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Bull rider Tristen Hutchings and barrel racer Taycie Matthews are collecting some good memories in Wyoming this summer.
Both won their respective events at the College National Finals Rodeo in June at the Ford Wyoming Center in June; Hutchings while competing for Sul Ross State and Matthews for the University of West Alabama. Earlier this week the two continued their Equality State success at Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.
Hutchings won the the third performance at Frontier Park on Monday with an 88-point ride on Dakota Rodeo’s Touch N Go. The Monteview, Idaho, cowboy is currently No. 8 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings with $110,801 on the season. Hutchings is in position to return to the National Finals Rodeo this December in Las Vegas after he finished third in the world standings last year in his rookie season.
Matthews won the fourth performance on Tuesday with a 17.70-second run. The native of Wynne, Arkansas, is currently No. 7 in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings with nearly $80,000 on the season.
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Cheyenne Frontier Days runs through Sunday.
***
Last week proved to be a good one for Buffalo bareback bronc rider Cole Reiner, who pocketed $12,000 at the Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City and nearly $7,000 with a third-place finish at the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork, Utah.
At the Days of ‘47 Rodeo, the former Casper College cowboy won the fourth performance with an 87.0 on Andrews Rodeo’s Cash & Carry before winning the Gold Medal Round with an 88.5 on Sankey Rodeo’s Shoutin’ Shoes.
Reiner is currently No. 4 in the world standings with nearly $111,000 on the season.
Also at the Days of ‘47 Rodeo, former Sheridan College cowboy Zeke Thurston won the saddle bronc with a 92.5-point ride on Andrews Rodeo’s All or Nothin’.
Thurston, a three-time world champ, is No. 3 in the world standings. | https://trib.com/sports/rodeo/cheyenne-frontier-days-tristen-hutchings-taycie-matthews/article_23a65236-2d68-11ee-8ee1-f394bf2eb217.html | 2023-07-29T17:55:17 | 0 | https://trib.com/sports/rodeo/cheyenne-frontier-days-tristen-hutchings-taycie-matthews/article_23a65236-2d68-11ee-8ee1-f394bf2eb217.html |
PRCA/WPRA standings through July 24
ALL-AROUND: 1, Stetson Wright, Milford, UT, $288,807; 2, Brushton Minton, Witter Springs, CA, $121,373; 3, Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Alberta, $112,453; 4, Paden Bray, Stephenville, TX, $75,308; 5, Marcus Theriot, Lumberton, MS, $71,990.
BAREBACK BRONC RIDING: 1, Keenan Hayes, Hayden, CO, $190,024; 2, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, TX, $143,951; 3, Kade Sonnier, Carencro, LA, $114,937; 4, Cole Reiner, Buffalo, $110,710 5, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, IA, $107,259; 6, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, MN, $100,370; 7, Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, TX, $96,674; 8, Kaycee Feild, Genola, UT, $95,938; 9, Clayton Biglow, Clements, CA, $88,564; 10, Jayco Roper, Oktaha, OK, $87,982; 11, Orin Larsen, Manitoba, $79,945; 12, Sam Petersen, Helena, MT, $68,286; 13, Jacob Lees, Caldwell, ID, $67,714; 14, Jess Pope, Waverly, KS, $66,167; 15, Taylor Broussard, Estherwood, LA, $64,545; 42, Donny Proffit, Diamondville, $28,759.
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SADDLE BRONC RIDING: 1, Sage Newman, Melstone, MT, $181,697; 2, Stetson Wright, Milford, UT, $168,417; 3, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, $167,763 4, Kade Bruno, Challis, ID, $148,911; 5, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, $120,998; 6, Layton Green, Millarville, Alberta, $117,822; 7, Ben Andersen, Eckville, Alberta, $112,674; 8, Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, MT, $94,907; 9, Lefty Holman, Visalia, CA, $84,526; 10, Tanner Butner, Daniel, $82,108 11, Wyatt Casper, Miami, TX, $80,456; 12, Brody Cress, Hillsdale, $80,076 13, Statler Wright, Beaver, UT, $74,733; 14, Ryder Wright Beaver, UT, $72,695; 15, Damian Brennan, Australia, $69,254; 17, Q Taylor, Casper, $62,481 20, Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, SD, $60,869 27, Brody Wells, Powell, $49,662; 33, Cole Elshere, Faith, SD, $40,072.
BULL RIDING: 1, Stetson Wright, Milford, UT, $191,644; 2, Ky Hamilton, Australia, $176,509; 3, Josh Frost, Randlett, UT, $151,400; 4, Sage Kimzey, Salado, TX, $129,802; 5, Trey Holston, Fort Scott, KS, $123,300; 6, Jestyn Woodward, Custer, SD, $120,879; 7, Jeff Askey, Athens, TX, $115,659; 8, Tristen Hutchings, Monteview, ID, $110,801; 9, Cody Teel, Kountze, TX, $94,738; 10, T Parker, Winnie, TX, $91,054; 11, Jordan Hansen, Amisk, Alberta, $91,023; 12, Creek Young, Rogersville, MO, $90,606; 13, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, $90,032; 14, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, OK, $89,739; 15, Trey Benton, Richards, TX, $81,514.
STEER WRESTLING: 1, Dalton Massey, Hermiston, OR, $155,019; 2, Jesse Brown, Baker City, OR, $102,169; 3, Ty Erickson, Helena, MT, $91,987; 4, Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, LA, $89,593; 5, Will Lummus, Byhalia, MS, $88,955; 6, Cody Devers, Balko, OK, $85,014; 7, J.D. Struxness, Milan, MN, $79,362; 8, Stan Branco, Chowchilla, CA, $75,136; 9, Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, ID, $72,536; 10, Jacob Talley, Keatchie, LA, $66,763; 11, Bridger Anderson, Carrington, ND, $65,165; 12, Stephen Culling, Fort St. John, BC, $64,002; 13, Cash Robb, Altamont, UT, $60,348; 14, Stockton Graves, Alva, OK, $58,347; 15, Nick Guy, Sparta, WI, $56,873.
TIE-DOWN ROPING: 1, Riley Webb, Denton, TX, $192,626; 2, Haven Meged, Miles City, MT, $115,549; 3, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, NM, $111,546; 4, Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, LA, $106,703; 5, Ty Harris, San Angelo, TX, $99,303; 6, Brushton Minton, Witter Springs, CA, $97,269; 7, Hunter Herrin, Apache, OK, $85,893; 8, Beau Cooper, Stettler, Alberta, $83,815; 9, Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, TX, $82,135; 10, Blane Cox, Cameron, TX, $80,926; 11, Michael Otero, Lowndesboro, AL, $73,738; 12, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, TX, $65,523; 13, Tuf Cooper, Decatur, TX, $64,466; 14, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, TX, $62,660; 15, Kincade Henry, Mount Pleasant, TX, $62,541; 16, Riley Pruitt, Gering, NE, $61,772.
TEAM ROPING (HEADERS): 1, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, UT, $108,638; 2, Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, AL, $108,175; 3, Dustin Egusquiza, Marianna, FL, $106,402; 4, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, GA, $99,233; 5, Andrew Ward, Edmond, OK, $83,949; 6, Tanner Tomlinson, Angleton, TX, $81,509; 7, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, CA, $68,764; 8, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, OK, $66,566; 9, Brenten Hall, Jay, OK, $65,479; 10, Dawson Graham, Wainwright, Alberta, $60,386; 11, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, AZ, $60,039; 12, Marcus Theriot, Lumberton, MS, $59,308; 13, Jake Clay, Sapulpa, OK, $58,368; 14, J.C. Yeahquo, Mandaree, ND, $56,238; 15, Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, AZ, $56,139.
TEAM ROPING (HEELERS): 1, Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, Alberta, $108,638; 2, Levi Lord, Sturgis, SD, $106,402; 3, Junior Nunes Nogueira, Spain, $99,233; 4, Buddy Hawkins, Stephenville, TX, $83,949; 5, Patrick Smith, Lipan, TX, $81,509; 6, Colter Todd, Willcox, AZ, $71,306; 7, Paden Bray, Stephenville, TX, $67,350; 8, Tyler Worley, Berryville, AR, $63,115; 9, Dillon Graham, Wainwright, Alberta, $61,962; 10, Coleby Payne, Stephenville, TX, $61,631; 11, Paul Eaves, Lonedell, MO, $60,390; 12, Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, TX, $59,801; 13, Cole Curry, Liberty, MS, $59,398; 14, Justin Davis, Cottonwood, CA, $57,201; 15, Jake Long, Coffeyville, KS, $56,796; 24, Trey Yates, Pueblo, CO, $44,869; 44, Sid Sporer, Cody, $27,789.
BARREL RACING: 1, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, TX, $145,788; 2, Jordon Briggs, Tolar, TX, $108,703; 3, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, SD, $106,583; 4, Kassie Mowry, Dublin, TX, $87,722; 5, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, TX, $83,409; 6, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, OK, $82,015; 7, Taycie Matthews, Wynne, AR, $79,182; 8, Ilyssa Riley, Hico, TX, $78,062; 9, Paige Jones, Wayne, OK, $72,129; 10, Sara Winkelman, Big Lake, MN, $69,843; 11, Sissy Winn, Chapman, TX, $68,294; 12, Jessica Routier, Buffalo, SD, $67,465; 13, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, TX, $66,018; 14, Kelly Allen, Stephenville, TX, $64,471; 15, Dona Kay Rule, Minco, OK, $63,903; 38, Amanda Welsh, Stephenville, TX, $28,770.
BREAKAWAY ROPING: 1, Hali Williams, Comanche, TX, $105,376; 2, Shelby Boisjoli, Stephenville, TX, $84,599; 3, Sarah Angelone, Lipan, TX, $72,232; 4, Martha Angelone, Stephenville, TX, $69,155; 5, Cheyanne Guillory, Kingston, OK, $66,135; 6, Taylor Munsell, Alva, OK, $65,251; 7, Kelsie Domer, Dublin, TX, $56,465; 8, Jackie Crawford, Stephenville, TX, $51,936; 9, Danielle Lowman, Gilbert, AZ, $48,975; 10, Joey Williams, Volborg, MT, $47,212; 11, Samantha Fulton, Miller, SD, $47,127; 12, Erin Johnson, Fowler, CO, $45,005; 13, Josie Conner, Iowa, LA, $44,448; 14, Tiffany Schieck, Floresville, TX, $43,781; 15, Bradi Good, Abilene, TX, $41,809; 20, Rickie Engesser, Spearfish, SD, $39,567. | https://trib.com/sports/rodeo/pro-rodeo-standings-prca-wpra/article_b0e9a536-2a3d-11ee-a6c8-db91f60b3631.html | 2023-07-29T17:55:24 | 0 | https://trib.com/sports/rodeo/pro-rodeo-standings-prca-wpra/article_b0e9a536-2a3d-11ee-a6c8-db91f60b3631.html |
WHISKEY
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Brendin Lehman, 17, has a severe head injury and facial lacerations, two broken femurs, bruised lungs and several other fractures and cuts.
The highest injury was "serious," and the accident caused "substantial" damaged to the aircraft.
Jerson Cerna Sanchez, Haigui Sun and Mark Robbins were killed in three separate crashes on Wyoming's roadways.
Authorities on Thursday continued their search for a 28-year-old woman who went missing over the weekend in Worland.
The site plan was tabled to allow the city and the applicant to work out a development agreement for the proposed temple. | https://trib.com/whiskey/article_66a0085e-626e-51e6-b334-7b9b6fe3cf30.html | 2023-07-29T17:55:25 | 1 | https://trib.com/whiskey/article_66a0085e-626e-51e6-b334-7b9b6fe3cf30.html |
MARSHALL COUNTY, IND — AES Indiana, is restoring power to about 16,000 customers affected by storms that caused trees and power lines to come down. The state and county highway departments are working to clear roadway debris.
“Most of what hit us was just higher power winds that were knocking trees over,” said Ryan Hollopeter of the Marshall County Police Department.
The National Weather Service reported that thunderstorms that emerged in the evening were intensified by a larger complex of storms that formed overnight. Strong wind gusts, reaching 60 MPH, caused trees to fall across roadways.
Hollopeter advised residents to avoid calling 911 for power outages unless it directly impacts their use of medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks.
“Outside of the inconvenience of being out of power, they need to be in touch with their power companies to make sure they’re on the list to be repaired,” added Hollopeter. | https://wibc.com/155670/storms-leave-thousands-of-hoosiers-without-power/ | 2023-07-29T17:56:22 | 1 | https://wibc.com/155670/storms-leave-thousands-of-hoosiers-without-power/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In states across the country this year, Republicans have talked a lot about restricting drag performances in front of children.
But that talk, and even their efforts, haven't amounted to much.
Bills restricting drag have failed to pass, passed as watered-down laws, have been vetoed or, in the case of three states that did manage to pass meaningful restrictions, laws have been temporarily halted by federal judges.
Friday, in fact, a judge temporarily blocked drag restrictions in the last remaining state with enforceable restrictions – Montana – just days before the start of Pride festivities.
A few states' lawmakers are still in session, though, so more efforts could be afoot.
In Arkansas, where Republican state Sen. Gary Stubblefield championed and sponsored a bill earlier this year, he said drag shows harm kids and "take away their innocence."
"I can't think of any redeeming quality, anything good that can come from taking children and putting them in front of a bunch of grown men that are dressed like women," Stubblefield said back in January as he introduced his bill on the floor of the Arkansas Senate.
'Prurient interest' and the First Amendment
Stubblefield's bill contained key language that showed up in a lot of states' attempted drag restrictions – an appeal to the "prurient interest." (Texas, Tennessee, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, for example.)
"That word – prurient interest – means excessive interest in sexual matters," Stubblefield explained to lawmakers in committee.
"Most drag shows do not appeal to the prurient interest," says JT Morris, an attorney for the free-speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"Even if they did, saying something appeals to the 'prurient interest' under the First Amendment is not enough to regulate it," he says, noting that this kind of language makes it harder for a bill to hold up to basic legal scrutiny.
"You can't pass a state law based on disagreement with somebody's viewpoint. It's a textbook First Amendment violation."
And that disagreement has been palpable across the country. In Arkansas, Stubblefield's bill was met with large public backlash from those who say drag is about showmanship, not sex.
"I do drag as an art form," says Jeremy Stuthard, an Arkansas drag performer.
"I take a decent-looking guy and turn him into a statue-esk Barbie doll, and have a great time and put smiles on people's faces and that's all I really try to do."
Stuthard says most of the children he meets at drag brunches and story hours aren't there to indulge a 'prurient interest', but to have fun listening to a story read by a costumed actor.
Drag restrictions put on hold and watered down
In Tennessee, the day before that state's drag restrictions were due to go into effect, a Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge temporarily struck down the law due to its constitutional vagueness.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker wrote, "Whether some of us may like it or not," the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment "as protecting speech that is indecent but not obscene."
A similar law in Florida has been temporarily blocked. For a while, that left Montana as the only state in the country with an enforceable drag law, until the courts temporarily blocked that one, too.
In Arkansas, Sen. Stubblefield's drag ban bill was amended until it hardly resembled a drag ban. The final version of the law, which passed by large margins, now regulates stripping, not drag shows.
"[The]Amended House Bill is the only way to really protect minors. For another reason, it's the only draft that will stand up in court," Stubblefield said of the amendment, which he didn't write but ultimately agreed to.
"None of us like to pass a bill that's going to get struck down by a judge and not help any children at all."
Josie Lenora is the politics/government reporter at KUAR in Little Rock, Ark.
Copyright 2023 KUAR | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids | 2023-07-29T17:57:41 | 1 | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids |
An Allegiant Air flight attendant was injured on a plane that took "evasive action" to avoid a collision with another jet near a South Florida airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said, according to reports.
On Sunday, an Allegiant Air plane headed for Kentucky had just taken off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when the pilot received a message about a plane flying at the same altitude, according to CNN.
An air traffic controller from the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center instructed the Allegiant Air pilot "to turn eastbound at an altitude of 23,000 feet when it crossed in front of a northbound Gulfstream business jet," the FAA said, according to CNN.
The Gulfstream jet also took evasive action.
Allegiant Air passenger Jerrica Thacker told CNN that the plane abruptly "went straight up."
"It truly felt like a roller coaster," she said. "We went up and down and then leveled out."
When the plane went upward, two flight attendants fell backwards — one of whom stayed on the ground for five minutes until being helped to the rear of the plane, Thacker recounted.
"The flight crew asked if there were any medically trained individuals on the plane," said Thacker.
About 20 minutes later, the pilot explained over the intercom that the sudden ascension was a maneuver to avoid a collision, and that the aircraft would be returning to Fort Lauderdale.
Thacker said people began crying and praying after the announcement.
She said her and her family rented a car and drove 15 hours to Kentucky because they were too shaken to get back on a plane.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kbzk.com/evasive-action-taken-to-avoid-plane-collision-near-florida-airport | 2023-07-29T17:57:52 | 0 | https://www.kbzk.com/evasive-action-taken-to-avoid-plane-collision-near-florida-airport |
Hidden camera found inside porta-potty at Wisconsin beach
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (WISN) - A woman at a Wisconsin beach made a terrible discovery after she found a hidden camera underneath the toilet seat of a port-a-potty.
Police are trying to determine if it was the only camera and who put it there.
“That’s insane. Oh my gosh,” Chrissy Hartwig said.
On a beautiful day at Oconomowoc’s Bender Beach, the talk turns instead to something ugly after Hartwig and other beachgoers learn of a small digital camera hidden inside a porta-potty.
“That’s crazy and now that makes me think of all the other porta-potties that might have had something in it,” Hartwig said. “You don’t think about those things.”
Hartwig said she’s heard of people hiding cameras in dressing rooms and even vacation rentals, but never before in a porta-potty.
“I just, I mean, I’m mind blown. I’ve never considered it. I’ve never thought about it. I wouldn’t have thought about it, probably. People are creeps,” she said.
The camera was reportedly inside the toilet, positioned in a way that showed people entering and using the toilet.
Oconomowoc police, along with the public, have a lot of questions.
“It’s, you know, it’s very concerning because you know the little ones use the bathroom,” Lissa Hagen said. “Yeah, it’s concerning, you know, wondering who did it and why they would do something like that. It’s very gross too.”
Hagen’s daughter is a lifeguard at the beach and learned of the camera the day after it was found.
“I mean, it’s uncomfortable. It’s, you know, concerning. Yeah, so, I’m glad they found it at least before, you know, anything happened,” Hagen said.
Police have not shared how long they believe the camera was there and what if anything was on it.
Copyright 2023 WISN via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ | 2023-07-29T17:57:52 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ |
A judge in Georgia has now set a hearing date for a motion by former President Donald Trump's lawyers to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the potential case over criminal interference in the 2020 election.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Senior Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster will hear the motion on August 10. He also directed both sides to submit their legal briefs by no later than August 8.
This comes as a possible indictment from the grand jury that could be handed down any day. Earlier this year, Willis said there would likely be a decision on an indictment in August.
SEE MORE: Georgia DA to announce possible charges in Trump probe this summer
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kbzk.com/judge-sets-date-for-trump-s-motion-to-dismiss-da-from-election-probe | 2023-07-29T17:57:54 | 0 | https://www.kbzk.com/judge-sets-date-for-trump-s-motion-to-dismiss-da-from-election-probe |
Pet owner says 4-foot-long python has gone missing from his yard
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR/Gray News) - Residents in an Illinois neighborhood are currently on the lookout for a pet snake.
Jonathan Delaney told WIFR that his 15-year-old ball python named Bubba slithered away from his yard last weekend.
Delaney said his exotic 4-foot-long snake is missing, but neighbors shouldn’t be worried.
“He’s completely harmless,” Delaney said. “We’ve had him for 15 years. He’s never been mean and the biggest thing he’d eat is a rat.”
Fellow Edgewater resident Rhonda Hanley said she’d likely be startled if she came across Bubba. But because he’s someone’s pet, she’ll try to help find him.
“I’ll try and put something over the top of it like a blanket or a garbage can if I find him,” Hanley said.
Delaney is thankful that his neighbors are concerned enough to lend a helping hand.
“We are hoping he’s still around here and nobody harms him,” he said. “We are hoping to find him as soon as possible.”
Experts say because ball pythons prefer to be hidden most of the time the snake doesn’t appear to pose a threat to the public.
The snake can strike if it gets agitated, but those bites don’t normally require medical attention.
“The most that could happen is that the snake could take a defensive swipe,” Stephanie Stone, owner of Jurassic Reptile Supply, said. “It’s less impact than a cat scratch or a cat bite.”
Stone added that ball pythons typically don’t travel very far.
“Unless it feels the need to try to find a meal, it’s probably very close to where it was originally,” she said.
Anyone who spots Bubba has been urged to contact Delaney on social media.
Copyright 2023 WIFR via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ | 2023-07-29T17:57:54 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ |
Brewers vs. Braves: Odds, spread, over/under - July 29
The Atlanta Braves (65-36) and the Milwaukee Brewers (57-47) will square off on Saturday, July 29 at Truist Park, with Bryce Elder getting the nod for the Braves and Julio Teheran toeing the rubber for the Brewers. The first pitch will be thrown at 7:20 PM ET.
The Braves are -210 moneyline favorites in this matchup with the Brewers (+170). The total is 10 runs for this contest (with -110 odds on the over and -110 odds on the under).
Brewers vs. Braves Time and TV Channel
- Date: Saturday, July 29, 2023
- Time: 7:20 PM ET
- TV: BSSE
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Venue: Truist Park
- Probable Pitchers: Elder - ATL (7-2, 3.30 ERA) vs Teheran - MIL (2-4, 3.75 ERA)
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Brewers vs. Braves Betting Odds, Run Line and Total
See the odds, run line and over/under for this matchup posted at multiple sportsbooks.
Have the desire to put money on the Brewers' matchup against the Braves but aren't quite sure where to start? We're here to help. Wagering on the moneyline, run line, and total are three of the most common ways to place bets. A moneyline bet means that you think one of the teams -- for instance, the Brewers (+170) -- will win the contest. Pretty simple. If you bet $10 on the Brewers to defeat the Braves with those odds, and the Brewers emerge with the victory, you'd get back $27.00.
And that's not all. There are many other ways to play, as well. For example, you can wager on player props (will William Contreras hit a home run?), parlays (combining picks from different games to multiply your potential winnings), and more. Visit the BetMGM website and app for additional info on the many ways you can bet on games.
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Discover More About This Game
Brewers vs. Braves Betting Trends and Insights
- This season, the Braves have been favored 88 times and won 57, or 64.8%, of those games.
- When playing as moneyline favorites with odds of -210 or shorter, the Braves have gone 20-8 (71.4%).
- The moneyline for this contest implies a 67.7% chance of a victory for Atlanta.
- The Braves went 4-6 over the 10 games they were a moneyline favorite in their last 10 matchups.
- In its last 10 matchups, Atlanta and its opponents combined to go over the total four times (all 10 games had set totals).
- The Brewers have won in 25, or 50%, of the 50 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
- The Brewers have played as an underdog of +170 or more just one time this year and came away with a loss in that game.
- In six games as underdogs over the last 10 matchups, the Brewers have a record of 2-4.
- In the last 10 games with a total, Milwaukee and its opponents have combined to hit the over two times.
Brewers vs. Braves Player Props
Check out all the player prop markets available for this game, including betting on players to get a hit, go deep, or pick up a bunch of strikeouts. Head to BetMGM for the latest odds available for the , and place your bets. New depositors can use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
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Brewers Futures Odds
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Not all offers available in all states, please visit sportsbook websites for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/brewers-vs-braves-mlb-odds-over-under/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:01 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/brewers-vs-braves-mlb-odds-over-under/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In states across the country this year, Republicans have talked a lot about restricting drag performances in front of children.
But that talk, and even their efforts, haven't amounted to much.
Bills restricting drag have failed to pass, passed as watered-down laws, have been vetoed or, in the case of three states that did manage to pass meaningful restrictions, laws have been temporarily halted by federal judges.
Friday, in fact, a judge temporarily blocked drag restrictions in the last remaining state with enforceable restrictions – Montana – just days before the start of Pride festivities.
A few states' lawmakers are still in session, though, so more efforts could be afoot.
In Arkansas, where Republican state Sen. Gary Stubblefield championed and sponsored a bill earlier this year, he said drag shows harm kids and "take away their innocence."
"I can't think of any redeeming quality, anything good that can come from taking children and putting them in front of a bunch of grown men that are dressed like women," Stubblefield said back in January as he introduced his bill on the floor of the Arkansas Senate.
'Prurient interest' and the First Amendment
Stubblefield's bill contained key language that showed up in a lot of states' attempted drag restrictions – an appeal to the "prurient interest." (Texas, Tennessee, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, for example.)
"That word – prurient interest – means excessive interest in sexual matters," Stubblefield explained to lawmakers in committee.
"Most drag shows do not appeal to the prurient interest," says JT Morris, an attorney for the free-speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"Even if they did, saying something appeals to the 'prurient interest' under the First Amendment is not enough to regulate it," he says, noting that this kind of language makes it harder for a bill to hold up to basic legal scrutiny.
"You can't pass a state law based on disagreement with somebody's viewpoint. It's a textbook First Amendment violation."
And that disagreement has been palpable across the country. In Arkansas, Stubblefield's bill was met with large public backlash from those who say drag is about showmanship, not sex.
"I do drag as an art form," says Jeremy Stuthard, an Arkansas drag performer.
"I take a decent-looking guy and turn him into a statue-esk Barbie doll, and have a great time and put smiles on people's faces and that's all I really try to do."
Stuthard says most of the children he meets at drag brunches and story hours aren't there to indulge a 'prurient interest', but to have fun listening to a story read by a costumed actor.
Drag restrictions put on hold and watered down
In Tennessee, the day before that state's drag restrictions were due to go into effect, a Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge temporarily struck down the law due to its constitutional vagueness.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker wrote, "Whether some of us may like it or not," the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment "as protecting speech that is indecent but not obscene."
A similar law in Florida has been temporarily blocked. For a while, that left Montana as the only state in the country with an enforceable drag law, until the courts temporarily blocked that one, too.
In Arkansas, Sen. Stubblefield's drag ban bill was amended until it hardly resembled a drag ban. The final version of the law, which passed by large margins, now regulates stripping, not drag shows.
"[The]Amended House Bill is the only way to really protect minors. For another reason, it's the only draft that will stand up in court," Stubblefield said of the amendment, which he didn't write but ultimately agreed to.
"None of us like to pass a bill that's going to get struck down by a judge and not help any children at all."
Josie Lenora is the politics/government reporter at KUAR in Little Rock, Ark.
Copyright 2023 KUAR | https://www.kanw.com/npr-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids | 2023-07-29T17:58:10 | 1 | https://www.kanw.com/npr-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids |
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government’s borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won’t even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn’t feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. “So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics.”
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got ‘til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done,” McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don’t want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don’t want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year’s spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
“That’s the challenge we’re going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
It’s a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:18 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ |
How to Watch the Twins vs. Royals Game: Streaming & TV Channel Info for July 29
Bailey Ober gets the nod for the Minnesota Twins on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium against Maikel Garcia and the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET in this second game of a three-game series.
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Twins vs. Royals Live Stream, TV Channel and Game Info:
- Date: Saturday, July 29, 2023
- Time: 7:10 PM ET
- TV Channel: BSKC
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
- Venue: Kauffman Stadium
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
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Explore More About This Game
Twins Batting & Pitching Performance
- The Twins average 1.3 home runs per game to rank eighth in MLB action with 139 total home runs.
- Minnesota is 13th in baseball with a .412 slugging percentage.
- The Twins rank 22nd in the majors with a .236 batting average.
- Minnesota ranks 17th in runs scored with 462 (4.4 per game).
- The Twins are 21st in baseball with a .314 on-base percentage.
- The Twins strike out 10.4 times per game, the worst average in baseball.
- Minnesota's pitching staff leads MLB with a collective 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
- Minnesota has the fifth-ranked team ERA across all MLB pitching staffs (3.82).
- Pitchers for the Twins combine for the No. 1-ranked WHIP in baseball (1.174).
Twins Probable Starting Pitcher
- The Twins are sending Ober (6-4) to the mound to make his 17th start of the season. He is 6-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 90 strikeouts through 94 2/3 innings pitched.
- In his most recent appearance on Sunday, the righty threw six innings against the Chicago White Sox, allowing two earned runs while surrendering five hits.
- Ober is trying to record his eighth straight quality start in this game.
- Ober will try to go five or more innings for his 17th straight appearance. He's averaging 5.9 innings per outing.
- In three of his appearances this season he did not give up an earned run.
Twins Schedule
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/twins-vs-royals-mlb-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:25 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/twins-vs-royals-mlb-live-stream-tv/ |
Twins vs. Royals: Odds, spread, over/under - July 29
When the Kansas City Royals (30-75) play the Minnesota Twins (54-51) at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, July 29 at 7:10 PM ET, Bobby Witt Jr. will be seeking his 30th stolen base of the season (he currently has 29).
The Twins are -190 moneyline favorites in this matchup against the Royals (+155). The total is 9.5 runs for this matchup.
Twins vs. Royals Time and TV Channel
- Date: Saturday, July 29, 2023
- Time: 7:10 PM ET
- TV: BSKC
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
- Venue: Kauffman Stadium
- Probable Pitchers: Bailey Ober - MIN (6-4, 2.76 ERA) vs Jordan Lyles - KC (1-12, 6.10 ERA)
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Twins vs. Royals Betting Odds, Run Line and Total
Here's a look at the odds, run line and over/under for this matchup available on several sportsbooks.
Looking to bet on the Twins versus Royals game but don't know where to start? Consider some of the most common betting types, such as the moneyline, run line, and total. A moneyline bet, such as the Twins (-190) in this matchup, means that you think the Twins will win, simple as that! And if they do, and you bet $10, you'd get $15.26 back.
There are tons of other ways to bet, including on player props (will Carlos Correa hit a home run?), parlays (combining picks from multiple games to multiply your winnings) and more. Check out the BetMGM website and app for more details on the multitude of ways you can play.
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Read More About This Game
Twins vs. Royals Betting Trends and Insights
- The Twins have won 41, or 61.2%, of the 67 games they've played as favorites this season.
- The Twins have a record of 9-6 when playing as moneyline favorites with odds of -190 or shorter (60% winning percentage).
- Minnesota has a 65.5% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
- The Twins were the moneyline favorite for seven of their last 10 games, and went 4-3 in those matchups.
- In its last 10 outings -- all had a set run total -- Minnesota and its opponents combined to hit the over on the total seven times.
- The Royals have been underdogs in 92 games this season and have come away with the win 27 times (29.3%) in those contests.
- This year, the Royals have won 10 of 37 games when listed as at least +155 or worse on the moneyline.
- The Royals have played as underdogs in 10 of their past 10 games and won three of those contests.
- In the last 10 games with a total, Kansas City and its opponents have failed to hit the over five times.
Twins vs. Royals Player Props
Check out all the player prop markets available for this game, including betting on players to get a hit, go deep, or pick up a bunch of strikeouts. Head to BetMGM for the latest odds available for the , and place your bets. New depositors can use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
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Twins Futures Odds
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/twins-vs-royals-mlb-odds-over-under/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:31 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/twins-vs-royals-mlb-odds-over-under/ |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Indiana Michigan Power gave local high schoolers a chance to complete their line school training.
More than 20 students from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Indiana joined I&M’s line workers and professional electrical educators at the Baer Field Training Center. In an effort to learn more about electricity, safety and future careers in utilities.
In a release on their website, it stated that after a brief pause due to the pandemic, students in grades 6-11 were able to return to the I&M training facility for this hands-on experience.
The experience included a lesson on safety and training for future line workers, hands-on activities with real utility equipment, bucket truck rides and more. | https://www.wane.com/top-stories/local-students-get-hands-on-experience-with-im-line-work/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:41 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/top-stories/local-students-get-hands-on-experience-with-im-line-work/ |
(iSeeCars) — Most consumers know there are various electric vehicle tax credits available if they buy a new electric vehicle.
The original credit, officially known as the “Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit”, was instituted over a decade ago. It created a tax credit amount between $2,500 and $7,500 based on a specific qualifying vehicle’s battery capacity. There was also a 200,000-unit limit to how many zero-emissions electric cars a single manufacturer could sell before the credit would phase out and eventually be eliminated. Two automakers, General Motors and Tesla, had already hit this limit in recent years, with a few more getting very close in 2022
But the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has altered the existing rules for the federal tax credit, removing the 200,000 limit, extending the up-to-$7,500 credit through 2032…but also adding a new set of eligibility requirements based on the final assembly location of the vehicle and its battery components. New vehicle pricing and adjusted gross income requirements have also been enacted. The new rules are a reaction to China’s dominance in the EV space, a dominance President Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy would like to reverse by encouraging the production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and battery components in North America.
The Inflation Reduction Act – Pros and Cons
Encouraging the American production of clean vehicles, including plug-in electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), is commendable. However, the change in eligibility requirements could actually limit new vehicle tax credits more than the outgoing legislation. Let’s take a closer look at where this new legislation helps, and hurts, your chances at seeing a rebate.
Pros:
- No 200,000 Vehicle Limit per Manufacturer – which means brands like Cadillac, Chevrolet and Tesla will be back in the running for a $7,500 tax break, along with every other automaker selling EVs, PHEVs (with a battery of 7 kilowatt hours or larger), or FCEVs.
- Income and MSRP Restrictions – the previous legislation had no limit on household income or eligible vehicle pricing, which meant a lot of taxpayer money was spent helping millionaires get a $7,500 price break on their $100,000-plus Tesla. Starting on January 1st, 2023, the new legislation puts an MSRP limit of $80,000 on electric vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks, and a $55,000 MSRP limit on electric sedans, coupes, wagons, and convertibles. The IRS also puts a $150,000 annual income limit on single tax filers, a $225,000 limit on head-of-household filers, and a $300,000 limit on joint filers.
- Used EVs Count Too – For the first time ever, car buyers seeking a lower cost of entry into EV ownership don’t have to choose from pricier current or new model year vehicles. A tax credit on used vehicles, worth either $4,000 or 30% of the used EV’s sales price (whichever is lower) will be available on used models costing less than $25,000. This credit is only available to single filers below $75,000, head-of-household filers below $112,000, and joint filers of $150,000.
- Commercial Tax Credit – If you happen to be a business owner looking to go electric the new bill provides up to $7,500 for electric vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) under 14,000 pounds and up to $40,000 for vehicles with a GVWR above 14,000 pounds. The rebate is based on either 30 percent of the total vehicle cost, or the incremental cost of a commercial EV over the cost of an equivalent non-EV vehicle. For instance, the Ford F-150 Lightning has a starting MSRP of $46,974, but you can buy an equivalent crew-cab F-150 with an internal combustion engine for around $50,000. There’s no incremental cost to buying the Lightning, so a commercial buyer could only benefit from 30 percent of the truck’s $46,974 price (around $15,680).
- Point of Sale Price Reduction: Starting on January 1st, 2024, buyers can transfer their credit to the selling dealer, essentially providing an immediate reduction in the price of an EV during purchase versus waiting to receive the benefit as part of their next tax filing.
Cons:
- Final Assembly Must be in North America – Starting on August 17th, 2022, only plug-in electric vehicles assembled in North America are eligible for tax credits. As of this writing, that includes 26 EVs from model year 2022, but only 8 EVs from model year 2023. A vehicle’s VIN (vehicle identification number) will be used to determine where a potential candidate was built. Popular EVs like the BMW 330e, Chevrolet Bolt, and Nissan Leaf have already been approved for model year 2023, and we’d expect other models assembled in Canada, Mexico, or the U.S. to be approved soon, including the Audi Q5, Ford Mustang Mach E, and every Rivian and Tesla model. However…
- Critical Mineral and Battery Component Requirements – Even if an electric vehicle is assembled in North America it will need to meet increasingly stringent battery requirements over the coming 5 years. Starting in 2023 an EV’s battery will need 40 percent of its critical minerals value to have been extracted or processed in the U.S. or a U.S. free-trade agreement partner to receive up to $3,750 in tax credits. This percentage will increase 10 percent a year, up to 80% of the battery’s critical mineral value in 2027 and beyond. Additionally, starting in 2023, 50 percent of the value of an EV battery’s components must be assembled in the U.S., increasing 10 percent a year until it reaches 100 percent in 2029.
The newest bill’s final assembly and critical mineral battery requirements are meant to shift the production of electric vehicles back toward the U.S. and its allies, and away from foreign entities of concern, including China. Given the supply chain issues we’ve experienced over the past 2 years this is a wise long-term goal. However, the time and resources needed to transplant the electric vehicle alternative fuels industry from the Asia Pacific region to the U.S are substantial.
Foreign automakers like Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota have already committed to high-volume North American vehicle production in recent decades. There’s every reason to believe they can relatively quickly do the same for their electric vehicle fleets to meet the final assembly requirement for successful new models not yet produced here, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Several automakers with smaller U.S. production capacity, including BMW, Volkswagen, and Volvo, also continue to expand their U.S. presence.
But battery production is an entirely different process compared to vehicle assembly. It involves significant investments in land assessment/exploration, permit applications, approval, mining, extraction, refining, etc. You can imagine the processes and time frame involved in, for instance, setting up a lithium mine in California. Investing in, and establishing, those capabilities will take several years at least, and could easily prove a limiting factor on how many new EVs can fully qualify for the latest tax credits under the current legislation.
More from iSeeCars:
- How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
- How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?
- Electric Cars with the Longest Range
If you’re in the market for a new or used electric vehicle you can search over 4 million used electric cars, SUVs, and trucks with iSeeCars’ award-winning car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check report and Best Cars rankings. Filter by vehicle type, front or all-wheel drive, and other parameters in order to narrow down your car search.
This article, The New EV Tax Credits Explained, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com. | https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/ev-tax-credits-explained/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:41 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/automotive/ev-tax-credits-explained/ |
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. (AP) — For a single, unthinkable moment last summer, the Chautauqua Institution was a hostile place for the freedom of expression that has been its hallmark for 150 years: As Salman Rushdie was about to speak, an audience member leapt onto the stage and stabbed the celebrated author more than a dozen times.
By the next day, Chautauqua Institution President Michael Hill recently recounted, the decision had been made not only to resume programming, but to “double down on what Mr. Rushdie stands for, what our speakers and preachers and artists stand for — which is the free exchange of ideas and the belief that society is stronger when we do that.”
A year later, Rushdie, blinded in one eye by the assault, is recovering from the attack. The Chautauqua Institution is recovering, too.
Programming and revenue for the arts and intellectual retreat in the rural southwest corner of New York was disrupted for two seasons by COVID-19. Then the attack further shattered the return to normal that regular visitors had so craved.
With a new nine-week summer season now under way, well-tended gardens are in bloom and rocking chairs are back out on the porches of Victorian- and cottage-style homes.
Security has been strengthened, though the gated compound remains open to anyone who buys a pass to enter.
“We look at the work that we do under a different lens since” the stabbing, Hill said during an interview in his office, which overlooks Bestor Plaza, a lush expanse of greenery anchoring the 750-acre (303-hectare) grounds. “The attack was an attempt at silencing, which underscores the need for institutions like ours to not stay silent.”
As an institution, Chautauqua defies easy explanation.
“NPR camp for grown-ups” is the description preferred by Erica Higbie, who owns a house on the grounds.
Located on the shore of Chautauqua Lake, the institution is a self-contained community with lecture halls, houses of worship, cafes, shops, a library, post office and bookstore, along with private homes, rentals and the Athenaeum Hotel, which served as former President Bill Clinton’s executive mansion for a week in 1996 as he prepared for his debate with Republican challenger Bob Dole.
Aside from boating and golf, the 4,400-seat, open-air amphitheater is a main draw, with a summer entertainment lineup this year offering concerts by Diana Ross and Bonnie Raitt, ballet and theater productions and performances by the house Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
But for Higbie and many others, the primary appeal exists in the institution’s 19th Century beginnings as a summer educational experiment in which daily lectures are curated around weekly explorations of anything from politics to infrastructure and faith to friendship.
“I am a lecture junkie,” Higbie said from her porch as people navigated the grounds on foot, bikes and scooters. The speed limit for the rare vehicle traffic is 12 mph. The retired teacher takes in a daily morning lecture and may hear two more in the afternoon at the amphitheater and the Hall of Philosophy.
Through the decades, Susan B. Anthony advocated for women’s rights at the institution and President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his 1936 “I Hate War” speech in the amphitheater. Former Vice President Al Gore spoke about the climate crisis and Supreme Court Judges Robert H. Jackson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are among countless others who have offered insights.
Rushdie’s appearance came during a week last year exploring home as “a place for human thriving.”
Henry Reese, co-founder of the City of Asylum Pittsburgh, was about to interview “The Satanic Verses” author about violence against writers when Rushdie was attacked as the men sat in armchairs on the amphitheater’s sunken stage.
Rushdie, the target of a decades-old fatwa by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for his death, was stabbed in the neck, stomach, chest, hand and right eye. Reese suffered bruises and a gash to his forehead.
With alleged assailant Hadi Matar awaiting trial in a nearby courthouse, Reese is scheduled to return to the institution on the anniversary of the attack, Aug. 12. His appearance is expected to kick off a week exploring freedom of expression, imagination and the resilience of democracy. Republican strategist Karl Rove and Democratic strategist David Axelrod are among other invited guests.
It would have been out of character for the institution to do anything but pick up where it left off after the assault, regular guest lecturer Eboo Patel said.
“Not a single artist or speaker canceled,” Patel, founder of Interfaith America in Chicago, said by phone.
“Chautauqua recognizes that it has a responsibility to its own community, honestly to American civilization and the human spirit, and it’s back up in 24 to 48 hours. That’s stunning,” he said.
Property owners differed on how far the institution should go to ensure personal safety, said Higbie, the president of the Chautauqua Property Owners Association.
“Everybody was in shock for a long time,“ Higbie said.
Visitors say they notice more security and protocols at events. Amphitheater patrons can bring only clear bags inside, for example, and may be scanned or asked to walk through a weapons detector.
Even so, “I never hesitated for a minute” to return, said Michael Crawford of Washington, D.C., as he chatted with Mary Pat McFarland of Philadelphia. The two sat on one of the red benches placed around the grounds to invite discussion.
A handful of musicians with violins, guitars and a small harp played an impromptu jam session beneath a tree nearby.
Hill said he sees his role as “teeing up” issues for engagement, so shying away from difficult ones would be a disservice at a time when civic discourse is in short supply.
“It’s about bringing divergent viewpoints for people to digest,” Hill said. “For us to have made the decision to stop bringing speakers who may be controversial in any way would have been for us to stop doing our mission.”
“It would have been,” he said, “to literally stop the reason this place was created.” | https://www.cbs42.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:47 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ |
CHICAGO (AP) — The beginning of the pandemic was devasting for the leader of the indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout, Katherine Paul. All her tours, including one headlining across North America, were canceled and she feared her ascending music career might be over.
She got a day job at a nonprofit and returned to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s homelands in Western Washington. But as Paul, or KP to her friends, spent time in the cedar forests and walked along the Skagit River, she turned to her guitar to deal with the isolation and stress. Those snippets, recorded on her phone, provided the foundation for what would become songs on her powerful, grunge-soaked new record “The Land, The Water, The Sky.”
“I feel like if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have made this record,” said KP, who writes the songs, sings and plays guitar in the band that was the only Native American artist at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this month.
“I spent a lot of time outside. I spent a lot more time than normal going on hikes, being part of the land,” she continued. “It’s not like I never do that stuff but it brought me back to a place where this is who I am.”
The new record, which came out in February, helped launch what has probably been the most successful year so far for Black Belt Eagle Scout. The band toured Europe and will go to Australia later this year. Two of her songs, “Soft Stud” from an earlier record and “Salmon Stinta” from her latest, appear this season on the television series “Reservation Dogs.”
Reservation Dogs Music Supervisor Tiffany Anders said she was introduced to the band’s music by the show’s creator, Sterlin Harjo, when they started working on the second season.
“It’s always been important for us on this show to include Native American artists, but beyond representation, Black Belt Eagle Scout’s music is beautiful and emotional, and fits these characters, their world and landscape — and the vibe of the show,’” she said in a statement.
Then there was Pitchfork, a three-day festival that is a significant milestone for indie musicians. The festival is held every year in Chicago’s Union Park and this year’s headliners included Bon Iver, Big Thief and The Smile, which has members of Radiohead.
She admitted stepping on that stage last weekend was nerve-wracking given her high hopes for the show, a feeling compounded by concerns that storms could scuttle their performance. But as she launched into the blistering set of mostly new songs in front of thousands of eager fans, KP found solace in her guitar. She launched several long jams that were punctuated by her twirling her jet-black hair around to the point it obscured her face.
“It was totally a moment,” she said with a laugh.
“I kind of cried after we played because it felt so meaningful,” she added. “Like, I’ve always wanted to play this music festival. I remember trying to play one of the years before the pandemic when I was touring and it didn’t happen. This year, I was just so stoked to play.”
Reaching Pitchfork has been a long journey for the 34-year-old artist, who is a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and left her home on the reservation in LaConner, Washington, when she was 17 to attend Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and play rock music.
Growing up on the reservation off the Washington coast on islands in the Salish Sea, she drummed and sang cultural songs. As a teenager, she discovered local Pacific Northwest bands like Mount Eerie and the sounds of the Riot Grrrl movement and played one of her first gigs at a small bar called Department of Safety. She moved to Portland, Oregon, due to its outsized role in the indie scene that featured bands like Sleater-Kinney and quickly immersed herself in the music scene playing drums and guitar.
She joined an all-female outfit whom she met at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Portland. She went on to play a lot of small, basement shows with bands like Genders — whose wolf tattoo she still has on her left arm.
But she wanted to write her own songs and formed Black Belt Eagle Scout in 2013. Her early music was defined by her ethereal singing about love, friendship and healing — often only accompanied by minimal guitar strumming. But she did rock out on songs like “Soft Stud,” which featured searing solos.
“She is a really an authentic musician and she carries a lot of power on stage with her presence and sound,” Claire Glass, who plays guitar in the band and first saw KP seven years ago.
KP has said her Native American identify has always been present on her records. But her latest music paints a more vivid picture of life on the Swinomish reservation. There are references to chinook salmon, which are traditionally fished, and a powwow dance.
“I started thinking of feeling grateful for the life that I have been given; this place that I’m from; how much the land, the water, the sky means to me — being surrounded by it,” KP said of writing the song ”Don’t Give Up.” “It has so much more meaning because the land, that’s where my people are from.”
Her songs aren’t meant to directly confront issues like the crisis of missing and murdered Native American women or tribes’ forced relocation. It’s not the way she writes songs. Instead, she envisions them connecting with people, drawing more Native Americans to indie rock shows in places like Minneapolis, which has a vibrant Native American community, and inspiring young Native Americans to connect with her after shows.
“Isn’t me like being here existing with my music good enough? Can’t I just be who I am?” she asked, adding she doesn’t need to speak out from stage about these issues because being Native often means she is already wrestling with them. A judge, for example, ruled in March that BNSF Railway intentionally violated the terms of an easement agreement with the tribe by running 100-car trains carrying crude oil over the reservation.
“As a Native person, you know someone who is missing. Your tribe is trying to get your land back. Those are topics that are part of your every day life,” she said. ”I care about those things deeply but there are certain ways in which my music is, maybe not as direct, but it can be healing.”
KP also doesn’t want to be seen just as a rock musician or as a Native artist. “I am a musician who happens to be Native, but I am also a Native musician … I think I am always both,” she said.
Her latest record aims to show that.
“I kind of had in the back of mind, just kept thinking what would Built to Spill do,” KP said of the guitar-heavy, indie-rock band from the Pacific Northwest. “I’ve gone on tour with them and seen their three guitars at one point playing together and how they overlap and all these other things.”
It’s also a more collaborative effort with more musicians playing on the record— a departure for KP, who is accustomed to doing everything herself. A cellist who played with Nirvana, Lori Goldston, is featured on several songs, as are two violinists, as well as a saxophone and mellotron player.
Takiaya Reed, a first-time producer who is also in a doom metal band, described the experience of working on the record as “beautiful and amazing” and said the two bonded over their love of punk. Reid also brought her classical training and love of “heavier sounds” to the studio.
“We approached it fearlessly. It was wonderful to be expansive in terms of sonic possibilities,” she said.
KP also wanted to find a place for her parents, whom she had grown especially close to during the pandemic, to play on the record. She chose the song “Spaces,” which she described as having a “healing vibe.” Her dad, who is one of the main singers at the tribe’s cultural events, embraced the idea of lending his powerful powwow chant to the song. Her mom sang harmonies.
KP said: “It meant the world to me to have my parents sing because it felt like it was full circle in who I am.” | https://www.cbs42.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:53 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-black-belt-eagle-scouts-latest-record-inspired-by-return-home-to-swinomish-tribes-ancestral-lands/ |
Former President Trump’s outsized influence is already being felt in GOP Senate primaries, underscoring his grip on the party even as he faces numerous primary challengers in the 2024 White House race.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who’s running to replace Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), endorsed Trump’s presidential bid earlier this week. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), who’s running to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin (D), did the same — prompting his GOP primary rival Alex Mooney to point out that he had come out in support of Trump last year.
And prior to officially jumping into Montana’s contested Senate race last month, former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy said he supports Trump “100 percent.”
The public show of support for the former president is just the latest example of the political sway he continues to hold over Republicans, and could serve as a headache for party leaders who want the GOP to move on from him.
“Donald Trump continues to be the biggest elephant in the Republican tent,” said Mark Weaver, an Ohio-based Republican strategist. “Republican voters still want to see him as our party’s leader.”
One Republican strategist described the strategy of endorsing Trump as “the path of least resistance.”
“In order to take back the Senate, you’ve got to win a couple of these key seats, and the only way to win back these key seats is to make it through the primary unscathed,” the strategist said.
Some strategists see the endorsements as a sign of how the presidential primary is likely to shake out.
“This is a greater sign than ever before that Trump is most likely going to win the Republican nomination despite the noise in the media,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.
“Endorsing Trump at this stage is one of the safest things a candidate could do,” he added. “This is more about the candidates trying to cozy up to him.”
The eagerness from some Senate Republican hopefuls to embrace the former president comes after many of Trump’s endorsed candidates performed poorly in their general elections last cycle.
“Former President Trump’s endorsement continues to be a boon in a primary and a bane in a general election,” Weaver said.
The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) is also taking a different approach in the 2024 cycle by playing a more hands-on role in some primaries. Like Trump, the committee’s Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.) has thrown his support behind Justice in West Virginia’s Republican Senate primary.
While there has been tension and disagreement between Trump and Senate leadership, particularly on Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the 2020 presidential election, Daines has said he is working with the former president ahead of 2024.
“We chat frequently. And he’s very thoughtful right now looking at these races. He understands it’s important we have candidates that can win,” Daines told CBS News in an interview earlier this month. “If you notice, there hasn’t been a wave of endorsements coming out so far, because I think we’re having these thoughtful conversations and getting on the same page.”
Trump has endorsed in less competitive GOP Senate primaries, like in Indiana, where he threw his support behind Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) a day after former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) announced that he would not run for the seat and after the NRSC endorsed Banks.
And earlier this month, CNN reported that Trump told Mooney in West Virginia and potential Senate candidate Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) that he would not endorse them. Daines has endorsed Sheehy in Montana.
Democrats, meanwhile, are seeking to use Trump’s endorsement against him in the general election, harkening back to Republican losses in 2022.
“Trump is looming over Senate Republicans’ primaries and making the GOP’s nasty infighting even worse,” said Tommy Garcia, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “As Republican candidates fight for Trump’s favor, they’re showing the voters who will decide the general election in their states why they should be rejected in 2024.”
And not every Republican running for Senate is immediately tying themselves to the former president. In Nevada, Sam Brown, who has been endorsed by Daines, has yet to endorse Trump despite volunteering for his campaign in 2020. His primary opponent Jim Marchant, on the other hand, has endorsed Trump. Marchant has also said Brown is the GOP establishment’s choice, pointing to his endorsement from the NRSC.
“Mitch McConnell & the establishment needed a candidate & found him in Sam Brown,” Marchant said in a tweet earlier this month. “We see Reagan’s ‘bold-colored differences’ between DC & the real America.”
Weaver noted that while more anti-establishment candidates may try to use this attack line, there’s still much to be gained from an endorsement from the Senate GOP campaign arm.
“Being endorsed by the Washington establishment can bring valuable contributions from interest groups around the country, but it can also bring some criticism for being too close to the Beltway,” he said.
Others caution that endorsements should not be seen as integral to the success of a campaign.
“Ultimately these candidates have got to focus on their message and they’ve got to focus on having the resources to disseminate their message,” the GOP strategist said. “They need to be able to actually run a functional campaign and no endorsement is going to matter if those things aren’t done,” the strategist added. | https://www.cbs42.com/hill-politics/trumps-role-in-gop-senate-primaries-underscores-his-strength/ | 2023-07-29T17:58:59 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/hill-politics/trumps-role-in-gop-senate-primaries-underscores-his-strength/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Political instability in Niger resulting from a military takeover that deposed the president this week threatens the economic support provided by Washington to the African nation, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Saturday.
Members of the Niger military announced on Wednesday they had deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and on Friday named Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as the country’s new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa’s Sahel region.
Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the release of Bazoum and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”
“Our economic and security partnership with Niger — which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars — depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by the actions in the last few days,” Blinken said. “So that assistance, that support, is in clear jeopardy as a result of these actions, which is another reason why they need to be immediately reversed.”
Blinken stopped short of calling the military actions in Niger a coup, a designation that could result in the African country losing millions of dollars of military aid and assistance.
Speaking in Brisbane, Blinken said he had spoken with President Bazoum on Saturday but did not provide details. He cited the support of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and other regional entities in trying to bring an end to the unrest.
“The very significant assistance that we have in place that’s making a material difference in the lives of the people of Niger is clearly in jeopardy and we’ve communicated that as clearly as we possibly can to those responsible for disrupting the constitutional order and Niger’s democracy,” Blinken said.
Blinken said the U.S. Embassy in Niger had accounted for the safety of all staff members and their families, while issuing a security alert advising U.S. citizens in the country to limit unnecessary movements and avoid areas impacted by the coup.
The military group that conducted the coup, calling itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said its members remained committed to engaging with the international and national community.
“This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said in the video released by the coup leaders Wednesday. He said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was in place until the situation stabilized.
Bazoum was elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France.
Niger is seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle jihadis linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence in the fight against extremism.
France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with Niger’s military, while the U.S. and other European countries have helped train the nation’s troops.
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Hannon reported from Bangkok. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-blinken-says-us-economic-support-for-niger-is-at-risk-as-military-takeover-threatens-stability/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:05 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-blinken-says-us-economic-support-for-niger-is-at-risk-as-military-takeover-threatens-stability/ |
TOKYO (AP) — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.
On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a U.S. war museum where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: “It’s a miracle.”
The flag, known as “Yosegaki Hinomaru,” or Good Luck Flag, carries the soldier’s name, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, and the signatures of his relatives, friends and neighbors wishing him luck. It was given to him before he was drafted by the Army. His family was later told he died in Saipan, but his remains were never returned.
The flag was donated in 1994 and displayed at the museum aboard the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its meaning was not known until it was identified by the family earlier this year, said museum director Steve Banta, who brought the flag to Tokyo.
Banta said he learned the story behind the flag earlier this year when he was contacted by the Obon Society, a nonprofit organization that has returned about 500 similar flags as non-biological remains, to the descendants of Japanese servicemembers killed in the war.
The search for the flag’s original owner started in April when a museum visitor took a photo and asked an expert about the description that it had belonged to a “kamikaze” suicide pilot. When Shigeyoshi Mutsuda’s grandson saw the photo, he sought help from the Obon Society, group co-founder Keiko Ziak said.
“When we learned all of this, and that the family would like to have the flag, we knew immediately that the flag did not belong to us,” Banta said at the handover ceremony. “We knew that the right thing to do would be to send the flag home, to be in Japan and to the family.”
The soldier’s eldest son, Toshihiro Mutsuda, was speechless for a few seconds when Banta, wearing white gloves, gently placed the neatly folded flag into his hands. Two of his younger siblings, both in their 80s, stood by and looked on silently. The three children, all wearing cotton gloves so they wouldn’t damage the decades-old flag, carefully unfolded it to show to the audience.
“After receiving the flag today, I earnestly felt that the war like that should never be fought again and that I do not wish anyone else to go through this sadness (of separation),” Toshihiro Mutsuda said.
The soldier’s daughter, Misako Matsukuchi, touched the flag with both hands and prayed. “After nearly 80 years, the spirit of our father returned to us. I hope he can finally rest in peace,” Matsukuchi said later.
Toshihiro Mutsuda said his memory of his father was foggy. However, he clearly remembers his mother, Masae Mutsuda, who died five years ago at age 102, used to make the long-distance bus trip almost every year from the farming town in Gifu, central Japan, to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, where the 2.5 million war dead are enshrined, to pay tribute to her husband’s spirit.
The shrine is controversial, as it includes convicted war criminals among those commemorated. Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially China and the Koreas, see Yasukuni as a symbol of Japanese militarism. However, for the Mutsuda family, it’s a place to remember the loss of a father and husband.
“It’s like an old love story across the ages coming together … It doesn’t matter where,” Banta said, referring to the Yasukuni controversy. “The important thing is this flag goes to the family.”
That’s why Toshihiro Mutsuda and his siblings chose to receive the flag at Yasukuni and brought the framed photos of their parents.
“My mother missed him and wanted to see him so much and that’s why she used to pray here,” he said. “Today her wish finally came true, and she was able to be reunited.”
Keeping the flag on his lap, he said, “I feel the weight of the flag.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-its-a-miracle-say-family-of-japanese-soldier-killed-in-wwii-as-flag-he-carried-returns-from-us/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:13 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-its-a-miracle-say-family-of-japanese-soldier-killed-in-wwii-as-flag-he-carried-returns-from-us/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand striker Hannah Wilkinson has helped create two milestones at the Women’s World Cup.
With her 48th-minute goal in the tournament opener against Norway, she led the co-host Football Ferns to their first win in six trips to the Women’s World Cup. She’s also one of at least 95 out members of the LGBTQ+ community competing in this year’s tournament, according to a count being kept by Outsports, a website that covers the LGBTQ+ sports.
The Ferns were greeted with a fan-made sign at their next match in Wellington: “Gay for soccer, gay for Wilkie,” it read.
The 95 out participants make up roughly 13% of the 736 total players at the Women’s World Cup, more than doubling the 40 players and coaches Outsports counted in 2019.
The 2023 tournament also is hosting the first openly trans and non-binary player in either a men’s or Women’s World Cup, Quinn of Canada.
“Last World Cup was so big, especially with the visibility of the U.S. women’s national team winning and (Megan Rapinoe) fighting with (Donald) Trump. So I think that was a huge year for LGBTQ+ visibility,” said Lindsey Freeman, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
“It’s just the ad hoc, fun culture of women’s soccer that you’re seeing in this World Cup,” said Freeman, who is in New Zealand conducting research on the topic.
Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports, agreed. “In the Western world, it’s such a non-issue that it really just doesn’t get talked about,” he said. “And I think that’s in a good way.”
VISIBILITY
Prior to the start of the tournament, FIFA designated eight socially conscious armbands team captains could wear throughout the Women’s World Cup. The decision came after “One Love” armbands were denied to men’s teams in Qatar in 2022.
The armbands being used this year include anti-discriminatory sayings and multiple colors, but the rainbow version Germany wanted to use is not allowed. None of the available options explicitly mention LGBTQ+ rights.
The decision has led many players to express their support in more creative ways across Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand midfielder Ali Riley was interviewed on the official Women’s World Cup broadcast after her team’s upset of Norway. Her painted fingernails, left hand in the colors of the pride flag and right hand as the trans flag, were clearly visible as she held her head and fought back tears.
“She’s such an advocate and she’s definitely someone who uses her platform in such a positive way. We are all so proud of her and the way she represents the LGBTQ+ community,” teammate CJ Bott said. “Good on her. We’re all backing her, and we all back the community as well.”
The Philippines, making its Women’s World Cup debut, took home its own historic win over New Zealand 1-0 thanks to the foot of Sarina Bolden. Bolden’s Instagram bio reads, “i just wanna have fun n b gay.”
Irish star Katie McCabe wowed fans with a goal directly from a corner kick. She’s also made tabloid news for her relationships with other players.
Thembi Kgatlana, who has scored in the tournament for South Africa, has a patch of her hair dyed rainbow colors.
“My personality is very big for me, and my hair has become a part of my personality,” Kgatlana said. “And I did this rainbow because I want to represent all the people that are part of the LGBTQ and cannot talk while in countries where they’re oppressed.”
FAN EXPERIENCE
Kristen Pariseau and her wife started a U.S. women’s national team supporters group on Facebook ahead of traveling to this year’s Women’s World Cup. Aside from some hateful users she blocked, it’s been “super LGBT friendly.”
She and her wife did not go to Qatar for the 2022 men’s World Cup to avoid referencing each other as friends and receiving questions on their sexuality. In New Zealand, she said she’s met many same-sex couples at games and while traveling around the country.
“Everywhere you turn, it’s like, ‘Oh, my wife, my girlfriend.’ It’s been so welcoming and open,” Pariseau said. “In a way, it is kind of cool to be where there’s a lot of other people like you.”
Kelsie Bozart took her own pride flag armband to the United States’ second match in Wellington, along with a pride scarf.
“If you look back a couple years, I feel like it just wasn’t really talked about or there just wasn’t much of a presence,” Bozart said. “But moving forward I feel like, especially for the U.S., they’ve done an amazing job of just incorporating pride and LGBTQ.”
NOT UNIVERSAL
Though this year’s tournament has highlighted vast gains for the LGBTQ+ community in women’s soccer, advocates feel there is still work to be done.
According to Buzinski and Outsports, there were at least 186 LGBTQ+ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Women outnumbered men by a 9:1 ratio. There also were no confirmed out players at the 2022 men’s World Cup.
“I think women’s sports have always been open,” Denmark striker Pernille Harder said, adding that there are many role models for women who want to come out.
Freeman said it would be good to see men feel the same level of comfort.
“What can happen in the women’s game, I would love to spill over to the men’s game,” she said. “Because obviously, there’s way more queer players in the men’s game and it’s just not safe for them to come out.
“If you want to say that you’re in an inclusive space, you really have to be an inclusive space,” Freeman added. “And I think that that includes also holding the World Cup in places where it’s fine to be a queer person.”
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Max Ralph is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
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Contributing reporters included Joe Lister in Wellington and Rafaela Pontes in Auckland, students in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State, and Clay Witt in Sydney, Australia, a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-lgbtq-community-proud-and-visible-at-womens-world-cup/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:20 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-lgbtq-community-proud-and-visible-at-womens-world-cup/ |
COLFAX, Iowa (AP) — In the small central Iowa town of Colfax, thousands of cyclists participating in the largest and oldest recreational bike ride in the world were stopped along its historic main street, staring ahead at a daunting climb that would lead them out of town.
The hill, coupled with soaring temps and the vibrant downtown, made a morning sitting in the shade quite appealing.
It's become almost simplistic to say that “small-town America” is slowly dying. That opportunities for young people have dried up, just like businesses and main streets. That the only way forward in life involves moving to a big city. But the reality is towns such as Colfax are flourishing, and that was especially evident on RAGBRAI, the annual bike ride across the state, where dozens of small towns dotting the 500-mile route welcomed some 50,000 riders with open arms.
Colfax is a prime example. It experienced a nearly 8% increase in population from the 2010 census to the most recent in 2020, turning around two decades of decline. Its population of 2,255 represented its highest since the 1990s.
Sure, many small towns are still struggling, but what has allowed those such as Colfax to thrive?
“Mostly, a wonderful mayor and council and volunteers that just ensure a vital community,” explains Wade Wagoner, the former city manager for the small town of Lake Park, and now the city administrator for Colfax.
“Des Moines and the metro growing to the east doesn't hurt,” Wagoner said. “Also, the fact that we still have a high school and citizens just approved a $14 million bond for athletic and academic improvements make people want to raise a family here.”
Wagoner underscores that location is important. After the COVID-19 pandemic, when many jobs became partially or fully remote, people who may have once worked in a city could suddenly live just about anywhere, including small towns across America.
Wagoner goes on to talk about the smallest Fareway grocery store in the state, the coffee shop and bank and city hall, all of which make for a bustling hub. There's also a rich history with mineral water that makes Colfax's downtown large for its size.
In other words, Colfax has leaned into its strengths to create a community that people want to call home.
And every few years, big events such as RAGBRAI roll through, giving them a chance to shine.
“Lots of trash and (Port-o-potties,” Wagoner said of the traveling circus, “but it is actually pretty cool. It lets us show off the town and certain businesses do make some money. Others find it a pain. But it's only for a single day.”
If nothing else, the horde of cyclists are good for making money.
In Polk City, between the busy metros of Ames and Des Moines, high school students collected money to fund their after-prom party. Elsewhere on the ride, residents of Slater were using donations to build a new community center and library. In Breda, where the route went through Monday, the town was trying to raise $300,000 to replace the lights at its baseball grandstand, which was built in 1946 and has withstood the test of time.
Breda, population 500, is another example of a small town doing well. It has steadily gained residents for the past 30 years.
In the quiet hamlet of Oxford, just past the fire department and the Deja Brew Coffee House & Bakery, four boys took turns in a dunk tank Friday as cyclists passed through on a day of unrelenting heat — the index topped out at 112 degrees.
For just $5, riders got three shots at the tank. All the proceeds went to their little league program.
The boys were winning on two fronts: staying cool and making cash.
The population of Slater, just north of Polk City, has steadily grown the past three decades.
“Many young families have moved into Slater recently for the school system, and safety of our small town, and ease of getting around,” said Evy Raes of the Slater Area Historical Association. “Our sense of community was tested when a derecho roared through in August 2020. Never fear: anyone with a pickup truck, a chain saw and a six-pack was out in the streets after the storm, helping neighbors clear and dispose of the debris. People really pulled together and no one was a stranger.”
That sense of community isn't always felt in bigger cities. And more than anything, Raes said, that has helped them to thrive.
“We are a small town with big ideals,” Raes said. “Many people who move into Slater feel an instant connection with the community. It is said though, ‘Don’t gossip about anybody who’s lived here awhile, because they may be related to the person you’re talking to.’ My family has lived here over 74 years, and some days we feel like the new people."
Turns out that, at least in some small towns, there are in fact plenty of new people.
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Dave Skretta is a Kansas City, Missouri-based AP Sports Writer. He grew up in the small-but-vibrant northeast Iowa town of Decorah and and has ridden RAGBRAI many times, though he's never written about it while doing it. Skretta wrote periodic updates from the road. He covered 579 miles from start to finish.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bronny James plays piano in a video posted by his father, LeBron James, on Saturday, four days after the teenager went into cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California.
The 18-year-old plays a brief melody in front of his family, smiles and gets up without speaking in the video posted on his father's Instagram account. The video doesn't indicate where or when it was shot.
“A man of many talents,” the Los Angeles Lakers superstar can be heard saying in the background as Bronny finishes playing with his two younger siblings looking on.
TMZ posted photos of Bronny out to dinner with his family, which it says were taken Friday night. They show the teenager with his father outside celebrity hot spot Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.
Wearing black pants and a zip-up hoodie, Bronny carried his phone while standing outside the Italian restaurant.
Bronny was released from the hospital on Thursday. He will continue to undergo tests to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest, which occurred Monday morning during a workout at USC's Galen Center.
Bronny, whose full name is LeBron James Jr., committed to USC in May after the 6-foot-3 guard became one of the nation’s top prospects out of Sierra Canyon School in nearby Chatsworth.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/lebron-james
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government’s borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won’t even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn’t feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. ”So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics.”
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got ’til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done,” McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don’t want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don’t want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year’s spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
“That’s the challenge we’re going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
It’s a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:26 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-members-of-congress-break-for-august-with-no-clear-path-to-avoiding-a-shutdown-this-fall/ |
PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that turned the U.S. Southwest into a blast furnace throughout July is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.
Forecasters expect that by Monday at the latest, people in metro Phoenix will begin seeing high temperatures under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month. As of Friday, the high temperature in the desert city had been at or above that mark for 29 consecutive days.
Already this week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell under 90 (32.2 C) for the first time in 16 days, finally allowing people some respite from the stifling heat once the sun goes down.
Temperatures are also expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.
The downward trend started Wednesday night, when Phoenix saw its first major monsoon storm since the traditional start of the season on June 15. While more than half of the greater Phoenix area saw no rainfall from that storm, some eastern suburbs were pummeled by high winds, swirling dust and localized downfalls of up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) of precipitation.
Storms gradually increasing in strength are expected over the weekend.
Scientists calculate that July will prove to be the hottest globally on record and perhaps the warmest human civilization has seen. The extreme heat is now hitting the eastern part of the U.S, as soaring temperatures moved from the Midwest into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where some places are seeing their warmest days so far this year.
The new heat records being set this summer are just some of the extreme weather being seen around the U.S. this month, such as flash floods in Pennsylvania and parts of the Northeast.
And while relief may be on the way for the Southwest, for now it’s still dangerously hot. Phoenix’s high temperature reached 116 (46.7 C) Friday afternoon, which is far above the average temperature of 106 (41.1 C).
“Anyone can be at risk outside in this record heat,” the fire department in Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, warned residents on social media while offering ideas to stay safe.
For many people such as older adults, those with health issues and those without access to air conditioning, the heat can be dangerous or even deadly.
Maricopa County, the most populous in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported this week that its public health department had confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of July 21, with 249 more under investigation.
Results from toxicological tests that can takes weeks or months after an autopsy is conducted could eventually result in many deaths listed as under investigation as heat associated being changed to confirmed.
Maricopa County confirmed 425 heat-associated deaths last year, and more than half of them occurred in July.
Elsewhere in Arizona next week, the agricultural desert community of Yuma is expecting highs ranging from 104 to 112 (40 C to 44.4 C) and Tucson is looking at highs ranging from 99 to 111 (37.2 C to 43.9 C).
The highs in Las Vegas are forecast to slip as low as 94 (34.4 C) next Tuesday after a long spell of highs above 110 (43.3 C). Death Valley, which hit 128 (53.3 C) in mid-July, will cool as well, though only to a still blistering hot 116 (46.7 C).
In New Mexico, the highs in Albuquerque next week are expected to be in the mid to high 90s (around 35 C), with party cloudy skies. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:33 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ |
The intense heat wave continued its grip on many parts of the country, including in New York City, where temperatures were expected to surge into the lower 90s (around 35 C) on Saturday, but the humid, thick air could make it feel well over the century mark.
The sizzling air has heated up everything from the ocean to pools, making it difficult to cool off. One woman in the Southwest has been throwing blocks of ice in her pool.
Metro Phoenix could see its 30th day of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) or higher on Saturday before temperatures start dropping in the city and other areas that saw some of the most extreme temperatures in July. Scientists expect this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen.
Here’s what’s happening related to extreme weather and the climate right now:
— Heat advisories continued in New York City, where high humidity has made it uncomfortable and dangerous. Some 500 cooling centers have opened across the city’s five boroughs, and the governor authorized the state’s swimming pools to stay open later. The extreme heat was forecast to ease Sunday.
— Parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut were under a heat advisory through Saturday night. In northern New England, temperatures were down 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit after getting into the 90s (around 35 C) on Friday, but the humidity lingered throughout the region. Afternoon and evening storms were forecast and could bring a chance of flash flooding.
— The weather was equally stifling and muggy in the center of the United States. An excessive heat warning was issued for much of Missouri, Kansas and western Illinois, where the sweaty mix of heat and humidity could make it feel like up to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (about 44 C) in parts. St. Louis health director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said the risk of heat stroke was high and warned that interior car temperatures could reach lethal levels in minutes.
— Temperatures are forecast to start to drop in the hottest areas in the southwest of the United States, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.
— With the scorching heat, even going for a swim offered little to no relief. Sea surface temperatures rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 C) at a spot off Florida's southern tip, while pools in the Southwest gave the sensation of being in soup.
— The high temperatures are reaching across the globe, including in Bolivia, where a drought alert has been declared for Lake Titicaca after water levels of the world's highest navigable lake receded to a critically low threshold.
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Associated Press writers Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire contributed to this report.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.
Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it will be closer than usual, just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers) away, thus the supermoon label.
The moon will be even closer the night of Aug. 30 — a scant 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) distant. Because it’s the second full moon in the same month, it will be what’s called a blue moon.
“Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset. And it happens twice in August,” said retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, dubbed Mr. Eclipse for his eclipse-chasing expertise.
The last time two full supermoons graced the sky in the same month was in 2018. It won’t happen again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
Masi will provide a live webcast of Tuesday evening’s supermoon, as it rises over the Coliseum in Rome.
“My plans are to capture the beauty of this … hopefully bringing the emotion of the show to our viewers,” Masi said in an email.
“The supermoon offers us a great opportunity to look up and discover the sky,” he added.
This year’s first supermoon was in July. The fourth and last will be in September. The two in August will be closer than either of those.
Provided clear skies, binoculars or backyard telescopes can enhance the experience, Espenak said, revealing such features as lunar maria — the dark plains formed by ancient volcanic lava flows — and rays emanating from lunar craters.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the sturgeon moon. That’s because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August, hundreds of years ago.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-two-supermoons-in-august-mean-double-the-stargazing-fun/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:39 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-two-supermoons-in-august-mean-double-the-stargazing-fun/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trader Joe's is recalling a broccoli cheddar soup that may contain insects and cooked falafel that may contain rocks, about one week after the grocery chain recalled two cookie products over similar concerns.
The soup recall impacts Trader Joe's Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup with "Use By" dates ranging from July 18 to Sept. 15, according to a Thursday announcement from the company. On Friday, the grocer announced that Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Falafel sold in 35 states and Washington, D.C., was also under recall.
On July 21, Trader Joe's announced that it was recalling Trader Joe's Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with "sell by" dates ranging from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21. Like the falafel, the cookies may also contain rocks, the company said.
When asked for further information about how the insects and rocks may have gotten into these products, a Trader Joe's spokesperson said that “there was an issue in the manufacturing processes in the facilities." Suppliers alerted Trader Joe's of the possible foreign material for each recall, the company said.
"We pulled the product from our shelves as soon as we were made aware of the issue. Once we understood the issue we notified our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Saturday.
All of the recalled cookies, soup and falafel have been removed from sale or destroyed, Trader Joe's said in its announcements. But the Monrovia, California-based company is still urging consumers to check their kitchens for the products.
Trader Joe's says customers who have the recalled products should throw them away or return them to any store for a full refund. Lot codes and further details about the products under recall, as well as customer service contact information, can be found on the company's website.
Trader Joe's did not specify how many products were impacted with each recall or identify suppliers. But one Food and Drug Administration notice cited by NBC News says that the Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup recall impacts around 10,889 cases sold in seven states. Winter Gardens Quality Foods, Inc. is identified as the recalling firm, per the notice.
No formal releases about the three recalls were published on the FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts page as of Saturday. The Associated Press reached out to the FDA and Winter Gardens Quality Foods for information on Saturday.
“We have a close relationship with our vendors and they alerted us of these issues. We don’t hesitate or wait for regulatory agencies to tell us what to do," the Trader Joe's spokesperson said. "We will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer.” | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/CXRHRDJ5DVD7HCTNZOUJKKNRUE/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:40 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/CXRHRDJ5DVD7HCTNZOUJKKNRUE/ |
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening.
She admits recruiting is not the job that she or other Marines had in mind when they enlisted. But after stints as a recruiter and senior officer at the Eastern recruiting command, she has become emblematic of the Corps' tradition of putting its best, battle-tested Marines on enlistment duty. They get results.
Marine leaders say they will make their recruiting goal this year, while the active-duty Army, Navy and Air Force all expect to fall short. The services have struggled in the tight job market to compete with higher-paying businesses for the dwindling number of young people who can meet the military's physical, mental and moral standards.
On that night, Nash achieved her own goal. She had gotten the valet at the hotel and the hostess at the restaurant to provide their phone numbers and to consider a Marine career.
Nash’s boss, Brig. Gen. Walker Field, who head the Eastern recruiting region, says the Corps has historically put an emphasis on selecting top-performing Marines to fill recruiting jobs. He says that has been a key to the Marines’ recruiting success, along with efforts to increase the number of recruiters, extend those who do well and speed their return to high schools, where in-person recruiting stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said his recruiters — who cover the territory between Canada and Puerto Rico and as far west as Mississippi — will meet their mission and expect to have 30% of their 2024 goal when they start the next fiscal year, Oct. 1. More broadly, Marine officials say they expect the Corps to achieve its recruiting target of more than 33,000.
Last year, the Navy, Air Force and Marines had to eat into their pools of delayed entry applicants in order to make their goals. The Marines will avoid that this year.
"That would be a great ending," said Field, speaking to The Associated Press on a recent steamy day at South Carolina's Parris Island, along the Atlantic Coast. "I'm bearish for not only concluding FY23 on a strong footing, but also how we set the conditions for FY24."
The Marine Corps may get some help from its small size. The Army, for example, has a recruiting goal of 65,000 this year, which is nearly double the Corps', and expects to fall substantially short of that. Air Force and Navy officials say they will also miss their goals, although the Space Force, which is the smallest service and does its recruiting within Air Force stations, is expected to meet its goal of about 500 recruits.
Sitting in the shadow of Parris Island's replica of the Iwo Jima monument, Field said his biggest challenge is that a number of Marine hopefuls cannot pass the military's academic test, known as the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery.
That is a widespread problem, but the Army recently set up a program that targets recruits who score below 30 on the test and provides schooling for several weeks to help them pass. Already more than 8,800 recruits have successfully gone through the classes, raised their scores and moved on to basic training.
The Navy is taking another route with a pilot program that allows up to 20% of their recruits to score below 30 on the test, as long as they meet specific standards for their chosen naval job. Marine leaders, however, do not take those lowest scoring recruits, and so far have no plans for any type of formal improvement program such as the Army's.
Field said the Marines are repositioning recruiting stations, moving them around based on where population totals have increased in the latest census. More important, he said, the Corps maintains its focus on choosing the right recruiters, encouraging successful ones to stay in the job and increasing the number of Marine reservists tapped for recruit duties from the current 31 to 96 by the end of next year.
Nash, who until last month was assistant chief of staff for the Eastern region, said Marines are hand-selected for recruiting command jobs. Many three- and four-star Marines, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, will cite their years doing enlistment duty.
“We put our best and brightest in those positions,” said Nash, adding that those chosen for recruiting posts have a proven track record of success in previous assignments and have demonstrated critical leadership skills. “That's why they got selected, because they were above their peers.”
She acknowledged that the first time she was picked for a recruiting job she was “voluntold.” But now, recounting her sales pitch in Atlanta, her rapid fire pitch comes without taking a breath.
“I say, 'Hey, ever thought about being Marine? We're a bunch of Marines. And, you know, I think you potentially could be a good Marine. You ever thought about it?' And usually you get, ‘Yeah, I thought about it.’ And I'm, like, ‘What’s holding you back? Would you like to learn more about your opportunities?' ‘Absolutely.’ `OK. Mind giving me your name and phone number? I’ll have one of my recruiters give you a phone call.'”
The Marines have resisted increasing bonuses to attract recruits — something the other services have found helpful.
Gen. Eric Smith, the acting Marine Corps commandant, got some ribbing for his response when he was asked about bonuses during a naval conference in February.
“Your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine,” he said. "That’s your bonus, right? There’s no dollar amount that goes with that.”
Field, Nash and others also say the Corps prefers to give a lot of recruits a few thousand dollars, rather than increasing the amount and giving money to far fewer people.
Field said that getting Marine recruiters in uniform back into high schools this year, after several years of COVID-19 restrictions, has been a key driver. There, young people line up to compete in pull-up contests, vying for a free T-shirt if they can do 20. And recruiters say many are drawn to the cache of being a Marine.
“If you told me you’ll give me $10 million worth of advertising and I can do something with it, or you'll give me 10 great-looking Marines in a Marine uniform — what’s going to get the most value? Give me those 10 Marines and give me a day,” Nash said. "We’ll go out and we’ll get more out of that, I think, than $10 million in advertising."
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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. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/business/ap-with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:46 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/business/ap-with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.
Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference that the mercenaries had moved close to the Suwalki Gap, a strategic stretch of Polish territory situated between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland.
Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.
Those fears have grown since Wagner group mercenaries arrived in Belarus since the group's short-lived rebellion earlier this summer.
The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a couple of years, ever since large numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, seeking to enter the EU by crossing into Poland, as well as Lithuania.
Poland's government accuses Russia and Belarus of using the migrants to destabilize Poland and other EU countries. It calls the migration a form of hybrid warfare, and has responded by building a high wall along part of its border with Belarus.
“Now the situation becomes even more dangerous," Morawiecki told reporters.
He added that “this is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”
Morawiecki spoke during a visit to an arms factory in Gliwice, in southern Poland, where Leopard tanks used by the Ukrainian army are being repaired. | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/646IFIWDVFEE7FSYZQMSHHLNHY/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:53 | 1 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/646IFIWDVFEE7FSYZQMSHHLNHY/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Four air crew members were missing after an Australian army helicopter ditched into waters off the Queensland state coast during joint military exercises with the United States, officials said Saturday.
The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter went down near Lindeman Island, a Great Barrier Reef tourist resort, at about 11 p.m. Friday, exercise director Australian Army Brigadier Damian Hill said.
A search involving U.S., Canadian and Australian personnel was underway to find the crew who are all Australian men, officials said.
Debris that appeared to be from a helicopter had been recovered, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Douglas McDonald said.
The Taipan was taking part in Talisman Sabre, a biennial joint U.S.-Australian military exercise that is largely based in Queensland. This year’s exercise involves 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said the helicopter ditched, which refers to an emergency landing on water.
“Defense exercises, which are so necessary for the readiness of our defense force, are serious. They carry risk,” Marles told reporters in Brisbane. “As we desperately hope for better news during the course of this day we are reminded about the gravity of the act which comes with wearing our nation’s uniform.”
Hill said the exercise was postponed on Saturday morning but had restarted limited activity later in the day. Australia had grounded its Taipan fleet as a precaution, Hill said.
It was the second emergency involving an Australian Taipan this year, after one ditched into the sea off the New South Wales state coast in March. That helicopter was taking part in a nighttime counterterrorism training exercise when it ran into trouble. All 10 passengers and crew members were rescued.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Brisbane for a meeting on Saturday and is due to travel with Marles to north Queensland on Sunday to see the exercise.
Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid tribute to the missing air crew at the outset of a meeting with their Australian counterparts, Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“It’s always tough when you have accidents in training, but … the reason that we train to such high standards is so that we can be successful and we can protect lives when we are called to answer any kind of crisis,” Austin said.
“Our guys tend to make this look easy and they make it look easy because they’re so well exercised and rehearsed and trained, and this is unfortunately a part of that, what it takes to get them to where we need them to be,” Austin added.
Blinken said, “We’re so grateful to them for their dedication, for their service, for everything they’ve been doing to stand up for the freedom that we share and that is what unites us more than anything else.”
Marles thanked the United States for their contribution to the search and rescue effort.
The missing helicopter had just dropped off two Australian commandos before it hit the water, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Australia announced in January that its army and navy would stop flying the European-built Taipans by December 2024, 13 years earlier than originally planned, because they had proven unreliable. They will be replaced by 40 U.S. Black Hawks. Marles said at the time the Lockheed Martin-designed Black Hawks “have a really good proven track record in terms of their reliability.”
Australia’s Taipans had been plagued by problems since the first helicopter arrived in the country in 2007.
Australia’s entire fleet of 47 Taipans was grounded in 2019 to fix a problem with their tail rotor blades. A year later, 27 Taipans were grounded because of a problem with doors.
___
Find more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-4-air-crew-members-are-missing-after-australian-army-helicopter-ditched-off-australias-coast/ | 2023-07-29T17:59:54 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-4-air-crew-members-are-missing-after-australian-army-helicopter-ditched-off-australias-coast/ |
Traffic in Interstate 70 on Saturday was brought to a standstill after a crash caused all lanes to be blocked.
The Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed the crash near Ohio 41. Initial reports indicate a helicopter may have crashed.
Law enforcement and emergency officials have not been able to be reached for confirmation. The condition of the pilot is also not known at this time.
This article will be updated when more information is made available.
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HUARINA, Bolivia (AP) — A 70-year-old man’s feet sink into the soil as he passes abandoned boats where there used to be the water of Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world has receded to what Bolivian authorities say are critically low levels due to a persistent drought.
“It’s completely dry,” Jaime Mamani said in exasperation while walking along the new shoreline in Huarina, a farming town 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of La Paz where he is a community leader.
The National Service of Naval Hydrography declared an alert this week for the iconic lake after its surface fell 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) below the drought warning stage, or 3,807.8 meters (12492.7 feet) above sea level. But the agency says this is just the beginning of a situation that is worrying Indigenous Aymara communities that rely on the lake for their livelihoods and fear the dry spell could permanently impact the region’s flora and fauna.
The hydrology unit of Bolivia’s navy warned that water levels could reach historically low levels in the coming months. By December, there is a “high probability” Lake Titicaca will be 64 centimeters (more than 25 inches) below the drought alert level, breaking a low water record set in 1998 by 33 centimeters (almost 13 inches).
“In three months, the water has decreased by 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), and considering that radiation is much stronger during this time of the year … we expect it to keep decreasing,” Carlos Carrasco, a hydraulic engineer for the hydrography service said.
The drought is the result of a combination of factors, including natural phenomena like La Niña and El Niño, which arrived unusually early this year and have been particularly strong due in part to climate change, according to Lucía Walper, who heads up the Hydrological Forecasting Unit at Bolivia’s National Meteorology and Hydrology Service.
But the vast lake is vital for this region of the Bolivian highlands, where hundreds of Aymara rural communities have relied on the blue body of water for millennia to practice subsistence farming and raise livestock.
Authorities in the Peruvian city of Puno also issued a warning about the declining water levels and expressed concern about the potential impact on tourism.
“We’re reaching a critical point. There will be a significant loss of water,” said Juan José Ocola, president of the Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca. The lake serves as the border between Bolivia and Peru.
Mateo Vargas, 56, a fisherman who has lived off the Lake Titicaca for 28 years, said he used to catch “lots” of fish daily. Now he considers himself lucky if he can catch six.
Vargas’ wife, Justina Condori, shares his concerns.
“The fish have vanished,” Condori, 58, said, predicting there will be famine if the current conditions persist.
Condori makes a living by renting boats to tourists. She worries fewer people will come to visit the lake, which at an elevation of 3,810 meters above sea level, is the largest body of freshwater in the Andes mountain range.
Evidence of the receding lake is seemingly everywhere. Women who sell fried fish and other snacks by the lake face rising costs for ingredients. Those who make a living transporting people from one side of the lake to the other are altering their routes because their rafts and boats no longer reach their usual docks.
Livestock farmers who rely on the plants that grow on the shores of the Titicaca to feed their animals are also seeing their livelihoods threatened.
The economic hardship is causing many residents of Huarina to migrate to other areas of the country, leaving behind mostly older townspeople, Mamani said. The waters of the Titicaca have always been shallow around the town, so the drought is even more visible there.
“There is a detriment to the economy of the inhabitants of the region,” he said.
Vargas, the fisherman, is also concerned about what the declining water levels will mean for the future.
“It looks like it will continue to decrease, day by day,” he said. “We’re worried because if we continue like this, what’s going to happen to our children?”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:01 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ |
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 30 years to life in the murder of an Ohio woman more than three decades ago.
Daniel Rees, 60, of Barberton, pleaded guilty Friday in Summit County to aggravated murder in the 1991 death of Rachael Johnson in Akron, The (Akron) Beacon-Journal reported. Prosecutors agreed to change the underlying offense from rape to kidnapping as part of an agreement sparing the defendant a trial and a possible death sentence.
“I am a monster,” Rees said in remarks to the court. “What I did is horrendous. The crime I did is horrendous.”
Judge Susan Baker Ross sentenced Rees to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years, the most severe penalty in the state other than the death penalty at the time of the crime.
Johnson was found dead on March 30, 1991, in Akron’s Chapel Hill neighborhood. The Tallmadge woman suffered blunt force trauma and had been sexually assaulted, stabbed multiple times and set on fire, police said.
Rees was arrested in March 2020 after authorities said he was linked to the crime by DNA from distant relatives. A friend of the victim's daughter who worked with the victim's sister at a printing company, Rees had no significant criminal history and hadn't been a suspect in the case.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully challenged the admissibility of their client's statement to investigators about Johnson's murder and DNA evidence collected from his trash, and plea talks began after the evidence was ruled admissible.
Defense attorney Joe Gorman said Rees isn't the same person he was three decades ago and didn't want the family to have to go through a trial. He also said it's likely his client, who will be 90 when he first comes up for parole, won't leave prison.
“This is a life sentence,” Gorman said. “He understood that walking in here.”
Rees apologized to Johnson’s family not just for her slaying but also for how he befriended them afterward, calling that “the worst thing to do.” Family members expressed fury at the defendant, calling him a monster. The victim's sister, Leila Hanes, said he was “an abomination and a coward.”
Larry Johnson, the father of the victim, had trouble delivering his remarks because he was so distraught.
“It never ends,” he said. “They say ‘closure.’ What the hell is closure? I ask that you, your honor give him what he deserves, please. I’d like to see him spend a lifetime in prison.” | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ohio/man-sentenced-to-30-years-to-life-in-1991-cold-case-murder-of-ohio-woman/N2AWUJUKCJGWPC7ZWSGBKSWKHM/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:06 | 0 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ohio/man-sentenced-to-30-years-to-life-in-1991-cold-case-murder-of-ohio-woman/N2AWUJUKCJGWPC7ZWSGBKSWKHM/ |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country’s democratically elected government just as the coup leaders met with senior civil servants to discuss how they would run the country and as the U.S. and the European Union threatened sanctions against the regime.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday, told state television that the junta met with civil servants on Friday and asked them to continue their work as usual following the suspension of the constitution. “The message given was not to stop the processes underway, to keep on with things,” said Brig. Gen. Toumba.
“Everything that must be done will be done,” he said, signaling the intention of the regime led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who also goes by Omar, to remain in power.
After its meeting on Friday, the African Union Peace and Security Council said it was concerned by the “alarming resurgence” of coups that undermine democracy and stability on the continent. It asked the soldiers to “return immediately and unconditionally to their barracks and restore constitutional authority, within a maximum of fifteen (15) days.”
Bazoum, whose condition and that of his officials remains unknown since the government was overthrown, should also be released immediately and unconditionally, the AU said. Failure to do so would compel the bloc to take “necessary action, including punitive measures against the perpetrators.”
On the streets of the Nigerien capital Niamey on Saturday, things appeared to be returning to normal, though many in the international community were still on lockdown with hotels full of foreigners, many given instructions not to leave.
Locals say they’re waiting to see what unfolds, with many still in support of Bazoum who has not yet resigned. “I’m with him, he does a good work. (But) what can we do?” said Mohamed Cisse, a street seller. “This is (the new leader’s) time, Bazoum’s time is over,” he said.
Tchiani, the junta leader and commander of Niger’s presidential guard, is close to former Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou, who stepped down in 2021 after a decade in office. Tchiani’s takeover of power will reinforce speculation that Issoufou is behind the coup, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank and consultancy.
The U.S. threatened to halt its economic support to Niger while the European Union announced the immediate indefinite suspension of budgetary support and security assistance.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, estimated America’s economic and security partnership with Niger at hundreds of millions of dollars and said its continuity depends on “the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order.”
“So that assistance, that support, is in clear jeopardy as a result of these actions, which is another reason why they need to be immediately reversed,” Blinken said.
While there are no signs of the junta backing down amid growing international pressure, analysts called for synergy in the interventions of the international community and continental organizations such as the AU and the regional bloc of ECOWAS, which is scheduled to meet over the coup on Sunday.
A successful coup in Niger and the sanctions in the aftermath could cause more hardship for millions of poor and hungry people in West Africa and could further threaten international relations with the region, which is seeing a resurgence of coups in recent years, according to Idayat Hassan, senior Africa program fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“A non-reversal of the coup also means that we are defining a new world order in West Africa in particular as you are pitching the west and other countries against few military regimes which may be backed by Russia,” said Hassan.
———
Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-african-union-gives-15-day-ultimatum-to-niger-junta-to-end-regime-but-soldiers-seek-continuity/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:07 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-african-union-gives-15-day-ultimatum-to-niger-junta-to-end-regime-but-soldiers-seek-continuity/ |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Salvage crews were preparing Saturday to tow a car-carrying cargo ship that has been burning for days to an anchor point in the North Sea after flames and smoke on board subsided, the Dutch government said.
Fire erupted in the Fremantle Highway late Tuesday night near a chain of islands in the northern Netherlands and has been blazing ever since. The ship is carrying 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, the company that chartered the vessel said.
One crew member died and others were injured after the fire broke out on the ship that was heading from Bremerhaven in Germany to Singapore. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday. The cause of the fire has not been established.
Measurements Friday showed that heat, flames and smoke had subsided enough for salvage experts to board the ship for the first time and establish a strong towing connection with a tugboat, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said.
It will be towed, likely over the weekend, to a new position 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the island of Schiermonnikoog , the ministry said in a statement. The timing of the operation that is expected to take 12-14 hours depends on smoke development and weather, the ministry added. The aim is ultimately “once conditions on board allow,” to tow the ship to a port, though the destination has not yet been decided.
The ministry said the ship is stable and intact below the waterline.
The burning vessel is close to the shallow Wadden Sea, a World Heritage-listed area that is considered one of the world’s most significant habitats for migratory birds. It’s also near the Netherlands’ border with Germany, whose environment minister, Steffi Lemke, has warned of “an environmental catastrophe of unknown proportions,” if the ship were to sink. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-burning-cargo-ship-off-dutch-coast-will-be-towed-to-a-new-location-after-flames-and-smoke-subsided/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:14 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-burning-cargo-ship-off-dutch-coast-will-be-towed-to-a-new-location-after-flames-and-smoke-subsided/ |
BAGHDAD (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah said Saturday that if governments of Muslim-majority nations do not act against countries that allow the desecration of the Quran, Muslims should “punish” those who facilitate attacks on Islam’s holy book.
The comments by Hassan Nasrallah came in a video address to tens of thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashoura, a Shiite holy day commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.
Nasrallah often uses religious occasions to send political messages to followers, and on Saturday slammed recent incidents in which the Quran was burned or otherwise desecrated at authorized demonstrations in Sweden and Denmark.
He said Muslims should watch for the outcome of an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, scheduled to take place in Baghdad on Monday to discuss the organization’s response to the Quran burnings.
The organization and its member states should “send a firm, decisive and unequivocal message to these governments that any repeat of the attacks will be met with a boycott,” Nasrallah said. If they do not, he said, Muslim youth should “punish the desecrators.”
He did not elaborate what such a boycott and punishment should entail.
Members of the crowd, who carried banners with religious slogans alongside the flags of Hezbollah, Lebanon and Palestine, chanted, “Oh, Quran, we are at your service; Oh, Hussein, we are at your service.”
Shiites represent over 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, ingrained a deep rift in Islam and continues to this day to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity.
Millions of Shiite Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world on Friday commemorated Ashoura, while Saturday marked the culmination of the observances in countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered in the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine. In the streets of the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, mourners gathered to watch reenactments of the Battle of Karbala and Hussein’s death.
In the streets, young men clad in black and white slashed their heads with swords and knives to demonstrate their grief. Friends swabbed each other’s heads with tissues and handed each other water.
In Syria’s capital, Damascus, the crowds were mourning not only the death of Hussein but a deadly attack in the suburb of Sayida Zeinab, home to a shrine to Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
A bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded there on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more. On Tuesday, another bomb in a motorcycle had wounded two people.
On Friday, the Islamic State group — a Sunni militant group that often targets Shiites — claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying Thursday’s bombing came “during their annual polytheistic rituals.” The group’s extreme interpretation of Islam holds Shiite Muslims to be apostates.
___
Associated Press writers Anmar Khalil in Karbala, Iraq, and Hassan Ammar in Beirut contributed to this report. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-lebanons-hezbollah-leader-urges-muslims-to-punish-quran-desecrators-if-governments-fail-to-do-so/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:20 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-lebanons-hezbollah-leader-urges-muslims-to-punish-quran-desecrators-if-governments-fail-to-do-so/ |
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) —
A 9-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have been called as witnesses in a criminal case against their mother after she was accused of repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian army.
Lidia Prudovskaya and her two children were summoned by investigators in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk on Friday to give testimony in the case, Russian news outlet Sota reported.
Prudovskaya previously faced administrative charges on similar allegations after sharing anti-war posts on Russian social media platform VKontakte in September 2022.
Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offense under a law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The law is regularly used against Kremlin critics.
In April, Russian authorities petitioned to restrict the parental rights of a single father convicted of discrediting the army following an anti-war sketch drawn by his daughter at school.
Alexei Moskalyov, 54, was sentenced to two years in prison for social media comments he had made criticizing Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while his daughter Maria was placed in an orphanage.
The 13-year-old was later moved to live with her mother. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-russian-investigators-call-children-as-witnesses-against-their-mother-accused-of-discrediting-army/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:26 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-russian-investigators-call-children-as-witnesses-against-their-mother-accused-of-discrediting-army/ |
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian police arrested the president’s son Saturday as part of a high-profile money laundering probe into funds he allegedly collected from convicted drug traffickers during last year’s presidential campaign.
President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who rose through Colombia’s political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, said he wouldn’t interfere with the investigation.
“As an individual and father, it pains me to see so much self destruction and one of my sons going to jail,” Petro said in an early morning message on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “As president of the republic, I’ve assured the chief prosecutor’s office that it will have all of the guarantees so it can proceed according to the law.”
The arrest of Nicolas Petro is a major blow to the government, which has been buffeted by conservative attacks from day one at the same time it has struggled to maintain bipartisan support for Colombia in the U.S., a longtime ally in the war on drugs and fight against illegal armed groups.
The investigation stems from shocking declarations made by Nicolas Petro’s ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, to local media outlet Semana earlier this year.
In the extended interview, Vasquez detailed how she was present at meetings when her husband arranged a donation of more than 600 million pesos (around $150,000) from a politician once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who was seeking the Petro campaign’s support to resume his political career.
She said President Petro was unaware of her son’s dealings and the money he collected in his campaign’s name was kept inside a safe inside the couple’s home in the coastal city of Barranquilla.
Nicolas Petro has denied his ex wife’s claims as unfounded.
The chief prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Nicolas Petro and his ex-wife were taken into custody on orders of a court in Bogota around 6 a.m. local time Saturday. It said that once brought before a judge, prosecutors would seek their provisional detention as it investigates the two for money laundering. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-son-of-colombias-president-arrested-as-part-of-money-laundering-probe/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:32 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-son-of-colombias-president-arrested-as-part-of-money-laundering-probe/ |
For 22 years, former St. Paul police Sgt. Dan Bostrom represented much of the East Side as one of the more conservative voices on the St. Paul City Council.
Not long after Bostrom left office at age 78, Nelsie Yang — a union steward with the progressive advocacy organization TakeAction Minnesota — was elected in his place. Then 24, Yang made history as both the youngest member ever seated on the city council and its first Hmong-American woman.
When the face of the East Side’s representation changed, so did its politics. The traditionally working-class Ward 6 elected a council member who has taken an uncompromising pro-tenant stance on rent control, advocates for free public transit and says she wants to “abolish” the institution that gave her predecessor his career.
Yang’s election in 2019 was a harbinger of what was to come for the East Side. Recent elections there for seats in the Legislature and on the Ramsey County Board and city council have gone to younger, more ethnically diverse and arguably more liberal candidates than the politicians who came before.
That trend figures to continue this year as the council seat in Ward 7, which covers most of the rest of the city’s East Side, turns over. Jane Prince is not seeking re-election, and the politically dominant St. Paul DFL in April endorsed Cheniqua Johnson in a four-way race that had no white entrants.
Likewise, with four of the city’s seven council members not seeking re-election, the DFL has endorsed 10 candidates for city council and school board, and seven identify as women of color. At least four have strong immigrant ties.
“I’m just surprised it’s taken this long,” former state Rep. Tim Mahoney, a union pipefitter who represented the East Side from 1999 to 2021, said of the new faces in local politics. “It’s not even the immigrants — it’s their children.”
East Side politics
Yang, who along with Rebecca Noecker and Mitra Jalali is a DFL-endorsed incumbent, has proven a reliable progressive vote in her first term.
On rent control, she has called for rolling back city council amendments that exempted new construction, reverting the policy to a “strong rent control” that imposes a 3 percent cap on annual increases, “no exceptions.” She’s advocated for expanding city services through municipal sidewalk shoveling, alley plowing and child care subsidies that would require raising property taxes each year for 10 years. And she wants to “immediately halt encampment closures” and supports fare-free public transit.
As for policing, Yang said the city should award “no new money for cops,” according to her written responses to a survey sponsored by the Democratic-Socialist organization Twin Cities DSA. “I am an aspiring abolitionist. This means I believe in the abolition of policing and other carceral, punitive institutions” in favor of diversion programs.
As an elected Hmong-American on the city’s East Side, a corner long represented by a mix of political progressives, moderates and others with ties to working class, organized labor, Yang has plenty of company. St. Paul school board Chairman Jim Vue, state Reps. Liz Lee and Jay Xiong, and Ramsey County Commissioner Mai Chong Xiong all have taken office in recent years, and state Sen. Foung Hawj has represented the East Side since 2013.
Johnson, the DFL-endorsed newcomer, said her family was one of the few Black families around when she was growing up in rural Worthington, Minn. That experience should make it somewhat easier to make inroads in a ward that lacks a sense of ethnic cohesion.
“You can go from house to house and not have the same ethnicity living right next to each other,” Johnson said. “Our city council seat has never flipped for a person of color. And no matter who wins, we now have an opportunity to do that.”
Racial, ethnic diversity
To some degree, political change on the East Side reflects both the emerging racial and ethnic diversity of the city as a whole, as well as the political leanings of an urban Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party increasingly sensitive to concerns about the historical under-representation of key identity groups, such as women, people of color, LGBTQ people and immigrants.
Yet, most of the newer political candidates are quick to note there’s plenty of ideological diversity between them. Only two candidates to date, for instance, have been endorsed by the Twin Cities DSA — Yang and Hwa Jeong Kim, another DFL-endorsed city council candidate in Ward 5, which stretches from Como Park through the North End.
And the East Side differs from much of the city in that it has a more sizable concentration of Hmong residents, some of whom are a generation removed from the more traditional, conservative leanings of their Hmong elders.
The area also hosts growing pockets of East African and West African families, new Afghan refugees and the Karen, an ethnic refugee group from Burma. U.S. Census maps show 22 percent to 28 percent of residents living within ZIP codes 55106 and 55119 are foreign-born, though the codes stretch into Maplewood.
“The East Side has always been a stepping stone for many immigrant groups. You had the Swedes, you had the Italians, you had the Irish,” said Kassim Busuri, executive director of the Minnesota Dawah Institute, a Muslim faith center, who was appointed to temporarily hold the Ward 6 city council seat after Bostrom resigned.
“The Hmong are the most, but the Somali and Black population is growing. For most groups, it takes one or two generations,” said Busuri, who was the first Somali-American to serve on the city council. “Usually, the first generation are still trying to get their feet anchored and establish a community. Usually, the kids of those immigrants are the ones running for these positions.”
Low voter turnout in a youthful East Side
Perhaps more than anything, the East Side skews young. Johnson, a new homeowner, said being in her late 20s is both an advantage in terms of relating to the concerns of the political ward’s many young families, and a challenge in terms of convincing skeptics of the promise of youth.
“Young people continue to be the heart of politics. On the East Side, half of the population is under 34,” Johnson noted. “That’s 54 percent in St. Paul and 58 percent on the East Side. Nelsie and I, we’re the same age. But it takes other folks to see folks of this age in this position.”
Given that much of the East Side is under voting age, Prince noted that a youthful population thins the target audience for candidates compared to higher-voter-turnout areas like Highland Park or Hamline-Midway. That could be to a new candidate’s political advantage.
“Due to low voter turnout, campaigns can focus more time and resources on fewer voters,” Prince said. “It takes less money and fewer volunteers to (reach) municipal voters, making these campaigns more accessible to newcomers, including me when I was a newcomer.”
While racial or ethnic ties are important, some candidates say they’re more likely to talk to voters about nuts-and-bolts issues like how to fund upkeep of the city’s aging infrastructure — potholes and parks maintenance — while navigating thorny concerns about rising property taxes hitting moderate-income homeowners.
The East Side and North End have been among the last areas in the city for home values to bounce back from the subprime mortgage crisis of a decade past, and tax burdens are catching up.
“We had a 14% property tax levy increase, but then home values also went up,” said Pa Der Vang, a candidate for the Ward 7 seat.
“People will typically vote for somebody who looks like them, who can relate to them, but across the board, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender, everybody is concerned about the same thing — potholes, property taxes,” added Vang, an assistant professor of social work at St. Catherine University.
No political primary
Candidate filings for city council open Tuesday and close Aug. 15. There will be no political primary to thin the field before the ranked-choice election on Nov. 7, meaning each ward race could draw any number of candidates, some of whom have yet to declare.
“We need a city council member who has a cultural lens,” Vang said, “about how do we get the information out there — ‘here’s a person who looks like us and is inviting us to this community meeting.’ I’ve gone to community forums and there’s not a lot of people of color.”
Mahoney, the former state lawmaker, said he sees history repeating itself when it comes to immigrant-driven political movements, though his political platform always centered around schools, transportation and employment.
“That doesn’t seem to be the platform that people run on any longer,” he said. “In major cities, they’re running on more humanistic terms, for the more humane treatment of people. They’re running, I consider, on anger for those who were treated poorly in the past, and redlined, and given the crappiest city or county jobs. We as a society did not treat lower-income and immigrant populations fairly.”
“The Irish were treated like crap, the Catholics were treated like crap, and they rose up, became officials,” he said. “In St. Paul, they became the police force, and in New York City, they became the police force. And many of them moved to the suburbs. And that’s what these modern ethnic groups are doing.” | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/a-changing-political-face-to-the-citys-east-side-as-filings-open-for-st-paul-city-council/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:36 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/29/a-changing-political-face-to-the-citys-east-side-as-filings-open-for-st-paul-city-council/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.
Australia’s center-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States.
Assange’s freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Assange had been discussed in annual talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia.
“I understand the concerns and views of Australians. I think it’s very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter,” Blinken told reporters.
“Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” he added.
Wong said Assange’s prosecution had “dragged for too long” and that Australia wanted the charges “brought to a conclusion.”
Australia remains ambiguous about whether the United States should drop the prosecution or strike a plea bargain.
Assange faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military documents in 2010.
American prosecutors allege he helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.
Australia argues there is a “disconnect” between the U.S. treatment of Assange and Manning. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-us-secretary-of-state-tells-australia-that-wikileaks-founder-is-accused-of-very-serious-crime/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:38 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-us-secretary-of-state-tells-australia-that-wikileaks-founder-is-accused-of-very-serious-crime/ |
Hidden camera found inside porta-potty at Wisconsin beach
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (WISN) - A woman at a Wisconsin beach made a terrible discovery after she found a hidden camera underneath the toilet seat of a port-a-potty.
Police are trying to determine if it was the only camera and who put it there.
“That’s insane. Oh my gosh,” Chrissy Hartwig said.
On a beautiful day at Oconomowoc’s Bender Beach, the talk turns instead to something ugly after Hartwig and other beachgoers learn of a small digital camera hidden inside a porta-potty.
“That’s crazy and now that makes me think of all the other porta-potties that might have had something in it,” Hartwig said. “You don’t think about those things.”
Hartwig said she’s heard of people hiding cameras in dressing rooms and even vacation rentals, but never before in a porta-potty.
“I just, I mean, I’m mind blown. I’ve never considered it. I’ve never thought about it. I wouldn’t have thought about it, probably. People are creeps,” she said.
The camera was reportedly inside the toilet, positioned in a way that showed people entering and using the toilet.
Oconomowoc police, along with the public, have a lot of questions.
“It’s, you know, it’s very concerning because you know the little ones use the bathroom,” Lissa Hagen said. “Yeah, it’s concerning, you know, wondering who did it and why they would do something like that. It’s very gross too.”
Hagen’s daughter is a lifeguard at the beach and learned of the camera the day after it was found.
“I mean, it’s uncomfortable. It’s, you know, concerning. Yeah, so, I’m glad they found it at least before, you know, anything happened,” Hagen said.
Police have not shared how long they believe the camera was there and what if anything was on it.
Copyright 2023 WISN via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:43 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.
Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference that the mercenaries had moved close to the Suwalki Gap, a strategic stretch of Polish territory situated between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland.
Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.
Those fears have grown since Wagner group mercenaries arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion earlier this summer.
The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a couple of years, ever since large numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, seeking to enter the EU by crossing into Poland, as well as Lithuania.
Poland’s government accuses Russia and Belarus of using the migrants to destabilize Poland and other EU countries. It calls the migration a form of hybrid warfare, and has responded by building a high wall along part of its border with Belarus.
“Now the situation becomes even more dangerous,” Morawiecki told reporters.
He added that “this is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”
Morawiecki spoke during a visit to an arms factory in Gliwice, in southern Poland, where Leopard tanks used by the Ukrainian army are being repaired. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:44 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/international/ap-wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/ |
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government’s borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won’t even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn’t feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. “So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics.”
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got ‘til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done,” McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don’t want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don’t want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year’s spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
“That’s the challenge we’re going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
It’s a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:48 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – A “weld indication” has been discovered on the Fury 325 coaster at Carowinds in North Carolina — the same ride that had a support column replaced due to a crack found roughly one month ago.
The North Carolina Department of Labor confirmed with Nexstar’s WJZY that the agency was notified of the structural issue found on the popular coaster this week.
A “weld indication” could be either a break or a crack on the coaster, the department said.
“No certificate of operation has been issued nor do we have a timeline of when the certificate of operation will be issued for the Fury 325,” officials with the department said Friday.
Carowinds has since issued a statement concerning the find.
“We are conducting a full maintenance review of Fury 325 during this testing process. This maintenance review — which is consistent with routine off-season procedures — includes a review of the steel superstructure, the trains, and the ride control system,” park officials said.
“During such reviews, it is not uncommon to discover slight weld indications in various locations of a steel superstructure. It is important to note that these indications do not compromise the structural integrity or safety of the ride.”
Park officials added that each indication will be evaluated, tested, repaired and inspected “before the ride is deemed operational.”
“Additionally, as is customary, we conduct test cycles to ensure its smooth operation before guests are allowed on the ride.”
This newly reported defects come after a significant break was discovered by a parkgoer on a support beam for the roller coaster in late June.
The support pillar was replaced earlier this month. Carowinds is currently conducting its own tests and inspections ahead of inspections by the “final inspections by the “ride manufacturer, a third-party testing firm, and the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau,” the park said.
Carowinds bills its Fury 325 coaster as North America’s tallest, fastest, and longest giga coaster, meaning it contains a drop of at least 300 feet. Riders reach a peak height of 325 feet following a dramatic 81-degree drop. The ride can reach speeds of up to 95 mph. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/another-crack-in-the-coaster-weld-indication-found-on-carowinds-ride-after-july-repairs/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:50 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/another-crack-in-the-coaster-weld-indication-found-on-carowinds-ride-after-july-repairs/ |
Pet owner says 4-foot-long python has gone missing from his yard
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR/Gray News) - Residents in an Illinois neighborhood are currently on the lookout for a pet snake.
Jonathan Delaney told WIFR that his 15-year-old ball python named Bubba slithered away from his yard last weekend.
Delaney said his exotic 4-foot-long snake is missing, but neighbors shouldn’t be worried.
“He’s completely harmless,” Delaney said. “We’ve had him for 15 years. He’s never been mean and the biggest thing he’d eat is a rat.”
Fellow Edgewater resident Rhonda Hanley said she’d likely be startled if she came across Bubba. But because he’s someone’s pet, she’ll try to help find him.
“I’ll try and put something over the top of it like a blanket or a garbage can if I find him,” Hanley said.
Delaney is thankful that his neighbors are concerned enough to lend a helping hand.
“We are hoping he’s still around here and nobody harms him,” he said. “We are hoping to find him as soon as possible.”
Experts say because ball pythons prefer to be hidden most of the time the snake doesn’t appear to pose a threat to the public.
The snake can strike if it gets agitated, but those bites don’t normally require medical attention.
“The most that could happen is that the snake could take a defensive swipe,” Stephanie Stone, owner of Jurassic Reptile Supply, said. “It’s less impact than a cat scratch or a cat bite.”
Stone added that ball pythons typically don’t travel very far.
“Unless it feels the need to try to find a meal, it’s probably very close to where it was originally,” she said.
Anyone who spots Bubba has been urged to contact Delaney on social media.
Copyright 2023 WIFR via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:56 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ |
ATLANTA (AP) — “Excuse me, are you a city of Atlanta voter? Do you know about ‘Cop City?’”
Clipboards in hand, canvassers Sienna Giraldi and Gabriel Sanchez approached shopper after shopper at a Kroger supermarket lot on a recent evening collecting signatures for a referendum over whether to cancel the city’s lease of a proposed police and firefighter training center that’s become a national rallying cry for environmentalists and anti-police protesters.
Most people kept on walking. Others said they weren’t registered to vote or didn’t live within the city limits, both of which are required. Many seemed to have no idea what “Cop City” was and weren’t interested in finding out. The fact that it began raining certainly didn’t help. By the end of a 90-minute shift, 21 people had signed.
“We definitely need to come back here,” Sanchez said. “I was on a roll before the rain started.”
Over the past month, hundreds of people like them — many volunteers, some paid — have spread out across the city of about 500,000, in hopes of persuading more than 70,000 registered voters to sign on to the petition drive. The deadline had been mid-August, but the effort got a boost Thursday when a federal judge extended it to late September, though significant logistical and legal hurdles remain.
Technically, organizers say, they need just 58,203 signatures by Aug. 14 to qualify for the November ballot — the equivalent of 15% of registered voters as of the last city election — but they set the higher goal knowing some will be disqualified. If that’s not reached until late August or September, the referendum wouldn’t happen until March, when a competitive GOP presidential primary could turn out conservative voters and hurt its chances. The city also could move forward with construction in the meantime, unless a judge intervenes.
As of July 25, the drive had collected more than 30,000 signatures, according to Paul Glaze, a spokesperson for the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition. And with the paid canvassing effort still ramping up, he expects the pace to pick up significantly.
“We’re confident of hitting our number,” Glaze said. “How much extra padding we’re able to get is still a question. … Our experience is that when you talk about this with people, when they hear the price tag, when you ask them if they would choose this or something else to spend the money on, the vast majority are against it.”
Organizers of the drive say Mayor Andre Dickens and the City Council have failed to listen to a groundswell of opposition to the $90 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) training center, which they fear will lead to greater militarization of the police and exacerbate environmental damage in the South River Forest in a poor, predominantly Black area.
Officials counter that the campus would replace outdated, far-flung facilities and boost police morale, which is beset by hiring and retention struggles, especially in the wake of 2020 protests over racial injustice. Dickens has said that the facility will teach the “most progressive training and curriculum in the country” and that officials have repeatedly revised their plans to address concerns about noise pollution and environmental impact.
In June, after hearing about 14 hours of public testimony that was overwhelmingly against the training center, council members voted 11-4 to approve $67 million toward the project. Outraged but not surprised, organizers of the petition drive announced it the next day.
Outside the Kroger, located in a majority-Black neighborhood a few miles south of a Wendy’s parking lot where officers fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in 2020, Giraldi chatted with Lee Little, a Black construction worker who stopped to talk despite the rain, his hands full of bagged groceries.
Little was working near the proposed training center in March and saw the helicopters and mass of armed officers that descended on the area after about 150 masked activists stormed the site and torched construction equipment. He hadn’t thought about it much since, but he signed the petition after hearing Giraldi’s pitch.
“She was just saying that City Council approved 60-something million dollars without listening to the taxpayers. Does that sound fair to you? That should be for the voters to decide,” Little said afterward.
Another who signed was Makela Atchison, who was wearing a “Black Voters Matter” T-shirt as she left the store with her two children.
“I’m not saying I’m for it or against it,” Atchison said, “but I want to be able to have my input.”
The signature drive is the most ambitious in terms of numbers that has ever been launched in a Georgia city, but it has precedent from last year in Camden County, where voters overwhelmingly rejected a planned launchpad for blasting commercial rockets into space. The Georgia Supreme Court in February unanimously upheld the legality of that referendum, though it remains an open question whether citizens can veto decisions of city governments.
In a recent court filing seeking to quash the Atlanta referendum, attorneys for the city said residents can’t force officials to retroactively revoke the lease agreement, which was made in 2021. They called organizers’ efforts “futile” and “invalid.” The state agreed with the city in a separate filing, though that dispute is on hold for now.
Still, activists see the referendum as the best remaining option to block the project. They’ve gotten support from numerous groups, including the Working Families Party and the New Georgia Project Action Fund, which pledged to get 15,000 signatures over the next few weeks.
Activist Hannah Riley tries to collect a handful of them whenever she is out in public, including on a recent afternoon as she worked remotely from Muchacho, a popular taco restaurant in the ultra-liberal Reynoldstown neighborhood. At the end of her table, she taped a sign that read: “Voter? Sign Stop Cop City Petition Here.”
“This is a bit of a Hail Mary, but it’s a Hail Mary that makes a lot of sense,” Riley said. “They’ve begun to clear-cut the trees. They’re getting close to pouring concrete. … Our options are quite limited right now, so this does feel like the most practical, effective next step.”
At the same time, a small number of activists have continued taking a more violent tack, including torching eight police motorcycles over the Fourth of July weekend, actions that canvass organizers have not condemned.
Curtis Duncan, 40, said the first day he went out canvassing, a man approached and accused him of being one of the vandals.
“I said, ‘Well, sir, respectfully, I wasn’t burning cars, and the majority of people within this movement have not been engaging in any type of violent actions,’” Duncan said. He added that troopers fatally shot an activist in the forest and that authorities have brought dozens of “very flimsy” domestic terrorism charges against “Stop Cop City” protesters this year — actions he considers far worse.
Sanchez, who works for a voting rights nonprofit, said that even if the signature drive falls short, it will have made an important impact.
“I feel like we’ve exhausted all the other options, aside from full-on revolution, which I don’t think we need for this,” he said. “There’s a lot of obstacles in our way. … If we only get to 50,000, I think that still shows a real warning sign for these politicians for the 2025 election.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-atlanta-cop-city-activists-say-theyre-confident-of-getting-70k-signatures-but-big-hurdles-remain/ | 2023-07-29T18:00:56 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-atlanta-cop-city-activists-say-theyre-confident-of-getting-70k-signatures-but-big-hurdles-remain/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Rangers vs. Padres on July 29, 2023
You can wager on player prop bet odds for Juan Soto, Marcus Semien and other players on the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers heading into their matchup at 8:40 PM ET on Saturday at PETCO Park.
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Rangers vs. Padres Game Info
- When: Saturday, July 29, 2023 at 8:40 PM ET
- Where: PETCO Park in San Diego, California
- How to Watch on TV: SDPA
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Discover More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Texas Rangers
Marcus Semien Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -270)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -105)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +450)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +180)
Semien Stats
- Semien has 120 hits with 27 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 45 walks and 64 RBI. He's also stolen nine bases.
- He's slashed .277/.344/.453 so far this season.
Semien Recent Games
Adolis García Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -196)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +115)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +360)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +140)
Garcia Stats
- Adolis Garcia has 22 doubles, 25 home runs, 40 walks and 84 RBI (100 total hits). He has swiped six bases.
- He has a slash line of .259/.332/.510 on the year.
- Garcia takes a three-game streak with at least one hit into this contest. In his last five games he is batting .250 with a double, a home run, two walks and four RBI.
Garcia Recent Games
Bet on player props for Marcus Semien, Adolis García or other Rangers players with BetMGM.
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MLB Props Today: San Diego Padres
Yu Darvish Props
- Strikeouts Prop: Over/Under 6.5 (Over Odds: -125)
Darvish Stats
- The Padres will send Yu Darvish (7-7) to the mound for his 19th start this season.
- He has earned a quality start seven times in 18 starts this season.
- Darvish has made 16 starts of five or more innings in 18 chances this season, and averages 5.6 frames when he pitches.
- He has finished two appearances without allowing an earned run in 18 chances this season.
Darvish Recent Games
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on any of Martín Pérez's player props with BetMGM.
Juan Soto Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -200)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +100)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +500)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +160)
Soto Stats
- Soto has collected 94 hits with 24 doubles, 20 home runs and 96 walks. He has driven in 63 runs with five stolen bases.
- He has a .266/.420/.503 slash line so far this season.
Soto Recent Games
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The intense heat wave continued its grip on many parts of the country, including in New York City, where temperatures were expected to surge into the lower 90s (around 35 C) on Saturday, but the humid, thick air could make it feel well over the century mark.
The sizzling air has heated up everything from the ocean to pools, making it difficult to cool off. One woman in the Southwest has been throwing blocks of ice in her pool.
Metro Phoenix could see its 30th day of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) or higher on Saturday before temperatures start dropping in the city and other areas that saw some of the most extreme temperatures in July. Scientists expect this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen.
Here’s what’s happening related to extreme weather and the climate right now:
— Heat advisories continued in New York City, where high humidity has made it uncomfortable and dangerous. Some 500 cooling centers have opened across the city’s five boroughs, and the governor authorized the state’s swimming pools to stay open later. The extreme heat was forecast to ease Sunday.
— Parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut were under a heat advisory through Saturday night. In northern New England, temperatures were down 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit after getting into the 90s (around 35 C) on Friday, but the humidity lingered throughout the region. Afternoon and evening storms were forecast and could bring a chance of flash flooding.
— The weather was equally stifling and muggy in the center of the United States. An excessive heat warning was issued for much of Missouri, Kansas and western Illinois, where the sweaty mix of heat and humidity could make it feel like up to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (about 44 C) in parts. St. Louis health director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said the risk of heat stroke was high and warned that interior car temperatures could reach lethal levels in minutes.
— Temperatures are forecast to start to drop in the hottest areas in the southwest of the United States, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.
— With the scorching heat, even going for a swim offered little to no relief. Sea surface temperatures rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 C) at a spot off Florida’s southern tip, while pools in the Southwest gave the sensation of being in soup.
— The high temperatures are reaching across the globe, including in Bolivia, where a drought alert has been declared for Lake Titicaca after water levels of the world’s highest navigable lake receded to a critically low threshold.
___
Associated Press writers Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire contributed to this report.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
) | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-climate-glimpse-heres-what-you-need-to-see-and-know-today-8/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:04 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-climate-glimpse-heres-what-you-need-to-see-and-know-today-8/ |
Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America.
Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. More than astrology, reincarnation, and the belief that physical things can have spiritual energies.
In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
“People are yearning for something greater than themselves — beyond their own understanding,” said Jack Grogger, a chaplain for the Los Angeles Angels and a longtime Southern California fire captain who has aided many people in their gravest moments.
That search for something bigger, he said, can take on many forms, from following a religion to crafting a self-driven purpose to believing in, of course, angels.
“For a lot of people, angels are a lot safer to worship,” said Grogger, who also pastors a nondenominational church in Orange, California, and is a chaplain for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.
People turn to angels for comfort, he said. They are familiar, regularly showing up in pop culture as well as in the Bible. Comparably, worshipping Jesus is far more involved; when Grogger preaches about angels it is with the context that they are part of God’s kingdom.
American’s belief in angels (69%) is about on par with belief in heaven and the power of prayer, but bested by belief in God or a higher power (79%). Fewer U.S. adults believe in the devil or Satan (56%), astrology (34%), reincarnation (34%), and that physical things can have spiritual energies, such as plants, rivers or crystals (42%).
The widespread acceptance of angels shown in the AP-NORC poll makes sense to Susan Garrett, an angel expert and New Testament professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky. It tracks with historical surveys, she said, adding that the U.S. remains a faith-filled country even as more Americans reject organized religion.
But if the devil is in the details, so are people’s understandings of angels.
“They’re very malleable,” Garrett said of angels. “You can have any one of a number of quite different worldviews in terms of your understanding of how the cosmos is arranged, whether there’s spirit beings, whether there’s life after death, whether there’s a God … and still find a place for angels in that worldview.”
Talk of angels, Garrett said, is often also about something else, like the ways God interacts with the world and other hard-to-articulate ideas.
The large number of U.S. adults who say they believe in angels includes 84% of those with a religious affiliation — 94% of evangelical Protestants, 81% of mainline Protestants and 82% of Catholics — and 33% of those without one. And of those angel-believing religiously unaffiliated, that includes 2% of atheists, 25% of agnostics and 50% of those identified as “nothing in particular.”
The broad acceptance is what fascinates San Francisco-based witch and author Devin Hunter: Angels show up independently in different religions and traditions, making them part of the fabric that unites humanity.
“We’re all getting to the same conclusion,” said Hunter, who spent 16 years as a professional medium, and started communicating as a child with what he believed were angels.
Hunter estimates that a belief in angels applies to about half of those practicing modern witchcraft today, and for some who don’t believe, their rejection is often rooted in the religious trauma they experienced growing up.
“Angels become a very big deal” for long-time practitioners who’ve made occultism their primary focus, said Hunter, an angel-loving occultist. “We cannot escape them in any way, shape or form.”
Jennifer Goodwin of Oviedo, Florida, also is among the roughly seven in 10 U.S. adults who say they believe in angels. She isn’t sure if God exists and rejects the afterlife dichotomy of heaven and hell, but the recent deaths of her parents solidified her views on these celestial beings.
Goodwin believes her parents are still keeping an eye on the family — not in any physical way or as a supernatural apparition, but that they manifest in those moments when she feels a general sense of comfort.
“I think that they are around us, but it’s in a way that we can’t understand,” Goodwin said. “I don’t know what else to call it except an angel.”
Angels mean different things to different people, and the idea of loved ones becoming heavenly angels after death is neither an unusual belief nor a universally held one.
In his reading of Scripture as an evangelical Protestant, Grogger said he believes angels are something else entirely — they have never been human and are on another level in heaven’s hierarchy. “We are higher than angels,” he said. “We do not become an angel.”
Angels do interact with humans though, said Grogger, but what “that looks like we’re not 100% sure.” They worship God who created this angelic legion of unknown numbers, he said, adding that evangelicals often attribute the demonic forces in the world to the angels who fell from heaven when the devil rebelled.
The Western ideas about angels can be traced through the Bible — and to the worldviews of its monotheistic authors, Garrett said. Those beliefs have changed and developed for millennia, influenced by cultures, theologians and even the ancient polytheistic beliefs that came before the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, she said.
“There are sort of lines of continuity from the Bible that you can trace all the way up to the New Age movement,” said Susan Garrett, who wrote “No Ordinary Angel: Celestial Spirits and Christian Claims about Jesus.”
The angels in the Bible do God’s bidding, and angelic violence is one part of their job description, said Esther Hamori, author of the upcoming book, “God’s Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible.”
“The angels of the Bible are just as likely to assassinate individuals and slaughter entire populations as they are to offer help and protect and deliver,” said Hamori. She doesn’t believe in these angels, but studies them as a Hebrew Bible professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York where she teaches a popular “Monster Heaven” class.
“They’re just God’s obedient soldiers doing the task at hand, and sometimes that task is in human beings’ best interests, and sometimes it’s not,” she said.
The perception that angels act angelic and look like the idyllic, winged figurines atop Christmas trees could be attributed to an early centuries belief that people are assigned one good angel and one bad — or have a good and bad spirit to guide them, Garrett said.
This idea shows up on the shoulders of cartoon characters and is likely what Abraham Lincoln was alluding to in his famous appeal for unity when he referenced “the better angels of our nature” in his first inaugural address, she said.
“It’s also tied in with ideas about guardian angels, which again, very ancient views that got developed over the centuries,” Garrett said.
For Sheila Avery of Chicago, angels are protectors, capable of keeping someone from harm. Avery, who belongs to a nondenominational church, credits them with those moments like when a person’s plans fall through, but ultimately it saves them from being in the thick of an unexpected disaster.
“They turn on the news and a terrible tragedy happened at that particular place,” Avery said, suggesting it was an “angel that was probably watching over them.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-do-you-believe-in-angels-about-7-in-10-u-s-adults-do-a-new-ap-norc-poll-shows/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:11 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-do-you-believe-in-angels-about-7-in-10-u-s-adults-do-a-new-ap-norc-poll-shows/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trader Joe’s is recalling a broccoli cheddar soup that may contain insects and cooked falafel that may contain rocks, about one week after the grocery chain recalled two cookie products over similar concerns.
The soup recall impacts Trader Joe’s Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup with “Use By” dates ranging from July 18 to Sept. 15, according to a Thursday announcement from the company. On Friday, the grocer announced that Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Falafel sold in 35 states and Washington, D.C., was also under recall.
On July 21, Trader Joe’s announced that it was recalling Trader Joe’s Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with “sell by” dates ranging from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21. Like the falafel, the cookies may also contain rocks, the company said.
When asked for further information about how the insects and rocks may have gotten into these products, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson said that “there was an issue in the manufacturing processes in the facilities.” Suppliers alerted Trader Joe’s of the possible foreign material for each recall, the company said.
“We pulled the product from our shelves as soon as we were made aware of the issue. Once we understood the issue we notified our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Saturday.
All of the recalled cookies, soup and falafel have been removed from sale or destroyed, Trader Joe’s said in its announcements. But the Monrovia, California-based company is still urging consumers to check their kitchens for the products.
Trader Joe’s says customers who have the recalled products should throw them away or return them to any store for a full refund. Lot codes and further details about the products under recall, as well as customer service contact information, can be found on the company’s website.
Trader Joe’s did not specify how many products were impacted with each recall or identify suppliers. But one Food and Drug Administration notice cited by NBC News says that the Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup recall impacts around 10,889 cases sold in seven states. Winter Gardens Quality Foods, Inc. is identified as the recalling firm, per the notice.
No formal releases about the three recalls were published on the FDA’s Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts page as of Saturday. The Associated Press reached out to the FDA and Winter Gardens Quality Foods for information on Saturday.
“We have a close relationship with our vendors and they alerted us of these issues. We don’t hesitate or wait for regulatory agencies to tell us what to do,” the Trader Joe’s spokesperson said. “We will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:18 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/ap-more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/ |
L.A. County sheriff’s recruit dies eight months after being struck by wrong-way driver in South Whittier
An L.A. County sheriff’s deputy recruit struck by a wrong-way driver while out on a training run died Friday night after spending the last eight months in the hospital.
Alejandro Martinez, 27, died at 7 p.m. at UCLA Ronald Reagan hospital surrounded by his family, friends, Sheriff Robert Luna, and other department members, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
“Our condolences go out to Alejandro’s family, friends, and academy classmates. He will forever live in our hearts & never be forgotten,” the sheriff’s statement said.
Martinez had been out during an academy training run the morning of Nov. 16 when an SUV veered into the wrong lane and crashed into the formation.
The driver, Nicholas Gutierrez, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of peace officers but was released the day after the crash. Gutierrez’s lawyer said he fell asleep at the wheel on his way to work.
Martinez suffered brain swelling, compound femur fractures, a collapsed lung and damage to multiple organs and was placed on a ventilator following the crash.
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva swore in Martinez as a full deputy shortly after the crash.
Martinez grew up in South Central L.A. and later graduated from Cal State Northridge. He had dedicated his life to public service, joining the Army national guard and later applying to become a deputy sheriff.
“All he ever wanted to do was be a deputy sheriff,” said Capt. Pat Macdonald, who leads the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s training bureau. “He dedicated his life to serving the country and more specifically his community.”
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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. | https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-29/l-a-county-sheriffs-recruit-dies-eight-months-after-being-struck-by-wrong-way-driver-in-south-whittier | 2023-07-29T18:01:20 | 0 | https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-29/l-a-county-sheriffs-recruit-dies-eight-months-after-being-struck-by-wrong-way-driver-in-south-whittier |
Car found in Pinellas County canal could be connected to open 1970's missing person's case
OLDSMAR, Fla. - There may still be some evidence inside a car submerged in a Pinellas County canal for decades, a forensics expert said Friday after the vehicle was pulled from the water.
A week after Sunshine State Sonar, a private company that searches bodies of water for missing persons and vehicles, spotted the car at the bottom of Lake Tarpon Canal in Oldsmar, crews pulled it out of the water. What emerged was a mound of mangled metal.
The company owners said they initially retrieved enough pieces of the vehicle to determine it was a 1970s-era Chevy Vega.
Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist at USF, said clues, like DNA and fingerprints, have long since washed away, but other evidence might remain.
RELATED: Twins who went missing 40 years ago could be linked to submerged car in Lake Tarpon Canal
"I'm sure they're searching for the VIN number," Kimmerle said. "That will tell them who it was last registered to, and that's going to be critical in figuring out who owned it or who may have been driving it."
Kimmerle said the state's crime lab might be able to take a piece of the car and figure out its original color.
If so, that could be key in determining whether it may be connected to the case of twin 17-year-old girls Patty and Peggy McDaniels, who vanished from the Pompano Beach area in 1979.
According to the family, the twins were victims of human trafficking before their disappearance.
Detectives were told the girls were last seen getting into a white Chevy Vega with a stranger.
The owners of Sunshine State Sonar said divers with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office told them no human remains were found in the vehicle.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office has not commented on the investigation.
Kimmerle, however, said the water current could move remains over time. Investigators could search or dredge the canal for skeletal remains.
It's not just missing persons cases, she added. According to Kimmerle, more than 70 sets of unidentified human remains are in Florida, and the majority belong to people whose bodies were recovered between 1970 and 1990.
She said detectives can try to see if they match the person to whom the car was registered.
"There are a lot of there's a lot of unidentified remains missing persons, you know, throughout Florida from that time period. So the best kind of outcome is maybe this will link to one of those cases and some family will get resolution," Kimmerle said.
A spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff's, which considers the McDaniels' case an open and active investigation, said there is no current indication the car found in Lake Tarpon Canal is connected to the missing twins. | https://www.fox13news.com/news/car-found-in-pinellas-county-canal-could-be-connected-to-1970s-missing-persons-case | 2023-07-29T18:01:20 | 0 | https://www.fox13news.com/news/car-found-in-pinellas-county-canal-could-be-connected-to-1970s-missing-persons-case |
(NerdWallet) – On July 14, 804,000 longtime student loan borrowers began receiving word that their $39 billion in remaining debt would be forgiven as the result of the Education Department’s income-driven repayment (IDR) account adjustment. This one-time program, first announced in April 2022 to repair past missteps in the IDR system, is counting more past repayment periods toward income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness. Many borrowers will be at least three years closer to IDR forgiveness — and some will automatically see their loans forgiven altogether.
“At the start of this Administration, millions of borrowers had earned loan forgiveness but never received it. That’s unacceptable,” Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal said in a July 14 press release announcing the news. “Today we are holding up the bargain we offered borrowers who have completed decades of repayment.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg. More than 4.4 million borrowers have been repaying their loans for at least 20 years, and 2.3 million of these borrowers have never defaulted or been delinquent on their loans, according to April 2021 Education Department data provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. However, there’s not yet a final count of total borrowers who will receive the IDR account adjustment forgiveness, says Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC).
While the Supreme Court recently struck down President Joe Biden’s up-to-$20,000 student debt cancellation plan, no one has challenged this account adjustment since it was introduced in April 2022, and future legal roadblocks are highly unlikely, Pierce says.
“If I were a borrower, I would feel pretty good about this happening, but you know, we never say never,” Pierce says. “This is something that has never been put in front of a federal judge, and we have not seen any signs that it’s going to.”
All this is occurring as borrowers gear up for student loan payments to resume in October. Here’s what you need to know about the next waves of loan forgiveness under the IDR account adjustment and what qualified borrowers can do to prepare for it.
When will IDR adjustments be made?
The Education Department said it will notify waves of loan forgiveness recipients about every two months. Since the first major batch was announced on July 14, borrowers can expect the next announcement by mid-September.
The department plans to apply the account adjustment by the end of 2023 to all borrowers who’ve reached enough payments for forgiveness; all other borrowers will receive at least three additional years of credit toward IDR loan forgiveness in 2024.
Will I get IDR account adjustment forgiveness?
To find out whether you’ll receive loan forgiveness under the one-time IDR account adjustment, you must count your past payments yourself.
Generally, borrowers with undergraduate loans will receive loan forgiveness if they’ve made at least 240 monthly student loan payments, and those with some graduate loans will reach forgiveness if they’ve made at least 300 payments, Pierce says.
From July 1994 onward, the adjustment counts the following periods toward the 240 or 300 payments needed to reach forgiveness:
- Any month a borrower was in repayment, even if the payments were late or partial. The type of repayment plan also doesn’t matter.
- Time spent in forbearance, either periods lasting 12 or more consecutive months or a cumulative 36 or more months.
- Any month spent in deferment other than in-school deferment before 2013.
- Any month spent in economic hardship or military deferments on or after Jan. 1, 2013.
- Any months in repayment, forbearance or a qualifying deferment before a loan consolidation.
Months spent in default will generally not be included in the recount, though borrowers who enroll in the temporary Fresh Start program to get out of default will get IDR credit from March 2020 through the date they leave default.
Log in to your Federal Student Aid (FSA) account at StudentAid.gov to see how long you’ve been in repayment. To see detailed information, including descriptions of the specific forbearance or deferment periods, request your account history from your servicer.
How to prepare for the IDR account adjustment
The loan forgiveness will be largely automatic for most eligible federal borrowers with older direct loans, federally held Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans and parent PLUS loans. These borrowers don’t need to take any action to qualify or receive loan forgiveness.
“The good news is, for most people, you don’t actually need to be an expert on this program to benefit from it,” Pierce says. “If you have a loan that’s owned by the Department of Education, it’s just gonna work for you.”
But there are some small steps you can take to be proactive.
Update your contact information
Regardless of the type of federal student loans you have, check that your current contact information is listed in both your FSA and servicer accounts. While you’re at it, make sure you still have the password to these accounts, and reset your login credentials if needed.
Forty-four percent of federal borrowers were transferred to a new servicer during the pandemic payment pause, according to a June estimate from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so now is also a good time to see if your servicer changed.
You’ll likely be notified by email if and when your loans are forgiven under the IDR account adjustment, but student loan communications may also arrive by mail.
Consolidate commercially managed federal loans
Some federal loans are not held by the government, but by a private entity. Borrowers with these commercially managed federal loans won’t benefit from the recount automatically — they’ll need to consolidate these loans to qualify. The account adjustment will count periods of repayment prior to consolidation toward IDR forgiveness.
Commercially held loans include certain FFELP loans, Perkins loans and Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program loans. You can see what type of loans you have on the dashboard of your FSA account or servicer portal.
You have until the end of 2023 to consolidate commercially held loans, but don’t delay. The full consolidation process can take from 30 to 60 days, Pierce says. Get started by submitting a direct loan consolidation application on the Federal Student Aid office website.
Consolidate newer parent PLUS loans
Parent PLUS loans are included in the IDR account adjustment. If you reach 300 payments — or 120 payments if you’re eligible for PSLF — your parent PLUS debt will be discharged automatically this year, regardless of whether or not your PLUS loans are consolidated.
But if you have fewer payments than that, you’ll need to act. Consolidate your parent PLUS loans before the end of 2023 to benefit from the adjustment, and enroll in an IDR plan called Income-Contingent Repayment to continue making progress toward forgiveness.
Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Borrowers eligible for PSLF are also eligible for the account adjustment; they can receive IDR loan forgiveness after just 10 years, or 120 eligible payments. PSLF-eligible borrowers with direct loans, including parent PLUS loans, will benefit automatically. Those with either federally or commercially managed FFELP loans must consolidate them into a direct consolidation loan by the end of 2023 to get PSLF credit under the account adjustment.
After the adjustment is applied to your account, you’ll see credit toward PSLF for any month after October 2007 during which you were in repayment and had qualifying employment.
“If you’ve applied or will apply for PSLF and certify your employment, you may see the benefits of this adjustment to your qualifying payment count,” writes the office of Federal Student Aid. Do so as soon as possible to ensure you benefit from the recount.
Check your state’s tax policy
The federal government won’t tax any debt forgiven as a result of the IDR account adjustment.
However, certain states, including Indiana and Mississippi, treat forgiven student loans as taxable earned income, and thus may tax the amount of forgiven debt you receive. The vast majority of states don’t do this, so check the rules in your state.
If you’re concerned about a state tax bill, you can opt out of loan forgiveness. You have 30 days to do so after you receive notice that your remaining debt will be forgiven under the IDR account adjustment. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/more-student-loan-forgiveness-coming-for-longtime-borrowers/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:24 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/more-student-loan-forgiveness-coming-for-longtime-borrowers/ |
Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies
The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. says it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies toward African Americans.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity said this week that it would move its 2025 convention from Orlando to another location that is yet undecided. The convention draws 4,000 to 6,000 people and has an economic impact of $4.6 million, the fraternity said.
The decision comes after the NAACP and other civil rights organizations this spring issued a travel advisory for Florida, warning that recently passed laws and policies are openly hostile to African Americans, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Booksellers in Hungary must decide whether to comply with a law requiring books that depict homosexuality to be placed in closed packaging on their shelves.
Willis Lonzer, the fraternity’s general president, said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was motivated in part by Florida’s new education standards that require teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis,” Lonzer said.
An email seeking comment Saturday about the fraternity’s decision was sent to Jeremy Redfern, the governor’s press secretary and the governor’s office.
DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has come under fire this week over Florida’s new education standards. Among those criticizing the Florida governor Friday was a rival for the Republican nomination, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole Black Republican in the Senate.
Responding to the criticism, DeSantis said Friday that he was “defending” Florida “against false accusations and against lies. And we’re going to continue to speak the truth.”
In May, the NAACP joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors. The groups cited recent laws that prohibited state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as critical race theory, and the Stop WOKE Act that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses.
They also cited laws that they say made life more difficult for immigrants in Florida and limited discussions on LGBTQ topics in schools.
At least nine other organizations or associations have pulled the plug on hosting conventions in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, two of the state’s most population convention cities, because of Florida’s political climate, according to local media reports.
Florida is one of the most popular states in the U.S. for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries. More than 137.5 million tourists visited Florida last year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency. Tourism supports 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, the last year for which figures are available.
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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/historically-black-fraternity-drops-florida-for-convention-because-of-desantis-policies | 2023-07-29T18:01:26 | 1 | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/historically-black-fraternity-drops-florida-for-convention-because-of-desantis-policies |
Congress breaks for August recess with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won't be easy.
"We're going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons' assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
A view of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, United States on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government's borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
READ MORE: Hot mic catches confused Feinstein being told to vote 'aye' in awkward committee moment
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
"We should not fear a government shutdown," said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. "Most of the American people won't even miss if the government is shut down temporarily."
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn't feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
"We always get blamed for it, no matter what," Simpson said. "So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics."
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and "you can always do less." GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement "set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor."
The decision to cut spending below levels in the the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
"What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "And so we are in for a bumpy ride."
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
"The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
"We’ve got 'til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done," McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
"I don't want the government to shut down," McCarthy said. "I want to find that we can find common ground."
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn't happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don't want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year's spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn't vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts "would have just been devastating."
"That's the challenge we're going to have when we get back in September," he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA's decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
"I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. "I think that's ridiculous."
It's a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown. | https://www.fox13news.com/news/congress-breaks-august-recess-shutdown | 2023-07-29T18:01:26 | 1 | https://www.fox13news.com/news/congress-breaks-august-recess-shutdown |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In states across the country this year, Republicans have talked a lot about restricting drag performances in front of children.
But that talk, and even their efforts, haven't amounted to much.
Bills restricting drag have failed to pass, passed as watered-down laws, have been vetoed or, in the case of three states that did manage to pass meaningful restrictions, laws have been temporarily halted by federal judges.
Friday, in fact, a judge temporarily blocked drag restrictions in the last remaining state with enforceable restrictions – Montana – just days before the start of Pride festivities.
A few states' lawmakers are still in session, though, so more efforts could be afoot.
In Arkansas, where Republican state Sen. Gary Stubblefield championed and sponsored a bill earlier this year, he said drag shows harm kids and "take away their innocence."
"I can't think of any redeeming quality, anything good that can come from taking children and putting them in front of a bunch of grown men that are dressed like women," Stubblefield said back in January as he introduced his bill on the floor of the Arkansas Senate.
'Prurient interest' and the First Amendment
Stubblefield's bill contained key language that showed up in a lot of states' attempted drag restrictions – an appeal to the "prurient interest." (Texas, Tennessee, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, for example.)
"That word – prurient interest – means excessive interest in sexual matters," Stubblefield explained to lawmakers in committee.
"Most drag shows do not appeal to the prurient interest," says JT Morris, an attorney for the free-speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
"Even if they did, saying something appeals to the 'prurient interest' under the First Amendment is not enough to regulate it," he says, noting that this kind of language makes it harder for a bill to hold up to basic legal scrutiny.
"You can't pass a state law based on disagreement with somebody's viewpoint. It's a textbook First Amendment violation."
And that disagreement has been palpable across the country. In Arkansas, Stubblefield's bill was met with large public backlash from those who say drag is about showmanship, not sex.
"I do drag as an art form," says Jeremy Stuthard, an Arkansas drag performer.
"I take a decent-looking guy and turn him into a statue-esk Barbie doll, and have a great time and put smiles on people's faces and that's all I really try to do."
Stuthard says most of the children he meets at drag brunches and story hours aren't there to indulge a 'prurient interest', but to have fun listening to a story read by a costumed actor.
Drag restrictions put on hold and watered down
In Tennessee, the day before that state's drag restrictions were due to go into effect, a Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge temporarily struck down the law due to its constitutional vagueness.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker wrote, "Whether some of us may like it or not," the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment "as protecting speech that is indecent but not obscene."
A similar law in Florida has been temporarily blocked. For a while, that left Montana as the only state in the country with an enforceable drag law, until the courts temporarily blocked that one, too.
In Arkansas, Sen. Stubblefield's drag ban bill was amended until it hardly resembled a drag ban. The final version of the law, which passed by large margins, now regulates stripping, not drag shows.
"[The]Amended House Bill is the only way to really protect minors. For another reason, it's the only draft that will stand up in court," Stubblefield said of the amendment, which he didn't write but ultimately agreed to.
"None of us like to pass a bill that's going to get struck down by a judge and not help any children at all."
Josie Lenora is the politics/government reporter at KUAR in Little Rock, Ark.
Copyright 2023 KUAR | https://www.nepm.org/national-world-news/national-world-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids | 2023-07-29T18:01:28 | 1 | https://www.nepm.org/national-world-news/national-world-news/2023-07-29/almost-nothing-has-come-from-all-the-talk-about-states-banning-drag-in-front-of-kids |
UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) – Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed last year in the Robb Elementary School shooting, is planning to turn her grief into action, after announcing Thursday she will run for mayor of Uvalde, Texas, in an upcoming special election.
“This past year, it’s been so frustrating navigating our country’s political system, and sometimes you have to be the change you seek. So, here I am running for mayor,” Rubio told Nexstar.
The 34-year-old mother is looking to fill the soon-vacant seat held by Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin in an upcoming special election on Nov. 7.
McLaughlin has served as the South Texas town’s mayor since 2014, and has reached his term limit. He is now running to succeed Rep. Tracy King, D-Uvalde, in the Texas House.
Mata-Rubio shared news of her run for mayor Thursday. On social media, she addressed her daughter directly, explaining why she chose to take action.
“I grieve for the woman you would have become and all the difference you would have made in this world,” Mata-Rubio wrote. “I grieve for the woman I was when you were still here. But, one part of me still exist, I am still your mom. I will honor your life with action. This is only the beginning.”
Lexi, 10, was one of the 21 people killed at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022, in the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting. In the year since, Mata-Rubio has been a regular at the Texas Capitol and U.S. Capitol, advocating for tighter gun restrictions she believes will help prevent other parents from feeling her pain.
“Bridging the gap in our fractured community is my number one focus. And the reason being is because we cannot move on or forward without the entire community coming together,” she said. “And when I say moving on, I want to bring those two teachers and 19 students with me along on this journey. That’s the only way to do this. And the only way to move forward and they deserve that they’re part of this community as well.”
Mata-Rubio will face off against Cody Smith, a banker and former mayor of Uvalde, in the Nov. 7 special election. No other candidates have announced a bid for the seat. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/mother-of-uvalde-shooting-victim-to-run-for-mayor-of-town/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:30 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/mother-of-uvalde-shooting-victim-to-run-for-mayor-of-town/ |
Mega Millions jackpot surges to $910 million after months without big winner
UPDATE: There was no jackpot winner Friday night. The winning numbers drawn were 5, 10, 28, 52, 63 and the gold ball 18. Click here for the latest.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Lottery players will have another shot at a huge Mega Millions jackpot Friday night and a chance to break a stretch of more than three months without a big winner of the game.
The estimated $910 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
The jackpot is now the eighth-largest ever in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after someone in Los Angeles won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. It's still a mystery who won that prize.
RELATED: Mega Millions jackpot jumps to $820 million
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million.
The $910 million prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $464.2 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. | https://www.fox13news.com/news/mega-millions-jackpot-surges-to-910-million | 2023-07-29T18:01:32 | 0 | https://www.fox13news.com/news/mega-millions-jackpot-surges-to-910-million |
Marines recruiting surges while other military services struggle
Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening.
She admits recruiting is not the job that she or other Marines had in mind when they enlisted. But after stints as a recruiter and senior officer at the Eastern recruiting command, she has become emblematic of the Corps’ tradition of putting its best, battle-tested Marines on enlistment duty. They get results.
Marine leaders say they will make their recruiting goal this year, while the active-duty Army, Navy and Air Force all expect to fall short. The services have struggled in the tight job market to compete with higher-paying businesses for the dwindling number of young people who can meet the military’s physical, mental and moral standards.
On that night, Nash achieved her own goal. She had gotten the valet at the hotel and the hostess at the restaurant to provide their phone numbers and to consider a Marine career.
Bolder messaging on extreme heat can save lives, plus more from the week in Opinion.
Nash’s boss, Brig. Gen. Walker Field, who head the Eastern recruiting region, says the Corps has historically put an emphasis on selecting top-performing Marines to fill recruiting jobs. He says that has been a key to the Marines’ recruiting success, along with efforts to increase the number of recruiters, extend those who do well and speed their return to high schools, where in-person recruiting stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said his recruiters — who cover the territory between Canada and Puerto Rico and as far west as Mississippi — will meet their mission and expect to have 30% of their 2024 goal when they start the next fiscal year, Oct. 1. More broadly, Marine officials say they expect the Corps to achieve its recruiting target of more than 33,000.
Last year, the Navy, Air Force and Marines had to eat into their pools of delayed entry applicants in order to make their goals. The Marines will avoid that this year.
“That would be a great ending,” said Field, speaking to the Associated Press on a recent steamy day at South Carolina’s Parris Island, along the Atlantic Coast. “I’m bearish for not only concluding FY23 on a strong footing, but also how we set the conditions for FY24.”
The Marine Corps may get some help from its small size. The Army, for example, has a recruiting goal of 65,000 this year, which is nearly double the Corps’, and expects to fall substantially short of that. Air Force and Navy officials say they will also miss their goals, although the Space Force, which is the smallest service and does its recruiting within Air Force stations, is expected to meet its goal of about 500 recruits.
Sitting in the shadow of Parris Island’s replica of the Iwo Jima monument, Field said his biggest challenge is that a number of Marine hopefuls cannot pass the military’s academic test, known as the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery.
That is a widespread problem, but the Army recently set up a program that targets recruits who score below 30 on the test and provides schooling for several weeks to help them pass. Already more than 8,800 recruits have successfully gone through the classes, raised their scores and moved on to basic training.
The Navy is taking another route with a pilot program that allows up to 20% of their recruits to score below 30 on the test, as long as they meet specific standards for their chosen naval job. Marine leaders, however, do not take those lowest scoring recruits, and so far have no plans for any type of formal improvement program such as the Army’s.
Field said the Marines are repositioning recruiting stations, moving them around based on where population totals have increased in the latest census. More important, he said, the Corps maintains its focus on choosing the right recruiters, encouraging successful ones to stay in the job and increasing the number of Marine reservists tapped for recruit duties from the current 31 to 96 by the end of next year.
Nash, who until last month was assistant chief of staff for the Eastern region, said Marines are hand-selected for recruiting command jobs. Many three- and four-star Marines, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, will cite their years doing enlistment duty.
“We put our best and brightest in those positions,” said Nash, adding that those chosen for recruiting posts have a proven track record of success in previous assignments and have demonstrated critical leadership skills. “That’s why they got selected, because they were above their peers.”
She acknowledged that the first time she was picked for a recruiting job she was “voluntold.” But now, recounting her sales pitch in Atlanta, her rapid-fire pitch comes without taking a breath.
“I say, ‘Hey, ever thought about being Marine? We’re a bunch of Marines. And, you know, I think you potentially could be a good Marine. You ever thought about it?’ And usually you get, ‘Yeah, I thought about it.’ And I’m, like, ‘What’s holding you back? Would you like to learn more about your opportunities?’ ‘Absolutely.’ ‘OK. Mind giving me your name and phone number? I’ll have one of my recruiters give you a phone call.’”
The Marines have resisted increasing bonuses to attract recruits — something the other services have found helpful.
Gen. Eric Smith, the acting Marine Corps commandant, got some ribbing for his response when he was asked about bonuses during a naval conference in February.
“Your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine,” he said. “That’s your bonus, right? There’s no dollar amount that goes with that.”
Field, Nash and others also say the Corps prefers to give a lot of recruits a few thousand dollars, rather than increasing the amount and giving money to far fewer people.
Field said that getting Marine recruiters in uniform back into high schools this year, after several years of COVID-19 restrictions, has been a key driver. There, young people line up to compete in pull-up contests, vying for a free T-shirt if they can do 20. And recruiters say many are drawn to the cache of being a Marine.
“If you told me you’ll give me $10 million worth of advertising and I can do something with it, or you’ll give me 10 great-looking Marines in a Marine uniform — what’s going to get the most value? Give me those 10 Marines and give me a day,” Nash said. “We’ll go out and we’ll get more out of that, I think, than $10 million in advertising.”
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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/marines-recruiting-surges-other-military-services-struggle | 2023-07-29T18:01:32 | 0 | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/marines-recruiting-surges-other-military-services-struggle |
Finding new things in the places we know and love is really what we're all about.
So we're psyched that a Northfield singer songwriter is getting her time to shine. Sandy Bailey has spent a number of years making music, but her debut album "Daughter Of Abraham" comes out on August 18th, and she'll be performing in Northampton at Bands on Brewster on August 3rd. We invite her into the studio to talk about the links to history in her music, taking classes in Nashville, and bask in the sounds we got a glimpse of during her appearance at the Green River Festival.
We find interesting and provocative theater happening at the base of the Berkshires in the Gem of the Valley: Chester. "The Light" is a production that places a focus on some of the nuances of black love that has just opened at Chester Theater. We talk with director Christina Franklin about making theater happen in western Mass as well as the importance of giving depth to BIPOC experiences in places where they can really make an impact.
And we discover it in pitting two wines against each other in the Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome. For the first time ever we take the battle on the road to combine the conflict with Pizza Quest, our effort to find the best pizza in the four counties of western Mass, which lands us at Joe's Cafe Spaghetti and Pizza House in Northampton. There, we're met by Michael Quinlan, Joe's aficionado and Table & Vine Ambassador, who has us examine how one grape, in a way not unlike twins, grows to be so very different when placed on two different continents. | https://www.nepm.org/podcast/the-fabulous-413/2023-07-29/illuminating-sandys-thunder | 2023-07-29T18:01:35 | 1 | https://www.nepm.org/podcast/the-fabulous-413/2023-07-29/illuminating-sandys-thunder |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 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.
The complaint comes as Twitter 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,” though 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. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/new-x-logo-atop-twitter-building-in-san-francisco-prompts-complaint-investigation-from-city/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:36 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/new-x-logo-atop-twitter-building-in-san-francisco-prompts-complaint-investigation-from-city/ |
To wrap, or not to wrap? Hungarian bookstores face fines over closed packaging for LGBTQ+ books
In a snug, wood-paneled Jewish bookstore in Hungary‘s capital, Eva Redai carefully climbed the rungs of a ladder to arrange titles on the shelves. Among the books were volumes bound in plastic wrapping — titles containing LGBTQ+ content that the country’s right-wing government has deemed unsuitable for minors under 18.
The 76-year-old has run the Láng Téka bookstore in central Budapest for nearly 35 years, since just before Hungary’s democratic transition from state socialism. But never, until now, has she needed to segregate the books she sells to avoid violating a government ban.
“I consider this such a level of discrimination. This law is an act of force that can hardly be made sense of,” Redai said. “As someone who’s been in this business for such a long time, even I cannot decide which books fall under the ban.”
Hungary’s government under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has in recent years taken a hard line on LGBTQ+ issues, passing legislation that rights groups and European politicians have decried as repressive against sexual minorities.
A “child protection” law, passed in 2021, bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality in content available to minors, including in television, films, advertisements and literature. It also prohibits the mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programs, and forbids the public depiction of “gender deviating from sex at birth.”
Online outbursts by Vicente Fox have made the former Mexican president campaign kryptonite for his favored candidate in the next election.
Hungary’s government insists that the law, part of a broader statute that also increases criminal penalties for pedophilia and creates a searchable database of sex offenders, is necessary to protect children. But it is seen by Orban’s critics as an attempt to stigmatize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and conflate homosexuality with pedophilia.
Earlier this month, a government office levied a hefty fine against Hungary’s second-largest bookstore chain for violating the contentious law. Líra Könyv was ordered to pay around $35,000 for placing a popular LGBTQ+ graphic novel in its youth literature section, and for failing to place it in closed packaging.
The fine, the second issued by the government in a single month, sent booksellers rushing to determine whether selling certain titles without closed packaging could result in financial penalties for their own stores. Along with outlawing LGBTQ+ content for minors, the law also prohibits depicting “sexuality for its own sake” to audiences under 18 — a rule that could potentially apply to countless works of literature.
Krisztian Nyary, an author and the creative director for Líra Könyv, said that the language of the law contains many ambiguities, which places a burden on booksellers to determine which of the thousands of titles they offer may contain proscribed content.
“The practical problem is that the sellers are supposed to decide what the law applies to and what it does not,” Nyary said, adding that the Bible, too, depicts homosexuality. “In a small bookstore of 4- to 5,000 titles, or a large one with 60- to 70,000 titles, a bookseller does not know in much detail what the books contain.”
Nyary said Líra Könyv plans to challenge the fine in court, and does not intend to begin placing books in closed packaging. The requirement to do so is “anti-culture,” he said, and could carry adverse financial effects as well.
“The ability to sell a packaged book is one-tenth of what it is when it’s unpackaged. It’s like putting a painting in a dark basement: Everyone knows it’s there, but you can’t look at it,” he said.
The Láng Téka bookstore, a much smaller business, has opted to comply with the law. On Wednesday, an employee packaged titles that depict homosexuality in household cellophane wrap, and slid them onto the packed shelves. Redai, the shop owner, posted a sign on the front window reading, “In this bookshop, we also sell books with ‘non-traditional content.’”
“This is completely against my own principles and thoughts,” Redai said. “But obviously, I’m a law-abiding person, and I also don’t want to pay a fine of several million forints for my nonexistent crime. So we, too, are trying to obey the laws which they have recently forced on us.”
Mark Mezei, a novelist in Budapest, has published a book that contains a lesbian relationship — making his work subject to the restrictions. But he believes Hungary’s legislation, which he described as “bad for democracy,” will not have a chilling effect on authors.
“Whoever wants to write is going to write ... it doesn’t matter what legislators think,” he said. “That we live in times when such a thing can happen is not up to me. But as a writer, this doesn’t influence me at all.”
Others, too, are resisting the legislation. A group of university activists this week have given away more than 100 free copies of what they call “banned books” — those subject to the closed packaging provision — in front of one of Budapest’s largest bookstores.
One activist, 22-year-old Vince Sajosi, said on Wednesday that Hungary’s law reduces the accessibility of important works and “restricts a process of social development.”
“We want these books to appear in Hungarian literary public life and in everyday conversations, which is why we want to give them to people for free,” he said.
Redai, the bookstore owner, said that in Hungary today, people that identify as nonheterosexual “are being stigmatized and ostracized, and they are not considered equal members of society, which I simply find outrageous.”
“This feeds into an idea that, unfortunately, already happened in the 20th century, where people were judged and persecuted based on their appearance, skin color, religion or other affiliation, and many, many people fell victim to this idea,” she said. “Quite simply, this could be the beginning of something terrible that so many of us have tried to forget.”
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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books | 2023-07-29T18:01:38 | 0 | https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-07-29/to-wrap-or-not-to-wrap-hungarian-bookstores-face-fines-over-closed-packaging-for-lgbtq-books |
(KOIN) – She’s just gonna shake, shake, shake the earth.
Taylor Swift’s July 22 and 23 concerts in Seattle allegedly produced seismic activity on par with a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, according to a Western Washington University geology professor and seismologist.
Jackie Caplan-Auerbach tracked the seismic activity emanating from Swift’s Lumen Field performances earlier this month, finding similar and overlapping seismic waves on both dates. She later added that she couldn’t be sure whether the fans or the sound systems had caused the activity, but plans to continue investigating.
“I’m not yet convinced that it’s all dancing – the signals between the two nights are ridiculously similar and people tend to be messy,” Caplan-Auerbach wrote on Twitter.
She added that concertgoers were likely unaware of any geological activity at the time, saying the data recorded by the seismometer was “mostly below the range of human hearing.”
Swift’s Seattle concerts, which were attended by over 144,000 people in total, broke Lumen Field’s attendance records, according to The Seattle Times.
Caplan-Auerbach also compared the quake, which she dubbed the “Seismic Swift,” to 2010’s “Beast Quake,” when Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch scored a last-minute touchdown during a playoff game. Activity produced by Seahawks fans registered on a seismograph at a 2.0 magnitude.
The next step for Caplan-Auerbach is attempting to line up the seismic activity beat-by-beat with Swift’s setlist to see how the songs impacted the shake, she said. She’s set up a Google Drive to collect videos to help with her research. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/taylor-swift-concerts-in-seattle-produced-seismic-activity-on-same-scale-as-a-small-earthquake-seismologist-finds/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:42 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/taylor-swift-concerts-in-seattle-produced-seismic-activity-on-same-scale-as-a-small-earthquake-seismologist-finds/ |
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Right now, there are three active meteor showers. Their peak viewing times are approaching in the next few weeks, and they are, conveniently, all going to be on Saturday and Sunday.
For optimal meteor shower viewing, it’s best to be in an area with little or no light pollution.
Perseids
According to NASA, the Perseid Meteor Shower is the best one happening this year, and viewers can see up to 100 meteors per hour. The shower became visible in the northern hemisphere on July 14 and will be around until Sept. 1.
If you want to see the Perseids at its peak, plan a night of stargazing for Aug. 12 or 13, according to NASA. For best viewing, NASA says to look during the pre-dawn hours, although meteors and fireballs could be visible as early as 10 p.m. The meteors will originate near the Perseid constellation and will be more easily-found constellation Cassiopeia.
The Perseids shower is expected to be very visible this year because the moon will not be as bright. This means the sky will be darker, making meteors more visible.
Delta Aquariids
The Delta Aquariids are not usually as impressive as the Perseids, but without a noticeable peak, you have a longer window for possibly seeing meteors from this shower. According to the American Meteor Society, the shower will be visible primarily in the southern tropics between July 18 and Aug. 21, with an estimated peak around Sunday, July 30. The northern hemisphere is less likely to see the Delta Aquariids than the southern.
July 30 is also a full moon, making 2023 less favorable for seeing the Delta Aquariids. Those who want to look for them should look toward the Delta Aquarii constellation from around 2 a.m. to dawn.
Alpha Capricornids
If you want a double chance to see more fireballs, July 30 might be your night, because in addition to the Delta Aquariids, the Alpha Capricornids are also expected to peak that night in 2023. The Alpha Capricornids are visible from July 7 to Aug. 15 but are considered much weaker than the other showers listed above, with only about five meteors visible per hour, but according to the AMS, the shower can have some pretty impressive fireballs in lower quantities.
The shower can also be seen equally as well in the northern and southern hemispheres. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/the-next-3-meteor-showers-peak-on-weekends-what-to-know/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:48 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/the-next-3-meteor-showers-peak-on-weekends-what-to-know/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels ‘ increasingly contentious effort to lay the groundwork for a moderate third-party presidential ticket in the 2024 election. He gives the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the No Labels campaign could unintentionally help Republican Donald Trump return to the White House.
Nixon, a 67-year-old lawyer, is stepping back into national politics for the first time since leaving office in 2017 and will serve as No Labels’ director of ballot integrity. He said in an interview that he was drawn to the role after learning that well-funded groups aligned with Democrats were working to stop No Labels from securing ballot access in key states.
He said that those seeking to block the group’s right to appear on the presidential ballot are attacking a pillar of American democracy.
“What do I say to those Democrats? I say, ‘You’re entitled to your opinion. But we are also entitled to use our constitutional and statutory rights to allow Americans to have another choice,’” Nixon told The Associated Press.
President Joe Biden and Trump have dominated the 2024 campaign conversation so far. But No Labels, a Washington-based group that promotes compromise, national unity and centrist policy solutions, has been preparing for the strongest third-party presidential bid at least since Texas businessman Ross Perot earned nearly 19% of the popular vote in 1992.
Working with an operating budget of roughly $70 million, No Labels is taking steps to secure presidential ballot spots in roughly 20 states this year; the group has done so already in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon and Utah.
While No Labels has yet to nominate candidates for president and vice president, its leadership insists there is a path to victory for a centrist third-party ticket “if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.”
The group’s critics across the Democratic Party are terrified that No Labels will siphon votes that would otherwise go to Biden, who narrowly beat Trump in 2020 with a coalition that included moderate Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans.
No Labels’ leadership has promised a series of checks and balances that would allow the organization to withdraw its presidential ticket if it appears the group’s participation would help Trump win. No Labels has not outlined a detailed plan about that, and leaders acknowledge privately there is some urgency to come out with their specific safeguards, which would vary state by state. They intend to do so by “early fall.”
Anxious Democrats are unconvinced.
On Thursday, two prominent Democratic groups, the centrist Third Way and more progressive MoveOn, hosted private meetings on Capitol Hill with dozens of chiefs of staff and senior aides to House and Senate Democrats to emphasize the need to stop No Label’s presidential ambitions. In a nod to the seriousness of the Democratic establishment’s concerns, the meetings were held in both the House and Senate Democrats’ campaign headquarters.
“We told them what we have been saying consistently now for a long time: This is dangerous,” said Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett, who helped lead the briefing along with MoveOn’s executive director, Rahna Epting.
The organizers detailed data showing that a No Labels ticket would undercut Biden in the general election and warned that it could handicap vulnerable House and Senate candidates is tight elections. They also questioned that No Labels’ promise to withdraw its ticket if necessary to stop Trump.
No Labels’ leaders are furious.
“They are telling the elected leaders of this country right now that our ballot is a runaway train. And that is categorically false. That is propaganda. And that is why we’re bringing on a director of ballot integrity to stop it because it’s outrageous,” said No Labels’ founder Nancy Jacobson, a former Democratic fundraiser.
For now, Democrats are not willing to take Jacobson’s word for it.
“I don’t want to be doing this. I’d much rather focus on other things. I am concerned, genuinely,” Epting said. “They’re in over their head. They have not given any assurances that they’re clear and sober in their analysis. And when they talk about being able to put the horse back in the barn, they are not consistent about when or how they’re going to do that.”
“They’re just saying, ‘Trust us,’” Epting said. “We can’t. We don’t know you. And the stakes are too high.”
Meanwhile, Nixon joins a growing roster of former elected officials in both parties now affiliated with No Labels. Among the others: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; former Govs. Jon Huntsman Jr., R-Utah, Larry Hogan, R-Md., and Pat McCrory, R-N.C.; and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat who became an independent late in his political career.
Manchin and Huntsman, ambassador to China under President Barack Obama and to Russia under Trump, hosted a town hall in New Hampshire this month, driving speculation they may ultimately become the No Labels presidential ticket.
No Labels plans to hold a presidential nominating convention next April in Dallas, and the group is showing no signs of backing off its 2024 plans. With a massive budget fueled by anonymous donations, No Labels can afford to be patient in the fights ahead.
Democrats in Arizona filed a complaint this month with the secretary of state asking to have the group suspended until it discloses it donors. In May, Maine’s top elections official sent a cease-and-desist letter regarding No Labels voter registration efforts after claiming the group was misleading voters.
The group Citizens to Save Our Republic formed a super political action committee this month specifically designed to stop No Labels. The group’s members includes Bennett from Third Way, several advisers to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.
Nixon, who declined to criticize Biden or Trump, said he understands that he is walking into a political firestorm. But he said he is passionate about No Labels’ constitutional right to secure a place on the ballot.
“I feel calm. I feel correct. I think we have a high moral ground here,” he said. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-ex-missouri-gov-jay-nixon-joins-push-for-third-party-presidential-bid-as-democrats-try-to-stop-it/ | 2023-07-29T18:01:54 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-ex-missouri-gov-jay-nixon-joins-push-for-third-party-presidential-bid-as-democrats-try-to-stop-it/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The oldest historically Black collegiate fraternity in the U.S. says it is relocating a planned convention in two years from Florida because of what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration’s “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies towards African Americans.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity said this week that it would move its 2025 convention from Orlando to another location that is yet undecided. The convention draws between 4,000 and 6,000 people and has an economic impact of $4.6 million, the fraternity said.
The decision comes after the NAACP and other civil rights organizations this spring issued a travel advisory for Florida, warning that recently passed laws and policies are openly hostile to African Americans, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Willis Lonzer, the fraternity’s general president, said in statement on Wednesday that the decision was motivated in part by Florida’s new education standards that require teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis,” Lonzer said.
An email seeking comment on Saturday about the fraternity’s decision was sent to Jeremy Redfern, the governor’s press secretary and the governor’s office.
DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has come under fire this week over Florida’s new education standards. Among those criticizing the Florida governor on Friday was a rival for the Republican nomination, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole Black Republican in the Senate.
Responding to the criticism, DeSantis said Friday that he was “defending” Florida “against false accusations and against lies. And we’re going to continue to speak the truth.”
In May, the NAACP joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors. The groups cited recent laws that prohibited state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as critical race theory, and the Stop WOKE Act that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses.
They also cited laws that they say made life more difficult for immigrants in Florida and limited discussions on LGBTQ topics in schools.
At least nine other organizations or associations have pulled the plug on hosting conventions in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, two of the state’s most population convention cities, because of Florida’s political climate, according to local media reports.
Florida is one of the most popular states in the U.S. for tourists, and tourism is one of its biggest industries. More than 137.5 million tourists visited Florida last year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency. Tourism supports 1.6 million full-time and part-time jobs, and visitors spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, the last year figures are available.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-historically-black-fraternity-drops-florida-for-convention-because-of-desantis-policies/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:01 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-historically-black-fraternity-drops-florida-for-convention-because-of-desantis-policies/ |
More than 30K still in dark after Wednesday's storm, DTE says
More than 30,000 DTE Energy customers were still without power Saturday morning after severe weather moved into southeast Michigan this week, bringing heavy rainfall, heat, thunderstorms and flooding.
By 11 a.m., 31,188 DTE Energy customers were in the dark, down from more than 200,000 Wednesday night, after a line of storms ripped through the region Wednesday afternoon, toppling power lines, breaking tree branches and uprooting trees.
"Our storm response team of more than 3,000 strong, is focused on restoring each and every customer impacted by recent weather systems. Please remember to stay at least 25 feet from any downed wire and anything it may touch — consider all wires live," the utility said on its website.
Consumers Energy's outage map Saturday morning reported 5,401 customers without power.
As storms move east, widespread showers and thunderstorms were expected to taper off mid-morning, with isolated shower or sub-severe thunderstorms returning to the region in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday's temperatures were expected to reach upper 70s to lower 80s, while Sunday's forecast called for less humidity, with temperatures reaching mid 70s to nearly 80, the agency said. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/07/29/power-outages-wednesday-storm-dte-says/70491988007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:03 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/07/29/power-outages-wednesday-storm-dte-says/70491988007/ |
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government’s borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won’t even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn’t feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. “So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics.”
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got ‘til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done,” McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don’t want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don’t want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year’s spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
“That’s the challenge we’re going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
It’s a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:03 | 1 | https://www.kxii.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ |
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Not long ago, Marine Col. Jennifer Nash, a combat engineer with war deployments under her belt, made a vow to fellow officers as they headed to a dinner in Atlanta: She would get two new recruiting contacts by the end of the evening.
She admits recruiting is not the job that she or other Marines had in mind when they enlisted. But after stints as a recruiter and senior officer at the Eastern recruiting command, she has become emblematic of the Corps’ tradition of putting its best, battle-tested Marines on enlistment duty. They get results.
Marine leaders say they will make their recruiting goal this year, while the active-duty Army, Navy and Air Force all expect to fall short. The services have struggled in the tight job market to compete with higher-paying businesses for the dwindling number of young people who can meet the military’s physical, mental and moral standards.
On that night, Nash achieved her own goal. She had gotten the valet at the hotel and the hostess at the restaurant to provide their phone numbers and to consider a Marine career.
Nash’s boss, Brig. Gen. Walker Field, who head the Eastern recruiting region, says the Corps has historically put an emphasis on selecting top-performing Marines to fill recruiting jobs. He says that has been a key to the Marines’ recruiting success, along with efforts to increase the number of recruiters, extend those who do well and speed their return to high schools, where in-person recruiting stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said his recruiters — who cover the territory between Canada and Puerto Rico and as far west as Mississippi — will meet their mission and expect to have 30% of their 2024 goal when they start the next fiscal year, Oct. 1. More broadly, Marine officials say they expect the Corps to achieve its recruiting target of more than 33,000.
Last year, the Navy, Air Force and Marines had to eat into their pools of delayed entry applicants in order to make their goals. The Marines will avoid that this year.
“That would be a great ending,” said Field, speaking to The Associated Press on a recent steamy day at South Carolina’s Parris Island, along the Atlantic Coast. “I’m bearish for not only concluding FY23 on a strong footing, but also how we set the conditions for FY24.”
The Marine Corps may get some help from its small size. The Army, for example, has a recruiting goal of 65,000 this year, which is nearly double the Corps’, and expects to fall substantially short of that. Air Force and Navy officials say they will also miss their goals, although the Space Force, which is the smallest service and does its recruiting within Air Force stations, is expected to meet its goal of about 500 recruits.
Sitting in the shadow of Parris Island’s replica of the Iwo Jima monument, Field said his biggest challenge is that a number of Marine hopefuls cannot pass the military’s academic test, known as the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery.
That is a widespread problem, but the Army recently set up a program that targets recruits who score below 30 on the test and provides schooling for several weeks to help them pass. Already more than 8,800 recruits have successfully gone through the classes, raised their scores and moved on to basic training.
The Navy is taking another route with a pilot program that allows up to 20% of their recruits to score below 30 on the test, as long as they meet specific standards for their chosen naval job. Marine leaders, however, do not take those lowest scoring recruits, and so far have no plans for any type of formal improvement program such as the Army’s.
Field said the Marines are repositioning recruiting stations, moving them around based on where population totals have increased in the latest census. More important, he said, the Corps maintains its focus on choosing the right recruiters, encouraging successful ones to stay in the job and increasing the number of Marine reservists tapped for recruit duties from the current 31 to 96 by the end of next year.
Nash, who until last month was assistant chief of staff for the Eastern region, said Marines are hand-selected for recruiting command jobs. Many three- and four-star Marines, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, will cite their years doing enlistment duty.
“We put our best and brightest in those positions,” said Nash, adding that those chosen for recruiting posts have a proven track record of success in previous assignments and have demonstrated critical leadership skills. “That’s why they got selected, because they were above their peers.”
She acknowledged that the first time she was picked for a recruiting job she was “voluntold.” But now, recounting her sales pitch in Atlanta, her rapid fire pitch comes without taking a breath.
“I say, ‘Hey, ever thought about being Marine? We’re a bunch of Marines. And, you know, I think you potentially could be a good Marine. You ever thought about it?’ And usually you get, ‘Yeah, I thought about it.’ And I’m, like, ‘What’s holding you back? Would you like to learn more about your opportunities?’ ‘Absolutely.’ `OK. Mind giving me your name and phone number? I’ll have one of my recruiters give you a phone call.’”
The Marines have resisted increasing bonuses to attract recruits — something the other services have found helpful.
Gen. Eric Smith, the acting Marine Corps commandant, got some ribbing for his response when he was asked about bonuses during a naval conference in February.
“Your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine,” he said. “That’s your bonus, right? There’s no dollar amount that goes with that.”
Field, Nash and others also say the Corps prefers to give a lot of recruits a few thousand dollars, rather than increasing the amount and giving money to far fewer people.
Field said that getting Marine recruiters in uniform back into high schools this year, after several years of COVID-19 restrictions, has been a key driver. There, young people line up to compete in pull-up contests, vying for a free T-shirt if they can do 20. And recruiters say many are drawn to the cache of being a Marine.
“If you told me you’ll give me $10 million worth of advertising and I can do something with it, or you’ll give me 10 great-looking Marines in a Marine uniform — what’s going to get the most value? Give me those 10 Marines and give me a day,” Nash said. “We’ll go out and we’ll get more out of that, I think, than $10 million in advertising.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-the-few-and-the-proud-arent-so-few-marines-recruiting-surges-while-other-services-struggle/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:07 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-the-few-and-the-proud-arent-so-few-marines-recruiting-surges-while-other-services-struggle/ |
Mosquito pools test positive for West Nile Virus in Ouachita Parish
MONROE, La. (KNOE) - According to the Ouachita Parish Mosquito District and the Department of Health and Hospitals, 36 mosquito pools tested positive for West Nile virus.
The mosquito pools are located in the following areas:
Monroe - (12)
- The Garden District - Four pools
- Near Kansas Lane - Three pools
- Near Bernstein Park - Two pools
- Near Renwick Street - One pool
- Between Ferrand and Hwy. 165 - One pool
- Near Oregon Trail Subdivision - One
- Between Forsythe Avenue and the Ouachita River - One pool
West Monroe - 12 pools
- Between West Monroe High School and First West - Four pools
- Near Hidden Lakes Subdivision - One pool
- Near the intersection of Warren Drive and Cypress Street - One pool
- Near Trade Street - One pool
- Near Smith Street in Bawcomville - Five pools
Western Ouachita Parish - (Seven)
- Near Howard Brown Road - Five pools
- Near Mt. Vernon Church Road - Two pools
Sterlington - (Four)
- Near Davis Street - Four pools
The mosquito pools were collected July 17-21.
Most areas have been treated and will continue to be treated by the OPMAD.
The OPMD encourages everyone to take protective measures when working outside in the morning and evening. Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and use an EPA approved bug repellant.
Apply repellant to any exposed skin and on thin clothing because mosquitoes are able to bite through thin clothing.
For more information, contact the OPMD at (318) 323-3535.
Copyright 2023 KNOE. All rights reserved. | https://www.kait8.com/2023/07/29/mosquito-pools-test-positive-west-nile-virus-ouachita-parish/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:07 | 1 | https://www.kait8.com/2023/07/29/mosquito-pools-test-positive-west-nile-virus-ouachita-parish/ |
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $1.05 billion after another drawing without a big winner
The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.05 billion Friday night, only the fifth time in the history of the game that the grand prize has reached into the billions.
No one managed to beat the massive odds and match all six numbers for Friday's estimated $940 million jackpot. The numbers drawn were: 5, 10, 28, 52, 63 and the gold ball 18.
There have been 29 straight draws without a Mega Millions jackpot winner since the last grand prize ticket on April 18.
The $1.05 billion prize up for grabs in the next drawing Tuesday night would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity, with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Tuesday’s drawing would be an estimated $527.9 million.
The potential jackpot is the fourth-largest in the game and the fifth over $1 billion, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.
Although there were no jackpot winners, one ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $5 million and another in the state connected for $1 million. There also were $1 million winners in Arizona, California and New York, Mega Millions said.
It has been less than two weeks since someone in Los Angeles won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. The winner of the prize is still a mystery.
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/lottery/2023/07/29/mega-millions-jackpot-climbs-to-billion/70491991007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:09 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/lottery/2023/07/29/mega-millions-jackpot-climbs-to-billion/70491991007/ |
An Arizona man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison after attempting to extort Georgia Tech by falsely accusing its men's basketball coach of sexual assault.
Ronald Bell, 57, was sentenced Thursday to two years and nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. Bell pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to the extortion scheme with his co-defendant, Jennifer Pendley, and a Georgia Tech security guard.
Bell recruited a security guard to fabricate a claim that the guard witnessed Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner commit sexual assault. In exchange, the guard would be paid part of the extortion money Bell expected to receive from the university, estimated to be worth $20 million, and a new Jeep.
"Ronald Bell tried to extort Georgia Tech and ruin the reputation of its basketball coach," U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a press release. "As federal prosecutors, we have a responsibility to the citizens of this district to pursue accountability and justice for crimes of sexual violence. But in this case Bell attempted to exploit the mission of our office, and law enforcement partners, to combat sexual assault through a brazen effort to enrich himself at the expense of Georgia Tech and a member of its staff. Bell has now been held accountable for his crime."
ARIZONA MOTHER WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO MURDER, CHILD ABUSE SCHEDULED TO BE SENTENCED
In one text conversation, Bell warned the university that the situation would turn "ugly" if it failed to comply with his demands. He claimed to have attempted to resolve the incident amicably without damaging Georgia Tech's reputation.
Bell demanded money from Georgia Tech in exchange for staying silent about the false sexual assault. But after the university refused to pay Bell, Pendley filed a lawsuit claiming to be the victim of sexual battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Pendley also falsely alleged that a guard witnessed the assault.
The guard later admitted that his statements were false and that Bell asked him to lie to support the fabricated claim against Pastner.
"Bell sought to severely damage the reputation of the institution and their coach solely for his own financial gain," Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in the press release. "This sentence proves that the FBI will not tolerate false allegations and will do everything in our power to seek the truth and hold individuals who commit these type of crimes accountable for their selfish actions."
BODY FOUND AT ARIZONA STATE CAPITOL IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX
Pastner, who was previously an assistant coach at the University of Arizona, has been involved in litigation with Bell and Pendley since January 2018 after Pastner sued them for blackmail and defamation, accusing them of falsely claiming he broke NCAA rules.
The pair then countersued and falsely alleged Pastner sexually assaulted Pendley at a Houston hotel in 2016 while he was a coach at Memphis.
Georgia Tech conducted an independent investigation last year and found the sexual misconduct allegations had no merit.
It is unclear if Pendley or the security guard face charges in the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/arizona-man-sentenced-for-extorting-georgia-tech-after-falsely-accusing-basketball-coach-of-sexual-assault/article_263fe2bb-215a-5a16-9c2c-6d922a3913c7.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:13 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/arizona-man-sentenced-for-extorting-georgia-tech-after-falsely-accusing-basketball-coach-of-sexual-assault/article_263fe2bb-215a-5a16-9c2c-6d922a3913c7.html |
Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
Cape Canaveral, Fla. – The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.
Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it will be closer than usual, just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers) away, thus the supermoon label.
The moon will be even closer the night of Aug. 30 – a scant 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) distant. Because it’s the second full moon in the same month, it will be what's called a blue moon.
“Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset. And it happens twice in August,” said retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, dubbed Mr. Eclipse for his eclipse-chasing expertise.
The last time two full supermoons graced the sky in the same month was in 2018. It won’t happen again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
Masi will provide a live webcast of Tuesday evening’s supermoon, as it rises over the Coliseum in Rome.
“My plans are to capture the beauty of this … hopefully bringing the emotion of the show to our viewers,” Masi said in an email.
“The supermoon offers us a great opportunity to look up and discover the sky,” he added.
This year’s first supermoon was in July. The fourth and last will be in September. The two in August will be closer than either of those.
Provided clear skies, binoculars or backyard telescopes can enhance the experience, Espenak said, revealing such features as lunar maria – the dark plains formed by ancient volcanic lava flows – and rays emanating from lunar craters.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the sturgeon moon. That’s because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August, hundreds of years ago.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/29/two-supermoons-in-august-mean-double-the-stargazing-fun/70492033007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:15 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/29/two-supermoons-in-august-mean-double-the-stargazing-fun/70492033007/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Pentagon official has attacked this week’s widely watched congressional hearing on UFOs, calling the claims “insulting” to employees who are investigating sightings and accusing a key witness of not cooperating with the official U.S. government investigation.
Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick’s letter, published on his personal LinkedIn page and circulated Friday across social media, criticizes much of the testimony from a retired Air Force intelligence officer that energized believers in extraterrestrial life and produced headlines around the world.
Retired Air Force Maj. David Grusch testified Wednesday that the U.S. has concealed what he called a “multi-decade” program to collect and reverse-engineer “UAPs,” or unidentified aerial phenomena, the official government term for UFOs.
Part of what the U.S. has recovered, Grusch testified, were non-human “biologics,” which he said he had not seen but had learned about from “people with direct knowledge of the program.”
A career intelligence officer, Kirkpatrick was named a year ago to lead the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, which was intended to centralize investigations into UAPs. The Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies have been pushed by Congress in recent years to better investigate reports of devices flying at unusual speeds or trajectories as a national security concern.
Kirkpatrick wrote the letter Thursday and the Defense Department confirmed Friday that he posted it in a personal capacity. Kirkpatrick declined to comment on the letter Friday.
He writes in part, “I cannot let yesterday’s hearing pass without sharing how insulting it was to the officers of the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community who chose to join AARO, many with not unreasonable anxieties about the career risks this would entail.”
“They are truth-seekers, as am I,” Kirkpatrick said. “But you certainly would not get that impression from yesterday’s hearing.”
In a separate statement, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough denied other allegations made by Grusch before a House Oversight subcommittee.
The Pentagon “has no information that any individual has been harmed or killed as a result of providing information” about UFO objects, Gough said. Nor has the Pentagon discovered “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”
Kirkpatrick wrote, “AARO has yet to find any credible evidence to support the allegations of any reverse engineering program for non-human technology.”
He had briefed reporters in December that the Pentagon was investigating “several hundreds” of new reports following a push to have pilots and others come forward with any sightings.
Kirkpatrick wrote in his letter that allegations of “retaliation, to include physical assault and hints of murder, are extraordinarily serious, which is why law enforcement is a critical member of the AARO team, specifically to address and take swift action should anyone come forward with such claims.”
“Yet, contrary to assertions made in the hearing, the central source of those allegations has refused to speak with AARO,” Kirkpatrick said. He did not explicitly name Grusch, who alleged he faced retaliation and declined to answer when a congressman asked him if anyone had been murdered to hide information about UFOs.
Messages left at a phone number and email address for Grusch were not returned Friday. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-the-ufo-congressional-hearing-was-insulting-to-us-employees-a-top-pentagon-official-says/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:13 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-the-ufo-congressional-hearing-was-insulting-to-us-employees-a-top-pentagon-official-says/ |
You may be familiar with art forms such as painting, drawing, sculpting and photography, but have you seen art in the form of dice?
This is how two pals have chosen to display their work as seen on their viral TikTok account called Dice Ideas. They've garnered 1.8 million followers and as many as 1.4 billion searches along the way.
"Our aim was to create a fun project for ourselves during the 2020 COVID lockdown in the U.K.," Ben Hoblyn, co-creator of Dice Ideas and resident Derby, England, told Fox News Digital.
TIKTOK SENSATIONS 'THE HOCKEY GUYS' ARE FORMER COLLEGIATE HOCKEY PLAYERS MAKING IT BIG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
"We started planning the concept and wanted to make much larger pieces," he added.
Hoblyn, 32, and his friend Ross Montgomery, also 32, said they draw inspiration from mosaic artists who select offbeat mediums to create art — including Rubik's Cubes, pennies and even smaller dice projects, Hoblyn told Fox News Digital.
It became a major hit with thousands of views swelling to millions.
"Once we started sharing the pieces online, we felt inspired by people’s comments to create many more," Hoblyn said.
KENTUCKY GRANDMAS IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY GO VIRAL ON TIKTOK FOR RECREATING RIHANNA'S SUPER BOWL NUMBER
The subjects Hoblyn and Montgomery focus on vary from Hollywood’s biggest stars to some of the world’s greatest athletes.
Each individual design features thousands of dice and can take as many as 50-plus hours to complete over several weeks.
Hoblyn and Montgomery use the different faces of the dice to shade the subjects. A "six" is used for the lightest areas of the portrait and a "one" for the darkest areas.
PENNSYLVANIA TEEN CREATES TAYLOR SWIFT-INSPIRED ICE CREAM FLAVORS, GETS SWEET SURPRISE FROM THE POP STAR
The basis for each piece is grounded in their own creative ideas and passions along with whatever is relevant or popular at the time.
Dice Ideas videos have reached upwards of 45.5 million views on TikTok.
"We hoped that we would be able to get some attention with our videos and possibly make a few commission sales. However, we never anticipated that we would reach millions with our content," Hoblyn said.
Dice Ideas hit one million followers in June 2022, a goal other content creators can only hope to achieve.
STUDENT'S STUNNING PAINTINGS ON BOOK EDGES GO VIRAL ON TIKTOK
"These numbers are very difficult to really comprehend," said Hoblyn.
"However, it is worth saying that the view and follower count is not something that we specifically focus on."
"Instead, we try to create better quality designs and content that we like ourselves, and hope that others feel the same," he added.
Some favorite designs include a large portrait of LeBron James, the first design the duo every created.
Another piece that brings the duo great pride is their largest image today — a tiger that was created for a gym in London and measures 95 inches x 95 inches. It weighs around 330 pounds, Hoblyn said.
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While the viral attention is an exciting achievement, they continue to create and produce new art because they love it, they said.
"The response from viewers has been incredible," said Hoblyn.
"It has certainly made us believe that there are more opportunities out there to keep creating our dice artworks!" he said. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/artist-friends-go-viral-on-tiktok-for-realistic-portraits-made-entirely-out-of-dice/article_9cb92034-3004-5f1b-9b33-d505b3f8dec2.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:19 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/artist-friends-go-viral-on-tiktok-for-realistic-portraits-made-entirely-out-of-dice/article_9cb92034-3004-5f1b-9b33-d505b3f8dec2.html |
Katie Ledecky passes Michael Phelps for most individual golds at world championships
Fukuoka, Japan – Katie Ledecky added to her legacy as the greatest female swimmer in history when she won the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday at the World Aquatics Championships, establishing two more notable records with the triumph.
The victory by the 26-year-old Ledecky made her the first swimmer ever to win the same event six times at the world championships and also marked her 16th individual world title, breaking a tie with Michael Phelps for the most individual golds ever at the worlds.
Ledecky, who had the 30 top times ever in the 800 entering the race, led all the way, dominating her competitors and winning in a time of 8 minutes, 8.87 seconds.
The gold in the 800 was Ledecky’s second individual gold of these championships following her win in the 1,500 free on Tuesday. She also took silver in the 400 free here.
Li Bingjie of China claimed the silver in 8:13.31, with Ariarne Titmus of Australia took the bronze in 8:13.59.
Kaylee McKeown of Australia made some history of her own with her gold in the women’s 200 backstroke. McKeown’s victory gave her a sweep of all three backstroke events here, after her earlier wins in the 50 and 100. She became the first swimmer ever to sweep all three backstrokes at the worlds.
McKeown took the lead at the final turn and steamed home in 2:03.85. She joined Leon Marchand of France and Qin Haiyang of China as swimmers who swept all three events in the same discipline at these worlds.
Regan Smith of the United States picked up the silver in 2:04.94, while Peng Xuwei of China got the bronze in 2:06.74.
Sarah Sjoestroem of Sweden continued her dominance with gold in the women’s 50-meter butterfly. The 29-year-old won in 24.77 and has now won the event five consecutive times at the worlds. The win brought Sjoestroem’s total number of individual medals at worlds to 20, equaling Phelps’ mark.
Zhang Yufei of China, who took gold in the 100 fly here, claimed the silver in 25.05, while American Gretchen Walsh got the bronze in 25.46.
Fan favorite Rikako Ikee of Japan finished seventh (25.78), but was greeted warmly by the home crowd. The 23-year-old Ikee won six gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games, but was diagnosed with leukemia in February of 2019. Her comeback continues to resonate with both the Japanese public and her fellow competitors.
Cameron McEvoy of Australia led all the way to capture the gold in the men’s 50-meter free in 21.06. American Jack Alexy collected his second silver of the worlds in 21.57 to go with his silver in the 100 free. Benjamin Proud of Britian, last year’s world champion, took the bronze in 21.58.
Maxime Grousset of France won gold in the men’s 100 fly in 50.14. The 24-year-old took the early lead and held on for the victory. Josh Liendo of Canada earned the silver in 50.34, while American Dare Rose made the podium with the bronze (50.46).
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania equaled the world record of 29.30 in her semifinal in the women’s 50 breaststroke.
Australia won gold in the 4x100 mixed freestyle relay in a world-record time of 3:18.83. The U.S. took the silver in 3:20.82, with Britain getting the bronze in 3:21.68. | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/2023/07/29/ledecky-passes-phelps-for-most-individual-golds-at-world-championships/70491869007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:21 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/2023/07/29/ledecky-passes-phelps-for-most-individual-golds-at-world-championships/70491869007/ |
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. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-us-pledges-to-help-australia-manufacture-guided-missiles-by-2025/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:21 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-us-pledges-to-help-australia-manufacture-guided-missiles-by-2025/ |
Amidst talk of James Houston breakout, Lions' Charles Harris still 'the starter'
Allen Park — Amidst all the talk about the young Detroit Lions’ defense turning the corner, Dan Campbell wants to remind you about someone.
His name is Charles Harris.
"Charles is really the starter right now. ... Let's not forget about Charles," Campbell said.
Harris, 28, is entering his third season with the Lions. This time last year, possibilities were endless — the former first-round pick was hoping to continue building off a 2021 season that saw him record a career-high in sacks (7.5), tackles (65), forced fumbles (two), tackles-for-loss (10) and quarterback pressures (52).
But injuries limited Harris to just six starts over the last season, paving the way for James Houston to explode onto the scene with his highly productive rookie year. In answering a question about Houston, Campbell felt the need to clarify: Harris is still the starter at one of the outside linebacker positions.
“He’s coming off the injury. We lost him last year. I mean, this guy’s a man on a mission,” Campbell said. “He’s another guy I can’t wait as we go through camp, because you can tell he’s ready. He’s been going now, so it’s good to have him back, too.”
Harris is hoping his offseason work will help him return to form.
“Just working on my body, doing extra … strength and extra recovery, different modalities and things like that,” Harris said. “Just grateful to be back. Grateful to be back playing and out here with the guys. It sucks whenever you have a season-ending injury for anybody. It’s always tough. We stay mentally strong and that mentally carried over to this year.
“I’m ready to hit the field running.”
The fact there’s even a discussion about who will be starting at outside linebacker seems an indication that this roster is far ahead of where it was previously.
Harris is excited about the depth that his room can currently provide.
“You get late into the saeson, you need everybody,” he said. “I mean, every game, you need everyone. But obviously, later in the season, definitely (that will help). We don’t want no drop off on defense. Just the same as offense. It’s always great to have guys who are legit starters in their own right. I think our ones through threes could be legitimate starters across the league.
“It’s always special. It’s always great to see.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/james-houston-rookie-breakout-lions-charles-harris-still-starter/70492064007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:27 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/james-houston-rookie-breakout-lions-charles-harris-still-starter/70492064007/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pamela Smith’s voice soared and quivered like a preacher in midsermon as she recalled her troubled childhood and how it helped prepare her for the challenges she faces as the new police chief in the nation’s capital.
“I stand before you as a child who had no hopes, who had no dreams — they were far beyond my reach. But I believe that all things are possible,” she said at her introductory news conference in Washington, in cadences honed by years as an ordained Baptist minister. “I believe I bring a fresh perspective, a different kind of energy, a different level of passion to what I’m going to do.”
Smith takes on the job at a precarious time.
Violent crime is rising sharply, fueled by more homicides and carjackings. The District of Columbia’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, and the D.C. Council have, at times, been at odds about crime legislation. On Capitol Hill, the Republican-led House has begun citing the city’s crime statistics while aggressively reviewing local public safety laws.
On July 24, the Mexican Consulate posted a tweet urging its nationals to “take precautions” in the city due to “a significant increase in crime in areas previously considered safe.”
Smith, 55, now becomes one of the public faces of this long-term fight even before the Council votes on her nomination as chief. She brings an inspirational story to her new role leading the Metropolitan Police Department. Raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, by a single mother who battled substance abuse, Smith and her siblings were at one point removed from their home and spent time in foster care. Smith emerged as a track star and went on to a 24-year career in the U.S. Park Police, where she served as the agency’s first Black female chief before retiring in 2022 to take up a senior leadership position at the MPD.
Law enforcement and government officials repeatedly point out that overall crime numbers in Washington have stayed relatively stable. But the crimes that have increased the most — murders and carjackings — are the ones most likely to damage public confidence.
“The scariest crimes are going up and regardless of what’s happening with other crimes, that’s what’s going to fuel the overall perception,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves told The Associated Press.
Graves’ office prosecutes most felonies in Washington, in a unique arrangement due to the district’s status as a nonstate. The city’s attorney general’s office prosecutes misdemeanors and juvenile crime, which is also on the rise.
This intricate dynamic among two separate sets of prosecutors, the city’s police force, Bowser’s administration and the Council has been publicly tested as the crime numbers have stayed high — all with Congress taking an increasing interest in the district’s affairs. Public safety was a primary topic of debate last year when Bowser, 50, successfully ran for a third term in office. She has spent this term sparring with both the Council and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee over how best to address crime.
July has been a particular bloody month, with 22 homicides as of Friday, including murders on the campuses of both Howard and Catholic universities. The victims include an Afghan man who survived years of working as a translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan only to be murdered in America while driving for Lyft. Nine people, including two children, were shot at a July Fourth party, when an assailant in an SUV opened fire on the crowd. A 12-year old girl remains hospitalized after being shot in the back Tuesday night by a bullet that penetrated the walls of her home.
Although the local murder rate is well below the levels in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Washington regularly led the nation in murders per capita, it has climbed steadily in recent years. In 2022, there was a roughly 10% drop in homicides, but now, homicides are up 15 percent compared with this time a year ago and the city is on pace to surpass 200 for the third year in a row. Police also reported 140 carjacking incidents in the month of June — the highest monthly total in more than five years.
Crime in Washington is now a national headline issue in Congress. In the spring, Bowser and Council members were summoned before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for a heated session on local crime rates.
Congress voted to completely overturn the Council’s comprehensive rewrite of the district’s criminal code. Bowser was caught in the middle of the dispute. She had vetoed the overhaul, saying the reduction of maximum penalties for certain violent crimes “sent the wrong message,” but was overridden by the Council.
The mayor opposes congressional intervention in local affairs as part of Washington’s long push for statehood, but her initial veto was frequently cited by Republican lawmakers as proof that the rewrite was soft on crime. In an embarrassment for the heavily Democratic city, the move to cancel the criminal code revision drew support from dozens of congressional Democratic and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Earlier this month, the Council, with Bowser’s support, passed emergency public safety legislation meant to serve as a temporary fix. The bill makes it a felony to fire a gun in public and makes it easier for judges, in cases where people are charged with a violent crime, to detain them before trial. As an emergency bill, the changes will only last 90 days and will not be subject to congressional review; plans to make the changes permanent in the fall will face scrutiny by lawmakers.
“It is no secret … to the public that we are in a state of emergency right now,” said Brooke Pinto, the D.C. Council member who was the bill’s architect. “Like in any emergency, we have to act like it and we have to act urgently to address the problem we’re seeing.”
But some pushing for a criminal justice overhaul said city lawmakers were reverting to mass incarceration policies that had long ago been discredited.
“We’re way beyond thinking that we can just incarcerate more people,” said Patrice Sulton, executive director of the D.C. Justice Lab, who helped draft the now-canceled criminal code revision. “I think everybody who voted for it knows that it will not have an impact.”
The local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement on Twitter that the new bill “essentially flips due process on its head — treating people as guilty and detaining them.”
All sides point to one primary factor fueling the violence: a flood to firearms entering Washington.
Graves, the district’s federal prosecutor, said the number of guns being used in crimes has skyrocketed, turning petty disputes into deadly battles. This includes a new wave of “ghost guns” — firearms that can be ordered in kits and assembled at home. Other kits can easily turn a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic, enabling a rapid-fire and generally less accurate spray of dozens of bullets. In 2018, authorities recovered three such guns; in 2022, the number was 461.
Graves compared the illegal guns to “a virus” in the neighborhood.
“The more virus there is in the community, the more people are going to get sick,” he said. “The more illegal firearms are in the community, the more likelihood those illegal firearms are going to be used.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-violent-crime-is-rising-in-the-nations-capital-dc-seeks-solutions-as-congress-keeps-close-watch/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:27 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-violent-crime-is-rising-in-the-nations-capital-dc-seeks-solutions-as-congress-keeps-close-watch/ |
Hidden camera found inside porta-potty at Wisconsin beach
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. (WISN) - A woman at a Wisconsin beach made a terrible discovery after she found a hidden camera underneath the toilet seat of a port-a-potty.
Police are trying to determine if it was the only camera and who put it there.
“That’s insane. Oh my gosh,” Chrissy Hartwig said.
On a beautiful day at Oconomowoc’s Bender Beach, the talk turns instead to something ugly after Hartwig and other beachgoers learn of a small digital camera hidden inside a porta-potty.
“That’s crazy and now that makes me think of all the other porta-potties that might have had something in it,” Hartwig said. “You don’t think about those things.”
Hartwig said she’s heard of people hiding cameras in dressing rooms and even vacation rentals, but never before in a porta-potty.
“I just, I mean, I’m mind blown. I’ve never considered it. I’ve never thought about it. I wouldn’t have thought about it, probably. People are creeps,” she said.
The camera was reportedly inside the toilet, positioned in a way that showed people entering and using the toilet.
Oconomowoc police, along with the public, have a lot of questions.
“It’s, you know, it’s very concerning because you know the little ones use the bathroom,” Lissa Hagen said. “Yeah, it’s concerning, you know, wondering who did it and why they would do something like that. It’s very gross too.”
Hagen’s daughter is a lifeguard at the beach and learned of the camera the day after it was found.
“I mean, it’s uncomfortable. It’s, you know, concerning. Yeah, so, I’m glad they found it at least before, you know, anything happened,” Hagen said.
Police have not shared how long they believe the camera was there and what if anything was on it.
Copyright 2023 WISN via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:31 | 1 | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/hidden-camera-found-inside-porta-potty-wisconsin-beach/ |
Lions' exec Spielman gets nod from coach Campbell while taking servitude to another level
Allen Park — Before Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell fielded questions as his daily press session Saturday morning, he took a moment to publicly express gratitude for one of the organization's most important, behind-the-scenes figures.
"Man, I don’t speak a lot about him, but Chris Spielman, man, he does a lot for us and he’s kind of a little bit unseen and not always heard on the outside," Campbell said. "But I’ll tell you what, he’s an important confidant and I’m glad he’s here. He certainly helps keep me straight and tells me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. I always appreciate that about him. I just wanted to get that off my chest."
Spielman, a longtime Lions linebacker who has served as a special assistant to ownership since late 2021, was part of the small team that helped identify, interview and hire Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes ahead of the 2022 season.
In his introductory press conference for his new role, Spielman said he aimed to be a humble servant, helping anywhere he could to help the franchise get on track. In a lengthy, sit-down interview with the Detroit News during the offseason, he offered some insight on his wide-ranging role that centered around the mantra of "being all things to all people."
On Saturday, Spielman took his servitude to another level, when between practice segments he was seen carrying a bucket around the field, scooping a seed mixture into newly created divots. After practice, he shared his admiration for the grounds crew, who work tirelessly in the background to ensure the field conditions are in the best shape possible to prevent player injuries.
At his request, the grounds crew provided Spielman his own bucket of the seed-and-sand mixture to help with their daily tasks.
"I got to thinking about him and I’m like, ‘I don’t give him enough credit’ and he needs that," Campbell said. "He does. Not for him because he’s not looking for it, but he just does."
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/lions-exec-spielman-gets-recognition-from-coach-campbell-servitude-seed-bucket/70492236007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:33 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/lions-exec-spielman-gets-recognition-from-coach-campbell-servitude-seed-bucket/70492236007/ |
President Biden on Friday authorized a new weapons aid package to Taiwan worth up to $345 million, an action likely to anger China.
Congress approved up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan, which strongly rejects Chinese sovereignty claims, in the 2023 budget. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island.
The White House did not disclose details of what's in the package, though Reuters reports it is expected to include four unarmed MQ-9A reconnaissance drones if U.S. officials can remove some of the advanced equipment installed on the drones that only the U.S. Air Force is permitted access to.
TAIWAN'S VICE PRESIDENT PLANS TO VISIT THE US IN AUGUST, RAISING CONCERN OF POTENTIAL REBUKE FROM CHINA
In a statement, Taiwan's defense ministry thanked the U.S. for its "firm security commitment," adding that it will not comment on the details because of a "tacit agreement" between the two parties.
Reuters previously reported that an issue over who would pay for the drone alterations was an obstacle to their inclusion in the weapons package. The outlet could not determine if the drones were still included.
CHINA SENDS SWARMS OF WARPLANES, NAVY SHIPS TO TAIWAN AHEAD OF ANNUAL INVASION TRAINING
Taiwan had previously agreed to purchase four — more advanced — MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, which are slated for delivery in 2025.
China considers close U.S. ally Taiwan its own province and regularly sends planes and warships to harass the island's military and intimidate its 23 million citizens. It has never renounced the use of force to annex the island. Taiwan strongly opposes China's sovereignty claims and has asserted its independence.
LITHUANIA BOLSTERS TIES WITH TAIWAN AHEAD OF NATO SUMMIT AMID CHINA ‘THREAT’
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin previewed additional U.S. aid to Taiwan in comments made to the Senate on May 16. "I'm pleased that the United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through the Presidential Drawdown Authority that Congress authorized last year," he said.
Earlier this month, U.S. Army General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. and its allies need to speed up the delivery of aid to Taiwan.
"The speed at which we, the United States, or other countries assist Taiwan in improving (their) defensive capabilities, I think that probably needs to be accelerated in the years to come," Milley told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.
The Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) has been used on an emergency basis to expedite security assistance to Ukraine by allowing the president to transfer articles and services from U.S. stockpiles. The Taiwan PDA, however, is a non-emergency authority approved by Congress last year.
Reuters contributed to this report. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/biden-administration-announces-estimated-345-million-weapons-package-for-taiwan/article_611543b0-1226-5c54-a185-609420086fc8.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:33 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/biden-administration-announces-estimated-345-million-weapons-package-for-taiwan/article_611543b0-1226-5c54-a185-609420086fc8.html |
COLFAX, Iowa (AP) — In the small central Iowa town of Colfax, thousands of cyclists participating in the largest and oldest recreational bike ride in the world were stopped along its historic main street, staring ahead at a daunting climb that would lead them out of town.
The hill, coupled with soaring temps and the vibrant downtown, made a morning sitting in the shade quite appealing.
It’s become almost simplistic to say that “small-town America” is slowly dying. That opportunities for young people have dried up, just like businesses and main streets. That the only way forward in life involves moving to a big city. But the reality is towns such as Colfax are flourishing, and that was especially evident on RAGBRAI, the annual bike ride across the state, where dozens of small towns dotting the 500-mile route welcomed some 50,000 riders with open arms.
Colfax is a prime example. It experienced a nearly 8% increase in population from the 2010 census to the most recent in 2020, turning around two decades of decline. Its population of 2,255 represented its highest since the 1990s.
Sure, many small towns are still struggling, but what has allowed those such as Colfax to thrive?
“Mostly, a wonderful mayor and council and volunteers that just ensure a vital community,” explains Wade Wagoner, the former city manager for the small town of Lake Park, and now the city administrator for Colfax.
“Des Moines and the metro growing to the east doesn’t hurt,” Wagoner said. “Also, the fact that we still have a high school and citizens just approved a $14 million bond for athletic and academic improvements make people want to raise a family here.”
Wagoner underscores that location is important. After the COVID-19 pandemic, when many jobs became partially or fully remote, people who may have once worked in a city could suddenly live just about anywhere, including small towns across America.
Wagoner goes on to talk about the smallest Fareway grocery store in the state, the coffee shop and bank and city hall, all of which make for a bustling hub. There’s also a rich history with mineral water that makes Colfax’s downtown large for its size.
In other words, Colfax has leaned into its strengths to create a community that people want to call home.
And every few years, big events such as RAGBRAI roll through, giving them a chance to shine.
“Lots of trash and (Port-o-potties,” Wagoner said of the traveling circus, “but it is actually pretty cool. It lets us show off the town and certain businesses do make some money. Others find it a pain. But it’s only for a single day.”
If nothing else, the horde of cyclists are good for making money.
In Polk City, between the busy metros of Ames and Des Moines, high school students collected money to fund their after-prom party. Elsewhere on the ride, residents of Slater were using donations to build a new community center and library. In Breda, where the route went through Monday, the town was trying to raise $300,000 to replace the lights at its baseball grandstand, which was built in 1946 and has withstood the test of time.
Breda, population 500, is another example of a small town doing well. It has steadily gained residents for the past 30 years.
In the quiet hamlet of Oxford, just past the fire department and the Deja Brew Coffee House & Bakery, four boys took turns in a dunk tank Friday as cyclists passed through on a day of unrelenting heat — the index topped out at 112 degrees.
For just $5, riders got three shots at the tank. All the proceeds went to their little league program.
The boys were winning on two fronts: staying cool and making cash.
The population of Slater, just north of Polk City, has steadily grown the past three decades.
“Many young families have moved into Slater recently for the school system, and safety of our small town, and ease of getting around,” said Evy Raes of the Slater Area Historical Association. “Our sense of community was tested when a derecho roared through in August 2020. Never fear: anyone with a pickup truck, a chain saw and a six-pack was out in the streets after the storm, helping neighbors clear and dispose of the debris. People really pulled together and no one was a stranger.”
That sense of community isn’t always felt in bigger cities. And more than anything, Raes said, that has helped them to thrive.
“We are a small town with big ideals,” Raes said. “Many people who move into Slater feel an instant connection with the community. It is said though, ‘Don’t gossip about anybody who’s lived here awhile, because they may be related to the person you’re talking to.’ My family has lived here over 74 years, and some days we feel like the new people.”
Turns out that, at least in some small towns, there are in fact plenty of new people.
___
Dave Skretta is a Kansas City, Missouri-based AP Sports Writer. He grew up in the small-but-vibrant northeast Iowa town of Decorah and and has ridden RAGBRAI many times, though he’s never written about it while doing it. Skretta wrote periodic updates from the road. He covered 579 miles from start to finish.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-bike-ride-across-iowa-puts-vibrant-small-town-america-into-sharp-focus/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:34 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-bike-ride-across-iowa-puts-vibrant-small-town-america-into-sharp-focus/ |
Political polarization and the COVID-19 pandemic have made comedy easier, not more difficult, because there are more off-limit topics and people are more easily offended, comedian John Crist told Fox News Digital.
"Basically all comedy … is just saying things out loud that you're not allowed to say," Crist said. "That's really the whole thing is you just say things that are a little bit across the line."
"Any comic will tell you, that makes comedy so much easier because to say something offensive back in the nineties, you would have to go so far, be so egregious to say something that flabbergasted everybody," Crist said. "But now … you could just question everyday normal things and that is now comedy, because it's across the line."
Crist said comedy ticket sales and video views are through the roof, which he attributes to the pandemic and the "upside down" state the world entered into in 2020.
COMEDIAN ROB SCHNEIDER MOCKS THE LEFT IN NEW SPECIAL: THERE IS ‘NO FORGIVENESS FROM LIBERAL INTELLIGENTSIA’
"When everything is normal and you're just kind of living in your Pleasantville life, there's nothing funny," he said. "But when people are saying things to you on the Internet and on television and … you're not allowed to think or be critical, that's when comedy is really at its best, that's when comedy in a culture is doing its job."
"Speech wise, when you try to force information on us, that's when we as comics make fun of it," he said.
GOLDIE HAWN BLASTS CANCEL CULTURE, SAYS IT'S RUINING COMEDY
While Crist prides himself on being a family-friendly act, he said there are no topics he wouldn't touch on in either his standup or on social media, but when he does to delve into new a subject, he first makes sure it is a joke he will stand by.
"You just have to make sure it's done well," he said. "I think, right before I press publish on a video or make a joke on stage, I look at myself in the mirror, I go: ‘Do I believe in this? Is this really something that I want to go to bat for?’"
"As a comic that's kind of our job, not to make it more serious than it is but, in the culture … it's important on both sides that freedom of speech is welcomed," he added.
Crist said he can see the cultural pendulum swinging because ultimately when you silence someone or forbid people from saying certain things, people only want to hear it or talk about it more, having the opposite intended effect.
"Freedom of speech is not removing things," he said. "It's just intelligent people sorting things out for themselves and having all the information and not giving attention to ideas that are not wise and not helpful, not the silencing of people. I think the more people can speak, the more we hear it, and they go, 'Okay, yeah, enough of that."
"That's what the left, I think, doesn't understand about Trump really is, the more you try to silence these things, the more people that are in the middle are like, ‘Wait, what? Hold on, I want to hear what he has to say.’"
BILL MAHER SAYS HE IS HAPPY TO LOSE ‘SUPER WOKE’ FANS: ‘DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE A--'
Christ said whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, he could make a joke defending both sides, but argued that most people are very well-meaning and moderate in their beliefs.
"Unfortunately, the extremists on either side push the extremists on the other sides," he said. "There's, I would say … 90, 95 percent of us [that] are just these people in the middle that would like to work hard, feed their families, pay their taxes and love this country."
Since January, Crist has been on his "Emotional Support Tour" performing across the country, which he described as a "therapeutic [experience] for everybody" post pandemic.
"When all of this kind of started, I guess in 2020, where the whole perspective shifted in this culture where you can't say things and you're choosing sides … I've gotten so many emails from people that just say, ‘Thank you so much, laughter truly is a good medicine,'" Crist said.
His fans tell him it's so good to hear other people that they consider very like-minded and reasonable laughing at "just the amount of absurdity that exists in this culture," Crist added. "I will say that for myself, for my own tours and for any other comic across the country, that I would imagine they feel the same."
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/comedian-john-crist-reveals-why-everyday-normal-things-are-now-considered-across-the-line/article_61abc9ac-fba2-5662-9700-4370cdd5442a.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:34 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/comedian-john-crist-reveals-why-everyday-normal-things-are-now-considered-across-the-line/article_61abc9ac-fba2-5662-9700-4370cdd5442a.html |
Members of Congress break for August with no clear path to avoiding a shutdown this fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall.
Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on government funding. They could pass spending bills to fund government agencies into next year, or simply pass a stopgap measure that keeps agencies running until they strike a longer-term agreement. No matter which route they take, it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to scare the hell out of the American people before we get this done,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
Coons’ assessment is widely shared in Congress, reflecting the gulf between the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate, which are charting vastly different — and mostly incompatible — paths on spending.
The Senate is adhering mostly to the top-line spending levels that President Joe Biden negotiated with House Republicans in late May as part of the debt-ceiling deal that extended the government’s borrowing authority and avoided an economically devastating default.
That agreement holds discretionary spending generally flat for the coming year while allowing increases for military and veterans accounts. On top of that, the Senate is looking to add $13.7 billion in additional emergency appropriations, including $8 billion for defense and $5.7 billion for nondefense.
House Republicans, many of whom opposed the debt-ceiling deal and refused to vote for it, are going a different way.
GOP leaders have teed up bills with far less spending than the agreement allows in an effort to win over members who insist on rolling back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. They are also adding scores of policy add-ons broadly opposed by Democrats. There are proposals to reduce access to abortion pills, bans on the funding of hormone therapy and certain surgeries for transgender veterans, and a prohibition on training programs promoting diversity in the federal workplace, among many others.
At a press conference at the Capitol this past week, some members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction within the House GOP, said that voters elected a Republican majority in that chamber to rein in government spending and it was time for House Republicans to use every tool available to get the spending cuts they want.
“We should not fear a government shutdown,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “Most of the American people won’t even miss if the government is shut down temporarily.”
Many House Republicans disagree with that assessment. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called it an oversimplification to say most Americans wouldn’t feel an impact. And he warned Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown.
“We always get blamed for it, no matter what,” Simpson said. “So it’s bad policy, it’s bad politics.”
But the slim five-seat majority Republicans hold amplifies the power that a small group can wield. Even though the debt ceiling agreement passed with a significant majority of both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives opponents were so unhappy in the aftermath that they shut down House votes for a few days, stalling the entire GOP agenda.
Shortly thereafter, McCarthy argued the numbers he negotiated with the White House amounted to a cap and “you can always do less.” GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, followed that she would seek to limit nondefense spending at 2022 budget levels, saying the debt agreement “set a top-line spending cap — a ceiling, not a floor.”
The decision to cut spending below levels in the debt ceiling deal helped get the House moving again, but put them on a collision course with the Senate, where the spending bills hew much closer to the agreement.
“What the House has done is they essentially tore up that agreement as soon as it was signed,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “And so we are in for a bumpy ride.”
Even as House Republicans have been moving their spending bills out of committee on party-line votes, the key committee in the Senate has been operating in a bipartisan fashion, drafting spending bills with sometimes unanimous support.
“The way to make this work is do it in a bipartisan way like we are doing in the Senate. If you do it in a partisan way, you’re heading to a shutdown. And I am really worried that that’s where the House Republicans are headed,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters this week.
McCarthy countered that people had the same doubts about whether House Republicans and the White House could reach an agreement to pass a debt ceiling extension and avoid a default.
“We’ve got ‘til Sept. 30. I think we can get this all done,” McCarthy said.
In a subsequent press conference, McCarthy said he had just met with Schumer to talk about the road ahead on an array of bills, including the spending bills.
“I don’t want the government to shut down,” McCarthy said. “I want to find that we can find common ground.”
In all, there are 12 spending bills. The House has passed one so far, and moved others out of committee. The Senate has passed none, though it has advanced all 12 out of committee, something that hasn’t happened since 2018.
Still, the difficulty ahead was evident on the House side, where Republicans gave up until after the recess on trying to pass a spending measure to fund federal agriculture and rural programs and the Food and Drug Administration, amid disagreements over its contents. They began their August recess a day early instead of holding votes Friday.
Simpson said some of his Republican colleagues don’t want to take money approved already outside the appropriations process to cover some of this year’s spending and avoid deeper cuts. For example, the House bills would take almost all of the money approved last year for the Internal Revenue Service in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and use the savings to avoid deeper spending cuts elsewhere.
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
“That’s the challenge we’re going to have when we get back in September,” he said.
Further complicating things in the House, a few Republicans are opposed to some of the policy riders being included in the spending bills. For example, the agriculture spending bill would reverse the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.
“I had a problem with abortion being put inside an ag bill,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
It’s a strong possibility that Congress will have to pass a stopgap spending bill before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Senate can vote first on the measure, which would put the onus on House Republicans to bring it up for a vote or allow for a shutdown.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:38 | 1 | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/members-congress-break-august-with-no-clear-path-avoiding-shutdown-this-fall/ |
The "coexist" crowd is at it again, and they’re coming for country music.
Turns out good old-fashioned American values like God, family and country are no bueno for the "tolerant" wokesters. Add in a politically conservative White boy and now you have contrived antics and an epic temper tantrum.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you know the woke warriors’ latest target is country megastar Jason Aldean. With screams of "racism," (their favorite "ism") they leveled their rage at his music video "Try That In A Small Town." Never mind the song makes zero references to race — cue your shocked face.
But that’s just a minor detail that celebrities, bottom feeders in the Twitterverse and their cohorts in the media can’t concern themselves with. They’re like a bunch of guppies in a fish tank lurking around ready to suck up and spit out the next fake "ism" or "phobe" that drops in their tank.
JASON ALDEAN THANKS FANS FOR SUPPORT AFTER ‘SMALL TOWN’ BACKLASH: ‘THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN’
Not only does Aldean’s song not mention race, it literally speaks out against violent crime in our country. Something everyone could get behind once upon a time.
"Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough"
The video, which was censored by Country Music Television, features real news coverage of violent riots, looting, spitting in a police officer’s face, and protesters burning cities, cop cars and flags.
And perhaps that’s the problem. These are the protests the left tried to sell us as "mostly peaceful."
I would venture a pretty hefty wager the same fools who are fake mad and setting their keyboards on fire over Aldean’s song calling out violent criminal behavior were stone-cold silent while cities were burning.
Just a guess.
The same CMT that pulled Aldean’s video gave Kelsea Ballerini its blessing to perform "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)" with drag queen dancers at the CMT awards earlier this year to protest a now blocked Tennessee law preventing drag performers from shaking their junk in front of kids.
It should not be a footnote that this CMT spectacle "went down" just days after a person identifying as transgender killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville, including three 9-year-old children.
Salt meet wound.
CMT should ask Bud Light what happens when you forget where you came from. Because I promise you, wherever they’re going, loyal country fans aren’t following.
CMT COULD FACE BUD LIGHT SITUATION AFTER CANCELING JASON ALDEAN'S VIDEO, FINANCIAL GURU SAYS
Aldean may be the left’s latest bull’s-eye, but with his fans they didn’t even hit the dartboard.
After CMT flipped its audience the bird, "Try That In A Small Town" flew to No. 1 on the iTunes chart. Fans sent the message to the woke mob: "Go cry in your can of Bud Light."
And thus the divide that appears to be deepening in Nashville between the woke brass and their bread and butter.
Outspoken conservative country singer John Rich claims the gulf started to widen several years ago between country music fans and the tone-deaf powers that be when suits from big cities started replacing Nashville executives who knew the business.
Tweeting once that he was "blackballed by Music Row," Rich — in a genius move — found a way around the machine last year when he released "Progress," which makes the point that the left’s "progressive" agenda has given us anything but progress.
He knew nobody in Nashville would want to release the song uncensored, so he skipped the industry chain of command and released it on Truth Social and Rumble, where free speech is celebrated.
MEDIA'S OUTRAGE AT LUKE COMBS COVERING TRACY CHAPMAN'S ‘FAST CAR’ UNDERSCORES OBSESSION WITH RACE: CRITICS
The result: he immediately shot to No. 1 on iTunes, unseating the likes of Billie Eilish and Lizzo.
With all the streaming choices today, Aldean and any other conservative country singer has options. The woke machine no longer holds all the cards. The people who buy the music do, and they’re speaking up.
They’re calling bull on all the idiocy. The week before they set their sights on Aldean, the wokesters unsuccessfully tried a takedown of Luke Combs for his cover of Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car."
The Washington Post and the Black Opry were hyper-focused on race and gender, because everything comes back to race and gender with the left. Chapman is Black and queer and Combs is a White dude so, according to their logic, him covering her song naturally showed she could never succeed in country music — or some ridiculousness.
Fans didn’t buy it.
The cover topped the country charts and introduced Tracy Chapman to a whole new generation, who are no doubt downloading her original.
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Chapman reacted by saying, "I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’"
I’ve been a country music fan my entire life. The music app on my phone is almost exclusively country, I’ve been to Jason Aldean’s bar on Lower Broadway in Nashville at least four times, and I have tickets to his "Highway Desperado" concert this summer.
And there are millions of people just like me.
The screeching keyboard warriors and soapbox celebrities mock our values, have a flare for the dramatic, and think we care for a pretentious glass of their opinion. They can go pound sand.
The fans continue to speak. Whether it’s Jason Aldean, John Rich, Luke Combs or others, Hank Jr. said it best — "A Country Boy Can Survive."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LAUREN DEBELLIS APPELL | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/country-boys-will-survive-the-woke-warriors/article_909f1a73-1b22-56a6-8acc-6fec84798c3c.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:40 | 1 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/country-boys-will-survive-the-woke-warriors/article_909f1a73-1b22-56a6-8acc-6fec84798c3c.html |
FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Here’s why Katie Ledecky is one of the greatest freestyle swimmers in the history of the sport: She is never quite satisfied.
The 26-year-old American won the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday at the world championships to become the first swimmer to win six golds in the same event at worlds. It was also her 16th individual world title, breaking a tie with Michael Phelps for the most golds at worlds.
She also is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in both the 800 and 1,500.
But that winning time — 8 minutes, 8.87 seconds, which is the seventh-quickest she’d ever swum — wasn’t quite good enough in her favorite event.
“I’m just always trying to think of new ways to improve. I mean I’ve already got everything turning in my head right now. I kind of wanted to be better than I was tonight,” she said, twirling her right hand beside her right ear, trying to stir up ideas.
“I’m pretty tough on myself,” she said. “But I think I have found the balance of being tough on myself but also having that grace.”
The 800 was Ledecky’s second individual gold following her win in the 1,500 free on Tuesday. She also took silver in the 400 free. Li Bingjie of China took silver in 8:13.31, and Ariarne Titmus of Australia got the bronze in 8:13.59.
“It’s fun to leave a meet with your favorite event, and I just wanted to leave it all in the pool,” Ledecky said.
It was only the fourth gold for the United States in the seventh of eight days in the pool. Meanwhile, Australia has been piling it on with 13 golds, matching its best at the worlds. Australia won three more golds on Saturday.
The Americans lead the overall table with 31 medals (16 silver), Australia has 20 and China 13.
Kaylee McKeown of Australia made history of her own with gold in the women’s 200 backstroke. McKeown’s victory gave her a sweep of all three backstroke events after earlier wins in the 50 and 100. She became the first swimmer to sweep all three backstrokes at the worlds.
It all made up for her disqualification earlier in the 200 IM.
“You can’t change the rules,” she said. “I got ruled out. It’s just the cards I was dealt with and I couldn’t do much more than that. So I just had to carry myself the best I could and channel all my anger and turn a huge negative into a positive.”
Regan Smith of the United States picked up the silver in 2:04.94, while Peng Xuwei of China got the bronze in 2:06.74.
Sarah Sjöström of Sweden continued her dominance with gold in the 50 butterfly. The 29-year-old won in 24.77 seconds and has now won the event five consecutive times at the worlds. The win brought Sjöström’s individual medals at the worlds to 20, equaling Phelps’ mark.
Sjöström also broke her own record in the 50 free, going 23.61 in a semifinal heat. Her old mark was 23.67 set in 2017.
“There are not too many secrets,” Sjöström said about her longevity. “Just do the work every day, go to practice, and stay humble.”
Zhang Yufei of China, who took gold in the 100 fly, claimed the silver in 25.05, while American Gretchen Walsh got the bronze in 25.46.
Japanese fan favorite Rikako Ikee finished seventh (25.78) in the 50 fly but was greeted warmly by the home crowd.
The 23-year-old Ikee won six gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games and was expected to be a favorite in the Tokyo Olympics. But she was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2019. Her comeback continues to resonate with both the Japanese public and her fellow competitors.
Cameron McEvoy of Australia led all the way to capture the gold in the 50 free in 21.06. It was his first individual gold in the worlds or Olympics.
American Jack Alexy collected his second silver of the worlds in 21.57 to go with his silver in the 100 free. Benjamin Proud of Britian, last year’s world champion, took the bronze in 21.58.
Caeleb Dressel won the event at the Olympics but did not qualify for the U.S. team. McEvoy’s time was quicker than Dressel’s winning time in Tokyo — 21.07.
Maxime Grousset of France won gold in the 100 fly in 50.14. The 24-year-old took the early lead and held on. Josh Liendo of Canada earned the silver in 50.34, while American Dare Rose made the podium with the bronze (50.46).
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania equaled the world record of 29.30 in her semifinal in the 50 breaststroke.
Australia won the 4×100 mixed freestyle relay in a world record of 3:18.83. The Americans took silver in 3:20.82, with Britain getting the bronze in 3:21.68. The relay is not an Olympic event.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-katie-ledecky-passes-michael-phelps-for-most-individual-golds-at-world-championships/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:42 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-katie-ledecky-passes-michael-phelps-for-most-individual-golds-at-world-championships/ |
(iSeeCars) — When it comes to car buying, you may be torn between buying and leasing.
While leasing a car might be an attractive option if you want a different car every few years, you might be turned off by the high monthly payments for the cars you’re interested in. What you might not realize is that you can also lease a used car.
Although used cars make up only a small percentage of the leased car market, it’s still possible to lease a used car. And with used car prices still higher than pre-pandemic levels, leasing a used car could be a smart financial decision.
So how can you lease a used car, and is it a good idea? We have the answers.
Which Used Cars Can be Leased?
Used cars that are available to lease are typically Certified Pre Owned cars (also known as CPO) from car dealerships. A certified pre-owned vehicle is a late-model used car that is sold by a franchised dealer after it has been thoroughly inspected, and comes with a factory-backed extended-powertrain warranty and bumper-to-bumper warranty. Each manufacturer has different criteria for their CPO vehicles, but they generally will be less than 6 years old and will not have more than 48,000 miles on the odometer.
You can also take over a lease from someone who wants to get out of their lease. It could be because they are facing a hardship or because they no longer require a vehicle. Whatever the reason, they will post their car on a leasing company website like SwapALease.com or LeaseTrader in hopes that someone can take over their lease so they won’t have to incur the penalties associated with breaking their lease contract. In this case you won’t be required to make a down payment, and you can likely negotiate with the seller to have them pay the transfer fees. However, when taking over someone’s lease, you should estimate how much you plan on driving the vehicle to make sure that you don’t exceed the mileage limit. If you do go over the mileage limit, you will have to pay a penalty when you turn the car in.
How To Find a Used Car to Lease
Used-car leases from dealerships are rare and aren’t widely advertised. The best way to find a leased used car is to do the legwork yourself. All major manufacturers, both mainstream and luxury, offer CPO vehicle leases. However, some automakers, including Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan, require outside financing, while Toyota’s finance department does provide financing for used vehicle leases.
The best way to find a used lease is to decide what vehicle you are interested in, and call around to franchised dealerships to see if they offer used car leases on their CPO inventory.
How to Shop For a Used Car Lease
When deciding if leasing a used car is right for you, you should always shop around. Just as you should compare prices when shopping for used vehicles, you should contact multiple dealerships to see which offer the best pricing.
You should also compare the cost of leasing a used car with the cost of a new car. New car leases often come with better finance rates and may also have incentives and special offers. This cost difference between a new-car lease and used-car lease will be smaller with used Honda and Toyota cars, while the savings will be more significant on luxury vehicles from Acura or Lexus.
The smartest used car lease purchases are for later model year cars, two-to-three-years old and still under warranty, or that offer extended warranties. Otherwise, you are responsible for costly repairs on a car you don’t own. Keep in mind auto insurance is often more expensive for leased cars, so make sure to get a quote from your insurer and factor it into your budget.
As with any used car purchase, you should make sure you get the car fully inspected by an independent mechanic before leasing. You should also use helpful online research tools like the iSeeCars free VIN check that provides a free CARFAX or Autocheck vehicle history report as part of its comprehensive VIN check tool. A comprehensive VIN check will complement the vehicle history report to provide all the important information an interested buyer should know before making a used car purchase.
How Does Used Car Leasing Work?
Used-car leases are similar in structure to new car leases. Just as with a new car lease, the lender will base payments off of a car’s residual value compared to its sales price. The lender will also determine a money factor, which is the vehicle’s interest rate. Just as used cars usually have higher interest rates than new cars, a used car lease will likely have a higher interest rate than a new car lease when it comes to a car loan. However, because a used car has already taken its depreciation hit, the used vehicle will have a lower sales price and lower depreciation rate, which will result in a lower monthly payment than a new car lease. Savings between new and used car leases tend to be more significant when leasing luxury cars.
Used Car Leases: Benefits
The main draw to leasing a used car is the lower monthly payments. It may also allow you to afford a more expensive car than what you would be able to afford with a new car lease. If you don’t care about having the latest new car technology, but want to get rid of a car before it’s too dated, a used car lease might be an appealing option. Additionally, you may have lower car insurance costs than what you would pay on a new car since rates are based on a car’s value.
Used Car Leases: Drawbacks
By leasing a used car, you are responsible for repairs after the vehicle runs past its warranty. You also won’t be able to enjoy the main benefit of new car leasing, which is driving a brand new car with the latest technology. By leasing a used car, although the payments are likely lower, you are still making monthly payments and maintenance costs for a vehicle you don’t own. You may also be charged at the end of the lease if the vehicle is not in good shape or you drive it past the mileage limit as stated in your lease agreement. In many instances, buying a practical used car and keeping it for several years will save you money in the long run compared to leasing.
Bottom Line
If you’re interested in leasing a car and want to lower your monthly lease payments or upgrade to a more expensive vehicle while keeping costs down, a used car lease might be a smart decision. However, used car leases are hard to find, so you should be prepared to do some extra legwork to find the best used car lease deals. Also, be sure to compare prices and lease rates to other used CPO leases as well as new vehicle leases. Avoid leased vehicles that extend beyond a car’s warranty so you won’t be responsible for expensive repairs.
Lastly, once your lease term ends, you’ll have the option for a lease buyout with a purchase price based on the residual value of the car. If you don’t buy the car, you’ll need to find another car to lease. That’s why purchasing a used car outright, that you can keep as long as you want, is often the smartest long-term financial decision.
More from iSeeCars.com:
If you’re interested in a new car or a used car, be sure to check out iSeeCars’ award-winning car search engine. It uses advanced algorithms to help shoppers find the best car deals across all used cars and provides key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check report and Best Cars rankings. Filter by make, model, price, CPO vehicles, and special features to find the best deal on your next vehicle.
This article, Can You Lease a Used Car? originally appeared on iSeeCars.com. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/automotive/can-you-lease-a-used-car-2/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:40 | 1 | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/automotive/can-you-lease-a-used-car-2/ |
Pet owner says 4-foot-long python has gone missing from his yard
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR/Gray News) - Residents in an Illinois neighborhood are currently on the lookout for a pet snake.
Jonathan Delaney told WIFR that his 15-year-old ball python named Bubba slithered away from his yard last weekend.
Delaney said his exotic 4-foot-long snake is missing, but neighbors shouldn’t be worried.
“He’s completely harmless,” Delaney said. “We’ve had him for 15 years. He’s never been mean and the biggest thing he’d eat is a rat.”
Fellow Edgewater resident Rhonda Hanley said she’d likely be startled if she came across Bubba. But because he’s someone’s pet, she’ll try to help find him.
“I’ll try and put something over the top of it like a blanket or a garbage can if I find him,” Hanley said.
Delaney is thankful that his neighbors are concerned enough to lend a helping hand.
“We are hoping he’s still around here and nobody harms him,” he said. “We are hoping to find him as soon as possible.”
Experts say because ball pythons prefer to be hidden most of the time the snake doesn’t appear to pose a threat to the public.
The snake can strike if it gets agitated, but those bites don’t normally require medical attention.
“The most that could happen is that the snake could take a defensive swipe,” Stephanie Stone, owner of Jurassic Reptile Supply, said. “It’s less impact than a cat scratch or a cat bite.”
Stone added that ball pythons typically don’t travel very far.
“Unless it feels the need to try to find a meal, it’s probably very close to where it was originally,” she said.
Anyone who spots Bubba has been urged to contact Delaney on social media.
Copyright 2023 WIFR via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:44 | 0 | https://www.kmvt.com/2023/07/29/pet-owner-says-4-foot-long-python-has-gone-missing-his-yard/ |
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Wendie Renard was threatening to skip the Women’s World Cup and Eugénie Le Sommer wasn’t in selection contention just a few months ago under France’s previous coaching regime.
A management overhaul and a change of heart ultimately led to two of French football’s most experienced players combining for Les Bleues on Saturday to deliver a 2-1 win over Brazil that put them into a strong position to progress to the round of 16.
Le Sommer missed with a diving header in the 13th minute but needed only four more minutes to convert her next chance, beating Brazilian goalkeeper Leticia with a more emphatic header to score her record-extending 90th international goal.
Debinha equalized for Brazil as the hour approached, and the game opened up as both teams pressed for a winner. That’s when Renaud stepped in.
Renard, who’d been in doubt for the match because of a calf injury she picked up in France’s lackluster opening 0-0 draw against Jamaica, drifted unmarked to the back edge of the box to meet a corner kick with a powerful header in the 83rd and clinch victory.
It meant the well-traveled Hervé Renard, who was hired in March to replace Corinne Diacre, became the first head coach to win games at both the women’s and men’s World Cups.
His upset victory with Saudi Arabia over eventual champion Argentina was one of the highlights of the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year. His French women’s team showed signs against Brazil that it could go deep in the tournament.
He credited his veteran players, either recalled or convinced to remain, for the turnaround.
Wendie Renard “is the most important player in the dressing room. Always talking, motivating the the other girls,” the France coach said, describing his captain’s influence on the team. Of other veterans like Le Sommer and Kadidiatou Diani, he added: “You need leaders in the team — they have a good experience and we need them to motivate also the other players.”
Le Sommer, who missed selection for the 2022 Euros under former coach Diacre, was in the thick of the early action for France.
The French started with a high tempo and had three chances before Sakina Karchaoui’s long floating ball into the area found Diani, who leaped and headed square for Le Sommer to finish off from directly in front.
The Brazilian women had never beaten France but started to meet them for intensity as halftime approached, helped by the majority of an almost 50,000-strong crowd.
Debinha equalized in the 58th, finishing off a quick passing movement into the area, controlling a deflected ball with the outside of her leg before firing in a right-foot shot.
Leticia kept Brazil in the game with a string of impressive saves, and Selma Bacha hit the side netting with her shot from the right in the 75th, unable to break the deadlock for France.
After Renard broke the deadlock, Brazil sent Marta in the 86th for her 22nd World Cup appearance — moving her to outright second on the country’s all-time list — but she wasn’t able to equalize in a frenetic finish.
Brazil is now winless in 12 women’s internationals against France, a setback for a team that opened the Women’s World Cup with a thumping 4-0 win over Panama, with Ary Borges scoring three goals and providing the back-heel assist for one of the goals of the tournament.
Against a more disciplined defense, the Brazilians weren’t able to finish despite creating ample opportunities.
Coach Pia Sundhage said she was disappointed with her Brazilian team’s first half and overall lack of cohesion.
The defensive lapse on the set piece that led to France’s winning goal was discouraging, she said, before adding: “I’m more disappointed we couldn’t make this a game where we play like the Brazilian style.”
Jamaica edged Panama 1-0 later Saturday in Perth to join France on four competition points in Group F, one ahead of Brazil. On Wednesday, three teams will be vying for two spots in the next round when Brazil meets Jamaica in Melbourne and France takes on Panama in Sydney.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-le-sommer-renard-score-as-france-edges-brazil-2-1-at-the-womens-world-cup/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:48 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-le-sommer-renard-score-as-france-edges-brazil-2-1-at-the-womens-world-cup/ |
(iSeeCars) — Most consumers know there are various electric vehicle tax credits available if they buy a new electric vehicle.
The original credit, officially known as the “Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit”, was instituted over a decade ago. It created a tax credit amount between $2,500 and $7,500 based on a specific qualifying vehicle’s battery capacity. There was also a 200,000-unit limit to how many zero-emissions electric cars a single manufacturer could sell before the credit would phase out and eventually be eliminated. Two automakers, General Motors and Tesla, had already hit this limit in recent years, with a few more getting very close in 2022
But the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has altered the existing rules for the federal tax credit, removing the 200,000 limit, extending the up-to-$7,500 credit through 2032…but also adding a new set of eligibility requirements based on the final assembly location of the vehicle and its battery components. New vehicle pricing and adjusted gross income requirements have also been enacted. The new rules are a reaction to China’s dominance in the EV space, a dominance President Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy would like to reverse by encouraging the production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and battery components in North America.
The Inflation Reduction Act – Pros and Cons
Encouraging the American production of clean vehicles, including plug-in electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), is commendable. However, the change in eligibility requirements could actually limit new vehicle tax credits more than the outgoing legislation. Let’s take a closer look at where this new legislation helps, and hurts, your chances at seeing a rebate.
Pros:
- No 200,000 Vehicle Limit per Manufacturer – which means brands like Cadillac, Chevrolet and Tesla will be back in the running for a $7,500 tax break, along with every other automaker selling EVs, PHEVs (with a battery of 7 kilowatt hours or larger), or FCEVs.
- Income and MSRP Restrictions – the previous legislation had no limit on household income or eligible vehicle pricing, which meant a lot of taxpayer money was spent helping millionaires get a $7,500 price break on their $100,000-plus Tesla. Starting on January 1st, 2023, the new legislation puts an MSRP limit of $80,000 on electric vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks, and a $55,000 MSRP limit on electric sedans, coupes, wagons, and convertibles. The IRS also puts a $150,000 annual income limit on single tax filers, a $225,000 limit on head-of-household filers, and a $300,000 limit on joint filers.
- Used EVs Count Too – For the first time ever, car buyers seeking a lower cost of entry into EV ownership don’t have to choose from pricier current or new model year vehicles. A tax credit on used vehicles, worth either $4,000 or 30% of the used EV’s sales price (whichever is lower) will be available on used models costing less than $25,000. This credit is only available to single filers below $75,000, head-of-household filers below $112,000, and joint filers of $150,000.
- Commercial Tax Credit – If you happen to be a business owner looking to go electric the new bill provides up to $7,500 for electric vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) under 14,000 pounds and up to $40,000 for vehicles with a GVWR above 14,000 pounds. The rebate is based on either 30 percent of the total vehicle cost, or the incremental cost of a commercial EV over the cost of an equivalent non-EV vehicle. For instance, the Ford F-150 Lightning has a starting MSRP of $46,974, but you can buy an equivalent crew-cab F-150 with an internal combustion engine for around $50,000. There’s no incremental cost to buying the Lightning, so a commercial buyer could only benefit from 30 percent of the truck’s $46,974 price (around $15,680).
- Point of Sale Price Reduction: Starting on January 1st, 2024, buyers can transfer their credit to the selling dealer, essentially providing an immediate reduction in the price of an EV during purchase versus waiting to receive the benefit as part of their next tax filing.
Cons:
- Final Assembly Must be in North America – Starting on August 17th, 2022, only plug-in electric vehicles assembled in North America are eligible for tax credits. As of this writing, that includes 26 EVs from model year 2022, but only 8 EVs from model year 2023. A vehicle’s VIN (vehicle identification number) will be used to determine where a potential candidate was built. Popular EVs like the BMW 330e, Chevrolet Bolt, and Nissan Leaf have already been approved for model year 2023, and we’d expect other models assembled in Canada, Mexico, or the U.S. to be approved soon, including the Audi Q5, Ford Mustang Mach E, and every Rivian and Tesla model. However…
- Critical Mineral and Battery Component Requirements – Even if an electric vehicle is assembled in North America it will need to meet increasingly stringent battery requirements over the coming 5 years. Starting in 2023 an EV’s battery will need 40 percent of its critical minerals value to have been extracted or processed in the U.S. or a U.S. free-trade agreement partner to receive up to $3,750 in tax credits. This percentage will increase 10 percent a year, up to 80% of the battery’s critical mineral value in 2027 and beyond. Additionally, starting in 2023, 50 percent of the value of an EV battery’s components must be assembled in the U.S., increasing 10 percent a year until it reaches 100 percent in 2029.
The newest bill’s final assembly and critical mineral battery requirements are meant to shift the production of electric vehicles back toward the U.S. and its allies, and away from foreign entities of concern, including China. Given the supply chain issues we’ve experienced over the past 2 years this is a wise long-term goal. However, the time and resources needed to transplant the electric vehicle alternative fuels industry from the Asia Pacific region to the U.S are substantial.
Foreign automakers like Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota have already committed to high-volume North American vehicle production in recent decades. There’s every reason to believe they can relatively quickly do the same for their electric vehicle fleets to meet the final assembly requirement for successful new models not yet produced here, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Several automakers with smaller U.S. production capacity, including BMW, Volkswagen, and Volvo, also continue to expand their U.S. presence.
But battery production is an entirely different process compared to vehicle assembly. It involves significant investments in land assessment/exploration, permit applications, approval, mining, extraction, refining, etc. You can imagine the processes and time frame involved in, for instance, setting up a lithium mine in California. Investing in, and establishing, those capabilities will take several years at least, and could easily prove a limiting factor on how many new EVs can fully qualify for the latest tax credits under the current legislation.
More from iSeeCars:
- How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?
- How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?
- Electric Cars with the Longest Range
If you’re in the market for a new or used electric vehicle you can search over 4 million used electric cars, SUVs, and trucks with iSeeCars’ award-winning car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check report and Best Cars rankings. Filter by vehicle type, front or all-wheel drive, and other parameters in order to narrow down your car search.
This article, The New EV Tax Credits Explained, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/automotive/ev-tax-credits-explained/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:48 | 1 | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/automotive/ev-tax-credits-explained/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Mariners vs. Diamondbacks on July 29, 2023
Published: Jul. 29, 2023 at 10:50 AM MDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
Those looking to place a player prop bet can find odds for Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carroll and others in the Seattle Mariners-Arizona Diamondbacks matchup at Chase Field on Saturday at 8:10 PM ET.
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Mariners vs. Diamondbacks Game Info
- When: Saturday, July 29, 2023 at 8:10 PM ET
- Where: Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona
- How to Watch on TV: ARID
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Explore More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Seattle Mariners
Julio Rodríguez Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +185)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -130)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +350)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +135)
Rodríguez Stats
- Rodriguez has 21 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 33 walks and 55 RBI (105 total hits). He has stolen 24 bases.
- He has a .252/.318/.430 slash line so far this year.
- Rodriguez will look for his seventh straight game with a hit in this matchup. In his last 10 outings he is hitting .275 with three doubles, four home runs, three walks and six RBI.
Rodríguez Recent Games
J.P. Crawford Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -204)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +100)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +650)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +220)
Crawford Stats
- J.P. Crawford has 24 doubles, eight home runs, 57 walks and 35 RBI (90 total hits). He's also stolen one base.
- He's slashing .261/.368/.400 on the season.
- Crawford heads into this game looking to extend his three-game hit streak. In his last five games he is batting .300 with four doubles, two walks and two RBI.
Crawford Recent Games
Bet on player props for Julio Rodríguez, J.P. Crawford or other Mariners players with BetMGM.
Buy officially licensed gear for your favorite teams and players at Fanatics!
MLB Props Today: Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -233)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -115)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +400)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +135)
Carroll Stats
- Carroll has put up 103 hits with 21 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs and 38 walks. He has driven in 57 runs with 30 stolen bases.
- He's slashed .290/.368/.555 so far this year.
- Carroll hopes to build on a three-game hitting streak in this matchup. In his last five games he is hitting .412 with a double, a triple, a home run, three walks and five RBI.
Carroll Recent Games
Ketel Marte Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -263)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -125)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +400)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +150)
Marte Stats
- Ketel Marte has collected 111 hits with 18 doubles, seven triples, 17 home runs and 44 walks. He has driven in 55 runs with six stolen bases.
- He's slashed .296/.375/.517 on the season.
Marte Recent Games
Bet on player props for Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte or other Diamondbacks players with BetMGM.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kmvt.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/mariners-vs-diamondbacks-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:50 | 1 | https://www.kmvt.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/mariners-vs-diamondbacks-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
'Contagious' Gardner-Johnson back at practice, not interested in discussing injury scare
Allen Park — C.J. Gardner-Johnson has zero interest looking back. The Detroit Lions defensive back made his return to practice on Saturday, five days after being carted off the field with a scary leg injury. As far as he's concerned, that's old news not worth discussing.
Meeting with the media after practice, Gardener-Johnson quickly dismissed a handful of questions about the injury, and more specifically, the sense of relief he felt when he learned the issue wasn't serious.
"Next comment," Gardner-Johnson said. "I'm good. God."
Even though he was sidelined three practices, Gardner-Johnson made it clear he didn't take a day off. And to his point, he was on the side each day, working with the athletic trainer to ensure he could return to football activities as quickly as possible, all while absorbing every defensive rep from the sideline.
"I was at practice every day," he said. "I was mentally at practice. I don't think you understand what type of guy you got here. I ain't miss nothin'. I ain't miss a practice, I ain't miss a rep, I'm still out there. My teammates still see me. One thing people got to understand, this game of football, sometimes it ain't being about the best physically. You got to be the best mentally. So as long as my teammates know I'm out there helping them and coaching them, I don't really care what you have to say about being back."
Gardner-Johnson clearly takes pride in his work ethic. His teammates know he's going to be at the practice facility at 6 a.m. every day and he's challenged them to beat him through the door. And whether he's healthy, hurt, starting or on coming off the bench, he intends to bring unmatched energy to the rest of the roster each day.
"It's very important, because I'm contagious," Gardner-Johnson said. "I'm like the flu. It's going to go through your body, and either you get it or don't get it. And that's not because I'm cocky, nah, it's because I'm confident in my job. I'm confident in my coaches and my teammates and my training and my strength guys are doing for me. That's why, you know?"
Gardner-Johnson has particularly enjoyed working with some of his younger teammates, guys like Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. It's an opportunity to pay the mentorship forward that he received as a young player from guys like Malcolm Jenkins and Von Bell in New Orleans.
Injury update
Offensive linemen Penei Sewell and Halapoulivaati Vaitai, as well as rookie receiver Antoine Green, all missed Saturday's practice. For Vaitai, it was the second session he's sat in three days after taking a shot to the back. As for Green, he left Friday's practice after being overwhelmed by the heat and was held out for precautionary reasons.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/lions-gardner-johnson-at-practice-injury-scare/70492130007/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:51 | 1 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/07/29/lions-gardner-johnson-at-practice-injury-scare/70492130007/ |
As major U.S. cities continue to deal with crime waves, experts are blaming anti-police rhetoric and liberal district attorneys for policies that fail to keep the public safe.
Each era has had its fair share of heinous crimes. Yet, Nancy Grace, who hosts Fox Nation’s "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace," admitted that she’s seen enough to convince her that today’s criminals are more brazen than ever. She chalked it up to lax sentencing and the anti-police movement.
"There was a time when I would have said, I don't think crime is worse per capita than it was in the past, where there are just greater populations and therefore a commensurate greater population of criminals," Grace told Fox News Digital.
"They are more brazen, and I now believe there are more of them per capita, more criminals per capita," she said. "Why? The decline in police numbers, the anti-police movement."
Soaring retail theft has been reported across the country in recent months. Nordstrom and Whole Foods, for example, were among the large chains abandoning San Francisco partly due to employee safety. The latter's location on Market Street was hit with nearly 600 calls of violence, drugs, and vagrants before shutting its doors, according to reports. Meanwhile, organized retail crime was on track to cost Target $500 million in profits, CEO Brian Cornell warned in May.
"Violent incidents are increasing" at Target, and throughout the retail industry, Cornell said.
Washington, D.C., is experiencing a 30 percent increase in violent crime in 2023 compared to last year, other reports have found. One hundred and twenty-five people have been shot and killed this year, a 17 percent increase from last year as the city struggles with a police staffing crisis. The city's police budget was cut roughly $23 million by the city council in 2020 amid the George Floyd rioting and nationwide calls to defund the police.
TARGET CEO WARNS RISING CRIME, RETAIL THEFT WILL HIT PROFITS
Criminal defense attorney Joseph Gutheinz, a certified fraud examiner for 33 years told Fox News Digital the criminal justice system has it backwards by focusing on the needs of criminals.
"Our criminal justice system has largely transitioned from focusing on the needs of the victims of crime to the needs of defendants," he told Fox News Digital. "The police are concerned about being ridiculed, prosecuted or fired for enforcing the law and are backing off stopping, interviewing and arresting wrongdoers."
Prosecutors, especially in big cities, are rubber-stamping the plea deals offered by defense attorneys, such as myself, and judges, especially in big cities, are more and more appearing as social workers rather than jurists."
The Manhattan Institute's Rafael Mangual also sensed that the system has been moving in a dire direction.
"That direction is to make crime less costly, to commit and to make the law more costly to enforce," he told Fox Digital. "Every single significant policy level that's been pulled does one of the following things that either limits police power, it curbs prosecutor discretion, or it just significantly lowers the transaction cost of criminal behavior for defendants by making penalties less likely, less severe, etc."
ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME IS GROWING IN ‘SCOPE AND COMPLEXITY,’ NRF SAYS
He cited bail reform as an example, which stirred controversy in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Some officials adopted zero bail during the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to reduce crowding in prisons, dropping bail to as low as $0 for suspects accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. When Los Angeles decided to reinstate the policy in July, high profile figures spoke out.
"LA is finished watch how bad it gets out there.SMH [shaking my head]," rapper 50 Cent tweeted of the move.
A study published by the Yolo County District Attorney's Office found that suspects released without bail reoffended 70 percent more often than those who posted bail, and were rearrested on 163 percent more charges. Suspects released without bail were also accused of three times as many violent crimes.
But bail reform advocates say the current system disproportionately affects minorities and the poor, leaving many to sit behind bars simply because they cannot afford to pay their bail.
"The way that lots of jurisdictions have gone about this in practice is to basically make it so that it's nearly impossible for the vast majority of criminal defendants to end up in pretrial detention because cash bail is taken off the table," Mangual said.
"Any criminal on the street can tell you they will walk right into the jailhouse, they'll give a fingerprint and right back out," Grace agreed. "There's nothing to fear. Nobody is going to stay in jail. They'll just be a minor inconvenience to shuffle papers and then they'll walk right back out to re-offend. I know it's a bleak picture, but it's true. And cops, district attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement across the board are struggling under the weight of the ‘bail reform.’"
"There's no fear of apprehension," Grace said. "And once one is apprehended, a criminal will immediately walk straight out of jail. There's nothing to fear."
The experts also agreed that a factor playing into criminals' hands are district attorneys who are "shirking" their responsibilities by failing to prosecute some crimes.
VIOLENCE SOARS AMID DC POLICE CRISIS AS 5 KILLED IN JUST 1 DAY
"I get about 20 percent of my cases dismissed outright, and many of those cases are meritorious," Gutheinz said. "Certain sex, theft and assault cases are routinely dismissed. It is my job to win my cases for my clients, but as a citizen myself, with a large family, I would like it if the prosecutors would at least pretend to care about the victims of crime."
"They don't state up front how lax their offices and their administration will be and their true feelings about crime and putting criminals behind bars and keeping them behind bars," Grace said of some DAs. "And then once they get in, they have an ‘awakening’ and they go - I hate this phrase it's so overused - 'woke.' Lax. It's really just simply not doing your job. They don't have the backbone to get in and try to lose it, or they don't want this stain on their record of losing. I'm not sure what their motivation is, but they are not protecting the people they're sworn to defend."
Non-law abiding citizens are well aware of the struggling system and are taking "full advantage" of the cracks in it, some of these same experts say.
"I think it's absolutely the case that a significant subset of chronic offenders are 100 percent aware of what's going on in the criminal justice system, and they're taking full advantage," Mangual said. "I don't think it's it is it comes as a surprise that we have seen, for example, a massive uptick in retail theft at a time in which, you know, the criminal justice system has been moving in the direction of prioritizing enforcement for retail theft."
Mangual called for revisiting the idea of a "modified version of three strikes," in which individuals are being taken off the street for repeated criminal conduct. Because, he said, there are a group of offenders that has "no intention of abiding by societal norms." He also lobbied for "truth in sentencing," which would require "hamstringing the ability of irresponsible parole boards to release people who are not ready to be released." Finally, he said, criminal data needs to be made more widely available to the public, which will in turn provide communities a more sober sense of reality and would prevent the criminal justice reform movement to mislead the public into "misguided" policy decisions.
With an environment that has allegedly made communities ripe for the picking for criminals, one might think that criminal justice professionals have lost faith in society. But that wasn't the case for the majority of experts and judges who spoke to Fox Digital.
Although the trio of judges on Amazon Freevee's "Tribunal Justice" have witnessed their share of "horrible" behavior in courtrooms as litigants lie, shout, curse or worse, each of them said not all hope was lost.
"To be sure, I have seen a lot of people do and say horrible things to one another, not just in the courtroom, but a lot of these cases end up in our forum and in other fora because people can just be horrible," Judge Tanya Acker, who served as Temporary Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, told Fox News Digital. "I mean, they can be horrible and sometimes no standards, no manners, no morals, like nothing. There are some people who seem to be completely bereft of any redeeming quality. However, that's not most people. And even for those people who are only seeing a small sliver of who they are, I have also seen much more compassion. I have seen much more of people willing to step up and do the right thing, than I have the contrary."
"I have much more hope than not," Acker said, while admitting it's easy to get discouraged.
"Just speaking for me, I can sometimes be very discouraged by the conduct and the behaviors and the things that you see and the things that even give rise to litigation and lawsuits," she continued. "People are just so much better than that. They're so much better than they sometimes appear to be in a courtroom. And I think that I certainly think that on the whole, I know we've got some dark moments, but on the whole, we're on the upswing. If you look at the totality of our circumstances, we're on the upswing. Much, much work to do. Many litigants who may need to be reminded that you couldn't show up in court and act out. But on the whole, I think we're moving in the right direction."
"I don't think you can lose hope for society," Judge Patricia DiMango, a former New York State Supreme Court Justice who previously served with Acker on "Hot Bench," agreed. "I think that there is a more than a glimmer of hope for society. I think the problem is, however, that we need to get back to center. I think it happens a lot... You go all the way out, but you've got to kind of come back in. You've got to be able to have a discourse, a civil discourse with people so that people can hear one another."
Judge Adam Levy, a former district attorney in New York’s Putnam County and the son of Judge Judith Sheindlin, better known to fans as Judge Judy, was just as adamant that the good eggs outnumber the bad apples.
"There is a glimmer of hope," Levy told Fox Digital. "There are good people out there. There are way more good people than there are bad people. Way more good than bad. It's how we deal with the bad ones, though. When you get a bad one and it's your job as the judge, as a prosecutor, as a police officer to do your job, to hold them accountable, you need to do that with fairness and without fear or favor. Without fear or favor. And if you can do that and if you can affect just those that small number of the bad apples, then we'd all be much better off. But I have hope."
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"I have great hope," Nancy Grace said. "Because, even with all the cases I cover, good people by far outweigh the number of bad people. And even if they didn't, as long as there's something good to believe in, to fight for, to protect, I'm willing to keep fighting."
The interviews with Levy, Acker and DiMango were completed prior to the commencement of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Fox News' Nikolas Lanum, Andrew Mark Miller and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/criminals-taking-full-advantage-of-lax-sentencing-as-retail-violent-crime-increases-becoming-more-brazen/article_fe553bae-4cc4-579c-bb97-4c9af95076f6.html | 2023-07-29T18:02:54 | 1 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/criminals-taking-full-advantage-of-lax-sentencing-as-retail-violent-crime-increases-becoming-more-brazen/article_fe553bae-4cc4-579c-bb97-4c9af95076f6.html |
BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander said it felt like a playoff game at Camden Yards.
A few more performances like this, and the Baltimore Orioles will be there.
Santander homered off Tommy Kahnle in the ninth inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 victory over New York on Friday night, spoiling Aaron Judge’s return for the Yankees. Judge walked three times in his first game back from a toe injury, but the Orioles kept New York off the scoreboard with a spectacular defensive effort.
In the eighth inning alone, Santander made a lunging, sliding catch in right field, and second baseman Adam Frazier made a diving stop on Anthony Rizzo’s grounder with a man on second.
“Great defense, great pitching, that’s how we win baseball games,” Santander said.
Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, going toe to toe with New York’s Gerrit Cole, who went seven. Félix Bautista (6-1) struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Kahnle (1-1) couldn’t match that in the bottom half, allowing Santander’s one-out drive that went well beyond the fence in right-center field.
The Orioles remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the AL East, and they now lead the last-place Yankees by nine.
The game was delayed 2 hours, 32 minutes by rain, but that did little to dampen the enthusiasm of a crowd that included a mix of Yankees fans cheering Judge and Orioles fans embracing their first-place team.
“Right before the start of the game, it felt like a playoff game,” Santander said. “That’s good to have those fans to support us. Hopefully they can continue to do that.”
Judge lined out to right field on the first pitch to him in the first, but he reached base the other three times he came up.
Anthony Volpe was robbed twice by stellar Baltimore defense. Third baseman Ramón Urías made a diving stop on his one-hopper in the fifth. In the eighth, Volpe led off with a fly to right that Santander reached out and caught before sliding on his stomach across the grass.
New York eventually had two on and two out that inning when Rizzo’s grounder looked headed to right field. Frazier’s diving play prevented that.
“Defense won us the game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Adam Frazier, diving play off Rizz. Santander with a great diving catch. We turned some double plays.”
Each team had only four hits. Rodriguez was one of Baltimore’s prized prospects, and after being sent back to the minors for a bit, he may be finding a groove.
“I just love his delivery right now and the tempo of his delivery,” Hyde said. “Just really, really competitive.”
DEADLINE OUTLOOK
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said it’s no secret that the Orioles are working on potentially adding pitching upgrades at the trade deadline. He said the team has the wherewithal to make “good baseball trades” even if it means adding payroll.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Elias said he hopes OFs Cedric Mullins (right adductor groin strain) and Aaron Hicks (left hamstring strain) can return and play a large part of August. … Elias said LHP John Means (left elbow UCL surgery) and RHP Mychal Givens (right shoulder inflammation) will probably be pitching in games in the Florida Complex League in the early part of August.
UP NEXT
Baltimore’s Tyler Wells (7-5) takes the mound against New York’s Clarke Schmidt (6-6) on Saturday night. Schmidt will be on extended rest, having last pitched July 21.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-santander-hits-9th-inning-homer-to-give-orioles-1-0-win-over-yankees-and-spoil-judges-return/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:54 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/sports/ap-santander-hits-9th-inning-homer-to-give-orioles-1-0-win-over-yankees-and-spoil-judges-return/ |
Former President Trump’s outsized influence is already being felt in GOP Senate primaries, underscoring his grip on the party even as he faces numerous primary challengers in the 2024 White House race.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who’s running to replace Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), endorsed Trump’s presidential bid earlier this week. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), who’s running to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin (D), did the same — prompting his GOP primary rival Alex Mooney to point out that he had come out in support of Trump last year.
And prior to officially jumping into Montana’s contested Senate race last month, former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy said he supports Trump “100 percent.”
The public show of support for the former president is just the latest example of the political sway he continues to hold over Republicans, and could serve as a headache for party leaders who want the GOP to move on from him.
“Donald Trump continues to be the biggest elephant in the Republican tent,” said Mark Weaver, an Ohio-based Republican strategist. “Republican voters still want to see him as our party’s leader.”
One Republican strategist described the strategy of endorsing Trump as “the path of least resistance.”
“In order to take back the Senate, you’ve got to win a couple of these key seats, and the only way to win back these key seats is to make it through the primary unscathed,” the strategist said.
Some strategists see the endorsements as a sign of how the presidential primary is likely to shake out.
“This is a greater sign than ever before that Trump is most likely going to win the Republican nomination despite the noise in the media,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.
“Endorsing Trump at this stage is one of the safest things a candidate could do,” he added. “This is more about the candidates trying to cozy up to him.”
The eagerness from some Senate Republican hopefuls to embrace the former president comes after many of Trump’s endorsed candidates performed poorly in their general elections last cycle.
“Former President Trump’s endorsement continues to be a boon in a primary and a bane in a general election,” Weaver said.
The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) is also taking a different approach in the 2024 cycle by playing a more hands-on role in some primaries. Like Trump, the committee’s Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.) has thrown his support behind Justice in West Virginia’s Republican Senate primary.
While there has been tension and disagreement between Trump and Senate leadership, particularly on Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the 2020 presidential election, Daines has said he is working with the former president ahead of 2024.
“We chat frequently. And he’s very thoughtful right now looking at these races. He understands it’s important we have candidates that can win,” Daines told CBS News in an interview earlier this month. “If you notice, there hasn’t been a wave of endorsements coming out so far, because I think we’re having these thoughtful conversations and getting on the same page.”
Trump has endorsed in less competitive GOP Senate primaries, like in Indiana, where he threw his support behind Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) a day after former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) announced that he would not run for the seat and after the NRSC endorsed Banks.
And earlier this month, CNN reported that Trump told Mooney in West Virginia and potential Senate candidate Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) that he would not endorse them. Daines has endorsed Sheehy in Montana.
Democrats, meanwhile, are seeking to use Trump’s endorsement against him in the general election, harkening back to Republican losses in 2022.
“Trump is looming over Senate Republicans’ primaries and making the GOP’s nasty infighting even worse,” said Tommy Garcia, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “As Republican candidates fight for Trump’s favor, they’re showing the voters who will decide the general election in their states why they should be rejected in 2024.”
And not every Republican running for Senate is immediately tying themselves to the former president. In Nevada, Sam Brown, who has been endorsed by Daines, has yet to endorse Trump despite volunteering for his campaign in 2020. His primary opponent Jim Marchant, on the other hand, has endorsed Trump. Marchant has also said Brown is the GOP establishment’s choice, pointing to his endorsement from the NRSC.
“Mitch McConnell & the establishment needed a candidate & found him in Sam Brown,” Marchant said in a tweet earlier this month. “We see Reagan’s ‘bold-colored differences’ between DC & the real America.”
Weaver noted that while more anti-establishment candidates may try to use this attack line, there’s still much to be gained from an endorsement from the Senate GOP campaign arm.
“Being endorsed by the Washington establishment can bring valuable contributions from interest groups around the country, but it can also bring some criticism for being too close to the Beltway,” he said.
Others caution that endorsements should not be seen as integral to the success of a campaign.
“Ultimately these candidates have got to focus on their message and they’ve got to focus on having the resources to disseminate their message,” the GOP strategist said. “They need to be able to actually run a functional campaign and no endorsement is going to matter if those things aren’t done,” the strategist added. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/hill-politics/trumps-role-in-gop-senate-primaries-underscores-his-strength/ | 2023-07-29T18:02:54 | 0 | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/hill-politics/trumps-role-in-gop-senate-primaries-underscores-his-strength/ |
Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, has told multiple people within her party that she intends to run in the commonwealth's gubernatorial election in 2025.
The centrist Democrat has been preparing for a run for the governor's office for months or even years but more recently began making her political ambitions clearer. Spanberger and one of her top political aides told four Democrats that she is planning to make a run for governor in the next election, POLITICO reported, citing people familiar with the conversations.
Spanberger's team has also been speaking to congressional colleagues about her plans for a gubernatorial run, two Democratic lawmakers told the outlet.
Virginia's current GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin will vacate the governor's mansion following the 2025 election because governors in the commonwealth may not serve consecutive terms.
SOME VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS REJECTING GOVERNOR'S POLICY TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS, PREFERRED PRONOUNS
An announcement from Spanberger would likely not come until after Virginia’s highly competitive state legislative elections this November. The congresswoman's ambitions and the timeline for a potential announcement could hurt Democrats' chances of retaking the U.S. House in 2024, as the party needs to hold onto the seat in Spanberger's competitive district if they hope to win back control of the lower chamber.
President Biden won Spanberger's district by six points in the 2020 presidential election.
Spanberger can run for reelection to her House seat and launch a campaign for governor after that election. But both the congresswoman and one of her aides told two Virginia Democrats last spring that she does not plan to seek a fourth term in Congress, two people familiar with those conversations told POLITICO.
"As every Democrat in Virginia should be, Abigail is squarely focused on the 2023 General Assembly races," a spokesperson for Spanberger's office told the outlet.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn are among the other Democrats most likely to enter the governor's race.
Spanberger, a powerful fundraiser, raised more than $9 million in the 2022 election cycle. But she only has $1.2 million in donor money in 2023 for her congressional reelection as of the end of June, according to POLITICO. And since Virginia has few limits on who can donate or how much, along with the commonwealth's lax campaign finance laws, Spanberger can allocate funds raised for her congressional race to run for governor.
The former CIA officer first won her House seat by a narrow margin five years ago when she defeated GOP Rep. Dave Brat. She has been a leading moderate voice in the Democratic Party on fiscal reform, police funding and other issues.
GOP COMMITTEE MEMO OUTLINES ‘AGGRESSIVE’ ABSENTEE, EARLY VOTING EFFORT IN VIRGINIA
Virginia holds primaries in June and some Democrats say they would prefer to have an open House seat in a presidential year instead of an unpredictable special election later in the event that Spanberger wins reelection next year and the governor's race in 2025, when her congressional seat would be more vulnerable.
If Spanberger does vacate her House seat, there are several Democratic contenders expected to explore a run in her district, including former state Dels. Jennifer Carroll Foy and Hala Ayala, and state Sen. Jeremy McPike. For Republicans, businessman Bill Moher is the only one who has begun fundraising in the district. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/democrat-rep-spanberger-allegedly-planning-run-for-virginia-governor-report/article_37efd7c0-a540-511a-b74c-a8f1a510a2c3.html | 2023-07-29T18:03:00 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/democrat-rep-spanberger-allegedly-planning-run-for-virginia-governor-report/article_37efd7c0-a540-511a-b74c-a8f1a510a2c3.html |