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BLAINE, Minn. — Chasing his first PGA Tour victory Lee Hodges shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday to stretch his lead to five strokes with a round left in the 3M Open.
“I have nothing to lose,” Hodges said. “I’m out here playing with house money. I have a job next year on the PGA Tour, this is all great. This is just icing on the cake.”
J.T. Poston was second after a 66. Defending champion Tony Finau was another stroke back at 14 under after a 67.
Hodges’ best finish in 64 prior events was a tie for third at The American Express in 2022, the only other time the 28-year-old Alabama player has led or shared the lead after 54 holes.
And he almost certainly has played himself into the playoffs that begin in two weeks. He began the week 74th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 70 players qualifying.
“I honestly don’t think I’ll be that nervous tonight.” Hodges said. “I’ll hang out with my wife. We’ll go do something fun. I mean, yeah, it’s just golf at the end of the day. I’m lucky to be here.”
Hodges opened with an up-and-down even nine holes, then had five birdies on the back nine.
“I didn’t think I played bad on the front nine, I just couldn’t really get it close to the hole and when I did, I couldn’t make the putt,” he said.
Things were much different after the turn.
Hodges dropped birdie putts from 12 feet on No. 10 and nearly 11 feet on No. 11. His tee shot on the par-3 13th stopped 4 1/2 feet from the cup for another birdie. He added a 5-foorter for birdie on 16 and a 7-footer on 18.
He’ll be paired with Poston on Sunday the final group.
“We play some practice rounds together and I know him really well,” Poston said. “He’s a good friend. So, if I can’t get it done tomorrow, I’ll be pulling for him.”
Finau birdied four of his final eight holes. Last year, he trailed by five shots early in the final round and won by three at 17 under.
“It was just nice to make a run on the back nine today just to give myself a chance,” Finau said. “If I’m eight back, that’s a whole different feeling than five or six. I was just happy with the way I finished my round today and to creep up and just be a little closer to the lead.”
Aaron Baddeley was fourth at 13 under after a 65.
Sam Ryder (65), Keith Mitchell (67), Billy Horschel (68) and Kevin Streelman (69) were 12 under. Ryder birdied in his final five holes — and seven of nine — to toe the tournament back-nine record of 29. Mitchell set that mark two years ago.
Kevin Yu shot 29 on his first nine, tying a score recorded by five others, but he was 5 over for his final six holes to finish with a 67. He was tied for 11th.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/golf/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-pga-tour-3m-open/b9ae0c56-2e67-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:12 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/golf/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-pga-tour-3m-open/b9ae0c56-2e67-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
Zenek Luci was born deaf to a family in Welland, Ontario. He used hearing aids as an infant before receiving a cochlear implant in an operation, his father, Gabriel, says.
"He was about one year old when it was turned on," Gabriel says. "When it's first turned on, they do a mapping, so they they start really low and see where they're responding to the sound."
Invented in 1957, cochlear implants are worn by more than two hundred thousand Americans, according to the American Cochlear Implant Alliance, an industry trade group.
Viral videos of patients receiving cochlear implants and hearing for the first time pack an emotional punch. It's a technology that's transforming lives—and one that's long stirred debate within the Deaf community. Dr. Samantha Kesteloot, an audiologist, educates families about implants and wears one herself.
"There's an internal part and external part," she explains. "The internal part is surgical, and there's an electrode array that is inserted into the cochlea, which is the organ of hearing."
"The outside part is a processor, which sort of looks like a hearing aid," she says. "That picks up the acoustical sound and converts it to electrical stimulus, and then those signals are sent down the electrode array and electrically stimulate the auditory nerve." That's the nerve that sends signals to the brain that correspond to the sensation of hearing.
Many adults with hearing loss say the implants have dramatically improved their lives.
Lou Ferrigno, the actor who once portrayed the Incredible Hulk, recently told students who were deaf or hard of hearing, and how implants have helped him. They "changed my life tremendously," he said. "There's so much hope that people can have better hearing, better lifestyle."
Dr. Keseloot, meanwhile, received her implant in 2017.
"It's completely changed my life," she says. "I always was a pretty high achiever with hearing aids, but I was always just kind of missing out on a lot of social things." Dr. Kestellot says she would "just sort of smile and nod and pretend I understood." Now, she says, "I can keep up in noisy situations."
SEE MORE: Parents push for insurers to cover pediatric hearing aids
Roughly one in five Americans has some form of hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health. And there is a thriving Deaf community in the U.S. that communicates with sign language. So adults who are eligible for implants have the choice of whether they want to receive them.
There's considerable debate, however, around their use with kids.
The FDA has approved the technology for children as young as nine months.
Without Zenek's implant, using just the hearing aid, "Everything he said was gibberish," says Gabriel Luci. "So that told us, okay, he's not getting enough with the aid."
"If a family desires listening in spoken language outcomes, the natural goal for the child is to speak and listen," says Dr. Kesteloot. "The best route is to aid and then implant if the hearing aids not doing enough. And then if the child chooses to sign later or, you know, and refuses the implant later, that's a choice that they can make."
Some parents of deaf children decline the procedure, says Dr. Kesteloot, including parents who are deaf themselves. "A lot of culturally deaf parents choose not to implant their children because they don't really have a need for it. Their life is based around sign language," she says. "And then also, some parents believe that the child should make the decision when they get old enough to make the decision. And that's, you know, a little tricky because there is a critical period for language development."
Dorian Smith Garcia wrote recently that videos celebrating cochlear implants "play into audism," which implies that people with hearing loss need to be "cured or corrected."
Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, who is Deaf, says she isn't opposed to cochlear implants. But she told the World Science Festival in 2019 that Deaf culture built on sign language offers immense rewards for children.
"There is still a great deal of pressure that people should explore the option of cochlear implants because that's better than signing, that you shouldn't sign," she told the audience. "I would say to these people, who are you to decide for us?"
Gabriel Luci, who has a second child with implants named Sasha, says the decision should be up to every parent of a Deaf child.
"I do believe that getting my kids cochlear implants gives them more opportunities, though. I'm not taking away any opportunities from them; I'm only giving them opportunities," he says.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kgun9.com/cochlear-implants-are-changing-lives-and-sparking-debate | 2023-07-30T01:06:14 | 1 | https://www.kgun9.com/cochlear-implants-are-changing-lives-and-sparking-debate |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Racing will resume at Churchill Downs in September, with no changes being made after a review of surfaces and safety protocols in the wake of 12 horse deaths, including seven in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby in May.
The Louisville track suspended racing operations on June 7 and moved the rest of its spring meet to Ellis Park in western Kentucky at the recommendation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the sport’s national overseer.
Training continued at Churchill Downs during the track’s investigation.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” and said the review “didn’t find anything fundamentally wrong or different about our track from previous years.”
“That, in a sense, can sometimes be unsatisfying,” he said. “But that’s business, and that’s sports.”
Two of the horse deaths occurred in undercard races on Derby day. Another five died later.
“The takeaway is, the track is very safe,” Carstanjen said Thursday on an earnings call with CDI investors.
“What we needed to do was spend some of this time in the interim, while we ran the rest of the (spring) meet at Ellis to just go soup to nuts through every single thing we do at the racetrack. There was nothing that jumped out as an apparent cause of the injuries, of the breakdowns; and, as we went through and rebuilt our processes from the ground up to check everything that we do to make extra sure, we didn’t find anything material.”
The track’s fall meet begins Sept. 14 and runs through Oct. 1.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-churchill-downs-to-resume-racing-at-fall-meet-with-no-changes-after-horse-deaths/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:13 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-churchill-downs-to-resume-racing-at-fall-meet-with-no-changes-after-horse-deaths/ |
TORONTO — Alejandro Kirk hit two home runs, Santiago Espinal added a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday.
Toronto won for the 14th time in 20 games and moved a season-best 13 games above .500 at 59-46. The Angels lost their second straight.
Shohei Ohtani started for the Angels after leaving Friday in the ninth because of cramps in both legs. Ohtani was hit on the left foot by a pitch in the first inning, doubled in the third, and was intentionally walked in both the fifth and sixth.
Angels outfielder Taylor Ward left after he was hit in the side of the head by a pitch from Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah in the fifth.
Génesis Cabrera (2-1) was the winner. Reid Detmers (2-8) took the loss.
TIGERS 5, MARLINS 0
MIAMI — Akil Badoo and Riley Greene homered and five pitchers combined on a seven-hitter in Detroit’s victory over Miami.
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera doubled and singled in four at-bats and continued to receive cheers in his final visiting series against the club he began his 20-year career with. The game, promoted as Venezuelan Heritage Day in honor of Cabrera, attracted a crowd of 32,936 — the Marlins’ largest home crowd since April 2017.
Joey Wentz (2-9) pitched 4 2/3 innings in relief for the victory.
Miami’s Luis Arraez went 2 for 4 to increase his major league-leading batting average to .381. Johnny Cueto (0-2) was the loser.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/baseball-capsules/1f7158f0-2e6c-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:18 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/baseball-capsules/1f7158f0-2e6c-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
After months of warnings from tech executives about the dangers of artificial intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a new list of concerns.
The agency's biggest fears are not only about what the technology does but also about who is using it.
During a rare background briefing call with reporters, a senior FBI official, who even acknowledged that they haven't done significant outreach on the topic of AI, described a pretty concerning situation, or a "threat landscape," as the FBI calls it.
He said that China is looking to steal U.S. AI technology and data for AI programs and then use it not just to advance their own AI programs but to influence Americans.
He also said that the FBI is closely monitoring the role that AI may play in the 2024 election and is concerned about the spread of disinformation and deep fake videos.
He said that criminals and terrorists are seeking AI to simplify the production of dangerous chemicals and biological substances to increase their potency.
SEE MORE: Tech giants commit to Biden administration-brokered AI safety rules
Scripps News asked about explosives, and this official said that a variety of criminal and national security actors, from violent extremists to traditional terrorists, are using AI to try to come up with ways to create different types of explosives.
He said, "There have been people who have successfully elicited recipes or instructions for creating explosives."
He also said that AI is a force multiplier for crafting fishing e-mails and for using it in other cyberattacks. He says that the FBI has found AI-generated websites that are infected with malware to target users’ sites that have more than a million followers.
The bottom line, the FBI says, there are fewer people, less expertise, and less time needed for a lot of these threats, so there's a much lower bar or barrier for entry here.
Furthermore, the FBI is spending some of its time working on being able to determine what is synthetically AI-generated content online. They are working with private companies, and they're working with academia. But as this official said, this technology is advancing really quickly, and it is hard to stay on top of it.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kgun9.com/fbi-worried-about-ai-and-disinformation-ahead-of-the-2024-election | 2023-07-30T01:06:20 | 0 | https://www.kgun9.com/fbi-worried-about-ai-and-disinformation-ahead-of-the-2024-election |
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) — Purdue football Head Coach Ryan Walters and three players were in attendance at Big Ten Media Day in Indianapolis.
Sports 18 spoke with senior safety Sanoussi Kane at Lucas Oil Stadium about the Boiler’s defense.
The DB room has grown significantly since head coach Ryan Walters got on board. What’s the dynamic of this defense?
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a defense, he’s a DBs coach,” Kane said. “So, you know, he prides himself on having great DBS, so hopefully we’re the next in line for him.”
What’s it like getting to know these new guys? How have they kind of fit into this Purdue team?
“So some of them I already knew,” Kane said. “Me and Salim really grew up together. And me and Marquis, we’ve known each other for years, so it’s kind of like refreshing to have guys that I already knew coming in and all the new guys that came from Ole Miss, they’re great people. So just being able to meet those guys and having fun with those guys, it’s truly been a blessing.”
So this season you’re going up against some tough Big Ten receivers. How excited are you for that challenge?
“I’m excited for it,” Kane said. “If we want to do what we want to do at the professional level, this is what we got to go against every week in NFL. So it’s fun to have it in college before we can take that next step.”
Coach Walters emphasized aggressiveness with this defense and cover zero. How do you guys ensure that no team is going to have any explosive plays?
“We just got to cover,” Kane said. “Everything we’re going to do, we got to make sure that we’re covering the receiver, so get the D line some time to make sure we get a sack. So just make sure we cover.”
You’re a veteran on this team. You’re going to serve as a leader for some guys. What makes this group different from the last few years?
“Just because I was kind of a younger guy, so I had older guys to look up to,” Kane said. “I was just on the phone with Dedrick Mackey earlier. It’s kind of surreal. He was talking about when I was under him. Him, Cory Trice, Simeon Smiley, Brennan Thieneman. And now I’m older, I got Dillon Theineman as my young guy, so it’s been a great experience overall.”
So what have you learned from those older guys that you’re now going to teach guys like Dylan coming into Purdue?
“Just live your routine,” Kane said. “Me and Cory Trice talk all the time, so that’s basically like my big brother. He tells me every time he’s just living his routine. So I’m just trying to teach those guys just to live their routine. But those guys are great. They’ve done a fantastic job since they’ve been here.”
I know you haven’t been on the field at Ross Ade in a while because it is a construction site, but what are you most excited about finally taking the field on Saturdays?
“Just running through the Tiller Tunnel and seeing that student section,” Kane said. “The student section is going to be the first thing we see. So that’s going to be exciting.” | https://www.wlfi.com/news/sanoussi-kane-discusses-purdues-defense/article_600d5cac-2e6b-11ee-97a5-b7a415c20d10.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:20 | 1 | https://www.wlfi.com/news/sanoussi-kane-discusses-purdues-defense/article_600d5cac-2e6b-11ee-97a5-b7a415c20d10.html |
CHICAGO (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.
None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.
As the 2024 election approaches, community organizations are preparing for what they expect to be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting communities of color and immigrant communities. They say the tailored campaigns challenge assumptions of what kinds of voters are susceptible to election conspiracies and distrust in voting systems.
“They’re getting more complex, more sophisticated and spreading like wildfire,” said Sarah Shah, director of policy and community engagement at the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org. “ What we saw in 2020, unfortunately, will probably be fairly mild in comparison to what we will see in the months leading up to 2024.”
A growing subset of communities of color, especially immigrants for whom English is not their first language, are questioning the integrity of U.S. voting processes and subscribing to Trump’s lies of a stolen 2020 election, said Jenny Liu, mis/disinformation policy manager at the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Still, she said these communities are largely left out of conversations about misinformation.
“When you think of the typical consumer of a conspiracy theory, you think of someone who’s older, maybe from a rural area, maybe a white man,” she said. “You don’t think of Chinese Americans scrolling through WeChat. That’s why this narrative glosses over and erases a lot of the disinformation harms that many communities of colors face.”
In addition to general misinformation themes about voting machines and mail-in voting, groups are catering their messaging to communities of color, experts say.
For example, immigrants from authoritarian regimes in countries like Venezuela or who have lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be “more vulnerable to misinformation claiming politicians are wanting to turn the U.S. into a Socialist state,” said Inga Trauthig, head of research for the Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. People from countries that have not recently had free and fair elections may have a preexisting distrust of elections and authority that may make them vulnerable to misinformation as well, Trauthig said.
Disinformation efforts often hinge on topics most important to each community, whether that is public safety, immigration, abortion, education, inflation or alleged extramarital affairs, said Laura Zommer, co-founder of the Spanish-language fact-checking group Factchequeado.
“It takes advantage of their very real fear and trauma from their experiences in their home countries,” Zommer said.
Other vulnerabilities include language barriers and a lack of knowledge of the U.S. media landscape and how to find credible U.S. news sources, several misinformation experts told The Associated Press. Many immigrants rely on translated content for voting information, leaving space for bad actors to inject misinformation.
“These tactics exploit information vacuums when there’s a lot of uncertainty around how these processes work, especially because a lot of election materials may not be translated in the languages our communities speak or be available in forms they are likely to access,” said Clara Jiménez Cruz, another co-founder of Factchequeado.
Misinformation can also arise from mistranslations. The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found examples of mistranslations in Colombian, Cuban and Venezuelan WhatsApp groups, where “progressive” was translated to “progresista,” which carries “far-left connotations that are closer to the Spanish words ‘socialista’ and ‘comunista.’”
Disinformation, often in languages like Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi, flows onto social media apps like WhatsApp and WeChat heavily used by communities of color.
Minority communities that believe their views and perspectives aren’t represented by the mainstream are likely to “retreat into more private spaces” found on messaging apps or groups on social media sites like Facebook, Trauthig said.
“But disinformation also targets them on these platforms, even though it may feel to them to be that safer space,” she said.
Messages on WhatsApp are also encrypted and can’t be easily seen or traced by moderators or fact-checkers.
“As a result, messages on apps like WhatsApp often fly under the radar and are allowed to spread and spread, largely unchecked,” said Randy Abreu, policy counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which leads the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition.
Abreu also raised concerns about Spanish YouTube channels and radio shows that are growing in popularity. He said the coalition is tracking more and more YouTube and radio personalities who are spreading misinformation in Spanish.
A 2022 report by the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters tracked 40 Spanish-language YouTube videos spreading misinformation about U.S. elections. Many of these videos remained on the platform, despite violating YouTube election misinformation policy, the report said.
Amid changes in voting policies at state and local levels, advocates are sounding the alarm on how disinformation about voting in 2024 may target communities of color. Many of these efforts have surged as Asian American, Black and Latino communities have grown in political power, said María Teresa Kumar, founding president of the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino.
“Disinformation is, at its core, meant to be a sort of voter suppression tactic for communities of color,” she said. “It targets communities of color in a way that feeds into their already justifiable concerns that the system is stacked against them.”
The tactics also feed into a history “as old as the Jim Crow era of attempting to disenfranchise people of color, going back to voter intimidation and suppression efforts after the Civil Rights Act of 1866,” said Atiba Ellis, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
While many of the same recycled claims around alleged fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections are expected to resurface, experts say disinformation campaigns will likely be more sophisticated and granular in attempts to target specific groups of voters of color.
Trauthig also raised concerns about how layoffs and instability at social media platforms like Twitter may leave them less prepared to tackle misinformation in 2024. It also remains to be seen how new social media platforms like Threads will approach the threat of misinformation. Changes in policies like WhatsApp launching a “Communities” function connecting multiple groups and expanding group chat sizes may also “have big implications for how quickly misinformation will spread on the platform,” she said.
In response to the mounting threat of misinformation, Indian American Impact is ramping up its fact-checking efforts through what the organization says is the first fact-checking website specifically for South Asian Americans. Shah said the group is drawing inspiration from 2022 projects, including a voting toolkit using memes with Bollywood characters and passing out Parle-G crackers with voting information stickers at Indian grocery stores.
Cruz of Factchequeado is paying close attention to misinformation in swing states with significant Latino populations like Nevada and Arizona. And Liu of Asian Americans Advancing Justice is reviewing misinformation trends from previous elections to strategize about how to inoculate Asian American voters against them.
Still, they say there is more work to be done.
Critics are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English. Government and election officials should also make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers, organize media literacy trainings in community spaces and identify “trusted messengers” in communities of color to help approach trends in misinformation narratives, experts said.
“These are not monolithic groups,” Cruz said. “This disinformation is very specifically tailored to each of these communities and their fears. So we also need to be partnering with grassroots organizations in each of these communities to tailor our approaches. If we don’t take the time to do this work, our democracy is at stake.”
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The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:20 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ |
CHICAGO — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona was ejected in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
Remillard’s throw was relayed to first by second baseman Jake Burger for a close play and Tichenor called Kwan out as he tried to return.
Kwan stood on first as if he expected Francona to challenge the call. Tichenor signaled something to the Cleveland dugout, then the Guardians manager jogged on to the field, barked at Tichenor and was booted. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/guardians-francona-ejected/2a229ee6-2e6a-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:24 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/guardians-francona-ejected/2a229ee6-2e6a-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Outdoor recreation is on track for another record-setting year. In 2022, US national parks logged more than 300 million visits – and that means a lot more people on roads and trails.
While research shows that spending time outside is good for physical and mental health, long lines and gridlocked roads can make the experience a lot less fun. Crowding also makes it harder for park staff to protect wildlife and fragile lands and respond to emergencies. To manage the crowds, some parks are experimenting with timed-entry vehicle reservation systems and permits for popular trails.
For all of their popularity, national parks are just one subset of US public lands. Across the nation, the federal government owns more than 640 million acres (2.6 million square kilometers) of land. Depending on each site’s mission, its uses may include logging, livestock grazing, mining, oil and gas production, wildlife habitat or recreation – often, several of these at once. In contrast, national parks exist solely to protect some of the most important places for public enjoyment.
In my work as a historian and researcher, I’ve explored the history of public land management and the role of national parks in shaping landscapes across the Americas. Many public lands are prime recreational territory and are also becoming increasingly crowded. Finding solutions requires visitors, gateway communities, state agencies and the outdoor industry to collaborate.
Alternatives to national parks
The US government is the nation’s largest land manager by far. Federal property makes up 28% of surface land area across the 50 states. In Western states like Nevada, the federal footprint can be as large as 80% of the land. That’s largely because much of this land is arid, and lack of water makes farming difficult. Other areas that are mountainous or forested were not initially viewed as valuable when they came under US ownership – but values have changed.
Public lands are more diverse than national parks. Some are scenic; others are just open space. They include all kinds of ecosystems, from forests to grasslands, coastlines, red rock canyons, deserts and ranges covered with sagebrush. They also include battlefields, rivers, trails and monuments. Many are remote, but others are near or within major metropolitan areas.
Many people who love hiking, fishing, backpacking or other outdoor activities know that national parks are crowded, and they often seek other places to enjoy nature, including public lands. That trend intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic, when lockdowns and social distancing protocols motivated people to get outside wherever they could.
The rise of remote work has also fueled a population shift toward smaller Western towns with access to open space and good internet access for videoconferencing. Popular remote work bases like Durango, Colorado, and Bend, Oregon, have become known as “Zoom towns” – a fresh take on the old boomtowns that brought people west in the 19th century.
With these new populations, gateway communities close to popular public lands face critical decisions. Outdoor recreation is a powerful economic engine: In 2021, it contributed an estimated US$454 billion to the nation’s economy – more than auto manufacturing and air transport combined.
But embracing recreational tourism can lead local communities into the amenity trap – the paradox of loving a place to death. Recreation economies that fail to manage growth, or that neglect investments in areas like housing and infrastructure, risk compromising the sense of place that draws visitors. But planning can proactively shape growth to maintain community character and quality of life.
Broadening recreation
People use public lands for many activities beyond a quiet hike in the woods. For instance, the Phoenix District of the federal Bureau of Land Management operates more than 3 million acres across central Arizona for at least 14 different recreational uses, including hiking, fishing, boating, target shooting, rock collecting and riding off-road vehicles.
Not all of these activities are compatible, and many have not traditionally been rigorously managed. For example, target shooters sometimes bring objects like old appliances or furniture to use as improvised targets, then leave behind an unsightly mess. In response, the Phoenix District has designated recreational shooting sites where it provides targets and warns against shooting at objects containing glass or hazardous materials, as well as cactuses.
Skiing also can pose crowding challenges. Many downhill skiing facilities in the West operate on public land with permits from the managing agency – typically, the US Forest Service.
One example, Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area is a nonprofit ski slope 16 miles from Boise, Idaho. Demand surges on winter weekends with fresh powder, creating long lift lines and crowded slopes.
The mountain is open for 12 hours a day, and Bogus Basin uses creative pricing structures for lift tickets to spread crowds out. For example, it draws younger skiers with discounted night skiing and retired skiers during the week. As a result, the parking lot only filled up once in the 2022-2023 season.
Local governments can help find ways to balance access with creative crowd management. In Seattle, King County launched Trailhead Direct to provide transit-to-trails services from Seattle to the Cascade Mountains. This approach expands access to the outdoors for city residents and reduces traffic on busy Interstate 90 and crowding in trailhead parking lots.
Other towns have partnered with federal land agencies to maintain trail systems, like the Ridge to Rivers network outside Boise and the River Reach trails near Farmington, New Mexico. This helps the towns provide better nearby outdoor opportunities for residents and attract new businesses whose employees value quality of life. Creating corridors from the “backyard to the backcountry,” as the Bureau of Land Management puts it, can help create vibrant communities.
A less-extractive view of public lands
For many years, Western communities have viewed public lands as places to mine, log and graze sheep and cattle. Tensions between states and the federal government over federal land policy often reflect state resentment over decisions made in Washington, D.C. about local resources.
Now, land managers are seeing a pivot. While federal control will never be welcome in some areas, Western communities increasingly view federal lands as amenities and anchors for immense opportunities, including recreation and economic growth. For example, Idaho is investing $100 million for maintenance and expanded access on state lands, mirroring federal efforts.
As environmental law scholar Robert Keiter has pointed out, the U.S. has a lot of laws governing activities like logging, mining and energy development on public lands, but there’s little legal guidance for recreation. Instead, agencies, courts and presidents are developing what Keiter calls “a common law of outdoor recreation,” bit by bit. By addressing crowding and the environmental impacts of recreation, I believe local communities can help the U.S. move toward better stewardship of our nation’s awe-inspiring public lands.
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- Follow us on Youtube | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/national-parks-forests-wildlife-refuges-seashores-are-way-too-crowded | 2023-07-30T01:06:26 | 1 | https://www.kgun9.com/news/national/national-parks-forests-wildlife-refuges-seashores-are-way-too-crowded |
PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that has gripped the U.S. Southwest throughout July, blasting residents and baking surfaces like brick, is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.
Forecasters expect that by Monday, people in metro Phoenix will begin to see high temperatures fall under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month.
But not on Saturday. The high temperature in the desert city with more than 1.6 million residents climbed past 110 F for the 30th straight day, the National Weather Service said. The previous record stretch of 110 F or above was for 18 days in 1974.
There are increased chances on Sunday of cooling monsoon thunderstorms. Though wet weather can also bring damaging winds, blowing dust and the chance of flash flooding, the weather service warned. Sudden rains running off hard-baked surfaces can quickly fill normally dry washes.
Already this week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell under 90 F (32.2 C) for the first time in 16 days, finally giving residents some respite from the stifling heat once the sun goes down.
Temperatures also were expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and even in Death Valley, California, where the weather service said the expected high of 122 F (50 C) on Saturday is forecast to lower to 113 F (45 C) by Tuesday — along with a slight chance of rain.
Also in California, triple-digit heat was expected in parts of the San Joaquin Valley from Saturday through Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford, California.
Gusty, late-afternoon winds were expected Saturday and Sunday in Santa Barbara County, posing an elevated risk of fire weather, the weather service in Los Angeles said. Hot, dry weather was also expected across nearby valleys, lower mountains and desert areas.
In Riverside County, more than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate their homes and another 1,400 were facing evacuation warnings as crews battled a wildfire that charred 3.2 square miles (8.3 square kilometers) in the community of Aguanga, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of San Diego, authorities said Saturday. One firefighter was reported to have been injured in the so-called Bonny Fire, which authorities said was about 5% contained.
A downward trend in Southwest heat started Wednesday night, when Phoenix saw its first major monsoon storm since the traditional June 15 start of the thunderstorm season. 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 1 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.
“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.
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Associated Press writers Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, contributed to this report. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:27 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-the-extreme-heat-wave-that-blasted-the-southwest-is-abating-with-late-arriving-monsoon-rains/ |
BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge homered for the first time since returning from a toe injury, sending a 442-foot drive over the wall in center field in the third inning against Baltimore on Saturday night.
Judge was hitless since returning Friday, although he drew three walks in that game. He hit a towering flyout in his first plate appearance Saturday. Then he connected off Tyler Wells two innings later.
It was his 20th home run of the season. Judge started in right field Saturday after he was the designated hitter Friday.
Judge had been out since tearing a ligament in his right big toe June 3.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/yankees-aaron-judge/aa1665e2-2e6f-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:30 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/29/yankees-aaron-judge/aa1665e2-2e6f-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
PHEONIX (CNN) — At a botanical garden in Phoenix some cactuses can’t take the heat.
Record-high temperatures in Arizona, combined with a lack of seasonal monsoons, have caused saguaro cactuses at the Desert Botanical Garden to become “highly stressed,” according to Chief Science Officer Kimberlie McCue. She said a saguaro can appear “fairly normal” or feel somewhat squishy before it suddenly collapses and reveals it has been rotting from the inside out due to heat-related stress.
Every February, the Desert Botanical Garden takes inventory of its saguaro cactuses and assesses each one’s condition. McCue said since 2020, when record temperatures caused stress in many of the saguaros, she and her team have seen more of the garden’s cactuses die. Present-day heat records are sending some of those previously affected cactuses over the edge, causing them to lose limbs and even collapse.
Wednesday night ended a record streak of 16 days above 90 degrees in Phoenix. The city is forecast to see temperatures over 110 degrees again on Thursday, which would make for the 28th consecutive day.
Cactuses carry out essential functions at night. That’s when they open their stomata, or pores, and carry out a gas exchange in which they take in the carbon dioxide they use to photosynthesize during the day. But because nights in Phoenix have experienced record-high heat, McCue said this suffocates and stresses out the saguaros, which dehydrates them and makes them more susceptible to infections and insects.
Saguaros are “beautifully adapted to heat and aridity, but they have their limits,” McCue said.
Phoenix is one of nine US cities where at least 1 million people live in neighborhoods that reach eight degrees higher than surrounding areas, a Climate Central analysis showed. But down in Tucson, where temperatures are slightly lower but still surpassing 100 degrees, plant admirers like Erik Rakestraw aren’t seeing the same distress in local saguaros. He attributes the perseverance of Tucson’s cactuses to the lack of a “heat island” effect that Phoenix is experiencing.
Rakestraw, curator of botany at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, said domesticated plants near walls – rather than wild ones – are more likely to experience negative effects due to reflective heat.
However, he said the biggest threat to saguaros is that as temperatures heat up over time, new generations of the cactus species will struggle to grow at all.
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- Follow us on Youtube | https://www.kgun9.com/news/state/record-heat-is-killing-off-arizona-cacti | 2023-07-30T01:06:32 | 0 | https://www.kgun9.com/news/state/record-heat-is-killing-off-arizona-cacti |
Cardinals' Kyler Murray has no timetable on his return to playing football
The biggest question surrounding the Arizona Cardinals is, since Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker is with the team and taking part in training camp practices after requesting a trade in the offseason, when quarterback Kyler Murray will be ready for a return from a torn ACL from a game last December.
Murray himself provided no clarity on that in his first public comments of training camp, saying he is taking his rehab "one day at a time" and doesn't have a timetable.
Murray has said in a video series produced by the Cardinals earlier this month that his goal is to play in Week 1 of the regular season, but with a month and a half to go until that game at Washington, he is watching camp practices from the sideline just as a he did during offseason team workouts earlier this offseason at the Cardinals facility.
"Every athlete that's dealt with injury like this, it's just kind of one of those things where when the athlete knows, they know," Murray said. "Obviously me being the competitor I am, do I want to miss any time? No, that's not on my mind. But we're not even in August yet. So, you know, like I said, I'm taking it one day at a time."
Murray said it's unusual to have to watch everything and not take part in practice, but that isn't a bad thing. He said he's gained more resiliency and believes everything happens for a reason.
"Trying to take make the most out of this and make it a positive deal. I feel good, getting better each and every day," Murray said. "So just trying to be there for my teammates right now and just learn as much as possible before I do stuff on the field."
He said his typical day is rehab, physical therapy and eating all three meals. But Murray was able to do some things that were special to him, such as attending the unveiling of a statue of himself at Oklahoma, where he played in college, and taking needy kids and families on a shopping spree at a local Dick's Sporting Goods.
"That was a was a great deal," Murray said. "Just have fun with them, allow them to pick up some stuff and just honestly give back to those kids."
Murray said he hasn't felt challenged by what is perceived as the monotony of the same daily rehab routine
"I get to do what I love every day, play quarterback in NFL. Did I get hurt? Yeah. Did I experience something that no one wants to experience? Yeah," Murray said. "But it's nothing for me to get up and work out every day. I was already doing that before I got hurt. So the fact that, oh, now I'm rehabbing a knee, cool for me to get back to who I was and be able to play at a higher level."
Player updates
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said quarterback Colt McCoy wasn't throwing passes in practice Friday as part of his undisclosed "protocol," or what could be the plan for his progression over the course of camp. Tight end Trey McBride didn't take part in team drills Friday.
"You look at not day by day, but you look at the bulk of training camp and kind of what needs to be done. And we feel comfortable about the plan that we've got going," Gannon said regarding McCoy, who did throw to receivers on Saturday.
Gannon said McBride has a minor injury but has been on the field. First-year Cardinals tight end Noah Togiai had a big day Saturday with some impressive catches.
"Being careful with him. He's got his own plan that he's going through right now," Gannon said of McBride.
Outside linebacker Myjai Sanders has a hand injury, Gannon said. Sanders missed a second day of practice.
Two players sent off after tussle
Gannon backed up his comments about players fighting in practice, sending offensive lineman Dennis Daley and defensive lineman L.J. Collier to the locker room with about 25 minutes left in Saturday's practice after the two get into it on the field.
"It's a non-negotiable, and why it's a non negotiable, because you get thrown out of a game for it," Gannon said on the first day of camp.
'Back Together Weekend'
The Cardinals took part in their third "Back Together Weekend" celebration, the NFL's label to mark the return of football and the start of training camps around the league.
The largest crowd for an open practice thus far in training camp turned out to hear a few words from Gannon, watch the ream run through typical camp drills and cheer for former players who were introduced on the field.
"It's appreciated and I'm glad the fans are here today," Gannon said minutes before practice started. "But now it's go about your day and do the best job you can."
Cardinals sign linebacker
The Cardinals made a roster move Saturday, signing linebacker David Anenih and releasing cornerback Dylan Mabin.
The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Anenih was on the active rosters of the Steelers and Falcons last season after entering the league with Tennessee as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2022 out of the University of Houston. He spent time on the practice squads of the Titans and Steelers as a rookie.
In college Anenih had 99 total tackles (57 solo), 32 tackles for loss, 20 sacks, seven pass breakups and four forced fumbles in 56 games. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2023/07/29/is-cardinals-kyler-murray-on-track-to-play-in-week-1-of-nfl-season/70482033007/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:33 | 0 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2023/07/29/is-cardinals-kyler-murray-on-track-to-play-in-week-1-of-nfl-season/70482033007/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a stunning new allegation in an already serious case: Former President Donald Trump sought to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The latest criminal charges unsealed Thursday deepen Trump’s legal jeopardy, alleging a more central role for the former president than previously known in a cover-up that prosecutors say was meant to prevent them from recovering top-secret documents he took with him after he left the White House. Coming as Trump braces for possible additional indictments related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the new allegations strengthen special counsel Jack Smith’s already powerful case against Trump while undercutting potential defenses floated by the former president, experts say.
“Before these new charges, you could maybe try some sort of defense that ‘this was all a mistake, it was my staff’ or confusion about what documents he actually had,” said former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor.
“But especially now, when you’re trying to destroy video footage,” he added, “that’s kind of the final nail in the coffin. I don’t see much in the way of a defense, not a real defense. All he can do is claim he’s being persecuted and hope for a holdout juror or something.”
Trump resorted to that familiar playbook on Friday, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform that “this is textbook Third World intimidation by rabid, lawless prosecutors.” He insisted during an interview with radio host John Fredericks that he did nothing wrong and accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate his staff into making up lies about him.
Later Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to prosecutors. Trump said he was told they were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
The new Florida charges came as a surprise given that Trump and his legal team have been focused on the prospect of an additional indictment in Washington — possibly within days — related to his efforts to cling to power after he lost to President Joe Biden. Trump received a letter this month informing him that he’s a target in that probe, and his lawyers met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Hours after that meeting, Smith revealed the new classified documents case charges on top of a 38-count indictment issued last month against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta. The updated indictment includes a detailed chronology of phone conversations and other interactions between Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, in the days after the Justice Department last June drafted a subpoena for security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.
Video from the home would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in an effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
The day after a draft subpoena was sent to the Trump Organization, the indictment says, Trump called De Oliveira and spoke with him for about 24 minutes. Though the details of that conversation are not included in the indictment, De Oliveira is described by prosecutors as asking a Mar-a-Lago information technology staffer several days later how long the server retained footage for and is quoted as telling the employee that “the boss” wanted it deleted.
Lawyers for Nauta, who has pleaded not guilty, and De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations. De Oliveira is expected to make his first court appearance in Miami on Monday.
To the extent that evidence of Trump’s involvement in trying to delete video is circumstantial rather than direct, it might present a challenge for prosecutors, said David Aaron, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor who has worked on cases involving the mishandling of classified documents.
But if they can tie the effort to Trump, he added, “it’s devastating in its own right, because it doesn’t matter at that point what he thought he had the right to do, or whatever other defense he’s going to have about the classified documents. That’s in and of itself very bad.”
It could also help prosecutors establish that Trump knew what he was doing was wrong because “you only delete video of what you’ve done if you think it’s going to get you in trouble,” Aaron said. And Trump’s own accusations against others, like his claims against Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential race, could boomerang against him.
Trump has claimed that Clinton deleted emails from her private server for the purpose of obstructing a criminal investigation into her own handling of classified information — something the FBI and Justice Department never alleged — but now stands himself accused of scheming to delete evidence he feared would be incriminating.
“He has specifically criticized other public figures for deleting data when he says they thought they were going to be in trouble,” Aaron said. “So if you needed to prove his consciousness of guilt, it’s not just an obvious thing that you would ask the jury to rely on common sense for — he’s actually made statements about what it means when someone does this.”
Trump and Nauta are set for trial next May, though it’s not clear if that date will hold.
Smith’s team also added a new count of willful retention of national defense information related to a classified document about a Pentagon plan of attack on a foreign country prosecutors say Trump showed off during a July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort.
That charge comes after Trump repeatedly claimed he didn’t have any secret documents when he spoke, only magazine and newspaper clippings, even though an audio recording captured him saying “this is secret information.” The document was returned to the government in January 2022, months before the subpoena for classified records.
It’s not clear why prosecutors moved now to indict another one of Trump’s underlings, though bringing charges against De Oliveira that could carry significant prison time adds serious pressure on him, potentially increasing the odds that he could decide to cut a plea deal and cooperate.
“But, you know, Trump seems to inspire a lot of loyalty, at least in some people,” Eliason said. “Maybe they are holding out for the idea that he is reelected and he can pardon them.”
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Richer reported from Boston. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:33 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ |
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyler Murray’s football career was nearly flawless for the first 25 years of his life: First, he was a Texas high school phenom, then a Heisman Trophy winner, then the No. 1 overall pick for the Arizona Cardinals, then a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
These days, the competition is with himself.
“This is different,” Murray said. “This is you-on-you. Nobody really knows what you’re going through except for yourself and whoever you’re working out with.”
Murray, who turns 26 on Aug. 7, is working his way back to football relevancy following an underwhelming fourth season that was cut short by a torn ACL in his right knee against the New England Patriots on Dec. 12.
The quarterback acknowledged some tough days after the surgery — nights when it was tough to sleep because of the pain — but said he’s not feeling sorry for himself as he works to get back to the field.
“I get to do what I love every day — play quarterback in the NFL,” Murray said. “Did I get hurt? Yeah. Did I experience something no one wants to experience? Yeah. But it’s nothing for me to get up and work out. I was already doing that before I got hurt.”
Murray’s expected to miss at least a few games of the upcoming season while he continues to recover, and the quarterback watched Saturday’s practice at State Farm Stadium in a gray hooded sweatshirt and long black sleeve over his entire right leg.
His impending return is the hottest topic for the Cardinals during camp, but says he’s not committing to a certain return date.
“I don’t have a timetable,” Murray said.
Murray said he saw Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at a recent UFC event and the two discussed the perils of an ACL injury. Burrow tore the ACL in his left knee during his rookie season in 2020, but returned to play 16 games in 2021.
“I wouldn’t want to go out there and hurt the team or hurt myself,” Murray said. “The advice that I’ve gotten from a lot of people around me is to go when you’re ready. Don’t listen to outside noise. Don’t feel pressure to come back because of this situation or that situation.
“Whenever you’re ready, you’ll know you’re ready.”
Murray has been very good — at times spectacular — for much of his first four seasons. His uncanny scrambling ability has produced several highlight-reel plays and he’s got plenty of arm to make all the throws he needs to make.
The apex of his pro career came in 2021, when the Cardinals started the season with a 10-2 record and looked like a Super Bowl favorite. But the franchise collapsed, losing four of the next five games before getting blown out against the Los Angeles Rams in an embarrassing playoff performance.
With high hopes in 2022, the Cardinals were one of the league’s most disappointing teams, finishing with a 4-13 record. Murray was far from the only reason for those struggles, but also wasn’t blameless, as his performance regressed in several areas.
“It’s not a bad thing to sit back, watch, and try to make this a positive deal,” Murray said. “I feel good. Getting better each and every day, taking one day at a time. Just trying to be there for my teammates and learn as much as possible before I do stuff on the field.”
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill made big changes after last season’s debacle, bringing in a defensive-minded coach in Jonathan Gannon and a new general manager in Monti Ossenfort. The new regime seems just as smitten with Murray as the previous one — Gannon said one major reason he took the Cardinals job was Murray’s presence.
Murray says he’s excited about what the changes can bring.
The Cardinals have a large monetary interest in making things work: Murray signed a $230.5 million, five-year deal before last offseason that keeps him in the desert until 2028.
“It’s been great so far,” Murray said. “We’re actually establishing a run game. I believe we’ll be able to run the ball a lot better, which will only be a weapon for us. Get under center, mix it up, not be as predictable.”
Veteran Colt McCoy is the Cardinals’ most likely quarterback while Murray continues to recover. The 36-year-old has been the team’s backup for the past two seasons and has a 3-3 record in the six games he’s started.
The other current options are David Blough, who played decently in two starts last season, and Clayton Tune, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Houston.
“To me, whoever is available, we’re trying to put the best guy out there to win football games,” Gannon said. “Obviously, Kyler’s not available right now, but we’ve got a lot of guys who are very capable who I’m excited to see play and compete if he’s not ready to go.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/2023/07/29/kyler-murray-knee-injury-arizona-cardinals/d2b7d6ae-2e68-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:36 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/2023/07/29/kyler-murray-knee-injury-arizona-cardinals/d2b7d6ae-2e68-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
It's the beverage backlash rocking the bluegrass state.
"If you're going to make bourbon, you really need to be in Kentucky, and we want you in Kentucky to do that," said Jack Mazurak said.
Mazurak is the director of governmental and regulatory affairs for the Kentucky Distillers' Association.
The point of contention? The end of a barrel tax.
In March, Governor Andy Beshear signed off on a bill outlining the phasing out of the property tax placed on aging barrels of bourbon in the state.
The phase-out, which will begin in 2026, will see that tax reduced by a few percentage points each year, leading to its full elimination by 2043—a move being applauded by the state's roughly $9 billion bourbon industry.
"From an economic development perspective. When you look at a barrel tax, that's a punishment for growth. That's a punishment for success," Mazurak said.
Mazurak says the annual barrel tax was problematic as the demand for bourbon has been growing, leading distillers to produce and store more aging barrels of bourbon and therefore pay more in taxes.
"Last year, we had 12 million barrels aging in the state and paid $40 million in barrel taxes. So, you know, it went from 9.5 million in 2009, 2014 when things really started taking off, it was about $14 million in barrel taxes we paid. But I mean, just the increments that it was jumping each year was incredible. And it's a growing pain," Mazurak said.
Mazurak says the barrel tax only served as a deterrent for new distillers looking to set up shop in the state.
"If you're a startup, if you want to come to Kentucky and start up a small distillery, that's a major disincentive," Mazurak said. "So, you could go to Tennessee; you could go to Ohio, Indiana. You could go anywhere, right? And start up your distillery and not face these costs."
But while distillers are static about the tax break, counties that are home to distillers are now bracing for a financial hit in the coming years. In a state that's estimated to produce95% of the world's bourbon, that's big money.
SEE MORE: Malört celebrates 90 years: Chicago's bitter liqueur endures
"They feel like they haven't been listened to, like they've been thrown under the bus, like they've been abandoned, like they haven't been supported, like they've been very supportive of this industry. I'm not so sure they're going to be in the future," Pam Thomas said.
Pam Thomas is a senior fellow at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
She says, like anywhere else, property taxes are used to fund local services. In the case of the funds collected from the barrel tax, that money has historically been used to fund schools, emergency services like fire and police, roads, and more in Kentucky.
"The thing about local governments in Kentucky is they do not have a lot of revenue sources. Their biggest revenue source is their property tax," Thomas said. "The thing about local governments in Kentucky is they do not have a lot of revenue sources. Their biggest revenue source is their property tax."
Thomas says overall, many counties are struggling with the bourbon industry's claims that the barrel tax has been a burden on business.
"It's pretty clear, given the growth of the industry, and you can go and look at the press releases from the governor's office, that they're in a boom, that they're in a huge boom, that the boom is already expected to last more than five years. So, the argument that it's making us not competitive, it just really doesn't hold water," Thomas said.
She adds that dropping the tax might end up disconnecting the industry from the communities where it operates as well.
"I just don't think they're going to get the local support that they got before because they do feel like they've been duped. And, you know, I would say that they have," Thomas said.
Thomas says the distillers knew what they were getting into when they opened their doors in Kentucky.
"Every single distillery that's come into Kentucky, and there's like 90 of them now; just a few years ago, there were only 14 or 15. They did a cost-benefit analysis that included the barrel tax, and they decided to come here anyway," Thomas said.
But for Mazurak, there are more important things.
"Bourbon is wonderful to have, the enthusiasm and the tourism, and the demand. But at the end of the day, it's not a grocery item; you know, nobody has to have it. It's not a good tax policy to balance your county budget or to really have it tied in with schools because your kids' education and my kids' education is more important than that," Mazurak said.
Making the bourbon battle a topic of discussion at Kentucky watering holes for years to come.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kgun9.com/the-bourbon-barrel-tax-removal-is-dividing-kentuckians | 2023-07-30T01:06:38 | 1 | https://www.kgun9.com/the-bourbon-barrel-tax-removal-is-dividing-kentuckians |
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.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-the-ufo-congressional-hearing-was-insulting-to-us-employees-a-top-pentagon-official-says/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:40 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-the-ufo-congressional-hearing-was-insulting-to-us-employees-a-top-pentagon-official-says/ |
CANMORE, Alberta — Canadian police said Saturday six people have died in a small plane crash west of Calgary in the province of Alberta.
It was reported overdue by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario, and police say the center contacted them about the plane at 1 a.m. Saturday.
Police say a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules plane was dispatched to search for the missing aircraft and searchers located it on Mount Bogart, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Calgary, by honing in on an emergency locator transmitter.
The Hercules crew and Alberta Parks Mountain Rescue responders who were also dispatched to the scene confirmed there were no survivors.
A Transportation Safety Board spokesman says the aircraft was a single-engine Piper PA-32, and the board is investigating the crash. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/29/plane-crash-six-dead-canada/58e2a562-2e71-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html | 2023-07-30T01:06:42 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/29/plane-crash-six-dead-canada/58e2a562-2e71-11ee-a948-a5b8a9b62d84_story.html |
Weeks after catastrophic storms dumped two months of rain in two days over Vermont, causing floods around the state, people continue a long road to recovery.
The reality that rebuilding Vermont will take months as opposed to weeks is sinking in.
More than two weeks ago, Amber Poploski hoped her home would fare better in the torrential rains.
Downpours and flooding made roads in her town of Ripton, Vermont, impassable. She says a firefighter caught her attention, and then...
"I heard a noise, and then I shined my flashlight up. I see the tree coming up. I thought there’s no way I am going to make it out of this," said Poploski.
The Poploskis' home, which was sitting on a hillside, went tumbling down in amudslide as the soil soaked from record rains.
"I ran down the hill, and then I had to wiggle out of whatever I was stuck under," said Poploski.
Miraculously, Poploski escaped serious injury. Her family and three dogs avoided danger too. She’s now nursing an ankle sprain, but she and her husband are dealing with the pain of losing just about everything.
"Every program they’re offering, you have to qualify for FEMA, but we don’t; they offered SBAA loans, but you need to be covered under FEMA," said Poploski.
Even though the Poploskis' home is a total write-off loss and the land is badly damaged, it’s in a county that has a disaster declaration. Their state senator says she’s trying to raise the issue and get them more help.
SEE MORE: Vermont farmers reeling after widespread flooding ruined crops
"Because FEMA determines everything on a county-by-county basis, even people in our county who have had major disasters happen to them have not yet been able to access the FEMA assistance," said State Senator Ruth Hardy.
The lawmaker added that when the state legislatures go back into session, it’s something they will have to examine.
Vermont's Emergency Management agency says more than 4,000 homes were damaged earlier in July, after two months of rain fell in two days, swelling rivers and causing mass floods.
Many in Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, see a long road to recovery ahead.
"I think more people are coming into it, realizing with the time and the silt and category 3 contaminated waste, you gotta properly remove it," said business owner George Estes.
Many don masks in the downtown business district. It’s to guard against the dust from the dried-out silt and black mold festering in flood-damaged dry walls.
Woodbury Mountain Toys is an independent business that is now having to start from scratch. It's selling gift certificates to keep things running.
"We’ve got a lot of support. Working really hard, trying to get it done, we’re hoping for a good holiday season. It would be lovely if we could get open by October, when foliage is at its peak," said Karen Williams, owner of Woodbury Mountain Toys.
Vermont’s fall foliage draws plenty of tourists; businesses hope to recover by then, so people spend too. The Poploskis are hoping they can find solutions to rebuild their dream home.
"We went from having this almost paid off in four years to having to start all over," said Poploski.
The couple Scripps News spoke with is hoping a disaster declaration can include their county so they can get help faster.
In Montpelier, people have been left wondering if a new normal with climate change means they should rebuild their homes and businesses higher.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kgun9.com/vermont-braces-for-months-of-flood-cleanup-and-recovery | 2023-07-30T01:06:44 | 1 | https://www.kgun9.com/vermont-braces-for-months-of-flood-cleanup-and-recovery |
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?”
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Follow AP’s coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:47 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-a-drought-alert-for-receding-lake-titicaca-has-indigenous-communities-worried-for-their-future/ |
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region in the first-ever visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation.
As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri Lanka, France had pledged cooperation in debt restructuring to help the island nation recover from its economic crisis.
Macron arrived in Sri Lanka Friday night, following his trip to the South Pacific region, to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Sri Lanka’s president’s office said.
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised France’s significant role in global affairs, particularly in areas such as climate mitigation, global debt restructuring, and matters related to the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.
“Sri Lanka and France are two Indian Ocean nations that share the same goal: an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In Colombo we confirmed it: strengthened by 75 years of diplomatic relations, we can open a new era of our partnership,” Macron said in a Twitter message after the meeting. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ | 2023-07-30T01:06:54 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ |
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late Friday night after bringing heavy winds and rain that left more than a million people without power in southern China.
After making landfall Friday morning in southern Fujian province, where at least 400,000 people were evacuated, the storm flooded streets and toppled electric transmission towers in the province. Over a million households were left without power, according to the state-backed Xiamen Evening News.
The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm at 11 p.m. Friday night, China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV announced.
Businesses and summer school classes had been ordered suspended and the public was urged to stay indoors. In the city of Quanzhou by China’s southern coast, authorities reported some 50 individuals sustained minor injuries. Residents shared photos on social media showing downed trees with roots fully out of the ground Saturday morning.
The tropical storm is expected to move its way farther inland in China, bringing heavy rains to the capital, Beijing.
Earlier in the week, the storm grazed past Taiwan’s main island after hitting the Philippines ‘ main island of Luzon, where it produced landslides, flooding and downed trees. The storm displaced thousands and caused 41 deaths — including 27 killed in the capsizing of a passenger ship. About 20 others remained missing, including four coast guard personnel whose boat overturned while on a rescue mission in hard-hit Cagayan province, officials said Saturday, adding that they were monitoring another approaching storm. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:01 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.
He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver aid to everyone in need, but it was aiming for between $10 billion and $14 billion, which was what the agency had received in the past few years.
“We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Skau said.
He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 (being) even more dire.”
“The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”
Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting disasters, persistent food price inflation and mounting debt stress — all during a slowdown in the global economy.
WFP is looking to diversify its funding base, but he also urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”
Asked why funding was drying up, Skau said to ask the donors.
“But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, (are) not where they were in 2021-2022,” he said.
Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said. In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and in June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.
In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”
“Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Skau said.
He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-tern solutions to conflicts, poverty, development and other root causes of the current crisis. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:09 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ |
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The troubled brother of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez was charged Friday, now in federal court, with new counts of threatening and stalking after authorities say he threatened to shoot up the University of Connecticut and kill three people in another state.
Dennis Hernandez was ordered to be held in custody after his appearance in the court in Hartford. A message seeking comment was sent Friday night to his attorney.
The new charges came days after it emerged that Hernandez was arrested July 18 on state charges after police said he threatened to kill officers and then urged them to shoot him at his home in Bristol. Officers had gone there after two people close to him raised concerns about his mental health, police said.
The arrest report said the 37-year-old had sent threatening messages, including ones about carrying out a shooting at UConn. He was a Huskies quarterback and wide receiver who went by DJ Hernandez in the mid-2000s.
Court filings in the new federal case include the same messages. Some say the writer is struggling financially, is frustrated at seeing other people get hired as coaches, feels owed by UConn, is planning on “taking down everything” and doesn’t care “who gets caught in the crossfire.”
“I’ve died for years now and now its others peoples turn,” read a July 7 message sent to a woman in Hernandez’s life. It followed a message the day before that warned: “UConn’s gonna see how accurate I am too with my targets.”
Hernandez told another person that he drove July 7 to UConn’s campus in Storrs and to Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he coached quarterbacks during the 2010-11 season, according to court papers.
He had been due in state court that day on another case stemming from allegations that he threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto ESPN’s property in Bristol.
UConn police confirmed that a vehicle linked to Hernandez was on campus that day. Brown has said that its investigation didn’t indicate Hernandez had been on campus in recent weeks.
Hernandez is due back in state court Tuesday and in federal court Aug. 11.
His younger brother, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, killed himself in 2017 while serving a murder sentence. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:16 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ |
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — With the FedEx Cup two weeks away, Lee Hodges can breathe easier. Justin Thomas can’t.
Hodges birdied four of his last six holes for a 7-under 64 and a four-stroke lead over Tyler Duncan on Friday after almost two rounds of the 3M Open.
A nearly two-hour afternoon weather delay led to play being suspended due to darkness with six players yet to finish — none within 10 shots of the lead.
Hodges, 74th in the FedEx Cup points race, opened with a 63 for the first-round lead and had a 15-under 127 total to break the tournament 36-hole record of 128 set by Bryson DeChambeau in 2019.
Hodges was 3 under on the front nine and added a 33-foot birdie putt on No. 13, followed by birdies from 14 feet on No. 14 and 11 feet on No. 17.
“I’ve got a great attitude out there. Me and my caddie (Andrew Medley), we’re 70-something on the points list, like what do we have to lose, you know?” Hodges said. “We’ve committed to every shot we’ve hit so far, which has been great. We’ll continue to do it, because what do we have to lose.”
A lengthy last-hole putt was not enough to overcome a couple bad holes as Thomas aims to make the FedEx Cup playoffs for the eighth straight season. He birdied four of his last five holes to shoot a shot an even-par 71, leaving him 2 under for the tournament and two strokes short.
Thomas, at No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings, has missed five cuts in his last seven starts. The top 70 next week after the Wyndham Championship will advance to the playoffs. Looking to stay in strong consideration for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Thomas has just two top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments since mid-February.
Starting on the back nine, Thomas put two balls in the water on the par-5 18th, falling to 1 under. An errant tee shot and poor chip led to another double bogey on the par-3 fourth, before a strong finishing stretch was punctuated by a 30-foot putt on No. 9.
“This is a good chance for me to learn a little bit about myself and push myself and become better,” Thomas said before the tournament. “I mean, this game, nothing’s given to you. I’ve had great chances to win the FedEx Cup the last five or six years and now I’m trying to make the playoffs. That’s just the way that this sport is. And it can happen to anybody, so you’ve just got to go out and get it.”
He wasn’t the only player to put untimely dents in possible playoff plans by missing the cut. No. 70 K.H. Lee (1 under), No. 72 Davis Thompson (2 under) and No. 90 Gary Woodland (3 over) also get the weekend off.
Duncan, who has missed six cuts in his past eight events and 17 of 27 this season, shot a 67. He has back-to-back bogey-free rounds.
“You never know when it’s coming, but I’ve been putting in the work and you always hope it shows up,” Duncan said. “But it doesn’t always show up when you want it to.”
Defending champion Tony Finau (66), J.T. Poston (66), Brandt Snedeker (68) and Kevin Streelman (68) were 10 under.
With one top-10 in 25 starts this season, Streelman is in a rare position.
“I haven’t been in the final groups in a while on a Saturday, so looking forward to that. At my age I don’t have much to lose, so go out and have some fun this weekend,” the 44-year-old Streelman said.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-lee-hodges-leads-the-3m-open-while-justin-thomas-misses-the-cut-to-hurt-his-playoff-hopes/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:23 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-lee-hodges-leads-the-3m-open-while-justin-thomas-misses-the-cut-to-hurt-his-playoff-hopes/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA told teams Friday that Damian Lillard and his agent confirmed that the All-Star guard would honor his contract in any potential trade, despite the agent saying Lillard only wanted to be dealt to the Miami Heat.
A memo sent to general managers and obtained by The Associated Press also warned that Lillard would be subject to discipline by the league if he or Aaron Goodwin make additional comments suggesting he won’t fully perform the requirements of his contract in the event of a trade.
Lillard told the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month he wanted to be traded and Goodwin subsequently made clear his preference was Miami.
“Dame’s position won’t change,” Goodwin told AP on July 6. “This entire situation was about building an opportunity for Portland to win or giving him another opportunity that he wants, which is Miami.”
The league said it interviewed Lillard and Goodwin, along with several teams with whom Goodwin spoke. Goodwin denied telling teams that Lillard would refuse to play for them and the teams provided descriptions that were “mostly, though not entirely, consistent with Goodwin’s statements to us.”
Players are not allowed to publicly request trades. The league also stated in the memo that it told the Players Association that further comments such as Goodwin’s will be subject to discipline.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:30 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-nba-tells-teams-lillard-would-honor-contract-in-any-trade-warns-of-discipline-for-saying-otherwise/ |
TORONTO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 39th home run for the Angels before leaving with leg cramps as the Toronto Blue Jays slugged three solo homers and rallied to beat Los Angeles 4-1 on Friday night.
Ohtani was replaced by pinch-hitter Michael Stefanic when his at-bat came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Ohtani was lifted because of cramping in both of his calves, Angels manager Phil Nevin said.
“We’ll evaluate it tomorrow when he gets up,” Nevin said. “It’s just cramping right now. It’s kind of in both legs. He’s done a lot of work the last two days and wasn’t able to go.”
A day earlier, Ohtani left the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit because of cramps. The two-way superstar threw a one-hitter in the opener Thursday for his first career MLB shutout, then homered twice in the second game.
Nevin said Ohtani’s soreness developed after he grounded out to begin the eighth.
“He came in and was trying to get some work done and just kept cramping up,” Nevin said.
Stefanic struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Jordan Romano as Toronto ended the Angels’ four-game winning streak.
After the game, an angry Nevin was seen holding up a tablet computer and yelling at plate umpire Mike Estabrook as the crew left the field.
“I just explained to him that I thought the pitch to Stefanic was outside,” Nevin said.
Matt Chapman, Danny Jansen and Whit Merrifield homered for the Blue Jays, who are 24-11 when they hit two or more home runs.
“Our team has been playing a good brand of baseball for a while now,” Chapman said. “I think maybe we’re just starting to find ways to come out on top of some of those close games.”
Chapman hit a two-out drive in the second, his 14th of the season. Jansen homered to lead off the third, his 14th. Both home runs came off right-hander Lucas Giolito, who made his first start for the Angels since being acquired from the White Sox earlier this week.
Giolito (6-7) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.
“I felt relatively sharp, throwing a lot of strikes, but they hammered my mistakes pretty good,” Giolito said.
Bo Bichette hit an RBI double off Giolito in the sixth and Merrifield made it 4-1 with a two-out homer off José Soriano in the seventh, his eighth. Merrifield finished 3 for 4 and has six home runs in his last 17 games. He hit a three-run homer in Thursday’s road win over the Dodgers.
The Blue Jays began the day in the third AL wild-card spot, three games ahead of the Angels. Los Angeles trails Boston and the New York Yankees in the postseason race.
After being greeted with a loud ovation from the sellout crowd of 42,106, Ohtani homered on the first pitch he faced, going deep in three straight at-bats over two games.
Ohtani’s 397-foot drive came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman. Ohtani homered in consecutive games for the ninth time this season.
Ohtani’s streak of homers ended when he struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch from Gausman in the third. Ohtani singled in the sixth and grounded out against left-hander Tim Mayza in the eighth.
Gausman (8-5) allowed one run and five hits in six-plus innings to win for the first time since June 21 at Miami. Gausman walked three and struck out nine, increasing his AL-leading total to 171.
Erik Swanson relieved Gausman after the Angels loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Swanson struck out Trey Cabbage and pinch-hitter Eduardo Escobar, then retired Luis Rengifo on a fly ball.
“Not getting one across, that hurts,” Nevin said.
Mayza worked one inning and Romano got two outs in the ninth before Yimi García finished for his third save in six chances. Romano was pitching for the fifth time since leaving the July 11 All-Star game because of a sore back.
“He’s doing alright,” manager John Schneider said of Romano. “Just lower back discomfort, it kind of locked up on him a little bit. Just kind of wanted to play it safe there.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Before the game, Nevin said Ohtani would get an extra day of rest before his next start, which was scheduled for next Thursday’s home game against Seattle. … SS Zach Neto (sore back) was scratched from the starting lineup and replaced by Andrew Velazquez. Rengifo took over in the leadoff spot.
Blue Jays: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (Tommy John surgery) will start on Tuesday against Baltimore, Schneider said. With the Blue Jays beginning a stretch of 17 games in 17 days Friday, Schneider said Ryu will be part of a six-man rotation. … RHP Chad Green (Tommy John surgery) will make a rehab appearance with Class-A Dunedin Saturday, his third.
ANGRY WORDS
Cameras caught Chapman yelling at Schneider in the dugout after the top of the first.
“That’s just everybody being competitive, wanting to win baseball games,” Chapman said. “Just a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. What was said and what it’s about, I’m just going to keep between us.”
NEW-LOOK LINEUP
Blue Jays OF George Springer, who came in stuck in an 0-for-16 slump, was dropped from the leadoff spot to fifth. Springer finished 0 for 4. Merrifield moved up to hit leadoff.
ROSTER MOVES
The Angels optioned RHP Gerardo Reyes to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room on the roster for Giolito.
UP NEXT
RHP Alek Manoah (2-8, 6.10 ERA) starts for the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. LHP Reid Detmers (2-7, 4.38) goes for the Angels.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-ohtani-hits-majors-best-39th-hr-before-leaving-with-leg-cramps-in-angels-4-1-loss-to-blue-jays/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:37 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-ohtani-hits-majors-best-39th-hr-before-leaving-with-leg-cramps-in-angels-4-1-loss-to-blue-jays/ |
AUGUSTA, Ga. — An untraditional "I do" and their everlasting love kept a relationship alive for a Georgia couple who had to get married in an Augusta burn unit.
"There's nothing that would stop me from marrying him. Nothing. I knew that this day would come. I didn't think it would be like this," said Tanesha Cobb.
Preston Cobb received chemical burns to nearly one-third of his body right before his wedding.
With a love stronger than ever, nothing would stop the young couple from getting married.
"I was like, man, she's not going to want to marry like I'm not the same person that asked her to marry me," said Preston.
The two had wedding bells ringing at the Doctors Hospital of Augusta.
Tanesha and Preston are both holding strong to their vows sticking together in sickness and health.
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at WhereAtlantaSpeaks@11Alive.com. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/life/heartwarming/tanesha-preston-cobb-married-augusta-burn-unit/85-fffa0e2d-0a04-4273-9ec8-014ef8b29616 | 2023-07-30T01:07:41 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/life/heartwarming/tanesha-preston-cobb-married-augusta-burn-unit/85-fffa0e2d-0a04-4273-9ec8-014ef8b29616 |
FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. — An Indiana State Police Trooper has been arrested for operating while intoxicated.
Zachary Smith, a 12-year ISP veteran, was arrested at his Floyd County residence Thursday afternoon, per state police. Troopers had initially gone to Smith’s home to deliver administrative paperwork.
When police showed up at Smith’s abode, however, they saw him pull his personal vehicle into his driveway. ISP said that Smith, who was the vehicle’s sole occupant, showed signs of impairment as he spoke to police after he had parked.
As a result of the subsequent investigation, Smith was arrested for OWI and incarcerated at Floyd County Jail.
Smith is now on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the OWI charge and an internal ISP investigation. | https://fox59.com/indiana-news/indiana-state-trooper-arrested-for-owi-placed-on-administrative-leave/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:42 | 1 | https://fox59.com/indiana-news/indiana-state-trooper-arrested-for-owi-placed-on-administrative-leave/ |
The Mega Millions jackpot has jumped even more and is now worth an estimated $1.05 billion for Tuesday night’s drawing, tied for the fourth highest in the game's history. So what would you win if you actually won?
If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Mega Ball, they have the option of taking the annuitized $1.05 billion prize in 30 increments over 29 years or a one-time lump sum payment of $527.9 million.
A sole winner in Texas who took the cash option would take home about $401.2 million after paying 24% ($126.7 million) in federal taxes. There is no additional state tax on lottery winnings in Texas, however, the payout would move the winner into the highest tax bracket where an additional 13% could be owed ($68 million in this case).
If the player took the annuity, they would receive 30 payments over 29 years with the disbursement increasing at a rate of 5% per year. With a $1.05 billion prize, the first payment would be about $15.8 million, of which approximately $3.8 million would go toward taxes -- leaving them with a net of about $12 million. Because Mega Millions annuity payments increase every year, the final payment would be about $65 million with about $15.6 million owed in taxes -- leaving them with a final net payment of about $49 million.
Over the term, the player who took the annuity would receive about $798 million after taxes -- or about $397 million more than the player who took the cash option.
The Texas Lottery said if you have a jackpot-winning ticket, sign it and put it in a safe place. They advise winners then seek financial and legal advice and call the Texas Lottery to schedule an appointment to claim the prize.
Texas has had 13 Mega Millions jackpot prize winners since it joined the game in 2003. Its most recent winner came in September 2019 when a Leander resident won an estimated annuitized $227 million prize. The claimant chose the cash value option and received $157,091,592 before taxes; the largest prize ever paid out to a single Texas Lottery player.
Since the start of 2023, seven Texas Lottery players have won second-tier Mega Millions prizes of $1 million or larger, including four during the current jackpot run.
Most recently, on the July 25 drawing, a player in Anna matched all five balls for a $1 million prize. The player also bought the Megaplier and quadrupled the prize to $4 million. That winning ticket was bought at the 7-Eleven on West White Street. On the June 30 drawing, a Dallas resident claimed a $1 million second-tier prize on a ticket bought in Austin. Prior to that, a Houston resident claimed a $3 million prize for the June 16 drawing and a Corpus Christi resident claimed a $1 million prize for the drawing held on May 9.
Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows. Tickets are sold in Texas until 9 p.m. on the day of the drawing, about 1 hour and 12 minutes before the draw takes place.
The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/mega-millions-jackpot-jumps-to-1-05b-annuity-vs-cash-what-would-you-have-in-texas-after-taxes/3300813/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:42 | 1 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/mega-millions-jackpot-jumps-to-1-05b-annuity-vs-cash-what-would-you-have-in-texas-after-taxes/3300813/ |
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.
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-santander-hits-9th-inning-homer-to-give-orioles-1-0-win-over-yankees-and-spoil-judges-return/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:45 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-santander-hits-9th-inning-homer-to-give-orioles-1-0-win-over-yankees-and-spoil-judges-return/ |
CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — A collection of young baseball players from Nampa, Caldwell and Homedale is preparing for the trip of a lifetime. The Co-County 13U team recently earned a spot in the 2023 Babe Ruth World Series after a successful run at the Pacific Northwest tournament.
As the group embarks on the nationwide trip, they need the community's help to get there. During their 10-day stay in Glenn Allen, Virginia, Co-County will face off against teams from across the country and Canada. While the journey has just begun, representing Idaho on this stage is a well-earned accomplishment.
"Every year it seems like baseball starts sooner and sooner, we usually start right after Thanksgiving, if not before. These boys have been working since November," head coach Jason Wonderlich said. "It's typical to have at least a three-hour practice and the way that these boys approach and attack practice everyday, it just shows how much they love the game and their willingness to work for their goals and dreams."
Last week, those dreams came true, as the local squad defeated Bozeman, Montana, 2-1 in the Pacific Northwest championship to earn a spot in Virginia. Co-County won on a bunt with two strikes in a 1-1 contest in the bottom of the final inning.
"It didn't feel real at first. It was like, we've tried so hard," Preston Wade said. "We've practiced and worked hard this whole season and then just for it to happen, it didn't feel real."
According to Lukas Wonderlich, this group of ball players "has been together for six years." Each year, Co-County has worked toward a Babe Ruth World Series, and this year, "we did it."
They are an easy team to get behind as they pride themselves on the fundamentals. The win over Bozeman came in a perfect way, considering the team has spent "hundreds of hours practicing just bunting," Lukas said.
The group has formed an incredible bond along the way. Each player has a job to do and they have put in an incredible amount of work, enough to tear the stitching off their collection of baseballs.
"On the back of our warmup jersey we have 'trust,' it's to trust the dude to your left and right and trust that they'll make their play," Wade said. "All these guys are my best friends, basically we're family. So, it's gonna be a blast."
Co-County is just the fifth Idaho team to ever make the Babe Ruth World Series. When they take the field Aug. 11, in Virginia, they will do so as the first team ever from Canyon County.
Ahead of the 10-day trip, the team needs some help for things like airfare, car rentals and meals.
"To be honest with you, the community's been outstanding," Jason Wonderlich said. "They've been unbelievably amazing so far."
Co-County has focused their teamwork on fundraising, selling tickets donated by the Sawtooth Sockeyes out in front of local stores. They even received a big check from the Canyon County Sheriff's Office.
"It's very important because we couldn't get there without their help," Wade said.
It's a tall task for a team that's also practicing as they prepare to take on the country's best, but it's an opportunity they have earned together – one that will last a lifetime.
"That's awesome, the fact that everybody's pitching in and we're gonna get to do this. We're gonna get to send a team from Idaho to the World Series," Lukas said.
You can help with their efforts by donating to their GoFundMe page.
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Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/baseball/co-county-13u-baseball-fundraising-babe-ruth-world-series-virginia/277-da163e1e-eb7d-4da0-9203-84c3082e375f | 2023-07-30T01:07:48 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/baseball/co-county-13u-baseball-fundraising-babe-ruth-world-series-virginia/277-da163e1e-eb7d-4da0-9203-84c3082e375f |
(NEXSTAR) — Pretend you accidentally knock your drink over. What would you say happened to it? If you’re from Texas, or just from the south overall, you might say it “tumped” over.
In general, the word is used when something falls over, spills over, or is knocked over. You can tump someone over or be tumped over by someone else. It’s a useful word — but is it even a word?
And moreover, why do Texans say this?
While “tump” isn’t only found in Texas, you’ll definitely hear it there. Several Texas news outlets have attempted to trace the word’s origin, including Texas Monthly, which pointed to a now-26-year-old post on a message board called Word Wizard (the website is now gone, sadly). According to Texas Monthly’s John Nova Lomax, that lost-to-time post explained that “tump” was a word meant to mimic the “thump” of something falling and hitting the ground.
A common etymological theory is that the word is a combination of the words “tipped” and “dumped” — both of which are frequently followed by the word “over,” as “tumped” often is. In other words, what’s known as a portmanteau, as explained by Texas Standard in 2017.
Again, the verbal phenomenon isn’t signature to only Texas. Many southern outlets, including Oklahoma’s The Oklahoman and Alabama’s AL.com, have noted the trend. Nevertheless, Texans online appear to proudly own the word.
“If you used the word ‘tumped’ you’re: A) from Texas B) not from Texas and possibly just had a stroke. See a doctor ASAP,” joked the popular Texas Humor Twitter account in 2014.
Musings on the word can be seen in connection with Texas Reddit, including this giant thread of Texas slang words.
In a 2020 Reddit thread, one new Texan asked how long until they could convincingly say “Yeehaw,” to which someone posed a counter-challenge: “The real test is when you can properly use ‘tumped over’ in a sentence.”
We may just never know where tump came from. What’s more, researching tump can be more difficult than it used to be since a certain former president’s last name takes up considerable search engine real estate now.
Finally, if anyone ever laughs at you for using tump, just know this: the word’s even made it into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. So tump away, Texas! | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:48 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ |
An Oak Cliff bookstore has reopened its community fridge after being told to shut down by the City of Dallas earlier on July 10.
The owner of the Pan-African Connection, Akwete Tyehimba, said she was told to discontinue her food distribution efforts and to remove the cold storage, known as "The People’s Fridge," from the front of her store.
For decades, she’s been running the Pan-African Connection bookstore, which now sits at the corner of South Marsalis Avenue and Ann Arbor Avenue. It’s a popular place for items such as books, skincare products and authentic African collectibles. It’s also known for its education programs, outreach, and food distribution. So, a recent encounter with a City of Dallas employee came as a surprise.
On its website, Code Compliance does outline guidelines and recommendations for feeding the homeless. However, Tyehimba said most people she serves are not homeless; rather, they are the working poor.
“I was hurt because I see the faces of the families that come here to pick up the food,” she said. “It hurts because we're not, we're just not serving those that need it.”
In a memo to NBC 5 last week, the city cited concerns about food safety with items being left out in the summer heat and if it was permissible with the certificate of occupancy. The city said neither the property owner nor the business was issued violations and that Code Compliance was going to look into the rules further and would let the business know its findings.
The city says the property owner and businesses were informed that they would receive a written notice of findings after Code Compliance sat with the property owner to identify and work through solutions on how any findings could be brought up to standard.
According to the City of Dallas, no findings have been issued and the fridge returns with a revised set of regulations.
To enhance food safety, the pantry will no longer accept cooked food donations, which previously included contributions from local restaurants. The regulations also stipulate that only uncut produce may be donated.
The move seeks to ensure the quality and safety of the food offered to those in need. Unopened, nonperishable goods are still accepted.
Akwete Tyehimba posted on social media Saturday that the fridge will be opening again:
"Thank PAC & Social Media Family! The Fridge & Table will start back operating Tomorrow Morning ! Here's a list of items allowed, please no cooked foods or items you wouldn't feed your family!
Drop offs are allowed 24/7.
This is a take what you need, leave what you don't situation. We don't care about your living or legal status. Grab what you need and leave some for your neighbors."
DONATION LIST:
- Community Foundation
- No Cooked Food Accepted
- Uncut Fruits/Veggies
- Rice
- Dry Beans
- Granola
- Nuts
- Cereal
- Oats
- Pancake Mix
- Milk
- Spices & Fi
- Canned It
- Bread
- Raw Shell
- Peanut Butter
- Honey
For more information about the Pan African Connection, email info@paccares.com. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/the-peoples-fridge-back-open-after-concerns-of-safety/3306058/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:49 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/the-peoples-fridge-back-open-after-concerns-of-safety/3306058/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — United States midfielder Savannah DeMelo can speak some Portuguese and may be able to put it to use in the Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. plays Portugal on Tuesday to wrap up the tournament’s group stage, and a fter a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, the Americans needs a win. At stake is both the top spot in Group E and also a much-needed boost to team confidence.
That’s where DeMelo can help.
The 25-year-old’s dad, Robert, is from Portugal and had a successful career as a player in that country before becoming a coach. DeMelo has dual citizenship and understands Portuguese.
“I’ll definitely be listening for it,” she laughed.
DeMelo made her first international start for the United States against Vietnam in the group opener, a 3-0 victory for the Americans.
Prior to the World Cup, DeMelo had played in only one other match for the United States: she was a substitute in the team’s send-off match against Wales in San Jose in early July. DeMelo, who plays for Racing Louisville FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, was the first U.S. player since Shannon Boxx in 2003 and third overall to be named to the World Cup roster without any previous appearances for the national team.
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski started DeMelo in the both of the American’s World Cup matches. She played both opening halves before being subbed off for veteran Rose Lavelle, who has been playing limited minutes for the United States because of a knee injury suffered in April.
The journey from being named to the team to getting a start in the World Cup has “been a crazy roller coaster of emotions,” said DeMelo.
“But I think I’ve had a lot of great people, including the girls on the team, who have been super helpful with getting me acclimated to the team,” she said. “And I’m just super grateful to be here.”
The United States may need to switch up its tactics against Portugal.
The Americans are tied on points with the Netherlands in Group E and have an advantage over the Dutch on goal difference. The top two teams in the group advance to the knockout round.
But the results haven’t been as emphatic as they were in 2019, when the U.S. opened with a 13-0 victory over Thailand and went on to win their second straight World Cup title, and fourth overall.
The United States trailed the Netherlands by a goal in the first half before Lindsey Horan scored a game-tying header in the 62nd minute.
One reason for the less-than-dominant play could be inexperience. DeMelo is among 14 U.S. players appearing in their first World Cup.
Fellow midfielder Andi Sullivan, who is also making her tournament debut, said it takes some adjustment to play together as newcomers.
“That’s definitely a challenge that we’re going through, is that we just kind of came together,” Sullivan said. “It’s not like a team that you’re training with all year round, constantly. You’re in and out all the time. So I think you’re constantly adjusting.
“But the way that you get in sync is we watch a lot of stuff together, we communicate constantly. We’re very direct when something’s not going the way we want it to go,” Sullivan added. “You have to be direct and clear and honest and loud.”
DeMelo is also among six players at the World Cup who play for Racing Louisville. Among the Racing Louisville representatives are Ary Borges, who scored a hat trick for Brazil in its 4-0 victory over Panama to start the tournament.
DeMelo, who said her father never pushed her into soccer growing up, could have played for Portugal at the senior level.
“It could have been an option,” she said, “but I think my heart was always with the United States.”
___
AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-savannah-demelos-ability-to-speak-portuguese-may-help-us-in-critical-womens-world-cup-match/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:52 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/sports/ap-savannah-demelos-ability-to-speak-portuguese-may-help-us-in-critical-womens-world-cup-match/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The United States heads into its final group match at the Women's World Cup with questions swirling about the team's tactics.
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski started the same lineup against Netherlands on Thursday that he rolled out for the opening match against Vietnam. While it was enough for the United States to beat the Vietnamese 3-0, it was less successful against the stronger Dutch, and the Americans settled for a 1-1 draw.
That lineup had never played together before the World Cup.
The tie meant that the United States will likely need a more decisive outcome on Tuesday against Portugal to finish atop Group E and secure a favorable path in the knockout round. Going into the game, advancing out of the group wasn't a given for the two-time defending World Cup champions.
In addition to the same starters, Andonovski made just one substitution in the game against the Dutch, bringing on midfielder Rose Lavelle to start the second half. But no fresh legs were subbed in even after players showed fatigue. Forwards Lynn Williams and Megan Rapinoe remained on the sidelines.
He was asked about the strategy afterward.
“I just didn’t want to disrupt the rhythm at that point because sometimes a substitute comes in and it might take a minute or two to get into a rhythm,” he said. “We just didn’t want to jeopardize anything because I thought all three of our forwards were very good, dangerous, created opportunities and were a handful.”
It was the first time that the United States had made just one or fewer substitutions in a World Cup game since 2007.
Known in 2019 for jumping on World Cup opponents early, the Americans did not score against the Dutch until the second half when they were already down 1-0.
Lavelle is one of the team's top midfielders and made an immediate impact in the game — boosting the energy and feeding the attack — and the United States looked like that 2019 championship team again. She served up a corner kick to Lindsey Horan, angry about getting knocked down by a Dutch player moments before, for the game-tying goal in the 62nd minute.
Lavelle had a knee injury going into the World Cup and hadn't played since April. She's been on a minutes restriction and Andonovski has been starting Savannah DeMelo, one of the teams' 14 players making their first-ever appearance in the World Cup.
DeMelo hadn't played in a match with the national team until the send-off game against Wales in San Jose, the day the team departed for the World Cup.
“I think we weren’t in sync," midfielder Andi Sullivan said. “That happens, and we were able to adjust and respond. Hopefully, we can do that earlier in the future. And I think that’s also a great strength of this team -- we have lots of different ways we can do that together.”
Andonovski said the team can build off that second half against the Dutch in Wellington.
“Even though it didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish I thought it was a very good match for our team and especially for a group of young players. They grew throughout the game, individually, but also as a team we grew throughout the game as well,” Andonovski said. “I’ve said this before, this team is not just young. This team is also a fresh team that hasn’t spent a lot of minutes together. What you saw in the second half is what you’re going to see going forward as a best baseline. I think that we’re just going to get better from game to game and we’re gonna be a lot more efficient as well.”
Portugal fell 1-0 in its opening match against the Dutch, then defeated Vietnam 2-0 on Thursday in Hamilton. The victory knocked Vietnam out of the next round.
The United States sits atop Group E, even on points — four — with the Netherlands but edging the Dutch on goal differential. Portugal, third in the group with three points, could leap in front of the U.S. with a win at Auckland's Eden Park.
The Dutch play Vietnam in an earlier game Tuesday in Dunedin.
Telma Encarnacao and Kika Nazareth each scored in the match against Vietnam, which made history as Portugal's first win in its first World Cup appearance.
“We are aware of what awaits us, but we are focused on ourselves, which is very important,” Nazareth told reporters at training on Saturday. “We will enter the field respecting the opponent, with humility, but always with character and personality. The work will be there, the talent is there. And I think you also always need a little bit of luck. It’s believing.” | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/soccer/us-faces-portugal-with-womens-world-cup-future-still-up-in-the-air-knockout-stage/507-6403953b-33b2-4d89-b452-919cd9f37dac | 2023-07-30T01:07:54 | 0 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/sports/soccer/us-faces-portugal-with-womens-world-cup-future-still-up-in-the-air-knockout-stage/507-6403953b-33b2-4d89-b452-919cd9f37dac |
White Settlement police officers rescued a man from a burning car after a crash early Saturday morning.
On Saturday, officers responded to a major car crash in the 1700 block of S. Cherry Lane involving a passenger car that struck a pole. The caller reported that as a result of the crash, the engine compartment of the vehicle caught fire.
Upon arrival, officers determined that there were two occupants inside the vehicle. The driver was able to exit the vehicle safely, however, the front male passenger was unconscious. Officers quickly pulled the man from the burning car until medical personnel could arrive to treat the victim.
“As you can see from the video, had it not been for the quick and decisive actions by police, this crash could have had a very different outcome,” said Chief of Police Christopher Cook.
Police say both the driver and passenger were transported to a local hospital for treatment but are expected to survive.
According to the department, they have not ruled out the possibility that speed could have been a factor resulting in the driver losing control. Investigators believe the vehicle was traveling northbound on S. Cherry Lane when the vehicle drove over the outside curb and struck a utility pole.
The 9-1-1 audio, dash camera footage, and body-worn camera footage were released in a Youtube post. | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/white-settlement-oficers-rescue-unconscious-man-from-burning-car-after-crash/3306060/ | 2023-07-30T01:07:55 | 0 | https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/white-settlement-oficers-rescue-unconscious-man-from-burning-car-after-crash/3306060/ |
PHOENIX — Phoenix continues to see relentless and record-breaking heat. On July 29, the city saw its 30th consecutive day of temperatures that reached 110 degrees or higher, according to the National Weather Service.
The trend has continued throughout the month of July.
Earlier in the month, a nearly 50-year-old record for consecutive days of 110 or higher heat was cracked. On July 18, Phoenix broke the 1974 record which was 18 days of 110 or high temperatures.
RELATED: Forecast for Phoenix and the Valley
Extreme heat is dangerous and must be taken seriously, according to experts.
"It will kill you if you aren't paying attention to the signs," said Arizona Fire and Medical Authority Division Chief Ashley Losch during an interview with 12News in May.
Both heat exhaustion and heat stroke are dangerous, but heat stroke is the most dangerous.
Heat exhaustion can cause dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea/vomiting and/or cool and clammy, pale skin.
Heat stroke is much more serious. Signs include severe headache, confusion and a change in behavior. The body also stops sweating and will feel hot to the touch (heat stroke can present itself when the body reaches at least 103 degrees). If the person is in an altered state, don't give them water, instead call 911 to get help on the way.
Staying hydrated is one of the most important things someone can do during the scorching temperatures. How much to drink depends on the person, so experts say a good rule of thumb is to drink when thirsty.
Unhoused people are particularly at risk and most likely to die or become ill with the high temperatures.
Unhoused people accounted for about 40% of the 425 heat-associated deaths tallied last year in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, during its hottest summer on record. More than half of the 425 deaths occurred in July and 80% occurred outdoors.
The heat is even taking a toll on Saguaro cacti in the Valley. According to experts, the cacti are wilting in the record-breaking heat wave. Hot nights are ruining the cacti's photosynthesis process.
“They literally can't function," Kimberly McCue with the Desert Botanical Garden said. "The way I describe it is, they start to suffocate.”
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today. | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/30th-day-of-110-degree-or-higher-temps-in-phoenix/75-fe3ccf6d-5c74-4513-b73a-e204c291e885 | 2023-07-30T01:08:25 | 1 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/30th-day-of-110-degree-or-higher-temps-in-phoenix/75-fe3ccf6d-5c74-4513-b73a-e204c291e885 |
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T01:08:25 | 1 | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
CANBERRA, ACT — 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 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.12news.com/article/news/nation-world/blinken-australia-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange/507-9431887e-4901-473c-bbed-a1b37d6133b5 | 2023-07-30T01:08:31 | 0 | https://www.12news.com/article/news/nation-world/blinken-australia-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange/507-9431887e-4901-473c-bbed-a1b37d6133b5 |
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso homered twice to become the second player in Mets history with four 30-homer seasons, leading retooling New York to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
The Mets won their second straight a little less than 24 hours after sending closer David Robertson to Miami for two rookie-ball prospects — signifying a trade deadline selloff. New York opened the season with a record $343 million payroll, but entered Friday seven games out of a wild-card spot.
“Disappointed — I mean, obviously, we put ourselves in this position, we haven’t played well enough as a team,” said Max Scherzer, who allowed six hits and struck out seven in seven solid innings but has an ERA of 4.01, which would be his highest since 2011. “I’ve had a hand in that for why we’re in the position that we’re at. Can’t get mad at anybody but yourself, but it stinks.”
Scherzer, who has a player option worth $43.3 million for next season, said he expected to have discussions with owner Mets owner Steve Cohen and the team’s front office before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“You have to talk to the brass — you have to understand what they see, what they’re going to do,” Scherzer said. “That’s the best I can tell you. I told you I wasn’t going to comment on this until Steve was going to sell. We traded Robertson, now we need to have a conversation.”
Alonso hit a 453-foot, two-out, three-run homer into the second deck in left field in the fifth inning off MacKenzie Gore (6-8), who opened the frame by walking the bottom two hitters in the Mets’ order, Brett Baty and Francisco Álvarez.
Alonso added a two-run, 423-foot homer to center in the seventh off Rico Garcia.
The second homer was the 30th of the season for Alonso, who joined Mike Piazza (1999-2002) as the only players with four 30-homer seasons for the Mets.
“I didn’t know that until earlier — that’s really cool, that’s really special,” Alonso said. “Awesome, but I just want to help the team win.”
The only season in which Alonso has not reached 30 homers was during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when he hit 16 homers in 57 games.
The two-homer game was the second in the last four games for Alonso, who had just four homers in 30 games from June 7 through July 23 — a span that included a stint on the injured list with a bruised left wrist.
Alonso also made an impressive play to end the eighth, when he dove between first and second base to field a grounder by Keibert Ruiz and threw from a sitting position to Adam Ottavino covering first.
“When you get it going again, somebody’s going to pay — you always feel that with Pete,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “‘OK, if I’m struggling, you’re going to feel my pains somewhere along the way.’”
Scherzer (9-4) carried a shutout into the seventh, when Luis García hit a leadoff homer. García finished with three hits — including two off Scherzer, against whom he is hitting .545 (6-for-11).
Ottavino pitched the eighth, and Brooks Raley worked the ninth.
Gore gave up three runs in five innings. He tied a season-high by walking four batters for the first time since May 23.
“When he’s throwing strikes and he’s getting ahead, he’s really good,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “Tonight, he was really good until he walked those two guys.”
CLOSER BY COMMITTEE?
Showalter said he wasn’t sure who would replace Robertson as the Mets’ primary closer. Right-handers Ottavino (six saves) and Drew Smith (two saves) and left-hander Raley (two saves) have combined for the 10 saves that weren’t earned by Robertson.
“All options are on the table,” Showalter said. “Never overlook an orchard while searching for a rose. You might be surprised who might emerge.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: 3B Jeimer Candelario, who was the DH Friday, said he was fine after he wrapped his left arm around second base umpire Vic Carapazza while unsuccessfully trying to leg out a double in the eighth inning. Candelario walked off with a trainer while grimacing and holding his left arm but said he was more frustrated by being thrown out.
Mets: To replace Robertson on the active roster, the Mets recalled RHP Reed Garrett from Triple-A Syracuse.
UP NEXT
LHP Patrick Corbin (6-11, 5.01 ERA) will start for the Nationals against RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-4, 5.82 ERA) in the third game of the four-game series Saturday night. | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/alonso-homers-twice-to-power-mets-past-nats/ | 2023-07-30T01:08:43 | 0 | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/alonso-homers-twice-to-power-mets-past-nats/ |
Bristol Borough Puerto Rican Festival sponsored by the Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County.
Area residents flocked to Bristol Borough Waterfront Park for foods, games, and genealogy lessons at the annual event.
Bristol Borough Puerto Rican Festival sponsored by the Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County.
Area residents flocked to Bristol Borough Waterfront Park for foods, games, and genealogy lessons at the annual event. | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/bristol-borough-puerto-rican-festival-draws-big-crowds-to-bristol-borough-waterfront-park/ | 2023-07-30T01:08:49 | 0 | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/bristol-borough-puerto-rican-festival-draws-big-crowds-to-bristol-borough-waterfront-park/ |
BALTIMORE — The Yankees have been a sub-.500 team since Aaron Judge injured his toe in early June. Now they hope his return can help them rally for a postseason spot.
The Yankees reinstated Judge from the injured list Friday before the opener of their weekend road series against the Baltimore Orioles. Judge admits he isn’t fully recovered but says he’s healthy enough to play.
“It’s feeling all right, feeling good. It’s not 100%. I don’t think it’ll be 100% until the end of the year,” he said. “I think our biggest goal is just getting to a point where I could play, I could tolerate it.”
The Yankees lost 1-0 to the Orioles on Anthony Santander’s ninth-inning homer. Judge lined out to right field on the first pitch he saw in the top of the first. Then he walked his next three times up.
Judge had been out since tearing a ligament in his right big toe June 3 when he crashed into the right-field fence while making a catch at Dodger Stadium. In the eighth inning Friday, he appeared to foul a pitch off his foot, but it was his left one.
Judge played a simulated game Wednesday at the team’s complex in Tampa, Florida, and returned to New York after that. The 2022 American League MVP faced live pitching Sunday at Yankee Stadium for the first time since the injury. Manager Aaron Boone said Judge homered during a simulated game Tuesday in Florida. He also played the field and ran the bases.
Judge was penciled into the lineup as the designated hitter, batting second Friday night. Boone said he could have potentially played in the field, but that will be a day-by-day decision.
“Obviously, as much as there’s urgency for us, we’ve got to be smart about that and make sure that in talking to Aaron, making sure he’s honest with his feedback about how he’s recovering, how he’s bouncing back,” Boone said. “Obviously, how the toe’s doing, but how everything else is doing.”
New York was 19-23 since Judge got hurt in Los Angeles. After Friday’s loss, the Yankees are 30-20 with the star outfielder, who also missed 10 games earlier this season with a right hip strain.
Judge set an AL record with 62 home runs last year. He is batting .290 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs in the first season of a $360 million, nine-year contract he signed last offseason.
“I guess he’s back and he’s ready,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said before the game. “So we’ll have to pitch to him well.”
Baltimore has a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay. The Yankees are five games over .500 but at the bottom of the ultracompetitive division. New York is nine games behind the Orioles and 3 1/2 behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros for the American League’s final two wild cards.
Judge was asked if the team’s offensive struggles without him made him even more anxious to come back.
“No, I just wanted to get back,” Judge said after a noticeable pause. “Any time you’re sitting out, even if we were winning and we had an eight-game lead in the division, or we were 10 games out of it, I want to be back out there battling with the guys.”
Boone said Judge had an MRI in the last few days, and Judge indicated that was a factor in his return.
“I didn’t want to come back and make it worse, and this is something that leads into the next year and the following year,” he said. “Ligament’s stable. Last couple MRIs didn’t really show much healing, but this one did.”
To make room for Judge, the Yankees optioned infielder Oswald Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/judge-walks-three-times-in-return-from-injury-but-yankees-bats-silent-in-1-0-loss-to-orioles/ | 2023-07-30T01:08:55 | 0 | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/judge-walks-three-times-in-return-from-injury-but-yankees-bats-silent-in-1-0-loss-to-orioles/ |
PHILADELPHIA — The assistant coach extended his hand and the franchise cornerback did the same with his, and they shook and and agreed that the past no longer mattered. It’s how Darius Slay has come to view his football life 11 years into his career.
Once – long ago, in football years – Slay played for head coach Matt Patricia in Detroit, where the winning has been rare for decades. Somebody did something and somebody didn’t like it and Slay said he lost respect for Patricia and it was probably a mutual feeling. But Nick Sirianni wanted a former head coach at his right hand as the Eagles tried to return to the Super Bowl and brought him onto his staff as a high-level consultant.
First, though, there would be the matter of Slay’s feelings. It’s how it works in the world where the star players, not the coaches, determine what’s up.
“I just said,” Slay confirmed, “I was cool with it.”
If the Eagles win another conference championship or better, it will be because many of their top talents had good seasons. Slay is firmly on that list, and the Eagles expect him to remain there, at least through 2027, when his four-year, $48,150,000 contract has expired. It will also be because egos and memories are minimized.
It’s why Slay is perfect for the Eagles at the perfect time.
He’s accomplished, his name already being rolled into Hall of Fame chatter. At 32, he is still at his best physically, and he has never been more willing to search for just the right football perspectives. There he was the other day after a training camp practice, chatting about his man-to-man, eye-to-eye, hand-to-hand with Patricia and realizing that, ill-feelings and all, they both could help each other.
“He is here to help me get better,” Slay said. “He wants to get better as a coach. So we’re in good hands right now.”
That’s where it has reached for Slay. The money, he has. The Pro Bowls, he has. The Super Bowl, he has.
The championship?
It’s why he decided to return to the Eagles despite the club oddly offering him the right to negotiate a trade elsewhere before bringing him back on the four-year deal.
“I just know what we’ve got going on here,” Slay said. “It’s a great team. I know the system. I know what’s expected of me. Everybody was just trying to get the business thing in focus. And it was just a business thing.”
There will be a new defensive coordinator in Sean Desai and at least five new defensive starters as the Eagles begin to run it back. In some situations, that would be an atmosphere for in-fighting – the young players going after jobs, the old players turning their backs. But the Eagles are blessed with enough reasonable veterans to make it work, with Slay long ago having announced that he would be willing to do anything to enable young professionals to “get the bag” and become wealthy too.
“I am motivated to be a great leader for this team,” he said. “We’ve got some young corners coming in and it’s fun helping them. I want to help teach these kids how to practice and how to be an NFL vet and all that kind of stuff.
“I want a lot of these guys to get to be an 11-year vet instead of just playing two or three. I try to lead by example by working hard, and they follow. They are doing a great job right now. They are very talented and they are competing, but they are out here listening. That’s the main thing. They are willing to do it and they are doing a lot of work.”
Slay put in his time, for seven years in Detroit, for the last three with the Eagles. A Pro Bowl pick in each of the last two seasons, he has reached the point where he knows how to look forward, not back.
“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “When the clock went to 0:00 in the Super Bowl, I went right into husband and daddy mode. I gave my time to football and I gave it all I had. But once that clock hit zero, I gave everything I could to my family. I had to move onto the next day.
“But I am always motivated. I am motivated to play one game at a time, one practice at a time, one hour at a time. I am not looking ahead. I know that was our ultimate goal last year, but that team was different than this team. So we’ve just got to go back to work, just like we did last year.”
So, he will work to make the young Eagles better.
He will work to learn some of the nuances of a newer defense.
He will even work with Nick Sirianni’s new consultant with a renewed respect.
“We have a great understanding,” Slay said. “We both want to win.”
He’ll even shake on it.
Contact Jack McCaffery at jmccaffery@delcotimes.com | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/mccaffery-past-drama-put-aside-darius-slay-focuses-on-the-present/ | 2023-07-30T01:09:01 | 1 | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/mccaffery-past-drama-put-aside-darius-slay-focuses-on-the-present/ |
James Franklin knows better than anyone that the 2023 Penn State football team has the most talent and depth it has had in his 10 seasons as Nittany Lions coach.
He’s embracing Penn State’s position as a serious contender for the Big Ten championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.
“We have very, very high goals and expectations of where we can go and what we can do,” Franklin said this week.
The next step in that journey will come Wednesday when the Lions open preseason camp exactly one month before their opener against West Virginia. They return six starters on offense, seven on defense and many others who saw significant playing time during an 11-2 season last year.
Here are Penn State’s 10 most important players in reverse order:
10. Theo Johnson
The 6-6, 264-pound Johnson started nine games at tight end last season, along with Brenton Strange, who’s now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished strongly, making two touchdown receptions against Michigan State and then a 28-yard grab to set up a score in the Rose Bowl.
Johnson, who’s in his fourth season, has soft hands and exceptional speed for someone his size. He’s not afraid to catch passes in traffic. Although NFL draft analysts are not effusive about his blocking, he sprung Nick Singleton for his 87-yard touchdown run in the Rose Bowl.
9. Curtis Jacobs
Jacobs is often overlooked, even though he’s entering his third year as a starter at linebacker. He’s versatile, quick and tough. He finished last season as Penn State’s third-leading tackler with a knack for making big plays.
The 6-1, 238-pound Jacobs, a fourth-year player, had two sacks against Utah, returned an interception for a touchdown at Michigan, forced a fumble and recovered another. He can play in the box and in space. He’s poised to have an outstanding season.
8. KeAndre Lambert-Smith
Although wide receiver remains the biggest question on offense for the Lions, Lambert-Smith showed against Michigan State and Utah that he can play at a high level. He made five receptions for 83 yards and one TD against the Spartans and had three for 124 yards against the Utes, including the longest TD catch (88 yards) in Rose Bowl history.
The 6-1, 188-pound Lambert-Smith, who’s in his fourth season, and Kent State transfer Dante Cephas are the most experienced wideouts on the roster. Behind them are several young and unproven receivers, including Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans.
7. Adisa Isaac
On a team with several terrific defensive ends, the 6-4, 254-pound Isaac had a team-high 11 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries last year after missing the 2021 season with an Achilles injury.
A fifth-year senior, Isaac will look to continue momentum from his late-season performance. He had a sack in three of four November games and then made a career-high five tackles, including two in the backfield, against Utah.
6. Abdul Carter
Carter wasn’t a starter when last season began, but he eventually earned his spot as a starting linebacker as a freshman with spectacular performances. He led the Lions with 6.5 sacks and was second with 10.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries.
Because of his exceptional instincts and burst, the 6-3, 250-pound Carter figures to line up in several different spots similar to how defensive coordinator Manny Diaz used safety Ji’Ayir Brown.
5. Nick Singleton
The Gov. Mifflin graduate burst onto the scene last year, living up to the great expectations by rushing for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns, a Penn State freshman record. He was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The 6-0, 224-pound Singleton and classmate Kaytron Allen, who had 867 rushing yards last year, figure to be even better this year. They have more experience and they will run behind an experienced and talented offensive line. The presence of Singleton and Allen can open opportunities in the passing game.
4. Chop Robinson
Robinson didn’t start at all last year after transferring from Maryland, but he had 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks and shared the team’s most valuable defensive lineman award with Isaac.
A 6-3, 250-pound junior, Robinson has exceptional speed and an effective spin move he uses to get past offensive tackles. Some NFL scouts claim that he’s still raw, but others project him as a first-round draft pick next year.
3. Kalen King
It can be argued that the 5-11, 191-pound King had an even better 2022 season than Joey Porter Jr., a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a second-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
King, a junior, led the Big Ten with 21 passes defended and 18 pass breakups, and made three interceptions in Penn State’s final five games. He’s fundamentally sound and excellent in man-to-man coverage. He’s projected to be one of the top four cornerbacks taken in the 2024 NFL draft.
2. Olu Fashanu
It’s hard to remember any Penn State player who made such a dramatic rise up NFL draft boards as the 6-6, 319-pound Fashanu did last year. He began the season with just one career start and quickly established himself as one of the top offensive tackles in the country.
At left tackle, he allowed no sacks in 281 pass-blocking snaps before an undisclosed injury sidelined him for the final five games. Even though he received a first-round grade from the NFL Advisory Board, he decided to return this season, a huge plus for the Lions.
1.Drew Allar
Much of Penn State’s success this season hinges on the shoulders of the 19-year-old Allar, who arrived in State College as a five-star prospect last year.
The 6-5, 243-pound Allar has the tools to be great: a mighty arm, unwavering poise and terrific vision. He passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games as Sean Clifford’s backup. He will benefit from a strong ground game and a sturdy offensive line. If he has a special year, so can the Lions. | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/penn-state-football-teams-10-most-important-players-to-watch/ | 2023-07-30T01:09:07 | 0 | https://www.trentonian.com/2023/07/29/penn-state-football-teams-10-most-important-players-to-watch/ |
(NEXSTAR) — Pretend you accidentally knock your drink over. What would you say happened to it? If you’re from Texas, or just from the south overall, you might say it “tumped” over.
In general, the word is used when something falls over, spills over, or is knocked over. You can tump someone over or be tumped over by someone else. It’s a useful word — but is it even a word?
And moreover, why do Texans say this?
While “tump” isn’t only found in Texas, you’ll definitely hear it there. Several Texas news outlets have attempted to trace the word’s origin, including Texas Monthly, which pointed to a now-26-year-old post on a message board called Word Wizard (the website is now gone, sadly). According to Texas Monthly’s John Nova Lomax, that lost-to-time post explained that “tump” was a word meant to mimic the “thump” of something falling and hitting the ground.
A common etymological theory is that the word is a combination of the words “tipped” and “dumped” — both of which are frequently followed by the word “over,” as “tumped” often is. In other words, what’s known as a portmanteau, as explained by Texas Standard in 2017.
Again, the verbal phenomenon isn’t signature to only Texas. Many southern outlets, including Oklahoma’s The Oklahoman and Alabama’s AL.com, have noted the trend. Nevertheless, Texans online appear to proudly own the word.
“If you used the word ‘tumped’ you’re: A) from Texas B) not from Texas and possibly just had a stroke. See a doctor ASAP,” joked the popular Texas Humor Twitter account in 2014.
Musings on the word can be seen in connection with Texas Reddit, including this giant thread of Texas slang words.
In a 2020 Reddit thread, one new Texan asked how long until they could convincingly say “Yeehaw,” to which someone posed a counter-challenge: “The real test is when you can properly use ‘tumped over’ in a sentence.”
We may just never know where tump came from. What’s more, researching tump can be more difficult than it used to be since a certain former president’s last name takes up considerable search engine real estate now.
Finally, if anyone ever laughs at you for using tump, just know this: the word’s even made it into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. So tump away, Texas! | https://phl17.com/nmw/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ | 2023-07-30T01:10:55 | 0 | https://phl17.com/nmw/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The United States heads into its final group match at the Women's World Cup with questions swirling about the team's tactics.
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski started the same lineup against Netherlands on Thursday that he rolled out for the opening match against Vietnam. While it was enough for the United States to beat the Vietnamese 3-0, it was less successful against the stronger Dutch, and the Americans settled for a 1-1 draw.
That lineup had never played together before the World Cup.
The tie meant that the United States will likely need a more decisive outcome on Tuesday against Portugal to finish atop Group E and secure a favorable path in the knockout round. Going into the game, advancing out of the group wasn't a given for the two-time defending World Cup champions.
In addition to the same starters, Andonovski made just one substitution in the game against the Dutch, bringing on midfielder Rose Lavelle to start the second half. But no fresh legs were subbed in even after players showed fatigue. Forwards Lynn Williams and Megan Rapinoe remained on the sidelines.
He was asked about the strategy afterward.
“I just didn’t want to disrupt the rhythm at that point because sometimes a substitute comes in and it might take a minute or two to get into a rhythm,” he said. “We just didn’t want to jeopardize anything because I thought all three of our forwards were very good, dangerous, created opportunities and were a handful.”
It was the first time that the United States had made just one or fewer substitutions in a World Cup game since 2007.
Known in 2019 for jumping on World Cup opponents early, the Americans did not score against the Dutch until the second half when they were already down 1-0.
Lavelle is one of the team's top midfielders and made an immediate impact in the game — boosting the energy and feeding the attack — and the United States looked like that 2019 championship team again. She served up a corner kick to Lindsey Horan, angry about getting knocked down by a Dutch player moments before, for the game-tying goal in the 62nd minute.
Lavelle had a knee injury going into the World Cup and hadn't played since April. She's been on a minutes restriction and Andonovski has been starting Savannah DeMelo, one of the teams' 14 players making their first-ever appearance in the World Cup.
DeMelo hadn't played in a match with the national team until the send-off game against Wales in San Jose, the day the team departed for the World Cup.
“I think we weren’t in sync," midfielder Andi Sullivan said. “That happens, and we were able to adjust and respond. Hopefully, we can do that earlier in the future. And I think that’s also a great strength of this team -- we have lots of different ways we can do that together.”
Andonovski said the team can build off that second half against the Dutch in Wellington.
“Even though it didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish I thought it was a very good match for our team and especially for a group of young players. They grew throughout the game, individually, but also as a team we grew throughout the game as well,” Andonovski said. “I’ve said this before, this team is not just young. This team is also a fresh team that hasn’t spent a lot of minutes together. What you saw in the second half is what you’re going to see going forward as a best baseline. I think that we’re just going to get better from game to game and we’re gonna be a lot more efficient as well.”
Portugal fell 1-0 in its opening match against the Dutch, then defeated Vietnam 2-0 on Thursday in Hamilton. The victory knocked Vietnam out of the next round.
The United States sits atop Group E, even on points — four — with the Netherlands but edging the Dutch on goal differential. Portugal, third in the group with three points, could leap in front of the U.S. with a win at Auckland's Eden Park.
The Dutch play Vietnam in an earlier game Tuesday in Dunedin.
Telma Encarnacao and Kika Nazareth each scored in the match against Vietnam, which made history as Portugal's first win in its first World Cup appearance.
“We are aware of what awaits us, but we are focused on ourselves, which is very important,” Nazareth told reporters at training on Saturday. “We will enter the field respecting the opponent, with humility, but always with character and personality. The work will be there, the talent is there. And I think you also always need a little bit of luck. It’s believing.” | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/sports/soccer/us-faces-portugal-with-womens-world-cup-future-still-up-in-the-air-knockout-stage/507-6403953b-33b2-4d89-b452-919cd9f37dac | 2023-07-30T01:10:55 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/sports/soccer/us-faces-portugal-with-womens-world-cup-future-still-up-in-the-air-knockout-stage/507-6403953b-33b2-4d89-b452-919cd9f37dac |
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T01:10:55 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
DOWS, Iowa — Significant severe weather affected parts of Iowa on Friday, especially in the eastern half of the state.
At least three tornadoes touched down statewide in the evening, including one in north-central Iowa, near the Hardin County and Franklin County line.
That tornado was originally spotted between Dows and Popejoy, but it likely stayed on the ground until it reached an area north of Iowa Falls.
It is possible the tornado may have briefly lifted during that time, however trained storm chasers reported it on the ground for several minutes.
Some minor damage occurred in the region as a result of the tornado, but the National Weather Service in Des Moines did not conduct a storm survey there on Saturday.
Thus, the tornado does not have an official EF-scale rating at this time.
The National Weather Service Quad Cities says two tornadoes also touched down in eastern Iowa, including an EF-0 near Clinton, along the Illinois border, and an EF-1 near Andrew, in Jackson County.
Andrew's EF-1 tornado likely produced maximum wind gusts around 90 mph, while the EF-0 in Clinton had gusts closer to 80 mph.
Widespread non-tornadic wind gusts also occurred around the state as the storms moved from northwest to southeast.
A whopping 93 mph gust occurred at the Marshalltown Airport, and was likely caused by a microburst near the town.
The National Weather Service defines a microburst as a 'localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm'.
It is normally small in scale, less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter.
No injuries or fatalities were reported from Friday's severe weather in Iowa, but sporadic damage occurred.
The most common damage reported was related to downed trees and power lines. | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/weather/severe-weather/iowa-severe-weather-tornadoes-july-28-2023-dows-popejoy-clinton-andrew/524-59d2bcb0-2c1e-45d6-b142-a3caeebb3a1a | 2023-07-30T01:11:01 | 1 | https://www.weareiowa.com/article/weather/severe-weather/iowa-severe-weather-tornadoes-july-28-2023-dows-popejoy-clinton-andrew/524-59d2bcb0-2c1e-45d6-b142-a3caeebb3a1a |
Road closures and traffic detours set to take effect
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Upcoming road closures and detours set to take effect as maintenance work is set to begin in various parts of the city.
Beginning Monday, July 31, a section of 4th St. N. will be closed to through traffic between 4th Ave. N. and 7th Ave. N. The affected area will be detoured via 2nd St. N. and Broadway.
The objective of this closure is to allow specialized crews to carry out essential milling and overlaying work on the asphalt surface of 4th St. N. City officials anticipate that the road will be fully reopened and accessible to the public on Thursday, August 3.
Similarly, another maintenance project is scheduled to begin on the same Monday, July 31, impacting westbound traffic on 40th Ave. S. The area between 47th St. S. and 51st St. S. will be reduced to one lane due to surface repair requirements.
Road users are advised to plan their routes accordingly and to expect potential delays during this period. The lane is projected to be reopened to traffic on Tuesday, August 1.
On Thursday, August 3, a significant portion of 17th Ave. S. will face closure to through traffic between 25th St. S. and 32nd St. S. During this time, drivers will need to follow designated detours directing them to 13th Ave. S.
This particular closure has been planned to facilitate the milling and overlaying of the asphalt surface on 17th Ave. S. The road is expected to be completely reopened and operational on Thursday, August 10.
Motorists are also encouraged to consider alternate routes and public transportation options during these temporary road closures to help reduce congestion in the affected areas.
Copyright 2023 KVLY. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/road-closures-traffic-detours-set-take-effect/ | 2023-07-30T01:11:01 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/road-closures-traffic-detours-set-take-effect/ |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: J.J. Spaun
After the third round of the 3M Open, J.J. Spaun is in 27th place at -8.
Looking to bet on J.J. Spaun at the 3M Open this week? Read on for the statistics you need to know before you make your picks.
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J.J. Spaun Insights
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished better than par on 12 occasions, while also shooting three bogey-free rounds and 15 rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has carded a top-five score in one of his last 18 rounds, while ranking among the top 10 scores of the day twice.
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished within five strokes of the top score for the day eight times.
- Spaun has finished in the top 10 once in his past five events.
- He has qualified for the weekend in four of his past five appearances.
- Spaun has finished with a score better than the tournament average in three of his past five events, including one finish within three shots of the leader.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Spaun finished 66th in his only finish at this event in three visits.
- In his past three appearances at this tournament, he has made the cut once.
- The Tour has played courses with an average length of 7,017 yards in the past year, while TPC Twin Cities is set for a longer 7,431 yards.
- TPC Twin Cities has seen an average tournament score of -8 recently, which is lower than the Tour scoring average of -5 on all courses in the past year.
- The average course Spaun has played i the last year (7,308 yards) is 123 yards shorter than the course he'll be playing this week (7,431).
- The tournaments he has played in the past year have seen an average score of -5. That's higher than this course's recent scoring average of -8.
Spaun's Last Time Out
- Spaun finished in the 30th percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at the Barracuda Championship, with an average of 3.13 strokes.
- He averaged 3.84 strokes on par-4 holes (of which there were 44) at the Barracuda Championship, which was good enough to place him in the 90th percentile among all competitors on par 4s (the tournament average was 3.97).
- Spaun was better than 88% of the golfers at the Barracuda Championship on par-5 holes, averaging 4.25 strokes per hole, compared to the field average of 4.53.
- Spaun carded a birdie or better on one of 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, worse than the field average of 1.6.
- On the 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, Spaun carded three bogeys or worse (more than the field average of 2.2).
- Spaun had more birdies or better (11) than the field average of 6.4 on the 44 par-4s at the Barracuda Championship.
- In that most recent tournament, Spaun's showing on the 44 par-4s included a bogey or worse three times (the field's average was worse, at 5.6).
- Spaun finished the Barracuda Championship recording a birdie or better on nine par-5 holes, while the field averaged 4.3 on the 12 par-5s.
- The field at the Barracuda Championship averaged 0.7 bogeys or worse on the 12 par-5s, but Spaun finished without one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Spaun Odds to Win: +3300 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Spaun's performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/j-j-spaun-3m-open-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-30T01:11:07 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/j-j-spaun-3m-open-pga-odds/ |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: JT Poston
The 3M Open is entering the final round, and JT Poston is currently in second with a score of -15.
Looking to place a bet on JT Poston at the 3M Open this week? Keep reading for the betting trends you need to know before you make your picks.
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JT Poston Insights
- Poston has finished below par on nine occasions, completed his day bogey-free three times and finished 13 rounds with a better-than-average score over his last 16 rounds played.
- He has recorded one of the five best scores in two of his last 16 rounds played.
- Over his last 16 rounds, Poston has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round twice, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on five occasions.
- Poston has finished in the top 10 twice in his past five tournaments.
- Looking at the past five tournaments he has entered, he made the cut three times.
- In his past five events, Poston has finished within five shots of the leader once. He posted a score that was better than average twice.
- Poston hopes to qualify for the weekend for the fourth straight time.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Poston has one top-20 finish in his past two appearances at this tournament. His average finishing position has been 20th.
- Poston made the cut in each of his last two attempts at this event.
- At 7,431 yards, TPC Twin Cities is set up as a par-71 for this event. In the past year, tournaments on the Tour have been played on courses with a shorter average distance of 7,017 yards.
- Golfers at TPC Twin Cities have averaged a score of -8 per tournament, lower than the Tour-wide scoring average of -5 in the past year.
- The average course Poston has played in the past year has been 140 yards shorter than the 7,431 yards TPC Twin Cities will be at for this event.
- Events he has played in the past year have seen players average a score of -5. That is higher than this course, which has a scoring average of -8.
Poston's Last Time Out
- Poston finished in the 62nd percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at The Open Championship, with an average of 3.06 strokes.
- He averaged 4.09 strokes on par-4 holes (of which there were 44) at The Open Championship, which was strong enough to place him in the 72nd percentile of the field on par 4s (the tournament average was 4.18).
- On the 12 par-5 holes at The Open Championship, Poston was better than 50% of the field (averaging 4.75 strokes).
- Poston shot worse on par 3s than the field his last time out, carding a birdie or better on one of 16 par-3s at The Open Championship (the other golfers averaged 1.3).
- On the 16 par-3s at The Open Championship, Poston had two bogeys or worse (less than the field average of 2.3).
- Poston recorded more birdies or better (six) than the tournament average of 3.4 on the 44 par-4s at The Open Championship.
- At that last tournament, Poston posted a bogey or worse on nine of 44 par-4s (the field averaged 8.1).
- Poston ended The Open Championship bettering the field's average of birdies or better on par-5s (3.4) with four on the 12 par-5 holes.
- On the 12 par-5s at The Open Championship, Poston outperformed the tournament average of 1.2 bogeys or worse on those holes by carding one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Poston Odds to Win: +650 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Poston's performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/jt-poston-3m-open-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-30T01:11:14 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/jt-poston-3m-open-pga-odds/ |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: Lee Hodges
The 3M Open is nearing the end, and following the third round Lee Hodges is in first place with a score of -20.
Looking to bet on Lee Hodges at the 3M Open this week? Read on for the betting odds and stats you need to know before you make your picks.
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Lee Hodges Insights
- Over his last 13 rounds, Hodges has shot better than par on 10 occasions, while also shooting three bogey-free rounds and eight rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has finished with the best score of the day in one of his last 13 rounds, while scoring among the top five in three rounds and the top 10 on four occasions.
- Over his last 13 rounds, Hodges has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round three times, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on five occasions.
- Hodges has won one of his past five tournaments.
- The past five times he has played a tournament, he's made the cut twice.
- Hodges has finished within three shots of the leader in one of his past five tournaments. During that same span, he's posted a better-than-average score twice.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Hodges has one win in his past two starts at this event. His average finish has been ninth.
- In his most recent two attempts at this event, he's made the cut every time.
- Hodges finished atop the leaderboard at this event back in 2023.
- The Tour has played courses with an average length of 7,019 yards in the past year, while TPC Twin Cities is set for a longer 7,431 yards.
- Hodges will take to the 7,431-yard course this week at TPC Twin Cities after having played courses with an average length of 7,306 yards in the past year.
Hodges' Last Time Out
- Hodges was relatively mediocre on the eight par-3 holes at The Open Championship, averaging 3.13 strokes to finish in the 41st percentile of competitors.
- His 4.55-stroke average on the 22 par-4 holes at The Open Championship ranked in the second percentile of the field (the tournament average was 4.18).
- Hodges was better than 57% of the competitors at The Open Championship on par-5 holes, averaging 4.67 strokes per hole compared to the field average of 4.78.
- Hodges failed to card a birdie on any of the eight par-3s at The Open Championship (the field averaged 1.3).
- On the eight par-3s at The Open Championship, Hodges recorded one bogey or worse (less than the field average of 2.3).
- Hodges failed to record a birdie or better on any of the 22 par-4s at The Open Championship. The tournament average was 3.4.
- At that most recent outing, Hodges' showing on the 22 par-4s included a bogey or worse 12 times (compared to the field's better average, 8.1).
- Hodges ended The Open Championship underperforming compared to the tournament average of birdies or better on par-5s (3.4), with three on the six par-5 holes.
- On the six par-5s at The Open Championship, Hodges outperformed the field's average of 1.2 bogeys or worse on those holes by recording one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Hodges Odds to Win: -350 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
Watch live golf without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo!
All statistics in this article reflect Hodges' performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
Not all offers available in all states, please visit offer pages for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please play responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-3m-open-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-30T01:11:21 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-3m-open-pga-odds/ |
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T01:12:46 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
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Social media reacts after Trump takes stage in Iowa to song lyrics about 'going to prison'
Social media users pointed out the lyrics that played as Trump took the stage
As former President Donald Trump took the stage Friday night at Iowa's biggest political event of the year an ironic song blasted on loudspeakers with lyrics mentioning "prison" as the presidential hopeful faces a myriad of federal criminal charges.
Trump took the stage at the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Dinner Friday evening as Brooks & Dunn crooned "Only In America," including the lyrics, "one could end up going to prison, one just might be president."
The song, which was picked by the Iowa GOP, was used for all candidates as they began their 10-minute speeches.
The Iowa GOP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
One Twitter user claimed that Team Trump was "furious" at Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds over the song choice.
Trump's team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital.
Twitter users were quick to point out the lyrics.
State Attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg wrote on Twitter, "OMG. That line hits right when he gets on stage."
THESE REPUBLICANS HAVE MET QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
GOP strategist Mike Murphy also joined into the commentary, writing, "Ha! Trump is finally understanding [that Iowa Governor Kim] Reynolds didn’t get her job because she just fell off a turnip truck…. #SharpOperator BTW, earlier she was at a big Tim Scott event. And treated with due respect."
TRUMP LAWYERS MET WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL AHEAD OF POSSIBLE INDICTMENT OUT OF JAN. 6 PROBE
The upbeat country song illustrates American patriotism and sense of hope.
"One kid dreams of fame and fortune, One kid helps pay the rent, One could end up going to prison, One just might be president," the lyrics say. "Only in America, Dreamin' in red white and blue, Only in America, Where we dream as big as we want to."
The irony of lyrics appeared to pass mostly unnoticed by the crowd as Trump bounded onstage in front of a sellout crowd of more than 1,000 guests.
"If I weren’t running, I would have nobody coming after me. Or if I was losing by a lot, I would have nobody coming after me," Trump said during his speech.
Trump was indicted in June on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records after his presidency.
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Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/social-media-reacts-trump-takes-stage-iowa-song-lyrics-going-prison | 2023-07-30T01:14:57 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/social-media-reacts-trump-takes-stage-iowa-song-lyrics-going-prison |
Saints' Jamaal Williams compares famous New Orleans beignets to funnel cakes: 'Yeah, not impressed'
Williams spent the past two seasons with the Detroit Lions
New Orleans is known as one of the premier food destinations in the U.S., but running back Jaamal Williams issued a negative review for one of the city's delicacies.
Williams, who departed Detroit for New Orleans in March, told reporters his first experience with beignets drew comparisons to an ordinary funnel cake.
"Yeah, not impressed," Williams said at New Orleans Saints training camp Friday. "It's just a funnel cake."
Williams decided to leave the Lions after the team made a "disrespectful" contract offer.
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"They been done with me. I could tell," Williams told reporters at his Saints introductory news conference in March.
"The offer they gave me I feel like was very just disrespectful and just showing that they really didn't want me to be there like that. But it's all love. I know my teammates, everybody there at the Detroit Lions have love for me and all that, but at the same time, it's just we couldn't come to terms on things. It's just funny is all."
SAINTS' MICHAEL THOMAS RIPS EVERYONE WHO WAS 'HATIN,' SHOWS OFF IMPRESSIVE WEIGHT ROOM SESSION
Williams is a California native and played college football at BYU. He is likely still adjusting to life in New Orleans but said in his home state the beignets would be considered run-of-the-mill funnel cakes.
"I'm sorry," Williams said. "I just got here. I respect y'all, your beignets, and all that. In California, we just call them funnel cakes."
The Packers selected Williams in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. After a four-year stint in Green Bay, Williams joined the Lions.
Last season, Williams shared the backfield with D'Andre Swift and scored an NFL-leading 17 rushing touchdowns. He will again likely share carries this season, but with Saints running back Alvin Kamara.
It remains unclear if the NFL will punish Kamara following an investigation of an alleged assault during last year's Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. Earlier this month, Kamara agreed to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace for his alleged role, court records show.
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The Lions signed former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery to a three-year contract earlier this offseason. He is likely expected to replace Williams' production in Detroit. | https://www.foxnews.com/sports/saints-jamaal-williams-compares-famous-new-orleans-beignets-funnel-cakes-yeah-not-impressed | 2023-07-30T01:14:57 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/sports/saints-jamaal-williams-compares-famous-new-orleans-beignets-funnel-cakes-yeah-not-impressed |
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Mug shots of the week: July 23-29, 2023
These mug shots were taken for arrests made throughout the U.S. the week of July 23-29, 2023.
- Bethany Alderman: Arrested on two counts of alleged possession of a Schedule II substance, three counts of alleged possession of new or prescription drug without prescription and one count of alleged possession of paraphernalia in Volusia County, Florida on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.read moreVolusia County Division of CorrectionsShare
- Jessy Noble: Arrested for alleged two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm - dangerous felon, possession of a controlled substance, driving while revoked/suspended - 1st offense, operate motor vehicle without maintaining financial responsibility, possession of marijuana, operate vehicle on highway without valid or no license, inattentive driving, parole violation and hold for other city in Greene County, Missouri on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.read moreGreene County SheriffShare
- Christopher Chase: Arrested for alleged murder, aggravated assault and burglary, tampering with evidence and abandonment/concealment of a dead body. Melissa Chase: Arrested for alleged tampering with evidence and abandonment/concealment of a dead body. The mother and son were arrested in Casa Grande, Arizona on Monday, July 24, 2023.read moreCasa Grande Police DepartmentShare
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Mug shots of the week: July 23-29, 2023
These mug shots were taken for arrests made throughout the U.S. the week of July 23-29, 2023.
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- Mug shots of the week: July 23-29, 2023
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Image 0 of 11 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/mug-shots-week-july-23-29-2023 | 2023-07-30T01:14:58 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/mug-shots-week-july-23-29-2023 |
MADISON, Wis -- It's been exactly 485 days since well over 450 TruStage employees had a contract in place. Members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 39 held a march and rally in downtown Madison on Saturday morning to further their call for action.
They said they're fighting for job security, fair compensation, diversity and inclusion, access to quality and affordable health care, and no cuts to their retirement benefits.
As stated on their website, OPEIU Local 39 is a progressive Union that represents over 3,000 people living and working in and around Madison. The Union has been bargaining a contract with TruStage since January 2022.
Negotiations broke down in January of 2023, and the union filed Unfair Labor Practices charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), leading to a two-week strike earlier this year.
Union members and some of their supporters gathered on State Street Saturday morning and marched to the Capitol Building. Madison's activist street band, the Forward! Marching Band, accompanied the group with a tune to match their demands.
"We want fair wages, we want fair wages" filled the streets.
Several onlookers joined the group along their journey, including several dozen people attending the farmer's market occurring around Capitol Square.
As the march concluded at the Capitol Building steps, the union's rally began.
The speakers for the rally included TruStage workers and their families, State Senator and Democratic leader Melissa Agard, Congressional Representative Mark Pocan, representatives of local community organizations and more.
"TruStage, it has been nearly 500 days without a contract," Pocan said. "Throughout COVID, companies have made record profits with CEOs and worker pay as big as a discrepancy as ever...And we need to make sure that everyone can keep up by having good pay, and good benefits and safe working conditions."
Voces De La Frontera's Madison Organizer Stephanie Salgado Altamirano was one of the speakers as well. She said her mother received a piece of mail from TruStage recently promoting their life insurance, but Salgado Altamirano questions how they could be trusted currently.
"And as I looked through the letter, I wonder, how can a company talk to you about life insurance where they don't even want to consider the ones of his work" said Salgado Altamirano.
Union organizers said another strike could occur if negotiations continue to go poorly.
TruStage's Media and Reputation Consultant, Barclay Pollak, released the following statements to News 3 Now on behalf of the company.
"We have never and will never work against our employees or negotiate in a way that doesn't represent TruStage's values. We are cooperating with the National Labor Relations Board's ongoing investigations and will continue to do so. The NLRB has not issued a public ruling on the pending ULP charge."
"We are encouraged by progress in recent weeks and would like union leaders to work with us to complete a fair deal on behalf of employees. From the start, TruStage has negotiated with our employees' best interests top of mind. We want our employees to have a fair and market competitive contract. We also respect the rights of our employees to voice their opinions throughout the process."
Further Coverage of this story will be coming Sunday when our own Naomi Kowles sits down with the union's chief steward for this week's For the Record.
COPYRIGHT 2023 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. | https://www.channel3000.com/news/trustage-workers-march-and-rally-on-day-485-without-a-contract/article_48f57668-2e5b-11ee-9ac0-c78d959fffa5.html | 2023-07-30T01:15:03 | 0 | https://www.channel3000.com/news/trustage-workers-march-and-rally-on-day-485-without-a-contract/article_48f57668-2e5b-11ee-9ac0-c78d959fffa5.html |
Electric bus manufacturer Proterra and motor coach operator ABC Companies recently announced what the companies claim is the largest charging facility for motor coaches—larger, more luxurious buses designed for longer trips than urban transit buses—in North America.
Located on a 3.5-acre site in Newark, California, the facility has 20 dual-cable EV chargers, allowing it to charge up to 40 motor coaches, with charging power up to 1.4 megawatts, according to a Proterra press release.
Proterra has been one of the leaders for electric buses, jockeying with BYD for some of the top sales. The company has been electrifying motor coaches from Van Hool with its own battery and electric powertrain hardware, which the California charging facility will support.
ABC Companies claims its fleet of electric vehicles, ranging from 8-passenger vans to 75-passenger double-deck motor coaches, has logged hundreds of thousands of miles over almost two years.
The charging facility was developed with input from utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which is expanding its charging infrastructure efforts from passenger cars to commercial vehicles. PG&E claims to have contracted with more than 180 sites to date, enabling charging for over 3,700 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Electrifying larger vehicles like buses is an important piece of the emissions reduction puzzle. A 2021 study found that a shift to electric trucks and buses could prevent more than 57,000 premature deaths by reducing air pollution. A London bus charging project has also shown how this added charging infrastructure could be used to help stabilize the grid by syncing charging with the peaks and troughs of electricity demand.
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Republican lawmakers are seeking to block stricter emissions rules that would require more EVs, even as many Republican-led states stand to benefit from new manufacturing jobs related to the EV boom.
A bill in the House of Representatives called the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act was introduced in March and advanced from the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee to Full Committee consideration last week. It seeks to “amend the Clean Air Act to prevent the elimination of the sale of internal combustion engines.”
Federal emissions rules don’t officially mandate EVs, but they’re anticipated to result in 67% EVs by 2032. California, however, as adopted rules that effectively mandate EV sales by 2035.
Another recently introduced House bill, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act would block the proposed EPA regulations, and would prohibit regulations mandating any specific technology or limiting sales of vehicles of a certain powertrain type, according to Fox News.
This bill was introduced by Republican Congressmen Tim Walberg and Andrew Clyde, who represent Michigan and Georgia, respectively. In a statement, Clyde said the rules may be “enriching China,” and that it’s an attack on rural America. However, the reality is that these laws provide an incentive for U.S.-built EVs that doesn’t exist for internal-combustion vehicle manufacturing, which could continue moving offshore, including to China.
The state Clyde represents is one of several Midwest and Southeastern U.S. states seen as part of the EV “battery belt,” stretching from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, down to Georgia and South Carolina, and includes a number of states with lawmakers simultaneously seeking EV manufacturing jobs but resisting policy that favors the product. Georgia is anticipated to benefit from large EV manufacturing projects, including EV assembly plants for Rivian and Hyundai-Kia slated to start producing vehicles in 2024. Hyundai’s assembly plant will be supported by a joint-venture battery plant with LG.
Michigan’s auto industry is already transitioning to EVs with projects like General Motors’ “Factory Zero” repurposing of the automaker’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.
The outcome of the 2024 presidential election will ultimately decide the next few years’ worth of emissions regulations. Reuters reported recently that former President Donald Trump, who is among the Republican candidates running in 2024, has vowed to “terminate” green vehicle mandates.
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- Tesla topped Toyota in California deliveries in Q2 | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/republicans-in-the-battery-belt-are-seeking-to-block-ev-mandates/ | 2023-07-30T01:15:24 | 1 | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/republicans-in-the-battery-belt-are-seeking-to-block-ev-mandates/ |
Giving it the beans along Big Tujunga Highway in Southern California’s Angeles National Forest, this 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost feels familiar but different. Dynamically, the seventh-generation Mustang doesn’t change much, but it has a lot more technology to experience behind the wheel.
The seventh-generation Mustang, known internally as S650, is little different than the last-generation S550 version.
That’s alright, because we felt the S550 generation Mustang graduated from pony car to sports car, especially with the 2018 update that better sorted out the independent rear suspension added with the debut of the S550 for the 2014 model year.
2024 Ford Mustang: Screens galore
The 2024 Ford Mustang sports a new exterior design that reads as an evolution of the S550 with a touch of Chevrolet Camaro thrown in, especially in the more pronounced rear haunches. The big change, however, comes inside, where the traditional double-binnacle instrument cluster gives way to a bank of screens that serves as more than just a tech hub.
A 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.2-inch touchscreen spread out in front of the driver in juxtaposition to a cabin that otherwise has retro influences. The Sync 4 infotainment system has twice as much processing power as the last car’s Sync 3 system, and the screens use Unreal Engine graphics that serve as the backbone for many popular first-person-shooter video games. The system can be updated over the air automatically or on a schedule.
I ran through the many features of the system after a preview at Ford headquarters in March, but now I’ve experienced it and can say it adds to the overall Mustang experience. The instrument cluster can be set to the driver’s choice of five themes: Normal, Sport, Track, Fox Body ’87-’93, and Calm. The Track theme depicts a hockey stick tachometer like you see on many supercars, Sport mode has curved speedometer and tachometer graphs that sweep up from the bottom, and Fox Body digitally represents the analog gauges from the latter years of the third-generation Mustang.
I’m driving with the Fox Body theme because, well, you gotta give props to the Mustangs that inspired Vanilla Ice to roll in his 5.0, don’t you?
For the most part, the cluster themes match the drive modes, though there is no Calm drive mode (as there shouldn’t be in a Mustang), and Ford also adds Drag Strip, Slippery, and programmable Custom modes. Every Mustang has every drive mode, giving even the relatively tame EcoBoost a toybox of performance features to choose from.
It’s all easily accessed via the MyMustang button on the center stack, which brings up a screen that lets drivers program the custom drive modes, display auxiliary gauges, choose from four sound settings for the available active exhaust, pick a cluster theme, set the ambient lighting color, and most importantly, access the Track Apps performance features.
The Track Apps let drivers monitor telemetry including braking distance and acceleration and lap times. This is also where drivers activate the launch control, the line lock, the new electronic parking brake Ford calls the Drift Brake, and in the GT with the manual transmission, the rev matching feature.
But this is a lightly equipped EcoBoost model and I’m driving with a journalist who gets carsick. He’d likely heave if I tried those features, so I’ll save the sophomoric fun for a GT with the Performance Package.
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost: Sorted and controlled
While not as overt as the new Mustang’s tech suite, the mechanical changes are mostly for the better, but it all starts with the same stiff and well-sorted platform as the previous car.
The steering is the most notable dynamic difference. The steering column is stiffer, a rubber bushing has been removed for a more direct feel, and the ratio has been slightly quickened from 16.0:1 to 15:5.1. The idea was to provide quicker responses (marginally) and more road feel. Along the way, Ford also lightened the steering weight, and I’m finding it too light on these canyon roads as it’s requiring too many little corrections. I’m in Sport mode, which has a heavier “sport” feel, too. The choices here appear to be light, lighter, and lightest. I wish Ford would add a setting that makes the wheel more stable.
I’m in an EcoBoost Premium model with a square set of 255/40R19 Continental ProContact all-season tires. This car has none of the available performance goodies, such as the $1,750 magnetic dampers or the $3,475 Performance Package that adds Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer-performance tires, a strut tower brace, a larger rear sway bar, a 3.55 Torsen limited-slip rear axle, the Drift Brake, heavy-duty front springs, larger brakes with front Brembo calipers, paddle shifters, and a rear wing spoiler.
Left with the basics of the Mustang’s rear-wheel-drive architecture, the car performs well here. Despite the lack of steering weight, the car reacts promptly to steering inputs and the wheel is telling me what’s happening at road level. The tires provide enough grip that I’m not sliding through the corners, even during an especially spirited six-mile stretch through the twisties during which my drive partner is waiting at a rest stop.
As I approach the corners, the car’s base brakes—a set of four 12.6-inch rotors with two-piston front calipers and single-piston rear calipers—stand up well. The brake pedal has a sturdy and progressive feel, and it keeps the same resistance throughout my drive. I can’t leave him sitting there to wring it out for extended periods of time, and I wouldn’t trust these brakes in that situation or on a track, but they’re more than up to the punishment expected of Mustang buyers who would choose a base suspension.
Like other Mustangs, this car rides on new dampers, but they’re tuned for little change in behavior versus those of the S550 model. In each configuration, they’re just optimized for the new steering, as well as the chosen tire and brake package.
The dampers help control body lean well and contribute to a firm ride that also provides plenty of road feedback but never crosses over into harsh. It’s all tied together well, with good handling balance in the corners. Yes, you can kick out the rear end, but it requires a concerted effort and/or use of the Drift Brake (more on that later).
I can hear plenty of tire hum on these rough roads, though the cacophony of sounds is part of the Mustang experience. The tire noise isn’t all that noticeable because a next-generation 2.3-liter turbo-4 under the hood has plenty to say. It belts out a mezzo-soprano tune that is at times authoritative, coarse, and droning. It’s always spirited, though, and that fits with the Mustang’s extroverted character.
The engine is the fourth generation of the 2.3-liter turbo-4 that Ford almost comically calls EcoBoost (maybe the “Eco” part it was more relevant 14 years ago when EVs were barely a thought in the automotive industry and when a DOE loan went toward downsizing and turbocharging Ford engines). Changes this time around give it more power while also making it more efficient. It gets a new twin-scroll turbocharger that scrolls up quicker. It also adds port injection to the existing direct injection for improved power and fuel economy. The changes boost output slightly, adding 5 hp for a total of 315 hp and keeping torque steady at 350 lb-ft.
I look at the 2.3 as a fine consolation prize in the Mustang. It’s perfectly capable and it gets the job done with a little flair, but I’d rather win the showcase showdown is the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8 in the GT models.
I feel the same way about the fact that the EcoBoost is paired only with the 10-speed automatic—it’s a fine transmission but not as much fun as the 6-speed manual that was available in the outgoing EcoBoost.
The powertrain also performs well in these hills. Sport mode generally keeps revs high, and Track does an even better job to make the power readily available at corner exit. Track sometimes downshifts mid-corner, slightly affecting the car’s balance. It’s not enough to disrupt my line, but using the paddle shifters would help prevent it, though they only come with the Performance Package. The car picks up speed steadily from curve to curve. It’s quick and spirited, with a 0-60 mph time in the low-to-mid five-second range, but it’s not the hammer that the V-8 is.
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost: Drifting made easy
Earlier in the day, I had the opportunity to test one of the new Mustang’s party tricks: the Drift Brake it developed with pro drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Included with the Performance Package on either the EcoBoost or GT, the Drift Brake is essentially a fancy electronic parking brake that has more than just on and off settings. Like a manual parking brake, it applies more braking power to the rear wheels the harder you pull the handle. That handle stands up from the center console and has an elbow shape for easy access by the driver.
Ford’s controlled exercise to test the Drift Brake is as rudimentary as possible. It consists of a single 180-degree turn and a perpendicular slide into a stop box.
An instructor shows me the proper technique to induce and then control the car through the switchback turn. It’s similar to a Scandinavian flick and it goes like this: veer left, steer slightly right to send the momentum in that direction, pull the brake, hit the throttle and release the brake at the same time to induce the drift, stay on the throttle until you’re about to be pointed the opposite direction, let up and drive out.
That’s all much easier said than done, and it’s easy to screw up at several points. Veering left is easy, but it’s also easy to steer too far to the right and make the car spin instead of drift. This is exacerbated by my other issue: forgetting to release the brake when I get on the gas. That just leads to a roughly 240-degree spin that stops me pointed the wrong way. I get 10 cracks at it and do it right perhaps twice, and on a third occasion I do a complete 540 that makes me feel pretty cool—though I think it annoys the instructor.
The technique for the 90-degree stop is as simple as steering slightly right to set the momentum and pulling the brake. Again, however, it’s easy to over-steer and over-rotate. It’s the kind of maneuver that can look cool in a TikTok video, but it’s not a wise way to park, especially if other cars are around.
Nonetheless, with regular parking brakes becoming a thing of the past, the Mustang’s Drift Brake brings a bit of forgotten fun back into the car. It can also be used like a normal parking brake. Simply stop the car, pull the handle, look for the “Brake” light on the instrument cluster, and shut off the car. When you start it again, push down on the handle to release the brake.
The Drift Brake is just one way the 2024 Ford Mustang marries tech with performance, and the big new screens are more overt. It all synthesizes with the controlled competence of the largely carryover platform to bring a pony car icon into the modern day without losing its sporty essence. When you can, give it the beans.
Ford paid for travel and lodging for Motor Authority to bring you this firsthand report.
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- Test drive: GMC Hummer EV resets peak pickup truck bar | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/review-2024-ford-mustang-ecoboost-distills-the-pony-car-essence/ | 2023-07-30T01:15:32 | 0 | https://www.fox16.com/automotive/internet-brands/review-2024-ford-mustang-ecoboost-distills-the-pony-car-essence/ |
Zenek Luci was born deaf to a family in Welland, Ontario. He used hearing aids as an infant before receiving a cochlear implant in an operation, his father, Gabriel, says.
"He was about one year old when it was turned on," Gabriel says. "When it's first turned on, they do a mapping, so they they start really low and see where they're responding to the sound."
Invented in 1957, cochlear implants are worn by more than two hundred thousand Americans, according to the American Cochlear Implant Alliance, an industry trade group.
Viral videos of patients receiving cochlear implants and hearing for the first time pack an emotional punch. It's a technology that's transforming lives—and one that's long stirred debate within the Deaf community. Dr. Samantha Kesteloot, an audiologist, educates families about implants and wears one herself.
"There's an internal part and external part," she explains. "The internal part is surgical, and there's an electrode array that is inserted into the cochlea, which is the organ of hearing."
"The outside part is a processor, which sort of looks like a hearing aid," she says. "That picks up the acoustical sound and converts it to electrical stimulus, and then those signals are sent down the electrode array and electrically stimulate the auditory nerve." That's the nerve that sends signals to the brain that correspond to the sensation of hearing.
Many adults with hearing loss say the implants have dramatically improved their lives.
Lou Ferrigno, the actor who once portrayed the Incredible Hulk, recently told students who were deaf or hard of hearing, and how implants have helped him. They "changed my life tremendously," he said. "There's so much hope that people can have better hearing, better lifestyle."
Dr. Keseloot, meanwhile, received her implant in 2017.
"It's completely changed my life," she says. "I always was a pretty high achiever with hearing aids, but I was always just kind of missing out on a lot of social things." Dr. Kestellot says she would "just sort of smile and nod and pretend I understood." Now, she says, "I can keep up in noisy situations."
SEE MORE: Parents push for insurers to cover pediatric hearing aids
Roughly one in five Americans has some form of hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health. And there is a thriving Deaf community in the U.S. that communicates with sign language. So adults who are eligible for implants have the choice of whether they want to receive them.
There's considerable debate, however, around their use with kids.
The FDA has approved the technology for children as young as nine months.
Without Zenek's implant, using just the hearing aid, "Everything he said was gibberish," says Gabriel Luci. "So that told us, okay, he's not getting enough with the aid."
"If a family desires listening in spoken language outcomes, the natural goal for the child is to speak and listen," says Dr. Kesteloot. "The best route is to aid and then implant if the hearing aids not doing enough. And then if the child chooses to sign later or, you know, and refuses the implant later, that's a choice that they can make."
Some parents of deaf children decline the procedure, says Dr. Kesteloot, including parents who are deaf themselves. "A lot of culturally deaf parents choose not to implant their children because they don't really have a need for it. Their life is based around sign language," she says. "And then also, some parents believe that the child should make the decision when they get old enough to make the decision. And that's, you know, a little tricky because there is a critical period for language development."
Dorian Smith Garcia wrote recently that videos celebrating cochlear implants "play into audism," which implies that people with hearing loss need to be "cured or corrected."
Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, who is Deaf, says she isn't opposed to cochlear implants. But she told the World Science Festival in 2019 that Deaf culture built on sign language offers immense rewards for children.
"There is still a great deal of pressure that people should explore the option of cochlear implants because that's better than signing, that you shouldn't sign," she told the audience. "I would say to these people, who are you to decide for us?"
Gabriel Luci, who has a second child with implants named Sasha, says the decision should be up to every parent of a Deaf child.
"I do believe that getting my kids cochlear implants gives them more opportunities, though. I'm not taking away any opportunities from them; I'm only giving them opportunities," he says.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.abc15.com/cochlear-implants-are-changing-lives-and-sparking-debate | 2023-07-30T01:15:40 | 0 | https://www.abc15.com/cochlear-implants-are-changing-lives-and-sparking-debate |
After months of warnings from tech executives about the dangers of artificial intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a new list of concerns.
The agency's biggest fears are not only about what the technology does but also about who is using it.
During a rare background briefing call with reporters, a senior FBI official, who even acknowledged that they haven't done significant outreach on the topic of AI, described a pretty concerning situation, or a "threat landscape," as the FBI calls it.
He said that China is looking to steal U.S. AI technology and data for AI programs and then use it not just to advance their own AI programs but to influence Americans.
He also said that the FBI is closely monitoring the role that AI may play in the 2024 election and is concerned about the spread of disinformation and deep fake videos.
He said that criminals and terrorists are seeking AI to simplify the production of dangerous chemicals and biological substances to increase their potency.
SEE MORE: Tech giants commit to Biden administration-brokered AI safety rules
Scripps News asked about explosives, and this official said that a variety of criminal and national security actors, from violent extremists to traditional terrorists, are using AI to try to come up with ways to create different types of explosives.
He said, "There have been people who have successfully elicited recipes or instructions for creating explosives."
He also said that AI is a force multiplier for crafting fishing e-mails and for using it in other cyberattacks. He says that the FBI has found AI-generated websites that are infected with malware to target users’ sites that have more than a million followers.
The bottom line, the FBI says, there are fewer people, less expertise, and less time needed for a lot of these threats, so there's a much lower bar or barrier for entry here.
Furthermore, the FBI is spending some of its time working on being able to determine what is synthetically AI-generated content online. They are working with private companies, and they're working with academia. But as this official said, this technology is advancing really quickly, and it is hard to stay on top of it.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.abc15.com/fbi-worried-about-ai-and-disinformation-ahead-of-the-2024-election | 2023-07-30T01:15:46 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/fbi-worried-about-ai-and-disinformation-ahead-of-the-2024-election |
PHOENIX — Already this year with the record-breaking heat, certain Phoenix trails have closed more than all of last year during excessive heat days. Yet, people are still in need of being rescued for hiking when they’re not supposed to be on the mountain.
When the clock strikes 11 a.m., trails on Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak close on days the National Weather Service issues excessive heat warnings. In an effort to keep hikers off the mountains and rescue crews safe, they close until 5 p.m., “the hottest part of the day,” the city of Phoenix said.
However, people can still go up to trails even right before 11 a.m. Even after 11 a.m., gates for cars close but people can still walk through.
Adam Waltz, the city of Phoenix parks and recreation department spokesperson, tells ABC15 that their park rangers try and educate people. They cannot physically restrain someone from going up the mountain, according to Waltz.
“Our park rangers mostly just like to talk to people. They'll try to get them to not go on the hike or they'll threaten with a citation or in a trespass,” Waltz said.
Already in July, there have been at least 10 rescues spanning all Phoenix mountains. The hardest trails have closed daily for all of July to date, 29 days, compared to the 18 days last summer during excessive heat warnings.
While people get rescued, Waltz said they do not have to pay for it.
“It's not like the stupid motorist law when they're driving into flooded waters, where they have to pay for their rescue or paying for an EMT,” Waltz said. “But no, they don't have to pay for their rescue. The citing is different, so park rangers will cite them if they're hiking after hours, but if you get rescued, you're not paying specifically just for the rescue.”
Waltz said no one has been cited this year so far.
However, they vehemently urge people to hike other trails that are open every day, such as Papago, North Mountain or South Mountain. The city said they’re also trying to educate more people by talking to hiking groups and asking others to encourage people to hike safely and to not get on the trails when they’re closed
“Part of this program that we put into place which really came from parks and the fire department was to maybe have some, like, personal accountability on the hiker standpoint where we understand hiking for a lot of people is a need. It's not necessarily a want. They need to hike these mountains,” Waltz continued. “We're just asking them to think about first responders. If there is an emergency on the trail, it's not just about you, it's about the TRT teams who have to come up and rescue you.” | https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/city-of-phoenix-trails-close-more-in-july-than-all-of-last-summer-due-to-excessive-heat | 2023-07-30T01:15:52 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/city-of-phoenix-trails-close-more-in-july-than-all-of-last-summer-due-to-excessive-heat |
(NEXSTAR) — Pretend you accidentally knock your drink over. What would you say happened to it? If you’re from Texas, or just from the south overall, you might say it “tumped” over.
In general, the word is used when something falls over, spills over, or is knocked over. You can tump someone over or be tumped over by someone else. It’s a useful word — but is it even a word?
And moreover, why do Texans say this?
While “tump” isn’t only found in Texas, you’ll definitely hear it there. Several Texas news outlets have attempted to trace the word’s origin, including Texas Monthly, which pointed to a now-26-year-old post on a message board called Word Wizard (the website is now gone, sadly). According to Texas Monthly’s John Nova Lomax, that lost-to-time post explained that “tump” was a word meant to mimic the “thump” of something falling and hitting the ground.
A common etymological theory is that the word is a combination of the words “tipped” and “dumped” — both of which are frequently followed by the word “over,” as “tumped” often is. In other words, what’s known as a portmanteau, as explained by Texas Standard in 2017.
Again, the verbal phenomenon isn’t signature to only Texas. Many southern outlets, including Oklahoma’s The Oklahoman and Alabama’s AL.com, have noted the trend. Nevertheless, Texans online appear to proudly own the word.
“If you used the word ‘tumped’ you’re: A) from Texas B) not from Texas and possibly just had a stroke. See a doctor ASAP,” joked the popular Texas Humor Twitter account in 2014.
Musings on the word can be seen in connection with Texas Reddit, including this giant thread of Texas slang words.
In a 2020 Reddit thread, one new Texan asked how long until they could convincingly say “Yeehaw,” to which someone posed a counter-challenge: “The real test is when you can properly use ‘tumped over’ in a sentence.”
We may just never know where tump came from. What’s more, researching tump can be more difficult than it used to be since a certain former president’s last name takes up considerable search engine real estate now.
Finally, if anyone ever laughs at you for using tump, just know this: the word’s even made it into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. So tump away, Texas! | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ | 2023-07-30T01:15:55 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/what-does-tump-mean-and-why-do-texans-say-it/ |
It's the beverage backlash rocking the bluegrass state.
"If you're going to make bourbon, you really need to be in Kentucky, and we want you in Kentucky to do that," said Jack Mazurak said.
Mazurak is the director of governmental and regulatory affairs for the Kentucky Distillers' Association.
The point of contention? The end of a barrel tax.
In March, Governor Andy Beshear signed off on a bill outlining the phasing out of the property tax placed on aging barrels of bourbon in the state.
The phase-out, which will begin in 2026, will see that tax reduced by a few percentage points each year, leading to its full elimination by 2043—a move being applauded by the state's roughly $9 billion bourbon industry.
"From an economic development perspective. When you look at a barrel tax, that's a punishment for growth. That's a punishment for success," Mazurak said.
Mazurak says the annual barrel tax was problematic as the demand for bourbon has been growing, leading distillers to produce and store more aging barrels of bourbon and therefore pay more in taxes.
"Last year, we had 12 million barrels aging in the state and paid $40 million in barrel taxes. So, you know, it went from 9.5 million in 2009, 2014 when things really started taking off, it was about $14 million in barrel taxes we paid. But I mean, just the increments that it was jumping each year was incredible. And it's a growing pain," Mazurak said.
Mazurak says the barrel tax only served as a deterrent for new distillers looking to set up shop in the state.
"If you're a startup, if you want to come to Kentucky and start up a small distillery, that's a major disincentive," Mazurak said. "So, you could go to Tennessee; you could go to Ohio, Indiana. You could go anywhere, right? And start up your distillery and not face these costs."
But while distillers are static about the tax break, counties that are home to distillers are now bracing for a financial hit in the coming years. In a state that's estimated to produce95% of the world's bourbon, that's big money.
SEE MORE: Malört celebrates 90 years: Chicago's bitter liqueur endures
"They feel like they haven't been listened to, like they've been thrown under the bus, like they've been abandoned, like they haven't been supported, like they've been very supportive of this industry. I'm not so sure they're going to be in the future," Pam Thomas said.
Pam Thomas is a senior fellow at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
She says, like anywhere else, property taxes are used to fund local services. In the case of the funds collected from the barrel tax, that money has historically been used to fund schools, emergency services like fire and police, roads, and more in Kentucky.
"The thing about local governments in Kentucky is they do not have a lot of revenue sources. Their biggest revenue source is their property tax," Thomas said. "The thing about local governments in Kentucky is they do not have a lot of revenue sources. Their biggest revenue source is their property tax."
Thomas says overall, many counties are struggling with the bourbon industry's claims that the barrel tax has been a burden on business.
"It's pretty clear, given the growth of the industry, and you can go and look at the press releases from the governor's office, that they're in a boom, that they're in a huge boom, that the boom is already expected to last more than five years. So, the argument that it's making us not competitive, it just really doesn't hold water," Thomas said.
She adds that dropping the tax might end up disconnecting the industry from the communities where it operates as well.
"I just don't think they're going to get the local support that they got before because they do feel like they've been duped. And, you know, I would say that they have," Thomas said.
Thomas says the distillers knew what they were getting into when they opened their doors in Kentucky.
"Every single distillery that's come into Kentucky, and there's like 90 of them now; just a few years ago, there were only 14 or 15. They did a cost-benefit analysis that included the barrel tax, and they decided to come here anyway," Thomas said.
But for Mazurak, there are more important things.
"Bourbon is wonderful to have, the enthusiasm and the tourism, and the demand. But at the end of the day, it's not a grocery item; you know, nobody has to have it. It's not a good tax policy to balance your county budget or to really have it tied in with schools because your kids' education and my kids' education is more important than that," Mazurak said.
Making the bourbon battle a topic of discussion at Kentucky watering holes for years to come.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.abc15.com/the-bourbon-barrel-tax-removal-is-dividing-kentuckians | 2023-07-30T01:15:58 | 1 | https://www.abc15.com/the-bourbon-barrel-tax-removal-is-dividing-kentuckians |
Ready to contribute, Carlos Santana makes Brewers debut Saturday against the Braves
ATLANTA – Batting third and playing first base for the Milwaukee Brewers, Carlos Santana.
The Brewers first trade-deadline acquisition after being sent over from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, Santana arrived at Truist Park on Saturday ahead of the game against the Atlanta Braves with hopes of improving the team’s offense, defense and dance moves.
“Baseball is hard,” said Santana, who hinted that some potential victory celebrations were in the works. “Winning is hard. When you win, do something fun so you want to win again the next day.”
Santana, 37, was already providing a veteran presence in the clubhouse upon his arrival. The Brewers hope he can provide an impact to the lineup, too.
Milwaukee had gotten a slash line of just .212/.272/.340 (average, on-base, slugging) from its first basemen in 2023 at the time of the trade.
Santana is batting .235/.321/.412 with 12 homers and 25 doubles.
Since June 27, he has a .890 OPS and 14 extra-base hits in 25 games.
“It’s a long season, ups and downs,” Santana said. “I’m preparing to play hard every day. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But I never have my head down. All the time, I’m positive and doing the most I can.”
Santana also leads all MLB first basemen with six defensive runs saved and said he takes the craft as seriously as the Brewers do.
“I’m working hard on my defense, preparing every day,” Santana said. “When you’re preparing and helping the team, something positive is going to happen.”
From last place with the Pirates to first with the Brewers, there was no doubt that Santana was taking the move in stride.
“I want to play here,” he said. “I can see when facing them a couple times, the team plays hard. They’re in a great position right now to fight for the playoffs. We’re in first place now. This is what I want.”
Justin Wilson placed on 15-day injured list
Brewers reliever Justin Wilson, who suffered an injury while warming up in the bullpen Friday night, has a significant injury to his left lat area, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Saturday.
Wilson was set to make his first big-league appearance since having Tommy John surgery last summer when he felt something in his penultimate warmup pitch. It prevented him from coming in the game and now may keep him out for the entire season.
"I talked to Justin a little bit today, and the thing that stuck with me from what he said is that he was nervous going into the game last night for 'the first time in I don't know how long,'" Counsell said. "And he's talking about when he was an active big leaguer, too. That's the feeling the players all want, they want that good, nervous feeling. That's the special feeling about going into competition that players all love. To have the plug pulled on it so fast is just awful."
Trevor Megill was recalled from Class AAA in a corresponding move. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2023/07/29/carlos-santana-makes-brewers-debut-following-trade-from-pirates/70485834007/ | 2023-07-30T01:15:59 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2023/07/29/carlos-santana-makes-brewers-debut-following-trade-from-pirates/70485834007/ |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – When Lukas Van Ness was drafted 13th overall by the Packers, players, coaches, and management pointed to his work ethic as a reason for selecting the former Iowa Hawkeye. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur even told the media that although growing pains are expected, he loves that Van Ness is a “worker.”
So, how did the Packers first-rounder develop such a strong mindset?
“It’s something I’ve had since I was little,” said Van Ness, after today’s open-to-the-public training camp. “I was a hockey kid, I’d show up to the rink a couple hours early. A big thing in hockey is you tape your stick before every single practice, so I’d be in there learning different ways to tape my stick, warming up and being the last one out. Hearing the crickets, knowing that you were the last one [means] you put in a good day of work.”
Van Ness constantly relayed his ‘first-in, last-one-out’ mentality as something he’s excited to bring to the Green and Gold each day. The 6’5″ outside linebacker hopes to gain the trust of his teammates and coaches so when he’s out on the field, there’s no doubt he’ll put in the work and do it at the highest level.
Amidst the rookie’s answers, he even gave the media a crash course into the variety of ways he learned to tape a hockey stick.
“You’d be surprised, you can tape the whole stick,” said Van Ness. “You tape the bottom and the top, so some guys have a criss-cross [on the handle] or you go halfway down the stick or a few inches down, versus on the blade, you can do half the blade or the full blade or a criss-cross. You have to wax it. There’s more that goes into it than you think.”
But even possessing all this knowledge, Green Bay’s 13th overall pick knows that football is first and foremost, so any hockey activities will probably be put to the side.
“I think that I’m probably going to stay off skates for a bit,” said Van Ness. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/packers/how-hockey-drives-van-ness-everyday-mentality/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:01 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/packers/how-hockey-drives-van-ness-everyday-mentality/ |
Weeks after catastrophic storms dumped two months of rain in two days over Vermont, causing floods around the state, people continue a long road to recovery.
The reality that rebuilding Vermont will take months as opposed to weeks is sinking in.
More than two weeks ago, Amber Poploski hoped her home would fare better in the torrential rains.
Downpours and flooding made roads in her town of Ripton, Vermont, impassable. She says a firefighter caught her attention, and then...
"I heard a noise, and then I shined my flashlight up. I see the tree coming up. I thought there’s no way I am going to make it out of this," said Poploski.
The Poploskis' home, which was sitting on a hillside, went tumbling down in amudslide as the soil soaked from record rains.
"I ran down the hill, and then I had to wiggle out of whatever I was stuck under," said Poploski.
Miraculously, Poploski escaped serious injury. Her family and three dogs avoided danger too. She’s now nursing an ankle sprain, but she and her husband are dealing with the pain of losing just about everything.
"Every program they’re offering, you have to qualify for FEMA, but we don’t; they offered SBAA loans, but you need to be covered under FEMA," said Poploski.
Even though the Poploskis' home is a total write-off loss and the land is badly damaged, it’s in a county that has a disaster declaration. Their state senator says she’s trying to raise the issue and get them more help.
SEE MORE: Vermont farmers reeling after widespread flooding ruined crops
"Because FEMA determines everything on a county-by-county basis, even people in our county who have had major disasters happen to them have not yet been able to access the FEMA assistance," said State Senator Ruth Hardy.
The lawmaker added that when the state legislatures go back into session, it’s something they will have to examine.
Vermont's Emergency Management agency says more than 4,000 homes were damaged earlier in July, after two months of rain fell in two days, swelling rivers and causing mass floods.
Many in Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, see a long road to recovery ahead.
"I think more people are coming into it, realizing with the time and the silt and category 3 contaminated waste, you gotta properly remove it," said business owner George Estes.
Many don masks in the downtown business district. It’s to guard against the dust from the dried-out silt and black mold festering in flood-damaged dry walls.
Woodbury Mountain Toys is an independent business that is now having to start from scratch. It's selling gift certificates to keep things running.
"We’ve got a lot of support. Working really hard, trying to get it done, we’re hoping for a good holiday season. It would be lovely if we could get open by October, when foliage is at its peak," said Karen Williams, owner of Woodbury Mountain Toys.
Vermont’s fall foliage draws plenty of tourists; businesses hope to recover by then, so people spend too. The Poploskis are hoping they can find solutions to rebuild their dream home.
"We went from having this almost paid off in four years to having to start all over," said Poploski.
The couple Scripps News spoke with is hoping a disaster declaration can include their county so they can get help faster.
In Montpelier, people have been left wondering if a new normal with climate change means they should rebuild their homes and businesses higher.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.abc15.com/vermont-braces-for-months-of-flood-cleanup-and-recovery | 2023-07-30T01:16:04 | 0 | https://www.abc15.com/vermont-braces-for-months-of-flood-cleanup-and-recovery |
Live: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves game, score updates
Curt Hogg
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Brewers take on the Atlanta Braves in the second game of a three-game series Saturday night. Get live updates from Truist Park.
More:Follow here for updates from the game
Brewers lineup
1. Christian Yelich, LF
2. William Contreras, DH
3. Carlos Santana, 1B
4. Sal Frelick, RF
5. Willy Adames, SS
6. Andrew Monasterio, 3B
7. Victor Caratini, C
8. Brice Turang, 2B
9. Joey Wiemer, CF
Starting pitcher
Julio Teheran, 2-4, 3.75 ERA
More:What to know about new Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Carlos Santana
More:Milwaukee Brewers players injury updates for 2023 season: Justin Wilson | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2023/07/29/milwaukee-brewers-vs-atlanta-braves-game-score-updates/70485825007/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:05 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2023/07/29/milwaukee-brewers-vs-atlanta-braves-game-score-updates/70485825007/ |
The Latest Northeast Wisconsin Weather from Storm team 5…
Most of the humidity that we saw this past week was gone today, although dewpoints stuck in the low 60s providing enough moisture to allow a spotty isolated shower to build this afternoon. Any shower activity should be out of here this evening with mostly clear conditions expected tonight and temperatures in upper 50s.
Tomorrow sees high pressure build into the area, keeping us dry with ample amounts of sunshine. Temperatures back in the 80s tomorrow in the afternoon with a comfortable airmass overhead. Overnight, mostly clear with temperatures in the mid 50s.
Pop up shower chances Monday through Wednesday otherwise temperatures in the 80s, sunshine and no humidity. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/weather/sunshine-to-end-off-the-weekend/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:07 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/weather/sunshine-to-end-off-the-weekend/ |
Sam Mayer scores an emotional first NASCAR victory at Road America, his home track
ELKHART LAKE – Sam Mayer of Franklin scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in the Road America 180 in a race that tied a record with eight cautions.
Who is the winner, Sam Mayer?
The 20-year-old came out of karting and legends cars and connected with Chevrolet. That led him to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, where he has raced in the Xfinity Series since becoming eligible after his 18th birthday.
He was coming off a second place last weekend at Pocono Raceway that tied his career best. In his second full season in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, he entered the day ninth in points with five top-fives and 11 top-10s. The year started off in spectacular fashion when his car was overturned while he was fighting for the win at Daytona and sent sliding down the back stretch on his roof.
How did Sam Mayer win the Road America 180
Mayer was fifth for the final restart in overtime with Justin Allgaier, who had dominated, in the lead.
When Allgaier slid wide in Turn 6, Sage Karam moved to the front, and then Mayer pressured him for the lead in Turn 8, where Allgaier and Mayer both ran wide. Oil-drying compound laid down during the preceding red flag made the surface particularly slippery.
Mayer found himself racing Parker Kligerman for second as they went down into Turn 12 but couldn’t get around as Karam built a gap. But then Karam lost traction in 13, leaving Kligerman and Mayer fighting for their first victory.
Kligerman was unable to defend Mayer’s inside pass in Turn 14, and Mayer ran a clean final lap to beat Kligerman to the line by .386 seconds.
The key numbers
Mayer became the 17th driver to win in 17 NASCAR national series races, including 14 in the Xfinity Series.
Eight caution flags tied a race record set in 2013
Allgaier led 42 of the 49 laps but finished 18th.
Pole-sitter AJ Allmendinger led the first five laps but struggled with brakes, got punted off course and ninth. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/29/sam-mayer-wins-nascar-xfinity-series-road-america-180/70486101007/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:11 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/29/sam-mayer-wins-nascar-xfinity-series-road-america-180/70486101007/ |
Rain Doesn’t Come Easy This Upcoming Week
After several rounds of thunderstorms impacted communities around Highway 14 and Highway 18 over the past week, we are returning to another dry stretch with very little in terms of rain chances. Weekend storms in the Dakotas will fizzle out before reaching us and storms in Nebraska will track south of us altogether. | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/rain-doesnt-come-easy-this-upcoming-week/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:23 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/rain-doesnt-come-easy-this-upcoming-week/ |
We Dodged the Strongest Storms
We did have a few storms of our own Friday night around Highway 18. One storm did go severe due to both strong winds and large hail, but the storm got much stronger after moving even further south into Franklin County. A tornado touched down in Franklin County northwest of Iowa Falls. There were also several reports, both in northeast Iowa and east of the Twin Cities, of winds in excess of 60 MPH. We don’t have anything close to this in the forecast this upcoming week. | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/we-dodged-the-strongest-storms/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:29 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/we-dodged-the-strongest-storms/ |
Albert Lea’s Memorial Park hosts a “party” Saturday afternoon, hosted by Hope Church
(ABC 6 News) – Albert Lea’s Memorial Park hosted an event put on by Hope Church for the community to enjoy Saturday afternoon.
The annual event is called “Party in the Park” and organizers say it’s the biggest event of the year for the church.
It started at 4 p.m. and goes until 7 p.m.
The community is invited to attend, with 20 different carnival games, a bounce house, and fun races.
It also has a free dinner provided to attendees along with many prizes. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/albert-leas-memorial-park-hosts-a-party-saturday-afternoon-hosted-by-hope-church/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:35 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/albert-leas-memorial-park-hosts-a-party-saturday-afternoon-hosted-by-hope-church/ |
Peace Plaza filled with “Festival of Colors” Saturday afternoon
(ABC 6 News) – Saturday, Rochester’s Peace Plaza was filled with colors, and many people learned about the different cultures that exist in the area.
The Indian Cultural Association of Minnesota is celebrating its annual “Festival of Colors”.
The organization is inviting people to bring the whole family out to the event to learn more.
Though the festival originally comes from a Hindu holiday known as Holi, it is all about togetherness between all types of people.
The event started at 3:30 p.m. with a 5k run from Soldier’s Field Park and it will continue until 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
There are also numerous vendors selling food, jewelry, clothes, and more.
Kids in the community are also invited to try out the face painting and dancing that is provided.
Around 6:30 p.m. there will be the “flash dance of colors”. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/peace-plaza-filled-with-festival-of-colors-saturday-afternoon/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:42 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/peace-plaza-filled-with-festival-of-colors-saturday-afternoon/ |
4 dead, 2 injured in separate aircraft accidents in Wisconsin, authorities say
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — Two people were killed and two others injured Saturday in a midair collision at an airport in Wisconsin.
A Rotorway 162F helicopter and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyrocopter collided shortly after noon local time at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, authorities said. The aircraft belonged to individuals attending the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention in Oshkosh but were not involved in the air show, a statement from the organization said.
The association, citing the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, said two people were killed and two injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital and were in stable condition.
The association said further information would be released as additional details are confirmed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Separately, a plane earlier Saturday crashed into Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, killing two people, according to the sheriff’s office. The NTSB is also investigating that case, which involved a single-engine North American T-6 aircraft.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:48 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ |
Aaron Judge slugs 442-foot homer in 2nd game back for Yankees from toe injury
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the first time since returning from a toe injury, sending a 442-foot drive over the wall in center field in the third inning against Baltimore on Saturday night.
The two-run shot gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 advantage. Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer in the first.
Judge was hitless since returning Friday, although he drew three walks in that game. He hit a towering flyout in his first plate appearance Saturday. Then he connected off Tyler Wells two innings later.
It was his 20th home run of the season. Judge started in right field Saturday after he was the designated hitter Friday.
Judge had been out since tearing a ligament in his right big toe June 3.
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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/aaron-judge-slugs-442-foot-homer-in-2nd-game-back-for-yankees-from-toe-injury/ | 2023-07-30T01:16:54 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/aaron-judge-slugs-442-foot-homer-in-2nd-game-back-for-yankees-from-toe-injury/ |
Angels OF Taylor Ward taken to hospital for tests after being hit in head by pitch
TORONTO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was taken to a Toronto hospital for tests after being hit in the head by a pitch from Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah in the fifth inning Saturday.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said he planned to visit Ward in the hospital after leaving the stadium following the Angels’ 6-1 loss.
Batting with the bases loaded, Ward was hit by a 2-0 pitch clocked at 91 mph. The ball appeared to strike Ward next to his next left eye, knocking off his batting helmet.
“It got him pretty flush,” Nevin said.
Plate umpire Andy Fletcher motioned to the Angels’ dugout for the trainer as Ward went down with blood running down his face.
“It’s scary,” Angels left-hander Reid Detmers said. “You’re just hoping and praying that he’s all right, that he gets up.”
Angels trainers rushed to the plate and held a towel to Ward’s face. After a couple of minutes, Ward got to his feet and left the field on a cart. His left eye appeared to be swollen shut.
“Obviously it didn’t look very good,” Angels infielder Mike Moustakas said. “Hopefully we get some good news here in a little bit. We’re all praying for him.”
Manoah put his hands on his head as he stood on the mound. It was the second hit batter of the game for Manoah, who hit Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani on the left foot in the first.
Andrew Velazquez ran for Ward, who drove in the first run of the game. Velazquez went to shortstop and Luis Rengifo, who scored on the play, moved to left field in the bottom of the inning.
Asked whether the Angels might visit Ward in hospital, Moustakas said he thought it was better to let his teammate rest.
“I’m sure we’ll all send him some text messages and see how he’s doing, but I don’t know if going over there is a good thing,” Moustakas said. “I don’t think that’s the right thing to do right now. Let him rest and recover, get healthy.”
Before play resumed, Blue Jays manager John Schneider came to the mound and replaced Manoah with left-hander Génesis Cabrera.
After the game, Manoah called it “a terrible moment.”
“That’s probably the worst feeling ever,” Manoah said. “Definitely want to pray for him and his family. That’s the last thing you want to do, no matter the situation, no matter the team, no matter anything. I feel really bad about it. I’ll definitely be looking to see how he’s doing.”
In September 2021, Manoah hit Oakland’s Starling Marte in the helmet with a 92 mph pitch. Marte stayed in the game to run the bases but was later replaced.
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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/angels-of-taylor-ward-taken-to-hospital-for-tests-after-being-hit-in-head-by-pitch/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:00 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/angels-of-taylor-ward-taken-to-hospital-for-tests-after-being-hit-in-head-by-pitch/ |
Cardinals’ Kyler Murray says his knee rehab is going well, but has no timetable for his return
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray’s football career was nearly flawless for the first 25 years of his life: First, he was a Texas high school phenom, then a Heisman Trophy winner, then the No. 1 overall pick for the Arizona Cardinals, then a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
In all those situations, Murray was being compared to other football players.
These days, the competition is with himself.
“This is different,” Murray said. “This is you-on-you. Nobody really knows what you’re going through except for yourself and whoever you’re working out with.”
Murray, who turns 26 on Aug. 7, is working his way back to football relevancy following an underwhelming fourth season that was cut short by a torn ACL in his right knee against the New England Patriots on Dec. 12.
The quarterback acknowledged some tough days after the surgery — nights when it was tough to sleep because of the pain — but said he’s not feeling sorry for himself as he works to get back to the field.
“I get to do what I love every day — play quarterback in the NFL,” Murray said. “Did I get hurt? Yeah. Did I experience something no one wants to experience? Yeah. But it’s nothing for me to get up and work out. I was already doing that before I got hurt.”
Murray’s expected to miss at least a few games of the upcoming season while he continues to recover, and the quarterback watched Saturday’s practice at State Farm Stadium in a gray hooded sweatshirt and long black sleeve over his entire right leg.
His impending return is the hottest topic for the Cardinals during camp, but says he’s not committing to a certain return date.
“I don’t have a timetable,” Murray said.
Murray said he saw Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at a recent UFC event and the two discussed the perils of an ACL injury. Burrow tore the ACL in his left knee during his rookie season in 2020, but returned to play 16 games in 2021.
“I wouldn’t want to go out there and hurt the team or hurt myself,” Murray said. “The advice that I’ve gotten from a lot of people around me is to go when you’re ready. Don’t listen to outside noise. Don’t feel pressure to come back because of this situation or that situation.
“Whenever you’re ready, you’ll know you’re ready.”
Murray has been very good — at times spectacular — for much of his first four seasons. His uncanny scrambling ability has produced several highlight-reel plays and he’s got plenty of arm to make all the throws he needs to make.
The apex of his pro career came in 2021, when the Cardinals started the season with a 10-2 record and looked like a Super Bowl favorite. But the franchise collapsed, losing four of the next five games before getting blown out against the Los Angeles Rams in an embarrassing playoff performance.
With high hopes in 2022, the Cardinals were one of the league’s most disappointing teams, finishing with a 4-13 record. Murray was far from the only reason for those struggles, but also wasn’t blameless, as his performance regressed in several areas.
“It’s not a bad thing to sit back, watch, and try to make this a positive deal,” Murray said. “I feel good. Getting better each and every day, taking one day at a time. Just trying to be there for my teammates and learn as much as possible before I do stuff on the field.”
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill made big changes after last season’s debacle, bringing in a defensive-minded coach in Jonathan Gannon and a new general manager in Monti Ossenfort. The new regime seems just as smitten with Murray as the previous one — Gannon said one major reason he took the Cardinals job was Murray’s presence.
Murray says he’s excited about what the changes can bring.
The Cardinals have a large monetary interest in making things work: Murray signed a $230.5 million, five-year deal before last offseason that keeps him in the desert until 2028.
“It’s been great so far,” Murray said. “We’re actually establishing a run game. I believe we’ll be able to run the ball a lot better, which will only be a weapon for us. Get under center, mix it up, not be as predictable.”
Veteran Colt McCoy is the Cardinals’ most likely quarterback while Murray continues to recover. The 36-year-old has been the team’s backup for the past two seasons and has a 3-3 record in the six games he’s started.
The other current options are David Blough, who played decently in two starts last season, and Clayton Tune, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Houston.
“To me, whoever is available, we’re trying to put the best guy out there to win football games,” Gannon said. “Obviously, Kyler’s not available right now, but we’ve got a lot of guys who are very capable who I’m excited to see play and compete if he’s not ready to go.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/cardinals-kyler-murray-says-his-knee-rehab-is-going-well-but-has-no-timetable-for-his-return/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:06 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/sports/national-sports/cardinals-kyler-murray-says-his-knee-rehab-is-going-well-but-has-no-timetable-for-his-return/ |
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Emmett Till would have turned 82 today. Till was tortured and murdered in Mississippi after a white woman accused the Black 14-year-old of whistling and grabbing at her. Till and his mother's willingness to share the brutality Till suffered marked a pivotal moment in the early Civil Rights Movement. Mamie Till Mobley described her decision in a 2003 interview with The Chicago Project.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MAMIE TILL MOBLEY: Let the people see what I've seen. And I want open casket viewing from now until the time we take Emmett for burial.
KELLY: Now, almost 70 years after Till was beaten, shot, had a cotton gin tied around his body and was thrown in the Tallahatchie River, Till and his mother are being memorialized in the form of three monuments in Chicago and Mississippi. President Biden signed the proclamation designating the sites earlier today. Patrick Weems is the executive director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, Miss. He was at the White House when President Biden put pen to paper. We spoke before he headed to that event.
Patrick Weems, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
PATRICK WEEMS: Thank you, Mary Louise.
KELLY: You've come to D.C. for this event at the White House, and you picked up the Till family en route.
WEEMS: We drove from Chicago to D.C. to be here today, and I couldn't think of a more memorable trip to be here with Wheeler Parker, who's one of the most gracious, forgiving human beings and probably one of the most important people alive.
KELLY: So tell me about the three locations. There are two in Mississippi, one in Illinois. Start with the one that marks the site where Till's body was believed to have been pulled from the Tallahatchie River. What will visitors see there?
WEEMS: Yeah, well, hopefully what they won't see is a bullet-riddled sign. You know, we've had a lot of history of this site being desecrated, being shot up. We were able to put a bulletproof marker there recently in the last couple of years. But more significant is that the site where Till's body came out of the Tallahatchie River will now be a part of the National Park Service system. And to know that it will be federally protected - to make sure that if someone does vandalize our signs, it won't be a local sheriff. It will be the federal government that will get involved. But this is the big bang of the Civil Rights Movement, as Jesse Jackson talked about. This is a site where so many Black bodies were thrown into rivers. But Emmett's miraculously emerged. An 18-year-old fisherman found the body and brought it to the banks of the Tallahatchie River, where his body was initially identified because he had his father's ring on his finger. But then later, Mamie Till made sure the body came to Chicago, where she said, this is my son. I know my son.
KELLY: Yeah. And that's - the site in Illinois is the site where she insisted on an open casket. Describe what we'll see there.
WEEMS: Yeah. So, I mean, public officials wanted to bury Emmett in Mississippi. The sheriff had a directive to make sure the body was buried in Money, Miss. Mamie refused. She wanted to have a very private mourning for her son, first and foremost. But she also took that moment to remember and kind of resist white supremacy, resist the Jim Crow system by having a public funeral, having an open casket to show the world what they did to her son.
KELLY: And then the last location is also in Mississippi, back in Tallahatchie County.
WEEMS: That's right. So the site of the injustice - right? - so the miscarriage of justice took place in our courtroom in 1955. And it's also the site where people like Willie Reed, an 18-year-old sharecropper who witnessed the murder. He testified at the trial, and he whispered his testimony because he was scared to death. He later had a nervous breakdown, changed his name and moved to Chicago and didn't talk about this until 30 years later. And so, you know, it's a low point in American history, the fact that these men get off without any penalty. But it also is a testimony to people like Medgar Evers, Willie Reed, Mose Wright, Mamie Till, Dr. T.R.M. Howard - people who did the right thing that day and had the courage to at least try to get some attempt at justice.
KELLY: You know, I'm thinking about how this monument designation comes as a national conversation is underway about how to teach Black history in our schools. Do you think these monuments might help inform that conversation?
WEEMS: They already are. I mean, this is American history. We have young people visit these sites already. This will only amplify and make it easier for young people to come. It takes the best of us to talk about the worst of us. And if we're going to have a true democracy and multicultural democracy, we have to understand where we've stumbled. And we stumbled badly in 1955. And no matter party affiliation, I think we should all agree that what took place in 1955 was wrong. The system was wrong. Mississippi was wrong. The United States was wrong. But we can be better. It's our hope that this memorial marks a line in the sand that says, never again, and that if we want to hold and cherish our democracy, we need to learn about Mose Wright and Mamie Till.
KELLY: Patrick Weems. Thank you.
WEEMS: Thank you, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. | https://www.apr.org/arts-life/arts-life/2023-07-25/the-journey-for-the-emmett-till-and-mamie-till-mobley-national-monuments | 2023-07-30T01:17:08 | 1 | https://www.apr.org/arts-life/arts-life/2023-07-25/the-journey-for-the-emmett-till-and-mamie-till-mobley-national-monuments |
Of all extreme weather conditions, heat is the most deadly. It kills more people in the U.S. in an average year than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined. The human body has a built-in cooling mechanism – sweat. But that system can only do so much, especially in soaring temperatures with high humidity.
Here's a look at what happens to the human body in extreme temperatures – and the three main pathways to fatal consequences.
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Organ failure caused by heatstroke
When the surrounding temperatures approach your internal body temperature – which is about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit for most of us – your body starts to cool off through evaporative cooling, better known as sweating. But when it's very humid out, that sweat won't evaporate as well and cool you down.
When your body is exposed to heat, it will try to cool itself down by redirecting more blood to the skin, says Ollie Jay, a professor of heat and health at the University of Sydney, where he directs the Heat and Health Research Incubator. But that means less blood and less oxygen are going to your gut. If these conditions go on long enough, your gut can become more permeable.
"So, nasty things like endotoxins that usually reside and stay inside the gut start leaking out of the gut, entering the circulation. And that sets off a cascade of effects that ultimately result in death," Jay says.
For example, those toxins can activate white blood cells, says Camilo Mora, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who has researched how heat can turn fatal. "They say, Oh my God, we're getting attacked right now. And the white blood cells are going to attack this contamination in the blood, creating coagulation" – or blood clots, Mora says. Those clots can lead to multiple organ failure.
"And at that point, it's pretty irreversible," Jay adds.
Cardiovascular collapse
The second way people die in high heat also has to do with your body pumping more blood to the skin. Your heart has to pump faster – which can make you feel lightheaded – to keep your blood pressure up.
"We might have a heart rate of 60 beats per minute, all of a sudden, we might be asking the heart to contract 100 times per minute, 110 times per minute. So now you're asking the heart to do a lot more work," Jay says.
Those spikes in the heart rate can be triggers for a heart attack, he says, especially for the elderly and those with underlying heart conditions.
Fluid loss leading to kidney failure
The third deadly danger has to do with the fluids your body is losing in extreme heat. People can sweat as much as a liter and half per hour, Jay says. And if you don't replenish those fluids, you get dehydrated and your blood volume shrinks, which makes it harder to maintain blood pressure. That can strain your heart and your kidneys.
"People with kidney disorders can be at greater risk of a negative health outcome during extreme heat exposure," Jay says.
Mora notes another danger to the kidneys that people who work physically demanding jobs in high heat outdoors face. Rhabdomyolysis causes muscle tissue to break down, releasing proteins into the blood that can clog kidneys. This usually occurs in the acute phase of heatstroke. Jay says there's also some evidence that habitually working outdoors in high heat without proper hydration can increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.
What you can do to stay safe
Watch for the first signs of mild heat exhaustion:
If that happens, Jay says, get out of the heat and into the shade or indoors ASAP. Drink plenty of water and wet your clothes and skin. Immersing your feet in cold water can also help.
Jay says the goal is to cool down so you don't progress to severe heat exhaustion, where you might start vomiting or seem to lose coordination – signs of neurological disturbance.
If your core body temperature rises to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, Jay says, that's where you risk heatstroke.
How hot is too hot?
Experts say there's no absolute temperature at which extreme heat can turn dangerous.
"It depends on the individual," says Lewis Halsey, a professor of environmental physiology at the University of Roehampton in the U.K. "It depends on how acclimated they are to heat. It depends how long they're exposed to the heat for. It depends on how they're experiencing this heat."
If sweating is our superpower to keep cool, then "the kryptonite to that superpower is humidity," Halsey says.
So a person might start feeling overwhelmed much sooner in higher humidity at lower temperatures than if they're in dry heat, he says. Direct sunlight will heat us up faster than when we're in the shade. A nice breeze could help sweat evaporate and cool us off.
The elderly and very young are considered particularly vulnerable in the heat. But Mora of the University of Hawaii at Manoa notes heat stress can hit anyone.
He points to the story of a young family who died after becoming dangerously overheated while hiking on a day in August 2021 when temperatures reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit in Northern California. The husband, wife, their one-year-old daughter and even the family dog were found dead two days later.
Mora says those kinds of conditions could kill within a few hours — even if you are young and healthy.
"The military has done a lot of research into heat exposure and they find the first symptoms of heat exhaustion, heatstroke after only a few hours, even among the healthiest of people," Mora says.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/science-health/science-health/2023-07-23/how-heat-kills-what-happens-to-the-body-in-extreme-temperatures | 2023-07-30T01:17:20 | 0 | https://www.apr.org/science-health/science-health/2023-07-23/how-heat-kills-what-happens-to-the-body-in-extreme-temperatures |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Racing will resume at Churchill Downs in September, with no changes being made after a review of surfaces and safety protocols in the wake of 12 horse deaths, including seven in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby in May.
The Louisville track suspended racing operations on June 7 and moved the rest of its spring meet to Ellis Park in western Kentucky at the recommendation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the sport’s national overseer.
Training continued at Churchill Downs during the track’s investigation.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” and said the review “didn’t find anything fundamentally wrong or different about our track from previous years.”
“That, in a sense, can sometimes be unsatisfying,” he said. “But that’s business, and that’s sports.”
Two of the horse deaths occurred in undercard races on Derby day. Another five died later.
“The takeaway is, the track is very safe,” Carstanjen said Thursday on an earnings call with CDI investors.
“What we needed to do was spend some of this time in the interim, while we ran the rest of the (spring) meet at Ellis to just go soup to nuts through every single thing we do at the racetrack. There was nothing that jumped out as an apparent cause of the injuries, of the breakdowns; and, as we went through and rebuilt our processes from the ground up to check everything that we do to make extra sure, we didn’t find anything material.”
The track’s fall meet begins Sept. 14 and runs through Oct. 1.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/ap-churchill-downs-to-resume-racing-at-fall-meet-with-no-changes-after-horse-deaths/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:25 | 1 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/ap-churchill-downs-to-resume-racing-at-fall-meet-with-no-changes-after-horse-deaths/ |
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:25 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
CHICAGO (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters.
None of these claims was true, but they scorched through social media sites that advocates say have fueled election misinformation in communities of color.
As the 2024 election approaches, community organizations are preparing for what they expect to be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting communities of color and immigrant communities. They say the tailored campaigns challenge assumptions of what kinds of voters are susceptible to election conspiracies and distrust in voting systems.
“They’re getting more complex, more sophisticated and spreading like wildfire,” said Sarah Shah, director of policy and community engagement at the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org. “ What we saw in 2020, unfortunately, will probably be fairly mild in comparison to what we will see in the months leading up to 2024.”
A growing subset of communities of color, especially immigrants for whom English is not their first language, are questioning the integrity of U.S. voting processes and subscribing to Trump’s lies of a stolen 2020 election, said Jenny Liu, mis/disinformation policy manager at the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Still, she said these communities are largely left out of conversations about misinformation.
“When you think of the typical consumer of a conspiracy theory, you think of someone who’s older, maybe from a rural area, maybe a white man,” she said. “You don’t think of Chinese Americans scrolling through WeChat. That’s why this narrative glosses over and erases a lot of the disinformation harms that many communities of colors face.”
In addition to general misinformation themes about voting machines and mail-in voting, groups are catering their messaging to communities of color, experts say.
For example, immigrants from authoritarian regimes in countries like Venezuela or who have lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution may be “more vulnerable to misinformation claiming politicians are wanting to turn the U.S. into a Socialist state,” said Inga Trauthig, head of research for the Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. People from countries that have not recently had free and fair elections may have a preexisting distrust of elections and authority that may make them vulnerable to misinformation as well, Trauthig said.
Disinformation efforts often hinge on topics most important to each community, whether that is public safety, immigration, abortion, education, inflation or alleged extramarital affairs, said Laura Zommer, co-founder of the Spanish-language fact-checking group Factchequeado.
“It takes advantage of their very real fear and trauma from their experiences in their home countries,” Zommer said.
Other vulnerabilities include language barriers and a lack of knowledge of the U.S. media landscape and how to find credible U.S. news sources, several misinformation experts told The Associated Press. Many immigrants rely on translated content for voting information, leaving space for bad actors to inject misinformation.
“These tactics exploit information vacuums when there’s a lot of uncertainty around how these processes work, especially because a lot of election materials may not be translated in the languages our communities speak or be available in forms they are likely to access,” said Clara Jiménez Cruz, another co-founder of Factchequeado.
Misinformation can also arise from mistranslations. The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found examples of mistranslations in Colombian, Cuban and Venezuelan WhatsApp groups, where “progressive” was translated to “progresista,” which carries “far-left connotations that are closer to the Spanish words ‘socialista’ and ‘comunista.’”
Disinformation, often in languages like Spanish, Mandarin or Hindi, flows onto social media apps like WhatsApp and WeChat heavily used by communities of color.
Minority communities that believe their views and perspectives aren’t represented by the mainstream are likely to “retreat into more private spaces” found on messaging apps or groups on social media sites like Facebook, Trauthig said.
“But disinformation also targets them on these platforms, even though it may feel to them to be that safer space,” she said.
Messages on WhatsApp are also encrypted and can’t be easily seen or traced by moderators or fact-checkers.
“As a result, messages on apps like WhatsApp often fly under the radar and are allowed to spread and spread, largely unchecked,” said Randy Abreu, policy counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which leads the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition.
Abreu also raised concerns about Spanish YouTube channels and radio shows that are growing in popularity. He said the coalition is tracking more and more YouTube and radio personalities who are spreading misinformation in Spanish.
A 2022 report by the left-leaning watchdog group Media Matters tracked 40 Spanish-language YouTube videos spreading misinformation about U.S. elections. Many of these videos remained on the platform, despite violating YouTube election misinformation policy, the report said.
Amid changes in voting policies at state and local levels, advocates are sounding the alarm on how disinformation about voting in 2024 may target communities of color. Many of these efforts have surged as Asian American, Black and Latino communities have grown in political power, said María Teresa Kumar, founding president of the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino.
“Disinformation is, at its core, meant to be a sort of voter suppression tactic for communities of color,” she said. “It targets communities of color in a way that feeds into their already justifiable concerns that the system is stacked against them.”
The tactics also feed into a history “as old as the Jim Crow era of attempting to disenfranchise people of color, going back to voter intimidation and suppression efforts after the Civil Rights Act of 1866,” said Atiba Ellis, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
While many of the same recycled claims around alleged fraud in the 2020 and 2022 elections are expected to resurface, experts say disinformation campaigns will likely be more sophisticated and granular in attempts to target specific groups of voters of color.
Trauthig also raised concerns about how layoffs and instability at social media platforms like Twitter may leave them less prepared to tackle misinformation in 2024. It also remains to be seen how new social media platforms like Threads will approach the threat of misinformation. Changes in policies like WhatsApp launching a “Communities” function connecting multiple groups and expanding group chat sizes may also “have big implications for how quickly misinformation will spread on the platform,” she said.
In response to the mounting threat of misinformation, Indian American Impact is ramping up its fact-checking efforts through what the organization says is the first fact-checking website specifically for South Asian Americans. Shah said the group is drawing inspiration from 2022 projects, including a voting toolkit using memes with Bollywood characters and passing out Parle-G crackers with voting information stickers at Indian grocery stores.
Cruz of Factchequeado is paying close attention to misinformation in swing states with significant Latino populations like Nevada and Arizona. And Liu of Asian Americans Advancing Justice is reviewing misinformation trends from previous elections to strategize about how to inoculate Asian American voters against them.
Still, they say there is more work to be done.
Critics are urging social media companies to invest in content moderation and fact-checking in languages other than English. Government and election officials should also make voting information more accessible to non-English speakers, organize media literacy trainings in community spaces and identify “trusted messengers” in communities of color to help approach trends in misinformation narratives, experts said.
“These are not monolithic groups,” Cruz said. “This disinformation is very specifically tailored to each of these communities and their fears. So we also need to be partnering with grassroots organizations in each of these communities to tailor our approaches. If we don’t take the time to do this work, our democracy is at stake.”
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/ap-election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:31 | 0 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/ap-election-disinformation-campaigns-targeted-voters-of-color-in-2020-experts-expect-2024-to-be-worse/ |
Police: Man breaks into Pearl business using a rock, steals beauty supply products
Published: Jul. 29, 2023 at 8:03 PM CDT|Updated: 12 minutes ago
PEARL, Miss. (WLBT) - Police in Pearl are asking for your help identifying a burglary suspect.
Authorities say a man used a rock to break a glass window and steal beauty supply products from the Beauty Star and More off of Highway 80 behind Kroger.
He drove off in a silver Toyota Camry.
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Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/30/police-man-breaks-into-pearl-business-using-rock-steals-beauty-supply-products/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:32 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/30/police-man-breaks-into-pearl-business-using-rock-steals-beauty-supply-products/ |
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region in the first-ever visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation.
As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri Lanka, France had pledged cooperation in debt restructuring to help the island nation recover from its economic crisis.
Macron arrived in Sri Lanka Friday night, following his trip to the South Pacific region, to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Sri Lanka’s president’s office said.
Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised France’s significant role in global affairs, particularly in areas such as climate mitigation, global debt restructuring, and matters related to the Indo-Pacific region, the statement said.
“Sri Lanka and France are two Indian Ocean nations that share the same goal: an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In Colombo we confirmed it: strengthened by 75 years of diplomatic relations, we can open a new era of our partnership,” Macron said in a Twitter message after the meeting. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:37 | 0 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-french-president-macron-visits-his-counterpart-in-sri-lanka/ |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: J.J. Spaun
After the third round of the 3M Open, J.J. Spaun is in 27th place at -8.
Looking to bet on J.J. Spaun at the 3M Open this week? Read on for the statistics you need to know before you make your picks.
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J.J. Spaun Insights
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished better than par on 12 occasions, while also shooting three bogey-free rounds and 15 rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has carded a top-five score in one of his last 18 rounds, while ranking among the top 10 scores of the day twice.
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished within five strokes of the top score for the day eight times.
- Spaun has finished in the top 10 once in his past five events.
- He has qualified for the weekend in four of his past five appearances.
- Spaun has finished with a score better than the tournament average in three of his past five events, including one finish within three shots of the leader.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Spaun finished 66th in his only finish at this event in three visits.
- In his past three appearances at this tournament, he has made the cut once.
- The Tour has played courses with an average length of 7,017 yards in the past year, while TPC Twin Cities is set for a longer 7,431 yards.
- TPC Twin Cities has seen an average tournament score of -8 recently, which is lower than the Tour scoring average of -5 on all courses in the past year.
- The average course Spaun has played i the last year (7,308 yards) is 123 yards shorter than the course he'll be playing this week (7,431).
- The tournaments he has played in the past year have seen an average score of -5. That's higher than this course's recent scoring average of -8.
Spaun's Last Time Out
- Spaun finished in the 30th percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at the Barracuda Championship, with an average of 3.13 strokes.
- He averaged 3.84 strokes on par-4 holes (of which there were 44) at the Barracuda Championship, which was good enough to place him in the 90th percentile among all competitors on par 4s (the tournament average was 3.97).
- Spaun was better than 88% of the golfers at the Barracuda Championship on par-5 holes, averaging 4.25 strokes per hole, compared to the field average of 4.53.
- Spaun carded a birdie or better on one of 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, worse than the field average of 1.6.
- On the 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, Spaun carded three bogeys or worse (more than the field average of 2.2).
- Spaun had more birdies or better (11) than the field average of 6.4 on the 44 par-4s at the Barracuda Championship.
- In that most recent tournament, Spaun's showing on the 44 par-4s included a bogey or worse three times (the field's average was worse, at 5.6).
- Spaun finished the Barracuda Championship recording a birdie or better on nine par-5 holes, while the field averaged 4.3 on the 12 par-5s.
- The field at the Barracuda Championship averaged 0.7 bogeys or worse on the 12 par-5s, but Spaun finished without one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Spaun Odds to Win: +3300 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Spaun's performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: JT Poston
The 3M Open is entering the final round, and JT Poston is currently in second with a score of -15.
Looking to place a bet on JT Poston at the 3M Open this week? Keep reading for the betting trends you need to know before you make your picks.
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JT Poston Insights
- Poston has finished below par on nine occasions, completed his day bogey-free three times and finished 13 rounds with a better-than-average score over his last 16 rounds played.
- He has recorded one of the five best scores in two of his last 16 rounds played.
- Over his last 16 rounds, Poston has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round twice, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on five occasions.
- Poston has finished in the top 10 twice in his past five tournaments.
- Looking at the past five tournaments he has entered, he made the cut three times.
- In his past five events, Poston has finished within five shots of the leader once. He posted a score that was better than average twice.
- Poston hopes to qualify for the weekend for the fourth straight time.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Poston has one top-20 finish in his past two appearances at this tournament. His average finishing position has been 20th.
- Poston made the cut in each of his last two attempts at this event.
- At 7,431 yards, TPC Twin Cities is set up as a par-71 for this event. In the past year, tournaments on the Tour have been played on courses with a shorter average distance of 7,017 yards.
- Golfers at TPC Twin Cities have averaged a score of -8 per tournament, lower than the Tour-wide scoring average of -5 in the past year.
- The average course Poston has played in the past year has been 140 yards shorter than the 7,431 yards TPC Twin Cities will be at for this event.
- Events he has played in the past year have seen players average a score of -5. That is higher than this course, which has a scoring average of -8.
Poston's Last Time Out
- Poston finished in the 62nd percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at The Open Championship, with an average of 3.06 strokes.
- He averaged 4.09 strokes on par-4 holes (of which there were 44) at The Open Championship, which was strong enough to place him in the 72nd percentile of the field on par 4s (the tournament average was 4.18).
- On the 12 par-5 holes at The Open Championship, Poston was better than 50% of the field (averaging 4.75 strokes).
- Poston shot worse on par 3s than the field his last time out, carding a birdie or better on one of 16 par-3s at The Open Championship (the other golfers averaged 1.3).
- On the 16 par-3s at The Open Championship, Poston had two bogeys or worse (less than the field average of 2.3).
- Poston recorded more birdies or better (six) than the tournament average of 3.4 on the 44 par-4s at The Open Championship.
- At that last tournament, Poston posted a bogey or worse on nine of 44 par-4s (the field averaged 8.1).
- Poston ended The Open Championship bettering the field's average of birdies or better on par-5s (3.4) with four on the 12 par-5 holes.
- On the 12 par-5s at The Open Championship, Poston outperformed the tournament average of 1.2 bogeys or worse on those holes by carding one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Poston Odds to Win: +650 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Poston's performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late Friday night after bringing heavy winds and rain that left more than a million people without power in southern China.
After making landfall Friday morning in southern Fujian province, where at least 400,000 people were evacuated, the storm flooded streets and toppled electric transmission towers in the province. Over a million households were left without power, according to the state-backed Xiamen Evening News.
The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm at 11 p.m. Friday night, China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV announced.
Businesses and summer school classes had been ordered suspended and the public was urged to stay indoors. In the city of Quanzhou by China’s southern coast, authorities reported some 50 individuals sustained minor injuries. Residents shared photos on social media showing downed trees with roots fully out of the ground Saturday morning.
The tropical storm is expected to move its way farther inland in China, bringing heavy rains to the capital, Beijing.
Earlier in the week, the storm grazed past Taiwan’s main island after hitting the Philippines ‘ main island of Luzon, where it produced landslides, flooding and downed trees. The storm displaced thousands and caused 41 deaths — including 27 killed in the capsizing of a passenger ship. About 20 others remained missing, including four coast guard personnel whose boat overturned while on a rescue mission in hard-hit Cagayan province, officials said Saturday, adding that they were monitoring another approaching storm. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:45 | 0 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-typhoon-doksuri-is-downgraded-to-tropical-storm-status-as-it-leaves-southern-china/ |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: Lee Hodges
The 3M Open is nearing the end, and following the third round Lee Hodges is in first place with a score of -20.
Looking to bet on Lee Hodges at the 3M Open this week? Read on for the betting odds and stats you need to know before you make your picks.
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Lee Hodges Insights
- Over his last 13 rounds, Hodges has shot better than par on 10 occasions, while also shooting three bogey-free rounds and eight rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has finished with the best score of the day in one of his last 13 rounds, while scoring among the top five in three rounds and the top 10 on four occasions.
- Over his last 13 rounds, Hodges has finished within three strokes of the best score of the round three times, and within five strokes of the top score of the day on five occasions.
- Hodges has won one of his past five tournaments.
- The past five times he has played a tournament, he's made the cut twice.
- Hodges has finished within three shots of the leader in one of his past five tournaments. During that same span, he's posted a better-than-average score twice.
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Hodges has one win in his past two starts at this event. His average finish has been ninth.
- In his most recent two attempts at this event, he's made the cut every time.
- Hodges finished atop the leaderboard at this event back in 2023.
- The Tour has played courses with an average length of 7,019 yards in the past year, while TPC Twin Cities is set for a longer 7,431 yards.
- Hodges will take to the 7,431-yard course this week at TPC Twin Cities after having played courses with an average length of 7,306 yards in the past year.
Hodges' Last Time Out
- Hodges was relatively mediocre on the eight par-3 holes at The Open Championship, averaging 3.13 strokes to finish in the 41st percentile of competitors.
- His 4.55-stroke average on the 22 par-4 holes at The Open Championship ranked in the second percentile of the field (the tournament average was 4.18).
- Hodges was better than 57% of the competitors at The Open Championship on par-5 holes, averaging 4.67 strokes per hole compared to the field average of 4.78.
- Hodges failed to card a birdie on any of the eight par-3s at The Open Championship (the field averaged 1.3).
- On the eight par-3s at The Open Championship, Hodges recorded one bogey or worse (less than the field average of 2.3).
- Hodges failed to record a birdie or better on any of the 22 par-4s at The Open Championship. The tournament average was 3.4.
- At that most recent outing, Hodges' showing on the 22 par-4s included a bogey or worse 12 times (compared to the field's better average, 8.1).
- Hodges ended The Open Championship underperforming compared to the tournament average of birdies or better on par-5s (3.4), with three on the six par-5 holes.
- On the six par-5s at The Open Championship, Hodges outperformed the field's average of 1.2 bogeys or worse on those holes by recording one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Hodges Odds to Win: -350 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Hodges' performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-3m-open-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:52 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/lee-hodges-3m-open-pga-odds/ |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and West Africa.
He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver aid to everyone in need, but it was aiming for between $10 billion and $14 billion, which was what the agency had received in the past few years.
“We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Skau said.
He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 (being) even more dire.”
“The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”
Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting disasters, persistent food price inflation and mounting debt stress — all during a slowdown in the global economy.
WFP is looking to diversify its funding base, but he also urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”
Asked why funding was drying up, Skau said to ask the donors.
“But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, (are) not where they were in 2021-2022,” he said.
Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said. In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and in June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.
In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”
“Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Skau said.
He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-tern solutions to conflicts, poverty, development and other root causes of the current crisis. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:52 | 1 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/international/ap-un-says-its-forced-to-cut-food-aid-to-millions-globally-because-of-a-funding-crisis/ |
CANMORE, Alberta (AP) — Canadian police said Saturday six people have died in a small plane crash west of Calgary in the province of Alberta.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the plane with a pilot and five passengers aboard took off from Springbank Airport, just west of the city, on Friday night and was headed for Salmon Arm, British Columbia.
It was reported overdue by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario, and police say the center contacted them about the plane at 1 a.m. Saturday.
Police say a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules plane was dispatched to search for the missing aircraft and searchers located it on Mount Bogart, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Calgary, by honing in on an emergency locator transmitter.
The Hercules crew and Alberta Parks Mountain Rescue responders who were also dispatched to the scene confirmed there were no survivors.
A Transportation Safety Board spokesman says the aircraft was a single-engine Piper PA-32, and the board is investigating the crash. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/canadian-police-say-6-people-have-been-killed-in-a-small-plane-crash/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-30T01:17:56 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/canadian-police-say-6-people-have-been-killed-in-a-small-plane-crash/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:56 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a stunning new allegation in an already serious case: Former President Donald Trump sought to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The latest criminal charges unsealed Thursday deepen Trump’s legal jeopardy, alleging a more central role for the former president than previously known in a cover-up that prosecutors say was meant to prevent them from recovering top-secret documents he took with him after he left the White House. Coming as Trump braces for possible additional indictments related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the new allegations strengthen special counsel Jack Smith’s already powerful case against Trump while undercutting potential defenses floated by the former president, experts say.
“Before these new charges, you could maybe try some sort of defense that ‘this was all a mistake, it was my staff’ or confusion about what documents he actually had,” said former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor.
“But especially now, when you’re trying to destroy video footage,” he added, “that’s kind of the final nail in the coffin. I don’t see much in the way of a defense, not a real defense. All he can do is claim he’s being persecuted and hope for a holdout juror or something.”
Trump resorted to that familiar playbook on Friday, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform that “this is textbook Third World intimidation by rabid, lawless prosecutors.” He insisted during an interview with radio host John Fredericks that he did nothing wrong and accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate his staff into making up lies about him.
Later Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to prosecutors. Trump said he was told they were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
The new Florida charges came as a surprise given that Trump and his legal team have been focused on the prospect of an additional indictment in Washington — possibly within days — related to his efforts to cling to power after he lost to President Joe Biden. Trump received a letter this month informing him that he’s a target in that probe, and his lawyers met Thursday with special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Hours after that meeting, Smith revealed the new classified documents case charges on top of a 38-count indictment issued last month against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta. The updated indictment includes a detailed chronology of phone conversations and other interactions between Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, in the days after the Justice Department last June drafted a subpoena for security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.
Video from the home would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in an effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
The day after a draft subpoena was sent to the Trump Organization, the indictment says, Trump called De Oliveira and spoke with him for about 24 minutes. Though the details of that conversation are not included in the indictment, De Oliveira is described by prosecutors as asking a Mar-a-Lago information technology staffer several days later how long the server retained footage for and is quoted as telling the employee that “the boss” wanted it deleted.
Lawyers for Nauta, who has pleaded not guilty, and De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations. De Oliveira is expected to make his first court appearance in Miami on Monday.
To the extent that evidence of Trump’s involvement in trying to delete video is circumstantial rather than direct, it might present a challenge for prosecutors, said David Aaron, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor who has worked on cases involving the mishandling of classified documents.
But if they can tie the effort to Trump, he added, “it’s devastating in its own right, because it doesn’t matter at that point what he thought he had the right to do, or whatever other defense he’s going to have about the classified documents. That’s in and of itself very bad.”
It could also help prosecutors establish that Trump knew what he was doing was wrong because “you only delete video of what you’ve done if you think it’s going to get you in trouble,” Aaron said. And Trump’s own accusations against others, like his claims against Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential race, could boomerang against him.
Trump has claimed that Clinton deleted emails from her private server for the purpose of obstructing a criminal investigation into her own handling of classified information — something the FBI and Justice Department never alleged — but now stands himself accused of scheming to delete evidence he feared would be incriminating.
“He has specifically criticized other public figures for deleting data when he says they thought they were going to be in trouble,” Aaron said. “So if you needed to prove his consciousness of guilt, it’s not just an obvious thing that you would ask the jury to rely on common sense for — he’s actually made statements about what it means when someone does this.”
Trump and Nauta are set for trial next May, though it’s not clear if that date will hold.
Smith’s team also added a new count of willful retention of national defense information related to a classified document about a Pentagon plan of attack on a foreign country prosecutors say Trump showed off during a July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort.
That charge comes after Trump repeatedly claimed he didn’t have any secret documents when he spoke, only magazine and newspaper clippings, even though an audio recording captured him saying “this is secret information.” The document was returned to the government in January 2022, months before the subpoena for classified records.
It’s not clear why prosecutors moved now to indict another one of Trump’s underlings, though bringing charges against De Oliveira that could carry significant prison time adds serious pressure on him, potentially increasing the odds that he could decide to cut a plea deal and cooperate.
“But, you know, Trump seems to inspire a lot of loyalty, at least in some people,” Eliason said. “Maybe they are holding out for the idea that he is reelected and he can pardon them.”
____
Richer reported from Boston. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ | 2023-07-30T01:17:59 | 1 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-fresh-charges-tie-trump-even-more-closely-to-coverup-effort-that-could-deepen-his-legal-woes/ |
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — Two people were killed and two others injured Saturday in a midair collision at an airport in Wisconsin.
A Rotorway 162F helicopter and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyrocopter collided shortly after noon local time at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, authorities said. The aircraft belonged to individuals attending the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention in Oshkosh but were not involved in the air show, a statement from the organization said.
The association, citing the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, said two people were killed and two injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital and were in stable condition.
The association said further information would be released as additional details are confirmed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Separately, a plane earlier Saturday crashed into Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, killing two people, according to the sheriff’s office. The NTSB is also investigating that case, which involved a single-engine North American T-6 aircraft. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-30T01:18:02 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
The 2023 3M Open Odds & Preview: J.J. Spaun
After the third round of the 3M Open, J.J. Spaun is in 27th place at -8.
Looking to bet on J.J. Spaun at the 3M Open this week? Read on for the statistics you need to know before you make your picks.
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J.J. Spaun Insights
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished better than par on 12 occasions, while also shooting three bogey-free rounds and 15 rounds with a better-than-average score.
- He has carded a top-five score in one of his last 18 rounds, while ranking among the top 10 scores of the day twice.
- Over his last 18 rounds, Spaun has finished within five strokes of the top score for the day eight times.
- Spaun has finished in the top 10 once in his past five events.
- He has qualified for the weekend in four of his past five appearances.
- Spaun has finished with a score better than the tournament average in three of his past five events, including one finish within three shots of the leader.
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Over the last year
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3M Open Insights and Stats
- Spaun finished 66th in his only finish at this event in three visits.
- In his past three appearances at this tournament, he has made the cut once.
- The Tour has played courses with an average length of 7,017 yards in the past year, while TPC Twin Cities is set for a longer 7,431 yards.
- TPC Twin Cities has seen an average tournament score of -8 recently, which is lower than the Tour scoring average of -5 on all courses in the past year.
- The average course Spaun has played i the last year (7,308 yards) is 123 yards shorter than the course he'll be playing this week (7,431).
- The tournaments he has played in the past year have seen an average score of -5. That's higher than this course's recent scoring average of -8.
Spaun's Last Time Out
- Spaun finished in the 30th percentile on the 16 par-3 holes at the Barracuda Championship, with an average of 3.13 strokes.
- He averaged 3.84 strokes on par-4 holes (of which there were 44) at the Barracuda Championship, which was good enough to place him in the 90th percentile among all competitors on par 4s (the tournament average was 3.97).
- Spaun was better than 88% of the golfers at the Barracuda Championship on par-5 holes, averaging 4.25 strokes per hole, compared to the field average of 4.53.
- Spaun carded a birdie or better on one of 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, worse than the field average of 1.6.
- On the 16 par-3s at the Barracuda Championship, Spaun carded three bogeys or worse (more than the field average of 2.2).
- Spaun had more birdies or better (11) than the field average of 6.4 on the 44 par-4s at the Barracuda Championship.
- In that most recent tournament, Spaun's showing on the 44 par-4s included a bogey or worse three times (the field's average was worse, at 5.6).
- Spaun finished the Barracuda Championship recording a birdie or better on nine par-5 holes, while the field averaged 4.3 on the 12 par-5s.
- The field at the Barracuda Championship averaged 0.7 bogeys or worse on the 12 par-5s, but Spaun finished without one.
3M Open Time and Date Info
- Date: July 27-30, 2023
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota
- Par: 71 / 7,431 yards
- Spaun Odds to Win: +3300 (Bet now with BetMGM!)
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All statistics in this article reflect Spaun's performance prior to the 2023 3M Open.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/j-j-spaun-3m-open-pga-odds/ | 2023-07-30T01:18:03 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/29/j-j-spaun-3m-open-pga-odds/ |
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.kron4.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ | 2023-07-30T01:18:03 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-after-an-attack-on-salman-rushdie-the-chautauqua-institution-says-its-mission-wont-change/ |
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The troubled brother of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez was charged Friday, now in federal court, with new counts of threatening and stalking after authorities say he threatened to shoot up the University of Connecticut and kill three people in another state.
Dennis Hernandez was ordered to be held in custody after his appearance in the court in Hartford. A message seeking comment was sent Friday night to his attorney.
The new charges came days after it emerged that Hernandez was arrested July 18 on state charges after police said he threatened to kill officers and then urged them to shoot him at his home in Bristol. Officers had gone there after two people close to him raised concerns about his mental health, police said.
The arrest report said the 37-year-old had sent threatening messages, including ones about carrying out a shooting at UConn. He was a Huskies quarterback and wide receiver who went by DJ Hernandez in the mid-2000s.
Court filings in the new federal case include the same messages. Some say the writer is struggling financially, is frustrated at seeing other people get hired as coaches, feels owed by UConn, is planning on “taking down everything” and doesn’t care “who gets caught in the crossfire.”
“I’ve died for years now and now its others peoples turn,” read a July 7 message sent to a woman in Hernandez’s life. It followed a message the day before that warned: “UConn’s gonna see how accurate I am too with my targets.”
Hernandez told another person that he drove July 7 to UConn’s campus in Storrs and to Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he coached quarterbacks during the 2010-11 season, according to court papers.
He had been due in state court that day on another case stemming from allegations that he threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto ESPN’s property in Bristol.
UConn police confirmed that a vehicle linked to Hernandez was on campus that day. Brown has said that its investigation didn’t indicate Hernandez had been on campus in recent weeks.
Hernandez is due back in state court Tuesday and in federal court Aug. 11.
His younger brother, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, killed himself in 2017 while serving a murder sentence. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/sports/ap-aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ | 2023-07-30T01:18:05 | 0 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/sports/ap-aaron-hernandezs-brother-now-facing-federal-charges-over-alleged-threatening-messages/ |