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If only because it is the feature debut of co-directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash Jr. (singer and director of the band OK Go), it’s surprising how consistently engaging and entertaining “The Beanie Bubble” proves to be.
Already given a limited theatrical release, the comedy-drama built around the wild Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s from Imagine Entertainment debuts this week on Apple TV+.
Penned by Gore (“Saturday Night Live,” “Futurama”), it is based loosely on Zac Bissonnette’s book “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute,” with significant liberties taken for narrative purposes.
“There are parts of the truth you just can’t make up,” reads text that greets the viewer in the film’s opening seconds. “The rest, we did.”
Of all the fine choices made by Gore and Kulash — high school sweethearts who’ve been married since 2016 — none is finer than the casting of Zach Galifianakis as Ty Warren, the toy salesman largely responsible for creating the little understuffed animals that would become speculative investments for many.
According to the movie’s production notes, the couple saw the film as a vehicle for the hilarious “Hangover” star even before developing it. However, Galifianakis’ Ty is nothing like some over-the-top characters the actor has played in that 2009 hit and other movie and TV projects; he is complex — at times funny and charming and at others greedy and duplicitous and still at others weak and immature.
This portrait of the eventual billionaire is told over two timelines — one beginning in 1983 and another starting 10 years later — and primarily from the points of view of three women. Although based partially on women from Warren’s past, Elizabeth Banks’ Robbie Jones, Sarah Snook’s Sheila Harper and Geraldine Viswanathan’s Maya Kumar have been invented for “The Beanie Bubble.”
Ty first befriends Robbie, who’s frustrated with both her job and marriage, and convinces her to start a business with him. The son of a toy salesman, Ty wants them to sell stuffed Himalayan cats — his innovation being that they stuff them only so much, causing them to feel softer and making them easy to pose.
Eventually, as success comes, a romance blossoms.
In the later timeline, Ty Inc. is doing well, and the company hires college student Maya as a receptionist.
Meanwhile, Ty is hours late for an appointment at his house with Sheila, a lighting designer. When she reads him the riot act, he is immediately smitten and puts the full-court press to convince the mother of two young girls to go out with him.
Ty really takes to the girls, and he values their opinions on his products. In fact, the idea for Beanie Babies comes when one is disappointed one of his stuffed animals is too large to fit in her backpack, making it impractical for show and tell at school.
“Before we knew it,” Sheila says in narration, “we were a family — a funny, weird, happy family.”
Ty never enters into a romantic relationship with Maya, but she becomes indispensable to him at the company — or so it would seem, at least. Among her ideas are creating scarcity to make certain Beanie Babies objects of incredible desire and to create a company website at a time most businesses had yet to do so.
As the popularity of Beanie Babies grows and grows, Maya closely monitors trends, using eBay and other new online resources, and she grasps what is happening with the craze and where it’s all heading far better than Ty. (That he detests Beanie collectors — because they’re making money off his creations, not appreciating that they’re fueling his overall business — is both hilarious and, in its way, tragic.)
“The Beanie Bubble” keeps you invested as it runs along its parallel tracks, even as they draw closer to their inevitable conclusions. Perhaps it’s all a little predictable, but that’s understandable given what we remember about the time when Beanie Babies were all the rage — and then weren’t.
In the hands of Galifianakis (“Due Date,” “Between Two Ferns”), Ty is a compelling figure even when we are meant to loathe him. The strange businessman radiates a unique energy that powers “The Beanie Bubble.”
That said, Banks (“The Hunger Games,” “Love & Mercy”), Snook (“Succession,” “Predestination”) and Viswanathan (“Blockers,” “The Broken Hearts Gallery”) each brings qualities to her character that help make the firm work. You root for all three of them but especially Maya — increasingly underappreciated by Ty — thanks largely to the earnestness Viswanathan infuses in her.
“The Beanie Bubble” feels oddly relevant in the time of cryptocurrencies and NFT, which, admittedly, is an idea the film explicitly offers the viewer. At the end of the day, though, it’s simply a rather sound investment of about two hours.
‘The Beanie Bubble’
Where: Apple TV+.
When: July 28.
Rated: R for language.
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Stars (of four): 3. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/the-beanie-bubble-review-zach-galifianakis-shines-in-engaging-toy-story/ | 2023-07-29T12:18:53 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/the-beanie-bubble-review-zach-galifianakis-shines-in-engaging-toy-story/ |
A few days after returning from a European cruise, Maria Hernandez began to feel achy, congested and hotter than usual in the South Florida heat.
She took a COVID rapid test at home, and the Miramar resident immediately saw a positive result.
Now, the virus has moved into her chest and she has begun to cough. “I feel rotten,” she said.
Florida is seeing a COVID uptick last experienced after the winter holidays. The increase in the number of cases began immediately after the Fourth of July and has risen each week since, according to national and state data tracking services. Although reported testing levels are relatively low, the positivity rate has jumped to 17.4% from 11% a month ago, according to state health data.
The state’s COVID bump mirrors the national situation. After months of largely slowing COVID-19 trends nationwide, emergency department visits, test positivity, and wastewater levels are up. CBS News reported that weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen by more than 10% across the country, citing new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I expected this,” said Aileen Marty, an infectious diseases expert with Florida International University. “We might all be done with the coronavirus but the virus is not done with us. It’s still circulating and some of the variants are very contagious.”
Marty and other infectious disease experts are closely watching how long the newest rise continues and whether COVID has a seasonal pattern — winter surges and summer upticks.
“I don’t think it’s seasonal in the classic way,” Marty said. “I think it’s seasonal because of our behavior. This is one of the hottest summers in the world, and people are indoors where COVID transmits more easily.”
Other factors may play a role in this summer’s rise, too, she said: It has been six months or more since many Floridians were vaccinated or had COVID, so immunity is waning, and summer travel has Floridians criss-crossing the world, jammed on cruise ships and at indoor events where opportunities to spread the virus increase.
Dave Karabag, regional vice president of advertising for the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, said he and at least four colleagues returned from a conference in Sarasota last week with COVID. His biggest symptom is exhaustion. After sleeping for about 36 hours, he is beginning to get some energy back. Karabag said he last had COVID in 2020. “I had every symptom. This time it is much more manageable.”
Overall, COVID is far less harmful than it once was, and even while rising, the virus is circulating at lower levels than any previous summers during the pandemic. However, COVID-tracking data isn’t as comprehensive as it once was and rapid tests, which are taken most often when people have symptoms, typically don’t get reported to state and federal health authorities.
Wastewater surveillance is considered one of the most accurate measures of COVID activity.
Surveillance by Biobot Analytics in 10 Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, shows COVID levels in the water have nearly doubled during July in some areas of the state. Overall, Florida’s levels are slightly above the national average.
“Even though nationally the COVID concentration levels are increasing, overall they are three times lower than they were last summer,” said Dr. Cristin Young, an epidemiologist with Biobot Analytics. “COVID hasn’t settled into a seasonal pattern and we don’t know if it’s going to last throughout the summer, so it’s important to keep monitoring the levels.”
The variant now circulating in Florida, wastewater samples show, is a mix of XBB variants, which are highly infectious offshoots of Omicron.
At MD Now Urgent Care in Florida, regional medical director Dr. T’anjuihsien Marx says COVID symptoms no longer include loss of taste or smell and tend to be more cough, fever and chills. “People know what to watch for now, so they probably are testing at home,” he said. “I am hoping that we get to the point that COVID is more like a cold.”
If you are young and healthy, the rising positivity rates mean you should live normally but keep a mask handy if you are in an indoor space with people who are sick or coughing (like an airplane), Marty says.
She advises seniors to get boosted, and wear masks in crowded indoor spaces.
“Each person’s immune system will react differently to the same thing, so our level of illness will be different,” she said. “There are people spreading the virus with no symptoms. Although it’s harmless for them, it might not be for people they breathe on.”
Most likely, Marty said, the uptick will continue through the rest of the hot summer as Floridians spend more time indoors. “It’s best to be cautious. Unfortunately, this is the type of infection that doesn’t give you lifelong high-level immunity,” she said.
Health authorities are racing to prepare for an updated COVID-19 booster this fall.
Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/thought-it-was-gone-covid-is-on-the-rise-again-in-florida/ | 2023-07-29T12:18:59 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/thought-it-was-gone-covid-is-on-the-rise-again-in-florida/ |
I see people complaining about the roads and saying they should be changed to make them safer. I think they would be made safer if there were a couple of police cars stationed on them during rush hours running radar and issuing speeding tickets. That would be better than raising taxes every time you turn around.
If you’re on a two-lane road with a double yellow stripe there will be a slowpoke at the head of the long, long line going 15 mph below the speed limit and riding the brake as they approach a green light, so you’ll spend two extra minutes at each red light the slowpoke forces you to endure, along with the 30 frustrated drivers behind you.
I’m ticked off at our oh so fragile electrical grid. The least little weather disturbance and bam! Lights out. It seems as though electrical engineering hasn’t progressed for 100 years. Please don’t sneeze when passing a transformer, you may knock it out!
Must be nice to have a job that pays well and you are accurate on that job about 25% of the time! Bad enough that you “certified“ meteorologists pound your forecasts on us every five minutes but your weather app is always inaccurate. We decided not to go to a water park today because mister pinpoint inaccurate weather man said storms all afternoon starting at 3. That’s when the sun came out for the rest of the day! Please don’t let these goofs deter your plans with their horrible weather predictions, just go!
I am ticked off that we are going to be forced into electric cars, which are terrible for the environment. Yet no one has ever mandated that the DOT get better mileage from cars. How many times have you sat at a light with no other cars in sight? Just sitting there getting zero miles to the gallon. Is any of the so-called inflation reduction money going to have AI installed to manage traffic? Of course not. That would be too efficient and against the current agenda.
The flip side
Thank you to my mom Mary who is so kind, always looks for the best in others and helps other people whenever she can. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/ticked-off-fragile-electrical-grid/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:05 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/ticked-off-fragile-electrical-grid/ |
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ticket sales are nearing 1.6 million for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after surpassing pre-tournament targets and FIFA revised record expectations.
The previous record was around 1.35 million who attended a 52-game tournament in Canada in 2015. The 2023 edition has been expanded to 32 teams and will include 64 matches.
Soccer’s international governing body said a combined 547,713 fans attended the first 21 games across Australia and New Zealand. The revised total target of 1.5 million was surpassed on Monday.
FIFA said the average of 26,802 per game to that point was a 48% increase from France 2019, where the average after 21 games was 18,068. It did not give a breakdown for Australia and New Zealand.
The opening games on July 20 set records for women’s soccer matches in both co-host countries. The crowd at New Zealand’s upset win over Norway last week set a new national mark of 42,137. Australia’s 1-0 over Ireland later that day attracted 75,784 at Stadium Australia.
A week later, more than 49,000 people attended the Matildas’ upset 3-2 los s to Nigeria in Brisbane.
Ahead of England’s Group D game against Denmark in Sydney on Friday, FIFA said more than 150,000 people had attended designated fan festivals in host cities across Australia and New Zealand across the first week of the tournament.
According to FIFA, TV ratings are also high despite the time zone differences to major Northern Hemisphere markets.
In France, an average audience of 3.43 million viewers watched France’s 0-0 draw with Jamaica last Sunday. That was higher than all live matches from 2011 and 2015 editions broadcast in France, except for a 4.12 million audience for France’s quarterfinal against Germany eight years ago.
In the U.S., FIFA said an average audience of 6.26 million viewers watched the defending champion U.S. team’s opening 3-0 win over Vietnam across all channels.
In Colombia, more than 9 million viewers watched the country’s opening match against South Korea, a record for a Women’s World Cup match in the territory.
___
More AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/ticket-sales-nearing-1-6-million-for-the-womens-world-cup-in-australia-and-new-zealand/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:11 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/ticket-sales-nearing-1-6-million-for-the-womens-world-cup-in-australia-and-new-zealand/ |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Saturday, July 29
Published: Jul. 29, 2023 at 5:44 AM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
Need more auto racing in your life? Well, you're in luck. The race slate on Saturday, July 29 includes Formula 1, Formula E, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series, and NHRA Drag Racing action that can be watched on Fubo. For a complete list, along with information on how to watch or live stream it all, check out the article below.
Watch even more racing action with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix - Sprint Shootout
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 5:55 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix - Sprint
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 10:25 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Round 15: London - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 11:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NHRA Drag Racing: DENSO Sonoma Nationals - Qualifying
- Series: NHRA Drag Racing
- Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX Sports Networks
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Hankook London E-Prix
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: CBS
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400 - Qualifying
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 12:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Henry 180
- Series: NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Road America 180
- Series: NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Worldwide Express 250
- Series: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX Sports Networks
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.ktre.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/auto-racing-live-stream/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:16 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
Flor Marte knows someone will die. She knows when and how, because it came to her in a dream. That's her gift – all the women in the Marte family have one.
But Flor refuses to share who the dream is about. Instead, she insists on throwing herself a living wake, a reason for the entire family to come together and celebrate their lives. That's the starting point for Elizabeth Acevedo's debut novel for adults, Family Lore.
Acevedo grew up in Harlem, with summer visits to the Dominican Republic, and aspirations of becoming a rapper – until a literature teacher invited her to join an after-school poetry club.
She attended reluctantly; but what she found in spoken word performance broke her world and the possibilities of language wide open.
"I think for folks who maybe have felt it difficult to occupy their bodies and take up space and demand attention, to have three minutes where that is the requirement is really powerful," she says.
Acevedo went on to become a National Poetry Slam champion and earn degrees in performing arts and creative writing. After college, she taught language arts in Prince George's County, Maryland. Teaching, she says, is its own kind of performance – one where the audience doesn't always want to be there. But her students were struggling in other ways.
"So many of my young people weren't at grade level, but they'd also not encountered literature that they felt reflected them," she says. "Trying to meet some of those students where they were was really a kickoff for my writing."
So Acevedo began writing young adult books. The Poet X, her first novel about a Dominican-American teen finding her voice through poetry, won a National Book Award in 2018.
Pivoting to a new audience
Now, with Family Lore, Acevedo turns her attention to adult readers.
"I think the way this pushes forward her work and the growing body of Dominican-American literature is how deeply she writes into the interiors of her women characters," says author Naima Coster, who read an early draft of the novel.
The story is told through memories, out of order, sometimes a memory within a different memory. Acevedo jumps from the Dominican countryside to Santo Domingo to New York, as sisters Matilde, Flor, Pastora and Camila – along with younger generation Ona and Yadi – reflect on their childhoods and teenage romances and the secrets that bind them all together. Though the Marte women grow older together, their relationships do not get easier.
"What does it mean if these women have really just had a different experience of their mother?" says Acevedo. "And how that different experience of their mother automatically will create a schism, because now it's like, 'You don't remember her the way I remember her, and because of that, I can't trust you."
There are infidelities, miscarriages, childhood love affairs and therapeutic dance classes. Acevedo explains that she needed to tell this story in a non-linear format, in the way memories surface and warp; the way family gossip is passed on from person to person, in a roundabout way.
Returning to the body
That format, she says, was more suited for adult readers; and writing for adults also allowed her to be candid about bodies: how they move, change, excite, disappoint.
"The generation I was raised by felt like their relationship to their body was very othered," Acevedo says. "When I speak to my cousins, when I think about myself, it's been a return to desire, a return to the gut, a return to health in a way that isn't necessarily about size but is about: who am I in this vessel and how do I love it?"
That tension is felt especially by the younger Marte women, whose supernatural gifts radiate from within. Ona has a self-described "alpha vagina," Yadi has a special taste for sour limes.
Naima Coster says it's easy to feel pressure to write about marginalized communities as clean-cut, exemplary characters. But Family Lore relishes in airing out the Marte family's dirty laundry– in showing Afro-Dominican women as full, complicated protagonists.
"It feels major, the way she writes about the ways that these women misunderstand each other, but still love each other," she says.
Acevedo says those themes – family, home, Blackness, power – will be in every book she writes, "because those are the questions that haunt me."
Family Lore reads like the feeling of getting older and no longer having moms and aunts lower their voices when you enter the room – like finally being privy to what makes a family flawed and perfect.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers | 2023-07-29T12:19:17 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers |
ANKENY, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has criticized fellow Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting new standards that require teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating,” Scott, the sole Black Republican in the Senate, told reporters on Thursday after a town hall in Ankeny. “So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that.”
“People have bad days,” Scott added. “Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions.”
DeSantis has been facing criticism from Florida teachers, civil rights leaders and President Joe Biden’s White House on the school standards. Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black vice president, traveled to Florida last week to condemn the curriculum.
Scott’s comments came as he and DeSantis stumped in Iowa ahead of the state Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner, a gathering at which 13 candidates in the GOP presidential primary field will be addressing an expected 1,200 activists on Friday. Scott, part of the GOP’s most diverse presidential field ever, was asked for his take on the standards hours after DeSantis defended them during a gaggle with reporters as he campaigned.
“At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you going to side with the state of Florida?” DeSantis told reporters, citing Democrats’ criticism of the language. “I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn’t anything that was politically motivated.”
Responding on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to reporters’ posts of Scott’s video, a super PAC supporting DeSantis on Thursday night called the posts “incredibly sloppy or intentionally disingenuous,” reposting video of DeSantis’ defense of the curriculum earlier in the day.
Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/tim-scott-ron-desantis-slavery/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:17 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/tim-scott-ron-desantis-slavery/ |
Whenever anyone asked Tony Bennett how he kept alive his passion for performing, the legendary singer always gave the same answer.
“I tell people when they ask why haven’t I retired, that I don¹t feel like I have worked a day in my life,” Bennett said in 2018 before taking the stage at age 92. “As I have been doing what I love the most — performing for people and entertaining them and making them happy.”
That truly was the bottom line for Bennett, who died last week, two weeks shy of his 97th birthday. In a remarkable career that spanned 70 years, he loved to sing — for anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Growing up in blue-collar Queens, he sang for his family on Sunday afternoons, and worked as a teenage singing waiter in Italian restaurants. After serving in World War II, the young Anthony Benedetto started singing professionally, catching the attention of Pearl Bailey, who asked him to open for her in a Greenwich Village nightclub.
Bob Hope caught one of those shows, took him on tour and suggested he change his name to Tony Bennett. In 1951, “Because of You” became his first No. 1 hit. “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” became his signature song and his first platinum album in 1962.
Changing with the times
For most singers of his generation, success would have faded into distant memories years ago. But Bennett kept trying new things.
In the ’90s, his son urged him to start singing for younger audiences. There were no cringy rock crossovers or embarrassing dance remixes. Bennett reached new generations of fans, most of them unfamiliar with the Great American Songbook, without changing a thing in the jazz and pop stylings that made him the Great American Singer.
“I think this music is timeless and it is intelligently written and communicates with everyone — it isn’t based on a demographic,” Bennett said.
Years later, Bennett and Lady Gaga met after performing separately at a benefit concert and a deep friendship and musical collaboration formed despite the six decades that separated their ages.
“I said, ‘Well I never saw her, let me take a look,’” Bennett said in a 2015 conversation before he and Lady Gaga played a pair of shows at the Hollywood Bowl on tour for “Cheek to Cheek,” their Grammy-winning album of standards. “And I couldn’t believe how much the audience loved her. I said, ‘I’ve got to go backstage and meet her.’”
‘As real as it gets’
“On my birthday last year, I was at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco,” Bennett said in 2015. “And I looked out the window and there was a beautiful small red airplane (pulling a banner) and it said, ‘Happy birthday, Tony – Lady Gaga.’ She flew it around San Francisco for about two hours.”
Bennett, Lady Gaga said, felt like a lifelong friend almost from the moment they met.
“He doesn’t feel like my father or grandfather. He feels much more like a friend, a guy friend. His age is nothing to me,” she said. “What I love most about him is that he just goes straight to the deep stuff … Tony’s as real as it gets.”
In concert, the passion Bennett felt for this timeless music was ever present, as was his love for his collaborators, be they Lady Gaga or longtime members of his quartet.
The clear purity of his voice aged, as he did, but only slightly, and like any great musician Bennett knew how to adapt his instrument so the beauty of a melody or lyric always shone brightly.
Bennett turned 90 a few months before a 2016 concert at Segerstrom Hall in California, a milestone he made light of when the band played the opening notes of “This Is All I Ask,” and Bennett paused and grinned after singing its “As I approach the prime of my life … .”
The audience got the joke, but the lines that followed spoke from the man and the performer on why he still loved to hit the road singing love songs and ballads, jazz standards and classic pop tunes.
“I find I have the time of my life,” Bennett sang as the song continued. “Learning to enjoy at my leisure / All the simple pleasures, and so I happily concede.
“That this is all I ask / This is all I need.”
For Tony Bennett, all he had ever needed was his voice, his full heart and a melody, and magic and beauty could be made.
This editorial reflects the opinion of the Orange County Register editorial board. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/tony-bennett-appreciation/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:23 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/tony-bennett-appreciation/ |
She's one of India's biggest Barbie fans. When Vichitra Rajasingh was growing up, family and friends helped her build her collection of Barbie dolls until she had almost 80 of them. She once owned a Barbie camper, a speedboat, supermarket and post office. The mermaid Barbie and scuba-diving Barbie were her favorites.
Since her family ran a hotel, they put the dolls on display in the lobby in the late '90s. On Rajasingh's 14th birthday, her parents painted her room bright pink and hired artists to draw her favorite Barbie dolls on the walls.
All her Barbies were blond. She says she didn't like the Indian ethnic ones that came on the local market.
Living the pink life
"My love for the color pink began with my childhood passion for Barbie," she says. "And now it's become my identity." For her, the color represents love, joy, femininity and playfulness, everything she once associated with Barbie, she says.
Today Rajasingh lives in the southern Indian city of Madurai, where she drives a pink mini-Cooper and runs a bakery and lives in an apartment that are dominated by that color.
When the Barbie movie released in India on July 21, she gathered a bunch of friends, "everyone dressed to the nines in pink," and watched it on the day of its release. "I loved the movie. It was fun to watch and brought back many joyful childhood memories," she says.
While she no longer has her huge doll collection — having long since given it away to family and friends — Rajasingh is still a Barbie lover. She bakes six or seven Barbie-themed cakes a week, with an actual doll at the center of a cake that serves as her frothy dress, constructed around her in a swirl of sugar and cream.
Rajasingh saw Barbie as an aspirational figure — and grew up admiring the doll's freedom, confidence, globe-trotting lifestyle and even her arched feet in sassy stilettos.
But for others in India, Barbie has a far more complicated legacy.
The pressures Barbie can bring
Shweta Sharan, a writer who lives in Mumbai, admits to being conflicted about whether or not to watch the movie with her 13-year-old daughter, Laasya, who until a year ago ardently loved Barbie but then outgrew playing with dolls.
"I am aware that these dolls have many complicated associations," Sharan says. "Watching my daughter love a doll that looked nothing like her — with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect breasts — I worried if she would always strive to be someone else and feel inadequate."
These worries are valid in the opinion of ElsaMarie DSilva, a social entrepreneur from India and an Aspen fellow. "While Barbie is almost universally loved among girls of all ages, many do aspire to look like her, unconsciously pressurizing young girls to conform to unrealistic body shapes and expectations," she says — a common criticism aimed at Barbie.
Indian Barbie is not a rousing success
Mattel did make an effort to adapt the doll for an Indian market. When Mattel launched Barbie in India in 1991, it was the familiar Western-looking blond-haired blue-eyed Barbie. Then in 1996, they rolled out Indian Barbie, with brown skin. She came either wearing a bright sari or a salwar kameez — a knee-length tunic over fitted trousers.
But the Indian Barbie was not popular. "Indian kids gravitated toward the white-skinned Barbie instead of the brown-skinned one because light-skinned women were considered more beautiful in India and an automatic choice," DSilva says.
She points out how even in Indian clothes, Barbie still had a body that did not represent real women in India or anywhere else — she was way too tall and way too thin.
Priti Nemani, an Indian American attorney living in Chicago, analyzed why Barbie failed so spectacularly in the Indian market in a research paper published in 2011. In addition to the unrealistic, impossibly thin appearance of the doll, she points out how other cultural factors were at play.
"We weren't seeing Indian features on Barbie," she says. "We were seeing white Barbies dipped in brown. And even those brown Barbies didn't last long on the shelves. The latest versions of the Indian Barbie have much lighter skin tone.
Meanwhile, even though blond Barbies sold well, Ken tanked in India. "Indian parents who wouldn't want their daughters in romantic relationships at such an early age weren't going to buy the boyfriend," Nemani says.
In spite of her initial misgivings, Sharan enjoyed the Barbie movie with her daughter, now 13, who especially liked the feminist overtones. Laasya loved the beginning, when they were told "Barbie has a great day everyday. Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him."
Barbie inspires a poem
There are other issues about Barbie in India. For many kids, the doll is too expensive.
Ankita Apurva, 26, a writer who grew up in a farming family in Ranchi, a city in the Eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, recalls a childhood bereft of Barbies.
Her parents, who struggled to pay for a good education that they hoped would be her armor against bullying and discrimination, could not afford to buy their daughter a Barbie.
"They weren't in a position to splurge on fancy dolls like a Barbie," she says. She recalls feeling inferior for not owning one of these expensive dolls that would help her connect with other Barbie owners in her circle. It was especially hard for her at lunch when girls would boast about how many dolls they owned.
"I believe that even if children from marginalized communities manage to enter [private] institutions [for the privileged], there are certain social, cultural and economic symbols which are consciously and subconsciously deployed to mark them out, and Barbie, as loved as it is, is definitely one of them," she says.
Over the years, Apurva's family has grown stronger financially. When she saw the global resurgence of interest in Barbie now, she didn't feel angry or alienated, but it did bring back memories of desperately wanting to fit in – and not just because she didn't have a Barbie.
"Growing up, I rarely felt represented in literature or media. If pens or cameras turned toward us, they inadvertently counted us as data: dead bodies of farmers or survivors of violence of umpteen kinds."
As a girl from a farming family in Jharkhand, Apurva felt invisible. And so, she decided to express those emotions. She wrote a poem that she posted on Instagram, not to shame anyone who is privileged enough to own a Barbie but to comfort those who, like her, may have felt left out.
Here are some excerpts:
"Here's to the girls who do not get the Barbie craze,
...
girls who had parents who could not
or did not or choose not
to get them Barbie dolls
...
it's okay,
to not relate to any of it
...
what is not okay are friends ...
who intentionally make you
feel low by asking how many Barbies
you owned as a kid even as they
know you weren't privileged enough
to have them.
...
you are also not "too much" ...
if you feel
that Barbie is a colonial icon
legitimizing racial supremacy
while being a 'white feminist' trope
...
and once again
remember,
you are everything,
they are just Ken
Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, Southern India. She reports on global health, science, and development, and her work has been published in the New York Times, The British Medical Journal, BBC, The Guardian and other outlets. You can find her on twitter @kamal_t
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/arts/arts/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie | 2023-07-29T12:19:23 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/arts/arts/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie |
For the sake of convenience, former President Donald Trump now wants the right to discuss with his attorneys at his Palm Beach home the very classified government documents that he is accused of mishandling, according to federal prosecutors.
They oppose the idea.
Specifically, Trump’s lawyers have asked that he be allowed to hold those consultations at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, or at his summer home in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to a Thursday filing by federal prosecutors working for Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The disclosure came as the government filed a superseding indictment against Trump, adding new charges in the case as well as a new co-defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago employee accused of helping the former President hide sensitive papers from FBI agents.
By law, classified documents that are a part of federal criminal cases are handled, discussed and reviewed in a government-controlled location called a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF.
“There is no basis for the defendant’s request that he be given the extraordinary authority to discuss classified information at his residence, and it is particularly striking that he seeks permission to do so in the very location at which he is charged with willfully retaining the documents charged in this case,” prosecutors wrote in a new motion proposing a protective order for handling secret documents during the case under the federal Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA).
“Defendant Trump’s counsel objects to the provisions in the proposed protective order that require them to discuss classified information with their client only within a SCIF,” the government said. “They expressed concerns regarding the inconvenience posed by this limitation and requested that Defendant Trump be permitted to discuss classified information with his counsel in his office at Mar-a-Lago, and possibly Bedminster.”
“The government is not aware of any case in which a defendant has been permitted to discuss classified information in a private residence, and such exceptional treatment would not be consistent with the law,” the prosecutors added.
Last month, prosecutors advised U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in writing that the case’s sensitive papers were being moved to an existing SCIF in a downtown Miami federal courthouse. Cannon presides in Fort Pierce, which is at the northern end of the Southern District of Florida. The judge has set a trial date for May 24, 2024.
In a previous filing, the government indicated it would seek to curb Trump’s access to classified papers. But in Thursday’s filing, prosecutors said they would no longer seek that measure.
Prosecutors, though, drew a red line at allowing discussions to take place at Mar-a-Lago, the very location where Trump is alleged to have hoarded and hidden the documents in question. He is also alleged to have shown sensitive papers to unauthorized visitors at his New Jersey summer home.
Both Trump and co-defendant Waltine Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the charges in an indictment that now exceeds 40 counts. De Oliveira is scheduled to be arraigned in Miami on Monday.
The government also told the court in its Thursday filing that Nauta, an aide who is accused of helping Trump to move documents out of the reach of federal authorities, wants access to the documents as well.
“Classified information may only lawfully be provided to individuals who have a ‘need to know’ the information,” the prosecutors said, and Nauta is not one of those people.
“Defendant Nauta is charged only with obstruction and false statement offenses related to the movement and concealment of Defendant Trump’s boxes,” the government said. “The contents of the classified documents contained in the boxes, and the national defense information that they contain, are not material to proving or defending against those charges.”
In addition, Nauta’s lawyers “will have the opportunity to review the classified discovery, and should they see a need to share any particular classified documents” with their client, they “will have an opportunity to raise the issue with the Government and the Court.”
A non-starter, experts say
South Florida legal observers familiar with the handling of classified papers in federal criminal cases all doubted Judge Cannon would allow any dialogue about the papers to go beyond the four corners of a SCIF.
“I’m positive you cannot discuss the documents outside the SCIF,” said Miami criminal defense lawyer Kenneth Swartz, who defended a client in the Jose Padilla terrorist support case in 2008, and represents a co-defendant in an ongoing case against alleged players in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. “I am sure her order would say that, because otherwise, what’s the point?”
“Your notes have to stay in the SCIF — handwritten notes, typewritten notes, whatever they are,’ Swartz added.
Richard Serafini, a Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer who served with the Justice Department in Washington, agreed that the judge is unlikely to expand the realm of where the papers can be discussed and handled.
“Never say never, but it certainly sounds like it is probably never,” he said. “Both executive orders and CIPA set things out with how documents are supposed to be handled so they remain confidential and are not disseminated to people who should not be seeing them.”
Robert Jarvis, a professor of law at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, suggested that the system for reviewing documents poses not only inconveniences for the defense, but for the public.
Wherever he goes, Jarvis said, Trump attracts attention and is bound to draw crowds, tying up traffic and “inconveniencing thousands of people.”
“He is entitled to go over the documents with his lawyers,” Jarvis said. ”You can see the inconvenience not just to Trump but everybody else if he has to come into Miami. What a zoo.”
As an alternative, perhaps Trump could pay for the building of a more conveniently located SCIF.
“Let him build and pay for a SCIF wherever he finds it convenient, just like when you have very rich defendants who do not want to sit in jail while they are waiting for trial,” Jarvis said..
The defendants foot the bill for security, 24/7, he added. “That would solve all of these problems.” | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/trump-wants-to-discuss-classified-papers-at-home-with-his-lawyers-feds-say-thats-not-allowed/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:29 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/trump-wants-to-discuss-classified-papers-at-home-with-his-lawyers-feds-say-thats-not-allowed/ |
Universal Orlando has unleashed details about every haunted house and all scare zones for its upcoming Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida. Visitors will encounter the new “Exorcist” movie, go underground for classic monsters and meet Dr. Oddfellow in multiple ways at the theme park.
There’s also a shout-out to an original Islands of Adventure attraction incorporated into one of HHN’s five original haunted houses.
Universal identified three of the 2023 houses over several months. But rather than a drip-drip-drip method of releasing the remainder of attractions, on Friday it dropped the entire lineup of mazes and scare zones plus other information about the event, which kicks off Sept. 1.
The 10 houses this year, starting with the newly revealed, include:
• The Exorcist: Believer, based on a film of the same name that’s set to be released Oct. 13. The house’s story includes a street market in Haiti, a three-eyed doll, a demonic portal and a pair of 12-year-old girls who “exhibit unsettling behavior,” according to Universal’s news release.
• Universal Monsters: Unmasked, which will feature the Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Invisible Man and their Catacombs home.
• Yeti: Campground Kills, set in a 1950s campground infested by multiple Yetis.
• Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings with human sacrifice and focused villagers.
• The Darkest Deal, where a blues musician sells his soul for fame before being dragged to Hades to meet others with similar arrangements.
• Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate, which at least in name is a reference to IOA’s Lost Continent roller coaster, which later became Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s Dragon Challenge before being removed to make room for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride. Universal’s house description includes Merlyn, Enchanted Oak, a castle and warlocks turned into dragons of fire and ice.
• Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins, a collection of oddities (“grotesquely distorted animals and freakish fiends”) in a Dust Bowl setting.
• Previously announced houses are based on the fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us” video game and the killer doll TV show “Chucky,” which now has an expanded house name of Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count.
The five scare zones have a common thread: Dr. Oddfellow, who Universal refers to as a Halloween Horror Nights “legend.” They include:
• Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horror, where HHN visitors will see “the devious legend.”
• Dark Zodiac, where Dr. O turns the zodiac signs into creatures.
• Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror, where Oddfellow’s experiments are nature-animal hybrids.
• Vamp ‘69: Summer of Blood, where a music festival is crashed by vampires.
• Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged, where the doctor’s monsters have escaped from crates.
Gaylord Palms: ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ returns as ICE theme for 2023
Other new items revealed by Universal on Friday include:
• A new stage show called “Nightmare Fuel Revenge Dream” with aerial performers, pyrotechnics and “the beat of metal and electronica.”
• Peacock’s Halloween Horror Bar (themed drinks, nightclub setting, photo ops, location not announced).
• Dead Coconut Club, the return of Universal CityWalk’s reimagined Red Coconut Club.
• Tribute Store with a horror comic book theme.
• A ticketed Taste of Terror event, which will run select nights between Aug. 10 and Aug. 26 and preview select menu items for the event.
Halloween Horror Nights is an after-hour, extra-ticket fright fest held on 48 select nights between Sept. 1 and Nov. 4. Tickets, including multinight passes, are now on sale. For more information, go to halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando.
Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. My Threads account is @dbevil. You can subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/universal-halloween-horror-nights-all-haunted-houses-scare-zones/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:29 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/universal-halloween-horror-nights-all-haunted-houses-scare-zones/ |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvasfm.org/arts/arts/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying | 2023-07-29T12:19:29 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/arts/arts/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying |
By NOMAAN MERCHANT, ELLEN KNICKMEYER, ZEKE MILLER and TARA COPP (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Friday announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administration’s first major package drawing on America’s own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China.
The White House’s announcement said the package would include defense, education and training for the Taiwanese. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters ahead of the announcement.
U.S. lawmakers have been pressuring the Pentagon and White House to speed weapons to Taiwan. The goals are to help it counter China and to deter China from considering attacking, by providing Taipei enough weaponry that it would make the price of invasion too high.
While Chinese diplomats protested the move, Taiwan’s trade office in Washington said the U.S. decision to pull arms and other materiel from its stores provided “an important tool to support Taiwan’s self-defense.” In a statement, it pledged to work with the United States to maintain “peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense also expressed its appreciation in a statement Saturday morning that thanked “the U.S. for its firm commitment to Taiwan’s security.”
The package is in addition to nearly $19 billion in military sales of F-16s and other major weapons systems that the U.S. has approved for Taiwan. Delivery of those weapons has been hampered by supply chain issues that started during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been exacerbated by the global defense industrial base pressures created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The difference is that this aid is part of a presidential authority approved by Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles — so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales. This gets weapons delivered faster than providing funding for new weapons.
The Pentagon has used a similar authority to get billions of dollars worth of munitions to Ukraine.
Taiwan split from China in 1949 amid civil war. Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains China’s right to take over the now self-ruled island, by force if necessary. China has accused the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a “powder keg” through the billions of dollars in weapons sales it has pledged.
The U.S. maintains a “One China” policy under which it does not recognize Taiwan’s as an independent country and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island in deference to Beijing. However, U.S. law requires a credible defense for Taiwan and for the U.S. to treat all threats to the island as matters of “grave concern.”
Getting stockpiles of weapons to Taiwan now, before an attack begins, is one of the lessons the U.S. has learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pentagon deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks told The Associated Press earlier this year.
Ukraine “was more of a cold-start approach than the planned approach we have been working on for Taiwan, and we will apply those lessons,” Hicks said. Efforts to resupply Taiwan after a conflict erupted would be complicated because it is an island, she said.
China regularly sends warships and planes across the center line in the Taiwan Strait that provides a buffer between the sides, as well as into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, in an effort to intimidate the island’s 23 million people and wear down its military capabilities.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said in a statement Friday that Beijing was “firmly opposed” to U.S. military ties with Taiwan. The U.S. should “stop selling arms to Taiwan” and “stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” Liu said. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-announces-345-million-military-aid-package-for-taiwan/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:35 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-announces-345-million-military-aid-package-for-taiwan/ |
SAN FRANCISCO — The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant "X" sign that was installed Friday on top of the downtown building formerly known as Twitter headquarters as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.
City officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.
The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand's iconic bird and logo from the side of the building, saying they hadn't taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.
Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week.
Erecting a sign on top of a building also requires a permit, Hannan said Friday.
"Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation," he said in an email.
Musk unveiled a new "X" logo to replace Twitter's famous blue bird as he remakes the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year. The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has long been fascinated with the letter X and had already renamed Twitter's corporate name to X Corp. after he bought it in October. One of his children is called "X." The child's actual name is a collection of letters and symbols.
On Friday afternoon, a worker on a lift machine made adjustments to the sign and then left.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/business/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate | 2023-07-29T12:19:36 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/business/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate |
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)
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.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-price-and-wage-increases-slow-further-in-the-latest-signs-of-cooling-inflation/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:41 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-price-and-wage-increases-slow-further-in-the-latest-signs-of-cooling-inflation/ |
Trader Joe's has recalled its frozen falafel for potentially having rocks in it, after it recalled two of its cookie products for the same reason recently.
The company's supplier informed them of the concern, and Trader Joe's said in a statement Friday that "all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed."
Customers who purchased the product should discard it or return it to a Trader Joe's location for a full refund, the company said.
The falafel, which is fully cooked and frozen, has the SKU number 93935 and is sold in Washington, D.C., and 34 states.
Last Friday, Trader Joe's said rocks could also possibly be found in its Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/business/business/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it | 2023-07-29T12:19:42 | 1 | https://www.wvasfm.org/business/business/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it |
By TOM KRISHER (AP Auto Writer)
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government wants to raise the fuel economy of new vehicles 18% by the 2032 model year so the fleet would average about 43.5 miles per gallon in real world driving.
The proposed numbers were released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which eventually will adopt final mileage requirements.
Currently the fleet of new vehicles must average 36.75 mpg by 2026 under corporate average fuel economy standards adopted by the administration of President Joe Biden, who reversed a rollback made by former President Donald Trump.
The highway safety agency says it will try to line up its regulations so they match the Environmental Protection Agency’s reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But if there are discrepancies, automakers likely will have to follow the most stringent regulation.
In the byzantine world of government regulation, both agencies essentially are responsible for setting fuel economy requirements since the fastest way to reduce greenhouse emissions is to burn less gasoline.
“I want to make clear that EPA and NHTSA will coordinate to optimize the effectiveness of both agency standards while minimizing compliance costs,” NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson said.
A large auto industry trade group which includes General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Stellantis and others said requirements from the agencies should be lined up. “If an automaker complies with EPA’s yet-to-be-finalized greenhouse gas emissions rules, they shouldn’t be at risk of violating CAFE rules (from NHTSA) and subject to civil penalties,” John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement.
However the alliance has said the EPA’s proposed cut in carbon emissions will require a huge increase in electric vehicle sales that’s not attainable by 2032. The EPA says the industry can reach the greenhouse gas emissions goals if 67% of new vehicles sold in 2032 are electric. Currently, EVs make up about 7% of new vehicle sales.
NHTSA said its proposal includes a 2% annual improvement in fuel mileage for passenger cars, and a 4% increase for light trucks. It’s proposing a 10% improvement per year for commercial pickup trucks and work vans. Automakers can meet the requirements with a mix of electric vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and efficiency improvements in gas and diesel vehicles.
The agency says the new regulations will save more than $50 billion on fuel over the vehicles’ lifetimes and save more than 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050 if NHTSA’s preferred alternative is adopted. The standards would cut new-vehicle fuel consumption nearly in half by the 2035 model year, and benefits will exceed costs by $18 billion, the agency said.
NHTSA will take comments from the public for 60 days before drafting a final regulation. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:47 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/us-proposes-18-fuel-economy-increase-for-new-vehicle-fleet-from-2027-through-2032/ |
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa | 2023-07-29T12:19:49 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa |
Orange County’s overhaul of its future development blueprint will head to Tallahassee for a mandated state review after county commissioners voted this week to move the document forward.
The revamped plan, Vision 2050, intended to guide how Orange County should grow over the next quarter century, got mostly good reviews from the board, but not everyone gave it a thumbs up.
“I don’t want to say it’s a ‘no’ for me,” said Commissioner Mayra Uribe, who objected to policies allowing higher urban densities without requiring commitments for transit. “I think it still needs a lot of work.”
She cast the lone vote against sending the plan to the Florida Department of Commerce.
The state review should take about three months, officials said.
Uribe said she was troubled that transportation deficiencies weren’t more thoroughly explored.
The board had refused to OK a similar version in April, sending it back to the drawing board.
Over the last 12 weeks, county planners staged 22 community meetings — at least two in each of the six commission districts — for residents, developers and others to suggest policy and land-use tweaks.
About 500 people attended those listening sessions.
Vision 2050 was praised as a ‘very good’ growth plan for Orange County, so what’s the problem?
Chief Planner Alberto Vargas said the discussions led planning staff to make changes to the document, which can be edited between now and December when the board will consider adopting it.
Orange County’s existing but outdated land-use plan was approved in 1991, a year after the U.S. Census put the county population at 677,491 residents, a number that ballooned to over 1.4 million in the decennial count in 2020.
The proposed update, drafted with a goal of accommodating another 600,000 new residents by 2050, would allow up to 100 dwelling units per acre in high-density urban areas and taller buildings in the tourist district, near downtown Orlando, around the University of Central Florida and Lake Nona.
Work on the plan began six years ago amid a population boom.
“But it’s not all about urban growth,” Vargas said. “It’s also about maintaining the character of our rural communities and, more importantly, being responsible to the natural environment that we all care for.”
Vargas described the proposed plan as “transformational.”
“It really is the future,” he said. “Growth is coming and needs to be managed. This will do that.”
Vargas said the plan also addresses historic neighborhoods, aims to limit growth in rural communities and directs much of the expected new growth on targeted, high-population centers.
Not perfect, but a good start
Supporters of the plan acknowledged valid criticism of the work even as they endorsed it.
About three dozen people offered comments during Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Orlando resident Peter Duke, a star on A&E network’s reality-rehabbing show “Zombie House Flipping,” praised the rewritten land-use plan while acknowledging “well-intentioned” arguments against it.
“This plan that the commission and staff have labored over for so long was not capriciously made,” he said. “This thing has been considered and run through committees and had analyses done and public input and it’s not perfect. … But I think it’s been well thought out. I hope everyone can sees the many, many merits of this plan to move our county forward and make housing more accessible.”
Maddie Lynch, a member of Orlando YIMBY, a not-for-profit that advocates for affordable housing, told commissioners Vision 2050 can help make Orange County a better, cleaner and safer place to live.
YIMBY is an acronym for “Yes, in my backyard.”
Orange County ready to allow taller buildings, greater density, in high-population areas
“What I’m asking for is a county where people can find a home they can afford, a county where the focus is on people, not cars,” she said. “The plan is not perfect at achieving those goals, but it’s a great start.”
shudak@orlandosentinel.com | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/vision-2050-its-a-start/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:49 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/vision-2050-its-a-start/ |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.
Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News, where he is frequently heard as a news analyst and writes regularly for NPR.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up | 2023-07-29T12:19:55 | 1 | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up |
It’s difficult to imagine a shortage of water given the start of the wet season here in South Florida. So far this year, the typical afternoon rainstorms have turned into tropical downpours that have wreaked havoc on local communities – just ask the city of Fort Lauderdale, which experienced record-setting rain and widespread flooding in April. Such events speak to the magnitude of a changing climate. Even this year’s hurricane season has been unusual; while we expected a season to begin much later due to the presence of an El Niño system, water temperatures have followed air temperatures, rising several degrees higher than anticipated, making the Atlantic and Caribbean targets for earlier storm development.
Unpredictability is not only our new reality, it’s a cause of greater concern for those of us residing in South Florida — particularly with our water, which remains our most precious natural resource. Take our water supply as one example.
Based on a report that was recently released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida’s water supply “is projected to be unable to meet all of the growing needs of Floridians in the future.” As alarming as such a headline might seem, it could very well be a cause of concern in the years to come.
Part of the reason is due to the unpredictability mentioned above. No one imagined a deadly global pandemic unsettling our lives as 2020 began. As our country reopened, no one imagined that responses to the pandemic would be inconsistent and fragmented from one state to the next, partly creating dramatic shifts in the nation’s population. Florida — and our water — remain a consequence of such moments.
Based on data from the National Association of Realtors, Florida’s population increased over 1% in 2021, and nearly 2% in 2022. While the percentages don’t seem terribly high, they weren’t necessarily expected and have created strain on both our infrastructure and our resources. With Florida’s growth showing no signs of slowing down, our concerns should go beyond traffic frustrations — more people means that we will have more users of our water, and water is not unlimited.
Population growth is just part of the problem. Other parts stem more directly from climate impacts: rising seas, more intense storms, widespread flooding and saltwater intrusion. Taken together, all of these factors are complicated to predict, expensive to solve and more complex with more people. Not to mention that some of these bring with them the potential to limit our freshwater supply.
To leave things as they are will certainly create an undesired outcome. The good news is that there are things that can be done to make the future of our water more secure.
Certainly, water conservation efforts are helpful. Fixing a drip from a leaky faucet can save as much as 20 gallons of water per day. While we all enjoy green lawns here in South Florida, turning sprinklers off after a downpour also helps reduce unnecessary water usage. Smaller, individual efforts have real benefits, especially as they add up. But they also require a boarder conversation from our water managers.
Every five years, our state water management districts create a water supply plan, which includes suggestions for preserving our water supply, investing in new alternative supply methods, and forecasting water usage over the next several decades. The South Florida Water Management District’s water supply plan looks forward to the next 20 years with some noteworthy recommendations for relying on alternative water supply methods, including water reuse projects that reduce stress on our aquifers and existing water supply. These plans are forward thinking and offer benefit to residents and our environment. Further investment in these alternatives will make preserving our water supply far more achievable in the years to come. So will smart strategies with the water we have now — from our coastal cities to Lake Okeechobee. The right strategies today serve as the foundation for tomorrow’s water.
All of us — from water managers to the public at large — have a responsibility to take our water supply seriously. Preparing for the unexpected is always a difficult task, but not doing so will offer far greater consequences. Losing our water means losing it all.
Ryan Rossi is director of the South Florida Water Coalition. He lives in Boca Raton. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/water-shortages/ | 2023-07-29T12:19:55 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/07/28/water-shortages/ |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvasfm.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees | 2023-07-29T12:20:01 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees |
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvasfm.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s | 2023-07-29T12:20:07 | 1 | https://www.wvasfm.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s |
BEIJING, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of English education experts and scholars from all over the world assembled in Macao on Friday for a three-day event to explore new opportunities for global cooperation in English education brought by China's development.
The 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, an online-and-offline event that opened at the City University of Macau (CityU), attracted over 1,600 experts, front-line educators and scholars from more than 20 countries and regions. Participants were mainly from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Nepal, Mongolia, Indonesia and Pakistan.
They shared their insights to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and discussed the most recent trends in English language teaching.
The event's theme is "New opportunities for the world with new advances in China's development: Opening up new prospects in English education cooperation worldwide", and features nine keynote speeches and 23 parallel sessions.
This year's assembly is hosted by China Daily and Shanghai International Studies University, and co-hosted by the Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau, and organized by CityU and China Daily's 21st Century English Education Media.
For the first time, the assembly, which started in 2018, was held in Macao — one of the engine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This location echoes the Outline Development Plan for the GBA released in 2019, which set out to, among other goals, build the region as a model area for high-quality education and promote opening up education to the world.
At the event's opening ceremony, Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, highlighted that 2023 marks the 10th year since President Xi Jinping put forward both the idea of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" and the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is, therefore, appropriate that for the first time, the conference this year has moved out of the Chinese mainland to Macao where East meets West and multiple cultures blend, Qu said.
He said he believes the event will catalyze many innovative outcomes. Qu further said that English education could be a bridge to promote high-quality development of the BRI and people-to-people cultural exchanges could provide momentum for "building a community with a shared future for mankind".
He urged the audience to cultivate talent in order to bolster the promotion of the three global initiatives brought forward by Xi — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
Qu also said China attaches great importance to education and cultural exchange. Xi, in his several correspondences with foreign students studying in China, has encouraged the latter to see with their own eyes the development of China and tell the world about what they have seen, to boost people-to-people bonding and friendship between their countries and China.
Zha Mingjian, vice-president of Shanghai International Studies University, said development in recent times has brought many opportunities as well as challenges. In this context, the English education sector in China has the responsibility to serve as a vital bridge for English education globally.
Opening education more extensively to the outside world will significantly strengthen China's efforts to modernize education in the new era, Zha said.
Svetlana V. Sannikova, coordination council chairperson of the National Association of Teachers of English in Russia, said the Macao event offers a high-end international academic platform where teachers can learn many practical ideas and methods to improve their English teaching skills.
On Friday, the event's organizer and CityU jointly established the Belt and Road English Education Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Exchange Base, which will use English education as a means to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonding in countries and regions participating in the BRI.
The GBA Exchange Base will also strive to promote high-quality development in the BRI landscape.
Liu Jun, rector of CityU and president of the International Research Foundation for English Language Education, and Zeng Qingkai, editor-in-chief of 21st Century English Education Media, were the signatories of the document for the establishment of the base.
Among the several dignitaries who graced Friday's opening ceremony were Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR government, participating in the event on behalf of Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng; Yan Zhichan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Liu Xianfa, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR; Kong Chimeng, director of the Macao SAR government Education and Youth Development Bureau; and Chan Meng-kam, chairman of the council of CityU.
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SOURCE China Daily | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ | 2023-07-29T12:21:53 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ |
Electric bus manufacturer Proterra and motor coach operator ABC Companies recently announced what the companies claim is the largest charging facility for motor coaches—larger, more luxurious buses designed for longer trips than urban transit buses—in North America.
Located on a 3.5-acre site in Newark, California, the facility has 20 dual-cable EV chargers, allowing it to charge up to 40 motor coaches, with charging power up to 1.4 megawatts, according to a Proterra press release.
Proterra has been one of the leaders for electric buses, jockeying with BYD for some of the top sales. The company has been electrifying motor coaches from Van Hool with its own battery and electric powertrain hardware, which the California charging facility will support.
ABC Companies claims its fleet of electric vehicles, ranging from 8-passenger vans to 75-passenger double-deck motor coaches, has logged hundreds of thousands of miles over almost two years.
The charging facility was developed with input from utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which is expanding its charging infrastructure efforts from passenger cars to commercial vehicles. PG&E claims to have contracted with more than 180 sites to date, enabling charging for over 3,700 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Electrifying larger vehicles like buses is an important piece of the emissions reduction puzzle. A 2021 study found that a shift to electric trucks and buses could prevent more than 57,000 premature deaths by reducing air pollution. A London bus charging project has also shown how this added charging infrastructure could be used to help stabilize the grid by syncing charging with the peaks and troughs of electricity demand.
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- Tesla topped Toyota in California deliveries in Q2 | https://www.wric.com/automotive/internet-brands/california-station-can-charge-up-to-40-electric-motor-coaches/ | 2023-07-29T12:21:57 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/automotive/internet-brands/california-station-can-charge-up-to-40-electric-motor-coaches/ |
ODESSA, Ukraine, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ukrainian entrepreneur, Vadim Novynskyi has announced a donation of up to $1 million to help restore the Transfiguration Church in Odessa, Ukraine that was seriously damaged during rocket attacks on Sunday, July 23. The destruction of one of the most beautiful Ukrainian churches, which was erected by the founders of Odessa at the end of the 18th century is a true tragedy. This cathedral was the center of the spiritual life of Odessa.
This is not the first time the church has been destroyed. In 1936, the Bolsheviks destroyed the cathedral and it was restored in the early 2000's after tens of thousands of ordinary people participated in the restoration with their donations.
"I sincerely mourn with the inhabitants of Odessa and I want to assure them and all the people of Ukraine that this cathedral will be rebuilt and the people of Odessa will once again be able to worship and seek community in this hallowed place," said Vadim Novynskyi. "In the days of war and persecution of the Church, it is very important to be able to protect and revive the shrines of Orthodoxy, demonstrating faith, unity and mutual support. After all, the true Orthodox Church is based on these principles."
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SOURCE Vadym Novynskyi | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ | 2023-07-29T12:21:59 | 1 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ |
Germany's auto industry: suppliers' confidence waning
In early July, multinational engineering and electronics giant Bosch, or — to be more precise — the supplier division of the company that produces automotive components and other industrial products, announced an agreement between management and employee representatives on the future prospects of 80,000 employees in Germany, ensuring there will be no compulsory redundancies until the end of 2027.
This will benefit workers in the traditional internal combustion engine sector. The transformation processes German automakers have been forced to start have affected suppliers, stoking fears of job losses. There are fears that the shift to electromobility will cost many jobs.
Electric drives are simple in design
Power units for e-cars are made up of significantly fewer parts than combustion engine technology. German carmakers are increasingly investing in the development of software for electronic networking and driver assistance systems. This shift has led to retraining where possible, but also job losses for combustion engine specialists.
The VW Group is restructuring its plants and is planning to set up more production sites in Eastern Europe for cost reasons. This news has already led to considerable unrest among the workforce at suppliers like Bosch.
The supplier division is the largest sector of Germany's auto industry. It accounted for almost 60% of the €88 billion ($98 billion) in sales the company generated last year. Worldwide, more than half of the approximately 420,000 employees work in this division.
Transformation will take a long time
"The goal of the transformation must be to make it as socially acceptable as possible," Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung recently told German weekly Welt am Sonntag.
There are 1.4 billion vehicles on the road worldwide, and the entire auto industry currently has a production capacity of just under 90 million vehicles per year, Hartung said. To illustrate the dimensions of the change, he calculated that "even if we were to build only all-electric vehicles starting tomorrow - which is impossible simply because of a lack of battery capacity - we would need at least 15 years to replace them all."
Business is picking up again following massive supply chain problems and the chip crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world's 100 largest auto suppliers have seen their sales expand strongly thanks to price increases and higher vehicle production. According to a study by Berylls, a management consultancy specializing in the automotive sector, they grew by 16% last year compared with the pre-pandemic year 2019, breaking a trillion euros for the first time.
Sales rise, profits shrink
Higher prices of raw materials and energy have been eating away at profit margins. But not all global regions have been affected in the same way. "While Europe suffered from high energy costs, Chinese companies were hardly affected. This effect was particularly strong in Germany," the study said.
German suppliers Bosch, ZF Friedrichshafen and Continental continue to top the list of top 100 suppliers, along with Japan's Denso Group. From Germany, Mahle, Schaeffler, Brose, Eberspächer, Dräxlmaier and ThyssenKrupp are also among the big players.
But "Korean and Chinese suppliers are making exceptionally strong gains, while the market share of German and Japanese companies continues to decline," Berylls' wrote.
In the coming years, the shift in favor of Chinese suppliers is likely to continue, says Berylls partner Alexander Timmer. "Key drivers for this are the advancing electrification and digitalization of vehicles."
At the moment, German manufacturers are still feeding off the high order backlog that piled up last year due to a lack of components. But new orders are hardly coming in because of the uncertain economy. According to the German Automobile Manufacturers Association (VDA), 20% fewer orders were registered in June than in the previous year. Since the beginning of 2023, domestic orders have fallen by 27%.
Business outlook is extremely negative
According to a survey published in July by the Munich-based Ifo Institute, German automakers said the outlook is the worst its been since the international financial crisis. The corresponding indicator fell for the fifth time in a row.
"There is a lot of uncertainty among carmakers, as there was at the beginning of the war in Ukraine or when the risk of gas rationing for the industry increased significantly in the fall," said Oliver Falck, head of the Ifo Center for Industrial Economics and New Technologies.
And this explains why German suppliers are more pessimistic about the future than they have been for a long time.
This article was originally written in German.
While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing. | https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-auto-industry-suppliers-confidence-waning/a-66368932 | 2023-07-29T12:22:04 | 1 | https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-auto-industry-suppliers-confidence-waning/a-66368932 |
Republican lawmakers are seeking to block stricter emissions rules that would require more EVs, even as many Republican-led states stand to benefit from new manufacturing jobs related to the EV boom.
A bill in the House of Representatives called the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act was introduced in March and advanced from the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee to Full Committee consideration last week. It seeks to “amend the Clean Air Act to prevent the elimination of the sale of internal combustion engines.”
Federal emissions rules don’t officially mandate EVs, but they’re anticipated to result in 67% EVs by 2032. California, however, as adopted rules that effectively mandate EV sales by 2035.
Another recently introduced House bill, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act would block the proposed EPA regulations, and would prohibit regulations mandating any specific technology or limiting sales of vehicles of a certain powertrain type, according to Fox News.
This bill was introduced by Republican Congressmen Tim Walberg and Andrew Clyde, who represent Michigan and Georgia, respectively. In a statement, Clyde said the rules may be “enriching China,” and that it’s an attack on rural America. However, the reality is that these laws provide an incentive for U.S.-built EVs that doesn’t exist for internal-combustion vehicle manufacturing, which could continue moving offshore, including to China.
The state Clyde represents is one of several Midwest and Southeastern U.S. states seen as part of the EV “battery belt,” stretching from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, down to Georgia and South Carolina, and includes a number of states with lawmakers simultaneously seeking EV manufacturing jobs but resisting policy that favors the product. Georgia is anticipated to benefit from large EV manufacturing projects, including EV assembly plants for Rivian and Hyundai-Kia slated to start producing vehicles in 2024. Hyundai’s assembly plant will be supported by a joint-venture battery plant with LG.
Michigan’s auto industry is already transitioning to EVs with projects like General Motors’ “Factory Zero” repurposing of the automaker’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.
The outcome of the 2024 presidential election will ultimately decide the next few years’ worth of emissions regulations. Reuters reported recently that former President Donald Trump, who is among the Republican candidates running in 2024, has vowed to “terminate” green vehicle mandates.
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Giving it the beans along Big Tujunga Highway in Southern California’s Angeles National Forest, this 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost feels familiar but different. Dynamically, the seventh-generation Mustang doesn’t change much, but it has a lot more technology to experience behind the wheel.
The seventh-generation Mustang, known internally as S650, is little different than the last-generation S550 version.
That’s alright, because we felt the S550 generation Mustang graduated from pony car to sports car, especially with the 2018 update that better sorted out the independent rear suspension added with the debut of the S550 for the 2014 model year.
2024 Ford Mustang: Screens galore
The 2024 Ford Mustang sports a new exterior design that reads as an evolution of the S550 with a touch of Chevrolet Camaro thrown in, especially in the more pronounced rear haunches. The big change, however, comes inside, where the traditional double-binnacle instrument cluster gives way to a bank of screens that serves as more than just a tech hub.
A 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.2-inch touchscreen spread out in front of the driver in juxtaposition to a cabin that otherwise has retro influences. The Sync 4 infotainment system has twice as much processing power as the last car’s Sync 3 system, and the screens use Unreal Engine graphics that serve as the backbone for many popular first-person-shooter video games. The system can be updated over the air automatically or on a schedule.
I ran through the many features of the system after a preview at Ford headquarters in March, but now I’ve experienced it and can say it adds to the overall Mustang experience. The instrument cluster can be set to the driver’s choice of five themes: Normal, Sport, Track, Fox Body ’87-’93, and Calm. The Track theme depicts a hockey stick tachometer like you see on many supercars, Sport mode has curved speedometer and tachometer graphs that sweep up from the bottom, and Fox Body digitally represents the analog gauges from the latter years of the third-generation Mustang.
I’m driving with the Fox Body theme because, well, you gotta give props to the Mustangs that inspired Vanilla Ice to roll in his 5.0, don’t you?
For the most part, the cluster themes match the drive modes, though there is no Calm drive mode (as there shouldn’t be in a Mustang), and Ford also adds Drag Strip, Slippery, and programmable Custom modes. Every Mustang has every drive mode, giving even the relatively tame EcoBoost a toybox of performance features to choose from.
It’s all easily accessed via the MyMustang button on the center stack, which brings up a screen that lets drivers program the custom drive modes, display auxiliary gauges, choose from four sound settings for the available active exhaust, pick a cluster theme, set the ambient lighting color, and most importantly, access the Track Apps performance features.
The Track Apps let drivers monitor telemetry including braking distance and acceleration and lap times. This is also where drivers activate the launch control, the line lock, the new electronic parking brake Ford calls the Drift Brake, and in the GT with the manual transmission, the rev matching feature.
But this is a lightly equipped EcoBoost model and I’m driving with a journalist who gets carsick. He’d likely heave if I tried those features, so I’ll save the sophomoric fun for a GT with the Performance Package.
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost: Sorted and controlled
While not as overt as the new Mustang’s tech suite, the mechanical changes are mostly for the better, but it all starts with the same stiff and well-sorted platform as the previous car.
The steering is the most notable dynamic difference. The steering column is stiffer, a rubber bushing has been removed for a more direct feel, and the ratio has been slightly quickened from 16.0:1 to 15:5.1. The idea was to provide quicker responses (marginally) and more road feel. Along the way, Ford also lightened the steering weight, and I’m finding it too light on these canyon roads as it’s requiring too many little corrections. I’m in Sport mode, which has a heavier “sport” feel, too. The choices here appear to be light, lighter, and lightest. I wish Ford would add a setting that makes the wheel more stable.
I’m in an EcoBoost Premium model with a square set of 255/40R19 Continental ProContact all-season tires. This car has none of the available performance goodies, such as the $1,750 magnetic dampers or the $3,475 Performance Package that adds Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer-performance tires, a strut tower brace, a larger rear sway bar, a 3.55 Torsen limited-slip rear axle, the Drift Brake, heavy-duty front springs, larger brakes with front Brembo calipers, paddle shifters, and a rear wing spoiler.
Left with the basics of the Mustang’s rear-wheel-drive architecture, the car performs well here. Despite the lack of steering weight, the car reacts promptly to steering inputs and the wheel is telling me what’s happening at road level. The tires provide enough grip that I’m not sliding through the corners, even during an especially spirited six-mile stretch through the twisties during which my drive partner is waiting at a rest stop.
As I approach the corners, the car’s base brakes—a set of four 12.6-inch rotors with two-piston front calipers and single-piston rear calipers—stand up well. The brake pedal has a sturdy and progressive feel, and it keeps the same resistance throughout my drive. I can’t leave him sitting there to wring it out for extended periods of time, and I wouldn’t trust these brakes in that situation or on a track, but they’re more than up to the punishment expected of Mustang buyers who would choose a base suspension.
Like other Mustangs, this car rides on new dampers, but they’re tuned for little change in behavior versus those of the S550 model. In each configuration, they’re just optimized for the new steering, as well as the chosen tire and brake package.
The dampers help control body lean well and contribute to a firm ride that also provides plenty of road feedback but never crosses over into harsh. It’s all tied together well, with good handling balance in the corners. Yes, you can kick out the rear end, but it requires a concerted effort and/or use of the Drift Brake (more on that later).
I can hear plenty of tire hum on these rough roads, though the cacophony of sounds is part of the Mustang experience. The tire noise isn’t all that noticeable because a next-generation 2.3-liter turbo-4 under the hood has plenty to say. It belts out a mezzo-soprano tune that is at times authoritative, coarse, and droning. It’s always spirited, though, and that fits with the Mustang’s extroverted character.
The engine is the fourth generation of the 2.3-liter turbo-4 that Ford almost comically calls EcoBoost (maybe the “Eco” part it was more relevant 14 years ago when EVs were barely a thought in the automotive industry and when a DOE loan went toward downsizing and turbocharging Ford engines). Changes this time around give it more power while also making it more efficient. It gets a new twin-scroll turbocharger that scrolls up quicker. It also adds port injection to the existing direct injection for improved power and fuel economy. The changes boost output slightly, adding 5 hp for a total of 315 hp and keeping torque steady at 350 lb-ft.
I look at the 2.3 as a fine consolation prize in the Mustang. It’s perfectly capable and it gets the job done with a little flair, but I’d rather win the showcase showdown is the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8 in the GT models.
I feel the same way about the fact that the EcoBoost is paired only with the 10-speed automatic—it’s a fine transmission but not as much fun as the 6-speed manual that was available in the outgoing EcoBoost.
The powertrain also performs well in these hills. Sport mode generally keeps revs high, and Track does an even better job to make the power readily available at corner exit. Track sometimes downshifts mid-corner, slightly affecting the car’s balance. It’s not enough to disrupt my line, but using the paddle shifters would help prevent it, though they only come with the Performance Package. The car picks up speed steadily from curve to curve. It’s quick and spirited, with a 0-60 mph time in the low-to-mid five-second range, but it’s not the hammer that the V-8 is.
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost: Drifting made easy
Earlier in the day, I had the opportunity to test one of the new Mustang’s party tricks: the Drift Brake it developed with pro drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Included with the Performance Package on either the EcoBoost or GT, the Drift Brake is essentially a fancy electronic parking brake that has more than just on and off settings. Like a manual parking brake, it applies more braking power to the rear wheels the harder you pull the handle. That handle stands up from the center console and has an elbow shape for easy access by the driver.
Ford’s controlled exercise to test the Drift Brake is as rudimentary as possible. It consists of a single 180-degree turn and a perpendicular slide into a stop box.
An instructor shows me the proper technique to induce and then control the car through the switchback turn. It’s similar to a Scandinavian flick and it goes like this: veer left, steer slightly right to send the momentum in that direction, pull the brake, hit the throttle and release the brake at the same time to induce the drift, stay on the throttle until you’re about to be pointed the opposite direction, let up and drive out.
That’s all much easier said than done, and it’s easy to screw up at several points. Veering left is easy, but it’s also easy to steer too far to the right and make the car spin instead of drift. This is exacerbated by my other issue: forgetting to release the brake when I get on the gas. That just leads to a roughly 240-degree spin that stops me pointed the wrong way. I get 10 cracks at it and do it right perhaps twice, and on a third occasion I do a complete 540 that makes me feel pretty cool—though I think it annoys the instructor.
The technique for the 90-degree stop is as simple as steering slightly right to set the momentum and pulling the brake. Again, however, it’s easy to over-steer and over-rotate. It’s the kind of maneuver that can look cool in a TikTok video, but it’s not a wise way to park, especially if other cars are around.
Nonetheless, with regular parking brakes becoming a thing of the past, the Mustang’s Drift Brake brings a bit of forgotten fun back into the car. It can also be used like a normal parking brake. Simply stop the car, pull the handle, look for the “Brake” light on the instrument cluster, and shut off the car. When you start it again, push down on the handle to release the brake.
The Drift Brake is just one way the 2024 Ford Mustang marries tech with performance, and the big new screens are more overt. It all synthesizes with the controlled competence of the largely carryover platform to bring a pony car icon into the modern day without losing its sporty essence. When you can, give it the beans.
Ford paid for travel and lodging for Motor Authority to bring you this firsthand report.
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- Test drive: GMC Hummer EV resets peak pickup truck bar | https://www.wric.com/automotive/internet-brands/review-2024-ford-mustang-ecoboost-distills-the-pony-car-essence/ | 2023-07-29T12:22:12 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/automotive/internet-brands/review-2024-ford-mustang-ecoboost-distills-the-pony-car-essence/ |
BEIJING, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of English education experts and scholars from all over the world assembled in Macao on Friday for a three-day event to explore new opportunities for global cooperation in English education brought by China's development.
The 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, an online-and-offline event that opened at the City University of Macau (CityU), attracted over 1,600 experts, front-line educators and scholars from more than 20 countries and regions. Participants were mainly from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Nepal, Mongolia, Indonesia and Pakistan.
They shared their insights to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and discussed the most recent trends in English language teaching.
The event's theme is "New opportunities for the world with new advances in China's development: Opening up new prospects in English education cooperation worldwide", and features nine keynote speeches and 23 parallel sessions.
This year's assembly is hosted by China Daily and Shanghai International Studies University, and co-hosted by the Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau, and organized by CityU and China Daily's 21st Century English Education Media.
For the first time, the assembly, which started in 2018, was held in Macao — one of the engine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This location echoes the Outline Development Plan for the GBA released in 2019, which set out to, among other goals, build the region as a model area for high-quality education and promote opening up education to the world.
At the event's opening ceremony, Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, highlighted that 2023 marks the 10th year since President Xi Jinping put forward both the idea of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" and the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is, therefore, appropriate that for the first time, the conference this year has moved out of the Chinese mainland to Macao where East meets West and multiple cultures blend, Qu said.
He said he believes the event will catalyze many innovative outcomes. Qu further said that English education could be a bridge to promote high-quality development of the BRI and people-to-people cultural exchanges could provide momentum for "building a community with a shared future for mankind".
He urged the audience to cultivate talent in order to bolster the promotion of the three global initiatives brought forward by Xi — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
Qu also said China attaches great importance to education and cultural exchange. Xi, in his several correspondences with foreign students studying in China, has encouraged the latter to see with their own eyes the development of China and tell the world about what they have seen, to boost people-to-people bonding and friendship between their countries and China.
Zha Mingjian, vice-president of Shanghai International Studies University, said development in recent times has brought many opportunities as well as challenges. In this context, the English education sector in China has the responsibility to serve as a vital bridge for English education globally.
Opening education more extensively to the outside world will significantly strengthen China's efforts to modernize education in the new era, Zha said.
Svetlana V. Sannikova, coordination council chairperson of the National Association of Teachers of English in Russia, said the Macao event offers a high-end international academic platform where teachers can learn many practical ideas and methods to improve their English teaching skills.
On Friday, the event's organizer and CityU jointly established the Belt and Road English Education Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Exchange Base, which will use English education as a means to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonding in countries and regions participating in the BRI.
The GBA Exchange Base will also strive to promote high-quality development in the BRI landscape.
Liu Jun, rector of CityU and president of the International Research Foundation for English Language Education, and Zeng Qingkai, editor-in-chief of 21st Century English Education Media, were the signatories of the document for the establishment of the base.
Among the several dignitaries who graced Friday's opening ceremony were Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR government, participating in the event on behalf of Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng; Yan Zhichan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Liu Xianfa, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR; Kong Chimeng, director of the Macao SAR government Education and Youth Development Bureau; and Chan Meng-kam, chairman of the council of CityU.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE China Daily | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ | 2023-07-29T12:22:18 | 0 | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ |
ODESSA, Ukraine, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ukrainian entrepreneur, Vadim Novynskyi has announced a donation of up to $1 million to help restore the Transfiguration Church in Odessa, Ukraine that was seriously damaged during rocket attacks on Sunday, July 23. The destruction of one of the most beautiful Ukrainian churches, which was erected by the founders of Odessa at the end of the 18th century is a true tragedy. This cathedral was the center of the spiritual life of Odessa.
This is not the first time the church has been destroyed. In 1936, the Bolsheviks destroyed the cathedral and it was restored in the early 2000's after tens of thousands of ordinary people participated in the restoration with their donations.
"I sincerely mourn with the inhabitants of Odessa and I want to assure them and all the people of Ukraine that this cathedral will be rebuilt and the people of Odessa will once again be able to worship and seek community in this hallowed place," said Vadim Novynskyi. "In the days of war and persecution of the Church, it is very important to be able to protect and revive the shrines of Orthodoxy, demonstrating faith, unity and mutual support. After all, the true Orthodox Church is based on these principles."
View original content:
SOURCE Vadym Novynskyi | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ | 2023-07-29T12:22:24 | 1 | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ |
BEIJING, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of English education experts and scholars from all over the world assembled in Macao on Friday for a three-day event to explore new opportunities for global cooperation in English education brought by China's development.
The 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, an online-and-offline event that opened at the City University of Macau (CityU), attracted over 1,600 experts, front-line educators and scholars from more than 20 countries and regions. Participants were mainly from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Nepal, Mongolia, Indonesia and Pakistan.
They shared their insights to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and discussed the most recent trends in English language teaching.
The event's theme is "New opportunities for the world with new advances in China's development: Opening up new prospects in English education cooperation worldwide", and features nine keynote speeches and 23 parallel sessions.
This year's assembly is hosted by China Daily and Shanghai International Studies University, and co-hosted by the Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau, and organized by CityU and China Daily's 21st Century English Education Media.
For the first time, the assembly, which started in 2018, was held in Macao — one of the engine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This location echoes the Outline Development Plan for the GBA released in 2019, which set out to, among other goals, build the region as a model area for high-quality education and promote opening up education to the world.
At the event's opening ceremony, Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, highlighted that 2023 marks the 10th year since President Xi Jinping put forward both the idea of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" and the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is, therefore, appropriate that for the first time, the conference this year has moved out of the Chinese mainland to Macao where East meets West and multiple cultures blend, Qu said.
He said he believes the event will catalyze many innovative outcomes. Qu further said that English education could be a bridge to promote high-quality development of the BRI and people-to-people cultural exchanges could provide momentum for "building a community with a shared future for mankind".
He urged the audience to cultivate talent in order to bolster the promotion of the three global initiatives brought forward by Xi — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.
Qu also said China attaches great importance to education and cultural exchange. Xi, in his several correspondences with foreign students studying in China, has encouraged the latter to see with their own eyes the development of China and tell the world about what they have seen, to boost people-to-people bonding and friendship between their countries and China.
Zha Mingjian, vice-president of Shanghai International Studies University, said development in recent times has brought many opportunities as well as challenges. In this context, the English education sector in China has the responsibility to serve as a vital bridge for English education globally.
Opening education more extensively to the outside world will significantly strengthen China's efforts to modernize education in the new era, Zha said.
Svetlana V. Sannikova, coordination council chairperson of the National Association of Teachers of English in Russia, said the Macao event offers a high-end international academic platform where teachers can learn many practical ideas and methods to improve their English teaching skills.
On Friday, the event's organizer and CityU jointly established the Belt and Road English Education Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Exchange Base, which will use English education as a means to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonding in countries and regions participating in the BRI.
The GBA Exchange Base will also strive to promote high-quality development in the BRI landscape.
Liu Jun, rector of CityU and president of the International Research Foundation for English Language Education, and Zeng Qingkai, editor-in-chief of 21st Century English Education Media, were the signatories of the document for the establishment of the base.
Among the several dignitaries who graced Friday's opening ceremony were Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR government, participating in the event on behalf of Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng; Yan Zhichan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Liu Xianfa, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR; Kong Chimeng, director of the Macao SAR government Education and Youth Development Bureau; and Chan Meng-kam, chairman of the council of CityU.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE China Daily | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ | 2023-07-29T12:22:53 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/experts-foresee-china-role-english-learning/ |
ODESSA, Ukraine, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ukrainian entrepreneur, Vadim Novynskyi has announced a donation of up to $1 million to help restore the Transfiguration Church in Odessa, Ukraine that was seriously damaged during rocket attacks on Sunday, July 23. The destruction of one of the most beautiful Ukrainian churches, which was erected by the founders of Odessa at the end of the 18th century is a true tragedy. This cathedral was the center of the spiritual life of Odessa.
This is not the first time the church has been destroyed. In 1936, the Bolsheviks destroyed the cathedral and it was restored in the early 2000's after tens of thousands of ordinary people participated in the restoration with their donations.
"I sincerely mourn with the inhabitants of Odessa and I want to assure them and all the people of Ukraine that this cathedral will be rebuilt and the people of Odessa will once again be able to worship and seek community in this hallowed place," said Vadim Novynskyi. "In the days of war and persecution of the Church, it is very important to be able to protect and revive the shrines of Orthodoxy, demonstrating faith, unity and mutual support. After all, the true Orthodox Church is based on these principles."
View original content:
SOURCE Vadym Novynskyi | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ | 2023-07-29T12:23:01 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2023/07/29/restoration-transfiguration-chuch-odessa-ukraine-by-ukrainian-entrepreneur-vadym-novynskyi/ |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Saturday, July 29
Published: Jul. 29, 2023 at 5:44 AM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
Need more auto racing in your life? Well, you're in luck. The race slate on Saturday, July 29 includes Formula 1, Formula E, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series, and NHRA Drag Racing action that can be watched on Fubo. For a complete list, along with information on how to watch or live stream it all, check out the article below.
Watch even more racing action with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix - Sprint Shootout
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 5:55 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix - Sprint
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 10:25 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Round 15: London - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 11:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NHRA Drag Racing: DENSO Sonoma Nationals - Qualifying
- Series: NHRA Drag Racing
- Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX Sports Networks
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Hankook London E-Prix
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: CBS
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400 - Qualifying
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 12:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Henry 180
- Series: NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series: Road America 180
- Series: NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Worldwide Express 250
- Series: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
- Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX Sports Networks
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/auto-racing-live-stream/ | 2023-07-29T12:23:03 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
A program in Oklahoma uses art to re-integrate women recently released from prison By Elizabeth Caldwell Published July 29, 2023 at 7:00 AM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Women who are soon to be released from prison in Oklahoma get help with the transition by focusing on the arts. Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/a-program-in-oklahoma-uses-art-to-re-integrate-women-recently-released-from-prison | 2023-07-29T12:24:32 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/a-program-in-oklahoma-uses-art-to-re-integrate-women-recently-released-from-prison |
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with a resident of Odesa, Ukraine about what the last several days — and nights — have been like, under repeated attack from Russian missiles and drones.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with a resident of Odesa, Ukraine about what the last several days — and nights — have been like, under repeated attack from Russian missiles and drones.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/a-resident-of-odesa-ukraine-describes-life-amid-russian-missile-and-drone-strikes | 2023-07-29T12:24:38 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/a-resident-of-odesa-ukraine-describes-life-amid-russian-missile-and-drone-strikes |
One of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S. is losing congregations over disputes over LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on July 25, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR
One of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S. is losing congregations over disputes over LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on July 25, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/congregations-leave-united-methodist-church-over-defiance-of-lgbtq-bans | 2023-07-29T12:24:45 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/congregations-leave-united-methodist-church-over-defiance-of-lgbtq-bans |
Flor Marte knows someone will die. She knows when and how, because it came to her in a dream. That's her gift – all the women in the Marte family have one.
But Flor refuses to share who the dream is about. Instead, she insists on throwing herself a living wake, a reason for the entire family to come together and celebrate their lives. That's the starting point for Elizabeth Acevedo's debut novel for adults, Family Lore.
Acevedo grew up in Harlem, with summer visits to the Dominican Republic, and aspirations of becoming a rapper – until a literature teacher invited her to join an after-school poetry club.
She attended reluctantly; but what she found in spoken word performance broke her world and the possibilities of language wide open.
"I think for folks who maybe have felt it difficult to occupy their bodies and take up space and demand attention, to have three minutes where that is the requirement is really powerful," she says.
Acevedo went on to become a National Poetry Slam champion and earn degrees in performing arts and creative writing. After college, she taught language arts in Prince George's County, Maryland. Teaching, she says, is its own kind of performance – one where the audience doesn't always want to be there. But her students were struggling in other ways.
"So many of my young people weren't at grade level, but they'd also not encountered literature that they felt reflected them," she says. "Trying to meet some of those students where they were was really a kickoff for my writing."
So Acevedo began writing young adult books. The Poet X, her first novel about a Dominican-American teen finding her voice through poetry, won a National Book Award in 2018.
Pivoting to a new audience
Now, with Family Lore, Acevedo turns her attention to adult readers.
"I think the way this pushes forward her work and the growing body of Dominican-American literature is how deeply she writes into the interiors of her women characters," says author Naima Coster, who read an early draft of the novel.
The story is told through memories, out of order, sometimes a memory within a different memory. Acevedo jumps from the Dominican countryside to Santo Domingo to New York, as sisters Matilde, Flor, Pastora and Camila – along with younger generation Ona and Yadi – reflect on their childhoods and teenage romances and the secrets that bind them all together. Though the Marte women grow older together, their relationships do not get easier.
"What does it mean if these women have really just had a different experience of their mother?" says Acevedo. "And how that different experience of their mother automatically will create a schism, because now it's like, 'You don't remember her the way I remember her, and because of that, I can't trust you."
There are infidelities, miscarriages, childhood love affairs and therapeutic dance classes. Acevedo explains that she needed to tell this story in a non-linear format, in the way memories surface and warp; the way family gossip is passed on from person to person, in a roundabout way.
Returning to the body
That format, she says, was more suited for adult readers; and writing for adults also allowed her to be candid about bodies: how they move, change, excite, disappoint.
"The generation I was raised by felt like their relationship to their body was very othered," Acevedo says. "When I speak to my cousins, when I think about myself, it's been a return to desire, a return to the gut, a return to health in a way that isn't necessarily about size but is about: who am I in this vessel and how do I love it?"
That tension is felt especially by the younger Marte women, whose supernatural gifts radiate from within. Ona has a self-described "alpha vagina," Yadi has a special taste for sour limes.
Naima Coster says it's easy to feel pressure to write about marginalized communities as clean-cut, exemplary characters. But Family Lore relishes in airing out the Marte family's dirty laundry– in showing Afro-Dominican women as full, complicated protagonists.
"It feels major, the way she writes about the ways that these women misunderstand each other, but still love each other," she says.
Acevedo says those themes – family, home, Blackness, power – will be in every book she writes, "because those are the questions that haunt me."
Family Lore reads like the feeling of getting older and no longer having moms and aunts lower their voices when you enter the room – like finally being privy to what makes a family flawed and perfect.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers | 2023-07-29T12:24:51 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers |
A visit to the Paris suburb where riots first broke out in France, following the police killing of a young man of North African descent.
Copyright 2023 NPR
A visit to the Paris suburb where riots first broke out in France, following the police killing of a young man of North African descent.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/in-the-paris-suburb-where-riots-erupted-protests-have-died-down-but-anger-remains | 2023-07-29T12:24:58 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/in-the-paris-suburb-where-riots-erupted-protests-have-died-down-but-anger-remains |
With one eye on China, Japan backs Sri Lanka as a partner in the Indo-Pacific
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday that Sri Lanka is a key partner in a Tokyo-led initiative aimed at building security and economic cooperation around the Indo-Pacific but also at countering an increasingly assertive China.
Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, is integral to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said. He was speaking after a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, in the capital, Colombo.
The initiative, announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in March includes Japan’s assistance to emerging economies, support for maritime security, a provision of coast guard patrol boats and equipment and other infrastructure cooperation.
Last year Sri Lanka, which owed $51 billion in foreign debt, became the first Asia-Pacific country since the late 1990s to default, sparking an economic crisis.
While Japan is Sri Lanka’s largest creditor, about 10% of its debt is held by China, which lent Colombo billions to build sea ports, airports and power plants as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. In March, China agreed to offer Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on loan repayments.
Hayashi said that he conveyed expectations for further progress in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process. He welcomed Sri Lanka’s efforts under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which includes anti-corruption measures and transparency in the policy-making process.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Sabry said that he, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, invited Japan to resume investment projects already in the pipeline and to consider fresh investments in sectors such as power generation, ports and highways, and dedicated investment zones, as well as in the green and digital economy.
Over many decades, Japan became one of Sri Lanka’s key donors, carrying out key projects under concessionary terms. However, relations between the two countries came under strain after Wickremesinghe’s predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa unilaterally scrapped a Japan-funded light railway project following his election in 2019.
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has already approved a proposal to restart the railway project.
Rajapaksa was forced to resign in July 2022 amid angry public protects over the country’s worst economic crisis.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kob.com/news/business-money/with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ | 2023-07-29T12:25:01 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/news/business-money/with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ |
Indigenous communities in Taiwan celebrate summer with the harvest festival By Emily Feng Published July 29, 2023 at 7:05 AM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email A visit to a harvest festival in Taiwan, a celebration of summer by the island's indigenous communities. Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/indigenous-communities-in-taiwan-celebrate-summer-with-the-harvest-festival | 2023-07-29T12:25:04 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/indigenous-communities-in-taiwan-celebrate-summer-with-the-harvest-festival |
US pledges to help Australia manufacture guided missiles by 2025
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The United States will expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years, the allies announced on Saturday as they ramped up defense cooperation to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The new cooperation on guided weapon production follows a trilateral partnership announcement in March that will see Britain provide Australia with a fleet of eight submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.
The greater integration of U.S. and Australian militaries was announced after annual talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Australian counterparts, Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
They agreed to cooperate on Australia producing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by 2025, a communique said.
U.S. companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin only established an Australian enterprise to build such weapons last year. That followed the drain on Western countries’ munitions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Austin said the move on missiles would strengthen the two allies’ defense industrial base and technological edge.
“We’re racing to accelerate Australia’s priority access to munitions through a streamlined acquisition process,” Austin told reporters in Brisbane, Australia.
Marles welcomed U.S. support to achieve Australian missile production within two years.
“We are really pleased with the steps that we are taking in respect of establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise in this country,” Marles said.
The two governments also agreed to upgrade joint military facilities in Australia and to increase U.S. nuclear submarine visits as the United States increases its focus on the South Pacific.
The region came to the forefront of the U.S. competition with China for influence last year, when Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands and raised the prospect of a Chinese naval base being established there.
Austin became the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Papua New Guinea and Blinken visited New Zealand and Tonga before they arrived in Australia.
Saturday’s meeting was overshadowed by the loss of an Australian Army helicopter with four air crew late Friday, during military exercises with the U.S. off the northeastern coast of Australia.
U.S., Australian and Canadian militaries are taking part in the search for potential survivors near Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland state coast.
Austin and Marles will travel to north Queensland on Sunday to inspect Talisman Sabre, a biennial military exercise between the two countries that this year includes 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kob.com/news/us-and-world-news/us-pledges-to-help-australia-manufacture-guided-missiles-by-2025/ | 2023-07-29T12:25:07 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/news/us-and-world-news/us-pledges-to-help-australia-manufacture-guided-missiles-by-2025/ |
At a time of increasing isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage, he just concluded a summit with leaders from Africa.
Copyright 2023 NPR
At a time of increasing isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage, he just concluded a summit with leaders from Africa.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/isolated-by-the-west-putin-hosted-a-summit-for-leaders-from-africa-in-st-petersburg | 2023-07-29T12:25:10 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/isolated-by-the-west-putin-hosted-a-summit-for-leaders-from-africa-in-st-petersburg |
The Mega Millions jackpot grew to a whopping $1.05 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday night's draw. The last winning ticket was sold on April 18.
The next drawing for the grand prize, which is currently equal to the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot to date, is on Tuesday. A lump-sum payment would be an estimated $528 million.
Friday's jackpot was $940 million, and had been growing steadily, finally passing the $1 billion mark after 29 straight draws without someone matching all six winning numbers.
Just last week, a winning ticket for a $1.08 billion Powerball drawing was sold in Los Angeles, but the winner is still unknown.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions are slim — just about 1 in 302.6 million.
The largest Mega Millions winning jackpot was sold in South Carolina in 2018 — a massive $1.537 billion.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/mega-millions-jackpot-passes-1-billion-after-no-one-draws-all-6-winning-numbers | 2023-07-29T12:25:17 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/mega-millions-jackpot-passes-1-billion-after-no-one-draws-all-6-winning-numbers |
This may be the most scorching month in the most scalding summer of what may become the hottest year in recorded history.
From Arizona, where it's been above 110 degrees Fahrenheit every day for a month, to Sardinia which hit 118 F this week, to Xinjiang, China, where the temperature soared to 126 F.
It felt a little mournful, then, to turn on summer playlists and hear lyrics like, "Summer breeze makes me feel fine." And, "Summer's here and the time is right / For dancing in the street."
This summer — these past few summers, really — has meant weeks of swelter, smoke, wildfires, and peril, across much of the hemisphere.
It was 107 degrees Fahrenheit in Rome last week. The Italian health ministry put 23 cities under a red alert, and cautioned people not to walk outside, and to avoid wine and coffee.
Too hot in Italy to stroll, enjoy a glass of soave, or sip an espresso. Next they'll say stop boiling pasta.
170 million people in America were under heat alerts this week. The National Weather Service warns, "Take the heat seriously and avoid time outdoors."
Isn't being outdoors the beauty of summer?
For most of my life, summer has been a time to shuck off all the layers of winter cold and gloom, to feel warmth and sunlight. School is out. Vacations are planned. We can go coatless, feel carefree, dawdle, travel, and play.
But this summer in America many outdoor shows, concerts, and festivals have been canceled, and sporting events postponed because of unsafe heat, and wildfire smoke in the skies. How many families have avoided picnics, camping trips, or games of catch in the yard, because it's just too darn hot?
The temperature of the water in Manatee Bay at Everglades National Park in Florida has been 101.1 F. The heat of ocean water — water — may be too dangerous for fish to survive.
This excruciating heat, driven by human activity, can be dangerous for every living creature, as well as the plants that bear the fruits and vegetables we need to survive. For humans, the heat is especially hazardous for seniors, children, and people who are unsheltered.
Will red alerts, heat emergencies, wildfires and temperatures in the triple digits become the new signs of summer? And will that make summer, as my friends and I used to dream about through frigid and forbidding Chicago winters, now seem a season to fear?
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/opinion-its-too-hot-in-here | 2023-07-29T12:25:23 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/opinion-its-too-hot-in-here |
The coup in Niger, this week, raises questions about the future of democratic leadership in the West African country. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Rama Yade of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center.
Copyright 2023 NPR
The coup in Niger, this week, raises questions about the future of democratic leadership in the West African country. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Rama Yade of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/the-coup-in-niger-is-a-blow-to-democracy-in-the-west-african-country | 2023-07-29T12:25:29 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/2023-07-29/the-coup-in-niger-is-a-blow-to-democracy-in-the-west-african-country |
She's one of India's biggest Barbie fans. When Vichitra Rajasingh was growing up, family and friends helped her build her collection of Barbie dolls until she had almost 80 of them. She once owned a Barbie camper, a speedboat, supermarket and post office. The mermaid Barbie and scuba-diving Barbie were her favorites.
Since her family ran a hotel, they put the dolls on display in the lobby in the late '90s. On Rajasingh's 14th birthday, her parents painted her room bright pink and hired artists to draw her favorite Barbie dolls on the walls.
All her Barbies were blond. She says she didn't like the Indian ethnic ones that came on the local market.
Living the pink life
"My love for the color pink began with my childhood passion for Barbie," she says. "And now it's become my identity." For her, the color represents love, joy, femininity and playfulness, everything she once associated with Barbie, she says.
Today Rajasingh lives in the southern Indian city of Madurai, where she drives a pink mini-Cooper and runs a bakery and lives in an apartment that are dominated by that color.
When the Barbie movie released in India on July 21, she gathered a bunch of friends, "everyone dressed to the nines in pink," and watched it on the day of its release. "I loved the movie. It was fun to watch and brought back many joyful childhood memories," she says.
While she no longer has her huge doll collection — having long since given it away to family and friends — Rajasingh is still a Barbie lover. She bakes six or seven Barbie-themed cakes a week, with an actual doll at the center of a cake that serves as her frothy dress, constructed around her in a swirl of sugar and cream.
Rajasingh saw Barbie as an aspirational figure — and grew up admiring the doll's freedom, confidence, globe-trotting lifestyle and even her arched feet in sassy stilettos.
But for others in India, Barbie has a far more complicated legacy.
The pressures Barbie can bring
Shweta Sharan, a writer who lives in Mumbai, admits to being conflicted about whether or not to watch the movie with her 13-year-old daughter, Laasya, who until a year ago ardently loved Barbie but then outgrew playing with dolls.
"I am aware that these dolls have many complicated associations," Sharan says. "Watching my daughter love a doll that looked nothing like her — with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect breasts — I worried if she would always strive to be someone else and feel inadequate."
These worries are valid in the opinion of ElsaMarie DSilva, a social entrepreneur from India and an Aspen fellow. "While Barbie is almost universally loved among girls of all ages, many do aspire to look like her, unconsciously pressurizing young girls to conform to unrealistic body shapes and expectations," she says — a common criticism aimed at Barbie.
Indian Barbie is not a rousing success
Mattel did make an effort to adapt the doll for an Indian market. When Mattel launched Barbie in India in 1991, it was the familiar Western-looking blond-haired blue-eyed Barbie. Then in 1996, they rolled out Indian Barbie, with brown skin. She came either wearing a bright sari or a salwar kameez — a knee-length tunic over fitted trousers.
But the Indian Barbie was not popular. "Indian kids gravitated toward the white-skinned Barbie instead of the brown-skinned one because light-skinned women were considered more beautiful in India and an automatic choice," DSilva says.
She points out how even in Indian clothes, Barbie still had a body that did not represent real women in India or anywhere else — she was way too tall and way too thin.
Priti Nemani, an Indian American attorney living in Chicago, analyzed why Barbie failed so spectacularly in the Indian market in a research paper published in 2011. In addition to the unrealistic, impossibly thin appearance of the doll, she points out how other cultural factors were at play.
"We weren't seeing Indian features on Barbie," she says. "We were seeing white Barbies dipped in brown. And even those brown Barbies didn't last long on the shelves. The latest versions of the Indian Barbie have much lighter skin tone.
Meanwhile, even though blond Barbies sold well, Ken tanked in India. "Indian parents who wouldn't want their daughters in romantic relationships at such an early age weren't going to buy the boyfriend," Nemani says.
In spite of her initial misgivings, Sharan enjoyed the Barbie movie with her daughter, now 13, who especially liked the feminist overtones. Laasya loved the beginning, when they were told "Barbie has a great day everyday. Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him."
Barbie inspires a poem
There are other issues about Barbie in India. For many kids, the doll is too expensive.
Ankita Apurva, 26, a writer who grew up in a farming family in Ranchi, a city in the Eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, recalls a childhood bereft of Barbies.
Her parents, who struggled to pay for a good education that they hoped would be her armor against bullying and discrimination, could not afford to buy their daughter a Barbie.
"They weren't in a position to splurge on fancy dolls like a Barbie," she says. She recalls feeling inferior for not owning one of these expensive dolls that would help her connect with other Barbie owners in her circle. It was especially hard for her at lunch when girls would boast about how many dolls they owned.
"I believe that even if children from marginalized communities manage to enter [private] institutions [for the privileged], there are certain social, cultural and economic symbols which are consciously and subconsciously deployed to mark them out, and Barbie, as loved as it is, is definitely one of them," she says.
Over the years, Apurva's family has grown stronger financially. When she saw the global resurgence of interest in Barbie now, she didn't feel angry or alienated, but it did bring back memories of desperately wanting to fit in – and not just because she didn't have a Barbie.
"Growing up, I rarely felt represented in literature or media. If pens or cameras turned toward us, they inadvertently counted us as data: dead bodies of farmers or survivors of violence of umpteen kinds."
As a girl from a farming family in Jharkhand, Apurva felt invisible. And so, she decided to express those emotions. She wrote a poem that she posted on Instagram, not to shame anyone who is privileged enough to own a Barbie but to comfort those who, like her, may have felt left out.
Here are some excerpts:
"Here's to the girls who do not get the Barbie craze,
...
girls who had parents who could not
or did not or choose not
to get them Barbie dolls
...
it's okay,
to not relate to any of it
...
what is not okay are friends ...
who intentionally make you
feel low by asking how many Barbies
you owned as a kid even as they
know you weren't privileged enough
to have them.
...
you are also not "too much" ...
if you feel
that Barbie is a colonial icon
legitimizing racial supremacy
while being a 'white feminist' trope
...
and once again
remember,
you are everything,
they are just Ken
Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, Southern India. She reports on global health, science, and development, and her work has been published in the New York Times, The British Medical Journal, BBC, The Guardian and other outlets. You can find her on twitter @kamal_t
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/arts-culture/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie | 2023-07-29T12:25:36 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/arts-culture/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/arts-culture/2023-07-29/lydia-kiesling-on-her-new-novel-mobility | 2023-07-29T12:25:42 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/arts-culture/arts-culture/2023-07-29/lydia-kiesling-on-her-new-novel-mobility |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.kasu.org/environment-infrastructure/2023-07-29/if-you-see-a-hammerhead-worm-remember-salt-dont-slice | 2023-07-29T12:25:49 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/environment-infrastructure/2023-07-29/if-you-see-a-hammerhead-worm-remember-salt-dont-slice |
National parks and hiking trail networks around the country are facing dual pressures - crowds and changing weather. Preservationists in New Hampshire are painstakingly restoring one such trail.
Copyright 2023 NPR
National parks and hiking trail networks around the country are facing dual pressures - crowds and changing weather. Preservationists in New Hampshire are painstakingly restoring one such trail.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/environment-infrastructure/environment-infrastructure/2023-07-29/preservationists-are-trying-to-restore-national-park-trails-destroyed-by-the-weather | 2023-07-29T12:25:52 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/environment-infrastructure/environment-infrastructure/2023-07-29/preservationists-are-trying-to-restore-national-park-trails-destroyed-by-the-weather |
This summer, I traveled to Montreal to do one of my favorite things: Listen to live music.
For three days, I wandered around the Montreal Jazz Festival with two buddies, listening to jazz, rock, blues and all kinds of surprising musical mashups.
There was the New Orleans-based group Tank and the Bangas, Danish/Turkish/Kurdish band called AySay, and the Montreal-based Mike Goudreau Band.
All of this reminded me how magnificent music has been in my life — growing up with The Boss in New Jersey, falling in love with folk-rockers like Neil Young, discovering punk rock groups like The Clash in college, and, yeah, these days, marveling at Taylor Swift.
Music could always lift me up and transport me. It's the closest I've ever come to having a religious experience.
The body and brain on music
This got me thinking: Why? Why does music do that?
So I called up some experts to get their insights on what underlies this powerful experience.
"Music does evoke a sense of wonder and awe for lots of people," says Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist at McGill University who scans the brains of people while they listen to tunes.
"Some of it is still mysterious to us," he says, "But what we can talk about are some neural circuits or networks involved in the experience of pleasure and reward."
When you're listening to music that you really like, brain circuits involving parts of the brain called the amygdala, ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens come on line, he explains. These are the same areas that get activated if you're thirsty and you have a drink, or if you're feeling "randy and have sex."
That triggers the production of brain chemicals that are involved in feelings like pleasure.
"It modulates levels of dopamine, as well as opioids in the brain. Your brain makes opioids," he says.
Neurons in the brain even fire with the beat of the music, which helps people feel connected to one another by literally synchronizing their brain waves when they listen to the same song.
"What we used to say in the '60s is, 'Hey, I'm on the same wavelength as you man,'" Levitin says. "But it's literally true — your brain waves are synchronized listening to music."
Music also has a calming effect, slowing our heart rate, deepening our breathing and lowering stress hormones. This makes us feel more connected to other people as well as the world around us, especially when we start to dance together.
"Those pathways of changing our body, symbolizing what is vast and mysterious for us, and then moving our bodies, triggers the mind into a state of wonder," Dacher Keltner, a University of California, Berkeley, psychologist, told me.
"We imagine, 'Why do I feel this way? What is this music teaching me about what is vast and mysterious?' Music allows us to feel these transcendent emotions," he says.
Emotions like awe, which stimulates the brain into a sense of wonder, help "counter the epidemic of our times, which is loneliness," Keltner says. "With music, we feel we're part of community and that has a direct effect on health and well-being," which is crucial to survival.
That could be why music plays such a powerful role in many religions, spirituality and rituals, he says.
A rocker weighs in
All this made me wonder: Do musicians feel this way, too?
"Yeah, I definitely experience wonder while playing music on a regular basis," says Mike Gordon, the bass player for the band Phish.
He suddenly vividly remembers dreams and doesn't want to be anywhere else, he says.
"It's almost like these neural pathways are opening. And it's almost like the air around me crystalizes where everything around me is more itself," Gordon says. "I develop this sort of hypersensitivity, where it's now electrified."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/health-science/2023-07-29/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe | 2023-07-29T12:25:59 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/health-science/2023-07-29/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe |
A group of crafters has come together to finish items for those who can no longer work on them, or for those who have recently died. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on June 20, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR
A group of crafters has come together to finish items for those who can no longer work on them, or for those who have recently died. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on June 20, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/health-science/health-science/2023-07-29/when-illness-or-death-leave-craft-projects-unfinished-these-strangers-step-in-to-help | 2023-07-29T12:26:05 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/health-science/health-science/2023-07-29/when-illness-or-death-leave-craft-projects-unfinished-these-strangers-step-in-to-help |
There are dueling efforts in Florida by activists on both sides of the abortion issue to insert language into the state constitution.
Copyright 2023 NPR
There are dueling efforts in Florida by activists on both sides of the abortion issue to insert language into the state constitution.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/justice-crime/justice-crime/2023-07-29/activists-on-both-sides-of-the-abortion-issue-are-trying-to-change-floridas-constitution | 2023-07-29T12:26:12 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/justice-crime/justice-crime/2023-07-29/activists-on-both-sides-of-the-abortion-issue-are-trying-to-change-floridas-constitution |
Trader Joe's has recalled its frozen falafel for potentially having rocks in it, after it recalled two of its cookie products for the same reason recently.
The company's supplier informed them of the concern, and Trader Joe's said in a statement Friday that "all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed."
Customers who purchased the product should discard it or return it to a Trader Joe's location for a full refund, the company said.
The falafel, which is fully cooked and frozen, has the SKU number 93935 and is sold in Washington, D.C., and 34 states.
Last Friday, Trader Joe's said rocks could also possibly be found in its Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it | 2023-07-29T12:26:18 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying | 2023-07-29T12:26:25 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/money-economy/money-economy/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying |
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa | 2023-07-29T12:26:33 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa |
Congress leaves for recess despite a big to-do list. New charges filed against former President Donald Trump. Promising new economic numbers.
Copyright 2023 NPR
Congress leaves for recess despite a big to-do list. New charges filed against former President Donald Trump. Promising new economic numbers.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up | 2023-07-29T12:26:39 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/politics/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.kasu.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees | 2023-07-29T12:26:46 | 1 | https://www.kasu.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees |
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.kasu.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s | 2023-07-29T12:26:53 | 0 | https://www.kasu.org/sports/sports/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s |
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with a resident of Odesa, Ukraine about what the last several days — and nights — have been like, under repeated attack from Russian missiles and drones.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with a resident of Odesa, Ukraine about what the last several days — and nights — have been like, under repeated attack from Russian missiles and drones.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/a-resident-of-odesa-ukraine-describes-life-amid-russian-missile-and-drone-strikes | 2023-07-29T12:27:09 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/a-resident-of-odesa-ukraine-describes-life-amid-russian-missile-and-drone-strikes |
Ford is recalling more than 870,000 newer F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the electric parking brakes can turn on unexpectedly.
The recall covers certain pickups from the 2021 through 2023 model years with single exhaust systems. Ford’s F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicles in the U.S.
The company says in documents posted by government safety regulators Friday that a rear wiring bundle can come in contact with the rear axle housing. That can chafe the wiring and cause a short circuit, which can turn on the parking brake without action from the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.
Drivers may see a parking brake warning light and a warning message on the dashboard.
Ford says in documents that it has 918 warranty claims and three field reports of wire chafing in North America. Of these, 299 indicated unexpected parking brake activation, and 19 of these happened while the trucks were being driven.
The company says it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.
Dealers will inspect the rear wiring harness. If protective tape is worn through, the harness will be replaced. If the tape isn’t worn, dealers will install a protective tie strap and tape wrap.
Owners will be notified by letter starting Sept. 11. Owners with questions can call Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content. | https://www.ibj.com/articles/ford-recalls-870k-f-150-pickups-in-u-s-because-parking-brakes-can-turn-on-unexpectedly | 2023-07-29T12:27:08 | 0 | https://www.ibj.com/articles/ford-recalls-870k-f-150-pickups-in-u-s-because-parking-brakes-can-turn-on-unexpectedly |
There are dueling efforts in Florida by activists on both sides of the abortion issue to insert language into the state constitution.
Copyright 2023 NPR
There are dueling efforts in Florida by activists on both sides of the abortion issue to insert language into the state constitution.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/activists-on-both-sides-of-the-abortion-issue-are-trying-to-change-floridas-constitution | 2023-07-29T12:27:15 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/activists-on-both-sides-of-the-abortion-issue-are-trying-to-change-floridas-constitution |
One of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S. is losing congregations over disputes over LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on July 25, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR
One of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S. is losing congregations over disputes over LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on July 25, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/congregations-leave-united-methodist-church-over-defiance-of-lgbtq-bans | 2023-07-29T12:27:22 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/congregations-leave-united-methodist-church-over-defiance-of-lgbtq-bans |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/if-you-see-a-hammerhead-worm-remember-salt-dont-slice | 2023-07-29T12:27:29 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/if-you-see-a-hammerhead-worm-remember-salt-dont-slice |
Flor Marte knows someone will die. She knows when and how, because it came to her in a dream. That's her gift – all the women in the Marte family have one.
But Flor refuses to share who the dream is about. Instead, she insists on throwing herself a living wake, a reason for the entire family to come together and celebrate their lives. That's the starting point for Elizabeth Acevedo's debut novel for adults, Family Lore.
Acevedo grew up in Harlem, with summer visits to the Dominican Republic, and aspirations of becoming a rapper – until a literature teacher invited her to join an after-school poetry club.
She attended reluctantly; but what she found in spoken word performance broke her world and the possibilities of language wide open.
"I think for folks who maybe have felt it difficult to occupy their bodies and take up space and demand attention, to have three minutes where that is the requirement is really powerful," she says.
Acevedo went on to become a National Poetry Slam champion and earn degrees in performing arts and creative writing. After college, she taught language arts in Prince George's County, Maryland. Teaching, she says, is its own kind of performance – one where the audience doesn't always want to be there. But her students were struggling in other ways.
"So many of my young people weren't at grade level, but they'd also not encountered literature that they felt reflected them," she says. "Trying to meet some of those students where they were was really a kickoff for my writing."
So Acevedo began writing young adult books. The Poet X, her first novel about a Dominican-American teen finding her voice through poetry, won a National Book Award in 2018.
Pivoting to a new audience
Now, with Family Lore, Acevedo turns her attention to adult readers.
"I think the way this pushes forward her work and the growing body of Dominican-American literature is how deeply she writes into the interiors of her women characters," says author Naima Coster, who read an early draft of the novel.
The story is told through memories, out of order, sometimes a memory within a different memory. Acevedo jumps from the Dominican countryside to Santo Domingo to New York, as sisters Matilde, Flor, Pastora and Camila – along with younger generation Ona and Yadi – reflect on their childhoods and teenage romances and the secrets that bind them all together. Though the Marte women grow older together, their relationships do not get easier.
"What does it mean if these women have really just had a different experience of their mother?" says Acevedo. "And how that different experience of their mother automatically will create a schism, because now it's like, 'You don't remember her the way I remember her, and because of that, I can't trust you."
There are infidelities, miscarriages, childhood love affairs and therapeutic dance classes. Acevedo explains that she needed to tell this story in a non-linear format, in the way memories surface and warp; the way family gossip is passed on from person to person, in a roundabout way.
Returning to the body
That format, she says, was more suited for adult readers; and writing for adults also allowed her to be candid about bodies: how they move, change, excite, disappoint.
"The generation I was raised by felt like their relationship to their body was very othered," Acevedo says. "When I speak to my cousins, when I think about myself, it's been a return to desire, a return to the gut, a return to health in a way that isn't necessarily about size but is about: who am I in this vessel and how do I love it?"
That tension is felt especially by the younger Marte women, whose supernatural gifts radiate from within. Ona has a self-described "alpha vagina," Yadi has a special taste for sour limes.
Naima Coster says it's easy to feel pressure to write about marginalized communities as clean-cut, exemplary characters. But Family Lore relishes in airing out the Marte family's dirty laundry– in showing Afro-Dominican women as full, complicated protagonists.
"It feels major, the way she writes about the ways that these women misunderstand each other, but still love each other," she says.
Acevedo says those themes – family, home, Blackness, power – will be in every book she writes, "because those are the questions that haunt me."
Family Lore reads like the feeling of getting older and no longer having moms and aunts lower their voices when you enter the room – like finally being privy to what makes a family flawed and perfect.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers | 2023-07-29T12:27:35 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/in-family-lore-award-winning-ya-author-elizabeth-acevedo-turns-to-adult-readers |
A visit to the Paris suburb where riots first broke out in France, following the police killing of a young man of North African descent.
Copyright 2023 NPR
A visit to the Paris suburb where riots first broke out in France, following the police killing of a young man of North African descent.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/in-the-paris-suburb-where-riots-erupted-protests-have-died-down-but-anger-remains | 2023-07-29T12:27:41 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/in-the-paris-suburb-where-riots-erupted-protests-have-died-down-but-anger-remains |
Indigenous communities in Taiwan celebrate summer with the harvest festival By Emily Feng Published July 29, 2023 at 8:05 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email A visit to a harvest festival in Taiwan, a celebration of summer by the island's indigenous communities. Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/indigenous-communities-in-taiwan-celebrate-summer-with-the-harvest-festival | 2023-07-29T12:27:49 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/indigenous-communities-in-taiwan-celebrate-summer-with-the-harvest-festival |
At a time of increasing isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage, he just concluded a summit with leaders from Africa.
Copyright 2023 NPR
At a time of increasing isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage, he just concluded a summit with leaders from Africa.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/isolated-by-the-west-putin-hosted-a-summit-for-leaders-from-africa-in-st-petersburg | 2023-07-29T12:27:55 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/isolated-by-the-west-putin-hosted-a-summit-for-leaders-from-africa-in-st-petersburg |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/lydia-kiesling-on-her-new-novel-mobility | 2023-07-29T12:28:01 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/lydia-kiesling-on-her-new-novel-mobility |
This may be the most scorching month in the most scalding summer of what may become the hottest year in recorded history.
From Arizona, where it's been above 110 degrees Fahrenheit every day for a month, to Sardinia which hit 118 F this week, to Xinjiang, China, where the temperature soared to 126 F.
It felt a little mournful, then, to turn on summer playlists and hear lyrics like, "Summer breeze makes me feel fine." And, "Summer's here and the time is right / For dancing in the street."
This summer — these past few summers, really — has meant weeks of swelter, smoke, wildfires, and peril, across much of the hemisphere.
It was 107 degrees Fahrenheit in Rome last week. The Italian health ministry put 23 cities under a red alert, and cautioned people not to walk outside, and to avoid wine and coffee.
Too hot in Italy to stroll, enjoy a glass of soave, or sip an espresso. Next they'll say stop boiling pasta.
170 million people in America were under heat alerts this week. The National Weather Service warns, "Take the heat seriously and avoid time outdoors."
Isn't being outdoors the beauty of summer?
For most of my life, summer has been a time to shuck off all the layers of winter cold and gloom, to feel warmth and sunlight. School is out. Vacations are planned. We can go coatless, feel carefree, dawdle, travel, and play.
But this summer in America many outdoor shows, concerts, and festivals have been canceled, and sporting events postponed because of unsafe heat, and wildfire smoke in the skies. How many families have avoided picnics, camping trips, or games of catch in the yard, because it's just too darn hot?
The temperature of the water in Manatee Bay at Everglades National Park in Florida has been 101.1 F. The heat of ocean water — water — may be too dangerous for fish to survive.
This excruciating heat, driven by human activity, can be dangerous for every living creature, as well as the plants that bear the fruits and vegetables we need to survive. For humans, the heat is especially hazardous for seniors, children, and people who are unsheltered.
Will red alerts, heat emergencies, wildfires and temperatures in the triple digits become the new signs of summer? And will that make summer, as my friends and I used to dream about through frigid and forbidding Chicago winters, now seem a season to fear?
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/opinion-its-too-hot-in-here | 2023-07-29T12:28:08 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/opinion-its-too-hot-in-here |
The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to $1.05 billion after there was no big winner in Friday night’s drawing.
The numbers drawn for the $940 million grand prize were 5-10-28-52-63 and the Megaball was 18. The multiplier was 4X.
Since no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday night’s drawing, the jackpot climbs to $1.05 billion which will be the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot in the game’s history, according to Mega Millions.
The next drawing is Tuesday.
No one has won the Mega Millions big prize since April 18, when a $20 million jackpot was won on a ticket sold in New York. Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands for $2 each.
Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded four jackpots topping $1 billion, according to the promotion’s website. The jackpot rose into 10-digit figures one time each in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Here are the top 10 Mega Millions jackpots
- $1.537 billion -- Oct. 23, 2018 (One ticket from South Carolina)
- $1.348 billion -- Jan. 13, 2023 (One ticket from Maine)
- $1.337 billion -- July 29, 2022 (One ticket from Illinois)
- $1.05 billion -- Jan. 22, 2021 (One ticket from Michigan)
- $910 million (estimated) -- July 28, 2023
- $656 million -- March 30, 2012 (One ticket each from Kansas, Illinois, Maryland)
- $648 million -- Dec. 17. 2013 (One ticket each from California and Georgia)
- $543 million -- July 24, 2018 (One ticket from California)
- $536 million -- July 8, 2016 (One ticket from Indiana)
- $533 million -- March 30, 2018 (One ticket from New Jersey) | https://www.star945.com/news/trending/mega-millions-no-winner-jackpot-climbs-105-billion/GVNP6PRTBRBXPPUNAG2XIIRCZQ/ | 2023-07-29T12:28:10 | 0 | https://www.star945.com/news/trending/mega-millions-no-winner-jackpot-climbs-105-billion/GVNP6PRTBRBXPPUNAG2XIIRCZQ/ |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees | 2023-07-29T12:28:14 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/saturday-sports-the-week-ahead-in-the-womens-world-cup-orioles-defeat-yankees |
The coup in Niger, this week, raises questions about the future of democratic leadership in the West African country. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Rama Yade of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center.
Copyright 2023 NPR
The coup in Niger, this week, raises questions about the future of democratic leadership in the West African country. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Rama Yade of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/the-coup-in-niger-is-a-blow-to-democracy-in-the-west-african-country | 2023-07-29T12:28:20 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/the-coup-in-niger-is-a-blow-to-democracy-in-the-west-african-country |
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports about the American connection to the Philippines women's soccer team competing in the World Cup.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s | 2023-07-29T12:28:27 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/2023-07-29/the-upset-scoring-philippines-womens-soccer-team-has-strong-roots-in-the-u-s |
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are investigating what led up to a deadly shooting in the city's Summerdale neighborhood.
The Action Cam was on the scene around 11:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of Bridge and Langdon streets.
Officials say they found the victim with a gunshot to the head. Three shell-casings were found nearby.
Police say the victim was a man in his twenties. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not released details on a suspect.
This is an on-going investigation with the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit. | https://6abc.com/shooting-homicide-summerdale-deadly/13567861/ | 2023-07-29T12:28:31 | 1 | https://6abc.com/shooting-homicide-summerdale-deadly/13567861/ |
TV
AUTO RACING
2:55 a.m., ESPN2 — Formula 1: Cruises Belgian Grand Prix
7:25 a.m., ESPN2 — Formula 1: Belgian Grand Prix Sprint
Noon, NBC — NASCAR Xfinity: Henry 180, Road America
4:30 p.m., FS1 — NASCAR Trucks: Worldwide Express 250
BASKETBALL
9 a.m., ESPN2 — TBT Tournament: TBD, Third Round
11 a.m., ESPN2 — TBT Tournament: TBD, Third Round
FOOTBALL
1 p.m., CBSSN — CFL: Saskatchewan at Toronto
4 p.m., CBSSN — CFL: B.C. at Edmonton
People are also reading…
GOLF
2:30 a.m., GOLF — LPGA: Evian Championship, third round
6 a.m., CNBC — Champions: Senior Open, third round
9 a.m., NBC — Champions: Senior Open, third round
10 a.m., GOLF — PGA: The 3M Open, third round
Noon, CBS — PGA: The 3M Open, third round
Noon, GOLF — U.S. Junior Amateur, championship
2:30 a.m., GOLF — LPGA: Evian, final round (Sun.)
HORSE RACING
10:30 a.m., FS1 — Saratoga Live
Noon, FOX — The Jim Dandy Stakes
3 p.m., FS2 — Saratoga Live
LACROSSE (WOMEN’S)
2 p.m., ESPN2 — Athletes Unlimited
4:30 p.m., ESPN2 — Athletes Unlimited
MLB
Noon, MLBN — LA Angels at Toronto
1 p.m., FS1 — Detroit at Miami
4 p.m., FOX — Boston at San Francisco
5 p.m., DBAX — Seattle at Arizona
7 p.m., MLBN — Cincinnati at LA Dodgers
SOCCER (MEN’S)
6 a.m., CBSSN — Friendly: Celtic vs. Wolverhampton
4 p.m., FS2 — CPL: Cavalry FC at Atletico Ottawa
SOCCER (WOMEN’S WORLD CUP)
12:30 a.m., FS1 — Sweden vs. Italy, Group G
3 a.m., FOX — France vs. Brazil, Group F
5:30 a.m., FOX — Panama vs. Jamaica, Group F
9:30 p.m., FOX — South Korea vs. Morocco, Group H
12 a.m., FOX — Switzerland vs. New Zealand, Group A (Sun.)
1 a.m., FS1 — Norway vs. Philippines, Group A (Sun.)
2:30 a.m., FS1 — Germany vs. Colombia, Group A (Sun.)
TENNIS
4:30 a.m., TEN — Hamburg-WTA Final
Noon, TEN — Umag-ATP, Atlanta-ATP Semifinals
4 p.m., TEN — Atlanta-ATP Semifinal
RADIO
MLB
5 p.m., 1490-AM — Seattle at Arizona
All events are Tucson times. Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts.
Channel guide: CBSSN is CBS Sports Network (Ch 312 on Cox, Ch 274 on Comcast, Ch 221 on DirecTV, Ch 158 on Dish) CNBC (Ch 35 on Cox, Ch 27 on Comcast, Ch 355 on DirecTV, Ch 208 on Dish) DBAX is Diamondbacks (Ch 7 on Cox, Ch 1261 on Comcast, Ch 686-3 on DirectTV) ESPN2 (Ch 25 on Cox, Ch 30 on Comcast, Ch 209 on DirecTV, Ch 143 on Dish) FS1 is Fox Sports 1 (Ch 27 on Cox, Ch 32 on Comcast, Ch 219 on DirecTV, Ch 150 on Dish) FS2 is Fox Sports 2 (Ch. 341 on Cox, not available on Comcast, Ch. 618 on DirecTV, Ch. 397 on Dish) GOLF (Ch 65 on Cox, Ch 28 on Comcast, Ch 218 on DirecTV, Ch 401 on Dish) MLBN is MLB Network (Ch 305 on Cox, Ch 271 on Comcast, Ch 213 on DirecTV, Ch 152 on Dish) TEN is Tennis (Ch 315 on Cox, Ch 277 on Comcast, Ch 217 on DirecTV, Ch 400 on Dish) | https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/tucsons-tv-radio-sports-best-bets-saturday-july-29/article_095dd0ae-2d70-11ee-9c04-339500f52089.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:31 | 1 | https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/tucsons-tv-radio-sports-best-bets-saturday-july-29/article_095dd0ae-2d70-11ee-9c04-339500f52089.html |
MIDLAND, MI - While Michigan is surrounded with fresh water, the ONe eighteen restaurant offers a variety of seafood along with a mixture of regional dishes from around America.
ONe eighteen is located at 111 W. Main St. and is a restaurant attached to The H Hotel in downtown Midland.
Executive chef Theo Bawar has been the chef at ONe eighteen since 2008 and has worked with Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham on the east coast before making the move to Midland.
“It’s a great opportunity that I work in a nice hotel. It’s beautiful, all the outlets, all the restaurants,” Bawar said.
Bawar said they switch up the menu items at least three times a year and the creativity never stops flowing.
Each week, they offer the ‘chef’s catch’, which is a specific dish created by the culinary team. Aside from that, there are shareable dishes, soups, salads, bar sandwiches, tavern favorites and the higher-end premium selections to choose from on their menu.
“This business is always busy and so forth, but the time goes better when you’re working with good people,” Bawar said. “We try to get creative as much as possible.”
Bawar said some of the most popular dishes include the bone-in short rib, the pan seared sea scallops, the double bone-in pork chop and the lobster roll.
ONe eighteen offers two indoor private dining rooms and a seasonally available semi-private outdoor space. The Penney room seats up to 28 people, the Table 118 room seats up to 12 people and the Alcove seats up to 10 people in the courtyard.
To inquire about renting the spaces, click here or call (989) 633-6099. Check out their Facebook page here.
The restaurant is open Tuesday-Thursday from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free “3@3″ daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw.
Would you like MLive to feature your favorite restaurant in Michigan’s Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Kaytie Boomer at kboomer@mlive.com.
Check out more Michigan’s Best Local Eats features on MLive:
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: The Otherside’s charcuterie stuffed jumbo pretzel
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Midland’s Winner Winner chicken sandwich
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Matt’s Rocking Grinder from The Wanigan Eatery & Pub
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: ‘Moo and Cluck’ sandwich from Midland’s Amazing Deli
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Hot Turkey plate from Purtell’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Shoppe
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Fried ribs from Saginaw Waffle Hut food truck
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: South End Polka Bites from Barney’s Bar & Grill | https://www.mlive.com/michigansbest/2023/07/michigans-best-local-eats-one-eighteen-brings-flavors-of-the-sea-to-midland.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:31 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/michigansbest/2023/07/michigans-best-local-eats-one-eighteen-brings-flavors-of-the-sea-to-midland.html |
This summer, I traveled to Montreal to do one of my favorite things: Listen to live music.
For three days, I wandered around the Montreal Jazz Festival with two buddies, listening to jazz, rock, blues and all kinds of surprising musical mashups.
There was the New Orleans-based group Tank and the Bangas, Danish/Turkish/Kurdish band called AySay, and the Montreal-based Mike Goudreau Band.
All of this reminded me how magnificent music has been in my life — growing up with The Boss in New Jersey, falling in love with folk-rockers like Neil Young, discovering punk rock groups like The Clash in college, and, yeah, these days, marveling at Taylor Swift.
Music could always lift me up and transport me. It's the closest I've ever come to having a religious experience.
The body and brain on music
This got me thinking: Why? Why does music do that?
So I called up some experts to get their insights on what underlies this powerful experience.
"Music does evoke a sense of wonder and awe for lots of people," says Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist at McGill University who scans the brains of people while they listen to tunes.
"Some of it is still mysterious to us," he says, "But what we can talk about are some neural circuits or networks involved in the experience of pleasure and reward."
When you're listening to music that you really like, brain circuits involving parts of the brain called the amygdala, ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens come on line, he explains. These are the same areas that get activated if you're thirsty and you have a drink, or if you're feeling "randy and have sex."
That triggers the production of brain chemicals that are involved in feelings like pleasure.
"It modulates levels of dopamine, as well as opioids in the brain. Your brain makes opioids," he says.
Neurons in the brain even fire with the beat of the music, which helps people feel connected to one another by literally synchronizing their brain waves when they listen to the same song.
"What we used to say in the '60s is, 'Hey, I'm on the same wavelength as you man,'" Levitin says. "But it's literally true — your brain waves are synchronized listening to music."
Music also has a calming effect, slowing our heart rate, deepening our breathing and lowering stress hormones. This makes us feel more connected to other people as well as the world around us, especially when we start to dance together.
"Those pathways of changing our body, symbolizing what is vast and mysterious for us, and then moving our bodies, triggers the mind into a state of wonder," Dacher Keltner, a University of California, Berkeley, psychologist, told me.
"We imagine, 'Why do I feel this way? What is this music teaching me about what is vast and mysterious?' Music allows us to feel these transcendent emotions," he says.
Emotions like awe, which stimulates the brain into a sense of wonder, help "counter the epidemic of our times, which is loneliness," Keltner says. "With music, we feel we're part of community and that has a direct effect on health and well-being," which is crucial to survival.
That could be why music plays such a powerful role in many religions, spirituality and rituals, he says.
A rocker weighs in
All this made me wonder: Do musicians feel this way, too?
"Yeah, I definitely experience wonder while playing music on a regular basis," says Mike Gordon, the bass player for the band Phish.
He suddenly vividly remembers dreams and doesn't want to be anywhere else, he says.
"It's almost like these neural pathways are opening. And it's almost like the air around me crystalizes where everything around me is more itself," Gordon says. "I develop this sort of hypersensitivity, where it's now electrified."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/news/health/2023-07-29/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe | 2023-07-29T12:28:33 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/health/2023-07-29/these-scientists-explain-the-power-of-music-to-spark-awe |
PONTIAC, MI -- Oxford High Assistant Principal Kristy Gibson-Marshall recognized the football player dying on the floor of the hallway inside Oxford High School Nov. 30, 2021.
It was 16-year-old Tate Myre, a junior.
She met him while teaching his older brothers at an elementary school she worked at years ago. He was only 3 then and would tag along with his mother to drop his brothers off or pick them up each day.
Thirteen years later, he lay before her with a fatal bullet wound to the head, unconscious, hardly breathing, bloody and turning blue, Gibson-Marshall testified at a pre-sentencing hearing for convicted shooter Ethan Crumbley, 17.
On the day of the Oxford High shooting, Gibson-Marshall said she was monitoring a courtyard where seniors liked to hang out when another student she knew ran by.
“Get the hell out of here,” the boy yelled.
He was followed by more students, the five-year assistant principal testified. She asked what was going on. They didn’t know but they were “laughing and running,” Gibson-Marshall testified. She didn’t initially think it was anything major but asked if anything was happening over her two-way radio that connects administrators and security.
Almost immediately, a lockdown announcement came over the loudspeaker. “The hallway cleared so fast,” Gibson-Marshall said. She encountered a teacher locking his door and a tardy student who asked if it was a drill or real.
Moments later, she heard a gunshot that sounded “like two pieces of lumber being smacked together.”
Related: Haunting words of Michigan school shooter: ‘I am the demon’
She didn’t duck into a nearby classroom or run the opposite way. She walked toward the noise.
“When I turned the corner, I could see a student walking toward me,” Gibson-Marshall said. He wore an oversized hooded sweatshirt. The hood was up. A gun poked out the end of one of the long sleeves.
“I’ve got my eyes on the shooter,” Gibson-Marshall relayed over her radio.
Nearby, although she didn’t know who he was at the time, Tate lay face down on the ground behind a trash can. She then recognized the suspected shooter walking her way.
“When I got closer, I realized it was Ethan,” Gibson-Marshall said. “I just thought, it couldn’t be Ethan. He wouldn’t do that.”
The principal first met the shooter when he was in elementary school. She remembers giving him hugs as a child. Since Crumbley began high school, they no longer hugged but still exchanged greetings in the halls.
Related: Oxford High killer wanted to shoot ‘pretty’ girls in back of their heads, his journal said
Crumbley didn’t raise his gun at her. She walked alongside him briefly. Surveillance footage of the encounter was shown in court.
“I said, ‘Are you OK and what’s going on?’” Gibson-Marshall testified. “Initially, I thought there was no way it could be him.”
Crumbley didn’t respond. He looked away from his former teacher and kept silently and calmly walking. Gibson-Marshall returned to the injured student, moved the trash can, nudged him with her foot.
“I rolled the student over and it was Tate Myre,” Gibson Marshall testified. “It was crushing and I had to help him. I just needed to save him for his mom.”
Related: Michigan school shooting survivors testify. ‘I realized if I stayed I was going to die’
She could feel an entrance wound in the back of his head.
“I could see that the bullet exited through his eye,” Gibson-Marshall testified. She just kept talking to him, telling him “that I loved him and I needed him to hang with me.”
Police entered the school and arrested Crumbley while she performed CPR on Tate. Eventually, medics took the dying student away.
“I could taste his blood,” Gibson-Marshall testified, sometimes taking short breaks to gather her emotions. “There was so much blood. It was all over me. It took me a long time, months, probably almost a year, to get the taste of Tate’s blood out of my mouth.”
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald asked the assistant principal if she thought Tate recognized her voice.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I hope so.”
Crumbley, who during two days of testimony has remained mostly emotionless, his head usually hung with hair covering his eyes, wiped his cheeks with a wadded tissue as the witness left the stand.
The hearing, known as a Miller hearing, is required before any juvenile murderer is sentenced to a life-without-parole prison sentence. Crumbley’s attorneys are expected to call more witnesses when the hearing resumes at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1.
More on MLive:
Michigan school shooting survivors testify. ‘I realized if I stayed I was going to die’
Haunting words of Michigan school shooter: ‘I am the demon’
Oxford High killer wanted to shoot ‘pretty’ girls in back of their heads, his journal said | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/it-was-crushing-assistant-principal-recounts-trying-to-save-dying-michigan-school-shooting-victim.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:38 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/it-was-crushing-assistant-principal-recounts-trying-to-save-dying-michigan-school-shooting-victim.html |
She's one of India's biggest Barbie fans. When Vichitra Rajasingh was growing up, family and friends helped her build her collection of Barbie dolls until she had almost 80 of them. She once owned a Barbie camper, a speedboat, supermarket and post office. The mermaid Barbie and scuba-diving Barbie were her favorites.
Since her family ran a hotel, they put the dolls on display in the lobby in the late '90s. On Rajasingh's 14th birthday, her parents painted her room bright pink and hired artists to draw her favorite Barbie dolls on the walls.
All her Barbies were blond. She says she didn't like the Indian ethnic ones that came on the local market.
Living the pink life
"My love for the color pink began with my childhood passion for Barbie," she says. "And now it's become my identity." For her, the color represents love, joy, femininity and playfulness, everything she once associated with Barbie, she says.
Today Rajasingh lives in the southern Indian city of Madurai, where she drives a pink mini-Cooper and runs a bakery and lives in an apartment that are dominated by that color.
When the Barbie movie released in India on July 21, she gathered a bunch of friends, "everyone dressed to the nines in pink," and watched it on the day of its release. "I loved the movie. It was fun to watch and brought back many joyful childhood memories," she says.
While she no longer has her huge doll collection — having long since given it away to family and friends — Rajasingh is still a Barbie lover. She bakes six or seven Barbie-themed cakes a week, with an actual doll at the center of a cake that serves as her frothy dress, constructed around her in a swirl of sugar and cream.
Rajasingh saw Barbie as an aspirational figure — and grew up admiring the doll's freedom, confidence, globe-trotting lifestyle and even her arched feet in sassy stilettos.
But for others in India, Barbie has a far more complicated legacy.
The pressures Barbie can bring
Shweta Sharan, a writer who lives in Mumbai, admits to being conflicted about whether or not to watch the movie with her 13-year-old daughter, Laasya, who until a year ago ardently loved Barbie but then outgrew playing with dolls.
"I am aware that these dolls have many complicated associations," Sharan says. "Watching my daughter love a doll that looked nothing like her — with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect breasts — I worried if she would always strive to be someone else and feel inadequate."
These worries are valid in the opinion of ElsaMarie DSilva, a social entrepreneur from India and an Aspen fellow. "While Barbie is almost universally loved among girls of all ages, many do aspire to look like her, unconsciously pressurizing young girls to conform to unrealistic body shapes and expectations," she says — a common criticism aimed at Barbie.
Indian Barbie is not a rousing success
Mattel did make an effort to adapt the doll for an Indian market. When Mattel launched Barbie in India in 1991, it was the familiar Western-looking blond-haired blue-eyed Barbie. Then in 1996, they rolled out Indian Barbie, with brown skin. She came either wearing a bright sari or a salwar kameez — a knee-length tunic over fitted trousers.
But the Indian Barbie was not popular. "Indian kids gravitated toward the white-skinned Barbie instead of the brown-skinned one because light-skinned women were considered more beautiful in India and an automatic choice," DSilva says.
She points out how even in Indian clothes, Barbie still had a body that did not represent real women in India or anywhere else — she was way too tall and way too thin.
Priti Nemani, an Indian American attorney living in Chicago, analyzed why Barbie failed so spectacularly in the Indian market in a research paper published in 2011. In addition to the unrealistic, impossibly thin appearance of the doll, she points out how other cultural factors were at play.
"We weren't seeing Indian features on Barbie," she says. "We were seeing white Barbies dipped in brown. And even those brown Barbies didn't last long on the shelves. The latest versions of the Indian Barbie have much lighter skin tone.
Meanwhile, even though blond Barbies sold well, Ken tanked in India. "Indian parents who wouldn't want their daughters in romantic relationships at such an early age weren't going to buy the boyfriend," Nemani says.
In spite of her initial misgivings, Sharan enjoyed the Barbie movie with her daughter, now 13, who especially liked the feminist overtones. Laasya loved the beginning, when they were told "Barbie has a great day everyday. Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him."
Barbie inspires a poem
There are other issues about Barbie in India. For many kids, the doll is too expensive.
Ankita Apurva, 26, a writer who grew up in a farming family in Ranchi, a city in the Eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, recalls a childhood bereft of Barbies.
Her parents, who struggled to pay for a good education that they hoped would be her armor against bullying and discrimination, could not afford to buy their daughter a Barbie.
"They weren't in a position to splurge on fancy dolls like a Barbie," she says. She recalls feeling inferior for not owning one of these expensive dolls that would help her connect with other Barbie owners in her circle. It was especially hard for her at lunch when girls would boast about how many dolls they owned.
"I believe that even if children from marginalized communities manage to enter [private] institutions [for the privileged], there are certain social, cultural and economic symbols which are consciously and subconsciously deployed to mark them out, and Barbie, as loved as it is, is definitely one of them," she says.
Over the years, Apurva's family has grown stronger financially. When she saw the global resurgence of interest in Barbie now, she didn't feel angry or alienated, but it did bring back memories of desperately wanting to fit in – and not just because she didn't have a Barbie.
"Growing up, I rarely felt represented in literature or media. If pens or cameras turned toward us, they inadvertently counted us as data: dead bodies of farmers or survivors of violence of umpteen kinds."
As a girl from a farming family in Jharkhand, Apurva felt invisible. And so, she decided to express those emotions. She wrote a poem that she posted on Instagram, not to shame anyone who is privileged enough to own a Barbie but to comfort those who, like her, may have felt left out.
Here are some excerpts:
"Here's to the girls who do not get the Barbie craze,
...
girls who had parents who could not
or did not or choose not
to get them Barbie dolls
...
it's okay,
to not relate to any of it
...
what is not okay are friends ...
who intentionally make you
feel low by asking how many Barbies
you owned as a kid even as they
know you weren't privileged enough
to have them.
...
you are also not "too much" ...
if you feel
that Barbie is a colonial icon
legitimizing racial supremacy
while being a 'white feminist' trope
...
and once again
remember,
you are everything,
they are just Ken
Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, Southern India. She reports on global health, science, and development, and her work has been published in the New York Times, The British Medical Journal, BBC, The Guardian and other outlets. You can find her on twitter @kamal_t
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/arts/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie | 2023-07-29T12:28:39 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/arts/2023-07-28/the-dreams-and-disappointments-of-indias-barbie |
GENESEE TWP, MI - Right now, most people are living in a Barbie world.
A local Michigan ice cream shop is no different.
The Kearsley Kone isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill ice cream spot.
Located at 5488 Richfield Road in Genesee Township, the business offers 24 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, soft-serve ice cream, sundaes, malts, coolers, floats, flurries, shakes and monster shakes.
The store is keeping up with pop culture, offering a “Barbie Shake” named after the hit movie -- a vanilla ice cream, real strawberries and sprinkles topped with whip cream, strawberry crumble and sprinkles.
“It’s been a great hit so far,” said Matt Stimac, owner of Kearsley Kone, adding the strawberries are never artificial.
Open five months a year, Kearsley Kone has gained a reputation for its creativity.
Each day, the business offers a free ice cream for a specific male and female name.
Specials include a crunchy munchy peanut butter cup -- consisting of vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered peanuts, and a peanut butter swirl.
Stimac said they make homemade cold brews, frappes made of ice cream, iced coffees and an ice cream float with a cappuccino crunch ice cream.
A current special is an ice cream stuffed donut, where customers can pick one topping and one sauce and add whipped cream.
The specials are only on Saturdays and Sundays, made with B & J’s Donuts in a partnership.
A popular special is the peach cobbler sundae that includes homemade peach cobbler sauce, waffle chips topped with ice cream peach cobbler and whipped cream.
“We come up with these things because I always like to think of what people like,” Stimac said. “Like for our strawberry shakes, we use no artificial strawberries. They are all pure strawberries. Everything we do here is real.”
Stimac is planning to host the first-ever ice cream challenge at the business on Saturday, July 29.
The challenge, involving teens, will include 16 scoops of ice cream inside of one bowl, six toppings, and five sauces to eat in 26 minutes.
“It’s going to be the only one in Flint,” Stimac said. “I will offer a free shirt, your name on the board if you win.”
Kearsley Kone is open from 1-9:30 p.m. seven days a week. Follow them on Facebook.
Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Flint” daily newsletter.
Read more at The Flint Journal:
New Michigan bar arcade features 30-plus games, ‘adult lunchables’ and plenty of nostalgia
This Michigan blueberry farm has berries that ‘don’t exist anywhere else in the world’
16 businesses, 100K Ideas aim to flourish in new downtown Flint hub | https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2023/07/michigans-best-local-eats-try-the-barbie-shake-at-this-michigan-ice-cream-spot.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:44 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2023/07/michigans-best-local-eats-try-the-barbie-shake-at-this-michigan-ice-cream-spot.html |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/arts/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying | 2023-07-29T12:28:45 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/arts/2023-07-29/an-artist-explains-why-marvels-use-of-ai-to-animate-a-sequence-is-worrying |
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Penelope, John Ball Zoo’s new “sweet but sassy” pygmy hippo, is now on public display.
The 5-year-old female arrived in Grand Rapids on June 20 from the Toronto Zoo in Canada.
“We’ve been so excited to have her,” said Jaime Racalla, an animal care supervisor at John Ball Zoo. “She’s been a great addition to our zoo.”
Earlier this year, the zoo welcomed Jahari, an 8-year-old male pygmy hippo from Pittsburgh, but tragedy struck when Jahari attacked and killed a sitatunga antelope on May 16 as the two animals were being introduced for the first time without a mesh barrier.
For now, the zoo has been keeping Penelope and Jahari apart.
“Penelope and Jahari are just settling in,” Racalla said. “They can smell each other, and hear each other in the space, but we want to give ample time for them to get used to us and their surroundings.”
There are less than 3,000 of these rare hippos left in the Western African wild, so the zoo’s habitat was designed to be a part of the Species Survival Breeding Plan to preserve them.
Pygmy hippos are at least five times smaller than a regular hippo, but still weigh between 400 and 600 pounds.
Penelope weighs 430 pounds while Jahari is noticeably bigger at about 600 pounds.
Racalla said the zoo plans to eventually breed the hippos but currently doesn’t have a timetable.
“The ball is their court,” she said. “We’re going to follow the cues that they give us.”
In the meantime, visitors can observe both hippos in their separate areas of the exhibit.
Penelope is building a reputation for putting on shows for zoo-goers and Racalla said she hopes the community comes out to experience the rare and unique animals.
“She loves to play in the water,” Racalla said. “She does lots of barrel rolls and really is interacting with kids, so she’s been a joy to just watch as she settles in.”
Check out some of our favorite photos below or in the gallery at the bottom of the post.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. | https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/07/meet-penelope-the-pygmy-hippo-who-may-become-jaharis-girlfriend.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:50 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/07/meet-penelope-the-pygmy-hippo-who-may-become-jaharis-girlfriend.html |
Trader Joe's has recalled its frozen falafel for potentially having rocks in it, after it recalled two of its cookie products for the same reason recently.
The company's supplier informed them of the concern, and Trader Joe's said in a statement Friday that "all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed."
Customers who purchased the product should discard it or return it to a Trader Joe's location for a full refund, the company said.
The falafel, which is fully cooked and frozen, has the SKU number 93935 and is sold in Washington, D.C., and 34 states.
Last Friday, Trader Joe's said rocks could also possibly be found in its Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/business/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it | 2023-07-29T12:28:52 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/business/2023-07-28/trader-joes-recalls-its-frozen-falafel-for-possibly-having-rocks-in-it |
A tip from the rabbi: I grew up in Milwaukee, so if you write me a note from anywhere in Wisconsin it is going right IN!
Question: I have been enjoying your column for years, and I am wondering what is your stance on organ donations, as well as cadaver donations? Since this is a relatively new field that would not be covered by scriptures, just curious as to how the Jewish, Muslim and Catholic faiths are treating these issues. Thanks in advance. — From L, in Appleton, Wis.
Answer: The issue of organ donation became a pressing issue in medical ethics in the late 1960s when the drug cyclosporine was invented.
Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive agent used to treat organ rejection post-transplant. It also has use in certain other autoimmune diseases, treatment of organ rejection in kidney, liver, and heart allogeneic transplants, and rheumatoid arthritis when the condition has not adequately responded to methotrexate.
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What this miracle drug did was make possible organ transplantation by preventing your body from rejecting the implanted organ.
The religious concerns first center around the question of determining the time of death of a cadaver donor. The transplant surgeons need to remove the organs, like a heart, as soon as possible, but they obviously cannot remove it before the patient has died. With the use of heart/lung machines a person’s heart can be kept beating artificially even after the brain has died.
This led a prestigious Harvard Medical School committee to determine that brain death is the actual time of death. Religious authorities have accepted this.
The other religious concerns of the Abrahamic faiths concern the need for speedy burial, which is often not possible while preparations for transplantation are being made.
Other concerns involve the belief (Orthodox Judaism) that all a person’s organs and limbs should be buried in their grave.
However, the commandment to do everything possible to save a life overrides all other ritual concerns and makes it a loving and noble religious act.
Cadaver donations are more tricky. They prevent the cadaver donor from being buried or cremated and unless the bodies are scrupulously watched and guarded, they open up the possibility of mutilation of a corpse, which is, of course, a terrible sin.
Some organ donations, like corneal donations, do not have as tight a timeline as heart and liver transplantation and raise fewer ethical concerns.
Finally, the ethical issue of organ transplantation must confront the problem of fairness in the distribution of organs to those on a waiting list. We have all heard of celebrities skipping the line.
So, I firmly encourage all my readers to sign up to be organ donors. The rabbis taught, “One who saves a single life is like one who saves the entire world.”
I agree.
Money matters
I am getting bored with the cremation vs. in-ground burial debate we have been having these past few weeks because it has mainly become an argument about money …
Question: You refer to the “few hundred dollars” a family can scrape together. May I respectfully advise you, we are discussing the “few big thousands of dollars.” Big difference.” — From E in Middle Island, NY
Answer: It is certainly true that cremation is cheaper than in-ground burial, but by how much is not clear, particularly if the cremains are buried in a grave or placed in a crypt, both of which obviously adds to the cost. I don’t know what to say about the cost issue. Of course, I respect it, but I am not completely convinced by it.
It is interesting to me that not one single reader suggested doing away with marriage ceremonies and receptions because of their cost and just eloping to a justice of the peace with a reception at a burger joint afterward.
The issue is the spiritual significance of religious rituals and their worth in the scope of our lives. God accepts the first sacrifice ever offered — the sacrifice of Abel — and not the second sacrifice — the sacrifice of Cain — precisely because Abel’s sacrifice was from “the very firstlings of his flocks” while Cain’s was just some discarded fruit of the fields.
I think there is a nobility in making our religious rituals beautiful, and beautiful has a cost.
I am not defending lavish and garish spending beyond our means, but I am defending making the religious rituals of our life cycle events wonderful and welcoming to family and friends and that has a cost.
We spend lavishly on so many things that do not honor our ancestors or our traditions, why can’t we honor the dead in a sacrificial manner that honors their life? If cost is the only consideration, then beauty and tradition have no chance of surviving our materialistic age.
Send questions and comments to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available. | https://kenoshanews.com/living/the-god-squad-take-my-liver-please/article_c87cb3b0-2cbc-11ee-a6cd-3786de2fa18c.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:54 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/living/the-god-squad-take-my-liver-please/article_c87cb3b0-2cbc-11ee-a6cd-3786de2fa18c.html |
MIAMI - On Saturday, the Detroit Tigers prepare for the second game of their three-game weekend series against the Miami Marlins in an afternoon clash.
- Watch the Detroit Tigers on FuboTV (7-day free trial)
Unlike their final game of the recent homestand, the Tigers showed some fight against the Marlins in the series opener. After falling behind 4-0 early on Friday night, Detroit was able to claw their way back into the game, tying things up in the eighth. However, Miami regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame, and while the Tigers got back within a run, they still came up short, losing their fourth game in a row, 6-5 the final score.
The Bengals are back below .500 for the month of July, as the naïve hopes of the team making a push for a playoff spot have withered away with the losses piling up, and the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins continuing to reel off victories. Detroit remains third in the division, but is now eight games back of the Twins heading into Saturday.
Since their disastrous eight-game losing streak earlier this month, the Marlins have looked like a much better baseball team, and it is showing in the standings. Though they are sitting third in the National League East, 10 games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves, Miami is tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the Wild Card spot.
The Tigers come into Saturday 16-17 during interleague play in 2023, while the Marlins are an impressing 22-11 against AL opponents.
PROBABLE STARTERS
- DET: Beau Brieske (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
- MIA: Johnny Cueto (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Check out more stories about the Detroit Tigers here on MLive
MLB Baseball
Detroit Tigers (46-58) vs. Miami Marlins (56-48)
When: Saturday, July 29
Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Where: loanDepot Park (Miami, Fla.)
Channel: Bally Sports Detroit. FOX Sports 1
Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), DirecTV Stream
Check out the MLB standings and results on MLB.com
- Buy Tigers gear: Fanatics, Amazon, Lids
- Buy Tigers tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster
- Stream Tigers games live: FuboTV (Free Trial), DirecTV Stream | https://www.mlive.com/tigers/2023/07/how-to-watch-the-detroit-tigers-vs-miami-marlins-mlb-72923-channel-stream-preview.html | 2023-07-29T12:28:56 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/tigers/2023/07/how-to-watch-the-detroit-tigers-vs-miami-marlins-mlb-72923-channel-stream-preview.html |
SAN FRANCISCO — The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant "X" sign that was installed Friday on top of the downtown building formerly known as Twitter headquarters as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.
City officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.
The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand's iconic bird and logo from the side of the building, saying they hadn't taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.
Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week.
Erecting a sign on top of a building also requires a permit, Hannan said Friday.
"Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation," he said in an email.
Musk unveiled a new "X" logo to replace Twitter's famous blue bird as he remakes the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year. The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has long been fascinated with the letter X and had already renamed Twitter's corporate name to X Corp. after he bought it in October. One of his children is called "X." The child's actual name is a collection of letters and symbols.
On Friday afternoon, a worker on a lift machine made adjustments to the sign and then left.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/business/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate | 2023-07-29T12:28:58 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/business/2023-07-28/x-logo-installed-atop-twitter-building-spurring-san-francisco-to-investigate |
Pucker up for Lipstick Day on July 29. It’s also International Tiger Day, and the Racine Zoo celebrates with fun events all day, which are FREE with zoo admission. It’s all part of the zoo’s “Zoorific Saturdays.” For more details, go to racinezoo.org.
Head to the Northside Library, 1500 27th Ave., for “Animals, Animals …They’re Everywhere” at 10:30 a.m. Participants are invited to “join the humorous and entertaining naturalist David Stokes for songs, stories, and artifacts while you learn about and meet some live animals.” This is a free program open to everyone.
Taste of Wisconsin wraps up today in HarborPark. The festival features 30-plus food and beverage vendors, plus live music on four stages. The festival is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. along the harbor, at 54th Street and Calabria Way (formerly Ring Road). Tonight, Joey Belotti & Sonic Freedom rocks out on the Rock Stage at 9:30 p.m. and the John Crawford Jazz Band plays at 8 p.m. on the Jazz Stage. Admission and parking are free. For more about the festival, go to tasteofwi.com.
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The new Lake Fest event — described by organizers as “a celebration of fun activities on or near the water” — starts at 10 a.m. today with a Family Dock Party at Great Lakes Yacht Sales, 443 50th St. on the harbor. The Dock Party features games, food and arts and crafts from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A Scavenger Hunt (with prizes) is noon to 2 p.m. At 11 a.m., the Coast Guard Auxiliary will talk about boat safety. Step by Step dancers will perform at noon. At 1 p.m., the Kenosha Police Department’s Officer Friendly will talk about water safety. Events at the Beach House on Simmons Island, 5001 Fourth Ave. at the lakefront, include a Bags Tournament and a Bocce Ball Tournament, both from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A highlight is the Venetian Night Boat Parade at sunset, starting about 8 p.m. The public is invited to view the Venetian Boat Parade along the harbor channel and harborside. To find out more about the parade and viewing areas, join Lake Fest’s Facebook group (search “Kenosha Lake Fest”).
The annual “Picnic in Paris” is noon to 9 p.m. today on the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church grounds, 1501 172nd Ave. (on Highway D just north of Highway 142). The free festival includes a car show from noon to 4 p.m.; silent auction items; live music from The Chevelles Band (1 to 4 p.m.) and The Hat Guys (6 to 9 p.m.), raffles, kids’ games, a white elephant and rummage sale area and a country store booth. The festival features plenty of food options, too, including the festival’s specialty: schaum tortes.
The Kenosha Public Museum, 5500 First Ave., is hosting the Transparent Watercolor Society’s annual exhibit, showcasing paintings from the top transparent watercolor artists in the country. Admission is free. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-saturday-july-29/article_a84e4c72-2d55-11ee-87a6-6f891a603f02.html | 2023-07-29T12:29:00 | 1 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/kenosha-area-events-for-saturday-july-29/article_a84e4c72-2d55-11ee-87a6-6f891a603f02.html |
National parks and hiking trail networks around the country are facing dual pressures - crowds and changing weather. Preservationists in New Hampshire are painstakingly restoring one such trail.
Copyright 2023 NPR
National parks and hiking trail networks around the country are facing dual pressures - crowds and changing weather. Preservationists in New Hampshire are painstakingly restoring one such trail.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/environment/2023-07-29/preservationists-are-trying-to-restore-national-park-trails-destroyed-by-the-weather | 2023-07-29T12:29:04 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/environment/2023-07-29/preservationists-are-trying-to-restore-national-park-trails-destroyed-by-the-weather |
The third annual “Midwest Mix Fest” runs for two days, today and Sunday, on the grounds at Kemper Center, 6501 Third Ave.
The music, art and food festival is open 3 to 10 p.m. today, July 29, and 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday, July 30.
Admission is $10; free for anyone under age 18.
This event is organized by Dianna Villalobos, who owns Midwest DJ Productions with her husband, Diego.
“This is a family friendly event,” Dianna Villalobos said.
Proceeds go to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a pediatric cancer research foundation.
There will be a bunch of DJs, along with vendors. Koerri Elijah is the host.
Besides the music, there will be a House of RAD Mobile Art Stage, a turkey leg eating competition and taco eating competition and a dance contest.
People are also reading…
Saturday’s DJ line-up includes DJ Razor (3 p.m.), DJ Pro Lion (3:30 p.m.), Loboz (4 p.m.), DJ Angel Tearitup (4:30 p.m.), Xcavata (5:15 p.m.), DJ Solo (6 p.m.), Angel Eyes (6:45 p.m.), DJ Diego Lobo (7:30 p.m.), Patrick Wayne b2b DJ ThreeJay/Dubbstar (8:15 p.m.) and Tim Spinnin’ Schommer (9 p.m.).
Sunday’s DJs are Alex (2 p.m.), L.O. Kitty (2:30 p.m.), Phantomize (3 p.m.), DJ Big Ron (3:30 p.m.), Carbonella (4 p.m.), Otto (4:30 pm.), J Morgan (5:15 p.m.), DJ Rick Jules (6 p.m.), Gorgonzilla (6:45 p.m.), Quick Mix Mike (7:30 p.m.), Corey Love (8:15 p.m.) and DJ Slugo (9 p.m.).
Food vendors include Taste Buds Chicken & BBQ (Saturday), Pop Smoke BBQ (Saturday and Sunday), Rock it Tacos (Sunday), Ashley’s Delicious Egg Rolls (Saturday and Sunday), Cornstars (Sunday), AJ’s Ice Cream Truck and Snow Boyz Snow Cones.
Art and entertainment vendors include Artesanía Minga, L.Marie’s Creations & More, Flip This Flip That Resale & Collectibles, The Little Big Top Fun Company, Very Eventful Umbrella, Mobile Entertainment & Photo Booth, Bright Sol Creations, Eye Make Canvases, Tarot by Toria, Cole Stout Jewelry, The Sisters Event Rental, Jays Relics, Minnegan Print and Moor Jewelz.
For more information, go to https://midwestdjproductions.com/midwest-mix-fest | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/midwest-mix-fest-july-29-30-in-kenosha/article_58e2a7d8-2cc3-11ee-8c9a-af53830b36c5.html | 2023-07-29T12:29:06 | 0 | https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/midwest-mix-fest-july-29-30-in-kenosha/article_58e2a7d8-2cc3-11ee-8c9a-af53830b36c5.html |
A group of crafters has come together to finish items for those who can no longer work on them, or for those who have recently died. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on June 20, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR
A group of crafters has come together to finish items for those who can no longer work on them, or for those who have recently died. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on June 20, 2023.)
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/health/2023-07-29/when-illness-or-death-leave-craft-projects-unfinished-these-strangers-step-in-to-help | 2023-07-29T12:29:10 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/health/2023-07-29/when-illness-or-death-leave-craft-projects-unfinished-these-strangers-step-in-to-help |
News National A program in Oklahoma uses art to re-integrate women recently released from prison By Elizabeth Caldwell Published July 29, 2023 at 8:00 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Women who are soon to be released from prison in Oklahoma get help with the transition by focusing on the arts. Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/npr-national/2023-07-29/a-program-in-oklahoma-uses-art-to-re-integrate-women-recently-released-from-prison | 2023-07-29T12:29:16 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/npr-national/2023-07-29/a-program-in-oklahoma-uses-art-to-re-integrate-women-recently-released-from-prison |
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR
The Lincoln Dinner in Iowa hosts the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 - as hopefuls try to stand out against front-runner Donald Trump.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa | 2023-07-29T12:29:22 | 0 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/politics/2023-07-29/new-charges-against-trump-didnt-keep-him-off-the-campaign-trail-in-iowa |
Congress leaves for recess despite a big to-do list. New charges filed against former President Donald Trump. Promising new economic numbers.
Copyright 2023 NPR
Congress leaves for recess despite a big to-do list. New charges filed against former President Donald Trump. Promising new economic numbers.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up | 2023-07-29T12:29:28 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/news/politics/2023-07-29/week-in-politics-congress-on-recess-new-charges-against-trump-economy-looks-up |
The Mega Millions jackpot grew to a whopping $1.05 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday night's draw. The last winning ticket was sold on April 18.
The next drawing for the grand prize, which is currently equal to the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot to date, is on Tuesday. A lump-sum payment would be an estimated $528 million.
Friday's jackpot was $940 million, and had been growing steadily, finally passing the $1 billion mark after 29 straight draws without someone matching all six winning numbers.
Just last week, a winning ticket for a $1.08 billion Powerball drawing was sold in Los Angeles, but the winner is still unknown.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions are slim — just about 1 in 302.6 million.
The largest Mega Millions winning jackpot was sold in South Carolina in 2018 — a massive $1.537 billion.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvia.org/news/npr-national/2023-07-29/mega-millions-jackpot-passes-1-billion-after-no-one-draws-all-6-winning-numbers | 2023-07-29T12:29:35 | 1 | https://www.wvia.org/news/npr-national/2023-07-29/mega-millions-jackpot-passes-1-billion-after-no-one-draws-all-6-winning-numbers |
BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND THANKS TO HIGH PRESSURE, GRADUAL WARMING
The slow-moving front that brought two rounds of severe storms has finally moved off to the southeast bringing an end to the strong thunderstorms. High pressure will move in from the Dakotas keeping the next several days dry, sunny, and cool. Highs will be normal in the upper 70s and lower 80s with lower humidity for both Saturday and Sunday. There are chances of isolated sprinkles to showers during the late afternoon hours for both days as there’s some energy left over from the front. No severe weather is expected. High pressure will gradually move across the upper Midwest keeping dry weather around through next Tuesday. As it moves across the upper Midwest, temperatures will gradually increase back into the mid 80s by Tuesday with humid dewpoints.
Our next weathermaker will come from northwest Canada bringing a cold front with it. Showers and thunderstorms are predicted to develop Wednesday night then again mainly for Thursday night. It’s too far ahead to determine severe weather, but there could be a chance. With humidity and warm temperatures returning in time for this weathermaker, it’s looking like a possibility.
You can always keep our forecast handy with our free weather app. Look for the WBAY First Alert Weather App in the Apple app store and Google Play (click here on your mobile device).
WIND & WAVE FORECAST:
TODAY: NE 5-10 KTS, WAVE: 0-2″
TONIGHT: N 5-10 KTS, WAVE: 0-2″
SUNDAY: NW 10-15 KTS, WAVE: 0-2″
TODAY: Mostly sunny and nice, isolated afternoon sprinkles. HIGH: 81
TONIGHT: Early sprinkles possible, otherwise partly cloudy. LOW: 56
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny and nice, maybe a sprinkle? HIGH: 80 LOW: 58
MONDAY: Mostly sunny and gradual warming. HIGH: 83 LOW: 60
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy and back to humid. HIGH: 85 LOW: 64
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny, hot and humid. PM late showers. HIGH: 88 LOW: 67
THURSDAY: Hot and humid, scattered storms. HIGH: 89 LOW: 65
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and cooler. HIGH: 82
Copyright 2023 WBAY. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/29/beautiful-weekend-thanks-high-pressure-gradual-warming/ | 2023-07-29T12:30:14 | 0 | https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/29/beautiful-weekend-thanks-high-pressure-gradual-warming/ |
August Social Security checks are getting disbursed this week for recipients who've received Social Security payments since May 1997 or before. If that's not you, you can expect your payment to arrive in the coming weeks, depending on your birth date. If you receive Supplemental Security Income, that payment will arrive on Aug. 1, separate from your Social Security money.
If you don't receive a payment this week, note that the Social Security Administration disburses its checks in multiple rounds throughout the month. We'll help you find out when your Social Security payment should arrive and tell you how your payment date is determined. If you just started receiving Social Security benefits, learn the best time to begin collecting your benefits and how to pause them for a bigger payout later.
When will I get my August Social Security check?
Here's the August schedule (PDF) for when you should receive your Social Security check and/or SSI money:
- Aug. 3: Social Security payments for people who've received Social Security since before May 1997.
- Aug. 9: Social Security payments for those with birthdays falling between the first and 10th of any given month.
- Aug. 16: Social Security payments for folks with birthdays falling between the 11th and 20th of any given month.
- Aug. 23: Social Security payments for people with birthdays falling between the 21st and 31st of any given month.
How are Social Security payment dates determined?
The Social Security Administration typically sends out payments on the second, third and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Which day you receive your check depends on your birth date.
- If your birthday falls between the first and 10th of the month, your payment will be sent out on the second Wednesday of the month.
- If your birthday falls between the 11th and 20th of the month, your payment will be sent out on the third Wednesday of the month.
- If your birthday falls between the 21st and 31st of the month, your payment will be sent out on the fourth Wednesday of the month.
Payments for SSI recipients generally arrive on the first of each month with a few exceptions we get into below.
Read more: Turning 67 in 2023? What to Know Before You Retire
What if I receive both Social Security and SSI?
If you received Social Security benefits before May 1997, or if you receive both Social Security and SSI, the payment schedule is different. Instead of getting your payments on a Wednesday, you'll receive your Social Security payment on the third day of each month and your SSI on the first day of each month.
However, those payment dates change if the first or third day of the month falls on a weekend or a holiday. For instance, July 1 fell on a Saturday this year, so SSI recipients received their July payments a day early, on June 30, and their Social Security payments should have arrived on July 3.
What if I don't receive my check on the expected date?
If your check doesn't arrive on the date listed above based on your birth date or other circumstances, the Social Security Administration says to wait three additional mailing days before reaching out.
If you still haven't received it, you can speak with a representative at 800-772-1213. (The SSA notes that wait times are shorter Wednesday through Friday and between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekday afternoons.)
You can also access your Social Security benefits online.
This article is updated monthly as payment dates change. | https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/social-security-payments-2023-when-will-your-august-check-arrive/ | 2023-07-29T12:30:20 | 0 | https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/social-security-payments-2023-when-will-your-august-check-arrive/ |
AI and You: Hallucinations, Big Tech Talk on AI, and Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Get up to speed on the quickly evolving world of AI with our look at the week's developments.
Over the past few months, I've read through AI glossaries to get caught up on the vocabulary around the new world of generative AI. I recognize I've been doing deep dives into this topic and may know more than the average American about AI, but I still assumed that some of the key concepts associated with generative AI are widely known and understood. Talking with a journalism professor this week showed me that isn't the case: As I explained how AI tools have a tendency to "hallucinate," they stared blankly at me and said, "What does that mean?"
"Hallucinate" is one of the first vocabulary words related to genAI that everyone should know. Simply put, it means that AI engines, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, have a tendency to make up stuff that isn't true but that sounds true. In fact, the US Federal Trade Commission earlier this month started investigating OpenAI about its chatbot potentially making false statements about people. Where does "hallucinate" come from in an AI context? Google DeepMind researchers came up with the quaint term in 2018, saying they found that neural machine translation systems, or NMTs, "are susceptible to producing highly pathological translations that are completely untethered from the source material."
Highly pathological translations untethered from the source material. I'm not an engineer, but even I know that's a really nice way of saying something is really wrong with those systems.
Most glossaries offer a more straightforward explanation of an AI "hallucination." This definition comes courtesy of NBC News:
"Hallucination: Hallucinations are unexpected and incorrect responses from AI programs that can arise for reasons that are not yet fully known. A language model might suddenly bring up fruit salad recipes when you were asking about planting fruit trees. It might also make up scholarly citations, lie about data you ask it to analyze, or make up facts about events that aren't in its training data. It's not fully understood why this happens, but can arise from sparse data, information gaps and misclassification."
In the interests of fairness, I asked ChatGPT for comment by prompting it to tell me what "hallucinate" means as it refers to AI. Here's its response:
In the context of AI, the term "hallucinate" is used metaphorically to describe the generation of content or information that is not based on direct observation or real-world data. When an AI system "hallucinates," it means that it produces outputs that may resemble or mimic certain patterns or features found in the training data, but are not actually grounded in reality.
The term "hallucinate" is not specific to AI and has been borrowed from its usage in the field of psychology. In psychology, hallucination refers to perceptions or sensory experiences that occur without any external stimuli. These perceptions are not based on reality but are perceived as real by the individual experiencing them.
In the context of AI, the term is used metaphorically to describe situations where the generated outputs deviate from reality or introduce elements that are not present in the original data. For example, in the domain of image generation, an AI system may produce images that contain surreal or fantastical elements, which are not based on actual objects or scenes observed in the training data.
The term "hallucinate" is used to highlight the potential for AI systems to generate outputs that go beyond what is directly observed or explicitly instructed. It reflects the ability of AI algorithms to extrapolate, combine, or create new patterns, sometimes resulting in unexpected or imaginative results.
Kind of a long-winded and convoluted way for a conversational AI to say it makes stuff up, in my opinion. If I didn't know better, I'd also say ChatGPT was a bit defensive.
Here are the other doings in AI worth your attention.
US workers aren't afraid of AI, but job erosion coming
The Pew Research Center and McKinsey each put out reports this week on how AI may affect workers and jobs, even as many open questions remain. Both reports are worth a read.
US workers "seem more hopeful than concerned about the impact of AI on their jobs," according to the Pew study.
The study aimed in part to quantify which industries and workers are more exposed to AI. Pew characterized jobs as "more exposed to artificial intelligence if AI can either perform their most important activities entirely or help with them."
"Many US workers in more exposed industries do not feel their jobs are at risk — they are more likely to say AI will help more than hurt them personally. For instance, 32% of workers in information and technology say AI will help more than hurt them personally, compared with 11% who say it will hurt more than it helps," the study found.
As to whether AI will lead to job losses, Pew said the answer to that remains unclear "because AI could be used either to replace or complement what workers do." And that decision, as we all know, will be made by humans — the managers running these businesses who get to decide if, how and when AI tools are used.
"Consider customer service agents," Pew noted. "Evidence shows that AI could either replace them with more powerful chatbots or it could enhance their productivity. AI may also create new types of jobs for more skilled workers — much as the internet age generated new classes of jobs such as web developers. Another way AI-related developments might increase employment levels is by giving a boost to the economy by elevating productivity and creating more jobs overall."
When it comes to jobs with the highest exposure to AI, the breakout isn't all that surprising, given that some jobs — like firefighting — are more hands on, literally, than others. What is surprising is that more women than men are likely to have exposure to AI in their jobs, Pew said, based on the kind of work they do.
Meanwhile, McKinsey offered up its report "Generative AI and the future of work in America." The consultancy gave a blunt assessment on the impact of AI and work, saying that "by 2030, activities that account for up to 30 percent of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated — a trend accelerated by generative AI."
But there's a possible silver lining. "An additional 12 million occupational transitions may be needed by 2030. As people leave shrinking occupations, the economy could reweight toward higher-wage jobs. Workers in lower-wage jobs are up to 14 times more likely to need to change occupations than those in highest-wage positions, and most will need additional skills to do so successfully. Women are 1.5 times more likely to need to move into new occupations than men."
All that depends, McKinsey adds, on US employers helping train workers to serve their evolving needs and turning to overlooked groups, like rural workers and people with disabilities, for their new talent.
What does all this mean for you right now? One thing is that AIs are being used by employers to help with their recruitment. If you're looking for tips on how to job hunt in a world with these AI recruiting tools, check out this useful guide on The New Age of Hiring by CNET's Laura Michelle Davis.
Big Tech talks up AI during earnings calls
Google/Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) announced quarterly earnings this week. And what was interesting, but not surprising, was how often AI was mentioned in the opening remarks by CEOs and other executives, as well as in the questions asked by Wall Street analysts.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, whose company offers an AI-enhanced version of its Bing search engine, plus AI tools for business, mentioned artificial intelligence 27 times in his opening remarks. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who talked up the power of Google's Bard and other AI tools, mentioned AI 35 times. And Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called out AI 17 times. If you're looking for a little less-than-light reading, I encourage you to scan the transcripts for yourself.
From Zuckerberg, we heard that, "AI-recommended content from accounts you don't follow is now the fastest growing category of content on Facebook's feed." Also that, "You can imagine lots of ways AI could help people connect and express themselves in our apps: creative tools that make it easier and more fun to share content, agents that act as assistants, coaches, or that can help you interact with businesses and creators, and more. These new products will improve everything that we do across both mobile apps and the metaverse — helping people create worlds and the avatars and objects that inhabit them as well."
Nadella, in talking about Bing, said it's "the default search experience for OpenAI's ChatGPT, bringing timelier answers with links to our reputable sources to ChatGPT users. To date, Bing users have engaged in more than 1 billion chats and created more than 750 million images with Bing Image Creator."
And Pichai talked about how AI tech is transforming Google Search. "User feedback has been very positive so far," he said. "It can better answer the queries people come to us with today while also unlocking entirely new types of questions that Search can answer. For example, we found that generative AI can connect the dots for people as they explore a topic or project, helping them weigh multiple factors and personal preferences before making a purchase or booking a trip. We see this new experience as another jumping-off point for exploring the web, enabling users to go deeper to learn about a topic."
AI detection hits another snag
Last week, I shared a CNET story by science editor Jackson Ryan about how a group of researchers from Stanford University set out to test generative AI "detectors" to see if they could tell the difference between something written by an AI and something written by a human. The detectors did less than a good job, with the researchers noting that the software is biased and easy to fool.
Which is why educators and others were heartened by news in January that Open AI, the creator of ChatGPT, was working on a tool that would detect AI versus human content. Turns out that was an ambitious quest, because OpenAI "quietly unplugged" its AI detection tool, according to reporting by Decrypt.
OpenAI said that as of July 20 it was no longer making AI Classifier available, because of its "low rate of accuracy." The company shared the news in a note appended to the blog post that first announced the tool, adding, "We are working to incorporate feedback and are currently researching more effective provenance techniques for text, and have made a commitment to develop and deploy mechanisms that enable users to understand if audio or visual content is AI-generated."
US government continues to discuss AI regulations
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer continued holding sessions to brief the Senate on the opportunities and risks around AI, saying this week that there's "real bipartisan interest" in putting together AI legislation that "encourages innovation but has the safeguards to prevent the liabilities that AI could present."
The Senate expects to call in more experts to testify in coming months, Reuters reported, noting that earlier in the week senators on both sides expressed alarm about AI being used to create a "biological attack." I know that's already been the plot of a sci-fi movie, I just can't remember which one.
Schumer's complete remarks are here.
Hollywood interest in AI talent picks up as actors, writers strikes continue
Speaking of movies and AI plots, as the actors and writers strikes continue, entertainment companies — not interested in public relations optics, I guess — posted job openings for AI specialists as creatives walked the picket line out of concern that studios will "take their likenesses or voices, and reuse them over and over for little or no pay, and with little in the way of notice," The Hollywood Reporter said.
"Nearly every studio owner seems to be thinking about AI, whether it's for content, customer service, data analysis or other uses," the Reporter said, noting that Disney is offering a base salary of $180,000, with bonuses and other compensation, for someone who has the "ambition to push the limits of what AI tools can create and understand the difference between the voice of data and the voice of a designer, writer or artist."
Netflix is seeking a $900,000-per-year AI product manager, the Intercept found, while the Reporter noted that Amazon is looking for a senior manager for Prime Video, base salary of up to $300,000, who will "help define the next big thing in localizing content, enhancing content, or making it accessible using state-of-the-art Generative AI and Computer Vision tech."
As we all know, AI isn't going anywhere and jobs will be affected. But the questions about how, when and why, and who gets compensated for what — from actors to writers — will depend on decisions made by humans.
Actor Joseph-Gordon Levitt, who also created the online collaborative platform HitRecord and figured out a way to pay creatives for their contributions, wrote a worthwhile op-ed piece reminding everyone that AIs are trained on something — and that something is usually the work of others who should be acknowledged and paid for their contributions.
Editors' note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post. | https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ai-and-you-hallucinations-big-tech-talk-on-ai-and-jobs-jobs-jobs/ | 2023-07-29T12:30:26 | 1 | https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ai-and-you-hallucinations-big-tech-talk-on-ai-and-jobs-jobs-jobs/ |
Samsung's Stylus Upgrade Does Not Include S Pen Storage: Here's Why
Samsung's 2023 S Pen is slimmer than its predecessor, but as the company explains, thinner might not always be better for its signature stylus.
Samsung's latest book-style foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, has made headlines for its thinner design, which includes a hinge that lets the phone fold completely flat. But its key accessory, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 S Pen Fold Edition, has shed some weight, too.
During a press roundtable I attended in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung said that the stylus' radius dropped from 7.4mm to 4.35mm, which is nearly the same size as the Galaxy S23 Ultra's S Pen. That is 41% thinner than last year's S Pen Fold Edition. Samsung said it achieved this by way of an internal push to determine "whether or when" it could embed its S Pen into a Galaxy Fold phone.
Still, Samsung said it's exploring whether it can create an even skinnier stylus than the new S Pen Fold Edition for a number of reasons, most notably to find a way to fit the accessory in a slot within the foldable itself.
"We'll also look into it, but not just from a technology perspective, but from a user experience perspective," Won-Joon Choi, head of Samsung R&D Office Mobile Experience Business said Thursday at the press roundtable. "Because when you're writing, you need to feel as if you're writing with a pen. If [the S Pen] gets too thin, that feeling may not be desirable."
Although Samsung's support for the S Pen dates back to 2011 with the original Galaxy Note, Choi said, designing a stylus for a foldable phone faces a different set of challenges including designing new tip materials that don't damage the foldable's flexible display as well as avoiding magnet interference from the phone.
Choi also highlighted how designing the S Pen presents unique considerations compared with designing a foldable phone. For a foldable phone to take off into the mainstream, Samsung believes portability is one of three prerequisites it must meet. But with the S Pen, portability could come at the cost of usability, since Samsung's stylus was designed to provide the experience of writing with a real pen.
S Pen doesn't have a home (yet)
Since the Galaxy Fold 3 debuted with stylus support in 2021, the recurring narrative that emerged was this: if Samsung embeds the S Pen, it'll elevate the Galaxy Fold lineup to the ultimate productivity device. Fast forward to 2023, and the S Pen still cannot be docked directly on the new Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is also now thinner than ever. Samsung's current solution is the $100 Galaxy Z Fold 5 Slim S Pen Case, which allows you to latch the stylus on the back half. (To be fair, the case has also slimmed down as its name suggests, and could make more a snazzy workaround if you're holding out for the S Pen storage dream).
During the roundtable, among the obstacles Choi highlighted was trying to appease people's conflicting desires about the future of the Z Fold design. One camp wants an even thinner book-style foldable phone, he said, but that would require Samsung to create an even leaner S Pen to embed. Then there are people who want the next Z Fold to be thicker so that it can integrate the S Pen. However a thicker foldable undermines its portability, which is one of Samsung's core design philosophies.
"What form factor and experiences are we going to deliver to our customers to meet various needs? What is the right balance? Those are the areas we need to decide carefully which way to go." Choi said. | https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-stylus-upgrade-does-not-include-s-pen-storage-heres-why/ | 2023-07-29T12:30:32 | 1 | https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-stylus-upgrade-does-not-include-s-pen-storage-heres-why/ |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 vs. Pixel Tablet: Price, Feature Comparison
Speaker 1: Samsung unveiled its latest tablet lineup, the Galaxy tab SS nine as part of its unpacked event. Key upgrades include improved processors and water resistance. But how does the TAB SS nine compare to the pixel tablet, which Google also unveiled not too long ago? Let's break it down.
Speaker 1: For starters, both sets of tablets run Android. The tab SS nine comes in three sizes. The standard size has an 11 inch display. The tab S nine plus has a 12.4 inch display, and the tab S [00:00:30] nine ultra clocks in at 14.6 inches. Meanwhile, the pixel tablets display measures just under 11 inches. Now there's one major difference. I'll just get outta the way. The pixel tablet can also be used as a dockable home hub, meaning it comes with a charging dock that doubles as a speaker. So when the tablet isn't in your hands, you can use it like you'd use a smart home display. The tab S nine doesn't have this capability, so it'll just be your standard tablet. But in true Samsung fashion, it does come with an SS pen, which like the tablet itself has an IP 68 rated water [00:01:00] and dust resistant design.
Speaker 1: When it comes to cameras, the tab S nine has a 12 megapixel ultra-wide front camera and a 13 megapixel rear camera. The tab SS nine plus has a 12 megapixel ultra-wide front camera, as well as a 13 megapixel main wide and eight megapixel ultra-wide camera on the back. And the tab SS nine Ultra has a 12 megapixel front wide and ultra-wide camera in addition to a 13 megapixel main and eight megapixel ultra-wide camera on the back. The pixel tablet has an eight [00:01:30] megapixel front camera as well as an eight megapixel rear camera. It also includes signature pixel, camera and photo editing. Features like Magic Eraser to remove objects or people from the background photo BL and portrait mode for the front camera. Now, Samsung and Google use different metrics to tap their respective devices battery capacity. Samsung says the tab S nine has an 8,400 milliamp power battery.
Speaker 1: The SS nine plus has around a 10,000 milliamp power battery and the SS nine Ultra comes in at 11,200 [00:02:00] milliamp hours. Google, on the other hand, it says the Pixel tablet can support up to 12 hours of video streaming and has a built-in 27 watt hour battery. But if you do some digging online, you'll find it has eight 7,020 million Bower battery, so a lower capacity than all the S nine variants from memory. The tab SS nine comes with eight gigabytes of RAM and 125 gigabytes of internal storage, or 12 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of internal storage. The tab S nine plus comes with 12 gigabytes [00:02:30] of RAM with either 256 or 512 gigabytes of internal storage. And the S nine Ultra comes with 12 gigabytes RAM with either 256 or 512 gigabytes of internal storage, as well as a 16 gigabyte option with one terabyte of internal storage.
Speaker 1: All three of these tablets can expand up to one terabyte of storage with a micro SD card, which isn't included. How expandable memory. Remember when the Galaxy S phones had that good times? The pixel tablet comes with eight gigabytes of and 128 [00:03:00] or 256 gigabytes of internal storage. The tab SS nine lineup packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon eight Gen two processor. While the pixel tablet has a Google Tensor G two chip, both sets of tablets use u s BBC charging, or if you're using the Pixel tablet, you can connect it to that charging speaker doc, which comes with it. The tab SS nine has an onscreen fingerprint reader. While the Pixel tablet uses a fingerprint sensor in the power button to unlock, you can also use a pattern pin or password. The tab S nine features quad stereo [00:03:30] speakers with sound by a K G and Dolby Atmos.
Speaker 1: And the Pixel tablet has four speakers and three microphones for calls, recordings, and Google Assistant, as well as noise suppression. The tab S nine lineup comes in beige or graphite while the pixel tab comes in. Porcelain Hazel or Rose. Now the final and perhaps most important detail price, the Galaxy SS nine costs $800. The SS nine plus is $1,000, and the S nine Ultra is $1,200. Meanwhile, the pixel tablet starts at 4 99 [00:04:00] for the 128 gigabyte base model, and the 256 gigabyte version is a hundred dollars more. So ultimately, which tablet you reach for depends on how much you wanna spend and which features are most important to you, whether it's the camera storage or battery, or maybe you just really want that Spen or the Speaker Doc specs don't tell the whole story. So stay tuned for our full SS nine review soon and check out our pixel one right now too. Let me know in the comments, which is calling out to you more. The Galaxy tab, SS nine lineup or the Pixel tablet. [00:04:30] And don't forget to hit like and subscribe for more videos from cnet. Thanks for watching.
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