Black migrants and refugees, and some have been rounded up from coastal cities and sent to Libya or Algeria — countries with their own long track records of grave human rights violations, abuses against migrants and collective deportations.
Human rights organizations, Libyan authorities and migrants themselves have accused Tunisia of violating international law with the mass expulsions across its borders. Tunisian authorities long skirted a direct response to those accusations, but on Thursday, the Interior Ministry rejected any responsibility about “Africans outside its borders,” a clear reference to those in the desert. The ministry stressed Tunisia’s right to protect borders and insisted it carries out its “humanitarian duty.”
Officials also issued a warning against publication of content from social networks and in news outlets, and made a veiled reference in a recent statement to prison sentences of up to 10 years for anyone circulating information it deems incorrect.
This week, hundreds of people — including pregnant women and children — remain trapped in the border area between Tunisia, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea, while others are stranded on the Algeria side, U.N. agencies said, urging their immediate rescue.
Libyan authorities have stepped up security near Tunisia and found hundreds of migrants stranded in temperatures that surpassed 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). They’ve shared dramatic photos and videos on social media of their desert encounters with exhausted migrants desperate for water, as well as graphic images of the deceased.
Libyan guard Ali Wali said his team has seen through binoculars Tunisian security forcing migrants toward Libya. He said his unit finds more than 100 daily: “Some migrants spent up to three days with no food and water in the desert.”
Without elaborating, Wali said those found are handed to relevant authorities. U.N. agencies and the Libyan Red Crescent say they’ve provided food, water and other assistance.
But according to another security official, migrants were taken to detention centers run by Libya’s Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration, notorious for abuse. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Despite the growing evidence of abuse against some migrants in Tunisia and issues at the border, European leaders have doubled up their show of support for Saied, offering hundreds of millions of euros to stabilize the country with hopes it will also reduce migration.
That didn’t deter Nyimbilo and his family.
Nyimbilo and his wife had already tried to get to Europe. Their previous five attempts to cross the Mediterranean, from Libya to Italy, all failed. Each time, they were intercepted by EU-equipped Libyan forces and imprisoned. Nyimbilo told AP his wife was raped twice in front of their child in detention.
“We had no more hope,” Nyimbilo said of their time in Libya, where Marie couldn’t even attend school because she’s the child of immigrants. “This country has traumatized us so much.”
So, on July 13, they left the coastal city of Zuwara and trekked through the desert with other migrants, making it to the border in the early hours of July 15. They continued to the town of Ben Guerdane, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Tunisia.
The group split up to avoid attracting attention. But they grew desperate for water. Nyimbilo and his family walked to a main road in search of help. That’s when a police car stopped and detained them, he said, and officers found their registration papers.
“When they saw it and realized we had left Libya, they beat us,” Nyimbilo said. The next day, he said, they were loaded onto a truck with other migrants and dropped at the border, without water.
Today, he said, he struggles to cope with his loss and to realize he’ll never see his wife or daughter again. They’d survived so much — failed voyages to Europe, assaults, even the 2019 bombing of the Tajoura detention center. He can hardly accept that Matyla and Marie died in the desert.
“A bottle of water could have saved my family,” he said.
___
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain; Ganley from Paris; and Magdy from Cairo. Sarah El Deeb contributed from Beirut. | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:34 | 1 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/ |
NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Japan explored collaborating in critical technologies, including semiconductors and resilient supply chains, as part of plans to reach a target of $35.9 billion Japanese investment in the country by 2027, officials said on Friday.
Foreign Ministers of India and Japan, S. Jaishankar and Yoshimasa Hayashi, met in New Delhi on Thursday and also discussed ways to deepen defense equipment and technology cooperation. Hayashi is on a two-day visit to the Indian capital.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global supply of parts and raw materials needed to complete a variety of products – from cars to computer chips.
Hayashi and Jaishankar also emphasized the crucial role of a strong partnership between India and Japan in ensuring an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and rules-based, a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry said.
They discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including the Quad grouping that also includes the United States and Australia, the statement said. The grouping aims at countering the growing challenge posed by an aggressive China in the region.
Japan considers India an indispensable partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said at a meeting with business leaders from the two countries.
He said he has been encouraging Japanese companies to invest in 15 key sectors identified by India as eligible for subsidies. These include telecommunications equipment, automobiles, and applied chemical batteries.
“All of this has led to the remarkable growth in Japanese investment into crucial technologies such as medical equipment, electronics, and household electric appliances,” Hayashi said.
Jaishankar and Hayashi expressed satisfaction at the strengthening of defense and security cooperation between the two countries, including regular exercises and talks between all three services, the statement said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to build a chipmaking industry suffered a potential setback earlier this month as electronics giant Foxconn backed out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd.
In February last year, the two companies announced their joint venture to manufacture chips and display panels in India.
India has made building a chipmaking sector a national priority as part of a self-reliance policy to secure stable supplies. It is offering financial incentives of up to 50% of project costs under a $10 billion plan for semiconductor and display manufacturing projects.
India and Japan share strong economic ties. Trade between the two was worth $20.57 billion in fiscal year 2021-2022. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:40 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ |
The extreme heat wave that blasted the Southwest is abating with late arriving monsoon rains
By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press
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.
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).
“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).
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://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains-2/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:40 | 1 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains-2/ |
To wrap, or not to wrap? Hungarian bookstores face fines over closed packaging for LGBTQ+ books
By BELA SZANDELSZKY
Associated Press
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Booksellers in Hungary must decide whether to comply with a law requiring books that depict homosexuality to be placed in closed packaging on their shelves. Some bookstores have already received hefty fines from the right-wing government for failing to do so, while others have opted to abide by the legislation, despite their opposition to it. The 2021 law bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality in content available to minors under 18, including in television, films, advertisements and literature. Rights groups say the law infringes on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, but the government insists it’s necessary to protect children. Some authors, booksellers and activists have resisted the provisions, arguing that they are discriminatory. | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:46 | 0 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books/ |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A merger that would have created one of the largest health service companies in the Upper Midwest has been scrapped.
Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health announced Thursday that they would not proceed with the merger they had been discussing since late last year. It would have created a system with more than 50 hospitals and about 78,000 employees.
This is the second time in a decade that the two companies considered a merger but failed to complete it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The latest attempt drew fierce opposition at the University of Minnesota, which has a partnership with Fairview. The university sold its teaching hospital to Fairview in 1997 and opposed the idea of an out-of-state entity owning the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. The merged system would have been based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s largest city.
Statements from the two companies’ CEOs stated that without support from stakeholders, it was determined that the merger couldn’t move forward.
The companies first considered merging in 2013 but met with strong political opposition.
Minnesota lawmakers this spring gave the state attorney general additional power to scrutinize health care mergers, including the Sanford-Fairview proposal.
The affiliation between Fairview and the University of Minnesota includes financial support from Fairview for the school’s academic medicine mission. This agreement continues through 2026, but both parties have an option to signal by the end of this year if they want to end the partnership. Fairview has said the current agreements are not financially sustainable. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-merger-talks-end-between-large-health-care-systems-in-minnesota-south-dakota/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:46 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-merger-talks-end-between-large-health-care-systems-in-minnesota-south-dakota/ |
Water is refreshing in the heat, right? In parts of Florida this past week, not so much
By MICHAEL PHILLIS, BEATRICE DUPUY and REBECCA BLACKWELL
Associated Press
In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like.
Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the state’s southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service — although scientists said the context for Monday’s reading is complicated.
“It was like there was no difference between humidity of the air and going into the water,” said Chelsea Ward of Fort Myers, Florida.
Triple-digit ocean temperatures are stunning even in Florida, where residents are used to the heat and where many retirees find refuge from cold, northern winters. Several other nearby spots reached the mid-90s (about 35 Celsius). A storm finally came through on Wednesday, helping water temperatures drop back down in to the more temperate 80s (about 29 Celsius).
Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh. Every summer, millions grab their swimsuits for a day on the beach and a chance to cool off in the water — a break from everyday work and worry. Pools offer the same relief and a place for friends to gather. But when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost.
Ward, 47, doesn’t keep her beach bag in her car anymore even though she lives minutes away from the beach in Fort Myers. Lately, the water is just too hot. On Sunday, when her friend asked if she wanted to go to the beach, the two decided against it after discovering the water temperature was around 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).
When it’s hot, the body cools down by sweating, which evaporates and releases heat. Dipping into the ocean is typically so refreshing because heat efficiently transfers from your body into the water. But as water temperatures climb, that effect diminishes and you lose less heat less quickly, according to Michael Mullins, a Washington University toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
A hot tub — or a stretch of ocean water hotter than body temperature — reverses the transfer of heat into your body. That’s not a pleasant experience on a sizzling, humid, Florida day.
“It would feel,” Mullins said, “like you are swimming in soup.”
ICE BLOCKS FOR YOUR POOL? WHY NOT
People already tend not to swim that much in the Florida waters that were so extremely hot earlier this week. The water can get muddy and there are alligators and crocodiles in the area, too.
But high temperatures anywhere can make swimming less pleasant. Through Friday, Phoenix endured highs above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) every day this month. Pools are warm. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the northwest in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Stefanee Lynn Thompson, 50, wanted to keep guests cool for a pool party she hosted Sunday. The heat had raised the pool’s temperature to 96 degrees (36 Celsius).
Her friend recommended she go buy ice blocks. She ran to the grocery store, picked up 40 of them and dumped them in the pool. She set up fans, too. All that hard work dropped the pool’s temperature a grand total of 4 degrees (7 degrees Celsius).
“When it’s 120 out, anything helps,” Thompson said.
Recently, ocean temperatures off the western coast of Florida have been a few degrees above normal, sitting around 88 to 90 degrees (31-32 degrees Celsius). It’s not just humans that suffer when the oceans warm. Sea corals are bleaching. They can be hurt when water temperatures rise above the upper 80s (low 30 degrees Celsius).
July has been so hot that scientists announced a global heat record even before the month ended. Climate change is creating a hotter world, warming oceans and making some storms more destructive. Sea surface temperatures are somewhat above average around Florida, but they are far higher in parts of the North Atlantic near Newfoundland where they are as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) hotter than usual.
The extremely high sea surface temperatures recorded earlier this week off Florida’s southern tip were caused by lots of sun, little wind and no storms.
“I’ve never seen temperatures 100 degrees in Florida Bay in the 21 years I’ve been in the Keys,” said Andy Devanas, science officer at the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida.
IS THE WATER THAT WARM EVERYWHERE?
And there are some questions about how representative Monday’s 101.2-degree reading in Manatee Bay were. Water there is shallow and thus heats up quickly. If there’s lots of sediment, that can raise temperatures, too, according to David Roth, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
By contrast, stop by the YMCA pools on the North Shore of Massachusetts near Boston and you’ll descend into water that’s around 78 to 80 degrees (26 to 27 degrees Celsius). The ocean nearby is cooler, too. Sea surface temperatures off Cape Cod, for example, barely touched the mid-70s (about 24 degrees Celsius) this week.
When Maria Argueta, 38, has time off from her job at an open-air decorative plant nursery in Homestead, Florida, she’ll go with her family to swim.
“This year, the heat is stronger,” she said.
The hot ocean water doesn’t bother her, but sometimes she takes her 2-year-old son and other members of the family to the Venetian Pool, a public facility in Coral Gables fed by water from an aquifer that’s always in the 70s. The very cool water, she said, is refreshing.
Florida’s humid weather makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool the body down. People in south Florida know the ocean doesn’t tend to offer real relief from that suffocating heat.
“You aren’t getting much cooling at all,” Roth said. “Nobody goes into the water in South Florida in the summer really except to swim, because it is comfortable to swim, but it is not refreshing.”
___
AP journalist Seth Borenstein contributed reporting from Washington, Dupuy reported from New York and Phillis reported from St. Louis. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:52 | 0 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/28/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Procter & Gamble reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits and revenue, showing that the appetite for established brands like Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper is still strong even as the consumer products company pushes up prices.
P&G increased prices by about 7% across various brands from the same period last year, less than the 10% increase in third quarter. Global volume fell 1% in the quarter, however, still an improvement over a 3% drop in volume during the third quarter, and a 6% drop in the second quarter.
During a call with analysts Friday, Chairman and CEO Jon Moeller said higher prices are tied to company innovations and aren’t going away.
Examples include Cruiser 360 diapers, made for babies that move around a lot. Sales have increased 33% over the past 12 months, according to Andre Schulten, the company’s chief financial officer. And a detox body wash sold in China called Safeguard goes for twice the market average price. Sales have almost doubled in the past year.
“When you have a strong innovation program, it compels consumers to try even better performing products,” Moeller said.
During the fourth quarter prices for fabric care, as well as home and health care, went up 6% and grooming products rose 9%. Beauty items rose 8%.
Pricing has been a boost to sales growth in nearly all of P&G’s past 51 quarters, Moeller said.
The easing of volume declines may be encouraging news for P&G and other producers after recent evidence of a pushback by shoppers to seemingly relentless price hikes coming from a broad spectrum of retailers and companies the make products for them.
Conagra Brands, which makes Slim Jim beef jerky, Duncan Hines cake mix and more, said this month that smaller price increases have not translated to higher sales volume. The company raised prices 15% in the quarter before that and it didn’t dent demand.
Also this month, PepsiCo said higher prices lifted the company’s revenue in the second quarter but snack food volumes fell 3% in the April-June period, while beverage volumes dropped 1%. The company said that price increases could start to moderate in the second half of this year.
Overall inflation continues to slow and on Friday, the U.S. reported that the consumer price index, which is followed closely because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps, rose in June at the slowest pace in more than two years.
Procter & Gamble Co., based in Cincinnati, reported net income of $3.39 billion, or $1.37 per share, in the quarter ended June 30. That compares with $3.06 billion, or $1.21 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Sales rose 5% to $20.6 billion from $19.51 billion in the quarter.
Analysts were expecting $1.32 per share on sales of $20.01 billion, according to FactSet.
P&G expects fiscal 2024 sales growth in the range of 3% to 4% versus the prior year. The company expects organic sales growth, which excludes deals and currency moves, to be in the range of 4% to 5%.
P&G expects net earnings per share growth in the range of 6% to 9% for the current year. This outlook equates to a range of $6.25 to $6.43 per share, with a mid-point estimate of $6.34, or an increase of 7.5%. Analysts were expecting $6.37 per share.
Shares rose more than 3% Friday.
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Trump shows in Iowa he still rules the GOP – despite his deepening criminal peril
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
(CNN) — Donald Trump only needed 10 minutes to show why his growing pile of criminal charges is not yet loosening his grip on the Republican presidential race and why his opponents will find him so hard to beat.
The ex-president’s growing legal peril hung Friday over the first showcase featuring all poll-leading GOP candidates on the same stage – an American Idol-style audition in Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
But his closest rivals didn’t dare bring up a legal quagmire that threatens to be a liability in a general election if Trump is the nominee for fear of alienating his still-massive support in the grassroots. Minor candidates with much less to lose did take on the stampeding elephants in the room – but were rewarded with silence or a torrent of boos.
Still, Trump couldn’t escape the reality of a campaign in which he seems to be running as much to recapture the powers of the presidency to sweep away his criminal exposure, as to implement an agenda likely to be even more extreme and disruptive than that of his first term. Every candidate walked out to the Brooks & Dunn hit “Only in America.” But when Trump arrived, the lyrics echoed his uncertain future: “One kid dreams of fame and fortune. One kid helps pay the rent. One could end up going to prison. One just might be president.”
Trump was making his first major public appearance since special counsel Jack Smith slapped him with new charges Thursday over his hoarding of classified documents at his Florida home after leaving office.
But Trump, the only one of 13 Republican hopefuls to get a standing ovation before he even spoke, largely ignored a flurry of cases that could force him to split time between court rooms and the campaign trail next year. He did lash out at the Biden administration for what he claimed was the political weaponization of justice.
“If I weren’t running, I would have nobody coming after me. Or if I was losing by a lot, I would have nobody coming after me,” said Trump, who has tried to turn his precarious position into a campaign trail virtue by portraying himself as a victim of political persecution.
As well as the classified documents case, Trump has said he expects to be indicted in another special counsel investigation – into his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his behavior in the run-up to the mob attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. He is also due to go on trial in March in a case in Manhattan relating to a hush money payment made to an adult film actress.
But such is his strength in Iowa – where he has a huge lead in the polls – and nationally in the GOP that his major opponents avoided risking their own reception at Friday’s dinner and their chances in January by raising the new charges.
Top opponents keep criticism of Trump offstage
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did stiffen his criticism of Trump’s legal situation – but did so offstage.
“If the election becomes a referendum on what document was left by the toilet at Mar-a-Lago, we are not going to win,” DeSantis told ABC News. “We can’t have distractions.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence implicitly raised questions about Trump’s suitability for future office but also avoided openly criticizing his former White House partner.
“The allegations, including yesterday’s allegations against the president in that indictment are very serious,” Pence told Fox News with the caveat that Trump was entitled to his day in court. “But I’m never going to downplay the importance of handling our nation’s secrets. It literally goes straight to the security of this country.”
Only candidates who are so far behind that they so far look to have little chance to win in Iowa or anywhere else directly took on Trump.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson went there – but it didn’t do him any good.
“As it stands right now, you will be voting in Iowa, while multiple criminal cases are pending against former President Trump,” Hutchinson said. “We are a party of individual responsibility, accountability and support for the rule of law. We must not abandon that.” His comment drew a single clap in an otherwise silent ballroom.
Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, an ex-CIA officer, left his stinging criticism of the former president for the end of his speech.
“Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great again. Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and 2020,” Hurd said to loud boos. “Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison,” he said as jeers started to crescendo.
“I know, I know. I know. I know. I know. Listen, I know the truth. The truth is hard,” Hurd said, adding, “If we (nominate) Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House, and America can’t handle that.”
But judging by the snaking lines to shake Trump’s hand in his post-dinner reception and the much-smaller crowds at events hosted by his rivals, Trump remains the darling of his party. Much can change in the months before the caucuses, and it’s possible the sheer weight of legal threats could begin to weigh down Trump and convince some voters that, despite his hero status, another Republican might be a better bet. But if Trump is to be stopped, there is no sign so far that it will happen in Iowa.
Unlike some of the other GOP candidates, Trump is not using the dinner to also hold multiple Iowa campaign stops. On Saturday, he heads to Erie, Pennsylvania, for a campaign rally before what is likely to be an even friendlier audience.
A showcase of an accelerating campaign
Friday’s dinner in Des Moines, the state capital, was a rare occasion when the major GOP candidates appeared in the same place, even if they delivered 10-minute speeches one by one and never clashed onstage. Trump has warned he may skip the first Republican presidential debate on Fox News next month – a decision that might make sense given the size of his polling lead. The format of such events makes it hard for any candidate to break out. But it’s not impossible. In 2007, Sen. Barack Obama delivered a stemwinder that rescued his dawdling campaign at the equivalent Democratic event – then known as the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. A few months later, victory in the Iowa caucuses put him on the road to the 2008 Democratic nomination and the White House.
On Friday night, the former president’s strength meant that every other candidate was battling to become the Trump alternative, with a strong showing in Iowa that might set them up for a long duel with the front-runner deep into primary season.
The field came to Iowa with added incentive because of the wobbles of DeSantis, long seen as the top rival to Trump but who was forced to slash campaign staff amid concerns by donors about his profligate spending and his performance on the trail. DeSantis is now running a classic grassroots campaign in the Hawkeye State, holding small events and looking voters in the eye.
Polling is sparse so far as the Iowa campaign speeds up ahead of the caucuses in January, but Trump led in a Fox Business survey this month with 46%. DeSantis had 16%, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott had 11%. No other candidate was in double figures.
Despite the indictments hanging over his head, Trump made the most impressive 10-minute presentation. Showing rare discipline in sticking to the script, he demonstrated how he will use the legacy of a presidency that remains hugely popular among activists to disadvantage his rivals. Unlike most of the other candidates, he also tailored his message to the Hawkeye State.
“Hello Iowa, I’m here to deliver a simple message – there’s never been a better friend for Iowa in the White House than President Donald J. Trump,” the ex-president said, before rattling off a list of economic and other benefits, real and exaggerated, that Iowa enjoyed when he was in office. Trump also said that without him, the state would have lost its position as the first to hold a presidential nominating contest. Democrats have already decided that the mostly White, rural state does not represent the diversity of the rest of America and have changed the order of their primary calendar.
“Without me, you would not be first in the nation right now,” Trump said.
After a grim week filled with stories about chaos in his campaign and panic among donors about his performance, the DeSantis camp will likely be cheered by the Florida governor’s reception, and he won one of the few standing ovations of the evening after his remarks.
He defiantly vowed to visit every Iowa county and to chase every vote, in a message to those wondering whether soaring expectations ahead of the campaign were misplaced. DeSantis turned the focus from his own plight to the Democrats, arguing that his record in Florida would translate to 2024 success.
“I’m not budging an inch. We are going to fight back against these people, and we are not letting them take over our schools any longer. We are going to get this right as a nation,” he said.
“Everything I promised people I would do, we did.”
Scott, who is spoken of warmly by many Republican voters in Iowa and is seen as a bright new voice, also slammed Biden in his remarks.
“He is tearing down every rung of the ladder that helped me climb. I was a kid trapped in poverty, who did not believe that in America all things are possible,” the Senate’s only Black Republican said.
While most other candidates were heard politely, none appeared to boost their fortunes significantly. And former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is planting his flag in New Hampshire, didn’t even show up.
To paraphrase Trump’s opening line, there was one message from Iowa on Friday night. The ex-president is going to be tough to beat, in the adoring world of the GOP primary – however many more indictments come raining down from the special counsel or elsewhere.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/cnn-opinion/2023/07/28/trump-shows-in-iowa-he-still-rules-the-gop-despite-his-deepening-criminal-peril/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:58 | 1 | https://kion546.com/cnn-opinion/2023/07/28/trump-shows-in-iowa-he-still-rules-the-gop-despite-his-deepening-criminal-peril/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers voted Friday to approve an amended but divisive law on Russian influences believed to be targeting the opposition and criticized by the U.S. and the European Union.
The law was proposed in May by Poland’s ruling right-wing Law and Justice party and critics see it as primarily targeting opposition leader and former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, before a parliamentary election scheduled for this fall. Following criticism, President Andrzej Duda proposed urgent amendments to tone it down.
The lower house, or Sejm, voted 235-214 with four abstentions to reject the Senate’s veto to the draft law amended by Duda. It only now requires Duda’s signature to take effect.
The amended bill calls for a commission to check whether between 2007 and 2022 politicians have taken decisions under Russia’s influence that could threaten Poland’s security. Duda has said it is needed for transparency’s sake and to prevent Russia from influencing Poland’s stability in the future.
Poland is supporting neighboring Ukraine to fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion and is supplying weapons, humanitarian aid and political backing for Kyiv. That has drawn harsh comments from Moscow.
The previous, more restrictive law is currently in effect, but the commission members haven’t been chosen yet.
When it takes effect, the law will create a powerful committee by experts but not lawmakers to investigate Russian influence in Poland and name politicians who allegedly allowed them, thus barring them in practice from holding public positions. However, critics say it is primarily targeting Tusk, who also served as a top EU official.
Law and Justice accuses Tusk of having been too friendly toward Russia and President Vladimir Putin as prime minister between 2007 and 2014, and making gas deals favorable to Moscow before he went to Brussels to be the president of the European Council between 2014 and 2019.
Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and Tusk are longtime political rivals.
Critics say the law violates the Polish Constitution and could keep government opponents from holding public office by having a negative effect on their eligibility, especially in a parliamentary election later this year. Amendments by Duda, who holds a law doctorate, allowed for the commission verdict to be appealed to court.
The U.S. State Department and EU authorities have strongly criticized the law in its first version and expressed concerns about Poland’s democracy. The 27-member EU, which Poland joined in 2004, also threatened to take measures, if it became fully clear that such a law would undermine democratic standards.
When Duda proposed the amendments in June, he also bowed partially to critics and sent the bill to the Constitutional Tribunal for a review for conformity with the supreme law. That verdict is still pending. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-polands-lawmakers-approve-a-divisive-law-on-russian-influence/ | 2023-07-29T06:33:59 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-polands-lawmakers-approve-a-divisive-law-on-russian-influence/ |
Relief from heat wave is on the way for Northeast and mid-Atlantic, but southern areas remain at risk
By Aya Elamroussi, CNN
(CNN) — The brunt of extreme heat that has been choking the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions this week is expected to end late Saturday, but many in southern US are set to endure suffocating temperatures for a few more days as heat-related deaths rise.
Various heat alerts persist for millions stretching from Missouri to Virginia and New Jersey, but most of them are expected to expire Saturday night. During the day, temperatures will not let up.
“Many places are set to break their temperature records for daytime highs as well as warm nighttime lows through Saturday morning,” the National Weather Service said, adding that some areas in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic can expect their highest temperatures so far this year.
The dangerously high temperatures have proven deadly in Arizona, Illinois and Texas as the expansive heat wave spread across much of the country, with humidity also playing a role in exacerbating the physical impacts on humans, animals and plants.
Experts agree that human-induced climate change is a main factor leading to record high temperatures, and scientists say July will be the planet’s hottest month on record.
Heat indexes – a measure of what the temperature feels like on the skin when accounting for relative humidity – are expected to hover around 100 and 110 degrees Saturday over parts of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
But relief is on the way for some: On Sunday, a cold front will progress through the mid-Atlantic, ultimately ending the heat wave for much of the East Coast.
Meanwhile, the Southwest is expected in a heat wave for several days before some ease sets in. Phoenix may end its dayslong streak of highs above 110 degrees on Sunday, while Las Vegas is expected to see highs exceeding 100 degrees into early next week. Another heat wave is expected to build early next week across the South and Gulf Coast.
Here’s how the heat has been impacting communities across the country:
• Heat-related deaths rise in US: In Illinois, a 53-year-old woman died Thursday in her Peoria apartment, which didn’t have air conditioning because power had been disconnected there, the Peoria County coroner’s office said. She died from “an exacerbation of her chronic medical conditions due to the excessive heat in the apartment,” the coroner’s office said. In Texas, a 66-year-old woman died early Tuesday from the extreme heat after being taken to a hospital from her apartment in North Richland Hills, police said.
• Arizona county prepares for deaths overflow: Arizona’s Maricopa County has added 10 refrigerated containers to handle a possible overflow of heat-related deaths. The containers haven’t been needed yet, but the medical examiner’s office is over its normal capacity, a county spokesperson told CNN affiliate KTVK/KPHO. The county, home to the state’s most populous city, Phoenix, had already reported 25 heat-associated deaths so far this year as of Monday. Dozens of other deaths were under investigation for a potential link to heat.
• Heat alerts: Washington, DC, and parts of Maryland and Virginia along with St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, are under an excessive heat warning Saturday. Philadelphia, New York City, and Newark, New Jersey, are under heat advisories.
The extreme heat has taken a toll on animals in Tennessee this week. Authorities rescued 21 dogs from a garage and a concrete shed-like structure on the premises of a Lawrenceburg home that’s “unfit for human or animal lodging” the Lawrence County sheriff said. Temperatures in the area were in the 90s, and the dogs had no food or water. The dogs were removed from the property and received treatment.
In Arizona this week, some cactuses have died at a Phoenix botanical garden from soaring temperatures, and officials in the state also were reporting emergency room visits for extreme heat burns after people fall to the ground.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Eli Masket, Chris Boyette, Robert Shackelford and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report. | https://kion546.com/cnn-weather-environment/2023/07/28/relief-from-heat-wave-is-on-the-way-for-northeast-and-mid-atlantic-but-southern-areas-remain-at-risk/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:05 | 0 | https://kion546.com/cnn-weather-environment/2023/07/28/relief-from-heat-wave-is-on-the-way-for-northeast-and-mid-atlantic-but-southern-areas-remain-at-risk/ |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin courted leaders from Africa at a summit on Friday, hailing the continent’s growing role in global affairs and offering to expand political and business ties.
Addressing the Russia-Africa summit for a second day, Putin said Moscow would closely analyze a peace proposal for Ukraine that African leaders have sought to pursue.
“This is an acute issue, and we aren’t evading its consideration,” the Russian leader said, emphasizing that his government was treating the African initiative with respect and “looking at it attentively.”
He encouraged the African leaders to talk to Ukraine, which has refused to engage in talks until Russian troops pull back. “I believe it’s necessary to also talk to the other side, although we are grateful to our African friends for their attention to the issue,” Putin said at the St. Petersburg summit.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said African leaders were looking forward to engaging further with Putin later Friday on their peace proposal.
“It is our hope that constructive engagement and negotiation can bring about an end to the ongoing conflict,” Ramaphosa, who leads sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed country, said, adding in South Africa, “our own history has taught us that this is indeed possible.”
Without specifically mentioning the fighting in Ukraine, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni denounced those who foment ideologically-driven military conflicts as “time and opportunity wasters,” adding that “human history will move on, whether they like it or not.”
“The only justified wars are the just wars, like the anti-colonial wars,” Museveni said. “Wars of hegemony will fail and waste time and opportunity. Dialogue is the correct way.”
In the public portion of a late night meeting Friday about the peace proposal, Putin repeated to the African leaders his explanations for the conflict’s origins and Russia’s actions in it, without giving any specific reaction to their suggestions. The African leaders said they expected to hear Putin’s detailed reactions in a subsequent closed part of the meeting.
In his speech, Putin reaffirmed his pledge that Russia will maintain steady supplies of grain and other agricultural products to the continent after its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine. Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has fueled concerns of a global food crisis.
“Russia will always be a responsible international supplier of agricultural products and will continue to support the countries and region in need by offering free grain and other supplies,” the Russian leader said.
He declared at the summit’s opening Thursday that Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic each will receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of Russian grain in the next three to four months.
In comparison, the U.N. World Food Program shipped 725,000 tons of grain to several countries, including Somalia, under the Black Sea deal.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres responded to Putin’s pledge of no-cost grain shipments by noting that such donations of grain can’t compensate for the impact of Moscow cutting off grain exports from Ukraine, which along with Russia is a top supplier to the world market.
Guterres said the U.N. was in contact with Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and other countries to try to reestablish the year-old agreement, under which Ukraine exported more than 32 million tons of grain. The resumption of shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports allowed global food prices to drop significantly from the levels they reached after Putin sent troops into the neighboring country.
The deal brokered a year ago by the U.N. and Turkey reopened Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked by fighting and provided assurances that ships entering them wouldn’t be attacked. Russia declined to renew the agreement last week, complaining that its own exports were being held up.
Putin used the summit to repeat his accusations against the West of obstructing the export of Russian grain and fertilizers, including proposed no-cost supplies of fertilizers to Africa.
The Russia-Africa summit marks a renewed Kremlin effort to bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage. Africa’s 54 nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Only 17 heads of state were at the summit, compared to 43 at the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, a sharp drop in attendance that the Kremlin has attributed to what it described as “outrageous” Western pressure to discourage African countries from showing up.
Putin hailed Africa’s role in the emerging “multipolar world order,” noting that “the era of hegemony of one or several countries is receding into the past, albeit not without resistance on the part of those who got used to their own uniqueness and monopoly in global affairs.”
“Russia and Africa are united by an innate desire to defend true sovereignty and the right to their own distinctive path of development in the political, economic, social, cultural and other spheres,” he said.
He said Russia plans to expand trade and economic ties with Africa and continue efforts to relieve their debt burden by writing off another $90 million of their debts.
Putin noted that Moscow also stands ready to bolster defense ties with African countries by helping train their military and expanding supplies of military equipment, some of them on a no-cost basis.
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This story corrects the amount that Ukraine exported under the Black Sea deal to 32 million tons.
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Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-putin-woos-african-leaders-at-a-summit-in-russia-with-promises-of-expanding-trade-and-other-ties/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:06 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-putin-woos-african-leaders-at-a-summit-in-russia-with-promises-of-expanding-trade-and-other-ties/ |
The 2023 Formula 1 World Championship continues this weekend with round 13, the Belgian Grand Prix, which takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit and will see the Saturday Sprint race return.
The Spa circuit is nestled within the beautiful Ardennes hills and features a long, unrelenting track that serves as a stern test for car and driver. The average speed approaches 145 mph, making it one of the fastest laps of the season, and drivers experience over 5 g in some of the turns, such as Turn 10, known as Pouhon. The cars also run at full throttle for almost 80% of the lap.
Stretching 4.35 miles, Spa has the longest track on the calendar, resulting in the race lasting only 44 laps—the lowest on the calendar. The track is so big that it’s not unusual to have varying weather conditions at different parts. For example, rain at one end and sunshine at the other. The current forecast calls for heavy rain throughout the weekend, which has already resulted in some calls for the race to possibly be canceled.
The first and third sectors at Spa feature long straights and flat-out sections, but the second sector is twisty. This makes it challenging to find the right balance and set-up compromise, particularly with the wing level.
The track surface is on the abrasive side, meaning tires get quite the workout. Pirelli has nominated its mid-range compounds: the C2 as the White hard, C3 as the Yellow medium, and C4 as the Red soft.
The Belgian round will mark 2023’s third running of the Saturday Sprint race, after the Azerbaijan and Austrian Grands Prix. This season, the Sprint race has been made a standalone event rather than the qualifier for the main race, as was previously the case. It still has championship points on the table for both drivers and teams, however.
The round is the last stop before the summer break and will see some teams run upgrades, including Mercedes-Benz AMG whose cars will feature a new design for the side pods.
Going into the weekend, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 281 points. Fellow Red Bull driver Perez is second with 171 points and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is third with 139 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 452 points, versus the 223 of Mercedes and 184 of Aston Martin in second and third places. Last year’s winner in Belgium was Verstappen, driving for Red Bull.
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- 2023 F1 standings: Verstappen grows title lead while McLaren shows resurgence | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix-preview/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:06 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/2023-f1-belgian-grand-prix-preview/ |
A drought alert for receding Lake Titicaca has Indigenous communities worried for their future
By PAOLA FLORES
Associated Press
HUARINA, Bolivia (AP) — A 70-year-old man’s feet sink into the soil as he passes abandoned boats where there used to be the water of Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world has receded to what Bolivian authorities say are critically low levels due to a persistent drought.
“It’s completely dry,” Jaime Mamani said in exasperation while walking along the new shoreline in Huarina, a farming town 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of La Paz where he is a community leader.
The National Service of Naval Hydrography declared an alert this week for the iconic lake after its surface fell 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) below the drought warning stage, or 3,807.8 meters (12492.7 feet) above sea level. But the agency says this is just the beginning of a situation that is worrying Indigenous Aymara communities that rely on the lake for their livelihoods and fear the dry spell could permanently impact the region’s flora and fauna.
The hydrology unit of Bolivia’s navy warned that water levels could reach historically low levels in the coming months. By December, there is a “high probability” Lake Titicaca will be 64 centimeters (more than 25 inches) below the drought alert level, breaking a low water record set in 1998 by 33 centimeters (almost 13 inches).
“In three months, the water has decreased by 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), and considering that radiation is much stronger during this time of the year … we expect it to keep decreasing,” Carlos Carrasco, a hydraulic engineer for the hydrography service said.
The drought is the result of a combination of factors, including natural phenomena like La Niña and El Niño, which arrived unusually early this year and have been particularly strong due in part to climate change, according to Lucía Walper, who heads up the Hydrological Forecasting Unit at Bolivia’s National Meteorology and Hydrology Service.
But the vast lake is vital for this region of the Bolivian highlands, where hundreds of Aymara rural communities have relied on the blue body of water for millennia to practice subsistence farming and raise livestock.
Authorities in the Peruvian city of Puno also issued a warning about the declining water levels and expressed concern about the potential impact on tourism.
“We’re reaching a critical point. There will be a significant loss of water,” said Juan José Ocola, president of the Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca. The lake serves as the border between Bolivia and Peru.
Mateo Vargas, 56, a fisherman who has lived off the Lake Titicaca for 28 years, said he used to catch “lots” of fish daily. Now he considers himself lucky if he can catch six.
Vargas’ wife, Justina Condori, shares his concerns.
“The fish have vanished,” Condori, 58, said, predicting there will be famine if the current conditions persist.
Condori makes a living by renting boats to tourists. She worries fewer people will come to visit the lake, which at an elevation of 3,810 meters above sea level, is the largest body of freshwater in the Andes mountain range.
Evidence of the receding lake is seemingly everywhere. Women who sell fried fish and other snacks by the lake face rising costs for ingredients. Those who make a living transporting people from one side of the lake to the other are altering their routes because their rafts and boats no longer reach their usual docks.
Livestock farmers who rely on the plants that grow on the shores of the Titicaca to feed their animals are also seeing their livelihoods threatened.
The economic hardship is causing many residents of Huarina to migrate to other areas of the country, leaving behind mostly older townspeople, Mamani said. The waters of the Titicaca have always been shallow around the town, so the drought is even more visible there.
“There is a detriment to the economy of the inhabitants of the region,” he said.
Vargas, the fisherman, is also concerned about what the declining water levels will mean for the future.
“It looks like it will continue to decrease, day by day,” he said. “We’re worried because if we continue like this, what’s going to happen to our children?”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/28/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:11 | 1 | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/28/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s rally got back on track Friday following more encouraging profit reports and the latest signal that inflation is loosening its chokehold on the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 1% to its highest close in more than 15 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 176 points, or 0.5% after breaking a 13-day winning streak the day before. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.
Stocks have been rising recently on hopes high inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates. That in turn could allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession. The S&P 500 closed out its third straight winning week and its ninth in the last 11.
A report on Friday bolstered those hopes, saying the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Perhaps just as importantly, data also showed that total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers looking for bigger raises, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means the Federal Reserve’s hike to interest rates on Wednesday will be the final one of this cycle. The federal funds rate has leaped to a level between 5.25% and 5.50%, up from virtually zero early last year. High interest rates work to lower inflation by slowing the entire economy and hurting prices for stocks and other investments.
Critics, though, say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast. The full effects of the Fed’s rate hikes have yet to make their way fully through the system. Other parts of the economy could still crack under the pressure, like the three U.S. bank failures this spring that shook confidence. Plus, inflation remains above the Fed’s target level, and the central bank could have to keep the brakes on the economy a while to get it down to target.
“Don’t underestimate central bank commitment to 2% inflation,” Bank of America economists wrote in a BofA Global Research report.
Still, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally and lead the market Friday.
Microsoft, Apple and Amazon each rose at least 1.4% and were the three strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.
Companies also continued to deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Roughly halfway through the earnings season, more companies than usual are topping profit forecasts, according to FactSet.
Intel rose 6.6% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter, when analysts were expecting a loss.
Food giant Mondelez International climbed 3.7% after reporting stronger results for the spring than expected. The company behind Oreo and Ritz also raised its forecasts for financial results for the full year.
On the losing end was Exxon Mobil. It fell 1.2% and was the heaviest single weight on the S&P 500. It reported weaker profit for the spring than expected, though its revenue topped forecasts.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 44.82 points to 4,582.23. The Dow added 176.57 to 35,459.29, and the Nasdaq jumped 265.55 to 14,316.66.
In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% after the Bank of Japan made moves that could allow longer-term interest rates to rise. Stocks rose in China and were modestly higher across Europe.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.95% from 4.00% late Thursday. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans.
The two-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, fell to 4.87% from 4.92%.
Yields dipped after a survey said sentiment among U.S. consumers wasn’t quite as high in July as thought, though it was still the strongest reading since October 2021.
The report from the University of Michigan also said expectations for inflation inched up in July but remain well below where they were last year. The Fed wants to keep such expectations anchored because it fears a vicious cycle where expectations for high inflation only worsen it.
___
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-stock-market-today-asian-shares-mixed-tokyo-falls-as-bank-of-japan-adjusts-bond-purchase-policy/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:13 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-stock-market-today-asian-shares-mixed-tokyo-falls-as-bank-of-japan-adjusts-bond-purchase-policy/ |
Anyone looking to take delivery of Lamborghini’s Revuelto supercar better be prepared to wait (or pay hefty markups on the used market) as the car’s production run for the next two years is already allocated, the automaker announced this week.
Despite an upgrade to Lamborghini’s plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese to accommodate more automated processes, production of the Revuelto is still very much a hands-on affair, with plenty of traditional handcrafted skills retained, ensuring production will remain limited. According to Lamborghini, around 500 staff are dedicated to the car’s production.
The Revuelto was revealed in March as the successor to the Aventador. It’s Lamborghini’s first plug-in hybrid and is powered by a sophisticated setup combining a newly developed V-12 and three electric motors for a combined output of 1,000 hp.
The Revuelto isn’t just an Aventador with more power, though. It represents a ground-up redesign that in addition to electrification includes a new carbon-fiber tub, a new 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and that new V-12.
Lamborghini quotes performance numbers of 2.5 seconds in the 0-62 mph run and a top speed of 218 mph.
Lamborghini hasn’t announcing pricing for the Revuelto in the U.S., but in other markets the car is priced from 500,000 euros (approximately $548,700). Deliveries are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Lamborghini’s Urus will be the automaker’s next plug-in hybrid. The SUV will go the electrified route starting in the first half of 2024. A plug-in hybrid successor to the Huracán will then arrive toward the end of 2024. Further out, Lamborghini plans to launch an electric vehicle in 2028. It was confirmed by the automaker in April as a 2+2 grand tourer.
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- “Wanted: The Escape Of Carlos Ghosn” debuts Aug. 25—watch the trailer | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:14 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/lamborghini-revuelto-already-sold-out-for-next-2-years/ |
Reds beat NL West-leading Dodgers 6-5, move a half-game back in NL Central
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jake Fraley hit a two-run homer, Spencer Steer added a solo shot, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Friday night in the series opener.
The Reds moved with a half-game of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.
“Our team has rallied around one another all year,” Reds manager David Bell said. “They push each other.”
Cincinnati’s defense turned three double plays to back Brandon Williamson (3-2). The right-hander allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, struck out two and walked four.
“It made the game for me,” Williamson said of the defense. “Not only did it save pitches for me, it saved a couple runs.”
Alexis Diaz got four outs to earn his 31st save.
“It was a very important win for myself,” Diaz said through a translator. “I just had to get ready a little bit earlier.”
The Dodgers had the potential tying run on second in the eighth before Mookie Betts grounded out to end the threat.
The Dodgers closed to 6-5 with three runs in the seventh. Pinch-hitter David Peralta had a ground-rule double, pinch-hitter James Outman walked and Betts walked to load the bases.
That set up Freddie Freeman, who singled to right, scoring Peralta and Outman. Amed Rosario, who went 2 for 4 in his Dodgers debut, had an RBI single.
The Reds took a 6-2 lead while batting around in a messy seventh for reliever Yency Almonte. Steer homered into the lower left field seats. Almonte then gave up a walk and had two wild pitches.
After intentionally walking Elly De La Cruz to load the bases, Almonte hit TJ Friedl on the back of his left knee, forcing in pinch-runner Nick Senzel. Almonte then walked Matt McLain to bring across the third run of the inning.
Almonte had walked one batter in his 11 previous appearances before his meltdown.
The Dodgers cut their deficit to 3-2 in the fourth. Miguel Rojas singled to right, scoring Rosario with two outs. Rosario doubled to center for his first hit. He swung his hips and raised his arms, drawing laughter and a head shake from Freeman. Rosario joined the team via a trade from Cleveland earlier in the week.
The Reds got to rookie Bobby Miller in a shaky first. De La Cruz tripled leading off and scored on Friedl’s RBI groundout to second. McLain doubled before Fraley’s 15th homer kissed the right-field foul pole, making it 3-0.
“You’ve just got to forget about that stuff. You can’t go back and change it,” Miller said. “The best you can do is forget about that and move on to the next.”
The Dodgers answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on J.D. Martinez’s two-out, RBI double.
Miller (6-2) gave up three runs and six hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out six and didn’t walk anyone for the second straight outing.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) will throw a simulated game Saturday.
BELL’S EXTENSION
Reds manager David Bell received a three-year contract extension through the 2026 season before the game. He was rewarded for helping engineer a turnaround in Cincinnati. The Reds are trying to become the first team in major league history to win a division title after losing at least 100 games the previous season.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Luke Weaver (2-2, 7.20 ERA) starts Saturday and has shown no ill effects after being hit by a line drive off his left elbow two starts back.
Dodgers: Rookie RHP Emmet Sheehan (3-1, 6.75) gave up four runs, five hits, a homer and three walks over five innings of his last start, a win at Baltimore.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/28/reds-beat-nl-west-leading-dodgers-6-5-move-a-half-game-back-in-nl-central/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:17 | 1 | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/28/reds-beat-nl-west-leading-dodgers-6-5-move-a-half-game-back-in-nl-central/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — The fate of U.S. trucking company Yellow Corp. isn’t looking good.
After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time.
Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company has some 30,000 employees across the country.
Here’s what you need to know.
Not yet. But industry experts suspect that a bankruptcy filing could come any day now.
People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the company could seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week — with some noting that a significant amount of customers have already started to leave the carrier.
Meanwhile, according to FreightWaves, employees were told to expect the filing Monday. Yellow laid off an unknown number of employees Friday, the outlet later reported, citing a memo that stated the company was “shutting down its regular operations.”
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. As of this week, he estimates that number is down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups earlier this week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow media contacts did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’ requests for comment on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
The reports of bankruptcy preparations arrive just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with general president Sean O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On Sunday, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
Talks between Yellow and the Teamsters, which also represents UPS’s unionized workers, are ongoing. The current contract expires in March 2024.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
If Yellow files for bankruptcy and customers continue to take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow declares bankruptcy and liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-trucking-company-yellow-corp-is-reportedly-preparing-for-bankruptcy-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:20 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-trucking-company-yellow-corp-is-reportedly-preparing-for-bankruptcy-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ |
Mercedes-Benz has introduced an update to its mid-size van family to help keep the vehicles fresh until the arrival of successor models based on a dedicated electric vehicle platform later this decade.
The sole mid-size van Mercedes currently sells in the U.S. is the Metris. In other markets, the Metris is known as the Vito and is sold alongside a luxury version called the V-Class. The Vito and V-Class also come in electric form, known as the eVito and EQV respectively.
While the Vito has been updated, there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. as an updated Metris. The current Metris is still available to U.S. buyers but will be phased out later this year.
The updates to the mid-size van family include tweaks to the exterior styling highlighted by an enlarged grille and new light signatures for the headlights. There’s also a new dash design that adopts a single panel integrating both a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch infotainment screen in the plush V-Class and EQV. In the Vito and eVito commercial models, the dash sticks to analog gauges with a 5.5-inch screen in the center, plus a 10.3-inch infotainment screen. Buyers also have five new colors to choose from, along with various wheel patterns ranging from 17-19 inches in diameter.
Mercedes has also added new digital services and safety features, one of which is an updated Active Brake Assist feature that now functions in intersections. Active Brake Assist is a collision warning system that supports the driver by automatically adding extra braking pressure when necessary, and activating automatic emergency braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes.
No change has been made to the powertrains meaning buyers have a series of diesels to choose from, including 4- and 6-cylinder options, plus an electric powertrain in the eVito and EQV.
While the U.S. will soon lose the Metris, Mercedes in May said it will bring a luxury mid-size van to this market later this decade. It will be based on the new Van.EA platform. The dedicated EV platform will spawn its first model in 2026, though Mercedes hasn’t revealed the model’s identity.
Mercedes said it expects electric vans to account for 50% of its van sales by 2030.
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- 2024 Porsche Panamera spy shots and video | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/mercedes-updates-v-class-ahead-of-dedicated-ev-successors-arrival/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:21 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/mercedes-updates-v-class-ahead-of-dedicated-ev-successors-arrival/ |
Musgrove sharp and Tatis homers to lead the Padres to a 7-1 win over the Rangers
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — 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 (10-3) was facing the Rangers for the first time since throwing the first no-hitter in Padres history, in just his second start with his hometown team, on April 9, 2021, at Texas. Musgrove won for the ninth time in 10 decisions by holding Texas to four hits while striking out five and walking two.
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.
“I was excited, man,” Musgrove said. “A lot of adrenaline. Obviously Peavy’s night … throwing in front of Boch for the first time in my career. A lot of San Diego legends in the house. I was really motivated and excited about this outing. I was honored to be able to throw on this night.”
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.
It was one of the top wins of the season for the Padres, who had World Series aspirations coming into this season but have been mired in fourth place in the NL West and well back in the wild-card race.
“Everyone’s starting to realize where we’re at in the season and the sense of urgency we’ve got to have,” said Musgrove, who helped lead the Padres to the NL Championship Series last year. “The attitude and the mentality and the aggressiveness tonight on the basepaths, at the plate, really good defense all around, that’s the kind of baseball we’ve got to play down the stretch.
“Like I told the guys after the game, we’ve two months left here to determine our future here for the rest of the season. If we’re going to go out, we’ve got to go out on our terms playing baseball the way that we play the game.”
The Padres were coming off a dismal series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are last in the NL Central, before getting a strong outing from Musgrove.
“He’s really good, he’s really tough,” Bochy said. “He’s having another good year and you have your hands full with him. He pitched a really nice ballgame for them. They pitched well today, they got the hits, we didn’t.”
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.
“Throw my glove out there, caught it. I know the guy was fast so I was just trying to get it over there as quick as possible,” Machado said.
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.
Padres: With a 7-0 lead, Soto was removed for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. He’s been bothered by a finger injury since spring training and the Padres were awaiting results of an MRI. Manager Bob Melvin said he thinks Soto’s finger is getter better but he stung it a few times. Second baseman Ha Seong-Kim also came out after tweaking his back on a slide. Melvin said there’s a good chance Soto and Kim will be in the lineup Saturday 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://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/musgrove-sharp-and-tatis-homers-to-lead-the-padres-to-a-7-1-win-over-the-rangers/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:23 | 0 | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/musgrove-sharp-and-tatis-homers-to-lead-the-padres-to-a-7-1-win-over-the-rangers/ |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two taxi drivers have been arrested in the Mexican city of Cancun for assaulting a van carrying foreign tourists, prosecutors said Friday.
The events in the Caribbean coast resort on Thursday were the latest in a months-long string of assaults on vehicles that medallion-cab drivers suspect of being operated by ride-hailing apps such as Uber.
Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said such behavior will not be tolerated.
“Strong action will be taken to ensure that the state is a safe destination for local inhabitants and visitors,” the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Local residents posted video on social media showing at least two uniformed cab drivers bashing a Chevy Suburban with poles and other objects.
The van driver attempts to escape with the vehicle’s tailgate open, according to the footage, and the tourists’ luggage spills into the street. Three women can later be seen retrieving their luggage from the street.
“What are you doing?” cries one woman in English as belligerent cabbies mill around the scene, carrying what looked like improvised cudgels. “That is not okay.”
A local business owner who filmed the incident invited the women to take refuge in her store. The video shows the taxi drivers chasing the driver of the Suburban down the street until he reached a police officer.
The state prosecutors’ office said two taxi drivers were charged with robbery, and causing damage and injuries.
Local media reported the Suburban was not run through a ride-hailing app but by a local, non-medallion limousine service. Past incidents of taxi drivers attacking private vehicles in Cancun were based on the mistaken assumption they were Uber cars.
Cancun residents organized a boycott of medallion taxis in January following a week of blockades and violent incidents by drivers protesting the ride-hailing app Uber.
Road blockades, stone throwing and cabbies physically getting in the way had prevented tourists from boarding Uber vehicles. The U.S. issued a travel advisory warning that “past disputes between these services and local taxi unions have occasionally turned violent, resulting in injuries to U.S. citizens in some instances.”
Ride-hailing app s were blocked in Cancun until January, when a court granted an injunction allowing Uber to operate. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-two-taxi-drivers-arrested-in-mexican-resort-of-cancun-for-assaulting-van-carrying-foreign-tourists/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:26 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-two-taxi-drivers-arrested-in-mexican-resort-of-cancun-for-assaulting-van-carrying-foreign-tourists/ |
The extreme heat wave that blasted the Southwest is abating with late arriving monsoon rains
By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press
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.
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).
“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).
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://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:29 | 1 | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ |
Porsche earlier this week revealed more than just a first look at its lounge-like road-trip fast-charging stations, to be laid out along some top routes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Within details for these design-savvy charging oases there was a bigger technology reveal: Its EVs in the future, it hinted, may charge above 300 kw and perhaps closer to 400 kw.
That message came within how the automaker explained the charging hardware situated at these Porsche Charging Lounges. They’ll be “perfectly tailored to the requirements of Porsche drivers on long journeys,” the company explained. That means a current max charge power of 300 kw from the Alpitronic hardware at those stations, it explained, but it then stated: “By the start of next year, 400 kw per charging point should be possible.”
Since its launch, the Porsche Taycan has been capable of 800-volt DC fast-charging up to 270 kw—made more reproducible for 2022—offering a 5-80% charge in as little as 22.5 minutes.
The 2024 Porsche Macan Electric, which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2024 and built on the PPE platform jointly developed by Porsche and Audi, will inherit the Taycan’s 800-volt charging. But Porsche has suggested that PPE may be capable of a bit more.
While the Macan may stretch closer to 300 kw, it has to be another future vehicle that fast-charges at an even higher rate, taking advantage of those 400-kw connectors.
But the charger announcement may be teasing a product that’s yet to come and farther in the future. Will that be the Boxster-inspired electric sports car, which might include the 718 badge; a production version of the 900-volt Mission X concept the brand recently revealed; or another new EV from the sports-car brand? Or all of the above?
Porsche has said that by 2030 over 80% of the vehicles it delivers globally will be fully electric—although it’s suggested that the last gasoline model it will make will be the 911.
That said, a model that might take advantage of a 400-kw connector might top out higher than the Lucid Air, which reaches a max just over 300 kw, and the GMC Hummer EV with the largest dual-layer pack, which can at times pull the full power from a 350-kw connector.
Such a model tapping the potential of a 400-kw connector might not be coming until 2025 or 2026, but when it does, then Porsche looks prepared with the infrastructure.
The Taycan is already approaching its intended gas-station refueling times—if the infrastructure’s there. With some carefully planned charging stops, one crossed the U.S. last year at real-world highway speeds with just 2.5 hours of charging.
As for those lounges, Porsche aims to place them close to “busy routes with significant traffic flow,” make them open 24/7, barrier-free, and part of the Ionity network, and provide centralized billing and a very comfortable environment. If the images provided, showing woodgrain finishes, bright interiors, workout areas, and rooftop solar cells are any indication, it looks like a very pleasant environment compared to the edge of the Walmart parking lot or strip-mall access road.
Although Porsche has no plans to build these charging oases in the U.S. as of yet, fellow VW Group entity Electrify America offers 350-kw connectors at many of its 809 U.S. fast-charging locations. And the national fast-charging network set to be bankrolled by seven automakers, announced earlier this week, with 350-kw connectors as a baseline, will help support these even-faster-charging EVs.
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- 2018-2023 Nissan Leaf EV recalled for cruise-control acceleration flaw | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:28 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/automotive/internet-brands/porsche-hints-a-future-ev-may-utilize-400-kw-fast-charging/ |
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — In a snug, wood-paneled Jewish bookstore in Hungary’s capital, Eva Redai carefully climbed the rungs of a ladder to arrange titles on the shelves. Among the books were volumes bound in plastic wrapping — titles containing LGBTQ+ content that the country’s right-wing government has deemed unsuitable for minors under 18.
The 76-year-old has run the Láng Téka bookstore in central Budapest for nearly 35 years, since just before Hungary’s democratic transition from state socialism. But never, until now, has she needed to segregate the books she sells to avoid violating a government ban.
“I consider this such a level of discrimination. This law is an act of force that can hardly be made sense of,” Redai said. “As someone who’s been in this business for such a long time, even I cannot decide which books fall under the ban.”
Hungary’s government under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has in recent years taken a hard line on LGBTQ+ issues, passing legislation that rights groups and European politicians have decried as repressive against sexual minorities.
A “child protection” law, passed in 2021, bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality in content available to minors, including in television, films, advertisements and literature. It also prohibits the mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programs, and forbids the public depiction of “gender deviating from sex at birth.”
Hungary’s government insists that the law, part of a broader statute that also increases criminal penalties for pedophilia and creates a searchable database of sex offenders, is necessary to protect children. But it is seen by Orban’s critics as an attempt to stigmatize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and conflate homosexuality with pedophilia.
Earlier this month, a government office levied a hefty fine against Hungary’s second-largest bookstore chain for violating the contentious law. Líra Könyv was ordered to pay 12 million forints (around $35,000) for placing a popular LGBTQ+ graphic novel in its youth literature section, and for failing to place it in closed packaging.
The fine, the second issued by the government in a single month, sent booksellers rushing to determine whether selling certain titles without closed packaging could result in financial penalties for their own stores. Along with outlawing LGBTQ+ content for minors, the law also prohibits depicting “sexuality for its own sake” to audiences under 18 — a rule that could potentially apply to countless works of literature.
Krisztian Nyary, an author and the creative director for Líra Könyv, said that the language of the law contains many ambiguities, which places a burden on booksellers to determine which of the thousands of titles they offer may contain proscribed content.
“The practical problem is that the sellers are supposed to decide what the law applies to and what it does not,” Nyary said, adding that the Bible, too, depicts homosexuality. “In a small bookstore of four to five thousand titles, or a large one with sixty to seventy thousand titles, a bookseller does not know in much detail what the books contain.”
Nyary said Líra Könyv plans to challenge the fine in court, and does not intend to begin placing books in closed packaging. The requirement to do so is “anti-culture,” he said, and could carry adverse financial effects as well.
“The ability to sell a packaged book is one-tenth of what it is when it’s unpackaged. It’s like putting a painting in a dark basement: Everyone knows it’s there, but you can’t look at it,” he said.
The Láng Téka bookstore, a much smaller business, has opted to comply with the law. On Wednesday, an employee packaged titles that depict homosexuality in household cellophane wrap, and slid them onto the packed shelves. Eva Redai, the shop owner, posted a sign on the front window reading, “In this bookshop, we also sell books with ‘non-traditional content’.”
“This is completely against my own principles and thoughts,” Redai said. “But obviously, I’m a law-abiding person, and I also don’t want to pay a fine of several million forints for my non-existent crime. So we, too, are trying to obey the laws which they have recently forced on us.”
Mark Mezei, a novelist in Budapest, has published a book which contains a lesbian relationship — making his work subject to the restrictions. But he believes Hungary’s legislation, which he described as “bad for democracy,” will not have a chilling effect on authors.
“Whoever wants to write is going to write … it doesn’t matter what legislators think,” he said. “That we live in times when such a thing can happen is not up to me. But as a writer, this doesn’t influence me at all.”
Others, too, are resisting the legislation. A group of university activists this week have given away over 100 free copies of what they call “banned books” — those subject to the closed packaging provision — in front of one of Budapest’s largest bookstores.
One activist, 22-year-old Vince Sajosi, said on Wednesday that Hungary’s law reduces the accessibility of important works and “restricts a process of social development.”
“We want these books to appear in Hungarian literary public life and in everyday conversations, which is why we want to give them to people for free,” he said.
Redai, the bookstore owner, said that in Hungary today, people that identify as non-heterosexual “are being stigmatized and ostracized, and they are not considered equal members of society, which I simply find outrageous.”
“This feeds into an idea that, unfortunately, already happened in the 20th century, where people were judged and persecuted based on their appearance, skin color, religion or other affiliation, and many, many people fell victim to this idea,” she said. “Quite simply, this could be the beginning of something terrible that so many of us have tried to forget.” | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_business | 2023-07-29T06:34:30 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_business |
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government wants to raise the fuel economy of new vehicles 18% by the 2032 model year so the fleet would average about 43.5 miles per gallon in real world driving.
The proposed numbers were released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which eventually will adopt final mileage requirements.
Currently the fleet of new vehicles must average 36.75 mpg by 2026 under corporate average fuel economy standards adopted by the administration of President Joe Biden, who reversed a rollback made by former President Donald Trump.
The highway safety agency says it will try to line up its regulations so they match the Environmental Protection Agency’s reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But if there are discrepancies, automakers likely will have to follow the most stringent regulation.
In the byzantine world of government regulation, both agencies essentially are responsible for setting fuel economy requirements since the fastest way to reduce greenhouse emissions is to burn less gasoline.
“I want to make clear that EPA and NHTSA will coordinate to optimize the effectiveness of both agency standards while minimizing compliance costs,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said.
A large auto industry trade group which includes General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Stellantis and others said requirements from the agencies should be lined up. “If an automaker complies with EPA’s yet-to-be-finalized greenhouse gas emissions rules, they shouldn’t be at risk of violating CAFE rules (from NHTSA) and subject to civil penalties,” John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement.
However the alliance has said the EPA’s proposed cut in carbon emissions will require a huge increase in electric vehicle sales that’s not attainable by 2032. The EPA says the industry can reach the greenhouse gas emissions goals if 67% of new vehicles sold in 2032 are electric. Currently, EVs make up about 7% of new vehicle sales.
NHTSA said its proposal includes a 2% annual improvement in fuel mileage for passenger cars, and a 4% increase for light trucks. It’s proposing a 10% improvement per year for commercial pickup trucks and work vans. Automakers can meet the requirements with a mix of electric vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and efficiency improvements in gas and diesel vehicles.
The agency says the new regulations will save more than $50 billion on fuel over the vehicles’ lifetimes and save more than 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050 if NHTSA’s preferred alternative is adopted. The standards would cut new-vehicle fuel consumption nearly in half by the 2035 model year, and benefits will exceed costs by $18 billion, the agency said.
NHTSA will take comments from the public for 60 days before drafting a final regulation. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:33 | 1 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ |
Triston Casas homers, hits RBI double to lead Red Sox past Giants 3-2 for fifth straight win
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Baseball Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As a player for the Dodgers, Red Sox manager Alex Cora witnessed more than his share of towering drives over the fences by home run king Barry Bonds.
Triston Casas hit a shot to left-center that Cora considered one of the best ever seen in San Francisco.
“Any time I can get my name mentioned with Barry Bonds, it’s awesome,” Casas said.
Moved up in the batting order, Casas homered and hit an RBI double to back Kutter Crawford, and Boston beat the Giants 3-2 on Friday night for its fifth straight win.
“I played here a lot of games and I saw one of the great ones dominating from like 2000-2004,” Cora said. “That ball he hit to left-center, that’s one of the best home runs I’ve seen here and I saw many. I think I saw 500, 600, 700.”
Second baseman Justin Turner delivered the defensive gem of the night to save at least one run in the seventh. He backhanded a two-hopper by pinch-hitter Blake Sabol and flipped the ball while falling to the ground to shortstop Yu Chang for the force out on Patrick Bailey. Josh Winckowski then struck out the last two batters.
Turner played second for just the ninth time this season, and he was booed at every chance by Giants fans as an ex-Dodger.
“It was just kind of in the moment,” Turner said. “I was joking earlier, I’m glad it wasn’t too low so I didn’t have to bend over too far. I don’t think I can get down there anymore. It ended up being a pretty big play.”
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 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 announced after the game opener RHP Ryan Walker (3-0, 2.70) would start.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/triston-casas-homers-hits-rbi-double-to-lead-red-sox-past-giants-3-2-for-fifth-straight-win/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:35 | 0 | https://kion546.com/news/ap-california/2023/07/28/triston-casas-homers-hits-rbi-double-to-lead-red-sox-past-giants-3-2-for-fifth-straight-win/ |
MARJ ALI, Lebanon — By the time Walid al-Hajjar stormed his bank armed with a jug of gasoline, four lighters and a willingness to set himself on fire, his wife’s bone cancer was too far gone for him to save her.
But he wanted to make her more comfortable in the time remaining — treated with painkillers in a hospital rather than writhing in agony at home, he recalled. And the family had already accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in debt from friends and relatives that needed to be repaid.
Al-Hajjar, 48, had the money to pay for his wife’s treatment. But like so many other Lebanese, his life savings was being held hostage in his bank account: The central bank has not allowed depositors to withdraw more than a few hundred dollars a month since a financial collapse in 2019.
So, like other desperate Lebanese before him — some of them similarly compelled by the need for medical treatment — al-Hajjar went to his bank in November, threatening to burn it down unless it gave him some of the $250,000 he had in his account. More than 12 hours later, he left with $25,000 in stacks of cash.
“If you don’t go in and threaten to hurt them, they won’t give you anything,” he said months later.
Virtually no one in Lebanon has been spared from the two-pronged financial collapse of both the banking system and the local currency, the lira, which has lost 98% of its value since 2019. But most of the burden has fallen on depositors who overnight lost access to money they had spent a lifetime saving.
The phenomenon of Lebanese depositors resorting to force to demand their own money has earned them the moniker “the world’s most honorable bank robbers.”
Before the financial collapse, Lebanon’s banking sector was admired and its outgoing central bank governor, Riad Salameh, hailed as a financial wizard for overseeing a system that maintained a stable currency even through wars. The country offered high interest rates that attracted billions in deposits in Lebanese banks.
At the same time, the lira was pegged to the dollar for more than two decades, and the country used both currencies interchangeably. Many, like the al-Hajjars, had Lebanese bank accounts denominated in dollars.
The central bank’s push to keep the lira pegged to the dollar required Lebanese banks to maintain large dollar reserves. To keep dollars coming in, the banks offered generous interest rates to depositors and paid that interest with newly deposited money. After the financial collapse, the World Bank called this system a Ponzi scheme.
Now, while the total deposits in Lebanese banks amount to some $92 billion, the banks have, at most, $20 billion on hand, the deputy prime minister, Saadeh al-Shami, told The New York Times this month.
“Every depositor deserves the last penny, but numbers do not lie,” he said. “We have a gap in the financial sector, close to $72 billion,” he added. “Where can we get the money from? We can’t print dollars.”
For many Lebanese, officials like Salameh represent a ruling class that has driven the country into financial catastrophe while enriching themselves and doing little to solve the crisis.
Salameh was the architect of Lebanese monetary policy for the past three decades, leading up to the financial collapse. As he prepares to leave his post at the end of this month — still defending his policies and tenure — bank depositors like al-Hajjar are no closer to getting access to their savings, while inflation and poverty grip the country.
Now, Salameh is under investigation in Lebanon and has been charged with money laundering and other financial crimes by France and Germany. Both countries have issued international arrest warrants for him. Salameh says he is a scapegoat for the country’s economic woes.
In a TV interview last month, Salameh insisted that bank depositors would get their money back. Despite those assurances, the central bank and government have not taken the steps needed to ensure this.
A $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan, agreed to more than a year ago, remains in limbo because the government has not made the economic and political changes required to get the money.
A separate plan to ensure the return of deposits up to $100,000 and to set up a recovery fund for larger deposits is also no closer to government approval, said al-Shami, the deputy prime minister.
And Lebanon’s government — long riddled with corruption and dysfunction — has been without a president since September.
For al-Hajjar, the hard times came after three decades in which he prospered in Lebanon’s hot banking and real estate markets. He bought and sold livestock, opened and sold three butcher shops and flipped both land and real estate. He put his money in Credit Libanais bank, and with generous interest, it grew into a comfortable nest egg.
“We saved the money so I could control my life,” he said. “We thought we could relax.”
Instead, he and his children said, his wife spent her last months in so much pain that the slightest touch hurt.
Two days after al-Hajjar threatened to burn down the bank near his hometown in Marj Ali, his father died of kidney cancer. Forty days after that, his wife, Ola, died at 41.
He said he had gone to his bank three times with bills from various hospitals, pleading for access to his money. On his fourth visit, he went with a warning. The fifth time, he came with the gasoline and lighters.
More than seven months have passed since that day, and al-Hajjar is now working long hours at his brother-in-law’s butcher shop and raising his three children alone. His youngest, Kareem, 12, works alongside him during the summer, his tiny frame wielding a cleaver.
He said he still owes family and friends $22,000.
“She is at rest in the ground and I am stuck with this work,” he said last month.
The family is able to cover daily expenses, supported by investments he had kept out of the bank, including some apartments it owns and rents. But many life plans are out of reach, and the family worries about another medical emergency or unforeseen expense.
Most days, his oldest son, Ahmad, 22, visits the graves of his mother and grandfather. He crouches next to the head of her grave and speaks to her in hushed tones, updating her about life and his studies.
“They ruined our lives,” he said as he drove away from the cemetery one recent day. “They’re robbing us, and the government is protecting them.”
Al-Hajjar says that he tells his children never to put their money in banks.
Across Lebanon, depositors’ anger is reflected in the graffiti and damage to banks, which have become metal fortresses.
Most weeks, members of an organization called the Depositors Outcry Association protest outside banks in the capital, Beirut. Sometimes, they yell and spray paint their frustration on the walls. Other times, they light tires on fire and smash glass.
At a recent protest outside the central bank, one man scrawled on a cement barrier in red paint: “The crook Riad.”
Al-Hajjar recalled how, as the cancer spread throughout his wife’s body, she prepared for a future she wouldn’t see. She bought new sofas for the family’s living room, added decorative touches to the front of their building and planned to beautify a small garden outside, all for when her children got married.
Now, in that garden, al-Hajjar grows enough vegetables to sustain them and keeps the goats and cows for the butcher shop. After feeding them on a recent day, he returned to the balcony of his apartment — in the mountains southeast of Beirut — overlooking a lush valley and, on a clear day, the Mediterranean Sea.
As he sat with his daughter, they followed updates of an ongoing bank holdup — there have been more than 20 since 2019. Like al-Hajjar, a man had taken a jug of gas into a bank, demanding his money. The following week, another man armed with a grenade went to the same bank al-Hajjar had held up and demanded his money.
Al-Hajjar, who was jailed for two days, said he often thought about holding up his bank again. His daughter, Claire, 19, seemed surprised at first. But then she considered it for a few seconds.
“He’s not doing anything wrong,” she said. “He’s taking what is his right.” | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/he-held-up-a-bank-to-get-his-own-money/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_business | 2023-07-29T06:34:37 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/he-held-up-a-bank-to-get-his-own-money/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_business |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesotans can legally possess and grow their own marijuana for recreational purposes starting Tuesday, Aug. 1, subject to limits meant to keep a lid on things while the state sets up a full-blown legal cannabis industry.
The Democratic-controlled Minnesota Legislature approved a massive legalization bill and Democrat Gov. Tim Walz signed it in May.
At least one Minnesota tribe plans to take advantage of its sovereignty and allow sales right away. But the state projects most legal retail sales won’t begin until early 2025, while it creates as licensing and regulatory system for the new industry.
Legalization followed a debate between critics who fear for the impacts on public safety and young people, and supporters who argue that prohibition of the drug had failed. Backers of the law framed legalization noted that people of color were more likely than whites to be arrested for minor offenses, and to suffer lasting consequences in employment and housing.
Minnesota is the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana, more than a decade after Colorado and Washington did so.
It comes as New York struggles to end the illicit trade while failing to quickly license legal shops with a focus on “social equity” and New Mexico punishes retailers for illegally selling weed sourced from California — amid wider gluts and plummeting prices for pot farmers.
Farmers, like members of the public, can’t legally move cannabis across state lines amid the ongoing federal ban.
Here’s a look at what will and won’t change in Minnesota as of Aug. 1:
WHAT’S LEGAL
Adults 21 and older can possess and travel in the state with 2 ounces of cannabis flower, 8 grams of concentrate and 800 milligrams worth of THC-containing edible products such as gummies and seltzers. They can have up to 2 pounds of cannabis flower at home.
Low-potency edibles made with THC from industrial hemp were legalized last year. They’ve been subject to a 10% marijuana tax since July 1.
That tax will apply to other marijuana products as they become licensed for sales, but not on sovereign tribal lands.
It remains illegal under federal law to bring marijuana in from out of state.
RETAIL WEED
The Red Lake Nation plans to sell recreational marijuana at its existing medical cannabis dispensary starting Aug. 1. But that’s on its remote reservation in northwestern Minnesota. It’s not clear yet if other tribes will follow.
While states like New Mexico managed to legalize and regulate marijuana within a year of legalization, Minnesota will take a bit longer.
Like New York, the Minnesota law gives priority to social equity considerations for awarding licenses. That can mean applicants from low-income areas that have felt disproportionate effects from marijuana being illegal, people whose convictions have been expunged, and military veterans who lost their honorable status due to a marijuana-related offense, to name a few.
That includes a long list of license categories for cannabis-related businesses, with application fees ranging from $250 for delivery services to $10,000 for growers and product manufacturers.
Local governments can’t ban cannabis sales, but they can limit the number of retailers to one per 12,500 residents.
MINNESOTA GROWN
Adults can grow up to eight plants at home, with no more than four flowering at a time. The plants must be grown in an enclosed, locked space that’s not open to public view, whether that’s indoors or in a garden.
Retailers can start selling marijuana seeds if they comply with labeling and other requirements set by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
WHERE AND WHERE NOT TO TOKE
Cannabis can be legally consumed on private property, including private homes. Eventually it will be allowed at special events where organizers have permits.
But it’s still illegal to smoke or vape cannabis anywhere that tobacco smoking is prohibited, including most businesses, apartment buildings and college campuses. Nothing in the state law prohibits smoking it on a public sidewalk, but local ordinances might.
Cannabis use remains illegal in all forms while driving, in public schools, on school buses, in state prisons, and on federal property. It can’t be smoked or vaped where a minor could inhale it.
GUNS AND GANJA
Federal law still bars cannabis consumers from owning firearms or ammunition.
That’s despite Second Amendment-friendly provisions in the Minnesota law. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has said that regardless of Minnesota’s new law, a “current user” of marijuana is defined as an “unlawful user” for federal purposes. That means people following state law are still prohibited from having guns and ganja.
Gun purchasers must fill out an ATF form saying whether or not they use marijuana. Lying on the form is a felony under federal law.
CLEANING SLATES
Minor marijuana convictions, like possession of small amounts, will began to be automatically expunged starting in August. More than 60,000 Minnesotans could benefit, but the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the process could take up to a year to clear everyone’s record.
A special Cannabis Expungement Board will be formed to review felony convictions to determine eligibility case by case.
REGULATING IT
The Office of Cannabis Management will oversee the cannabis industry in Minnesota. It’s starting to list job positions, with applications for the office’s first executive director open through July 31.
The office will also take over the running of Minnesota’s medical marijuana program, which won’t be taxed.
Tribal governments will set their own rules. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:40 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-what-to-know-as-recreational-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-minnesota-on-aug-1/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.
Together, the figures provided the latest signs that the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation may succeed without triggering a recession, an outcome known as a “soft landing.”
A price gauge closely monitored by the Fed rose just 3% in June from a year earlier. That was down from a 3.8% annual increase in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% from May to June, up slightly from 0.1% the previous month.
Last month’s sharp slowdown in year-over-year inflation largely reflected falling gas prices, as well as milder increases in grocery costs. With supply chains having largely healed from post-pandemic disruptions, the costs of new and used cars, furniture and appliances also fell in June.
The cost of some services, though, continued to surge. Average prices of movie tickets rose 0.5% from May to June, and are up 6.2% from a year earlier. Veterinary services, up 0.5% last month, are 10.5% higher than a year ago. And restaurant meal prices increased 0.4% in June; they’re up 7.1% from 12 months earlier.
A measure of “core” prices, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, did remain elevated even though it also eased last month. Economists track core prices because they are considered a better signal of where inflation is headed. Those still-high underlying inflation pressures are a key reason why the Fed raised its short-term interest rate Wednesday to a 22-year high.
Core prices were still 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, well above the Fed’s target, though down from 4.6% in May. From May to June, core inflation was just 0.2%, down from 0.3% the previous month, an encouraging sign.
A separate report Friday from the Labor Department showed that a gauge of wages and salaries grew more slowly in the April-June quarter, suggesting that employers were feeling less pressure to boost pay as the job market cools.
Employee pay, excluding government workers, rose 1%, down from 1.2% in the first three months of 2023. Compared with a year earlier, wages and salaries grew 4.6%, down from 5.1% in the first quarter.
The Fed is closely watching the pay gauge, known as the employment cost index. Smaller wage increases should slow inflation over time, because companies are less likely to need to raise prices to cover their higher labor costs.
Taken together, Friday’s data “will provide further support to the view that the economy is in the midst of a soft landing,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. The softer wage data, she suggested, “will be welcomed by Fed officials.”
Americans’ average paychecks are still growing briskly, boosting their ability to spend and underscoring the economy’s resiliency. The inflation report that the Commerce Department issued Friday showed that consumer spending jumped in June, despite two years of high inflation and 11 Fed rate hikes over 17 months. From May to June, consumer spending rose 0.5%, up from 0.2% the previous month.
“Better push out those recession forecasts by another quarter,” Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at investment bank Santander, wrote in a research note.
The inflation gauge that was issued Friday, called the personal consumption expenditures price index, is separate from the better-known consumer price index. Earlier this month, the government reported that the CPI rose 3% in June from 12 months earlier.
The Fed prefers the PCE index because it accounts for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps — when, for example, consumers shift away from pricey national brands in favor of cheaper store brands. And housing costs, which are among the biggest inflation drivers but many economists think aren’t well-measured, carry about half the weight in the PCE than the CPI.
With inflation now steadily cooling, consumers are becoming more optimistic about the economy, a trend that could lead them to keep spending and driving growth.
On Friday, the University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index rose in June to its highest level since October 2021, though it has still recovered only about half of the drop caused by the pandemic. And earlier this week, the Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose this month to its highest point in two years.
The U.S. economy is in a hopeful but precarious place: A solid job market is bolstering hiring, lifting wages and keeping unemployment near a half-century low. Yet inflation is weakening rather than rising, as it typically does when unemployment is low. That suggests that the Fed may be able to achieve a soft landing.
The Fed’s policymakers, though, are concerned that the steadily growing economy could help perpetuate inflation. This can occur as persistent consumer demand enables more companies to raise prices, thereby keeping inflation above the Fed’s target and potentially causing the central bank to raise rates even higher.
The latest evidence of the economy’s resilience came Thursday, when the government reported that it grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the April-June quarter — faster than analysts had forecast and an acceleration from a 2% growth rate in the first three months of the year.
At a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate, now at about 5.3%, was high enough to restrain the overall economy and likely tame inflation over time. But Powell added that the Fed would need to see more evidence that inflation has been sustainably subdued before it would consider ending its rate hikes.
Powell declined to offer any signal of the central bank’s likely next moves. In June, Fed officials had forecast two more rate hikes this year, including Wednesday’s.
“I would say it is certainly possible that we would raise (rates) again at the September meeting, if the data warranted,” Powell said Wednesday, “and I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting.” | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:41 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-an-inflation-gauge-that-is-closely-tracked-by-the-fed-falls-to-its-lowest-level-in-more-than-2-years/ |
HUARINA, Bolivia (AP) — A 70-year-old man’s feet sink into the soil as he passes abandoned boats where there used to be the water of Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world has receded to what Bolivian authorities say are critically low levels due to a persistent drought.
“It’s completely dry,” Jaime Mamani said in exasperation while walking along the new shoreline in Huarina, a farming town 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of La Paz where he is a community leader.
The National Service of Naval Hydrography declared an alert this week for the iconic lake after its surface fell 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) below the drought warning stage, or 3,807.8 meters (12492.7 feet) above sea level. But the agency says this is just the beginning of a situation that is worrying Indigenous Aymara communities that rely on the lake for their livelihoods and fear the dry spell could permanently impact the region’s flora and fauna.
The hydrology unit of Bolivia’s navy warned that water levels could reach historically low levels in the coming months. By December, there is a “high probability” Lake Titicaca will be 64 centimeters (more than 25 inches) below the drought alert level, breaking a low water record set in 1998 by 33 centimeters (almost 13 inches).
“In three months, the water has decreased by 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), and considering that radiation is much stronger during this time of the year … we expect it to keep decreasing,” Carlos Carrasco, a hydraulic engineer for the hydrography service said.
The drought is the result of a combination of factors, including natural phenomena like La Niña and El Niño, which arrived unusually early this year and have been particularly strong due in part to climate change, according to Lucía Walper, who heads up the Hydrological Forecasting Unit at Bolivia’s National Meteorology and Hydrology Service.
But the vast lake is vital for this region of the Bolivian highlands, where hundreds of Aymara rural communities have relied on the blue body of water for millennia to practice subsistence farming and raise livestock.
Authorities in the Peruvian city of Puno also issued a warning about the declining water levels and expressed concern about the potential impact on tourism.
“We’re reaching a critical point. There will be a significant loss of water,” said Juan José Ocola, president of the Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca. The lake serves as the border between Bolivia and Peru.
Mateo Vargas, 56, a fisherman who has lived off the Lake Titicaca for 28 years, said he used to catch “lots” of fish daily. Now he considers himself lucky if he can catch six.
Vargas’ wife, Justina Condori, shares his concerns.
“The fish have vanished,” Condori, 58, said, predicting there will be famine if the current conditions persist.
Condori makes a living by renting boats to tourists. She worries fewer people will come to visit the lake, which at an elevation of 3,810 meters above sea level, is the largest body of freshwater in the Andes mountain range.
Evidence of the receding lake is seemingly everywhere. Women who sell fried fish and other snacks by the lake face rising costs for ingredients. Those who make a living transporting people from one side of the lake to the other are altering their routes because their rafts and boats no longer reach their usual docks.
Livestock farmers who rely on the plants that grow on the shores of the Titicaca to feed their animals are also seeing their livelihoods threatened.
The economic hardship is causing many residents of Huarina to migrate to other areas of the country, leaving behind mostly older townspeople, Mamani said. The waters of the Titicaca have always been shallow around the town, so the drought is even more visible there.
“There is a detriment to the economy of the inhabitants of the region,” he said.
Vargas, the fisherman, is also concerned about what the declining water levels will mean for the future.
“It looks like it will continue to decrease, day by day,” he said. “We’re worried because if we continue like this, what’s going to happen to our children?”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_world | 2023-07-29T06:34:43 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_world |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While Nashville International Airport hums to the tune of live music in a terminal filled with tourists and locals alike, this trendy gateway to Tennessee has quietly confronted an identity crisis.
Under a new state law, there is no clear agreement now about who’s in charge of airport operations. The confusion comes at a time when the airport is booming, its annual passengers having more than doubled over the past decade to 21.8 million by the 2023 fiscal year.
The nonprofit Metro Nashville Airport Authority and state officials argue that a new group of state appointees has lawfully taken over the authority’s board. But federal officials and the city contend the old board picked by Nashville’s mayor still has power.
Both boards met at the same time last week across town from each other.
The dispute heads to a hearing Friday in a state court in Nashville.
Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers approved plans for the state to make enough appointments to control the airport’s board starting in July. The change was among several passed by legislators seeking to curtail the power of the heavily Democratic city, whose metro council sunk a bid to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville.
The city has filed suit against the state over the changes to the airport authority, which manages, operates, finances and maintains the international airport and a smaller one in Nashville. In the meantime, the authority installed the new board members on July 1, saying it can’t defy state law without a court order.
Citing the Tennessee Constitution, the city’s lawsuit argues the state violated home rule protections by singling out Nashville without requiring either a local referendum or a two-thirds vote of the metro council for the change.
The state responded that Nashville can’t make its claims because the airport authority is independent of the local government.
City leaders, however, reached out and received input from the Federal Aviation Administration, which can veto certain changes to the airport’s governance. The federal agency said it would keep recognizing the pre-July 1 board until a court decides the lawsuit.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper, a Democrat, has cried foul on the Republican change.
“Nashville’s airport has grown very successfully over the years by the direction of this board, and that’s unquestionable,” Cooper said during a recent meeting of the board he selected. “Any state action is purely about politics.”
Tennessee’s situation isn’t unprecedented. Due to FAA and court action, North Carolina’s 2013 law to shift control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the city to a separate regional board never came to fruition. Mississippi’s 2016 law to reconfigure Jackson’s airport remains blocked by an ongoing legal challenge. Georgia lawmakers flirted with flipping the Atlanta airport’s governance in 2019 but opposition sank the proposal.
Nashville officials say the state is upending an airport board without complaints about its performance, even during a time of extensive expansion.
In the 2023 budget year, the airport unveiled a new lobby, added more restaurants and live music, opened an additional parking garage and made progress toward an onsite hotel. The airport hosts country, jazz and bluegrass concerts in its terminals and exhibits the work of local artists.
The facility has endured growing pains, too, marked by passenger pickup lines sometimes stretching well past a nearby interstate exit.
Lawmakers passed the change despite predictions in April by former FAA official Kirk Shaffer that it would create competing boards in “a messy and costly stalemate that damages all involved,” possibly jeopardizing federal grant money.
So far, the fight is largely unfolding in court filings. The city says lost grant money could halt projects to accommodate more flights, spurring cancellations and delays. The state and the airport authority argue the grants aren’t in jeopardy. The authority said Nashville officials are making “sky-is-falling” exaggerations.
Republican lawmakers contend the state deserves more say over the growing airport because of its regional impact. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said lawmakers created “the legally sanctioned board.”
As an intervenor in the lawsuit, the airport authority has remained neutral on whether the new law is unconstitutional. Updates to the FAA have never resulted in the federal agency directing the authority to stop following the state law, while even worse disruptions would result from an order to temporarily return to the preexisting board, the authority wrote.
The state-majority board met at the airport on Wednesday, conducting standard-fare business on contracts and reports. At the same time, the members of the mayoral-picked board gathered in city hall, reiterating that the FAA still acknowledges them while criticizing the state law and approving an outside attorney hire.
In a letter to the Nashville community at large, the authority’s CEO has acknowledged the “frustration and confusion” caused by the dispute. But he said the authority is responsible for staying legally compliant.
“As an airport authority, we do not take political positions,” airport authority President and CEO Doug Kruelen wrote in the July 6 letter. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-whos-in-charge-of-nashvilles-airport-us-and-tennessee-officials-disagree-under-a-new-state-law/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:47 | 0 | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-whos-in-charge-of-nashvilles-airport-us-and-tennessee-officials-disagree-under-a-new-state-law/ |
Tesla is ramping up efforts to open showrooms on tribal lands where it can sell directly to consumers, circumventing laws in states that bar vehicle manufacturers from also being retailers in favor of the dealership model.
Mohegan Sun, a casino and entertainment complex in Connecticut owned by the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, announced this week that the California-based electric automaker will open a showroom with a sales and delivery center this fall on its sovereign property where the state’s law doesn’t apply.
The news comes after another new Tesla showroom was announced in June, set to open in 2025 on lands of the Oneida Indian Nation in upstate New York.
“I think it was a move that made complete sense,” said Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, which has lobbied for years to change Connecticut’s law.
“It is just surprising that it took this long, because Tesla had really tried, along with Lucid and Rivian,” she said, referring to two other electric carmakers. “Anything that puts more electric vehicles on the road is a good thing for the public.”
Brown noted that lawmakers with car dealerships that are active in their districts, no matter their political affiliation, have traditionally opposed bills allowing direct-to-consumer sales.
The Connecticut Automotive Retail Association, which has opposed such bills for years, says there needs to be a balance between respecting tribal sovereignty and “maintaining a level playing field” for all car dealerships in the state.
“We respect the Mohegan Tribe’s sovereignty and the unique circumstance in which they operate their businesses on Tribal land but we strongly believe that this does not change the discussion about Tesla and other EV manufacturers with direct-to-consumer sales, and we continue to oppose that model,” Hayden Reynolds, the association’s chairperson, said in a statement. “Connecticut’s dealer franchise laws benefit consumers and provide a competitive marketplace.”
Over the years in numerous states, Tesla has sought and been denied dealership licenses, pushed for law changes and challenged decisions in courts. The company scored a victory earlier this year when Delaware’s Supreme Court overturned a ruling upholding a decision by state officials to prohibit Tesla from selling its cars to directly customers.
At least 16 states have effectively changed their laws to allow Tesla and other direct-to-consumer manufacturers to sell there, said Jeff Aiosa, executive director of the Connecticut dealers association. He doesn’t foresee Connecticut changing its law, noting that 32 “original equipment manufacturers,” a list that includes major car companies like Toyota and Ford, currently abide by it.
“It’s not fair to have an unlevel playing field when all the other manufacturers abide by the state franchise laws and Tesla wants this exception to go around the law,” he said. “I would suggest their pivoting to the sovereign nation is representative of them not wanting to abide by the law.”
Tesla opened its first store as well as a repair shop on Native American land in 2021 in New Mexico. The facility, built in Nambé Pueblo, north of Santa Fe, marked the first time the company partnered with a tribe to get around state laws, though the idea had been in the works for years.
Brian Dear, president of the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico, predicted at the time that states that are home to tribal nations and also have laws banning direct car sales by manufacturers would likely follow New Mexico’s lead.
“I don’t believe at all that this will be the last,” he said.
Tesla’s facility at Mohegan Sun, dubbed the Tesla Sales & Delivery Center, will be located at a shopping and dining pavilion within the sprawling casino complex. Customers will be able to test drive models around the resort. and gamblers will be able to use their loyalty rewards toward Tesla purchases.
Tesla also plans to exhibit its solar and storage products at the location. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:49 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-automaker-tesla-is-opening-more-showrooms-on-tribal-lands-to-avoid-state-laws-barring-direct-sales/ |
When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled to the ground, exhausted and dehydrated, but urged his wife to carry on with little Marie and catch up to dozens of other migrants ahead.
“God willing, we will meet again in Libya,” he told them.
Nyimbilo eventually made it there — only to find out days later that his wife and daughter almost certainly did not.
A graphic photo widely shared on social media shows the lifeless body of a Black woman with braided hair next to a little girl, their faces down in the sand. The child is curled up next to the woman, her bare feet red and swollen, likely from walking on blistering hot sand.
Nyimbilo said he immediately recognized his wife’s yellow dress, pulled up on her body, and his daughter’s black sandals, sitting beside them. He shared recent photographs with The Associated Press showing them in the same clothing. He said he hasn’t heard from his wife, Matyla Dosso, who also went by Fatima, or their daughter since that day in the desert, July 16.
Nyimbilo believes Matyla and Marie are among more than a dozen Black migrants Libyan border guards say they’ve found dead in the desert border area of the North African nations since Tunisian authorities began conducting mass expulsions in early July. Nyimbilo is from Cameroon; his wife, Ivory Coast. They lived for years in Libya but hoped to finally make it to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.
The Libyan police border guard in al-Assa, near the Tunisian border, found the woman and child in the July 19 photo dead, spokesperson Maj. Shawky al-Masry said. He declined to provide further details or say where the bodies are now.
Different border units have found at least 10 bodies on the Libyan side since last week, including that of another small child.
Black Africans in Tunisia have faced increasing discrimination and violence since President Kais Saied’s February remarks that sub-Saharan migrants are part of a plot to alter the country’s identity and demographics. He said “hordes of irregular migrants” bring “violence, crime and unacceptable practices.” The speech to his security council inflamed longstanding tensions throughout the region and country, but particularly between Tunisians and migrants in the port city of Sfax and other eastern coastal towns.
Tunisia has replaced Libya as the main point of departure for people attempting the deadly Mediterranean crossing to Italy, according to United Nations and other figures. Through July 20, more than 15,000 foreign migrants were intercepted by Tunisian authorities — more than double that period last year, Interior Minister Kamel Fekih told Parliament this week. He blasted the influx of sub-Saharan migrants and said Tunisia can’t accept becoming “a transit country.”
Tunisian authorities have responded to rising tensions with a crackdown on Black migrants and refugees, and some have been rounded up from coastal cities and sent to Libya or Algeria — countries with their own long track records of grave human rights violations, abuses against migrants and collective deportations.
Human rights organizations, Libyan authorities and migrants themselves have accused Tunisia of violating international law with the mass expulsions across its borders. Tunisian authorities long skirted a direct response to those accusations, but on Thursday, the Interior Ministry rejected any responsibility about “Africans outside its borders,” a clear reference to those in the desert. The ministry stressed Tunisia’s right to protect borders and insisted it carries out its “humanitarian duty.”
Officials also issued a warning against publication of content from social networks and in news outlets, and made a veiled reference in a recent statement to prison sentences of up to 10 years for anyone circulating information it deems incorrect.
This week, hundreds of people — including pregnant women and children — remain trapped in the border area between Tunisia, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea, while others are stranded on the Algeria side, U.N. agencies said, urging their immediate rescue.
Libyan authorities have stepped up security near Tunisia and found hundreds of migrants stranded in temperatures that surpassed 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). They’ve shared dramatic photos and videos on social media of their desert encounters with exhausted migrants desperate for water, as well as graphic images of the deceased.
Libyan guard Ali Wali said his team has seen through binoculars Tunisian security forcing migrants toward Libya. He said his unit finds more than 100 daily: “Some migrants spent up to three days with no food and water in the desert.”
Without elaborating, Wali said those found are handed to relevant authorities. U.N. agencies and the Libyan Red Crescent say they’ve provided food, water and other assistance.
But according to another security official, migrants were taken to detention centers run by Libya’s Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration, notorious for abuse. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Despite the growing evidence of abuse against some migrants in Tunisia and issues at the border, European leaders have doubled up their show of support for Saied, offering hundreds of millions of euros to stabilize the country with hopes it will also reduce migration.
That didn’t deter Nyimbilo and his family.
Nyimbilo and his wife had already tried to get to Europe. Their previous five attempts to cross the Mediterranean, from Libya to Italy, all failed. Each time, they were intercepted by EU-equipped Libyan forces and imprisoned. Nyimbilo told AP his wife was raped twice in front of their child in detention.
“We had no more hope,” Nyimbilo said of their time in Libya, where Marie couldn’t even attend school because she’s the child of immigrants. “This country has traumatized us so much.”
So, on July 13, they left the coastal city of Zuwara and trekked through the desert with other migrants, making it to the border in the early hours of July 15. They continued to the town of Ben Guerdane, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Tunisia.
The group split up to avoid attracting attention. But they grew desperate for water. Nyimbilo and his family walked to a main road in search of help. That’s when a police car stopped and detained them, he said, and officers found their registration papers.
“When they saw it and realized we had left Libya, they beat us,” Nyimbilo said. The next day, he said, they were loaded onto a truck with other migrants and dropped at the border, without water.
Today, he said, he struggles to cope with his loss and to realize he’ll never see his wife or daughter again. They’d survived so much — failed voyages to Europe, assaults, even the 2019 bombing of the Tajoura detention center. He can hardly accept that Matyla and Marie died in the desert.
“A bottle of water could have saved my family,” he said.
___
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain; Ganley from Paris; and Magdy from Cairo. Sarah El Deeb contributed from Beirut. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_world | 2023-07-29T06:34:50 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/god-willing-we-will-meet-again-in-libya-a-migrant-familys-tale-shows-chaos-at-tunisian-border/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_world |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two weeks into the the actors strike, Max Greenfield is urging the studios and their CEOs to return to the bargaining table.
“Be the heroes, come to the table, make a deal,” said Greenfield, who co-stars in the CBS sitcom “The Neighborhood.” “My hope is these guys get organized and have a real conversation with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA so that we can get to a resolution,” he said, referencing the unions for the writers and actors, respectively.
Greenfield spoke at a charity ping pong event at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, joined by his co-star Cedric the Entertainer.
“We struck because our deal was up and it’s time to adjust to what has changed in the business. To make a minor adjustment feels disproportionate to what has obviously changed in a massive, massive way,” Greenfield said. “Until we feel like we’re getting fair compensation and we feel like we’re protected, this is going to continue to go on.”
Bryan Cranston, who had fiery words for Disney CEO Bob Iger at a New York rally on Tuesday, acknowledged things are “going very, very slowly.”
“Until we’re able to get back to the table, which we are more than willing to do and we’ve told them so, we want to keep talking through this strike,” he said. “We want to end this as soon as possible.”
On July 14, actors joined striking screenwriters who walked out in May. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America are striking for fair pay and protections involving the use of artificial intelligence, among other issues.
There has reportedly been no negotiating between the unions and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers since shortly after the actors hit the picket lines.
“I think when people realize that the artists are the people that are making this and nothing is going to get made without the actors and the writers, maybe that will force a little more flexibility in the negotiations,” Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck said.
Actor and entrepreneur Danny Trejo urged the studios to look beyond Hollywood’s highest-paid actors and consider the financial plight of those working behind the scenes.
“One of the problems is people on top are making a lot of money right now and they don’t want to share,” he said. “We’ve got people that are in SAG that can’t even afford to live in LA. It’s like, wait a minute guys, we got to just be fair.
“Figure if one of your kids was trying to get into the movies and was working as an extra or just made it into SAG, they couldn’t live in LA,” Trejo said, imagining the offspring of a Hollywood CEO. “Oh no wait, yes they could. They could live in Beverly (expletive) Hills with you, punk.”
Trejo filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy earlier this year and owes over $2 million in back taxes to the IRS, according to a report by KABC-TV.
“I make good money, but right now I’m buried in taxes, so I have to work that out,” he said. “This strike is killing me. I can’t pay what I’m supposed to be paying for my taxes, so man, imagine the guy that’s making $18 an hour and not working all the time.”
Actor Holly Robinson-Peete, a SAG member since 1977, said it’s important for the actors’ union to communicate the economic issues behind the strike.
“We’re not just a bunch of spoiled people that want more and we’re greedy,” she said. “The majority of our union are people who are not working very often, can’t really make a living at this. It’s going to take an incredible amount of patience and messaging, and we just got to stick to it.” | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-actor-max-greenfield-urges-studio-ceos-to-be-the-heroes-and-make-a-deal-in-hollywood-strikes/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:53 | 1 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-actor-max-greenfield-urges-studio-ceos-to-be-the-heroes-and-make-a-deal-in-hollywood-strikes/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s banking sector could withstand a severe economic downturn without depleting their financial buffers against losses, the European Central Bank said Friday.
A survey of 98 large and medium-sized banks done by the ECB’s supervisory arm in conjunction with the European Banking Authority showed that even in the most adverse scenario — a fall of almost 10% in economic outpoint over three years — banks would still have enough capital to cover losses and then some.
The stress test was not a pass-fail exercise for banks in the 20 countries that use the euro currency. Rather, results for individual banks will be used by banking regulators in determining how much capital they need to hold in reserve.
Banks are crucial to the European economy because companies get most of their financing from them, instead of from financial markets — the opposite of the situation in the U.S.
The ECB took over supervision of the biggest banks after the eurozone debt crisis more than a decade ago, when bank losses led to heavy bailout costs for governments. National supervisors were perceived to have been less than vigilant on developing risks.
Scrutiny of bank finances has grown after the failure of three U.S. banks amid rising interest rates that led to losses on investments and mass withdrawal of deposits. The financial turmoil then hit Credit Suisse, a globally significant bank that had long-running problems, leading the Swiss government to engineer an emergency takeover by rival UBS to prevent further banking chaos.
Switzerland is not part of the European Union, where some of the safeguards instituted after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis were more widely applied. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ | 2023-07-29T06:34:55 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-europes-banks-could-survive-a-drastic-economic-downturn-stress-test-shows/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Adidas said Friday that it is releasing a second batch of high-end Yeezy sneakers after cutting ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear brand seeks to unload the unsold shoes while donating to groups fighting antisemitism.
The online sale, to start Wednesday through Adidas smartphone apps and its website, follows an earlier set of sales in May. Models that will be available include the Yeezy Boost 350 V2, 500, and 700 as well as the Yeezy Slide and Foam RNR.
The company cut ties with Ye in October after he made antisemitic and other offensive remarks online and in interviews. That left Adidas holding 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of unsold Yeezys and searching for a responsible way to dispose of them.
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in May that selling the popular sneakers and donating some of the profits was the best solution to deal with the unsold inventory and make a difference. He said the company spoke with nongovernmental organizations and groups that were harmed by Ye’s comments and actions.
Part of the profits from the sales of the Yeezy shoes will go to the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
Shoes sold directly by Adidas in North America will include blue square pins established by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism as a symbol of solidarity in rejecting antisemitism, the company said.
The Anti-Defamation League calls the sale “a thoughtful and caring resolution” for the unsold merchandise and that “any attempt to turn the consequences of (Ye’s) actions into something that ultimately benefits society and the people he has hurt is most welcome.”
Adidas declined to give details on numbers of shoes that would be released for sale and how much of the proceeds would be donated. Asked if Ye would receive royalties from the sales, the company would only say that “we will honor our contractual obligations and enforce our rights but will not share any more details.”
The company said Monday that the first sale of Yeezy shoes helped its preliminary second-quarter financial results and contributed to it raising its outlook for the year — from a high single-digit decline in revenue to a mid-single digit decline.
That would still amount to an operating loss of 450 million euros (more than $494 million) this year, instead of a loss of 700 million euros.
Adidas, which reports its earnings for the first half of the year on Thursday, said it expected future Yeezy sales to further boost its results. | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-adidas-to-release-second-batch-of-yeezy-sneakers-after-breakup-with-ye/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:00 | 0 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-adidas-to-release-second-batch-of-yeezy-sneakers-after-breakup-with-ye/ |
MILAN (AP) — French luxury conglomerate Kering has reached a cash deal to purchase a 30% stake in Italian fashion house Valentino for 1.7 billion euros from a Qatari investment firm.
With the purchase, Kering is seeking to shore up its revenue stream as it struggles to turn around former powerhouse Gucci. Kering on Thursday reported first-half revenues of 10.1 billion euros, up 2%, as Gucci sales stagnate.
Under the deal announced Thursday, Kering has the option to buy 100% of Valentino no later than 2028. The partnership could lead to the Qatari investment firm, Mayhoola, becoming a shareholder in Kering, as well as other potential “joint opportunities,” the statement said.
Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault expressed admiration for “the evolution of Valentino under Mayhoola ownership,” which Kering said turned Valentino “into one of the most admired luxury houses in the world.”
“I am very pleased of this first step in our collaboration with Mayhoola to develop Valentino and pursue the very strong strategic journey of brand elevation,’’ citing the role of Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini, who “will continue to lead.”
Gucci, which accounts for nearly half of Kering revenues, is in the throes of a relaunch, with a new management team and a new creative director, Sabato De Sarn o, who will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week in September.
Valentino, founded by Valentino Garavani in 1960, recorded revenues of 1.4 billion euros in 2022. Pierpaolo Piccoli has been creative director at Valentino since 2008, working alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri from 2008-16. With its corporate base in Milan and design studio in Rome, the fashion house is a mainstay of Paris fashion week with its womenswear and couture collections while recently returning menswear to Milan. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:02 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-french-luxury-group-kering-to-buy-30-stake-in-valentino-for-1-7-billion-euros-cash/ |
In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like.
Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the state’s southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service — although scientists said the context for Monday’s reading is complicated.
“It was like there was no difference between humidity of the air and going into the water,” said Chelsea Ward of Fort Myers, Florida.
Triple-digit ocean temperatures are stunning even in Florida, where residents are used to the heat and where many retirees find refuge from cold, northern winters. Several other nearby spots reached the mid-90s (about 35 Celsius). A storm finally came through on Wednesday, helping water temperatures drop back down in to the more temperate 80s (about 29 Celsius).
Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh. Every summer, millions grab their swimsuits for a day on the beach and a chance to cool off in the water — a break from everyday work and worry. Pools offer the same relief and a place for friends to gather. But when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost.
Ward, 47, doesn’t keep her beach bag in her car anymore even though she lives minutes away from the beach in Fort Myers. Lately, the water is just too hot. On Sunday, when her friend asked if she wanted to go to the beach, the two decided against it after discovering the water temperature was around 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).
When it’s hot, the body cools down by sweating, which evaporates and releases heat. Dipping into the ocean is typically so refreshing because heat efficiently transfers from your body into the water. But as water temperatures climb, that effect diminishes and you lose less heat less quickly, according to Michael Mullins, a Washington University toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
A hot tub — or a stretch of ocean water hotter than body temperature — reverses the transfer of heat into your body. That’s not a pleasant experience on a sizzling, humid, Florida day.
“It would feel,” Mullins said, “like you are swimming in soup.”
ICE BLOCKS FOR YOUR POOL? WHY NOT
People already tend not to swim that much in the Florida waters that were so extremely hot earlier this week. The water can get muddy and there are alligators and crocodiles in the area, too.
But high temperatures anywhere can make swimming less pleasant. Through Friday, Phoenix endured highs above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) every day this month. Pools are warm. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the northwest in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Stefanee Lynn Thompson, 50, wanted to keep guests cool for a pool party she hosted Sunday. The heat had raised the pool’s temperature to 96 degrees (36 Celsius).
Her friend recommended she go buy ice blocks. She ran to the grocery store, picked up 40 of them and dumped them in the pool. She set up fans, too. All that hard work dropped the pool’s temperature a grand total of 4 degrees (7 degrees Celsius).
“When it’s 120 out, anything helps,” Thompson said.
Recently, ocean temperatures off the western coast of Florida have been a few degrees above normal, sitting around 88 to 90 degrees (31-32 degrees Celsius). It’s not just humans that suffer when the oceans warm. Sea corals are bleaching. They can be hurt when water temperatures rise above the upper 80s (low 30 degrees Celsius).
July has been so hot that scientists announced a global heat record even before the month ended. Climate change is creating a hotter world, warming oceans and making some storms more destructive. Sea surface temperatures are somewhat above average around Florida, but they are far higher in parts of the North Atlantic near Newfoundland where they are as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) hotter than usual.
The extremely high sea surface temperatures recorded earlier this week off Florida’s southern tip were caused by lots of sun, little wind and no storms.
“I’ve never seen temperatures 100 degrees in Florida Bay in the 21 years I’ve been in the Keys,” said Andy Devanas, science officer at the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida.
IS THE WATER THAT WARM EVERYWHERE?
And there are some questions about how representative Monday’s 101.2-degree reading in Manatee Bay were. Water there is shallow and thus heats up quickly. If there’s lots of sediment, that can raise temperatures, too, according to David Roth, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
By contrast, stop by the YMCA pools on the North Shore of Massachusetts near Boston and you’ll descend into water that’s around 78 to 80 degrees (26 to 27 degrees Celsius). The ocean nearby is cooler, too. Sea surface temperatures off Cape Cod, for example, barely touched the mid-70s (about 24 degrees Celsius) this week.
When Maria Argueta, 38, has time off from her job at an open-air decorative plant nursery in Homestead, Florida, she’ll go with her family to swim.
“This year, the heat is stronger,” she said.
The hot ocean water doesn’t bother her, but sometimes she takes her 2-year-old son and other members of the family to the Venetian Pool, a public facility in Coral Gables fed by water from an aquifer that’s always in the 70s. The very cool water, she said, is refreshing.
Florida’s humid weather makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool the body down. People in south Florida know the ocean doesn’t tend to offer real relief from that suffocating heat.
“You aren’t getting much cooling at all,” Roth said. “Nobody goes into the water in South Florida in the summer really except to swim, because it is comfortable to swim, but it is not refreshing.”
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AP journalist Seth Borenstein contributed reporting from Washington, Dupuy reported from New York and Phillis reported from St. Louis. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news | 2023-07-29T06:34:56 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/water-is-refreshing-in-the-heat-right-in-parts-of-florida-this-past-week-not-so-much/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news |
DALLAS (AP) — The combat boots and dog tags Alan Alda wore while playing the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye on the beloved television series “M-A-S-H” sold at auction Friday for $125,000.
Alda held onto the boots and dog tags for more than 40 years after the show ended but decided to sell them through Heritage Auctions in Dallas to raise money for his center dedicated to helping scientists and doctors communicate better.
The buyer’s name wasn’t released.
Alda, 87, said he wore the boots and dog tags for the 11-season run of the show about a Korean War medical unit. His character, Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, was a talented surgeon who helped ease the stress of working in a war zone with quips and practical jokes. The show’s final episode, which aired in 1983 and was written and directed by Alda, was the most watched TV show in U.S. history.
The boots and dog tags, given to him by the costume department, “made an impression on me every day that we shot the show,” said Alda, who won five Emmys for his work on the sitcom.
Alda said auctioning off the dog tags and boots now made sense. “I saw this as a chance to put them to work again,” he said.
The money raised from the auction will go to the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York, which aims to help scientists and doctors communicate better through the use of improvisational exercises and other strategies.
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Associated Press writer Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report. | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-boots-and-dog-tags-alan-alda-wore-on-m-a-s-h-sell-at-auction-for-125000-that-will-go-to-charity/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:07 | 1 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-boots-and-dog-tags-alan-alda-wore-on-m-a-s-h-sell-at-auction-for-125000-that-will-go-to-charity/ |
TOKYO (AP) — An official in charge of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says the upcoming release of treated radioactive water into the sea more than 12 years after the reactors’ meltdown marks “a milestone,” but is still only an initial step in a daunting decades-long decommissioning process.
Junichi Matsumoto, the corporate officer in charge of treated water management for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also pledged to conduct careful sampling and analysis of the water to make sure its release is safely carried out in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency standards.
The water is being treated with what’s called an Advanced Liquid Processing System, which can reduce the amounts of more than 60 selected radionuclides to government-set releasable levels, except for tritium, which the government and TEPCO say is safe for humans if consumed in small amounts.
“The release of the ALPS-treated water into the sea is a major milestone for us, as well as for the decommissioning of the plant,” Matsumoto said in an interview with The Associated Press at TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo.
“In order to steadily advance decommissioning, the ever-growing amounts of water was a pressing issue that we could not put off, and we had a sense of crisis,” said Matsumoto, a nuclear engineering expert. “We still have to tackle far more challenging and higher-risk operations such as removal of melted debris and spent fuel” from the damaged reactors, he said.
Another task for TEPCO is combatting the damage to the reputation of Fukushima fisheries caused by the water release, he said.
A massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and contaminating their cooling water, which has since leaked continuously. The water is collected, filtered and stored in around 1,000 tanks, which will reach their capacity in early 2024.
Large amounts of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the reactors. Robotic probes have provided some information about its status, but it remains largely unknown.
The government and TEPCO say the water must be removed to make room for the plant’s decommissioning, and to prevent accidental leaks from the tanks because much of the water is still contaminated and needs retreatment.
The release plan has faced strong opposition from Japanese fishing organizations, which worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood as they struggle to recover from the accident. Groups in South Korea and China have also raised concerns, turning it into a political and diplomatic issue.
Matsumoto said the key to gaining understanding is to patiently explain the situation by providing scientific evidence.
“It is difficult, but we hope to make it as easy to understand as possible,” he said. “If we describe (the water release) in one word, it’s safe.”
“As the operator responsible for the accident, we must admit TEPCO is a company that is not fully trusted. We must keep up the effort and sincerely respond to any concern,” Matsumoto said. “It is our responsibility to demonstrate we can carry out the water release as planned, and that’s how we can regain public trust.”
The government said the release is set to start this summer but hasn’t set the date amid protests. TEPCO has obtained safety permits for all of the equipment needed for the release and is currently carrying out training so the water release team can begin work at any time, Matsumoto said.
“It’s not like just turning a faucet to run tap water,” he said.
Scientists generally agree that the environmental impact of the treated wastewater would be negligible, but some call for more attention to dozens of low-dose radionuclides that remain in it, saying data on their long-term effects on the environment and marine life are insufficient and the water requires close scrutiny.
The treated water will be diluted with massive amounts of seawater and will be released gradually over many years.
Matsumoto acknowledged that treated water that came in contact with the damaged nuclear fuel contains radionuclides such as uranium and plutonium that are not in water that is routinely released from healthy nuclear plants around the world.
He said the total concentration of radionuclides in the water meets government standards after treatment, and after dilution the wastewater will be fully safe and have a minimal environmental impact, according to the IAEA, which has provided assistance in evaluating the release plan.
Matsumoto said he has struggled to manage the massive amounts of contaminated water to keep it from escaping into the environment and safely stored at the plant since the accident.
There were instances in which plant workers had no other choice but to dump some into the sea or temporarily put it inside a basement or in temporary water tanks, Matsumoto recalled.
Now, after taking measures to minimize the seeping of rainwater and groundwater into the reactor buildings and establishing a stable water management system, the amount of contaminated water has come down to less than one-fifth of what it used to be, he said. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:09 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-fukushima-plant-official-says-the-coming-release-of-treated-water-a-milestone-for-decommissioning/ |
Five people were wounded, one critically, in a late Friday shooting in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood that saw “dozens and dozens” of bullets fired, said police Chief Adrian Diaz.
One man was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center, while two other men and a woman were being treated at the hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to a hospital spokesperson. The fifth victim was treated at the shooting scene, Diaz said.
Police were searching for at least two suspects.
The people injured were in their 20s and had been attending a community outreach event for distributing food clothes and toys, Diaz told members of the media in a news conference at about 10:30 p.m. The giveaway is held each Friday, he said.
It was not immediately known, Diaz said, if the victims were targeted or what unfolded just before the shooting.
The shooting, which occurred just before 9 p.m. in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South, drew a massive police response and brought Mayor Bruce Harrell and Diaz to the scene.
“Honestly, this is really disturbing,” Diaz said, “when you have victims that were really just trying to do an outreach effort, trying to help people…get people on the right path- And this is what they end up getting hit with.”
Diaz lamented the violence, noting that police recently have recovered the largest amount of guns they have in 15 years, Diaz said.
The shooting occurred in front of a building once home to a King Donut shop.
This is a developing story and will be updated. | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/5-people-shot-in-seattles-rainier-beach-neighborhood/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news | 2023-07-29T06:35:12 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/5-people-shot-in-seattles-rainier-beach-neighborhood/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_seattle-news |
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida on Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees against Disney’s efforts to neutralize the governor’s takeover of Disney World’s governing district.
The judge in state court in Orlando denied Disney’s motion in the lawsuit that says the company wrongly stripped appointees of powers over design and construction at Disney World when it made agreements with predecessors, who were supporters.
The case is one of two lawsuits stemming from the takeover, which was retaliation for the company’s public opposition to the so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation championed by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers. In the other lawsuit, in federal court in Tallahassee, Disney says DeSantis violated the company’s free speech rights.
The governor has touted his yearlong feud with Disney in his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, often accusing the entertainment giant of being too “woke.” Disney has accused the governor of violating its First Amendment rights.
Attorneys for Disney had argued that any decision in state court would be moot since the Republican-controlled Legislature already has passed a law voiding agreements that the company made with a prior governing board made up of Disney supporters that gave design and construction powers to the company.
The entertainment giant had asked that the state court case be put on hold if it’s not dismissed until the federal lawsuit in Tallahassee was resolved since they covered the same ground and that lawsuit was filed first.
In that case, Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in an effort to stop the takeover, saying the governor was violating the company’s free speech and “weaponizing the power of government to punish private business.”
DeSantis wasn’t a party in the state court lawsuit.
The fight between DeSantis and Disney began last year after the company, facing significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. But before the new board came in, the company made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and construction.
In response, DeSantis and Florida lawmakers passed the legislation that repealed those agreements.
Disney announced in May that it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development. Disney had planned to build the campus about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort.
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Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-disneys-efforts-to-neutralize-governing-district-takeover/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:14 | 0 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-disneys-efforts-to-neutralize-governing-district-takeover/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German economy is still failing to grow, figures showed Friday, as the country that should be the industrial powerhouse for all of Europe struggles with high energy prices, rising borrowing costs and a lagging rebound from key trading partner China.
Economic output in Germany stagnated in the April-to-June quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said. That follows a decline of 0.1% in the first three months of the year and a drop of 0.4% in the last three months of 2022 as the energy shock from Russia’s war in Ukraine echoed through Europe’s largest economy.
It comes after the International Monetary Fund forecast this week that Germany would be the globe’s only major economy to shrink this year, even with weak economic growth around the world amid rising interest rates and the threat of growing inflation.
In Germany, the economy has been buffeted by several challenges. Above all, its long-term dependence on Russian natural gas to fuel industry backfired when the invasion of Ukraine led to the loss of most of Moscow’s supply and to higher costs for energy-intensive industries such as metals, glass, cars and fertilizer.
Higher interest rates from the European Central Bank have weighed on construction projects that depend on borrowing. Meanwhile, the rebound in China, Germany’s largest trade partner, after the end of drastic COVID-19 restrictions has been less than many had hoped for.
The second-quarter economic performance was “far from satisfactory,” said Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
He urged action on his proposal to cap energy prices for industry with government help, which has run into skepticism in parts of the governing coalition, and more investment in future-oriented technology such as renewable energy.
“What Germany needs is a targeted impulse for investment and breathing room for our energy-intensive industry,” he said.
Longer-term factors such as an aging population, lagging use of digital technology in business and government, excessive red tape that holds back business launches and public construction projects, and a shortage of skilled labor also have weighed on the economy.
Yet the slowdown does not resemble a classic recession because jobs are abundant, with companies competing for workers and complaining of skills shortages. The unemployment rate was only 2.9% in May, well below the eurozone’s 6.5% — one of the lowest rates on record.
Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING, has described Germany’s situation as a “slowcession,” with the economy “stuck in the twilight zone between stagnation and recession.”
He said Friday that recent data “do not bode well for economic activity in the coming months.”
“In fact, weak purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books, as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the U.S. economy, all argue in favor of weak economic activity,” Brzeski said in a note.
Germany’s woes are calling forth comparisons with the late 1990s, when high labor costs held back the country’s competitiveness. A series of labor market reforms under former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2003-2004 helped restore economic growth and Germany’s position as an export powerhouse selling industrial machinery and vehicles to the rest of the world.
Germany’s current account surplus of $290 billion, the broadest measure of foreign trade, was the highest in the world in 2019, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. It remained above 7% of GDP for six straight years but fell to 4.2% last year. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:16 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-germany-used-to-be-the-worlds-export-powerhouse-now-its-not-growing-what-happened/ |
The 75th Emmy Awards are the latest production to be put on pause due to the Hollywood strikes and will not air as planned in September.
A person familiar with the postponement plans but not authorized to speak publicly pending an official announcement confirmed the delay Friday. No information about a new date was immediately available.
The Emmy Awards were scheduled to be broadcast on Fox on Sept. 18. Rules laid out by the actors’ union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, say stars cannot campaign for the Emmys or attend awards shows while on strike.
Writers are also not permitted to work on awards shows until the strike ends.
Whenever the next Emmy Awards are held, HBO will walk in as the leading contender. The network is up for 74 awards for three of its top shows: “ Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us.”
“Ted Lasso” has the most comedy category nominations with 21, including best comedy series and best actor for Jason Sudeikis.
Roughly 65,000 SAG-AFTRA actors and 11,500 Writers Guild of America screenwriters are on strike, calling for better pay, structure with residual payments and protection from the use of artificial intelligence. | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-the-emmy-awards-are-postponed-due-to-the-hollywood-actors-and-writers-strike-source-says/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:20 | 0 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-the-emmy-awards-are-postponed-due-to-the-hollywood-actors-and-writers-strike-source-says/ |
NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Japan explored collaborating in critical technologies, including semiconductors and resilient supply chains, as part of plans to reach a target of $35.9 billion Japanese investment in the country by 2027, officials said on Friday.
Foreign Ministers of India and Japan, S. Jaishankar and Yoshimasa Hayashi, met in New Delhi on Thursday and also discussed ways to deepen defense equipment and technology cooperation. Hayashi is on a two-day visit to the Indian capital.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global supply of parts and raw materials needed to complete a variety of products – from cars to computer chips.
Hayashi and Jaishankar also emphasized the crucial role of a strong partnership between India and Japan in ensuring an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and rules-based, a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry said.
They discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including the Quad grouping that also includes the United States and Australia, the statement said. The grouping aims at countering the growing challenge posed by an aggressive China in the region.
Japan considers India an indispensable partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said at a meeting with business leaders from the two countries.
He said he has been encouraging Japanese companies to invest in 15 key sectors identified by India as eligible for subsidies. These include telecommunications equipment, automobiles, and applied chemical batteries.
“All of this has led to the remarkable growth in Japanese investment into crucial technologies such as medical equipment, electronics, and household electric appliances,” Hayashi said.
Jaishankar and Hayashi expressed satisfaction at the strengthening of defense and security cooperation between the two countries, including regular exercises and talks between all three services, the statement said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to build a chipmaking industry suffered a potential setback earlier this month as electronics giant Foxconn backed out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd.
In February last year, the two companies announced their joint venture to manufacture chips and display panels in India.
India has made building a chipmaking sector a national priority as part of a self-reliance policy to secure stable supplies. It is offering financial incentives of up to 50% of project costs under a $10 billion plan for semiconductor and display manufacturing projects.
India and Japan share strong economic ties. Trade between the two was worth $20.57 billion in fiscal year 2021-2022. | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:24 | 1 | https://www.yourbasin.com/business/ap-india-and-japan-look-to-collaborate-in-building-semiconductors-and-resilient-supply-chains/ |
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.”
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.
Biden's statement was first reported by People Magazine.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/28/biden-openly-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-the-daughter-of-son-hunter-and-an-arkansas-woman | 2023-07-29T06:35:27 | 1 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/28/biden-openly-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-the-daughter-of-son-hunter-and-an-arkansas-woman |
NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Travis Scott has released “Utopia,” his first album in five years and his first major release since 10 people died at his 2021 Astroworld music festival.
The star-studded 19-track “Utopia” features Beyoncé, SZA, Drake, Sampha, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Future, Bon Iver, James Blake, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, and many more.
The LP, Scott’s fourth full-length, was originally announced back in 2020 and follows 2018’s “Astroworld.” In November 2019, 10 people died as a result of compression asphyxia during a massive crowd surge during Scott’s Astroworld festival. A grand jury declined to file charges against Scott earlier this year.
Also Friday, Houston police released files that showed that some workers were concerned about the crowd conditions at the show. The 1,300-page report also included a summary of an interview with Scott in which he said he did not hear calls from the crowd to stop the show.
The first track from the album, the popetón -adjacent “K-pop”, was released on July 21 and features the Weeknd and Bad Bunny. The release spans genres — an eclectic mix of autotune ambient ballads (“My Eyes”), ferocious bars (“Looove”), futuristic trap (“Lost Forever,” Telekinesis”), and beyond.
In addition to the album, Scott hosted a one-night-only release of his feature film, “Circus Maximus” at select theaters on Thursday night.
“Utopia” was originally scheduled to be celebrated with a livestreamed concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but was canceled due to “complex production issues,” Live Nation said in a statement. | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-travis-scott-drops-utopia-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/ | 2023-07-29T06:35:27 | 1 | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-travis-scott-drops-utopia-his-first-album-since-the-astroworld-festival-tragedy/ |