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Much more comfortable air on the way
Meteorologist Jordan Smith has a look at your Saturday evening forecast!
Good Saturday evening everyone, it has been a day filled with more heat, humidity, and storms. But much better weather is in the forecast for the next few days as that is the top of todays weather headlines.
Temperatures on Sunday are still hot with upper 80s to near 90, but it’s an improvement from the last several days and the humidity will be MUCH lower. Skies will also be mostly sunny.
Monday – Wednesday is pretty close to perfect across Kentucky with each day featuring temperatures into the low to mid 80s, low humidity, and mostly sunny skies. Get outside and enjoy!
Our muggy meter shows the lower humidity through Wednesday but then it starts to increase again Thursday through the upcoming weekend.
That increase in humidity will also lead to an increase in storms as additional rounds of storms look likely Thursday – Saturday. It is not going to rain that entire time frame ands there will likely be more dry hours than wet, but we will need to watch for some stronger storms and heavy rain.
Stay with the ABC 36 Storm Team on-air and online for updates. But in the mean time enjoy the next several days.
Back here in the short term:
TONIGHT:
SUNDAY: | https://www.wtvq.com/much-more-comfortable-air-on-the-way/ | 2023-07-30T11:44:24 | 0 | https://www.wtvq.com/much-more-comfortable-air-on-the-way/ |
Non-profit gives out dozens of backpacks through annual Friendship Fest
VERSAILLES, Ky (WTVQ)- A non-profit hosted its’ annual Friendship Fest at the Woodford County Fair Grounds.
This is the fifth year Strengthening Transformations has held the Friendship Fest.
The organization works with women and girls to break generational cycles.
At the festival- organizers gave out dozens of free backpacks. There were also several community organizations and activities.
Founder Brittany Campbell says she knows how hard it is when times are tough, to even be able to afford school supplies. That’s why she started the organization: so she could help others when they need it most.
“It’s a fest where we have community ventures, informational booths, backpacks filled with school supplies, look good fill good bags, which consist of 10 hygiene products. As well as, we have a partnership with vans so we give out vans. As well as operation warm, where we’re giving out coats as well,” says Campbell.
“It is extremely important to have these things for our community, especially a small town like Versailles. We don’t see too much happening for our young kids and you know this is honestly a really good pipeline to get our kids into school, starting the school year proper with the right schools supplies. Being able to get them connected with the proper resources. You know getting your backpacks. You know that is necessary for our kids and right now we are having a large issue with our education system and our elementary to middle aged kids right now,” says Alyssa Wright, Miss Commonwealth 2023.
The event wrapped up at 5 p.m. | https://www.wtvq.com/non-profits-gives-out-dozens-of-backpacks-through-annual-friendship-fest/ | 2023-07-30T11:44:30 | 1 | https://www.wtvq.com/non-profits-gives-out-dozens-of-backpacks-through-annual-friendship-fest/ |
The House Republicans who craft the conference’s government funding bills are showing signs of frustration as hard-line conservatives pressure leadership for further cuts to spending that some worry could be too aggressive.
Some of the 12 Appropriations subcommittee chairs — the so-called cardinals — told reporters that they are struggling to see where those additional cuts could come from, as September’s shutdown deadline looms.
“I just don’t see the wisdom in trying to further cut to strengthen our hand. I don’t know how that strengthens our hand,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman, said of conservatives’ push to further cut the already-scaled-back spending bills.
“I do think it puts some of our members in a very difficult spot, particularly those in tough districts, because they’re going to be taking some votes that become problematic,” he added.
The House left Washington for a long summer recess Thursday after being forced to punt a bill to fund agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Conservatives are dug in on their demand for steeper spending cuts, to the chagrin of moderates who are wary of slashing funding even more. The chamber has passed just one appropriations bill, funding military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The internal divisions are gripping the party as time is running out: The House has just 12 days in September to move the remaining 11 appropriations measures and hash out their disagreements with the Senate, which is marking up its spending bills at higher levels, setting the scene for a hectic fall that could bring the U.S. to the brink of a shutdown.
Those dynamics are putting GOP appropriators in a bind, leaving them searching for ways to appease conservative requests without gutting their spending bills.
“We’ve done a lot of cuts, a lot of cuts,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) told The Hill this week. “And so if it’s cuts just for cut’s sake, I don’t agree with it. But if it’s something that we can do without, that’s fine.”
‘Not a lot of wiggle room left’
Republican appropriators in the House announced earlier this year that they would mark up their bills for fiscal 2024 at fiscal 2022 levels, as leaders sought to placate conservatives who thought the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year didn’t do enough to curb spending.
The Senate is crafting its bills more in line with the budget caps agreed to in the deal, but House Republicans are already fuming about a bipartisan deal in the upper chamber that would allow for more than $13 billion in additional emergency spending on top of those levels.
House GOP negotiators also said they would pursue clawing back more than $100 billion in old funding that was allocated for Democratic priorities without GOP support in the previous Congress.
While that move drew support from hard-line conservatives, the right flank was far from pleased when it heard appropriators planned to repurpose that old funding — known as rescissions — to plus-up the spending bills.
In a letter to McCarthy earlier this month, a group of hard-line conservatives called for all 12 appropriations bills to be in line with fiscal 2022 spending levels “without the use of reallocated rescissions to increase discretionary spending above that top-line.”
Otherwise, the 21 lawmakers threatened, they would vote against the measures. But that request could prove difficult for GOP appropriators to fulfill.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chairman of the panel that proposes funding for the Department of State and foreign operations, said that appropriators are already “dramatically reducing spending,” suggesting that there are not too many remaining areas to trim from.
“My bill is below the 2016 levels,” he said, later adding, “When you’re below the 2016 level — and we’re still confronting China — I think there’s not a lot of wiggle room left.”
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’ll get through it. I really do,” he added.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who heads the subcommittee that oversees funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior, scoffed at the idea of even steeper cuts to his bill.
“Then you just drop it on the floor and stomp on it. What else do you do with it?” he told reporters. “You can’t make logical cuts in there.”
Republicans appropriators are voicing optimism that the conference will be able to sort out its differences on spending, but some also hope their levels will stick — even though they include rescissions.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) — whose panel handles funding for the Department of Energy, which is proposing offsetting billions of dollars in spending with clawbacks — said it would be “extremely difficult” to craft his bill without the rescinded funds.
“And given our priorities in my bill, national defense with the nuclear weapons portfolio, nuclear cleanup, Army Corps including, all the community-directed fundings, I feel good about my bill, and I hope my numbers hold,” he said.
“Because it’s gonna have to be in negotiations with the Senate and the White House as well,” he added.
Womack — whose subcommittee crafts funding for the IRS and the Treasury Department — said he doesn’t think “moving the goalposts on these numbers is helpful in strengthening our ability to negotiate with the Senate.”
August preparations for a busy September
Frustrations among appropriators are bubbling up as Congress inches closer to the fall, when lawmakers are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to approve funding or risk a government shutdown.
With time running out, some House lawmakers say conversations may continue over the long August recess to try to hash out remaining differences.
“We’ll have to see,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said when asked about potential plans for talks between leaders and House Freedom Caucus members over the break. “I mean, we got a lot of work to do.”
“I think a lot of work [has] got to be done behind the scenes,” he said. “If not, you know, here — You gotta beg the question about whether we should be gone for six weeks. We should be getting our job done.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) echoed that sentiment, saying “I would think so” when asked if lawmakers will have conversations over the break.
Adding to the August workload, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) suggested earlier this week that bicameral negotiations could take place over the weeks-long recess as lawmakers stare down the shutdown deadline.
Not all Republicans, however, are viewing a shutdown as a risk.
During a House Freedom Caucus press conference this week, Good said “we should not fear a government shutdown,” claiming that “most of what we do up here is bad anyway; most of what we do up here hurts the American people.”
But that perspective does not jive with the view of McCarthy, who declared Thursday: “I don’t want the government to shut down.”
Multiple Republicans are ultimately expecting Congress to eventually pass what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR), or a measure that temporarily allows the government to be funded at the previous fiscal year’s levels, to prevent a lapse at the end of September.
But they also understand the task could be difficult in the GOP-led chamber, where Republicans aren’t happy about the idea of continuing funding at the current levels — which were last set when Democrats held control of Congress.
“I think there’s a very good chance that we’ll see a CR, but I know there’s a lot of work to get a CR done,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), another appropriator, said Thursday, noting there are “a lot of members that don’t want CRs that are tired of them.”
But Aderholt suggested a CR could notch sufficient GOP backing if there’s a larger plan in sight that the party can support.
“The Speaker’s been very good about having a plan,” he said, adding, “I think that’s what he’s good at, and I’m optimistic that he can come up with something.”
Emily Brooks contributed. | https://www.koin.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ | 2023-07-30T11:44:35 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ |
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — With the summer heat wave in full swing in Southern California, a backyard pool is a tempting place to take a dip.
Even for a bear.
Police in the city of Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood and found the animal sitting in a Jacuzzi behind one of the homes.
After a short dip, the bear climbed over a wall and headed to a tree behind the home, police said in a statement Friday.
Police released a video of the animal in the neighborhood, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Los Angeles and near the Verdugo Mountains.
The Burbank police have issued warnings for residents to avoid bears and to keep all garbage and food locked up to discourage bears from coming to their residences. | https://www.wfla.com/news/animals/in-summer-heat-bear-spotted-in-southern-california-backyard-jacuzzi/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:07 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/animals/in-summer-heat-bear-spotted-in-southern-california-backyard-jacuzzi/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:07 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
It will be mainly dry this morning with a coastal shower possible as temps start around 80 degrees in the Bay Area. Scattered showers and storms form early this afternoon with rain moving east later today as highs rise to the mid 90s and feels like temperatures will be at least 105 degrees.
Not much will change Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday showers will arrive earlier in the morning due to a front moving into the panhandle.
Storm timing will be the same Thursday and Friday, but there will be fewer rain areas. Our pattern changes next weekend with sunny mornings and afternoon and evening storms. Highs all week will be in the low to mid 90s with lows around 80 degrees. | https://www.wfla.com/news/another-stormy-afternoon-for-some-on-sunday/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:13 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/another-stormy-afternoon-for-some-on-sunday/ |
Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
In the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag final on Sunday, Alexei Popyrin meets Stan Wawrinka.
Wawrinka is favored (-200) to win the title versus Popyrin (+155).
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Stan Wawrinka has a 66.7% chance to win.
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Trends and Insights
- In the semifinals on Saturday, Popyrin beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.
- Wawrinka was victorious 6-3, 6-4 versus Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Popyrin has played 47 matches over the past 12 months across all court surfaces, and 28.0 games per match (25.3 in best-of-three matches).
- On clay, Popyrin has played 16 matches over the past year, totaling 26.7 games per match (26.0 in best-of-three matches) while winning 51.5% of games.
- In the past year, Wawrinka has competed in 40 total matches (across all court surfaces), winning 51.1% of the games. He averages 27.3 games per match (24.6 in best-of-three matches) and 10.6 games per set.
- On clay, Wawrinka has played 11 matches and averaged 28.7 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) and 10.9 games per set.
- Popyrin and Wawrinka have not matched up against each other since 2015.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:13 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An accused murderer in Las Vegas is also accused of living with the body for two months, believing the female victim could come back from the dead, police said Friday.
Officers took George Bone, 31, into custody Wednesday after discovering Beverly Ma’s body during a welfare check in the 5300 block of Railroad River Avenue near Lindell Road and Eldorado Lane, they said.
Bone told officers he knew Ma was dead and what caused her death and based on those statements, police took Bone into custody, Lt. Jason Johansson said Wednesday. Police suspect Bone strangled Ma in May, documents said.
On Wednesday, police received a 911 call from a family member who said Bone had told her Ma “was in the closet and had been there for two months,” documents said. Police found Ma’s body in the closet shortly after.
A family member told police Ma and Bone were friends and that she was not close with family, documents said. Police said Ma and Bone met in high school and moved in with each other last summer.
A witness told police they entered the home on Wednesday after seeing an unusually high air conditioning bill, police said. Bone led her upstairs to the body, documents said.
“She noticed a cooler against the bedroom closet door and the bottom of the door had a towel, which covered the gap,” police said. “George told her that she can open it and see.”
Bone told police Ma had died sometime in May, police said. On May 4, dispatchers received a 911 call from Ma and heard a man and woman screaming at each other, they said. Police responded that day and knocked on the door but no one answered, they said. Investigators suspect Ma died that day.
“Bone went about living at the house with Beverly deceased in the upstairs closet for the next two months and began ordering several items on Beverly’s Amazon account using her funds for his own gain,” police said. “When asked why he didn’t call for help, Bone’s response was ‘I was afraid of going back to jail… for being found with a dead body.” Bone admitted that his behavior since the death of Beverly Ma was ‘not normal.’ When asked why he placed a cooler in the master bedroom near the closest, Bone stated that he put it there so that he would be alerted if Beverly rose from the dead like the movie ‘The Grudge.’”
Even though Ma was believed to have been deceased, someone texted from her phone in late July, saying she could not attend a July 4 party because she “wanted to be sober, not travel and not be around people,” police said.
Bone was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.
In 2013, Bone took an Alford plea on a charge of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14, records showed. An Alford plea is similar to a no-contest plea, where a defendant accepts prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him or her but does not admit guilt.
In 2012, Henderson police initially arrested Bone on charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a child stemming from allegations a teenager made about an assault two years prior when she was 11, documents said.
The student told a school employee that Bone had “inappropriately touched” her while he was living in a home with her, documents said.
In addition to an open murder charge, Bone also faces a charge of failing to register as a sex offender, records showed. Bone is listed in the Nevada Sex Offender Registry under a different address than where police responded on Wednesday, records showed.
The Clark County coroner’s office had not released Ma’s cause and manner of death as of Friday afternoon. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/las-vegas-man-accused-of-murder-lived-with-womans-body-for-months-police/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:19 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/las-vegas-man-accused-of-murder-lived-with-womans-body-for-months-police/ |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Sunday, July 30
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 6:36 AM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
True auto racing fans know that there's no such thing as too many races. From the starting gun to the checkered flag, you want to see it all. Check out the article below to find out how to watch or live stream the Formula 1, Formula E, Motocross, NASCAR Cup Series, and NHRA Drag Racing action airing on Fubo on Sunday, July 30.
Watch even more auto racing coverage with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 8:55 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Motocross: MXGP Finland - Race 1
- Series: Motocross
- Game Time: 9:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Round 16: London - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 11:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NHRA Drag Racing: DENSO Sonoma Nationals
- Series: NHRA Drag Racing
- Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:20 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Ladies Open Lausanne
On Sunday, Clara Burel (No. 84 in the world) takes on Elisabetta Cocciaretto (No. 42) in the final of the Ladies Open Lausanne.
Cocciaretto is favored to win the tournament championship over Burel, with -150 odds compared to the underdog's +115.
Looking to place a bet on this or other tennis matches? Head over to BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, and sign up today with our link!
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Match Information
- Tournament: The Ladies Open Lausanne
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Tennis Club du Stade-Lausanne
- Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
- Court Surface: Clay
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Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Elisabetta Cocciaretto has a 60.0% chance to win.
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Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Trends and Insights
- Burel defeated Diane Parry 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Cocciaretto came out on top 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 against Anna Bondar in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Through 28 matches over the past year (across all court surfaces), Burel has played 23.2 games per match and won 50.9% of them.
- Burel has played 11 matches on clay over the past year, and 22.7 games per match.
- In her 41 matches in the past year across all court surfaces, Cocciaretto is averaging 21.5 games per match while winning 52.1% of those games.
- On clay, Cocciaretto has played 13 matches and averaged 23.2 games per match and 9.7 games per set.
- Burel and Cocciaretto have played one time dating back to 2015, in the WTA 125K Bol, Croatia Women Singles 2022 quarterfinals. Cocciaretto claimed victory in that bout 6-2, 6-4.
- In terms of sets, Cocciaretto has won two against Burel (100.0%), while Burel has clinched zero.
- Cocciaretto has the edge in 18 total games against Burel, claiming 12 of them.
- In their one match against each other, Burel and Cocciaretto are averaging 18.0 games and 2.0 sets.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:26 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ |
MLB Games Tonight: How to Watch on TV, Streaming & Odds - Sunday, July 30
Today's MLB schedule has plenty of quality competition on the docket. Among those games is the Texas Rangers squaring off against the San Diego Padres.
You will find info on how to watch today's MLB action right here.
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How to Watch Today's MLB Games
The Toronto Blue Jays (59-46) take on the Los Angeles Angels (54-51)
The Angels hope to get a road victory at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays on Sunday at 12:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- TOR Key Player: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.268 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBI)
- LAA Key Player: Shohei Ohtani (.302 AVG, 39 HR, 81 RBI)
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The Atlanta Braves (66-36) face the Milwaukee Brewers (57-48)
The Brewers will hit the field at Truist Park versus the Braves on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- ATL Key Player: Ronald Acuña Jr. (.333 AVG, 24 HR, 61 RBI)
- MIL Key Player: Christian Yelich (.286 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The Pittsburgh Pirates (46-58) play host to the Philadelphia Phillies (56-48)
The Phillies will look to pick up a road win at PNC Park versus the Pirates on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- PIT Key Player: Bryan Reynolds (.255 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI)
- PHI Key Player: Bryson Stott (.306 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Miami Marlins (56-49) play the Detroit Tigers (47-58)
The Tigers will take to the field at LoanDepot park against the Marlins on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- MIA Key Player: Luis Arraez (.381 AVG, 3 HR, 51 RBI)
- DET Key Player: Spencer Torkelson (.230 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The New York Mets (49-55) play the Washington Nationals (44-61)
The Nationals will hit the field at Citi Field versus the Mets on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- NYM Key Player: Pete Alonso (.217 AVG, 30 HR, 73 RBI)
- WSH Key Player: Lane Thomas (.286 AVG, 16 HR, 55 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Chicago White Sox (43-63) take on the Cleveland Guardians (52-53)
The Guardians will look to pick up a road win at Guaranteed Rate Field against the White Sox on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- CHW Key Player: Luis Robert (.270 AVG, 29 HR, 60 RBI)
- CLE Key Player: José Ramírez (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 60 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Kansas City Royals (31-75) face the Minnesota Twins (54-52)
The Twins will hit the field at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- KC Key Player: Bobby Witt Jr. (.263 AVG, 18 HR, 60 RBI)
- MIN Key Player: Carlos Correa (.228 AVG, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
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The Houston Astros (59-46) take on the Tampa Bay Rays (63-44)
The Rays will take to the field at Minute Maid Park versus the Astros on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet SW
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- HOU Key Player: Kyle Tucker (.299 AVG, 18 HR, 69 RBI)
- TB Key Player: Wander Franco (.267 AVG, 12 HR, 49 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The St. Louis Cardinals (46-60) face the Chicago Cubs (53-51)
The Cubs will hit the field at Busch Stadium versus the Cardinals on Sunday at 2:15 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- STL Key Player: Nolan Arenado (.282 AVG, 22 HR, 77 RBI)
- CHC Key Player: Nico Hoerner (.278 AVG, 7 HR, 57 RBI)
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The Colorado Rockies (40-64) host the Oakland Athletics (30-76)
The Athletics will take to the field at Coors Field against the Rockies on Sunday at 3:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet RM
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- COL Key Player: Ryan McMahon (.255 AVG, 16 HR, 48 RBI)
- OAK Key Player: Brent Rooker (.248 AVG, 17 HR, 47 RBI)
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The San Francisco Giants (57-48) play the Boston Red Sox (56-48)
The Red Sox will look to pick up a road win at Oracle Park versus the Giants on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SF Key Player: LaMonte Wade Jr (.269 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI)
- BOS Key Player: Justin Turner (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 68 RBI)
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The Los Angeles Dodgers (59-44) take on the Cincinnati Reds (57-49)
The Reds will look to pick up a road win at Dodger Stadium versus the Dodgers on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet LA
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- LAD Key Player: Freddie Freeman (.328 AVG, 21 HR, 73 RBI)
- CIN Key Player: Spencer Steer (.276 AVG, 15 HR, 57 RBI)
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The San Diego Padres (51-54) play host to the Texas Rangers (60-45)
The Rangers will look to pick up a road win at PETCO Park versus the Padres on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SD Key Player: Juan Soto (.265 AVG, 20 HR, 63 RBI)
- TEX Key Player: Marcus Semien (.275 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI)
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The Arizona Diamondbacks (56-49) host the Seattle Mariners (53-51)
The Mariners will take to the field at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- ARI Key Player: Corbin Carroll (.288 AVG, 21 HR, 57 RBI)
- SEA Key Player: Julio Rodríguez (.252 AVG, 17 HR, 55 RBI)
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The Baltimore Orioles (63-41) play the New York Yankees (55-49)
The Yankees will look to pick up a road win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards against the Orioles on Sunday at 7:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- BAL Key Player: Adley Rutschman (.267 AVG, 14 HR, 46 RBI)
- NYY Key Player: Gleyber Torres (.258 AVG, 16 HR, 44 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:33 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ |
MLB Probable Starting Pitchers Tonight: Sunday, July 30
Who are the probable pitchers lined up to start on Sunday? Below, we list every starting pitching matchup for the day, which includes Luis Castillo toeing the rubber for the Mariners, and Merrill Kelly getting the call for the Diamondbacks.
Keep reading to find the probable starters for every contest on the docket for July 30.
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Today's Probable Starting Pitchers
Angels at Blue Jays Probable Pitchers
The Los Angeles Angels will send Tyler Anderson (5-2) to the hill as they play the Blue Jays, who will give the start to Jose Berrios (8-7) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Angels at Blue Jays
- TOR Odds to Win: -200
- LAA Odds to Win: +165
- Total: 9.5 runs
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Live Stream Angels at Blue Jays
- Game Time: 12:05 PM ET
- Streaming: Peacock (regional restrictions may apply)
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Brewers at Braves Probable Pitchers
The Milwaukee Brewers will send Colin Rea (5-4) to the mound as they play the Braves, who will counter with AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
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Live Stream Brewers at Braves
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Phillies at Pirates Probable Pitchers
The Philadelphia Phillies will send Cristopher Sanchez (0-3) to the hill as they take on the Pirates, who will look to Rich Hill (7-10) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Phillies at Pirates
- PHI Odds to Win: -150
- PIT Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Phillies at Pirates
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Tigers at Marlins Probable Pitchers
The Detroit Tigers will send Tarik Skubal (1-1) to the bump as they face the Marlins, who will counter with Jesus Luzardo (8-5) when the clubs face off on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Tigers at Marlins
- MIA Odds to Win: -150
- DET Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 7 runs
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Live Stream Tigers at Marlins
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: BSFL (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
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Nationals at Mets Probable Pitchers
The Washington Nationals will send Trevor Williams (5-5) to the hill as they face the Mets, who will look to Justin Verlander (5-5) for the matchup between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Nationals at Mets
- NYM Odds to Win: -275
- WSH Odds to Win: +220
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Nationals at Mets
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: WPIX (regional restrictions may apply)
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Guardians at White Sox Probable Pitchers
The Cleveland Guardians will send Aaron Civale (4-2) to the mound as they play the White Sox, who will counter with Michael Kopech (4-9) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Guardians at White Sox
- CLE Odds to Win: -145
- CHW Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Guardians at White Sox
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-CHI (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Twins at Royals Probable Pitchers
The Minnesota Twins will send Kenta Maeda (2-5) to the hill as they play the Royals, who will look to Ryan Yarbrough (3-5) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Twins at Royals
- MIN Odds to Win: -185
- KC Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Twins at Royals
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSKC (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rays at Astros Probable Pitchers
The Tampa Bay Rays will send Zack Littell (0-2) to the bump as they play the Astros, who will counter with Brandon Bielak (5-5) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Rays at Astros
- HOU Odds to Win: -110
- TB Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Rays at Astros
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet SW (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Cubs at Cardinals Probable Pitchers
The Chicago Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks (4-4) to the mound as they take on the Cardinals, who will counter with Steven Matz (1-7) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Cubs at Cardinals
- STL Odds to Win: -145
- CHC Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Cubs at Cardinals
- Game Time: 2:15 PM ET
- Streaming: BSMW (regional restrictions may apply)
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Athletics at Rockies Probable Pitchers
The Oakland Athletics will send Luis Medina (3-7) to the hill as they play the Rockies, who will counter with Ty Blach (0-0) when the clubs play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Athletics at Rockies
- COL Odds to Win: -110
- OAK Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 12.5 runs
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Live Stream Athletics at Rockies
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet RM (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Red Sox at Giants Probable Pitchers
The Boston Red Sox will send Brennan Bernardino (1-0) to the mound as they play the Giants, who will look to Scott Alexander (6-1) when the clubs meet on Sunday.
Live Stream Red Sox at Giants
- Game Time: 4:05 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-BA (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Reds at Dodgers Probable Pitchers
The Cincinnati Reds will send Graham Ashcraft (5-7) to the bump as they take on the Dodgers, who will give the start to Michael Grove (2-2) for the matchup between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Reds at Dodgers
- LAD Odds to Win: -185
- CIN Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 10.5 runs
- Sign up with BetMGM Sportsbook, and new depositors can use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Live Stream Reds at Dodgers
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet LA (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Rangers at Padres Probable Pitchers
The Texas Rangers will send Cody Bradford (2-1) to the hill as they play the Padres, who will give the start to Blake Snell (7-8) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Live Stream Rangers at Padres
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SDPA (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Mariners at Diamondbacks Probable Pitchers
The Seattle Mariners will send Castillo (6-7) to the mound as they take on the Diamondbacks, who will counter with Kelly (9-4) when the teams play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Mariners at Diamondbacks
- SEA Odds to Win: -120
- ARI Odds to Win: +100
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Mariners at Diamondbacks
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ARID (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Yankees at Orioles Probable Pitchers
The New York Yankees will send Luis Severino (2-4) to the bump as they play the Orioles, who will hand the ball to Dean Kremer (10-4) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Yankees at Orioles
- BAL Odds to Win: -125
- NYY Odds to Win: +105
- Total: 9 runs
- Sign up with BetMGM Sportsbook, and new depositors can use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Live Stream Yankees at Orioles
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ESPN (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:39 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ |
The House Republicans who craft the conference’s government funding bills are showing signs of frustration as hard-line conservatives pressure leadership for further cuts to spending that some worry could be too aggressive.
Some of the 12 Appropriations subcommittee chairs — the so-called cardinals — told reporters that they are struggling to see where those additional cuts could come from, as September’s shutdown deadline looms.
“I just don’t see the wisdom in trying to further cut to strengthen our hand. I don’t know how that strengthens our hand,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman, said of conservatives’ push to further cut the already-scaled-back spending bills.
“I do think it puts some of our members in a very difficult spot, particularly those in tough districts, because they’re going to be taking some votes that become problematic,” he added.
The House left Washington for a long summer recess Thursday after being forced to punt a bill to fund agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Conservatives are dug in on their demand for steeper spending cuts, to the chagrin of moderates who are wary of slashing funding even more. The chamber has passed just one appropriations bill, funding military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The internal divisions are gripping the party as time is running out: The House has just 12 days in September to move the remaining 11 appropriations measures and hash out their disagreements with the Senate, which is marking up its spending bills at higher levels, setting the scene for a hectic fall that could bring the U.S. to the brink of a shutdown.
Those dynamics are putting GOP appropriators in a bind, leaving them searching for ways to appease conservative requests without gutting their spending bills.
“We’ve done a lot of cuts, a lot of cuts,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) told The Hill this week. “And so if it’s cuts just for cut’s sake, I don’t agree with it. But if it’s something that we can do without, that’s fine.”
‘Not a lot of wiggle room left’
Republican appropriators in the House announced earlier this year that they would mark up their bills for fiscal 2024 at fiscal 2022 levels, as leaders sought to placate conservatives who thought the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year didn’t do enough to curb spending.
The Senate is crafting its bills more in line with the budget caps agreed to in the deal, but House Republicans are already fuming about a bipartisan deal in the upper chamber that would allow for more than $13 billion in additional emergency spending on top of those levels.
House GOP negotiators also said they would pursue clawing back more than $100 billion in old funding that was allocated for Democratic priorities without GOP support in the previous Congress.
While that move drew support from hard-line conservatives, the right flank was far from pleased when it heard appropriators planned to repurpose that old funding — known as rescissions — to plus-up the spending bills.
In a letter to McCarthy earlier this month, a group of hard-line conservatives called for all 12 appropriations bills to be in line with fiscal 2022 spending levels “without the use of reallocated rescissions to increase discretionary spending above that top-line.”
Otherwise, the 21 lawmakers threatened, they would vote against the measures. But that request could prove difficult for GOP appropriators to fulfill.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chairman of the panel that proposes funding for the Department of State and foreign operations, said that appropriators are already “dramatically reducing spending,” suggesting that there are not too many remaining areas to trim from.
“My bill is below the 2016 levels,” he said, later adding, “When you’re below the 2016 level — and we’re still confronting China — I think there’s not a lot of wiggle room left.”
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’ll get through it. I really do,” he added.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who heads the subcommittee that oversees funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior, scoffed at the idea of even steeper cuts to his bill.
“Then you just drop it on the floor and stomp on it. What else do you do with it?” he told reporters. “You can’t make logical cuts in there.”
Republicans appropriators are voicing optimism that the conference will be able to sort out its differences on spending, but some also hope their levels will stick — even though they include rescissions.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) — whose panel handles funding for the Department of Energy, which is proposing offsetting billions of dollars in spending with clawbacks — said it would be “extremely difficult” to craft his bill without the rescinded funds.
“And given our priorities in my bill, national defense with the nuclear weapons portfolio, nuclear cleanup, Army Corps including, all the community-directed fundings, I feel good about my bill, and I hope my numbers hold,” he said.
“Because it’s gonna have to be in negotiations with the Senate and the White House as well,” he added.
Womack — whose subcommittee crafts funding for the IRS and the Treasury Department — said he doesn’t think “moving the goalposts on these numbers is helpful in strengthening our ability to negotiate with the Senate.”
August preparations for a busy September
Frustrations among appropriators are bubbling up as Congress inches closer to the fall, when lawmakers are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to approve funding or risk a government shutdown.
With time running out, some House lawmakers say conversations may continue over the long August recess to try to hash out remaining differences.
“We’ll have to see,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said when asked about potential plans for talks between leaders and House Freedom Caucus members over the break. “I mean, we got a lot of work to do.”
“I think a lot of work [has] got to be done behind the scenes,” he said. “If not, you know, here — You gotta beg the question about whether we should be gone for six weeks. We should be getting our job done.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) echoed that sentiment, saying “I would think so” when asked if lawmakers will have conversations over the break.
Adding to the August workload, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) suggested earlier this week that bicameral negotiations could take place over the weeks-long recess as lawmakers stare down the shutdown deadline.
Not all Republicans, however, are viewing a shutdown as a risk.
During a House Freedom Caucus press conference this week, Good said “we should not fear a government shutdown,” claiming that “most of what we do up here is bad anyway; most of what we do up here hurts the American people.”
But that perspective does not jive with the view of McCarthy, who declared Thursday: “I don’t want the government to shut down.”
Multiple Republicans are ultimately expecting Congress to eventually pass what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR), or a measure that temporarily allows the government to be funded at the previous fiscal year’s levels, to prevent a lapse at the end of September.
But they also understand the task could be difficult in the GOP-led chamber, where Republicans aren’t happy about the idea of continuing funding at the current levels — which were last set when Democrats held control of Congress.
“I think there’s a very good chance that we’ll see a CR, but I know there’s a lot of work to get a CR done,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), another appropriator, said Thursday, noting there are “a lot of members that don’t want CRs that are tired of them.”
But Aderholt suggested a CR could notch sufficient GOP backing if there’s a larger plan in sight that the party can support.
“The Speaker’s been very good about having a plan,” he said, adding, “I think that’s what he’s good at, and I’m optimistic that he can come up with something.”
Emily Brooks contributed. | https://www.kark.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:40 | 0 | https://www.kark.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:40 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Rays vs. Astros on July 30, 2023
Wander Franco and Kyle Tucker are two of the top players with prop bets available when the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros play at Minute Maid Park on Sunday (at 2:10 PM ET).
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Rays vs. Astros Game Info
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 2:10 PM ET
- Where: Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
- How to Watch on TV: SportsNet SW
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Discover More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Tampa Bay Rays
Wander Franco Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -256)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -110)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +750)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +225)
Franco Stats
- Franco has put up 105 hits with 23 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs and 37 walks. He has driven in 49 runs with 29 stolen bases.
- He's slashing .267/.332/.443 on the season.
Franco Recent Games
Yandy Díaz Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +195)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -115)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +475)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +195)
Diaz Stats
- Yandy Diaz has recorded 104 hits with 20 doubles, 14 home runs and 42 walks. He has driven in 50 runs.
- He has a slash line of .312/.395/.498 so far this year.
Diaz Recent Games
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MLB Props Today: Houston Astros
Brandon Bielak Props
- Strikeouts Prop: Over/Under 4.5 (Over Odds: -130)
Bielak Stats
- The Astros will send Brandon Bielak (5-5) to the mound for his 13th start this season.
- He has started 12 games this season, earning a quality start (6 or more IP, 3 or fewer ER) in two of them.
- Bielak has nine starts of five or more innings this season in 12 chances. He averages 5.3 innings per outing.
- In 13 appearances this season, he has finished two without allowing an earned run.
Bielak Recent Games
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Kyle Tucker Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -222)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +105)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +425)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +165)
Tucker Stats
- Tucker has 112 hits with 25 doubles, 18 home runs, 51 walks and 69 RBI. He's also stolen 19 bases.
- He's slashed .299/.380/.509 on the year.
Tucker Recent Games
Alex Bregman Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -185)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +120)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +550)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +170)
Bregman Stats
- Alex Bregman has 102 hits with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 56 walks and 68 RBI. He's also stolen four bases.
- He has a slash line of .254/.347/.433 on the season.
Bregman Recent Games
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/rays-vs-astros-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:46 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/rays-vs-astros-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Truist Atlanta Open
In the Truist Atlanta Open final on Sunday, Taylor Fritz takes on Aleksandar Vukic.
Fritz is favored (-550) bring home the title versus Vukic (+375).
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Match Information
- Tournament: The Truist Atlanta Open
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Atlantic Station
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Court Surface: Hard
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Taylor Fritz has an 84.6% chance to win.
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Trends and Insights
- By defeating No. 46-ranked Jeffrey John Wolf 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday, Fritz reached the finals.
- Vukic reached the finals by beating No. 38-ranked Ugo Humbert 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 on Saturday.
- Fritz has played 68 matches over the past year (across all court types), and 26.2 games per match (24.1 in best-of-three matches).
- Fritz has played 44 matches on hard courts over the past 12 months, and 25.8 games per match (24.3 in best-of-three matches).
- In the past year, Vukic has played 34 total matches (across all court types), winning 51.5% of the games. He averages 24.6 games per match (23.3 in best-of-three matches) and 9.8 games per set.
- Vukic has averaged 23.8 games per match (22.8 in best-of-three matches) and 9.6 games per set through 21 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months, winning 52.1% of those games.
- Dating back to 2015, Fritz and Vukic have not met on the court.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ | 2023-07-30T11:45:52 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ |
The House Republicans who craft the conference’s government funding bills are showing signs of frustration as hard-line conservatives pressure leadership for further cuts to spending that some worry could be too aggressive.
Some of the 12 Appropriations subcommittee chairs — the so-called cardinals — told reporters that they are struggling to see where those additional cuts could come from, as September’s shutdown deadline looms.
“I just don’t see the wisdom in trying to further cut to strengthen our hand. I don’t know how that strengthens our hand,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman, said of conservatives’ push to further cut the already-scaled-back spending bills.
“I do think it puts some of our members in a very difficult spot, particularly those in tough districts, because they’re going to be taking some votes that become problematic,” he added.
The House left Washington for a long summer recess Thursday after being forced to punt a bill to fund agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Conservatives are dug in on their demand for steeper spending cuts, to the chagrin of moderates who are wary of slashing funding even more. The chamber has passed just one appropriations bill, funding military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The internal divisions are gripping the party as time is running out: The House has just 12 days in September to move the remaining 11 appropriations measures and hash out their disagreements with the Senate, which is marking up its spending bills at higher levels, setting the scene for a hectic fall that could bring the U.S. to the brink of a shutdown.
Those dynamics are putting GOP appropriators in a bind, leaving them searching for ways to appease conservative requests without gutting their spending bills.
“We’ve done a lot of cuts, a lot of cuts,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) told The Hill this week. “And so if it’s cuts just for cut’s sake, I don’t agree with it. But if it’s something that we can do without, that’s fine.”
‘Not a lot of wiggle room left’
Republican appropriators in the House announced earlier this year that they would mark up their bills for fiscal 2024 at fiscal 2022 levels, as leaders sought to placate conservatives who thought the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year didn’t do enough to curb spending.
The Senate is crafting its bills more in line with the budget caps agreed to in the deal, but House Republicans are already fuming about a bipartisan deal in the upper chamber that would allow for more than $13 billion in additional emergency spending on top of those levels.
House GOP negotiators also said they would pursue clawing back more than $100 billion in old funding that was allocated for Democratic priorities without GOP support in the previous Congress.
While that move drew support from hard-line conservatives, the right flank was far from pleased when it heard appropriators planned to repurpose that old funding — known as rescissions — to plus-up the spending bills.
In a letter to McCarthy earlier this month, a group of hard-line conservatives called for all 12 appropriations bills to be in line with fiscal 2022 spending levels “without the use of reallocated rescissions to increase discretionary spending above that top-line.”
Otherwise, the 21 lawmakers threatened, they would vote against the measures. But that request could prove difficult for GOP appropriators to fulfill.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chairman of the panel that proposes funding for the Department of State and foreign operations, said that appropriators are already “dramatically reducing spending,” suggesting that there are not too many remaining areas to trim from.
“My bill is below the 2016 levels,” he said, later adding, “When you’re below the 2016 level — and we’re still confronting China — I think there’s not a lot of wiggle room left.”
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’ll get through it. I really do,” he added.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who heads the subcommittee that oversees funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior, scoffed at the idea of even steeper cuts to his bill.
“Then you just drop it on the floor and stomp on it. What else do you do with it?” he told reporters. “You can’t make logical cuts in there.”
Republicans appropriators are voicing optimism that the conference will be able to sort out its differences on spending, but some also hope their levels will stick — even though they include rescissions.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) — whose panel handles funding for the Department of Energy, which is proposing offsetting billions of dollars in spending with clawbacks — said it would be “extremely difficult” to craft his bill without the rescinded funds.
“And given our priorities in my bill, national defense with the nuclear weapons portfolio, nuclear cleanup, Army Corps including, all the community-directed fundings, I feel good about my bill, and I hope my numbers hold,” he said.
“Because it’s gonna have to be in negotiations with the Senate and the White House as well,” he added.
Womack — whose subcommittee crafts funding for the IRS and the Treasury Department — said he doesn’t think “moving the goalposts on these numbers is helpful in strengthening our ability to negotiate with the Senate.”
August preparations for a busy September
Frustrations among appropriators are bubbling up as Congress inches closer to the fall, when lawmakers are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to approve funding or risk a government shutdown.
With time running out, some House lawmakers say conversations may continue over the long August recess to try to hash out remaining differences.
“We’ll have to see,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said when asked about potential plans for talks between leaders and House Freedom Caucus members over the break. “I mean, we got a lot of work to do.”
“I think a lot of work [has] got to be done behind the scenes,” he said. “If not, you know, here — You gotta beg the question about whether we should be gone for six weeks. We should be getting our job done.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) echoed that sentiment, saying “I would think so” when asked if lawmakers will have conversations over the break.
Adding to the August workload, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) suggested earlier this week that bicameral negotiations could take place over the weeks-long recess as lawmakers stare down the shutdown deadline.
Not all Republicans, however, are viewing a shutdown as a risk.
During a House Freedom Caucus press conference this week, Good said “we should not fear a government shutdown,” claiming that “most of what we do up here is bad anyway; most of what we do up here hurts the American people.”
But that perspective does not jive with the view of McCarthy, who declared Thursday: “I don’t want the government to shut down.”
Multiple Republicans are ultimately expecting Congress to eventually pass what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR), or a measure that temporarily allows the government to be funded at the previous fiscal year’s levels, to prevent a lapse at the end of September.
But they also understand the task could be difficult in the GOP-led chamber, where Republicans aren’t happy about the idea of continuing funding at the current levels — which were last set when Democrats held control of Congress.
“I think there’s a very good chance that we’ll see a CR, but I know there’s a lot of work to get a CR done,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), another appropriator, said Thursday, noting there are “a lot of members that don’t want CRs that are tired of them.”
But Aderholt suggested a CR could notch sufficient GOP backing if there’s a larger plan in sight that the party can support.
“The Speaker’s been very good about having a plan,” he said, adding, “I think that’s what he’s good at, and I’m optimistic that he can come up with something.”
Emily Brooks contributed. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ | 2023-07-30T11:46:31 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ |
Jim Schneider, co-founder of sunglass brand Zivah, knows his company could probably reach more customers if he sold his products on Amazon, but he isn’t interested. Zivah has found success as an early adopter of PublicSq., an online marketplace that bills itself as an alternative to “woke” corporations espousing liberal values.
Zivah (a name that comes from the Hebrew word for “light of God”) sells high-end sunglasses with names like “Glisten” and “Dazzle.” Each one bears a scripture on the inside of the temple. “In a world that seems so polarized, you see the world through a different lens,” Zivah’s website reads.
“Our target consumer really is someone who supports American values, who does not want to support a company that’s gone woke, who does not want to support a company that’s supporting abortions,” Schneider told The Washington Post. (Amazon has joined other large companies in offering to cover employees’ travel expenses for abortion and other non-life-threatening medical treatment if they don’t have access at home.) Since Zivah joined PublicSq. last year, the platform “has definitely become our biggest source of new customers,” Schneider said.
Zivah and PublicSq. are part of a growing contingent of companies promoting “anti-woke capitalism,” a business model that is gaining traction amid broader cultural battles over abortion, guns, transgender rights and American exceptionalism. As big companies and brands such as Target, North Face and Bud Light have drawn fire from some consumers for celebrating the LGBTQ community, PublicSq. is building a customer base on the other side of the ideological spectrum.
The platform has swelled to host more than 55,000 small businesses since it launched on July 4, 2022 — with major growth coming in recent months as consumers reacted to Bud Light’s partnership with transgender comedian and activist Dylan Mulvaney and Target’s Pride merchandise. In the last week of May, as tensions around corporate Pride campaigns crescendoed, PublicSq. said it added more than 300,000 users, bringing its customer base to over 1.1 million.
Americus Reed, professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said the past decade has seen a profound rise in companies branding themselves as “purpose-driven.” As competition for customers gets tougher, tethering corporate identity to a particular ideology has become a “powerful way” for companies to differentiate themselves and build brand loyalty, Reed said.
“Anyone who takes a position on something is able to capture more market share,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of analytics company GlobalData, noting that the downside for such companies is they open themselves up to “fire from all sides.”
PublicSq. recently went public, aiming to catapult its “pro-American marketplace” onto the main stage. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 20, under the ticker PSQH. CEO Michael Seifert rang the opening bell at the NYSE to the tune of loud chants of “U-S-A” from the floor.
Its market capitalization has since grown to around $353 million, according to MarketWatch — less than 1 percent the size of Target.
PublicSq. faces an uphill battle in its bid to rival giants like Amazon and Walmart, given the dominance of those companies and the fact that most consumers “can’t be bothered to change where they shop,” Saunders said.
But PublicSq. executives say demand is strong in an era when many consumers have shown a desire to give their money to companies that align with their values. By offering an alternative, the company is a “direct beneficiary” anytime a large corporation alienates conservative consumers, said Omeed Malik, chairman and CEO of Colombier Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that took PublicSq. public through a merger.
“People were hungry for this option,” said Malik, a former managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who said he believes PublicSq. can be a cornerstone of a “parallel economy” comprising conservative businesses and shoppers.
PublicSq. isn’t the first company to try to capitalize on consumer appetite for “anti-woke” products. In 2022, Jeremy Boreing, co-founder of the Daily Wire, a conservative news site, started a company that sells shaving products after Harry’s Razors pulled its ads from the site due to “values misalignment.”
Since then, Jeremy’s Razors has rolled out other products to compete with companies that have faced right-wing backlash. After Hershey faced blowback for including a transgender activist on packaging in Canada as part of a promotion celebrating International Women’s Day, the site began selling chocolate bars. The ones with nuts are called “HeHim” and the ones without are called “SheHer” — available in both regular and “microaggression size.”
A year ago, Harry’s Razors advertised on our shows. But then, they pulled their ads due to “values misalignment”. Introducing Jeremy’s Razors. Stop giving your money to woke corporations that hate you. Give it to the god-king: https://t.co/DLWEe8hraR pic.twitter.com/yt5gVG8pl0
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) March 22, 2022
“Stop giving your money to woke corporations that hate you,” Boreing says in an elaborate online commercial. “Give it to me instead.”
Jeremy’s Razors, Harry’s Razors and Hershey did not respond to requests for comment.
Felix Starkatcher, a substitute teacher in Tulsa, said he was thrilled when he learned about PublicSq. The 31-year-old military veteran saw it as “a surefire investment,” snapping up a few shares of the company’s stock.
“They promote all the traditional American values I grew up loving,” Starkatcher said.
In the past, Starkatcher has shopped at Amazon, Target and Walmart. But he gave up on Target after the company marketed Pride merchandise for kids. He said he’s also had some bad experiences with Amazon lately. All of which made him eager for another option.
Starkatcher said he’s been telling his friends and family about PublicSq., hoping they’ll change their shopping habits, too. “Them being a proper competitor [to Amazon] that actually follows American values and traditions is a godsend for this country,” he said.
Businesses that recently joined the platform say they have benefited from a surge in interest. Before PublicSq., Tanner and Bonnie Blain mostly sold their Fit Dog Bakery treats to customers in their local area in Southern Alabama.
Fit Dog used to get about 60 monthly visitors to its website. After a few months on PublicSq. — during which a growing chorus of conservatives voiced frustration with “woke” values of major corporations — Fit Dog is now averaging 1,500 monthly visitors, and its sales are up 1,000 percent, Tanner said. Knowing that the growth is presumably coming from consumers aligned with the Blains’ Christian values makes the success sweeter.
“Being around like-minded people, that’s always an amazing thing,” Tanner said.
To join PublicSq., a company must be a small or medium-size business that affirms the platform’s core values as stated on its website, including belief in “the greatness of this Nation,” that small businesses are “the backbone of the economy,” that the sanctity of the family unit must be protected and that the government “isn’t the source of our rights, so it can’t take them away.” The platform also prioritizes businesses whose products are made in America.
Seifert has described the platform as being “principled” rather than political, pointing out that the word “Republican” appears nowhere on its website. But the company has drawn support from conservative power-players such as Donald Trump Jr. Former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler (R) was recently appointed to PublicSq.’s board of directors, and the company recently inked an ad deal with Tucker Carlson’s new Twitter show, according to CNBC.
In an interview with Breitbart News, Seifert said PublicSq. is against corporations’ diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as their environmental, social and governance goals and policies. “The only way that we are going to topple those corrupt philosophies that are destroying our economy is by shifting consumer spending,” he said.
After Bud Light laid off roughly 350 employees last week in the wake of the backlash to its partnership with Mulvaney, PublicSq. invited ex-Bud Light employees to submit resumes, saying it would distribute them to its network of “tens of thousands of Pro-America businesses.”
“We’re sorry that Anheuser-Busch leadership prioritized left-wing ideology over sound business practices,” the letter reads.
Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch announced yesterday that they are laying off 350 employees.
— Michael Seifert (@realmichaelseif) July 27, 2023
Losing a job is never easy and it's unfortunate their company decided to prioritize woke ideology over doing what was best for the brand.
So we want to help.
If any laid off Bud… pic.twitter.com/BvB9ksN7zq
Some vendors on PublicSq. lean into their political views: Patriot Mobile bills itself as “America’s only Christian, conservative wireless provider” and BRAVE Books casts itself as “the antidote to woke culture’s attack on our children.” But others appear to be apolitical, like family-owned chocolatier Fortunato and Carnivore SNAX (which says on its website that it is Joe Rogan’s “favorite snack.”)
With their organic ingredients, sustainable manufacturing practices and artisan craftsmanship, Many of PublicSq.’s offerings would fit right in on Etsy. They can also be on the pricey side.
Janet Wischnia’s family business, American Blossom Linens, makes bedsheets, blankets and towels entirely in the United States. But that requires the products to sell at a higher price. A classic queen-size set of the brand’s eco-friendly cotton sheets retails for $299; Target’s all-cotton Threshold sheet sets are available in the same size for $55.
Wischnia sees her audience as primarily mothers and grandmothers with money to spend on a high-end product, but in the past she’s struggled to reach them. When she learned about PublicSq., she sensed it would be a good fit.
So far, the audience is responding well to her products — and she’s enjoyed shopping on the site, too (she recently bought a straw beach hat).
“I try to live my own life the way I conduct my business,” Wischnia said.
Although PublicSq. is positioning itself as an alternative to Amazon, some of the businesses involved are open to both platforms. GloriLight, a Christian night light that projects Bible verses on the ceiling, recently joined PublicSq., but also advertises in traditional social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. The company is planning to sell its wares on Amazon soon, too, and estimates that sales through the e-commerce giant will represent about a third of its business, according to CEO Clay Banks.
Many of the brands on PublicSq. describe themselves as “purpose-driven.” Coffee brand Promised Grounds bills itself as “the only coffee made to serve.” The company built its business by providing high-quality coffee beans for churches and faith-based organizations. Now it’s also selling directly to consumers through PublicSq.
Orders have grown considerably over the past six months, according to the company’s head of marketing Brian Santa Maria, but he wasn’t able to directly tie that uptick to a rise in anti-woke or anti-corporate sentiment among consumers. Still, the brand has been resonating with PublicSq.’s audience.
For Santa Maria, who spent years as senior creative director at Best Buy before joining Promised Grounds, the concept behind PublicSq. doesn’t seem all that different from “Vans or PacSun or any companies that serve a specific identity.”
“That’s how all of us make our purchase decisions, or even life decisions, when it comes down to it,” Santa Maria said. “Whether it’s who we’re dating or who we’re voting for, or what we’re buying in the grocery store, we think with our head but we ultimately make that decision with our emotions.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/30/public-square-app-anti-woke-shopping-amazon/ | 2023-07-30T11:47:30 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/30/public-square-app-anti-woke-shopping-amazon/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:47:30 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
LANSING, Mich. — An early morning shooting Sunday in Michigan wounded five people, including two who were listed in critical condition, police said.
There was a large crowd at the scene when officers arrived, prompting Lansing police to ask for assistance from other jurisdictions. Several people were detained, and officers found multiple firearms, police said.
In February, a gunman killed three students and injured five others in a shooting at Michigan State University in neighboring East Lansing. Students sheltered in place for four hours on the campus about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Detroit while hundreds of officers searched for the shooter. Suspect Anthony McRae, 43, killed himself when confronted by police near his home in Lansing. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/07/30/lansing-michigan-shooting-five-injured/76885a44-2ecb-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-30T11:47:36 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/07/30/lansing-michigan-shooting-five-injured/76885a44-2ecb-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Before Wilma Liebman helped mediate an end to the mid-1990s baseball strike that looked like it would go on forever, she was a union lawyer. One of her clients was the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen; you know, construction workers, a trade steeped so long in overt masculinity that its argot has included obscene language to classify particular tasks and tools. Still does, probably.
What was most important when Liebman got aboard was that the hard hats were resolving a lawsuit brought against them by women who said they were being sexually harassed as they entered the men’s ranks.
“Groups of women who had been subject to hazing,” Liebman recounted to me. “There was some pretty ugly stuff.”
But the union, under Liebman’s guidance, protected its neophyte members and started educating those in seniority about the pitfalls of pigheadedness, the same kind of behavior being spotlighted now in college sports after what appears to be systemic hazing in Northwestern athletics, replete with sexual and racial abuse.
What is being uncovered at Northwestern, my alma mater, is exactly why college athletes should be unionized. That LeBron James Jr. last week became the second USC basketball player in consecutive summer practices to suffer cardiac arrest is precisely why college athletes must unionize. That in the wake of all of this, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) — the former college football coach who made millions heavily off unpaid Black male labor, then compared that class to criminals at a Trump rally last year — introduced a bill last week to control how much college athletes can earn on their own, rather than a bill to protect those athletes’ health and welfare, is indeed why college athletes need a union.
College athletes need to be protected from themselves. They need to be protected from those who take advantage of them as Tuberville did in his previous employment, which the architect of the modern NCAA, Walter Byers, explained in his confessional, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes.” And the institutions of supposed higher learning that have let the tail of sports wag their societal mission need to let their athletes organize to protect the institutions themselves from the lawsuits and reputational harm done by college sports gone awry.
Had Northwestern’s fired football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, and the administration that employed him supported an effort by its football players to unionize nearly a decade ago, he likely would not have been unceremoniously unwaged. And maybe all his former players would have fonder memories of playing for him, rather than telling potentially felonious tales.
“What a union can do is … provide a place where the athletes can go to report abuses and problems like that,” said Liebman, whom President Barack Obama made the second woman to chair the National Labor Relations Board in 2009. “And they have the quote unquote protection of doing this collectively rather than individually and being able to go to the union rather than to the employer and face retaliation or shunning or something like that.”
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, appointed by President Biden, recommended nearly two years ago that college athletes should be able to organize because “common law fully [supports] the conclusion that certain Players at Academic Institutions are statutory employees, who have the right to act collectively to improve their terms and conditions of employment.”
We don’t know if another group of college athletes has yet tried to pick up where the Northwestern football team left off in 2015, when the NLRB overruled its regional office that had granted the players the right to organize. But now is the time for some college locker room to act again. Actually, for a bunch them. All of them. The moment has never been riper.
To be sure, one thing this reactionary Supreme Court has gotten right got is ruling that colleges have been unfairly stingy with their athletes given the megabillions colleges are making off those who play football and basketball in particular. There is the case of Johnson v. NCAA, still alive and well at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, testing the notion that college athletes should get hourly pay for their labor just like a work-study student on campus. And Abruzzo’s deputy is Peter Sung Ohr, who ruled in favor of Northwestern football players’ right to vote to unionize as an NLRB regional director.
“Say what you want about Jimmy Hoffa,” Ohio University professor B. David Ridpath, a former college wrestler and coach, told me, “but my dad was a Teamster. My dad had severe back issues and didn’t have medical coverage for that. But once the union was put together, the Teamsters were able to actually have representation, actually able to have greater health and welfare protections and have a seat at the table.
“Athletes since the beginning of college athletics have not had a seat at the table,” Ridpath pointed out. “They’ve not even had a voice in their own health and welfare protections.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Ridpath said of whether college athletes should unionize. “The reason the NCAA gets sued so much is they’re treating college students as employees and they’re not giving them employee protections. The best way to give yourself antitrust protection is to negotiate with the labor. And if the labor agrees to these restrictions, then you have full antitrust protection. And this is also the best way to give athletes representation over their working conditions.”
They wouldn’t have been practicing during the early days of covid, as Texas A&M basketball did, potentially jeopardizing players’ health when we weren’t sure of the danger. There would be a review of USC basketball practice protocols to be sure players weren’t being worked to near death. Northwestern’s scandal probably wouldn’t have happened.
“I really don’t understand why the knee jerk opposition [to a college athletes union], because to me, it seems easier for an employer to deal with a union rather than hundreds of individuals,” Liebman said. “And particularly if there is a mature relationship that develops over time between the employer and the union, they can work out problems, they can have a mechanism for resolving disputes.”
In the aftermath of Liebman’s working with the construction unionists who were making employment hell for fellow workers just because they happened to be women, the unionists saw the light. It took awhile. But their amended code of conduct now pledges against “… any form of ‘hazing’ by one group of members toward another.”
All these years later, the construction trade is not devoid of harassment between members. But it does have a means to obviate the kind of catastrophe that obstinate college sports officials have allowed to mar their industry. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/30/ncaa-hazing-union/ | 2023-07-30T11:47:42 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/30/ncaa-hazing-union/ |
FUKUOKA, Japan — Ruta Meilutye of Lithuania set the world record on Sunday in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke at the world championships in southwestern Japan.
She held that jointly with Benedetta Pilato of Italy. Lilly King of the United States was second in 29.94 and Pilato was third in 30.04.
—-
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/30/ruta-meilutyte-lithuania-lilly-king-worlds/b14c0c06-2ecc-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-30T11:47:49 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/30/ruta-meilutyte-lithuania-lilly-king-worlds/b14c0c06-2ecc-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
BANGUI, Central African Republic — The Central African Republic went to the polls Sunday in a highly anticipated vote on a new constitution, which would remove presidential term limits.
The new constitution would replace the one adopted at Touadera’s inauguration in 2016, when the country was in a civil war and 80% of it was not under state control. If the new constitution is passed, it could entrench the ruling party’s power indefinitely, analysts say.
“This referendum basically confirms the fears of authoritarian drift (in CAR),” said Enrica Picco, Central Africa project director with the International Crisis Group. The new constitution would weaken checks on the executive by opposition parties, closing the space for Central Africans to participate in democratic decision-making, she said.
The proposed changes also would lift requirements that executive decisions be debated by the legislative and permit Central Africans with dual nationalities to vote.
The mineral-rich but impoverished nation has faced intercommunal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced then-President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias later fought back, also targeting civilians in the streets. The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting had killed thousands and displaced over a million people, one fifth of the country’s population.
When Touadera won re-election in 2020, barely a third of Central Africans made it to the polls, largely due to threats of violence by rebel groups. Touadera’s government has relied on support from UN peacekeepers, soldiers from neighboring Rwanda and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to keep rebels out of the capital Bangui.
“Now that there is peace … the time has come for us to take action,” said Fidel Gouandjika, a presidential advisor.
Opposition groups accuse the ruling party of making a draft of the new constitution publicly available too late for people to make informed decisions, less than three weeks before the referendum, said Picco.
Together with opposition parties they are calling on Central Africans to vote against the proposed constitution, or abstain from the referendum.
“Touadera wants to see himself as an emperor, and he wants to make our country what he wants, not what Central Africans want,” said former Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye.
The preliminary results of the referendum are expected to be announced in just over a week, to be finalized by the constitutional court in late August. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/30/central-african-republic-referendum-vote-constitution-democracy/f4e2a644-2ec4-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-30T11:47:55 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/30/central-african-republic-referendum-vote-constitution-democracy/f4e2a644-2ec4-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
CAIRO — Palestinian factions kicked off a meeting Sunday in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts as violence in the occupied West Bank surged between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The meeting comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah group are based and exert limited self-rule. Israel has been staging near-nightly raids in Palestinian areas of the territory in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy, especially in areas where Abbas’ security forces have less of a foothold.
Those raids have led to some of the worst fighting in nearly two decades in the West Bank. Palestinians also say the Israeli raids undermine their own security forces and weaken their leadership.
The meeting in Egypt was chaired and initiated by Abbas, presents the aging and longtime Palestinian leader with a chance to portray an image of control and statesmanship to both Palestinians and the international community at a time when he is deeply unpopular at home and his room for maneuver is constrained by the Israeli incursions.
The meeting was attended by other Palestinian leaders including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas. the militant group which rules the Gaza Strip. Fatah and Hamas have been rivals since Hamas violently routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza in 2007, taking over the impoverished coastal enclave. Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the territory.
For Hamas, joining the meeting is an opportunity to show Gazans that it is making an effort to mend the rift, even if nothing changes as a result.
Another key group playing a central role in the fighting with Israel, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, boycotted the gathering to protest the detentions by the Palestinian Authority of its members, according to the group’s leader, Ziyad al-Nakhala.
Egypt has for years acted as a mediator to try to end the infighting between Palestinian factions. It also helped broker truces in multiple rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/30/palestinian-hamas-fatah-west-bank-gaza-israel-egypt/1c5da73c-2ec5-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-30T11:48:01 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/30/palestinian-hamas-fatah-west-bank-gaza-israel-egypt/1c5da73c-2ec5-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/columns/republicans-tracing-the-path-of-the-dodo/article_501ed790-2cb2-11ee-b15f-5f1530db2a9d.html | 2023-07-30T11:48:19 | 1 | https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/columns/republicans-tracing-the-path-of-the-dodo/article_501ed790-2cb2-11ee-b15f-5f1530db2a9d.html |
Vaughn Dalzell is rolling with the Houston Astros to win the AL West in a two-team race versus the division-leading Texas Rangers.
AL WEST CHAMPION: HOUSTON ASTROS (+100)
The Texas Rangers pulled off a surprising and groundbreaking trade to receive Max Scherzer and all of a sudden, most sportsbooks made them the favorite to win the AL West.
Texas owns a 1.0 game lead over Houston entering Sunday, July 30th as the AL West has become a two-team race.
Seattle and Los Angeles are more likely Wild Card contenders. However, they are still 65-plus games remaining and a lot can happen in two months.
The Rangers are 2-6 over the last eight games after winning six straight out of the All-Star break. Texas is feeling the pressure as Houston is 7-3 in its past 10 games, plus the two teams just met and Houston took two out of three at home with both wins coming by one run each.
Texas’ offense has been ranked top three in run differential all season and top five in most hitting categories, but they’ve taken a small step back post-All-Star Weekend, and when I say a small step, instead of being top five, they are top 10-15 in most categories.
Looking down the stretch, Houston has the 11th-easiest strength of schedule remaining, while Texas owns the 8th-easiest and Seattle the third-easiest.
All three teams could make the postseason, but history says when October gets closer, Houston gets better under pressure.
As the season progresses, the Astros will get healthier and should get Jose Urquidy, Michael Brantley, and Lance McCullers Jr. back within a month.
For the Rangers, the trade for Scherzer was necessary as Nathan Eovaldi is dealing with elbow soreness, plus Jacob DeGrom is out for the season with Tommy John surgery, along with Jake Odorizzi (arthroscopic shoulder surgery).
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Give me the Houston Astros at +100, now that there is some positive value after the Max Scherzer trade.
The Rangers’ bullpen is getting fragile whereas the Astros’ is getting stronger. I also expect the Texas offense to regress to the norm over the second half of the season.
Pick: Houston Astros to win the AL West (1u)
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Player Props: NFL | NBA | MLB | CFB | CBB | NHL | https://www.nbcsports.com/betting/mlb/news/al-west-futures-best-bets-houston-astros | 2023-07-30T11:51:08 | 0 | https://www.nbcsports.com/betting/mlb/news/al-west-futures-best-bets-houston-astros |
The House Republicans who craft the conference’s government funding bills are showing signs of frustration as hard-line conservatives pressure leadership for further cuts to spending that some worry could be too aggressive.
Some of the 12 Appropriations subcommittee chairs — the so-called cardinals — told reporters that they are struggling to see where those additional cuts could come from, as September’s shutdown deadline looms.
“I just don’t see the wisdom in trying to further cut to strengthen our hand. I don’t know how that strengthens our hand,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a House Appropriations subcommittee chairman, said of conservatives’ push to further cut the already-scaled-back spending bills.
“I do think it puts some of our members in a very difficult spot, particularly those in tough districts, because they’re going to be taking some votes that become problematic,” he added.
The House left Washington for a long summer recess Thursday after being forced to punt a bill to fund agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Conservatives are dug in on their demand for steeper spending cuts, to the chagrin of moderates who are wary of slashing funding even more. The chamber has passed just one appropriations bill, funding military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The internal divisions are gripping the party as time is running out: The House has just 12 days in September to move the remaining 11 appropriations measures and hash out their disagreements with the Senate, which is marking up its spending bills at higher levels, setting the scene for a hectic fall that could bring the U.S. to the brink of a shutdown.
Those dynamics are putting GOP appropriators in a bind, leaving them searching for ways to appease conservative requests without gutting their spending bills.
“We’ve done a lot of cuts, a lot of cuts,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) told The Hill this week. “And so if it’s cuts just for cut’s sake, I don’t agree with it. But if it’s something that we can do without, that’s fine.”
‘Not a lot of wiggle room left’
Republican appropriators in the House announced earlier this year that they would mark up their bills for fiscal 2024 at fiscal 2022 levels, as leaders sought to placate conservatives who thought the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year didn’t do enough to curb spending.
The Senate is crafting its bills more in line with the budget caps agreed to in the deal, but House Republicans are already fuming about a bipartisan deal in the upper chamber that would allow for more than $13 billion in additional emergency spending on top of those levels.
House GOP negotiators also said they would pursue clawing back more than $100 billion in old funding that was allocated for Democratic priorities without GOP support in the previous Congress.
While that move drew support from hard-line conservatives, the right flank was far from pleased when it heard appropriators planned to repurpose that old funding — known as rescissions — to plus-up the spending bills.
In a letter to McCarthy earlier this month, a group of hard-line conservatives called for all 12 appropriations bills to be in line with fiscal 2022 spending levels “without the use of reallocated rescissions to increase discretionary spending above that top-line.”
Otherwise, the 21 lawmakers threatened, they would vote against the measures. But that request could prove difficult for GOP appropriators to fulfill.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chairman of the panel that proposes funding for the Department of State and foreign operations, said that appropriators are already “dramatically reducing spending,” suggesting that there are not too many remaining areas to trim from.
“My bill is below the 2016 levels,” he said, later adding, “When you’re below the 2016 level — and we’re still confronting China — I think there’s not a lot of wiggle room left.”
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’ll get through it. I really do,” he added.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who heads the subcommittee that oversees funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior, scoffed at the idea of even steeper cuts to his bill.
“Then you just drop it on the floor and stomp on it. What else do you do with it?” he told reporters. “You can’t make logical cuts in there.”
Republicans appropriators are voicing optimism that the conference will be able to sort out its differences on spending, but some also hope their levels will stick — even though they include rescissions.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) — whose panel handles funding for the Department of Energy, which is proposing offsetting billions of dollars in spending with clawbacks — said it would be “extremely difficult” to craft his bill without the rescinded funds.
“And given our priorities in my bill, national defense with the nuclear weapons portfolio, nuclear cleanup, Army Corps including, all the community-directed fundings, I feel good about my bill, and I hope my numbers hold,” he said.
“Because it’s gonna have to be in negotiations with the Senate and the White House as well,” he added.
Womack — whose subcommittee crafts funding for the IRS and the Treasury Department — said he doesn’t think “moving the goalposts on these numbers is helpful in strengthening our ability to negotiate with the Senate.”
August preparations for a busy September
Frustrations among appropriators are bubbling up as Congress inches closer to the fall, when lawmakers are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to approve funding or risk a government shutdown.
With time running out, some House lawmakers say conversations may continue over the long August recess to try to hash out remaining differences.
“We’ll have to see,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said when asked about potential plans for talks between leaders and House Freedom Caucus members over the break. “I mean, we got a lot of work to do.”
“I think a lot of work [has] got to be done behind the scenes,” he said. “If not, you know, here — You gotta beg the question about whether we should be gone for six weeks. We should be getting our job done.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) echoed that sentiment, saying “I would think so” when asked if lawmakers will have conversations over the break.
Adding to the August workload, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) suggested earlier this week that bicameral negotiations could take place over the weeks-long recess as lawmakers stare down the shutdown deadline.
Not all Republicans, however, are viewing a shutdown as a risk.
During a House Freedom Caucus press conference this week, Good said “we should not fear a government shutdown,” claiming that “most of what we do up here is bad anyway; most of what we do up here hurts the American people.”
But that perspective does not jive with the view of McCarthy, who declared Thursday: “I don’t want the government to shut down.”
Multiple Republicans are ultimately expecting Congress to eventually pass what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR), or a measure that temporarily allows the government to be funded at the previous fiscal year’s levels, to prevent a lapse at the end of September.
But they also understand the task could be difficult in the GOP-led chamber, where Republicans aren’t happy about the idea of continuing funding at the current levels — which were last set when Democrats held control of Congress.
“I think there’s a very good chance that we’ll see a CR, but I know there’s a lot of work to get a CR done,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), another appropriator, said Thursday, noting there are “a lot of members that don’t want CRs that are tired of them.”
But Aderholt suggested a CR could notch sufficient GOP backing if there’s a larger plan in sight that the party can support.
“The Speaker’s been very good about having a plan,” he said, adding, “I think that’s what he’s good at, and I’m optimistic that he can come up with something.”
Emily Brooks contributed. | https://www.texomashomepage.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ | 2023-07-30T11:51:45 | 1 | https://www.texomashomepage.com/hill-politics/frustration-emerges-among-gop-spending-cardinals-as-conservatives-push-for-cuts/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:30 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
In the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag final on Sunday, Alexei Popyrin meets Stan Wawrinka.
Wawrinka is favored (-200) to win the title versus Popyrin (+155).
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Stan Wawrinka has a 66.7% chance to win.
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Trends and Insights
- In the semifinals on Saturday, Popyrin beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.
- Wawrinka was victorious 6-3, 6-4 versus Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Popyrin has played 47 matches over the past 12 months across all court surfaces, and 28.0 games per match (25.3 in best-of-three matches).
- On clay, Popyrin has played 16 matches over the past year, totaling 26.7 games per match (26.0 in best-of-three matches) while winning 51.5% of games.
- In the past year, Wawrinka has competed in 40 total matches (across all court surfaces), winning 51.1% of the games. He averages 27.3 games per match (24.6 in best-of-three matches) and 10.6 games per set.
- On clay, Wawrinka has played 11 matches and averaged 28.7 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) and 10.9 games per set.
- Popyrin and Wawrinka have not matched up against each other since 2015.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:36 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:40 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:40 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Sunday, July 30
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 5:36 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
True auto racing fans know that there's no such thing as too many races. From the starting gun to the checkered flag, you want to see it all. Check out the article below to find out how to watch or live stream the Formula 1, Formula E, Motocross, NASCAR Cup Series, and NHRA Drag Racing action airing on Fubo on Sunday, July 30.
Watch even more auto racing coverage with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 8:55 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Motocross: MXGP Finland - Race 1
- Series: Motocross
- Game Time: 9:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Round 16: London - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 11:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NHRA Drag Racing: DENSO Sonoma Nationals
- Series: NHRA Drag Racing
- Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:42 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
Dream vs. Mystics: Odds, spread, over/under and other Vegas lines - July 30
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 7:36 AM EDT|Updated: 16 minutes ago
The Washington Mystics (12-12) will visit the Atlanta Dream (13-11) after losing six consecutive road games. The matchup tips at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, July 30, 2023.
In this article, you will check out odds and spreads for the Dream vs. Mystics matchup across multiple sportsbooks.
Click on our link to sign up for a free trial of Fubo, and start watching live sports without cable today!
Dream vs. Mystics Game Info
- Game Day: Sunday, July 30, 2023
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN3, NBCS-DC, Monumental, and BSSO
- Location: College Park, Georgia
- Arena: Gateway Center Arena
Dream vs. Mystics Odds, Spread, Over/Under
Check out the odds, spread and over/under for this WNBA matchup on individual sportsbooks.
Dream vs. Mystics Betting Trends
- The Dream are 13-9-0 ATS this season.
- The Mystics are 11-12-0 ATS this season.
- Atlanta has been favored by 6.5 points or more four times this season, and covered the spread in three of those games.
- Washington has covered the spread twice this year (2-2 ATS) when playing as at least 6.5-point underdogs.
- So far this season, 12 out of the Dream's 23 games have hit the over.
- A total of nine Mystics games this season have hit the over.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dream-mystics-wnba-odds-spread-over-under/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:46 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dream-mystics-wnba-odds-spread-over-under/ |
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Ladies Open Lausanne
On Sunday, Clara Burel (No. 84 in the world) takes on Elisabetta Cocciaretto (No. 42) in the final of the Ladies Open Lausanne.
Cocciaretto is favored to win the tournament championship over Burel, with -150 odds compared to the underdog's +115.
Looking to place a bet on this or other tennis matches? Head over to BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, and sign up today with our link!
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Match Information
- Tournament: The Ladies Open Lausanne
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Tennis Club du Stade-Lausanne
- Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
- Court Surface: Clay
Watch live tennis and many more sports and shows without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo!
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Elisabetta Cocciaretto has a 60.0% chance to win.
Bet on tennis with BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks!
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Trends and Insights
- Burel defeated Diane Parry 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Cocciaretto came out on top 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 against Anna Bondar in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Through 28 matches over the past year (across all court surfaces), Burel has played 23.2 games per match and won 50.9% of them.
- Burel has played 11 matches on clay over the past year, and 22.7 games per match.
- In her 41 matches in the past year across all court surfaces, Cocciaretto is averaging 21.5 games per match while winning 52.1% of those games.
- On clay, Cocciaretto has played 13 matches and averaged 23.2 games per match and 9.7 games per set.
- Burel and Cocciaretto have played one time dating back to 2015, in the WTA 125K Bol, Croatia Women Singles 2022 quarterfinals. Cocciaretto claimed victory in that bout 6-2, 6-4.
- In terms of sets, Cocciaretto has won two against Burel (100.0%), while Burel has clinched zero.
- Cocciaretto has the edge in 18 total games against Burel, claiming 12 of them.
- In their one match against each other, Burel and Cocciaretto are averaging 18.0 games and 2.0 sets.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:48 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ |
MLB Games Tonight: How to Watch on TV, Streaming & Odds - Sunday, July 30
Today's MLB schedule has plenty of quality competition on the docket. Among those games is the Texas Rangers squaring off against the San Diego Padres.
You will find info on how to watch today's MLB action right here.
Watch MLB games and tons of other live sports without cable! Use our link to get a free trial to Fubo..
How to Watch Today's MLB Games
The Toronto Blue Jays (59-46) take on the Los Angeles Angels (54-51)
The Angels hope to get a road victory at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays on Sunday at 12:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- TOR Key Player: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.268 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBI)
- LAA Key Player: Shohei Ohtani (.302 AVG, 39 HR, 81 RBI)
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The Atlanta Braves (66-36) face the Milwaukee Brewers (57-48)
The Brewers will hit the field at Truist Park versus the Braves on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- ATL Key Player: Ronald Acuña Jr. (.333 AVG, 24 HR, 61 RBI)
- MIL Key Player: Christian Yelich (.286 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The Pittsburgh Pirates (46-58) play host to the Philadelphia Phillies (56-48)
The Phillies will look to pick up a road win at PNC Park versus the Pirates on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- PIT Key Player: Bryan Reynolds (.255 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI)
- PHI Key Player: Bryson Stott (.306 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI)
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The Miami Marlins (56-49) play the Detroit Tigers (47-58)
The Tigers will take to the field at LoanDepot park against the Marlins on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- MIA Key Player: Luis Arraez (.381 AVG, 3 HR, 51 RBI)
- DET Key Player: Spencer Torkelson (.230 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The New York Mets (49-55) play the Washington Nationals (44-61)
The Nationals will hit the field at Citi Field versus the Mets on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- NYM Key Player: Pete Alonso (.217 AVG, 30 HR, 73 RBI)
- WSH Key Player: Lane Thomas (.286 AVG, 16 HR, 55 RBI)
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The Chicago White Sox (43-63) take on the Cleveland Guardians (52-53)
The Guardians will look to pick up a road win at Guaranteed Rate Field against the White Sox on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- CHW Key Player: Luis Robert (.270 AVG, 29 HR, 60 RBI)
- CLE Key Player: José Ramírez (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 60 RBI)
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The Kansas City Royals (31-75) face the Minnesota Twins (54-52)
The Twins will hit the field at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- KC Key Player: Bobby Witt Jr. (.263 AVG, 18 HR, 60 RBI)
- MIN Key Player: Carlos Correa (.228 AVG, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
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The Houston Astros (59-46) take on the Tampa Bay Rays (63-44)
The Rays will take to the field at Minute Maid Park versus the Astros on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet SW
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- HOU Key Player: Kyle Tucker (.299 AVG, 18 HR, 69 RBI)
- TB Key Player: Wander Franco (.267 AVG, 12 HR, 49 RBI)
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The St. Louis Cardinals (46-60) face the Chicago Cubs (53-51)
The Cubs will hit the field at Busch Stadium versus the Cardinals on Sunday at 2:15 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- STL Key Player: Nolan Arenado (.282 AVG, 22 HR, 77 RBI)
- CHC Key Player: Nico Hoerner (.278 AVG, 7 HR, 57 RBI)
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The Colorado Rockies (40-64) host the Oakland Athletics (30-76)
The Athletics will take to the field at Coors Field against the Rockies on Sunday at 3:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet RM
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- COL Key Player: Ryan McMahon (.255 AVG, 16 HR, 48 RBI)
- OAK Key Player: Brent Rooker (.248 AVG, 17 HR, 47 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The San Francisco Giants (57-48) play the Boston Red Sox (56-48)
The Red Sox will look to pick up a road win at Oracle Park versus the Giants on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SF Key Player: LaMonte Wade Jr (.269 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI)
- BOS Key Player: Justin Turner (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 68 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Los Angeles Dodgers (59-44) take on the Cincinnati Reds (57-49)
The Reds will look to pick up a road win at Dodger Stadium versus the Dodgers on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet LA
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- LAD Key Player: Freddie Freeman (.328 AVG, 21 HR, 73 RBI)
- CIN Key Player: Spencer Steer (.276 AVG, 15 HR, 57 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The San Diego Padres (51-54) play host to the Texas Rangers (60-45)
The Rangers will look to pick up a road win at PETCO Park versus the Padres on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SD Key Player: Juan Soto (.265 AVG, 20 HR, 63 RBI)
- TEX Key Player: Marcus Semien (.275 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Arizona Diamondbacks (56-49) host the Seattle Mariners (53-51)
The Mariners will take to the field at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- ARI Key Player: Corbin Carroll (.288 AVG, 21 HR, 57 RBI)
- SEA Key Player: Julio Rodríguez (.252 AVG, 17 HR, 55 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
The Baltimore Orioles (63-41) play the New York Yankees (55-49)
The Yankees will look to pick up a road win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards against the Orioles on Sunday at 7:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- BAL Key Player: Adley Rutschman (.267 AVG, 14 HR, 46 RBI)
- NYY Key Player: Gleyber Torres (.258 AVG, 16 HR, 44 RBI)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ | 2023-07-30T11:52:55 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ |
MLB Probable Starting Pitchers Tonight: Sunday, July 30
Who are the probable pitchers lined up to start on Sunday? Below, we list every starting pitching matchup for the day, which includes Luis Castillo toeing the rubber for the Mariners, and Merrill Kelly getting the call for the Diamondbacks.
Keep reading to find the probable starters for every contest on the docket for July 30.
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Today's Probable Starting Pitchers
Angels at Blue Jays Probable Pitchers
The Los Angeles Angels will send Tyler Anderson (5-2) to the hill as they play the Blue Jays, who will give the start to Jose Berrios (8-7) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Angels at Blue Jays
- TOR Odds to Win: -200
- LAA Odds to Win: +165
- Total: 9.5 runs
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Live Stream Angels at Blue Jays
- Game Time: 12:05 PM ET
- Streaming: Peacock (regional restrictions may apply)
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Brewers at Braves Probable Pitchers
The Milwaukee Brewers will send Colin Rea (5-4) to the mound as they play the Braves, who will counter with AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
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Live Stream Brewers at Braves
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
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Phillies at Pirates Probable Pitchers
The Philadelphia Phillies will send Cristopher Sanchez (0-3) to the hill as they take on the Pirates, who will look to Rich Hill (7-10) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Phillies at Pirates
- PHI Odds to Win: -150
- PIT Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Phillies at Pirates
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Tigers at Marlins Probable Pitchers
The Detroit Tigers will send Tarik Skubal (1-1) to the bump as they face the Marlins, who will counter with Jesus Luzardo (8-5) when the clubs face off on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Tigers at Marlins
- MIA Odds to Win: -150
- DET Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 7 runs
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Live Stream Tigers at Marlins
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: BSFL (regional restrictions may apply)
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Nationals at Mets Probable Pitchers
The Washington Nationals will send Trevor Williams (5-5) to the hill as they face the Mets, who will look to Justin Verlander (5-5) for the matchup between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Nationals at Mets
- NYM Odds to Win: -275
- WSH Odds to Win: +220
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Nationals at Mets
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: WPIX (regional restrictions may apply)
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Guardians at White Sox Probable Pitchers
The Cleveland Guardians will send Aaron Civale (4-2) to the mound as they play the White Sox, who will counter with Michael Kopech (4-9) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Guardians at White Sox
- CLE Odds to Win: -145
- CHW Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Guardians at White Sox
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-CHI (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Twins at Royals Probable Pitchers
The Minnesota Twins will send Kenta Maeda (2-5) to the hill as they play the Royals, who will look to Ryan Yarbrough (3-5) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Twins at Royals
- MIN Odds to Win: -185
- KC Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Twins at Royals
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSKC (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rays at Astros Probable Pitchers
The Tampa Bay Rays will send Zack Littell (0-2) to the bump as they play the Astros, who will counter with Brandon Bielak (5-5) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Rays at Astros
- HOU Odds to Win: -110
- TB Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Rays at Astros
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet SW (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Cubs at Cardinals Probable Pitchers
The Chicago Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks (4-4) to the mound as they take on the Cardinals, who will counter with Steven Matz (1-7) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Cubs at Cardinals
- STL Odds to Win: -145
- CHC Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Cubs at Cardinals
- Game Time: 2:15 PM ET
- Streaming: BSMW (regional restrictions may apply)
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Athletics at Rockies Probable Pitchers
The Oakland Athletics will send Luis Medina (3-7) to the hill as they play the Rockies, who will counter with Ty Blach (0-0) when the clubs play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Athletics at Rockies
- COL Odds to Win: -110
- OAK Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 12.5 runs
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Live Stream Athletics at Rockies
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet RM (regional restrictions may apply)
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Red Sox at Giants Probable Pitchers
The Boston Red Sox will send Brennan Bernardino (1-0) to the mound as they play the Giants, who will look to Scott Alexander (6-1) when the clubs meet on Sunday.
Live Stream Red Sox at Giants
- Game Time: 4:05 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-BA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Reds at Dodgers Probable Pitchers
The Cincinnati Reds will send Graham Ashcraft (5-7) to the bump as they take on the Dodgers, who will give the start to Michael Grove (2-2) for the matchup between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Reds at Dodgers
- LAD Odds to Win: -185
- CIN Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 10.5 runs
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Live Stream Reds at Dodgers
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet LA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rangers at Padres Probable Pitchers
The Texas Rangers will send Cody Bradford (2-1) to the hill as they play the Padres, who will give the start to Blake Snell (7-8) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Live Stream Rangers at Padres
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SDPA (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
Mariners at Diamondbacks Probable Pitchers
The Seattle Mariners will send Castillo (6-7) to the mound as they take on the Diamondbacks, who will counter with Kelly (9-4) when the teams play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Mariners at Diamondbacks
- SEA Odds to Win: -120
- ARI Odds to Win: +100
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Mariners at Diamondbacks
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ARID (regional restrictions may apply)
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Yankees at Orioles Probable Pitchers
The New York Yankees will send Luis Severino (2-4) to the bump as they play the Orioles, who will hand the ball to Dean Kremer (10-4) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Yankees at Orioles
- BAL Odds to Win: -125
- NYY Odds to Win: +105
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Yankees at Orioles
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ESPN (regional restrictions may apply)
- Watch for free: Sign up today for a free trial to Fubo.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ | 2023-07-30T11:53:01 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ |
Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Truist Atlanta Open
In the Truist Atlanta Open final on Sunday, Taylor Fritz takes on Aleksandar Vukic.
Fritz is favored (-550) bring home the title versus Vukic (+375).
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Match Information
- Tournament: The Truist Atlanta Open
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Atlantic Station
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Court Surface: Hard
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Taylor Fritz has an 84.6% chance to win.
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Trends and Insights
- By defeating No. 46-ranked Jeffrey John Wolf 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday, Fritz reached the finals.
- Vukic reached the finals by beating No. 38-ranked Ugo Humbert 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 on Saturday.
- Fritz has played 68 matches over the past year (across all court types), and 26.2 games per match (24.1 in best-of-three matches).
- Fritz has played 44 matches on hard courts over the past 12 months, and 25.8 games per match (24.3 in best-of-three matches).
- In the past year, Vukic has played 34 total matches (across all court types), winning 51.5% of the games. He averages 24.6 games per match (23.3 in best-of-three matches) and 9.8 games per set.
- Vukic has averaged 23.8 games per match (22.8 in best-of-three matches) and 9.6 games per set through 21 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months, winning 52.1% of those games.
- Dating back to 2015, Fritz and Vukic have not met on the court.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ | 2023-07-30T11:53:08 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Twins vs. Royals on July 30, 2023
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 5:50 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
Carlos Correa and Bobby Witt Jr. are two of the top players with prop bets available when the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals meet at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday (first pitch at 2:10 PM ET).
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Twins vs. Royals Game Info
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 2:10 PM ET
- Where: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
- How to Watch on TV: BSKC
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Read More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Minnesota Twins
Carlos Correa Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +145)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -120)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +400)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +160)
Correa Stats
- Correa has recorded 84 hits with 23 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 39 walks. He has driven in 45 runs.
- He has a .228/.304/.399 slash line on the year.
- Correa has picked up at least one hit in two straight games. During his last five outings he is hitting .174 with two doubles, two walks and an RBI.
Correa Recent Games
Byron Buxton Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -238)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -110)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +310)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +125)
Buxton Stats
- Byron Buxton has recorded 61 hits with 15 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs and 35 walks. He has driven in 42 runs with nine stolen bases.
- He has a .206/.295/.436 slash line so far this season.
- Buxton has picked up a hit in three games in a row. During his last five outings he is batting .438 with three doubles, two home runs, two walks and six RBI.
Buxton Recent Games
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MLB Props Today: Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +180)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -105)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +600)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +160)
Witt Jr. Stats
- Witt Jr. has 111 hits with 18 doubles, seven triples, 18 home runs, 22 walks and 60 RBI. He's also stolen 29 bases.
- He has a slash line of .263/.302/.467 on the year.
Witt Jr. Recent Games
Salvador Pérez Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -256)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +130)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +400)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +120)
Pérez Stats
- Salvador Perez has 90 hits with 16 doubles, 17 home runs, 13 walks and 44 RBI.
- He has a slash line of .249/.289/.434 on the year.
Pérez Recent Games
Bet on player props for Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Pérez or other Royals players with BetMGM.
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NIAMEY, Niger — Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.
Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country's influence in the region, but it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders are going to move toward Moscow or stick with Niger's Western partners.
Days after after mutinous soldiers ousted Niger's democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting about the country's future and some are calling out the junta's reasons for seizing control.
The mutineers said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France, because he wasn't able to secure the nation from growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that's just a pretext for a takeover that is more about internal power struggles than securing the nation.
"Everybody is wondering why this coup? That's because no one was expecting it. We couldn't expect a coup in Niger because there's no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power," Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.
He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who also goes by Omar and is now in charge of the country. Tchiani was loyal to Bazoum's predecessor and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said. The AP cannot independently verify his assessment.
While Niger's security situation is dire, it's not as bad as neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also have been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year Niger was the only one of the three to see a decline in violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Niger until now has been seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle the jihadists in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence in the fight against extremism. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens, and the United States and other European countries have helped train the nation's troops.
Some taking part in Sunday's rally also warned regional bodies who have denounced the coup to stay away. "I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please please stay out of our business," said Oumar Barou Moussa who was at the demonstration.
"It's time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It's time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty. We need to stay together, we need to work together, we need to have our true independence," he said.
Conflict experts say out of all the countries in the region, Niger has the most at stake if it turns away from the West, given the millions of dollars of military assistance the international community has poured in. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and "the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger."
France on Saturday suspended all development aid and other financial aid for Niger, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "France demands an immediate return to constitutional order under President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected by the Nigeriens," it said.
The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country's democratically elected government. On Sunday, the West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, is holding an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
However, in a televised address Saturday, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, accused the meeting of making a "plan of aggression" against Niger and said it would defend itself.
Niger experts say it's too soon to know how things will play out.
"Tensions with the military are still ongoing. There could be another coup after this one, or a stronger intervention from ECOWAS, potentially military force, even if it is difficult to foresee how specifically that may happen and what form that may take," said Tatiana Smirnova, a researcher at the Centre FrancoPaix in conflict resolution and peace missions.
"Many actors are also trying to negotiate, but the outcome is unclear," she said.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/2023-07-30/supporters-of-nigers-coup-march-waving-russian-flags-and-denouncing-france | 2023-07-30T11:53:55 | 0 | https://www.apr.org/2023-07-30/supporters-of-nigers-coup-march-waving-russian-flags-and-denouncing-france |
The annual Cleveland County Horse Show, hosted the weekend prior to the county fair is a favorite for many in the horse community. The Cleveland County Horse show starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26 at the fairgrounds, 615 E. Robinson St., Norman. Pre-entry is required by Aug. 8. The competition is limited to Cleveland County residents.
“One of the really neat things about this show is that it’s free to enter, which is really unusual in horse shows,” said Amber Spires, show superintendent. “The other thing is that it pays premiums which is really good because these kids pay money to go to a lot of these shows and other shows usually don’t pay premiums.”
Horse shows can be expensive but as part of the free fair there is no cost to enter this show and generous sponsors make the cash awards possible. The show is also known as a good place to network with other riders and trainers. Admission and parking are free and open to everyone.
The show runs until the competition is complete, usually around 7 p.m. that evening.
“The Fair Board runs this show with help from Sandy McClure and Holly Rains in the office,” Spires said. “This show has English and jumping and Western Pleasure so it’s very visitor friendly. There’s a nice spectator area. The kids are very friendly and willing to answer questions and a lot of them will let people pet their horses.”
In addition to youth divisions, there are open divisions for adult entrants.
“If you’re a newer rider, and you’re not comfortable cantering in a ring with a lot of other people, you can still do the walk-trot class,” Spires said.
There are three age divisions based on age by Jan. 1 of the current year: Junior for 13-year-old and under riders, Senior for 14 through 18-year-old riders and Open for 19-year-old and over riders. All exhibiters must live in Cleveland County.
A new rule clarification this year prohibits changes after entry. A rider may scratch but may not change classes or add classes after pre-entry. Late entries will not be accepted.
In addition to the age groups of youth competitors, you can also enter the “walk-trot” classification or the “walk-trot-canter” classification regardless of whether you are in the junior or senior age group
“Our fair board members come in and help work the horse show. Many of them stay for the whole day,” Spires said. “We are very grateful that we have this show and that they add this extra weekend so that we can have it. The fair board is very good to us.”
Residents can download entry forms at clevelandcountyfair.org/184/Entry-Forms-2022. | https://www.normantranscript.com/community/county-column-annual-horse-show-provides-unique-opportunity/article_6ea8f924-2be6-11ee-9b61-371728421df1.html | 2023-07-30T11:53:55 | 1 | https://www.normantranscript.com/community/county-column-annual-horse-show-provides-unique-opportunity/article_6ea8f924-2be6-11ee-9b61-371728421df1.html |
She's one of India's biggest Barbie fans. When Vichitra Rajasingh was growing up, family and friends helped her build her collection of Barbie dolls until she had almost 80 of them. She once owned a Barbie camper, a speedboat, supermarket and post office. The mermaid Barbie and scuba-diving Barbie were her favorites.
Since her family ran a hotel, they put the dolls on display in the lobby in the late '90s. On Rajasingh's 14th birthday, her parents painted her room bright pink and hired artists to draw her favorite Barbie dolls on the walls.
All her Barbies were blond. She says she didn't like the Indian ethnic ones that came on the local market.
Living the pink life
"My love for the color pink began with my childhood passion for Barbie," she says. "And now it's become my identity." For her, the color represents love, joy, femininity and playfulness, everything she once associated with Barbie, she says.
Today Rajasingh lives in the southern Indian city of Madurai, where she drives a pink mini-Cooper and runs a bakery and lives in an apartment that are dominated by that color.
When the Barbie movie released in India on July 21, she gathered a bunch of friends, "everyone dressed to the nines in pink," and watched it on the day of its release. "I loved the movie. It was fun to watch and brought back many joyful childhood memories," she says.
While she no longer has her huge doll collection — having long since given it away to family and friends — Rajasingh is still a Barbie lover. She bakes six or seven Barbie-themed cakes a week, with an actual doll at the center of a cake that serves as her frothy dress, constructed around her in a swirl of sugar and cream.
Rajasingh saw Barbie as an aspirational figure — and grew up admiring the doll's freedom, confidence, globe-trotting lifestyle and even her arched feet in sassy stilettos.
But for others in India, Barbie has a far more complicated legacy.
The pressures Barbie can bring
Shweta Sharan, a writer who lives in Mumbai, admits to being conflicted about whether or not to watch the movie with her 13-year-old daughter, Laasya, who until a year ago ardently loved Barbie but then outgrew playing with dolls.
"I am aware that these dolls have many complicated associations," Sharan says. "Watching my daughter love a doll that looked nothing like her — with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect breasts — I worried if she would always strive to be someone else and feel inadequate."
These worries are valid in the opinion of ElsaMarie DSilva, a social entrepreneur from India and an Aspen fellow. "While Barbie is almost universally loved among girls of all ages, many do aspire to look like her, unconsciously pressurizing young girls to conform to unrealistic body shapes and expectations," she says — a common criticism aimed at Barbie.
Indian Barbie is not a rousing success
Mattel did make an effort to adapt the doll for an Indian market. When Mattel launched Barbie in India in 1991, it was the familiar Western-looking blond-haired blue-eyed Barbie. Then in 1996, they rolled out Indian Barbie, with brown skin. She came either wearing a bright sari or a salwar kameez — a knee-length tunic over fitted trousers.
But the Indian Barbie was not popular. "Indian kids gravitated toward the white-skinned Barbie instead of the brown-skinned one because light-skinned women were considered more beautiful in India and an automatic choice," DSilva says.
She points out how even in Indian clothes, Barbie still had a body that did not represent real women in India or anywhere else — she was way too tall and way too thin.
Priti Nemani, an Indian American attorney living in Chicago, analyzed why Barbie failed so spectacularly in the Indian market in a research paper published in 2011. In addition to the unrealistic, impossibly thin appearance of the doll, she points out how other cultural factors were at play.
"We weren't seeing Indian features on Barbie," she says. "We were seeing white Barbies dipped in brown. And even those brown Barbies didn't last long on the shelves. The latest versions of the Indian Barbie have much lighter skin tone.
Meanwhile, even though blond Barbies sold well, Ken tanked in India. "Indian parents who wouldn't want their daughters in romantic relationships at such an early age weren't going to buy the boyfriend," Nemani says.
In spite of her initial misgivings, Sharan enjoyed the Barbie movie with her daughter, now 13, who especially liked the feminist overtones. Laasya loved the beginning, when they were told "Barbie has a great day everyday. Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him."
Barbie inspires a poem
There are other issues about Barbie in India. For many kids, the doll is too expensive.
Ankita Apurva, 26, a writer who grew up in a farming family in Ranchi, a city in the Eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, recalls a childhood bereft of Barbies.
Her parents, who struggled to pay for a good education that they hoped would be her armor against bullying and discrimination, could not afford to buy their daughter a Barbie.
"They weren't in a position to splurge on fancy dolls like a Barbie," she says. She recalls feeling inferior for not owning one of these expensive dolls that would help her connect with other Barbie owners in her circle. It was especially hard for her at lunch when girls would boast about how many dolls they owned.
"I believe that even if children from marginalized communities manage to enter [private] institutions [for the privileged], there are certain social, cultural and economic symbols which are consciously and subconsciously deployed to mark them out, and Barbie, as loved as it is, is definitely one of them," she says.
Over the years, Apurva's family has grown stronger financially. When she saw the global resurgence of interest in Barbie now, she didn't feel angry or alienated, but it did bring back memories of desperately wanting to fit in – and not just because she didn't have a Barbie.
"Growing up, I rarely felt represented in literature or media. If pens or cameras turned toward us, they inadvertently counted us as data: dead bodies of farmers or survivors of violence of umpteen kinds."
As a girl from a farming family in Jharkhand, Apurva felt invisible. And so, she decided to express those emotions. She wrote a poem that she posted on Instagram, not to shame anyone who is privileged enough to own a Barbie but to comfort those who, like her, may have felt left out.
Here are some excerpts:
"Here's to the girls who do not get the Barbie craze,
...
girls who had parents who could not
or did not or choose not
to get them Barbie dolls
...
it's okay,
to not relate to any of it
...
what is not okay are friends ...
who intentionally make you
feel low by asking how many Barbies
you owned as a kid even as they
know you weren't privileged enough
to have them.
...
you are also not "too much" ...
if you feel
that Barbie is a colonial icon
legitimizing racial supremacy
while being a 'white feminist' trope
...
and once again
remember,
you are everything,
they are just Ken
Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, Southern India. She reports on global health, science, and development, and her work has been published in the New York Times, The British Medical Journal, BBC, The Guardian and other outlets. You can find her on twitter @kamal_t
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/arts-life/arts-life/2023-07-28/barbie-in-india-a-skin-color-debate-a-poignant-poem-baked-in-a-cake | 2023-07-30T11:54:02 | 1 | https://www.apr.org/arts-life/arts-life/2023-07-28/barbie-in-india-a-skin-color-debate-a-poignant-poem-baked-in-a-cake |
Clear communication with others requires good tools and hard work. How about our communication with God? How do we make sure our communication with Him is clear and understandable?
Clear communication with God is more about the “to us” part than the “from us” part.
He understands us easier than we understand Him.
We are told that when we become members of His family, that we are given the Holy Spirit, the greatest “clarifier” of communication.
And we can depend on this clarifier to help us understand God’s communication to us, and at times to communicate to God things that we feel but have no words for.
God has decided that the primary way He will communicate with us at this time is through His inspired written word.
By the way, find a translation that is readable for you. I like the Message translation. It is written in an everyday language form that doesn’t require two or three other books or commentaries to understand it.
There are many practical and important things that God wants to communicate to us.
He wants to comfort us by helping us understand why we are here, what to expect during our time here, and how to cope till He comes back to get us.
He has also given us clear direction about how to treat each other. We are taught that we are to love our enemies and be kind to people who purposefully hurt us.
Husbands are told to love their wives in respectful, sacrificial/servant ways. Wives are told to treat their husbands with respect. Parents are told to love their children tenderly. Children are told to obey their parents and honor them.
Christians as a group are called to help heal and restore fallen brothers and sisters.
We are told how to treat the pastors of our congregations. We are taught that our meeting together is not to be an end in itself, but to be a time to be equipped to go out.
God apparently loves to communicate with us. It appears that in the beginning, He spent intimate time with Adam, walking and talking with him in the garden.
He apparently has been trying to recover that type of relationship with us since then. He wants us to understand His communication to us, and He wants us to communicate to Him. His desire has always been for us to understand how to have peace, joy, and contentment.
He originally accomplished this through that “walking and talking” relationship He had with Adam.
At this time, we have the opportunity to “hear Him” through the Bible and to “speak” to Him through conversational prayer — prayer that we speak as if He is in the same room with us.
He is in the same room with us, waiting to hear from us, and anxious for the opportunity to speak to us. | https://www.normantranscript.com/community/faith-column-how-do-we-communicate-with-god/article_4d5b90d2-2be7-11ee-88b7-3b4b5beed485.html | 2023-07-30T11:54:02 | 1 | https://www.normantranscript.com/community/faith-column-how-do-we-communicate-with-god/article_4d5b90d2-2be7-11ee-88b7-3b4b5beed485.html |
A medical device manufacturer in Alabama has announced plans to close its plant in November, a move that will impact nearly 500 workers. Baxter International Inc., which makes dialyzers for dialysis treatment at its plant in Opelika. Dialyzers are referred to the the “artificial kidneys” in dialysis which remove excess waste and fluids from the bloodstream during dialysis.
"Baxter leadership emphasized that this outcome is not a reflection on the quality employees and business climate in Opelika, but was brought on by global market conditions that have impacted demand and overseas competition," Opelika city officials said in a news release.
City officials will be working with state and nationwide contacts to help identify and recruit other potential companies to create future opportunities in Opelika, officials said.
Mayor Gary Fuller expressed disappointment by the announcement and concern for the affected employees.
"The City and our Economic Development team will be working closely with Baxter, the Alabama Department of Commerce, the Opelika Chamber, Southern Union and our other workforce partners to assist these employees in finding other careers here in our area," Fuller said.
Economic Development Director Lori Huguley said the community will rise despite the news.
"This is a big blow to our community and definitely not news we expected to hear, but we know we have great companies in our area that will welcome the chance to meet and interview those who are looking for other careers here," Huguley said.
Opelika is 60 miles northeast of Montgomery and has a population of 32,000. | https://www.apr.org/news/2023-07-30/medical-plant-to-close-in-opelika-hundreds-affected | 2023-07-30T11:54:09 | 1 | https://www.apr.org/news/2023-07-30/medical-plant-to-close-in-opelika-hundreds-affected |
The reluctance for Norman residents to latch onto a longterm franchise agreement with OG&E should be obvious.
We’re still paying for a deep freeze from more than two years ago. It seems everyone down the line got paid, pushing the brunt of the cost of the storm – and the bill for unscrupulous profiteers somewhere along the way – onto the ratepayers.
With so few people willing to scrutinize oil and gas in this state, there was only a handful of people in positions of power really advocating for ratepayers.
Are there safeguards in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Not really, in fact the State Legislature doubled down on making sure oil and gas companies can pass the burden back to the ratepayers. After the storm, Attorney General John O’Connor, at first, thought he could sue, until he found a state law that exempted petroleum from the anti-price gouging Emergency Stabilization Act.
In May of this year, Gov. Stitt signed House Bill 2561, which added natural gas to the exemption along with the existing “petroleum” exemption. Natural gas was considered a form of petroleum by lawmakers but they just wanted to make it clear.
We think it’s been pretty clear who’s making it into the lifeboats during an emergency.
Some want to argue it’s a “generational” storm. How do they know? It could happen next winter, or the winter after. Has our power grid improved since then? Are people’s homes any more insulated? Did we somehow lessen our energy needs in only two years?
And, Winter Storm Uri isn’t the only concern for Norman residents and business owners. They want agreements that they know are mutually beneficial.
OG&E representatives might have thought these franchise talks were so the people can listen to their pitch, but we hope OG&E leadership will treat any future talks like listening sessions, actually hear the frustration in people’s voices, and turn Norman residents’ constructive criticism into real solutions.
When questioned, OG&E representatives had far too many occasions when they had an opportunity to explain something they should obviously know – like why the terms of the agreement are the terms of the agreement – and either couldn’t or said the particular question is a question for someone else.
Then why wouldn’t the people who are able to answer questions be at meetings like these?
It may be true that OG&E isn’t at fault for so much of the increased energy costs, but it’s now in a position where it has an election to win. Voters are going to have to start liking the things they hear. | https://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/editorial-listen-more-talk-less/article_f7d88428-2d6a-11ee-a2c9-4b78dbc1e2d9.html | 2023-07-30T11:54:09 | 1 | https://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/editorial-listen-more-talk-less/article_f7d88428-2d6a-11ee-a2c9-4b78dbc1e2d9.html |
The first time Nicola Veitch went to a soccer game, she danced on the field in a white lab coat alongside a colleague inside a giant tsetse fly costume. Most of the fans applauded. Some were baffled.
Neither was auditioning to be the new team mascot.
Rather, Veitch, who's a lecturer in parasitology at the University of Glasgow, put on this somewhat weird performance as a pilot for sleeping sickness street theater — using a theatrical event to teach people about a disease that affects about 1,000 people each year in Africa.
In Malawi's two endemic districts where the disease is spread by local tsetse flies, the number of people falling ill from sleeping sickness has declined in recent years, but cases still persist. Last year, there were only 40 cases across the country. But Veitch points out the disease is "often unpredictable," which means that the possibility of resurgence remains a persistent threat.
More than a year after that Scottish match, the group brought the theatrical event to soccer games in Malawi where people cheered while learning about how to protect themselves from this tiny killer. Veitch calls it an innovative intervention in remote, hard-to-reach communities with few smartphones.
At the time of the performance, she says a clinical trial was underway for a new drug that "seems to be very promising in terms of treating sleeping sickness." If successful, people with the disease could take the medicine at home instead of relying on the current method of treatment for late-stage sleeping sickness — the intravenous administration of a toxic drug that often leads to complications and is occasionally fatal itself. The new drug would represent "a massive change," she says. But in the meantime, knowledge is one of the best ways to fight the disease, and the performance seemed to offer the spectators important information.
idea that
Sleeping sickness is found in communities in Malawi that border nature or game reserves. Those areas were where the performances were held. "So we are targeting the people that are really affected," says Janelisa Musaya, a parasitologist involved in the project and the associate director of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, instead of "just throwing the message all over the country." In other words, she says, it's a way of allocating resources wisely.
Targeting a 'hypnotic' parasite
Sleeping sickness, also called African trypanosomiasis, is caused by a parasite. "It almost looks like a worm," says Veitch. But it's not a worm. It's a single-celled protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma.
The parasite relies on the tsetse fly to shuttle it around. When an infected fly bites someone, the parasite can slip into their bloodstream. It causes a little trouble there, says Musaya, "but when it crosses the blood-brain barrier and goes to the central nervous system, it can affect your sleeping cycle. That's why it's called the sleeping sickness." (The disease is often confused with malaria since the symptoms of fever and lethargy are similar.)
When Veitch looks down the microscope at the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, she says, "it's very hypnotic the way it moves and quite beautiful. I think that only a parasitologist can say that."
That beauty was what got her thinking several years back about alternative ways to inform people about the disease — which many people in Malawi are still not aware of, Veitch says. She has a family member who works for SURGE, a Scottish art, theater and circus organization that runs an annual performance festival that brings cutting edge work to the streets and spaces of Glasgow. The sketches tend to be short, sharp, and interactive, she says.
One year, Veitch was drawn to an outside act that had repurposed an ambulance to teach people how to respond to someone having a cardiac arrest through engaging movement and comical water balloon antics. "And I thought to myself, we could be using street theater to engage people with parasitology," she says. So she approached SURGE and said, "We could maybe work together on something to do with parasites. I think we could create something really cool."
Veitch isn't alone in her thinking. A few years back, the World Health Organization published a report on the role that the arts — including theater — can play in improving our physical, social, and psychological health and well-being, a particular concern in under-resourced countries.
Arts activities facilitate social interaction, says Nisha Sajnani, the co-director of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab at New York University, who wasn't involved in the sleeping sickness project. She adds that performance is just the right platform and artform to "increase a sense of self-efficacy — a feeling of being able to do something about a problem."
Veitch's conversation with SURGE kickstarted a multiyear effort for her and her colleagues in Scotland and Malawi, including an arts and theater group called Voices Malawi that educates people about various illnesses, including COVID-19 and malaria and that uses street theater as a teaching mode.
First, the team had to dream up a way to depict sleeping sickness through street theater. Musaya was excited to get involved. After studying sleeping sickness for 15 years, there was still a missing link for her — "how do we educate the community not to get infected?" She hoped this theatrical foray might provide an answer.
Bwanalori Mwamlima, senior health promotion officer in the Rumphi district of Malawi, says that developing the performance was an act of co-creation among scientists, health workers, performing artists and individuals who'd survived the disease. He explains that the messages they wanted to communicate were, "How is it transmitted? What are the [symptoms]? How can it be prevented? And what are the current interventions?"
Tsetse fly theater has its Malawi premiere
When the show rolled out in Malawi in the fall of 2022, here's what it looked like.
Communities were told that local football and netball teams would descend upon a particular field to play. Then, the day of the event, the performers (a team of nurses, clinicians, students and researchers) drove through town in a truck with music blaring. That got people to leave their homes and follow the truck to the edge of a soccer field. "We wanted to gather a crowd," says Veitch.
Before the soccer game, they offered their theatrical vision of sleeping sickness — mainly visual with some narration. They gave red t-shirts to the audience and asked them to put them on to simulate the human bloodstream. The performers who were dressed as scientists in white lab coats waded into the crowd, each one carrying a giant net. "They were supposed to be scientists looking for infection," says Veitch.
Once the crowd was sufficiently warmed up, the person dressed as the tsetse fly emerged. (The fly costume was made in Scotland by the costume designer regularly employed by SURGE. She'd made outfits for "all sorts of weird and wonderful performances," says Veitch, but this was her first tsetse fly — which had massive wings and limited vision for the person inside the fly's head, so you "need someone to be at your side when moving around.")
The fly threw beach balls into the crowd, representing the infectious parasite, which audience members batted around.
The beach balls were different colors, a metaphor for the way in which the parasite changes its outer protein coat to evade the human immune system. "It's very difficult to create a vaccine to something that undergoes this variation," says Veitch.
The people dressed as scientists ran around to catch the balls of infection in their nets. And finally, they brought out a large net, enveloping the giant fly, escorting it offstage and bringing the performance to a close. In reality, this net is highly effective at attracting tsetse flies because of its blue color and the bottle of urine-smelling liquid placed beside it. "It's just a simple bit of material that has insecticide" in it, Veitch says.
But sometimes people in nearby villages take down the nets stationed in game reserves because they don't know what they are or why they're there. Therefore, "one of the ideas behind the performance," says Veitch, "was to get people to really consider they're very effective at catching tsetse. And if you leave them up, it's beneficial to everybody and that will prevent disease." In addition, by showing researchers helping to capture the parasites, the performers hoped to demonstrate to the public that scientists and their work can be trusted.
Afterward, spectators received additional guidance during a question and answer session. They asked what differentiates a tsetse fly from a housefly (its size, color, and resting wing position), how long it takes for symptoms to appear (typically 2 to 4 weeks) and perhaps most important, how to prevent getting bitten in the first place (avoid nature reserves; don't wear blue or black, which attracts the flies; wear long sleeves; apply insect repellent).
Musaya hopes the audiences walked away with an improved understanding of the disease and how they would contract it. "Many people who attended the performance said they didn't know about the disease," Veitch says. "They had heard of tsetse, but didn't know of the disease it carried, and didn't know of the symptoms to look out for."
"There's something about the dramatizing of the concept that increases the understanding," she explains.
Mwamlima, who dressed up as the tsetse fly for one of the performances in Malawi, was surprised by the success of the theatrical approach, "considering that this is the first time to bring theater performances to teach science," he says. "So I wasn't sure whether it would work," but he's glad that it seemed to. Evaluations showed the audiences were engaged and felt confident asking questions. But long-term, Veitch says they'll know if the performance was successful "if more tsetse nets are left in place and if more people come forward for diagnosis and treatment."
In addition, the medical professionals and researchers, many of whom had never done anything like this before, found this to be a meaningful way to connect with communities. "It really improved people's confidence in terms of thinking about public engagement," Veitch says, "and they would do it again."
"It's a great example of how participatory theater offers a compelling, energizing, pleasurable way of bringing people together to clarify community concerns, feel empowered to make a difference, problem solve," says NYU's Sajnani.
"I think it's a remarkable approach," agrees Kartik Sharma, the founder of the organization Public Arts Health & Us, which translates health and environment research into film and art, including theater pieces. He wasn't associated with the sleeping sickness project. Sharma argues that a performance "converts research into something which people can see and feel in a more personalized way." The result, he says, is that "you can actually use it the next day in your life. So I think it's a very powerful strategy."
For those who missed the show, Veitch says that video recordings will be used as part of Malawi's mobile cinema program, which ranges from big televisions on the back of land rovers to large screens set up next to marketplaces and other public gatherings. It's a common way to publicize health messages in Malawi. The goal, says Veitch, is to "extend the legacy of what we've been doing."
However, despite all the fanfare and promise of the program, Veitch, who says she wasn't into soccer when this program began, admits that she's still not a football fan.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/science-health/2023-07-30/a-man-dressed-as-a-tsetse-fly-came-to-a-soccer-game-and-he-definitely-had-a-goal | 2023-07-30T11:54:10 | 0 | https://www.apr.org/science-health/2023-07-30/a-man-dressed-as-a-tsetse-fly-came-to-a-soccer-game-and-he-definitely-had-a-goal |
People have asked me what I've learned so far through this series. Have I gotten any clarity on what makes up my own spiritual identity? And the answer is, not really. I'm still in the research phase of this project. I'm still collecting experiences and perspectives and I imagine I'll keep doing that forever, but it's too early to draw any definitive conclusions — except for one.
I believe each and every one of us is capable of making our own meaning. Some of us do that by living according to a set of religious principles. Or by feeling the beauty and sanctity of nature. Or by choosing to see spiritual connections in what others might call mere coincidence.
I don't need anyone to validate those experiences for them to be meaningful to me. But according to Lisa Miller, a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, having a spiritual life is good for your mental health.
Miller is a psychologist and has dedicated most of her career to the study of neuroscience and spirituality. Her newest book is called The Awakened Brain, and in it she makes some really bold claims about how holding spiritual beliefs can decrease our rates of anxiety and depression and generally make us most likely to lead happier lives. I can hear your skepticism already! I get it. I'm a spiritually inclined kind of person but it's still hard for me to understand how, scientifically speaking, believing in something bigger than yourself can make you healthier and happier.
I needed to understand how Miller came to these conclusions. But before she got to the actual science, she told me a story.
It was the mid '90s. Miller was in the early stages of her career and working at a residential mental health facility in New York City. After she'd been there a few months, Yom Kippur rolled around — the day of atonement, considered the most significant of the Jewish religious holidays. One of the older male patients with severe bipolar disorder asked if there were any plans to mark the day. The doctor in charge shrugged his shoulders and said, no — there's no service planned. The patient walked out of the room with his shoulders slumped and Lisa, who is Jewish, saw an opportunity.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Lisa Miller: I approached the unit chief and said, "I'm certainly not a rabbi, but I've been to two-and-a-half decades of Yom Kippur services. I'd be happy to facilitate if that might be OK with you." So I showed up on Yom Kippur and the patients had arrived early to the kitchen, which was to be our sanctuary. The fluorescent lights were quite strong and as we crowded around the linoleum table there was an extraordinary feeling of specialness.
As we started the prayers that we all knew from our childhood, joining together saying in Hebrew the prayers of Yom Kippur, I looked over and noticed that as the gentleman with bipolar was davening, he could not have been further from explosive. He was holding our group in the cadence of the prayers and we were actually following him.
I took a pause and I said, "I feel so grateful to be here today in our Yom Kippur ceremony. Would anyone like to say anything?" We went around the table and the first person to speak was a very otherwise withdrawn woman with recurrent depression. She said, "You know, I always knew on Yom Kippur we could ask for forgiveness. But sitting here now with you all, I'm aware that we can be forgiven. God can forgive us." And she looked liberated.
As I looked around the table at the patients, whatever their symptoms had been yesterday, they were free in that moment. They were free of suffering. They were free of the characteristic patterns that had dragged them down in a way that was equal and opposite to their main symptoms. And so I thought a mental health system minus spirituality made no sense, and that became my life's work, to understand the place of spirituality in renewal, in recovery, in resilience, and to put this in the language of science.
Rachel Martin: What happened when you brought these kinds of questions to your peers, to the other people in your scientific community? Like when you said for the first time, "Hey, I think we need to look at the effect of spirituality on mental health." What did people say to you?
Miller: Well, the vast majority were very respectful, nodded, and didn't pick up the thread. Some of them would say, "That's not psychology, that's not psychiatry." And in fact, I remember early on giving a grand rounds presentation and I opened up saying, "I'm going to speak today about a body of data using nationally representative samples on spirituality and mental health with all the gold standard methods." And about 10 people got up and walked out. It was absolutely not of interest.
Martin: Using the gold standard, what did that mean in terms of the experiments you were running and the studies and the data you were collecting? How did you make sure that it would hold water in the scientific community?
Miller: If I were to characterize the first five years of my investigation, I would say I used the data sets that everyone else knew and trusted. I only asked one new question, which was: "What's the impact of spirituality on the DSM diagnosis of addiction and depression?" The findings were jaw dropping.
The protective benefit of personal spirituality, meaning someone who says their personal spirituality is very important, is 80% against addiction. They have 80% decreased relative risk for the DSM diagnosis of addiction to drugs or alcohol.
Martin: Wait, so someone who self-identifies as having a meaningful spiritual life is 80% less likely to get addicted to drugs or alcohol than someone who says they don't?
Miller: Yes.
Martin: Wow. And how can you prove that it is a spiritual life that is doing that and not some external factor? Because you heard this from other critics, too, some of your peers said you can't attribute that to spirituality, it's gotta be some other social conditioning.
Miller: Well, that's a very important point because in every study we controlled for all of the usual interpretations about this being social support or having resources. So we plugged into our equation every other possible explanation that was generally taken in mental health to explain the road to depression. And nonetheless, it actually turned out that the more high risk we are, the more that there's stress in our lives, the more that we might be genetically at risk for depression, the greater the impact of spirituality as a source of resilience as preventative against major depression.
Martin: What does that look like in the brain?
Miller: One of the most beautiful findings in my 20 years as an investigator was from an MRI study conducted together with our colleagues at Yale Medical School. We looked at people of many different faith traditions and the first finding was that there is one neuro seat of transcendent perception and we share it. Now there's human variability of course, and we can strengthen components.
Martin: How are you actually doing that with people? Are you asking your subjects to pray? What are the spiritual inputs that are going into them so that you can measure it on their brains?
Miller: The very specific prompt was, "Tell us about a time where you felt a deep connection to God, your higher power, the source of life." Everyone had a story like that and as they told their story, we recorded them and it was then played back in their ears while they were inside the scanner.
Martin: Ah, they heard themselves recounting their spiritual experience.
Miller: It was tailor made to their own moment.
Martin: And you saw their brains light up?
Miller: Oh yes. Connecting to these memories, the bonding network comes up online just as when we were held in the arms of our parents or grandparents.
Martin: Wait, when you say the bonding network you mean you can literally see that the brain will respond to spiritual stimuli in the same way that it does to a hug from a family member when you're a baby?
Miller: Precisely.
Martin: Can you tell me how this manifests in the real world? I'm thinking about this anecdote you include in the book about a client of yours. A girl you refer to as Iliana.
Miller: Iliana adored her father, I mean, he was the sun and the moon and the stars to her. They were so close. And one night two men who her father knew, came into his corner store, robbed him and murdered him. And she was devastated. This was a grief that was so deep. She simply could not free herself from the grief that was shackling her heart.
One day, Iliana skips into my office. There's a levity and joy. She plops into the seat and says, "Dr. Miller, you're never gonna believe this. My cousin and my cousin's girlfriend chaperoned me so I could go to a party and I met the most wonderful boy. We talked so long, it must have been 20 minutes. He was so polite and so kind. But here's the best part, his name." Which was the same very usual name as her father.
She said, "Don't you see? My father sent him. My father is looking out after me." And from that day on she was in the world of the living. What changed everything for Iliana was the awareness that her father walked with her. She maintained a deep transcendent relationship with her father, as most people around the world do.
Iliana trusted her deep inner knowing that this was far too probabilistic to have happened by chance. That this very rare name held both by this new boy and her father could possibly mean nothing.
Martin: Can I ask, what are you thinking as you hear this? I mean, are you thinking that is just a crazy coincidence, but if she needs to believe that this is a sign from God, who am I to tell her otherwise? Because it seems to be working.
Miller: Well, at the time, that was certainly the most common interpretive framework amongst psychologists and psychiatrists. But I could see plain as day that this was a tremendously sacred moment. This was a living miracle. This was a gift.
For me to have treated it like some kind of cultural diversity variable or that it's just the meaning she makes would've actually taken all of the energy and spirit out of that transformative awakening moment. I joined her.
Now I did that authentically because it was my view as well that this is far too nonprobabilistic to have happened by chance, that there are very few people by that very same name and that the first boy she met in a year and a half since her father's passing should have the name of the father. It was a synchronicity. There was a deeper meaning being revealed.
Martin: When you're talking to people who aren't scientists, someone who's skeptical, someone who doesn't have faith, who doesn't have what they define as a spiritual life, what do you want them to take away from your research and your message?
Miller: I've given a number of talks to audiences who, prior to seeing the science, would not necessarily consider themselves spiritual people. And, in fact, I oftentimes hear from people who consider themselves skeptics and very left-brained and when they see the peer reviewed science that says we're naturally spiritual beings, that when we cultivate our spirituality we're 80% less likely to be addicted, 82% less likely to take our lives, it speaks to the left side of their brains long enough that it quiets down the skepticism.
In other words, three cheers for the skeptic. Here is published, peer reviewed science for skeptical audiences to begin to explore, to be curious about our spiritual nature. You know, at the inner table of human knowing we all have an empiricist, a logician, an intuitive, a mystic, and a skeptic. And the skeptic is very welcome, but the skeptic is not the bouncer at the door.
It is not scientific to put a skeptic as a bouncer at the door. It is not more rigorous to toss out an idea before being examined in every way. We are wired to be able to investigate. So I simply say to the biggest skeptic of all, you are most welcome to your own inner table of inquiry, but be sure to invite everyone else.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/science-health/science-health/2023-07-30/this-ivy-league-researcher-says-spirituality-is-good-for-our-mental-health | 2023-07-30T11:54:16 | 0 | https://www.apr.org/science-health/science-health/2023-07-30/this-ivy-league-researcher-says-spirituality-is-good-for-our-mental-health |
Expert issues warning on autonomous AI systems being weaponized: 'Something we can't rule out'
Fox Nation’s 'AI: The Terminator Effect' explores the potential dangers of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) experts are warning that Hollywood’s portrayal of the autonomous technology does, in fact, pose some legitimate concerns. While films like "The Terminator" are known for their glorified exaggerations, one expert argued there may be some fact hiding in the science fiction.
Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety, joined Fox Nation’s new special "AI: The Terminator Effect," in which industry experts explore the potential dangers of artificial intelligence - and examine what Hollywood films have gotten right and wrong.
IN THE AGE-OLD GOOD VS EVIL STORY, IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CINEMA'S NEW VILLAIN?
As of May 2 of this year, 11,500 Hollywood screenwriters, represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike, largely over the inclusion of AI. While the writers are asking for increased and commensurate pay and for a guaranteed number of writers per room, they're also fighting for regulated use of artificial intelligence in the writing process.
Earlier this month, Hollywood actors joined the screenwriters in their months-long strike against studios, streaming services and production companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), marking the first time in over six decades that the two unions have been on strike at the same time.
Much like the writers, the actors, represented by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), want guarantees from studio and production companies about how, exactly, AI will be used.
While the writers have vocalized concerns that their creativity will be compromised with AI's involvement in storytelling, and the actors fear their image and likeness will be replicated by AI to no end, many would rightfully assume Artificial Intelligence is Hollywood's new villain.
"A.I. is a perfect target. It’s this unfeeling ‘other’ that makes a great villain," one expert explains in the Fox Nation special. "If it becomes an A.I. with intelligence beyond human capability, it could destroy us."
On "Fox & Friends" Thursday, Hendrycks argued that film depictions of AI encourage viewers to consider new possibilities regarding what the technology is capable of.
"One of those [possibilities] is the risk of some weaponized A.I. system being something that we lose control of," he told host Lawrence Jones. "So right now we don't have robotics, but we could imagine in possibly the next few years there being some risk of potentially some bot that is able to hack and that causing a lot of destruction. Later on when we get robotics, then a lot of these other scenarios become a possibility."
AI COULD DELIVER BIOWEAPONS CAPABILITIES TO BAD ACTORS, SAFETY CHIEF WARNS: ‘GRAVE THREAT’
"But risks of us potentially losing control of some weaponized A.I. system, that's something that we can't rule out," Hendrycks said.
Hendrycks issued a stern warning in "The Terminator Effect," saying, "If A.I. systems go rogue, which is a legitimate possibility, it's very uncertain how we're going to try and put the genie back in the bottle."
SAG-AFTRA VOTES TO STRIKE AFTER DISNEY CEO SLAMMED MOVE AS ‘DISTURBING’
He said researchers are moving as quickly as possible to develop autonomous A.I. systems, which have traditionally been featured as the villain in films like "I, Robot," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and the upcoming "Mission: Impossible."
AI COULD REPLACE POLITICIANS AND CEOS IF THEY PLAY BY DARWINIAN RULES OF EVOLUTION: EXPERT
The ultimate goal, Hendrycks warned, is to remove the need for people in order to operate A.I.
"They're trying to automate as many jobs as possible because this makes a lot of money," Hendrycks explained. "So a lot of people are trying to make it be the case that they're more autonomous and don't require human intervention and can make decisions faster and better than people."
"So that's what the current incentives are, and that's what a lot of researchers are trying to do - for good or bad."
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX NATION
To learn more about the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence, subscribe to Fox Nation and stream "AI: The Terminator Effect" now.
Fox News' Laura Carrione contributed to this report.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media. | https://www.foxnews.com/media/expert-issues-warning-autonomous-ai-systems-weaponized-something-we-cant-rule-out | 2023-07-30T11:56:24 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/media/expert-issues-warning-autonomous-ai-systems-weaponized-something-we-cant-rule-out |
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Nearly two years after 10 people were crushed to death during the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival, no charges have been filed — even though some people, including event workers, expressed safety concerns.
Pinpointing “who exactly caused those deaths is not an easy question to answer,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a criminal law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
“It’s a very difficult thing to say, unless you have some kind of clear evidence that somebody in charge, whose job it was to ensure safety and who should have known better, failed to take action,” she said.
A nearly 1,300-page report on the investigation into the tragedy released by Houston police Friday said contract worker Reece Wheeler told authorities that he saw a crush of people and warned an event organizer that people could die, shortly before rapper Travis Scott went onstage.
In the report, investigators wrote that Scott said he did see one person near the stage getting medical attention, but said that overall, the crowd seemed to enjoy the show. He said he did not see any signs of serious problems, nor did he hear anyone tell him to stop the show.
Hip-hop artist Drake, who also performed, told police it was difficult to see from the stage what was going on in the crowd and that he didn’t hear anyone call for the show to stop.
Despite no charges being filed, more than 500 lawsuits have been filed over the deaths and injuries at the concert, including many against concert promoter Live Nation and Scott. Some of those suits have since been settled.
Those who were killed ranged in age from 9 to 27, and all 10 people died due to compression asphyxia, according to medical examiners.
In June, a Texas grand jury declined to indict six people in the case, including Scott. Prosecutors said, then, that the circumstances of the deaths limited what charges they were able to present, eliminating potential counts such as murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Thompson said the sheer number of people involved in putting on the event, the large scale of it, and the high bar for proving criminal negligence or recklessness are challenges for prosecutors in cases like this.
“It goes back to, who knows what’s going on, is that being communicated?” she said. “Were they being told that people have died, and they still wanted the concert to go on? Or, were they being told that ‘Hey, some people are getting hurt, which might not be that unusual at an event like that?”
Assistant Harris County District Attorney Alycia Harvey said after the grand jury declined to issue indictments that prosecutors were left with only possible counts of endangering a child in connection with the deaths of the two youngest concertgoers, ages 9 and 14.
Scott’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, has said that the performer was not responsible for the tragedy.
“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer said.
Scott has previously said he was unaware of the deaths until after the show. He has since created what he called Project HEAL, a $5 million initiative that includes funding for an effort to address safety challenges for festivals and large-scale events.
The police report said Scott told investigators that around the time Drake came onstage he was told to end the show after the performance, but that no one told him of an emergency.
Following the tragedy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott formed a task force to study concert safety, and to recommend crowd control and security measures during mass gathering.
The task force in April 2022 reported that people without tickets entered the outdoor festival area hours before the performances began, overwhelming staff and leading to a variety of injuries. It also concluded that the process for issuing permits for mass gatherings is inconsistent statewide.
The task force recommended creating a command center that is authorized to pause or cancel a show in response to safety concerns.
“Sometimes, sadly, industries learn safety practices following disasters,” said Thompson, the law professor. “The standards for live concerts like this, I would imagine, are going to change.”
_____
Miller reported from Oklahoma City, Willingham reported from Charleston, West Virginia. | https://www.ksn.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-10-people-died-at-the-astroworld-music-festival-two-years-ago-what-happens-now/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:24 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-10-people-died-at-the-astroworld-music-festival-two-years-ago-what-happens-now/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Six straight days of 12-hour driving. Single digit paychecks. The complaints come from workers in vastly different industries: UPS delivery drivers and Hollywood actors and writers.
But they point to an underlying factor driving a surge of labor unrest: The cost to workers whose jobs have changed drastically as companies scramble to meet customer expectations for speed and convenience in industries transformed by technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated those changes, pushing retailers to shift online and intensifying the streaming competition among entertainment companies. Now, from the picket lines, workers are trying to give consumers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce a show that can be binged any time or get dog food delivered to their doorstep with a phone swipe.
Overworked and underpaid employees is an enduring complaint across industries — from delivery drivers to Starbucks baristas and airline pilots — where surges in consumer demand have collided with persistent labor shortages. Workers are pushing back against forced overtime, punishing schedules or company reliance on lower-paid, part-time or contract forces.
At issue for Hollywood screenwriters and actors staging their first simultaneous strikes in 40 years is the way streaming has upended entertainment economics, slashing pay and forcing showrunners to produce content faster with smaller teams.
“This seems to happen to many places when the tech companies come in. Who are we crushing? It doesn’t matter,” said Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a screenwriter and showrunner on the negotiating team for the Writers Guild of America, whose members have been on strike since May. Earlier this month, the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the writers’ union on the picket line.
Actors and writers have long relied on residuals, or long-term payments, for reruns and other airings of films and televisions shows. But reruns aren’t a thing on streaming services, where series and films simply land and stay with no easy way, such as box office returns or ratings, to determine their popularity.
Consequently, whatever residuals streaming companies do pay often amount to a pittance, and screenwriters have been sharing tales of receiving single digit checks.
Adam Shapiro, an actor known for the Netflix hit “Never Have I Ever,” said many actors were initially content to accept lower pay for the plethora of roles that streaming suddenly offered. But the need for a more sustainable compensation model gained urgency when it became clear streaming is not a sideshow, but rather the future of the business, he said.
“Over the past 10 years, we realized: ‘Oh, that’s now how Hollywood works. Everything is streaming,’” Shapiro said during a recent union event.
Shapiro, who has been acting for 25 years, said he agreed to a contract offering 20% of his normal rate for “Never Have I Ever” because it seemed like “a great opportunity, and it’s going to be all over the world. And it was. It really was. Unfortunately, we’re all starting to realize that if we keep doing this we’re not going to be able to pay our bills.”
Then there’s the rising use of “mini rooms,” in which a handful of writers are hired to work only during pre-production, sometimes for a series that may take a year to be greenlit, or never get picked up at all.
Sanchez-Witzel, co-creator of the recently released Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest,” said television shows traditionally hire robust writing teams for the duration of production. But Netflix refused to allow her to keep her team of five writers past pre-production, forcing round-the-clock work on rewrites with just one other writer.
“It’s not sustainable and I’ll never do that again,” she said.
Sanchez-Witzel said she was struck by the similarities between her experience and those of UPS drivers, some of whom joined the WGA for protests as they threatened their own potentially crippling strike. UPS and the Teamsters last week reached a tentative contract staving off the strike.
Jeffrey Palmerino, a full-time UPS driver near Albany, New York, said forced overtime emerged as a top issue during the pandemic as drivers coped with a crush of orders on par with the holiday season. Drivers never knew what time they would get home or if they could count on two days off each week, while 14-hour days in trucks without air conditioning became the norm.
“It was basically like Christmas on steroids for two straight years. A lot of us were forced to work six days a week, and that is not any way to live your life,” said Palmerino, a Teamsters shop steward.
Along with pay raises and air conditioning, the Teamsters won concessions that Palmerino hopes will ease overwork. UPS agreed to end forced overtime on days off and eliminate a lower-paid category of drivers who work shifts that include weekends, converting them to full-time drivers. Union members have yet to ratify the deal.
The Teamsters and labor activists hailed the tentative deal as a game-changer that would pressure other companies facing labor unrest to raise their standards. But similar outcomes are far from certain in industries lacking the sheer economic indispensability of UPS or the clout of its 340,000-member union.
Efforts to organize at Starbucks and Amazon stalled as both companies aggressively fought against unionization.
Still, labor protests will likely gain momentum following the UPS contract, said Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, which released a report this year that found the number of labor strikes rose 52% in 2022.
“The whole idea that consumer convenience is above everything broke down during the pandemic. We started to think, ‘I’m at home ordering, but there is actually a worker who has to go the grocery store, who has to cook this for me so that I can be comfortable,’” Campos-Medina said.
___
Associated Press video journalist Leslie Ambriz contributed from Los Angeles. | https://www.ksn.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-consumer-demand-for-speed-and-convenience-drives-labor-unrest-among-workers-in-hollywood-and-at-ups/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:28 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-consumer-demand-for-speed-and-convenience-drives-labor-unrest-among-workers-in-hollywood-and-at-ups/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Chatter on one of Prabha Rao’s WhatsApp groups exploded last week when India announced that it was severely curtailing some rice exports to the rest of the world, triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off.
As in any crisis situation — think bottled water and toilet paper— some rushed to supermarkets to stock up, stacking carts with bags and bags of rice. In some places, lines formed outside some stores as panic buying ensued.
But Rao, who lives near Syracuse, New York, was reassured when the proprietor of her Indian market sent out an email to customers to let them know there was no need to worry: There was an ample supply of rice.
At least for now.
An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.
Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government earlier this month imposed export bans on non-Basmati white rice varieties, prompting hoarding in some parts of the world.
The move was taken “to ensure adequate availability” and “to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market,” India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution announced July 20. Over the past year, prices have increased by more than 11%, and by 3% over the past month, the government said.
Non-Basmati white rice constitutes about a fourth of the rice exported by India.
“On WhatsApp, I got a lot of messages saying that rice was not going to be available. I think there was a lot of confusion in the beginning because, as you know, rice is very important for us,” Rao said.
“When we first heard the news, there was just mild confusion and people started panic buying because they thought that it may not be available,” she said.
There are scores of different varieties of rice, with people having their preference depending on taste and texture. India’s export ban does not apply to Basmati rice, a long-grain variety that is more aromatic.
The ban applies to short-grain rice that is starchier and has a relatively neutral flavor — which Rao says is preferable in some dishes or favored in specific regions of India, especially in southern areas of the country.
At Little India, a grocery store in New York City’s Curry Hill neighborhood in Manhattan, there was no shortage of Basmati rice and other varieties.
That wasn’t the case at other Indian groceries.
On its Facebook page, India Bazaar, an Indian grocery chain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, told customers not to panic. “We are working hard to meet all our shoppers’ demands,” the post said.
Customers cleared shelves and waited in long lines to stockpile bags of rice, reported NBC Dallas affiliate KXAS.
“They really wanted to purchase ten, 12, 15 bags,” India Bazaar’s president, Anand Pabari, told the station. “It was a really crazy situation.”
India’s move came days after Russia backed out of a deal to allow Ukrainian wheat safe passage through the Black Sea, prompting warnings that the action could lead to surging prices.
Some economists say the ban might further hurt food supplies around the world, and some governments have urged the Indian government to reconsider the export ban.
At least in the United States, the supply of imported rice from India may not yet be a problem — despite the panic buying — but a long-term ban would certainly deplete that stock.
Roa says she and others will just have to adapt by purchasing rice grown in the United States or imported from other countries.
“I might have to substitute Basmati rice,” she said, “but it doesn’t taste that good, especially with South Indian dishes.”
A U.S. resident for three decades, Rao said she is accustomed to improvising.
“When we first came here, there was not even that much rice from India,” she said. “So I’ve learned to substitute, and I’m fine with the other brands that we get.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-india-cuts-rice-exports-triggering-panic-buying-of-food-staple-by-some-indian-expats-in-the-us/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:31 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-india-cuts-rice-exports-triggering-panic-buying-of-food-staple-by-some-indian-expats-in-the-us/ |
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday that Sri Lanka is a key partner in a Tokyo-led initiative aimed at building security and economic cooperation around the Indo-Pacific but also at countering an increasingly assertive China.
Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, is integral to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said. He was speaking after a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, in the capital, Colombo.
The initiative, announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in March includes Japan’s assistance to emerging economies, support for maritime security, a provision of coast guard patrol boats and equipment and other infrastructure cooperation.
Last year Sri Lanka, which owed $51 billion in foreign debt, became the first Asia-Pacific country since the late 1990s to default, sparking an economic crisis.
While Japan is Sri Lanka’s largest creditor, about 10% of its debt is held by China, which lent Colombo billions to build sea ports, airports and power plants as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. In March, China agreed to offer Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on loan repayments.
Hayashi said that he conveyed expectations for further progress in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process. He welcomed Sri Lanka’s efforts under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which includes anti-corruption measures and transparency in the policy-making process.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Sabry said that he, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, invited Japan to resume investment projects already in the pipeline and to consider fresh investments in sectors such as power generation, ports and highways, and dedicated investment zones, as well as in the green and digital economy.
Over many decades, Japan became one of Sri Lanka’s key donors, carrying out key projects under concessionary terms. However, relations between the two countries came under strain after Wickremesinghe’s predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa unilaterally scrapped a Japan-funded light railway project following his election in 2019.
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has already approved a proposal to restart the railway project.
Rajapaksa was forced to resign in July 2022 amid angry public protects over the country’s worst economic crisis. | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:32 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-with-one-eye-on-china-japan-backs-sri-lanka-as-a-partner-in-the-indo-pacific/ |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shawn Steik and his wife were forced from a long-term motel room onto the streets of Anchorage after their rent shot up to $800 a month. Now they live in a tent encampment by a train depot, and as an Alaska winter looms they are growing desperate and fearful of what lies ahead.
A proposal last week by Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson to buy one-way plane tickets out of Alaska’s biggest city for its homeless residents gave Steik a much-needed glimmer of hope. He would move to the relative warmth of Seattle.
“I heard it’s probably warmer than this place,” said Steik, who is Aleut.
But the mayor’s unfunded idea also came under immediate attack as a Band-Aid solution glossing over the tremendous, and still unaddressed, crisis facing Anchorage as a swelling homeless population struggles to survive in a unique and extreme environment. Frigid temperatures stalk the homeless in the winter and bears infiltrate homeless encampments in the summer.
A record eight people died of exposure while living outside last winter and this year promises to be worse after the city closed an arena that housed 500 people during the winter months. Bickering between the city’s liberal assembly and its conservative mayor about how to address the crisis, and a lack of state funding, have further stymied efforts to find a solution.
With winter fast approaching in Alaska, it’s “past time for state and local leaders to address the underlying causes of homelessness — airplane tickets are a distraction, not a solution,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said in a statement to The Associated Press.
About 43% of Anchorage’s more than 3,000 unsheltered residents are Alaska Natives, and Bronson’s proposal also drew harsh criticism from those who called it culturally insensitive.
“The reality is there is no place to send these people because this is their land. Any policy that we make has to pay credence to that simple fact. This is Dena’ina land, this is Native land,” said Christopher Constant, chair of the Anchorage Assembly. “And so we cannot be supporting policies that would take people and displace them from their home, even if their home is not what you or I would call home.”
Bronson’s airfare proposal caps a turbulent few years as Anchorage, like many cities in the U.S. West, struggles to deal with a burgeoning homeless population.
In May, the city shut down the 500-bed homeless shelter in the city’s arena so it could once more be used for concerts and hockey games after neighbors complained about open drug use, trespassing, violence and litter. A plan to build a large shelter and navigation center fell through when Bronson approved a contract without approval from the Anchorage Assembly.
That leaves a gaping hole in the city’s ability to house the thousands of homeless people who have to contend with temperatures well below zero for days at a time and unrelenting winds blasting off Cook Inlet. At the end of June, Anchorage was estimated to have a little more than 3,150 homeless people, according to the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. Last week, there were only 614 beds at shelters citywide, with no vacancies.
New tent cities have sprung up across Anchorage this summer: on a slope facing the city’s historic railroad depot, on a busy road near the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson and near soup kitchens and shelters downtown.
Assembly members are slated to consider a winter stop-gap option in August falling far short of the need: a large, warmed, tent-like structure for 150 people.
Summer brings its own challenges: hungry bears last year roamed a city-owned campground where homeless people were resettled after the arena closed. Wildlife officials killed four bears after they broke into tents.
Bronson said he prefers to spend a few hundred dollars per person for a plane ticket rather than spending about $100 daily to shelter and feed them. He said he doesn’t care where they want to go; his job is to “make sure they don’t die on Anchorage streets.”
It’s not clear if his proposal will move forward. There is not yet a plan or a funding source.
Dr. Ted Mala, an Inupiaq who in 1990 became the first Alaska Native to serve as the state’s health commissioner, said Anchorage should be working with social workers and law enforcement to discover people’s individual reasons for homelessness and connect them with resources.
Buying the unsheltered a ticket to another city is a political game that’s been around for years. A number of U.S. cities struggling with homelessness, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, have also offered bus or plane tickets to homeless residents.
“People are not pawns, they’re human beings,” Mala said.
The mayor’s proposal, while focused on warmer cities, also would fund tickets to other Alaska locations for those who want them.
Clarita Clark became homeless after her medical team wanted her to move from Point Hope to Anchorage for cancer treatment because Anchorage is warmer. The medical facility wouldn’t allow her husband to stay with her, so they pitched a tent in a sprawling camp to stay together.
Having recently found the body of a dead teenager who overdosed in a portable toilet, Clark yearns to return to the Chukchi Sea coastal village of Point Hope, where her three grandchildren live.
“I got a family that loves me,” she said, adding she would use the ticket and seek treatment closer to home.
Danny Parish also is leaving Alaska, but for another reason: He’s fed up.
Parish is selling his home of 29 years because it sits directly across the street from Sullivan Arena. Bad acts by some homeless people — including harassment, throwing vodka bottles in his yard, poisoning his dog and using his driveway as a toilet — made his life “a holy hell,” he said.
Parish is convinced the arena will be used again this winter since there isn’t another plan.
He, too, hopes to move to the contiguous U.S. — Oregon, for starters — but not before asking Anchorage leaders for his own plane ticket out.
“If they’re going to give them to everybody else,” Parish said, “then they need to give me one.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/health/ap-health/ap-anchorage-homeless-face-cold-and-bears-a-plan-to-offer-one-way-airfare-out-reveals-a-bigger-crisis/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:40 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/health/ap-health/ap-anchorage-homeless-face-cold-and-bears-a-plan-to-offer-one-way-airfare-out-reveals-a-bigger-crisis/ |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country’s democratically elected government just as the coup leaders met with senior civil servants to discuss how they would run the country and as the U.S. and the European Union threatened sanctions against the regime.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday, told state television that the junta met with civil servants on Friday and asked them to continue their work as usual following the suspension of the constitution. “The message given was not to stop the processes underway, to keep on with things,” said Brig. Gen. Toumba.
“Everything that must be done will be done,” he said, signaling the intention of the regime led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who also goes by Omar, to remain in power.
After its meeting on Friday, the African Union Peace and Security Council said it was concerned by the “alarming resurgence” of coups that undermine democracy and stability on the continent. It asked the soldiers to “return immediately and unconditionally to their barracks and restore constitutional authority, within a maximum of fifteen (15) days.”
Bazoum, whose condition and that of his officials remains unknown since the government was overthrown, should also be released immediately and unconditionally, the AU said. Failure to do so would compel the bloc to take “necessary action, including punitive measures against the perpetrators.”
On the streets of the Nigerien capital Niamey on Saturday, things appeared to be returning to normal, though many in the international community were still on lockdown with hotels full of foreigners, many given instructions not to leave.
Locals say they’re waiting to see what unfolds, with many still in support of Bazoum who has not yet resigned. “I’m with him, he does a good work. (But) what can we do?” said Mohamed Cisse, a street seller. “This is (the new leader’s) time, Bazoum’s time is over,” he said.
Tchiani, the junta leader and commander of Niger’s presidential guard, is close to former Nigerien president Mahamadou Issoufou, who stepped down in 2021 after a decade in office. Tchiani’s takeover of power will reinforce speculation that Issoufou is behind the coup, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German think tank and consultancy.
The U.S. threatened to halt its economic support to Niger while the European Union announced the immediate indefinite suspension of budgetary support and security assistance.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, estimated America’s economic and security partnership with Niger at hundreds of millions of dollars and said its continuity depends on “the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order.”
“So that assistance, that support, is in clear jeopardy as a result of these actions, which is another reason why they need to be immediately reversed,” Blinken said.
While there are no signs of the junta backing down amid growing international pressure, analysts called for synergy in the interventions of the international community and continental organizations such as the AU and the regional bloc of ECOWAS, which is scheduled to meet over the coup on Sunday.
A successful coup in Niger and the sanctions in the aftermath could cause more hardship for millions of poor and hungry people in West Africa and could further threaten international relations with the region, which is seeing a resurgence of coups in recent years, according to Idayat Hassan, senior Africa program fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“A non-reversal of the coup also means that we are defining a new world order in West Africa in particular as you are pitching the west and other countries against few military regimes which may be backed by Russia,” said Hassan.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-african-union-gives-15-day-ultimatum-to-niger-junta-to-end-regime-but-soldiers-seek-continuity/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:44 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-african-union-gives-15-day-ultimatum-to-niger-junta-to-end-regime-but-soldiers-seek-continuity/ |
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
“No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the … Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office.
“Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement said.
China’s People’s Liberation Army has increased its military maneuvers in recent years aimed at Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships to circle the island.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it tracked six Chinese navy ships near the island.
Taiwan’s ruling administration, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, has stepped up its weapons purchases from the U.S. as part of a deterrence strategy against a Chinese invasion.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Taiwan has never been governed by China’s ruling Communist Party.
Unlike previous military purchases, the latest batch of aid is part of a presidential authority approved by the U.S. Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles — so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales.
While Taiwan has purchased $19 billion worth of weaponry, much of it has yet to be delivered to Taiwan. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to Taiwan. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-china-says-us-military-aid-to-taiwan-will-not-deter-its-will-to-unify-the-island/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:51 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-china-says-us-military-aid-to-taiwan-will-not-deter-its-will-to-unify-the-island/ |
SANTA MARIA DE JESUS, Guatemala (AP) — Presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo stood before a few hundred residents of this small Indigenous community on the slopes of the Agua Volcano and told them they could be the seeds of a brighter, more corruption-free spring in Guatemala.
The metaphor fits neatly with his political party, the Seed Movement, and allows the 64-year-old academic and former diplomat to riff on themes of renewal and growth.
But it also alludes to Guatemala’s “democratic spring,” considered a more inclusive period in the country’s history during the presidency in the 1940s and early 1950s of his late father, Juan José Arévalo.
Bernardo Arévalo won just 11% of the vote in the presidential election’s first round June 25, but it was enough to give him the surprise second slot in the Aug. 20 runoff ballot. He will face Sandra Torres, a conservative and former first lady who was the leading vote-getter in the first round and is making her third bid for the presidency.
Arévalo’s recent speech in Santa Maria de Jesus was similar to those he has given in Guatemala’s capital, but the imagery could be especially important in rural Indigenous communities as he seeks to rapidly expand his largely urban, youthful base before the runoff.
He won in Guatemala City and other important cities, including Sacatepequez and Quetzaltenango. It remains to be seen whether he can convince people in rural communities that he can address their daily problems.
The delayed certification of the first round results shortened the already small window that Arévalo has to reintroduce himself to much of the country as his opponents rush to paint their own negative picture.
“Do you feel what is happening?” Arévalo told the crowd in Santa Maria de Jesus. “The new spring is arriving, that’s what you feel, and you all are the seeds of that new spring.”
“A new spring that is going to bring us well-being, the water we lack, the education they owe us, the health that they have denied us thanks to those corrupt contracts that serve few,” Arévalo said, standing in front of an old, damaged Roman Catholic church, in a wide-brimmed hat and untucked shirt against the tropical heat.
Among those listening was Juana Orón, a 67-year-old homemaker of the Kaqchikel people. She is one of the older voters who remember hearing about Arévalo’s father, one of only two leftist presidents in Guatemala’s democratic era.
The elder Arévalo, who governed from 1945 to 1951, is credited with establishing key social programs that remain in place today, including Guatemala’s labor code and social security. Guatemala’s democratic spring was cut short in 1954 by the CIA-backed overthrow of his successor, President Jacobo Arbenz.
Under Juan José Arévalo, the state advocated for rights for Indigenous peoples and others beyond the country’s small elite.
“I remember I was little and (my parents) said he had done good things,” said Orón whose first language as a child was Kaqchikel. If his father was good, Arévalo could be a good president, too, she said.
Opponents have tried to frame Arévalo’s candidacy as a step toward some of the region’s more notorious leftist regimes, such as Cuba and Nicaragua. They warn that the progressive candidate will bring expropriations, abortion and same-sex marriage to the conservative country.
Arévalo has been the election’s surprise.
In the days before the June 25 vote, he was polling below 3% and trailing at least seven of the other 21 candidates. But his anti-corruption message resonated in the country where gains against corruption have been erased and the justice system reoriented to pursue the prosecutors and judges who formerly led that fight.
In the month since that initial result, the Attorney General’s Office announced an investigation into his party and had a judge suspend its legal status until the Constitutional Court stepped in to block that move.
In Santa Maria de Jesus, people wanted to compare Arévalo in person to what they were hearing about him. Some handed him flowers, posed for photos or reached out to touch him as he made his way through the throng.
Arévalo pushed back against attempts to frame him as a left-wing radical — he has said private property rights are not up for discussion — and pounded the issue of corruption.
“Let us work, let us get ahead on our own effort, let’s get rid of the corrupt once and for all,” he said.
For Francisco Jiménez, a political scientist at Rafael Landivar University, Arévalo will need concrete proposals to make inroads with the base of Torres, who has spent two decades assembling it.
“He will have to make governing proposals with a social agenda, where the people see that he is going to have an impact on their lives and communities,” Jiménez said. “The other part is continuing to present himself as the different model. That has been his success, someone totally different from the other candidates.”
Evangelical churches in Guatemala have painted Arévalo as an existential threat to the family.
Gladys Sunun, a 35-year-old Kaqchikel vendor from an evangelical family, said she came to hear Arévalo for herself. She said she had heard that Arévalo would convert Guatemala into another Cuba or Nicaragua, but left feeling that might not be true, though she wants to investigate more.
“He came to tell us not to worry,” she said. “It sounds real, but we don’t know.”
Her sister July Sunun said she wanted to hear more about Arévalo’s positions on gender ideology. “As a mother I’m afraid, because we’ve grown up with a Christian background. I don’t want to marry my daughter with another woman,” she said.
July Sunun acknowledged that Arévalo said he would respect the identities and decisions of the people, “but what he hasn’t said is that he won’t allow (same-sex marriage) to happen here.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-guatemala-presidential-candidate-rushes-to-expand-base-beyond-urban-youth/ | 2023-07-30T11:56:57 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-guatemala-presidential-candidate-rushes-to-expand-base-beyond-urban-youth/ |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country, an official said Saturday night. The kingdom and Kyiv did not immediately acknowledge the planned talks.
The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorization had been given to publicly discuss the summit.
Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official said. A high-level official from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration also is expected to attend, the official said. Planning for the event is being overseen by Kyiv and Russia is not invited, the official said.
Details regarding the summit, however, remain in flux and the official did not offer dates for the talks. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the summit, said the talks would take place Aug. 5 and 6 with some 30 countries attending, citing “diplomats involved in the discussion.”
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press, nor did Ukraine’s Embassy in Riyadh. News of the summit comes after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom on Thursday.
The official who spoke to the AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.
Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the talks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah to press those nations to back Kyiv. Arab nations largely have remained neutral since Russia launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022, in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow.
Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organization’s oil production cuts, even as Moscow’s war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, have angered Biden and American lawmakers.
But hosting such talks also help raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a détente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom’s yearslong war in Yemen. However, ties also remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Prince Mohammed ordered.
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Madhani reported from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-official-tells-ap-that-saudi-arabia-will-host-ukrainian-organized-peace-summit-in-august/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:04 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-official-tells-ap-that-saudi-arabia-will-host-ukrainian-organized-peace-summit-in-august/ |
Alcohol in Iran: The deadly cost of prohibition
New York City, Christmas 1926: More than 80 people died after drinking poisonous alcohol. It was the height of prohibition, the nationwide alcohol ban that had begun in 1920 in the United States.
Beyond the ban, the federal government had taken the extreme measure of adding high amounts of methanol to alcohol in the hopes that people would taste it and be put off. But drinkers were not discouraged, and thousands died as a result, according to author Deborah Blum in her 2010 book "The Poisoner's Handbook." Reports indicate that at least 10,000 people died due to the nationwide ban.
Ultimately, prohibition was a failure, and it was repealed in 1933.
Iran has been trying something similar since 1979, and it too, has gone badly.
Iran strictly prohibited alcohol consumption, with severe consequences ranging from flogging and fines to potential imprisonment after the 1979 Islamic revolution. But that didn't stop people from drinking. Like in the United States, the ban led to the creation of underground networks to brew alcohol and a mafia that some experts believe has deep ties to the government itself.
"Sometimes drinking is our only reason for happiness and a small chance to have fun," 25-year-old Mahsa* told DW. Even so, after at least 300 people were hospitalized and 40 died due to alcohol poisoning in recent weeks, she quit. "I think they succeeded in scaring us to stop drinking alcohol."
Alcohol poisonings on the rise
Observers say the ban is clearly not working.
"Unfortunately, in recent years we have seen an increase of about 20-30% annually in the number of people who were poisoned or developed [adverse] side effects from drinking methyl alcohol," Mohammad Kazem Attari, a US-based Iranian physician and researcher, told DW.
"As alcohol poisoning was very widespread in the cities at the same time, there is doubt that it was intentional, or rather a mistake by a local producer who added impurities to drinks during production," Attari said, comparing it to the recent wave of suspected deliberate mass poisonings of Iranian school girls.
Dangers of alcohol brewed underground
"I always heard about poisonings and death by methanol, but I really never believed it could happen to me," said 27-year-old Erfan*.
Usually, Erfan only drank booze that he bought from a dealer he had gotten to know through friends. But at a party one evening he had a methanol-laced drink. When he lost his eyesight and felt other frightening symptoms, his friends rushed him to a medical center.
Alcohol can affect vision, digestion and brain function and cause permanent disabilities, or be fatal.
Erfan was lucky: His loss of sight was only temporary.
"I had a phobia for a long time, but now I try to be more careful," he said. "My father and I even started to make our own wine."
Turkey: Compromise on tradition and modernity
Other Muslim-majority countries are more flexible when it comes to the sale of regulated alcohol. In Turkey, for example, adults can easily buy alcohol legally. During the holy month of Ramadan, it is common to see people sitting in bars enjoying their preferred alcoholic beverages. Raki, the national drink, is an integral part of Turkish culture. Despite the ease of access, Turks only drink one and a half liters of alcohol per person per year on average.
"Turkey is not a prohibitionist but a libertarian when it comes to alcohol. However, there are also lines that the sociological structure weaves independently of the laws," Turkish sociologist Yusuf Arslan told DW. While liquor shops in some provinces keep their workplaces closed during Ramadan and Kandil holy nights, there are no closures in other provinces. This de facto situation is determined not by laws but by the sociological structure," he said.
At the same time, alcohol prices in Turkey remain consistently high compared to several EU countries. The cost, which includes hefty taxes, as well as the poor economic situation have led to the growth of underground alcohol production. As in Iran, that can be deadly: Every year around 100 people lose their lives from alcohol poisoning.
But a ban on alcohol has not been a subject of discussion in Turkey, even under the conservative administrations, Arslan said.
He compared regulations on bars, drinking in public and when alcohol can be sold as well as the ban on liquor advertising to measures in Europe. They were issued in the interest of public health, rather than with the logic of prohibition. "Similar regulations were applied in the Netherlands and France with similar concerns," he said.
Many people in Iran can only dream of an end to prohibition and look back on the situation four decades ago.
"I hope that someday soon we can live a normal life without fear or unnecessary risks, just like the rest of the world," a young Iranian woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told DW.
*names changed for security reasons.
Edited by: Rob Mudge | https://www.dw.com/en/alcohol-in-iran-the-deadly-cost-of-prohibition/a-66363529 | 2023-07-30T11:57:05 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/alcohol-in-iran-the-deadly-cost-of-prohibition/a-66363529 |
French minister says decoupling from China unrealistic
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Saturday cast doubt on the possibility that Western countries could ever break with China economically in a bid to avoid over-dependence on a single trading partner and mitigate national security risks.
"We are totally opposed to the idea of decoupling. Decoupling is an illusion," Le Maire told reporters at the French Embassy in Beijing during a China visit.
His remarks echo those made by European Commisson President Ursula von der Leyen in April before the European Parliament, where she said decoupling from China was neither viable nor desirable for Europe.
What did Le Maire say?
"There is no possibility of having any kind of decoupling between the American, European and Chinese economies," Le Maire said.
Le Maire said that, rather than decoupling, France wanted "to get a better access and a more balanced access to the Chinese market."
However, he said, France saw virtue in the notion of "de-risking" the trade relationship with China, which he said carried no connotations that China was being seen as dangerous.
"De-risking does not mean that China is a risk," Le Maire said. "De-risking means that we want to be more independent and that we don't want to face any risk in our supply chains if there would be a new crisis, like the COVID one with the total breakdown of some of the value chains."
China on de-risking efforts: 'A false proposition'
The US, like Germany and the EU, is also adopting de-risking measures with regard to China, though US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, too, said during a visit to Beijing earlier this month that any decoupling of the US and Chinese economies would be "virtually impossible."
China itself has vehemently criticized Western efforts to de-risk, with Premier Li Qiang last month calling the concept a "false proposition."
Le Maire is in China for high-level economic talks. On Monday, he is due to travel to the southern technological hub of Shenzhen to meet with business leaders.
China is France's third-largest trading partner.
tj/wd (AFP, Reuters) | https://www.dw.com/en/french-minister-says-decoupling-from-china-unrealistic/a-66387720 | 2023-07-30T11:57:11 | 1 | https://www.dw.com/en/french-minister-says-decoupling-from-china-unrealistic/a-66387720 |
Three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow in the early hours on Sunday, Russian authorities said, injuring one person and prompting a temporary closure of traffic in and out of one of four airports around the Russian capital.
It was the fourth such attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fueling concerns about Moscow’s vulnerability to attacks as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its 18th month.
The Russian Defense Ministry referred to the incident as an “attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime” and said three drones targeted the city. One was shot down in the surrounding Moscow region by air defense systems and two others were jammed. Those two crashed into the Moscow City business district.
Photos from the site of the crash showed the facade of a skyscraper damaged on one floor. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the attack “insignificantly damaged” the outsides of two buildings in the Moscow City district. A security guard was injured, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials.
No flights went into or out of Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the city for about an hour, according to Tass, and the airspace over Moscow and the outlying regions was temporarily closed to all aircraft. Those restrictions have since been lifted.
Moscow authorities have also closed a street to traffic near the site of the crash in the Moscow City area.
Without directly acknowledging that Ukraine was behind the attack on Moscow, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian airforce said that the Russian people were seeing the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“All of the people who think the war ‘doesn’t concern them,’ it’s already touching them,” spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told journalists Sunday.
“There’s already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly,” he said. “There’s no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior any more. They got what they wanted.”
Ihnat also referenced a drone attack on Russian-occupied Crimea overnight. Moscow announced Sunday that it had shot down 16 Ukrainian drones and neutralized eight more with an electronic jamming system. There were no casualties, officials said.
In Ukraine, the air force reported that it had destroyed four Russian drones above the country’s Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Information on the attacks could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, two people were killed and 20 wounded by a Russian missile strike late Saturday evening on the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine. A four-story building belonging to a vocational college was hit, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said. Local authorities said that dormitories and teaching buildings were damaged in the blast and the fire that followed.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down a Ukrainian drone outside Moscow on Friday. Four days earlier, two drones struck the Russian capital, one of them falling in the center of the city near the Defense Ministry’s headquarters along the Moscow River about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Kremlin. The other drone hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting several upper floors.
In another attack on July 4, the Russian military said four drones were downed by air defenses on the outskirts of Moscow and a fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced down.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-overnight-drone-attack-on-moscow-injures-1-prompts-temporary-airport-closure/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:11 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-overnight-drone-attack-on-moscow-injures-1-prompts-temporary-airport-closure/ |
Germany wants more women in the military
Germany wants you for the armed forces — especially if you're a woman. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Cabinet adopted a series of measures this week to boost equal opportunity in the military.
The changes aim to align procedures in the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, with a recent strengthening of equal opportunity laws that apply to the government overall. The Bundeswehr needs people to fill its ranks, as part of Germany's efforts to bolster its military capabilities in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Women are still underrepresented in the Bundeswehr," Steffen Hebestreit, the government spokesperson, told reporters on Wednesday.
Representation, going by the government definition, is when the share of women exceeds 20%. Defense officials want women to comprise at least half of the medical corps. On both counts, the Bundeswehr falls short: Women make up 9.5% and 45%, respectively, according to government figures.
Excluding civilian roles supporting the military, the Bundeswehr in all fields has around 180,000 troops. Almost 24,000 of them are women. Their share has increased, military figures show, as the overall force has shrunk since the end of the Cold War.
As the government sees it, putting more women in uniform "makes a contribution" to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Hebestreit said. "Empowerment of women and girls" is one pillar of the agenda, according to the UN.
Boosting female enlistment
The reforms focus primarily on pay, both while on active duty and in the reserves. They also look to improve support for childcare and care for elderly and sick family members.
If better pay and services alleviate women of the sort of unpaid domestic work they still tend to bear the brunt of, the government hopes it will create the opening, if not the incentive, to join the workforce. That includes working for the military.
In that light, the improved provisions do not stake out new ground on the path towards gender parity, but follow up efforts elsewhere in the bureaucracy and private sector. Some political parties, for example, require a 50-50 split of candidates running for office. The Bundestag, Germany's parliament, has strengthened laws to get more women into leadership positions in companies.
The military is still 'a man's world' — not only in Germany
When West Germany's military was founded in 1955, women were barred from service. That would not change until 1975 — and only then limited to the medical corps. Even after all military roles were open to women, in 2001, the medical corps remained the area with the highest female contingent.
The story was different in the East German GDR. The country's socialist character took pride in equal opportunity for men and women. Its armed forces were founded in 1956 and allowed full participation. The big difference: men were drafted, whereas women could volunteer. Those who did mainly fulfilled medical and administrative tasks.
Germany is hardly unique on the issue of female soldiers. In most countries, including Germany's closest allies, the military is "still a man's world," as a UK Parliament report put it in 2021.
At that point in time, women comprised 11% of the United Kingdom's regular forces. That was an all-time high, according to the country's defense ministry, but it failed to meet its own recruitment goal of 15%. That has been upped to 30% by 2030.
In the United States, where weeding out discrimination in the ranks has been a long struggle, more than 17% of active duty personnel were women in 2021, according to the US defense department. That is an upward trend.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden tapped Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the naval branch of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If Congress confirms her, she will become the first woman to join the country's highest body of uniformed officers.
Competition on the labor market
The Bundeswehr's push for more women is not only a matter of equal opportunity. It dovetails with new demand for all-around improvements to Germany's military capabilities.
Germany's defense ministry is looking to turn around decades of cuts and reductions. Its minister, Boris Pistorius, has announced a goal of adding around 20,000 troops by 2031. It is one element of the "Zeitenwende," (a turning point in history) which Scholz announced in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. The latest strengthening of soldier equality laws, according to government documents, goes hand-in-hand with those efforts.
That will be a challenge. When it comes to recruitment, the Bundeswehr competes with other government agencies and the private sector for the same pool of potential applicants. An aging Germany faces shortfalls across the workforce, and the military "faces an increasingly difficult task along with all other employers," a defense ministry spokesperson told DW in a statement.
"There is a growing demand on the part of employers for qualified personnel for virtually all areas of business," she said.
The military has the added burden of needing to attract young people, in particular, which means meeting the "expectations of the so-called 'Generation Z,' which wants a high degree of flexible and individual freedom in working life," she added.
Those expectations are generally at odds with a military's rigid hierarchy and command structure. This week's adoption of stricter equal opportunity standards helps fulfill part of the Bundeswehr's strategy to expand recruitment.
Another challenge the military shares with the private sector: workplace safety, especially for women. Sexual harassment lingers in the ranks. The Bundeswehr saw nearly 850 cases between 2018-2020, according to Terre des Hommes, a human rights organization.
Edited by: Rina Goldenberg
While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing. | https://www.dw.com/en/germany-wants-more-women-to-serve-in-the-military/a-66376261 | 2023-07-30T11:57:18 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/germany-wants-more-women-to-serve-in-the-military/a-66376261 |
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) —
A 9-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have been called as witnesses in a criminal case against their mother after she was accused of repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian army.
Lidia Prudovskaya and her two children were summoned by investigators in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk on Friday to give testimony in the case, Russian news outlet Sota reported.
Prudovskaya previously faced administrative charges on similar allegations after sharing anti-war posts on Russian social media platform VKontakte in September 2022.
Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offense under a law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The law is regularly used against Kremlin critics.
In April, Russian authorities petitioned to restrict the parental rights of a single father convicted of discrediting the army following an anti-war sketch drawn by his daughter at school.
Alexei Moskalyov, 54, was sentenced to two years in prison for social media comments he had made criticizing Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while his daughter Maria was placed in an orphanage.
The 13-year-old was later moved to live with her mother. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-russian-investigators-call-children-as-witnesses-against-their-mother-accused-of-discrediting-army/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:19 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-russian-investigators-call-children-as-witnesses-against-their-mother-accused-of-discrediting-army/ |
World Cup: Colombia floor Germany with last-gasp winner
A 97th-minute header by Manuela Vanegas secured a famous win for Colombia over Germany as the South Americans took control of Group H at the Women's World Cup.
World number two Germany had been on top in the first half but couldn’t capitalize on their superiority, spurning the chances they created.
Up stepped Colombia's 18-year-old Linda Caicedo. The fleet-footed Real Madrid forward cut in from the left, jinking between Svenja Huth and Sara Däbritz, and arrowed an unstoppable drive into the opposite top corner, flying past the outstretched Germany goalkeeper Merle Frohms.
It was sensational strike that underlined Caicedo's status as one of the game's rising stars but it wasn't to be the winning goal. Germany's Lena Oberdorf was brought down in the box by a rash foul by Colombian keeper Catalina Perez – and Germany captain Alexandra Popp converted the resulting penalty to seemingly secure a precious point.
But Vanegas had other ideas, dashing German hopes with a free header in injury time to secure maximum points for Colombia, who now sit top of the group with maximum points.
Germany must beat pointless South Korea in the final game of the group on August 3 to be certain of advancing to the knockout phase.
More to follow. | https://www.dw.com/en/world-cup-colombia-floor-germany-with-last-gasp-winner/a-66388029 | 2023-07-30T11:57:24 | 1 | https://www.dw.com/en/world-cup-colombia-floor-germany-with-last-gasp-winner/a-66388029 |
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been charged with conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrections among other offenses, the public prosecutor said Saturday.
The announcement comes weeks after Sonko was convicted on separate charges of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the nation.
Prosecutor Abdou Karim Diop made the announcement on state television, a day after Sonko’s lawyer said he was taken into custody for questioning at the police courthouse in the capital, Dakar.
In June, Sonko was acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. But he was convicted on a lighter sentence of corrupting young people, which includes using one’s position of power to have sex with people under age 21. Corrupting youth is a criminal offense in Senegal that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to more than $6,000.
The conviction led to deadly clashes across the country between Sonko supporters and police, where at least 23 people were killed and dozens injured.
Sonko placed third in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth. His supporters maintain the charges against him are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
Sonko’s ongoing legal battles may bar him from running. Once in prison, he can ask for a retrial for his June conviction.
Saturday’s charges are separate, said the public prosecutor. The accusations include calling an insurrection, criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism, compromising public security and theft.
It is unclear what led to the charges. Sonko has mostly stayed in his house since being sentenced to prison.
In a tweet posted shortly before his arrest on Friday afternoon, Sonko said a team of soldiers were breaking down the door following an altercation with secret service agents who were taking videoing him.
Friday evening, an AP reporter saw around 20 protesters burning tires in the middle of the road in Parcelles Assainies, an outer neighborhood of Dakar. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-senegals-opposition-leader-charged-with-conspiracy-against-the-state-and-calls-for-insurrection/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:25 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-senegals-opposition-leader-charged-with-conspiracy-against-the-state-and-calls-for-insurrection/ |
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian police arrested the president’s son Saturday as part of a high-profile money laundering probe into funds he allegedly collected from convicted drug traffickers during last year’s presidential campaign.
President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who rose through Colombia’s political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, said he wouldn’t interfere with the investigation.
“As an individual and father, it pains me to see so much self destruction and one of my sons going to jail,” Petro said in an early morning message on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “As president of the republic, I’ve assured the chief prosecutor’s office that it will have all of the guarantees so it can proceed according to the law.”
The arrest of Nicolas Petro is a major blow to the government, which has been buffeted by conservative attacks from day one at the same time it has struggled to maintain bipartisan support for Colombia in the U.S., a longtime ally in the war on drugs and fight against illegal armed groups.
The investigation stems from shocking declarations made by Nicolas Petro’s ex-wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez, to local media outlet Semana earlier this year.
In the extended interview, Vasquez detailed how she was present at meetings when her husband arranged a donation of more than 600 million pesos (around $150,000) from a politician once convicted in Washington of drug trafficking and who was seeking the Petro campaign’s support to resume his political career.
She said President Petro was unaware of her son’s dealings and the money he collected in his campaign’s name was kept inside a safe inside the couple’s home in the coastal city of Barranquilla.
Nicolas Petro has denied his ex wife’s claims as unfounded.
The chief prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Nicolas Petro and his ex-wife were taken into custody on orders of a court in Bogota around 6 a.m. local time Saturday. It said that once brought before a judge, prosecutors would seek their provisional detention as it investigates the two for money laundering. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-son-of-colombias-president-arrested-as-part-of-money-laundering-probe/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:33 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-son-of-colombias-president-arrested-as-part-of-money-laundering-probe/ |
Advisories
--None at this time.
At the Shore
Current conditions and forecast as of Sun morning
Tide Times
Marine Forecast
From the National Weather Service, Mt. Holly
TODAY: N winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt, becoming NW 5 to 10 kt late. Seas 2 to 4 ft. N swell 2 to 3 ft at 5 seconds.
TONIGHT: NW winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft. SE swell around 2 ft at 5 seconds.
MON: NW winds around 5 kt, becoming SW in the afternoon. Seas around 2 ft. SE swell around 2 ft at 7 seconds.
MON NIGHT: SW winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming NW after midnight. Seas around 2 ft.
TUE: N winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming NE in the afternoon. Seas around 2 ft. SE swell around 2 ft at 6 seconds.
TUE NIGHT: N winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft. SE swell around 2 ft at 8 seconds.
WED: NE winds around 10 kt, becoming S. Seas around 2 ft.
THU: S winds 5 to 10 kt, increasing to 15 to 20 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft. A chance of showers through the night.
Plan Your Trip
Data on this page amalgamated from several sources, including the National Weather Service (weather), National Ocean Service (tides), U.S. Naval Observatory (sun), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (UV index).
Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. The Shore Report is generated semi-automatically daily at 5 a.m. from mid-May to late September. Follow Dan's weather blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed for your latest forecast and realtime weather updates.
Sharks you'll find at the Jersey Shore
Places to visit in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park
From amusement rides to all the boardwalk food and lots of water fun, Seaside Heights and neighboring Seaside Park have endured as a family friendly spot for all ages.
Along the way, the Seaside Heights Boardwalk and Casino Pier have been struck with tragic disasters - such as fire, Superstorm Sandy and another fire. Both have proven their resiliency through rebuilding and expansion.
2022 Polar Bear Plunge
More than 6,000 people took the plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 26, 2022 to raise more than $2 million for the Special Olympics New Jersey. | https://nj1015.com/nj-beach-weather-and-waves-jersey-shore-report-for-sun-730/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:38 | 1 | https://nj1015.com/nj-beach-weather-and-waves-jersey-shore-report-for-sun-730/ |
Five people shot in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - Five people were shot in Lansing, Michigan, WILX reports.
Lansing Police officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of W. Holmes Road around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found a large crowd of people and multiple shooting victims.
The Lansing Fire Department responded to treat and transport several of the victims to a local hospital. Due to the size of the crowd, the Lansing Police Department requested assistance from neighboring jurisdictions.
Five shooting victims were identified ranging in age from 16 to 26 years old. Two of the victims are listed in critical condition.
Police detained several suspects and recovered multiple firearms from the scene.
This is an active investigation and Lansing Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events which led up to the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WILX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:38 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/five-people-shot-michigan/ |
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian factions kicked off a meeting Sunday in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts as violence in the occupied West Bank surged between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The main groups, Hamas and Fatah, have been split since 2007. With repeated reconciliation attempts having failed, expectations for the one-day meeting are low. According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the gathering in the Egyptian city of el-Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea was discussing “ways to restore national unity and end the division.”
The meeting comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah group are based and exert limited self-rule. Israel has been staging near-nightly raids in Palestinian areas of the territory in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy, especially in areas where Abbas’ security forces have less of a foothold.
Those raids have led to some of the worst fighting in nearly two decades in the West Bank. Palestinians also say the Israeli raids undermine their own security forces and weaken their leadership.
The meeting in Egypt was chaired and initiated by Abbas, presents the aging and longtime Palestinian leader with a chance to portray an image of control and statesmanship to both Palestinians and the international community at a time when he is deeply unpopular at home and his room for maneuver is constrained by the Israeli incursions.
The meeting was attended by other Palestinian leaders including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas. the militant group which rules the Gaza Strip. Fatah and Hamas have been rivals since Hamas violently routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza in 2007, taking over the impoverished coastal enclave. Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the territory.
For Hamas, joining the meeting is an opportunity to show Gazans that it is making an effort to mend the rift, even if nothing changes as a result.
Another key group playing a central role in the fighting with Israel, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, boycotted the gathering to protest the detentions by the Palestinian Authority of its members, according to the group’s leader, Ziyad al-Nakhala.
Egypt has for years acted as a mediator to try to end the infighting between Palestinian factions. It also helped broker truces in multiple rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/palestinian-factions-meet-in-egypt-to-try-to-reconcile-as-violence-surges-in-the-west-bank/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-30T11:57:38 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/world/palestinian-factions-meet-in-egypt-to-try-to-reconcile-as-violence-surges-in-the-west-bank/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it.
The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to “abandon the Russian heritage,” including that of “imposing the celebration of Christmas” on Jan. 7. It cited Ukrainians’ “relentless, successful struggle for their identity” and “the desire of all Ukrainians to live their lives with their own traditions, holidays,” fueled by Russia’s 17-month-old aggression against the country.
Last year, some Ukrainians already observed Christmas on Dec. 25, in a gesture that represented separation from Russia, its culture and religious traditions.
The law also moves the Day of Ukrainian Statehood to July 15 from July 28, and the Day of Defenders of Ukraine to Oct. 1 from Oct. 14.
The Russian Orthodox Church, which claims sovereignty over Orthodoxy in Ukraine, and some other Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the ancient Julian calendar. Christmas falls 13 days later on that calendar, or Jan. 7, than it does on the Gregorian calendar used by most church and secular groups.
The Catholic Church first adopted the modern, more astronomically precise Gregorian calendar in the 16th century. Protestants and some Orthodox churches have since aligned their own calendars for the purpose of calculating Christmas and Easter.
Ukraine’s religious landscape has fractured for years. There are two branches of Orthodox Christianity in the country, one aligned with the Russian church, even as it enjoys broad autonomy, the other completely independent of it. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the branch that is separate from the Russian church, announced earlier this year that it was switching to the Revised Julian calendar, which marks Christmas on Dec. 25.
Its leadership last year allowed believers to celebrate the holiday on Dec. 25.
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Saturday that the rival Orthodox Church, which is aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, vowed to continue observing Christmas on Jan. 7.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Saturday that the move “is a sign of something that has been happening for centuries” and that “has to do with the relations between the Catholic church and the Orthodox one.”
Zelenskyy on Saturday traveled to the war-torn Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia has illegally annexed, but only partially occupies, and met with members of the country’s Special Operation Forces. Zelenskyy noted in an online statement that Saturday marks their official day of recognition and also the anniversary of the deadly attack on the Olenivka prison in the Russian-held part of the region in which dozens of prisoners of war were killed.
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of the attack, with both sides saying that the assault was premeditated in a bid to cover up atrocities. A United Nations fact-finding mission requested by Russia and Ukraine was sent to investigate the killings, but the team was disbanded in January 2023 due to security concerns.
Zelenskyy described the attack as one of Russia’s “most vile and cruel crimes” in a video statement Saturday.
In a separate Telegram statement, he hailed the soldiers in the Donetsk region for “bringing closer the day when all our land and all our people will be free from the occupiers” and underscored the Special Operations Forces’ role in the recent retaking of the village of Staromaiorske in the area.
His visit to the east comes just days after Western and Russian officials said that Kyiv’s forces intensified attacks in the southeast of the country as part of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Putin said Saturday that the intensity of Ukrainian atacks along the front line has gone down “compared to two days ago.” He reiterated that Russian forces are successfully repelling all attacks and in some parts of the front line are even mounting successful counteroffensive operations.
___
Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-ukraine-moves-official-christmas-day-holiday-to-dec-25-denouncing-russian-imposed-traditions/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:40 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-ukraine-moves-official-christmas-day-holiday-to-dec-25-denouncing-russian-imposed-traditions/ |
Records are meant to be broken
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Yesterday, we set a new record high in Baton Rouge with a high of 101, surpassing the previous record of 99.
We may get another record today, and several days this upcoming week. Another heat advisory is in effect today for the entire region, in effect until 7PM for heat index readings up to 110!
Today will be mostly sunny and hot with a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon. Something cool will be in the night sky Monday night and Tuesday night, the Super Sturgeon moon, which will be a supermoon, peaking on Tuesday.
As for the tropics, we still have a wave in the Atlantic with a high chance of becoming tropical storm Emily this week, but it’s no threat to land.
Locally, our extended forecast looks very hot and mainly dry with highs in the triple digits and rain chances limited to around 20% to 30% each afternoon.
Click here to report a typo.
Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/records-are-meant-be-broken/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:44 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/30/records-are-meant-be-broken/ |
'The better Mayer' has an unforgettable day at Road America ... well, mostly unforgettable
ELKHART LAKE – Sam Mayer can be forgiven if he was a little discombobulated.
He was still sweaty from the biggest victory of his racing career.
At his home track.
He’s 20.
And, let’s face it, there was nothing simple about the way Mayer won the Road America 180, a race that was excruciatingly straightforward save for one lap of all hell breaking loose Saturday.
“This is super special obviously,” the Franklin native said. “Moving away to North Carolina a couple of years ago to pursue this fulltime and winning back home is pretty special.”
Sam Mayer of Franklin has been knocking on the door in NASCAR
If you’ve been paying any attention to NASCAR or racers from Wisconsin the past couple of years, you have to know Mayer’s name.
His father, Scott, crashed out of three Indy Racing League starts 20 years ago and later ran 17 sports car races, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Sam grew up in karting, commuted to North Carolina to race Legends cars and hooked on with Chevrolet and JR Motorsports, the team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
While waiting to turn 18 and move into the Xfinity Series in mid-2021, Mayer won two ARCA East titles, and he dabbled in NASCAR’s truck series, winning a race in 2020. He has shown enough promise to elude the stigma NASCAR fans might attach to someone backed by the employment agency his father started. Mayer has been in a fight on pit lane; he’s been on his lid at Daytona.
Going into Saturday, Mayer had top-10 finishes in more than half his 70 Xfinity Series starts, including 17 top-fives. Three times he had been runner-up, including a week earlier at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
“This proves we can do it and we can run for a championship and we’ve just got to put races together races coming up in the future like we did today,” Mayer said. “I had confidence the whole time. I was like, man, if I can win this one I can win just about anything.”
More:Key dates Wisconsin racing fans should know for 2023
The Road America 180 belonged to Justin Allgaier ... until it didn’t
A ragged race seemed to belong to Justin Allgaier, the 2018 Road America winner and a JR Motorsports teammate of Mayer’s. He led a whopping 42 laps and endured seven restarts after a competition caution, two stage breaks and yellow flags for stalls, spills and crashes.
Oil-drying compound was ultimately his undoing. NASCAR red-flagged the race after Connor Mosack’s car leaked fluid all around the course. The race, scheduled for 45 laps around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn course was already in overtime. The final green flew after 48.
When Allgaier slipped off Turn 6, Sage Karam and Mayer got by, fighting for the lead. But when Mayer went wide in 8, Karam got clear and Parker Kligerman grabbed second with the top three all fighting for their first victory.
“I knew (Karam) was going to be super aggressive because obviously he’s not fulltime, he’s coming here for trophies … so I knew the plan for him was going to be doing exactly what he did,” Mayer said when asked to explain what he saw and felt on a lap in which four drivers would lead. “I knew the door was going to be open; I just didn’t know when. It opened up in a really interesting spot in Turn 7.”
Four drivers swapped the lead five times during the second-last lap
Mayer made an outside run on Kligerman into the right-hand Turn 12. He couldn’t make it stick there but they were still in a race. When Karam shockingly went off in Turn 13, that became a race for the lead.
“Obviously you want to be in first place, right? But it’s probably the worst time to be in first place when you’re the first guy to go through the section with the most speedy dry,” Karam said. “You’re the guinea pig. I wasn’t even going through there full speed because I knew there was speedy dry there that was pretty heavy. Unfortunately when we hit it, it was just like hitting ice.”
That’s where Mayer got crossed up on the storytelling in all the delirium.
“I completely forgot about that,” he said.
In the moment, sure, but ultimately it’ll be a memory he holds dear.
“I know the door opened up,” Mayer continued. “(Kligerman) took advantage of that, and I took advantage of (him). … I knew that everyone in their right mind was going to do whatever they could to get it, and I was the first one to be able to take advantage of that and obviously lead the entire last lap.”
Kligerman said he too struggled with grip on the oil-drying dust.
“He went wide, I got him and I thought I got this. Just don’t blow 14,” Kligerman said. “And somehow Sam … I think he just sent it, found grip and found a lane while I tried to not blow the corner. I still slid out.
“He’s a good kid and he’s been at this for a while and to win up here, that’s big.”
Kligerman held onto second. 386 seconds back. Austin Hill finished third, the highest he’d run all day, and Karam ended up fourth. Allmendinger dropped to 18th after leading 42 laps.
Richfield native Josh Bilicki finished a career-best eighth, and Parker Retzlaff of Rhinelander crossed the line 14th.
Sam Mayer had been to Road America victory lanes before
While Saturday was Mayer’s first visit to NASCAR victory lane, he actually stood in the same spot in 2021 after winning a Trans Am TA2 race. The track has winners autograph a locker backstage, and Mayer found his and signed right next to it.
Mayer also was in the old victory lane hidden on the other side of the track, when his dad co-drove with Brendon Hartley to victory in a Grand-Am race. Video of that celebration played during the NBC broadcast.
Scott Mayer and his wife, Susanne, were watching in Turn 5 Saturday and even with the video screen didn’t instantly realize Sam had taken the lead. They made a quick dash to victory lane.
“This is way more amazing,” Scott Mayer said.
“Sam was so young then. He did the hat dance. I’d take the hat, wear it, take the picture, throw it to him. He had 10 stacked on his head. He had a great time as a kid. Fast forward to today, him winning is just so special and amazing. To do it at home is just a blessing. It’s beyond belief.”
That 2013 celebration was half Sam Mayer’s life ago.
“I don’t think I was conscious yet then,” he said when reminded. “I think I was still in my autopilot mode.
“It was super cool to be a part of that and …” wait for it … “then obviously winning it now to be the better Mayer.
“Oooooooooh.”
Yeah, he said it.
He was joking. Scott would never argue. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/30/wisconsins-sam-mayer-earns-first-nascar-xfinity-win-at-road-america/70486254007/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:48 | 1 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2023/07/30/wisconsins-sam-mayer-earns-first-nascar-xfinity-win-at-road-america/70486254007/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.
Australia’s center-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States.
Assange’s freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Assange had been discussed in annual talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia.
“I understand the concerns and views of Australians. I think it’s very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter,” Blinken told reporters.
“Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” he added.
Wong said Assange’s prosecution had “dragged for too long” and that Australia wanted the charges “brought to a conclusion.”
Australia remains ambiguous about whether the United States should drop the prosecution or strike a plea bargain.
Assange faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military documents in 2010.
American prosecutors allege he helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.
Australia argues there is a “disconnect” between the U.S. treatment of Assange and Manning. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-us-secretary-of-state-tells-australia-that-wikileaks-founder-is-accused-of-very-serious-crime/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:47 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-us-secretary-of-state-tells-australia-that-wikileaks-founder-is-accused-of-very-serious-crime/ |
Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
In the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag final on Sunday, Alexei Popyrin meets Stan Wawrinka.
Wawrinka is favored (-200) to win the title versus Popyrin (+155).
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Match Information
- Tournament: The Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Stadium Goran Ivanisevic in ITC Stella Maris
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Court Surface: Clay
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Stan Wawrinka has a 66.7% chance to win.
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Alexei Popyrin vs. Stan Wawrinka Trends and Insights
- In the semifinals on Saturday, Popyrin beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7, 7-5, 6-3.
- Wawrinka was victorious 6-3, 6-4 versus Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Popyrin has played 47 matches over the past 12 months across all court surfaces, and 28.0 games per match (25.3 in best-of-three matches).
- On clay, Popyrin has played 16 matches over the past year, totaling 26.7 games per match (26.0 in best-of-three matches) while winning 51.5% of games.
- In the past year, Wawrinka has competed in 40 total matches (across all court surfaces), winning 51.1% of the games. He averages 27.3 games per match (24.6 in best-of-three matches) and 10.6 games per set.
- On clay, Wawrinka has played 11 matches and averaged 28.7 games per match (23.4 in best-of-three matches) and 10.9 games per set.
- Popyrin and Wawrinka have not matched up against each other since 2015.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:50 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/alexei-popyrin-vs-stan-wawrinka-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-plava-laguna-croatia-open-umag/ |
Smith: Data collection on Lake Michigan salmon and trout key part of fisheries management
Biologists measure and sample angler-supplied salmon and trout at ports around Lake Michigan as part of fisheries management programs.
RACINE - Kenneth Vorwald of Sturtevant knew he landed a great fish at dawn July 21 while fishing from Racine's South Pier.
The 20-pound chinook salmon might even earn Vorwald a cash prize in the on-shore division of Salmon-A-Rama, the annual Lake Michigan sportfishing tournament.
And the fillets from the king would make several delicious meals.
But he didn't anticipate how valuable the fish would be for science and Lake Michigan fisheries management.
He found out, though, a few hours after the catch when he took the salmon to a fish cleaning station along the Racine lakefront.
There he met Grace Koch and Daniel Sherman, biological sciences fisheries technicians with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who asked if Vorwald would allow his fish to be measured and sampled.
The work is part of a high-tech data collection project coordinated by the USFWS. At its core is "mass marking" millions of fish in hatcheries with tiny metal cylinders.
The work seeks to learn more about movements, survival and growth rates of stocked fish, as well as provide better estimates of wild, or naturally-reproduced, salmon and trout in the lake.
The ultimate goal is to inform federal and state fisheries managers as they work to balance the number of predator and prey fish in Lake Michigan and sustain a highly-valued sport fishery.
"We've got tools now, and a system, to provide data that wasn't possible 30 years ago," said supervisory fish biologist Chuck Bronte, in his 34th year with the USFWS. "We're collecting data not only on recovered hatchery fish but also their wild counterparts."
The 1-millimeter-long magnetized wires, called coded wire tags (CWT), bear unique identification numbers and can be read with a hand-held wand. The technology is similar to chips implanted in dogs and cats.
The CWT work began in the Great Lakes in 2011. The USFWS takes a marking trailer to state fish hatcheries to implant the tags in the snouts of juvenile fish. The tiny metal cylinders can be safely placed in fish as small as 2.5 inches long, Bronte said.
The serial number on each tag tells where the fish was raised and when and where it was stocked.
After marking, the fish are released into the lake and grow until caught or die naturally.
In Lake Michigan, chinook salmon were given CWTs for the first years of the project, then work shifted to steelhead.
All hatchery-reared fish also get at least one fin clip.
And the USFWS implants all lake trout with CWTs.
But marking is only beneficial if fish, and their data, are later collected.
That's where the USFWS and partner agencies around the Great Lakes come in. The USFWS alone sends crews to 54 ports each year on lakes Michigan and Huron to assess angler-caught fish.
Sport fishing tournaments such as Salmon-A-Rama, in which hundreds of fish are often brought to the scales daily, are a prime source for samples. The USFWS had a crew at SAR for three days this month.
Vorwald agreed to have his salmon measured and also offered tissue samples from the fish.
After Koch and Sherman weighed (20.35 pounds) and measured (37 inches) the fish, they gave it back to Vorwald so he could fillet it.
He then gave the technicians the remaining carcass for sampling.
Koch passed a detector over its head to check for a CWT. It was negative. It was also not a surprise because the fish didn't have a fin clip.
The fish was assumed to be wild, or naturally-reproduced, likely from a stream in Michigan. Lake Michigan tributaries in Wisconsin are generally too warm, silty or low in oxygen for natural reproduction of cold-water species.
Adult fish spawn in the rivers on the Wisconsin side of the lake but studies have shown no production of young salmon or trout, called smolts.
However the CWT project has allowed better estimates of the number of wild salmon and trout in the lake. And it is impressive.
About 65% of chinook salmon caught each year in the lake are wild, Sherman said.
From 2006 through 2021, the number of wild chinook smolts in Lake Michigan exceeded the number of hatchery-reared smolts in all but one year, according to USFWS data.
And in those 14 years, the naturally-reproduced smolts had at least a 1 million edge on the stocked fish, often doubling it.
In 2021 the Service estimated 7.2 million wild smolts compared to the 3 million stocked smolts.
The CWT returns have also revealed movement behaviors of chinook salmon in the lake. In a word, kings roam "widely."
Data from CWT work from 2014-18 allowed USFWS biologists to estimate a fish caught in July off Wisconsin's eastern shore had a 65% chance it was wild, 30% chance it was stocked somewhere else and a 5% chance it was stocked nearby.
The tags have shown fish caught in Milwaukee in summer originated from stocking locations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and even Lake Huron.
In late summer and fall, the chinook generally return to the sites they were stocked.
Koch and Sherman also took otolith (ear bone), eye, liver, muscle and stomach samples from the fish to assist with other projects.
Analysis of the otolith can reveal the fish's age and where it was spawned. Other tissues provide information on its diet and potential diseases.
The samples will be sent to laboratories around the region, Koch said.
Vorwald's 20-pound king is one of thousands of fish to be added to the project's database this year.
The work is part of a "high-tech, three-legged stool," said Brad Eggold, Great Lakes fisheries supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
After marking and recovery, there is data handling. The CWT work is elevating Lake Michigan fisheries management to new heights, Eggold said.
"Prior to this, one of the legs wasn't adequate," Eggold said. "We didn't mark enough fish, or there weren't enough people collecting samples, or the data wasn't available. Now we are in a much better position (to make decisions)."
Eggold said he and others, including state, federal and tribal entities, are working to get additional funding so all salmon and trout stocked in Lake Michigan receive a CWT.
"The stuff we've learned and the stuff we're gonna learn is fabulous," Eggold said. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/outdoors/2023/07/30/data-collection-key-to-management-of-lake-michigan-salmon-and-trout/70485254007/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:54 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/outdoors/2023/07/30/data-collection-key-to-management-of-lake-michigan-salmon-and-trout/70485254007/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.
Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference that the mercenaries had moved close to the Suwalki Gap, a strategic stretch of Polish territory situated between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland.
Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.
Those fears have grown since Wagner group mercenaries arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion earlier this summer.
The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a couple of years, ever since large numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, seeking to enter the EU by crossing into Poland, as well as Lithuania.
Poland’s government accuses Russia and Belarus of using the migrants to destabilize Poland and other EU countries. It calls the migration a form of hybrid warfare, and has responded by building a high wall along part of its border with Belarus.
“Now the situation becomes even more dangerous,” Morawiecki told reporters.
He added that “this is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”
Morawiecki spoke during a visit to an arms factory in Gliwice, in southern Poland, where Leopard tanks used by the Ukrainian army are being repaired. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:54 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-wagner-mercenaries-in-belarus-move-closer-to-the-polish-border-polands-prime-minister-says/ |
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s once beloved table tennis star Ai Fukuhara is at the center of a child custody feud following the breakup of her marriage to a Taiwanese player who was also a star in the sport in his country.
On Thursday, her former husband Chiang Hung-chieh and his lawyers demanded Fukuhara return their younger child she took to Japan last year and has since refused to send back in alleged breach of a joint custody agreement.
Unlike many other countries, Japan doesn't allow dual custody of children for their divorced parents. Only one parent can take the children, though the other parent can gain visitation rights. In some cases, the parent with custody blocks contact with the other one.
There have been some high-profile cases of custody disputes brought up by foreign husbands divorced from Japanese women accusing them of child abduction.
The couple were legally divorced under Taiwanese law in July 2021 after five years of marriage. They agreed to share custody of their two children — a daughter and a son. Both had been living with Chiang until last summer, when Fukuhara returned to Japan with the younger child.
The plan was for the boy to spend the summer with Fukuhara in Japan, but she has since cut off contact with her ex-husband, refusing to bring the son back to Taiwan, Chiang's lawyers told a joint news conference in Tokyo.
Chiang urged Fukuhara to follow the Japanese family court ruling and “bring the younger child back to me as soon as possible.”
In Japan, where child-rearing and homemaking are still viewed as women's tasks, mothers are still considered to be primarily responsible for children. Women whose marriages break down often end up as single mothers.
Joint custody has become a divisive issue in Japan because of concerns that it would be more difficult to protect victims of domestic violence.
Chiang's Japanese lawyer, Aiko Ohbuchi, said Chiang won a court decision on July 20 ordering Fukuhara to return the child to him in Taiwan immediately.
The next day, Chiang's side asked the court to enforce the order. However, the Taiwanese player said he hoped Fukuhara would hand over their son, out of worry that such a process may hurt the boy's feelings.
Ohbuchi said Fukuhara and the son's whereabouts are unknown and Chiang is worried that he may never get to see their son again. However, the lawyer said that Chiang wouldn't give up and his side may eventually have to consider filing a criminal complaint accusing Fukuhara of child abduction if she continues to ignore the court orders.
Fukuhara's lawyers on Wednesday issued a statement on social media urging Chiang not to reveal details of their disputes with their case in Taiwan still pending.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/27/in-japan-which-bans-dual-custody-a-table-tennis-star-refuses-to-hand-back-her-son-to-her-ex | 2023-07-30T11:57:57 | 0 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/27/in-japan-which-bans-dual-custody-a-table-tennis-star-refuses-to-hand-back-her-son-to-her-ex |
Op/Ed: Could Indiana once again play prominent role in presidential election? Maybe.
For decades Indiana’s May primary had little relevance in the country’s process for choosing the president of the United States. Hoosiers went to the polls too late in the nominating cycle to have any influence.
Nobody here was happy about it either. Indiana deserved to be in the spotlight, and its rich cross section of voters and Midwestern issues were always an afterthought as the primary candidates headed to their respective party conventions.
More:Ron DeSantis to make appearance at luncheon in Hamilton County for 2024 presidential run
Then 2008, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama happened. Then 2016, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz happened.
The Democratic Party primary in May 2008 remains one of the most exciting political contests in recent memory. Clinton had the backing of much of the Democratic state party leadership (including then-Sen. Evan Bayh), but the enthusiasm of the Obama voters nearly made up the difference.
More:'A tough row to hoe': Mike Pence faces uphill battle for GOP nomination
Clinton won the primary by just more than 1%. More than the results, however, it was exciting for Indiana to play host to media from around the world.
In 2016, the “Stop Trump” movement failed in its objective of denying Donald Trump the delegates from Indiana needed for the reality television star to secure the nomination. While this race was not nearly as close as the Democrats in 2008, the media and various other actors gave Indiana its usual accolades.
Hoosiers perform best when the whole world is watching.
Will Indiana again be a battleground in the race for president? The last few weeks have given us some hints.
“It’s much too early to predict what role Indiana will play in the presidential nomination process,” said Indiana Republican Party chairman Kyle Hupfer. “But recent history says that absent a landslide for one candidate through Super Tuesday, the process will not be over by the time it gets to Indiana.”
Recently, a political strategist whom I respect greatly told me that former President Trump has a firm base of 37% that will never desert him regardless of indictments, lost lawsuits, his faith in Faucistein and other dramas.
Indiana has been more kind to Trump than most other states. He has been on the statewide ballot three times and has triumphed by an average of 20 percentage points.
His vice president (and announced presidential candidate) Mike Pence also has a track record of success in his home state. It would be a mistake to underestimate him (again).
The wild card in next May’s primary, however, is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. His electoral and political accomplishments in the Sunshine State are simply remarkable.
DeSantis won his first election for governor in 2018 by a margin of nearly 33,000 votes. He won reelection in 2022 by a margin of more than 1.5 million votes. DeSantis also captured 58% of the Latino vote.
Earlier this month, I attended a DeSantis for President fundraiser in Indianapolis. The crowd was large, the contribution haul was larger, and the governor delivered a strong speech that was well-received by the enraptured audience.
More:Takeaways from Donald Trump's remarks at the 2023 NRA convention in Indianapolis
“The event for Gov. DeSantis in Indiana blew out every goal we set for it,” said Indiana State Rep. Chris Jeter (who served in the U.S. Navy with the Florida governor). “It’s a testament to the governor’s vision and courage to lead, which is what voters are responding to. His campaign is gaining momentum, and I believe he will peak at the right time both in Indiana and across the country.”
Will Trump retain his winning stranglehold on Indiana’s Republican voters? Will Pence’s unparalleled political network pull him through?
More:'Where do I begin?': US Sen. Todd Young rejects Trump for 2024 presidential bid
Or will DeSantis’ remarkable political and military record prove irresistible to Hoosier GOP voters looking for someone to take on Washington, D.C.?
May 7, 2024, may witness the most contentious Republican presidential primary since Ronald Reagan squeaked past Gerald Ford by two points in 1976.
Indiana welcomes the political spotlight. All we ask is that you spend money while you’re here.
Robert Vane is the principal at public relations firm Veteran Strategies Inc. He was deputy chief of staff and communications director in the Mayor Greg Ballard administration and served in the United States Army. | https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2023/07/30/indiana-could-play-pivotal-role-in-electing-next-u-s-president/70482054007/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:57 | 1 | https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2023/07/30/indiana-could-play-pivotal-role-in-electing-next-u-s-president/70482054007/ |
Top Player Prop Bets for Astros vs. Rays on July 30, 2023
The Houston Astros host the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET. Those looking to place a player prop wager can find odds on Kyle Tucker, Wander Franco and others in this matchup.
Bet on this matchup or its props with BetMGM!
Astros vs. Rays Game Info
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 2:10 PM ET
- Where: Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
- How to Watch on TV: SportsNet SW
- Live Stream: Watch the MLB on Fubo!
Explore More About This Game
MLB Props Today: Houston Astros
Brandon Bielak Props
- Strikeouts Prop: Over/Under 4.5 (Over Odds: -130)
Bielak Stats
- Brandon Bielak (5-5) will take the mound for the Astros, his 13th start of the season.
- In 12 starts this season, he's earned two quality starts.
- In 12 starts, Bielak has pitched through or past the fifth inning nine times. He has a season average of 5.3 frames per outing.
- He has two appearances this season with zero earned runs allowed out of his 13 chances this season.
Bielak Recent Games
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on any of Brandon Bielak's player props with BetMGM.
Kyle Tucker Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -222)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +105)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +425)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +165)
Tucker Stats
- Tucker has 25 doubles, 18 home runs, 51 walks and 69 RBI (112 total hits). He's also swiped 19 bases.
- He's slashed .299/.380/.509 so far this season.
Tucker Recent Games
Alex Bregman Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -185)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +120)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +550)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +170)
Bregman Stats
- Alex Bregman has 102 hits with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs and 56 walks. He has driven in 68 runs with four stolen bases.
- He's slashed .254/.347/.433 so far this year.
Bregman Recent Games
Bet on player props for Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman or other Astros players with BetMGM.
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MLB Props Today: Tampa Bay Rays
Wander Franco Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -256)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -110)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +750)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +225)
Franco Stats
- Franco has 105 hits with 23 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, 37 walks and 49 RBI. He's also stolen 29 bases.
- He has a .267/.332/.443 slash line on the year.
Franco Recent Games
Yandy Díaz Props
- Hits Prop: Over/Under 1.5 (Over Odds: +195)
- Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: -115)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +475)
- RBI Prop: Over/Under 0.5 (Over Odds: +195)
Diaz Stats
- Yandy Diaz has recorded 104 hits with 20 doubles, 14 home runs and 42 walks. He has driven in 50 runs.
- He's slashing .312/.395/.498 so far this year.
Diaz Recent Games
Bet on player props for Wander Franco, Yandy Díaz or other Rays players with BetMGM.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/astros-vs-rays-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-07-30T11:57:57 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/astros-vs-rays-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
NIAMEY, Niger — Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.
Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country's influence in the region, but it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders are going to move toward Moscow or stick with Niger's Western partners.
Days after after mutinous soldiers ousted Niger's democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting about the country's future and some are calling out the junta's reasons for seizing control.
The mutineers said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France, because he wasn't able to secure the nation from growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that's just a pretext for a takeover that is more about internal power struggles than securing the nation.
"Everybody is wondering why this coup? That's because no one was expecting it. We couldn't expect a coup in Niger because there's no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power," Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.
He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who also goes by Omar and is now in charge of the country. Tchiani was loyal to Bazoum's predecessor and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said. The AP cannot independently verify his assessment.
While Niger's security situation is dire, it's not as bad as neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also have been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year Niger was the only one of the three to see a decline in violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Niger until now has been seen as the last reliable partner for the West in efforts to battle the jihadists in Africa's Sahel region, where Russia and Western countries have vied for influence in the fight against extremism. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens, and the United States and other European countries have helped train the nation's troops.
Some taking part in Sunday's rally also warned regional bodies who have denounced the coup to stay away. "I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please please stay out of our business," said Oumar Barou Moussa who was at the demonstration.
"It's time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It's time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty. We need to stay together, we need to work together, we need to have our true independence," he said.
Conflict experts say out of all the countries in the region, Niger has the most at stake if it turns away from the West, given the millions of dollars of military assistance the international community has poured in. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the U.S. hinged on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and "the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger."
France on Saturday suspended all development aid and other financial aid for Niger, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "France demands an immediate return to constitutional order under President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected by the Nigeriens," it said.
The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the country's democratically elected government. On Sunday, the West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, is holding an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
However, in a televised address Saturday, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, accused the meeting of making a "plan of aggression" against Niger and said it would defend itself.
Niger experts say it's too soon to know how things will play out.
"Tensions with the military are still ongoing. There could be another coup after this one, or a stronger intervention from ECOWAS, potentially military force, even if it is difficult to foresee how specifically that may happen and what form that may take," said Tatiana Smirnova, a researcher at the Centre FrancoPaix in conflict resolution and peace missions.
"Many actors are also trying to negotiate, but the outcome is unclear," she said.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-07-30/supporters-of-nigers-coup-march-waving-russian-flags-and-denouncing-france | 2023-07-30T11:57:57 | 0 | https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-07-30/supporters-of-nigers-coup-march-waving-russian-flags-and-denouncing-france |
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.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:01 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ |
How to Watch NASCAR, F1, IndyCar & More: Auto Racing Streaming Live - Sunday, July 30
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 5:36 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
True auto racing fans know that there's no such thing as too many races. From the starting gun to the checkered flag, you want to see it all. Check out the article below to find out how to watch or live stream the Formula 1, Formula E, Motocross, NASCAR Cup Series, and NHRA Drag Racing action airing on Fubo on Sunday, July 30.
Watch even more auto racing coverage with ESPN+!
Auto Racing Streaming Live Today
Watch Formula 1: Belgium Grand Prix
- Series: Formula 1
- Game Time: 8:55 AM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Motocross: MXGP Finland - Race 1
- Series: Motocross
- Game Time: 9:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch Formula E: Round 16: London - Race
- Series: Formula E
- Game Time: 11:30 AM ET
- TV Channel: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series
- Game Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: USA Network
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Watch NHRA Drag Racing: DENSO Sonoma Nationals
- Series: NHRA Drag Racing
- Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Make sure you're following along with racing action all year long on Fubo and ESPN+!
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:03 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/auto-racing-live-stream/ |
The planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man with schizophrenia is back on after an appellate court reversed course Saturday.
Johnny Johnson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.
With questions swirling about his mental competency, the execution was halted last Tuesday by a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. But after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office asked that the full court reconsider, that decision was reversed in a 7-3 ruling.
The case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before the scheduled execution date.
Attorneys for Johnson have claimed his schizophrenia prevents him from understanding the link between his crime and the punishment. They have also said Johnson has delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.
The Missouri Supreme Court in June declined to halt the execution based on the mental health claim. The attorney general’s office challenged the credibility of psychiatric evaluations of Johnson and contended that medical records indicate he is able to manage his mental illness through medication.
Johnson lured the girl to an abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. He killed her with bricks and rocks, then washed off in the Meramec River. Johnson confessed to the crimes.
Casey’s disappearance set off a frantic search involving first responders and volunteers. Her body was found in a pit less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from her home, buried beneath rocks and debris.
The execution would be the fourth in Missouri this year. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-appellate-court-rules-that-missouri-man-with-schizophrenia-can-be-executed-after-all/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:08 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-appellate-court-rules-that-missouri-man-with-schizophrenia-can-be-executed-after-all/ |
Lubbock couple's honeymoon inspires new mobile lemonade business, Lemon in Paradise
A lifelong love of lemonade, along with a memorable May honeymoon in Maui, has inspired a Lubbock couple to open their own lemonade truck next month.
Jennifer and Nirav Patel, both lemonade lovers, are in the process of creating Lemon in Paradise, a mobile lemonade trailer that will offer tropically-inspired lemonade. They recently purchased a trailer, and hope to open it in the first or second week of August.
"We had been talking about what we can do together to serve our community, serve God, and bring the community together," Jennifer said. "Since COVID, I feel like the world has kind of been at a standstill. It's been dark. So how can we bring people together, make people happy?"
While they were in Maui, the idea popped up, along with the name - Lemon in Paradise.
"We want people to get excited when they see Lemon in Paradise," Nirav said. "We want to be known for our refreshing, affordable drinks. And we want to be a staple point at Lubbock events, including charity and fundraising events. I guarantee, you won't be disappointed."
They are creating signature drinks and plan to introduce 16 lemonade flavors to the community. The drinks' names will be paradise inspired, such as the Beach Vibes.
Though the trailer is a work in process, Lemon in Paradise has appeared at some events, including the Barbie Party events at UnTayngled Salon.
"We made two specialty drinks for the Barbie Party, the Barbie and the Ken," Nirav said. "Those were big hits, so those are probably two of our main signature drinks that we'll have."
Other lemonade combinations will be strawberry lemonade; a mix of blue raspberry, strawberry and watermelon; and blueberry. These will feature fresh fruit and freshly squeezed fruit juice.
"I think that is going to help us stand out, along with our fresh strawberry lemonade," Nirav said. "As we continue to grow, we'll certainly add more signature drinks to help us stand out. Also, for events, if there's a them going on, we'll come up with a drink that kind of goes along with that theme."
Drinks will likely be available in 32 ounce cups, though other sizes could be available for events.
People can follow Lemon in Paradise on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Potential event hosts can also reach out to Lemon in Paradise via Facebook, email lemoninparadise@gmail.com, or call 806-302-0998. A website is in the works. | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/business/2023/07/30/lubbock-couple-to-open-lemon-in-paradise-maui-inspired-lemonade-truck/70440670007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:10 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/business/2023/07/30/lubbock-couple-to-open-lemon-in-paradise-maui-inspired-lemonade-truck/70440670007/ |
Lubbock's business news includes Layne's Chicken, Rejino BBQ, more
Hello A-J readers!
This week, we saw an excellent piece on Rejino Barbeque, an extensive interview with Layne's Chicken, and the sweet story of an upcoming lemonade truck. I also discovered what may be the best meal I've had in Lubbock yet.
Alex Driggars made the drive out to Rejino Barbeque in Olton for its grand opening on Friday, July 21. The popular barbecue joint also opened its grocery market side on Wednesday to meet needs in what had become a regional food desert.
"Everything that we've done, everything we've sacrificed has been worth it," Aaron Rejino, who founded and owns Rejino Barbeque with his wife Christina, told the Avalanche-Journal Friday in-between shuttling orders to customers.
Another sweet article appeared on Sunday, telling the story of Jennifer and Nirav Patel's upcoming business. The couple came up with the idea for Lemon in Paradise, a lemonade trailer, during their honeymoon in May.
"My favorite part of going to the South Plains Fair is the fresh strawberry lemonade," Jennifer said. "I want people to have that kind of experience when they come to us."
And rounding off the week's articles, I spoke with two people in Layne's Chicken leadership to discuss why they want to come to Lubbock, and what they are looking for in a franchisee.
Looking into next week, keep an eye out for articles on the Aug. 1 reopening of the Schlotzsky's on 19th Street and the upcoming opening of Rusty Taco. The end of July business wrap-up story, which details openings, closings and announcements, will also appear early next week.
And finally, I have a new best bite of the week. After months of seeing recommendations for Desert Rose Baking Co. and Cheesecakery, I booked a preorder for dinner on Tuesday. I tried the famous Navajo Taco, the Smothered Burrito, the Cookie Dough Cheesecake and the PB&J Cheesecake.
This may be the best meal I've had in Lubbock yet. The fry bread for the taco was huge, delicious, and a perfect plate for the taco mix. The Smothered Burrito had rice that reminded me of dirty rice I've had in Louisiana, and the sauce was the perfect amount of heat. The Cookie Dough Cheesecake, which came with edible cookie dough bites and a cookie crust, was creamy, rich, and everything I look for in a cheesecake.
Combining the fantastic flavors with huge portions, the price for all of this was $49. It was worth every dollar, and will definitely become a repeat option for me.
For anyone else ready for a culinary experience, follow Desert Rose Baking Co. on Facebook, Instagram and desertrosebaking.wixsite.com. Texts can also be set to 505-553-0699. Meals are available for pre-order, with pickups on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 13405 Upland Ave. Suite 31.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting the A-J. | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/business/2023/07/30/lubbocks-business-news-includes-laynes-chicken-rejino-bbq-more/70440487007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:12 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/business/2023/07/30/lubbocks-business-news-includes-laynes-chicken-rejino-bbq-more/70440487007/ |
Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Ladies Open Lausanne
On Sunday, Clara Burel (No. 84 in the world) takes on Elisabetta Cocciaretto (No. 42) in the final of the Ladies Open Lausanne.
Cocciaretto is favored to win the tournament championship over Burel, with -150 odds compared to the underdog's +115.
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Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Match Information
- Tournament: The Ladies Open Lausanne
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Tennis Club du Stade-Lausanne
- Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
- Court Surface: Clay
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Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Elisabetta Cocciaretto has a 60.0% chance to win.
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Clara Burel vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Trends and Insights
- Burel defeated Diane Parry 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Cocciaretto came out on top 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 against Anna Bondar in the semifinals on Saturday.
- Through 28 matches over the past year (across all court surfaces), Burel has played 23.2 games per match and won 50.9% of them.
- Burel has played 11 matches on clay over the past year, and 22.7 games per match.
- In her 41 matches in the past year across all court surfaces, Cocciaretto is averaging 21.5 games per match while winning 52.1% of those games.
- On clay, Cocciaretto has played 13 matches and averaged 23.2 games per match and 9.7 games per set.
- Burel and Cocciaretto have played one time dating back to 2015, in the WTA 125K Bol, Croatia Women Singles 2022 quarterfinals. Cocciaretto claimed victory in that bout 6-2, 6-4.
- In terms of sets, Cocciaretto has won two against Burel (100.0%), while Burel has clinched zero.
- Cocciaretto has the edge in 18 total games against Burel, claiming 12 of them.
- In their one match against each other, Burel and Cocciaretto are averaging 18.0 games and 2.0 sets.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:10 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/clara-burel-vs-elisabetta-cocciaretto-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-ladies-open-lausanne/ |
Caprock Chronicles: Millard Sheets left artistic mark on Lubbock
Editor’s Note: Caprock Chronicles is edited by Jack Becker and he can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s essay is by Jordan Lewis Nabors who tells us about the mosaic art inside Lubbock National Bank and the Art Deco architecture on its outside.
Few American artists have covered as much territory as Millard Sheets. Known as an outstanding watercolorist for decades, Sheets achieved distinction as an educator, lecturer, motion picture consultant, architect, illustrator, color and sign consultant, and muralist. His mosaics and murals furnish churches, hospitals, banks, universities, museums, and other public buildings nationwide.
Millard Sheets of Pomona Valley, California, spent a considerable amount of time sharing his craft with the people of Lubbock through his patronage of the arts and architecture by designing the mural in the main lobby of the Lubbock National Bank.
In his career, Sheets designed more than 100 murals and mosaics including works in Los Angeles, the University of Notre Dame, as well as the mosaics for the dome of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He also designed more than 100 buildings in cities such as Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and San Antonio. His paintings hang in more than 46 museums in 15 states including the Met, the Whitney, the MOMA, Chicago Institute of Art, and the White House. He’s somewhat of a renaissance man having mastered multiple mediums.
The Lubbock National Bank (LNB) building’s origins began in 1917 in a temporary, small frame building on the south side of Main Street between Texas Ave and Avenue J, at first as Security State Bank and Trust Company. In 1920, Security State Bank and Trust Company purchased Farmers National Bank of Lubbock, and in 1923, the bank built its first brick and masonry two story building. In 1925, the bank received a national charter and became Lubbock National Bank.
The present bank building at 916 Main St., built in 1939, is in an art deco style. Later, in 1959, it was renovated at the direction of Millard Sheets. His renovation of LNB spurred a widespread celebration and investment in the arts in West Texas.
In the late 1950s, LNB officials were already thinking about expanding when they visited the Mercantile of Dallas, which was recently completed by Sheets. This marked the beginning of a long friendship with not just the Maedgens but with other LNB stock holders and many other Lubbock community members.
After seeing the Dallas bank, Charles Maedgens Jr. was convinced Streets was the guy and he told his directors “Millard Streets is the man we must have to guide us in building our new bank” However, Maedgen Sr. was partial to traditional banking house facilities, but Charles dug in. The senior even commented to Jr. that the logo Millard designed was “mighty uppity, mighty uppity.”
But the persistence of the younger Maedgen and the capitulation of the other board members, started a whole new era of banking facilities in West Texas. Together, the dreams of Charles E. Maedgen Jr. and the genius of Sheets made LNB the first of West Texas banks to break from tradition and become a thing of beauty and a model of business efficiency.
In 1959, LNB needed to expand and razed the 1925 two story bank building on Main Street/Texas Avenue where the bank got its start and began construction on a new four-story building. The entire exterior of the 1939 art deco building was remodeled. Within the building an estimated 22 artistic elements, designed by Millard Sheets were constructed out of Italian travertine marble. Among the many murals within the interior of the bank the large mural in the main lobby east, which depicts the cultures of the southwestern part of the North American continent, is considered one of his outstanding works.
The Maegdan-Sheets concept of a modern banking facilities made LNB something of a tourist attraction. LNB welcomed over 50,000 people to their 1960 open house.
Most certainly due to the bank and the facility’s success, in 1971, LNB announced Court Place, a new eight-story office building, with four mosaic murals by Millard Sheets located in the ground floor lobby.
Again, in 1981, LNB announced another renovation to extend the lobby to the north, construct a new basement and add four upper floors, which added 25,000 more sq ft. As before, Sheets oversaw the construction of the décor; one additional mosaic and two murals. He again ordered Carlo Bella Travertine marble from Italy that matched the originals.
For more than 60 years, Sheets traveled the world and focused his work on the subject matter of the places he visited. In Lubbock, Sheets contributed to over many works of art, between 1959 and 1986. In 1983, Millard and his son Tony painted a mural that now sits in the Texas Tech Museum.
Because of his work in Lubbock, he became very close with local art patrons including Dr. Curry and Mrs. Fran Holden. Sheets frequented Lubbock so often and developed so many friendships that at one point he noted in a letter to Fran and Curry that he considered Lubbock his second home.
Timeline of Millard Sheets work at LNB and other locations in Lubbock:
· Lubbock National Bank, 916 Main St, Lubbock TX (1959 and 1971 and 1983) [see attached Arts in Republic Bank documents for more information]
· Lubbock National Bank, Court Place 1001 Main St Lubbock TX (1971 and 1983) [see attached Arts in Republic Bank documents for more information]
· Charles E. Maedgen Jr. Memorial Surgical Waiting Room, Methodist Hospital, 19th Street, Lubbock, TX, (1974)
· “The Spirit of Texas and Its People Begins With the Land” mosaic mural at Lubbock National Bank, 4811 50th St., (Potentially 1978 or 1982)
· “Horses in Garden” which hangs in the Texas Tech Museum (1983)
· “A Tribute to Our Heritage” at the Memorial Civic Center south concourse hallway in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center 1501 Mac Davis Lane, Lubbock, TX, 1974 (1986) | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/history/2023/07/30/caprock-chronicles-millard-sheets-left-artistic-mark-on-lubbock/70463583007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:14 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/history/2023/07/30/caprock-chronicles-millard-sheets-left-artistic-mark-on-lubbock/70463583007/ |
ATLANTA (AP) — “Excuse me, are you a city of Atlanta voter? Do you know about ‘Cop City?’”
Clipboards in hand, canvassers Sienna Giraldi and Gabriel Sanchez approached shopper after shopper at a Kroger supermarket lot on a recent evening collecting signatures for a referendum over whether to cancel the city’s lease of a proposed police and firefighter training center that’s become a national rallying cry for environmentalists and anti-police protesters.
Most people kept on walking. Others said they weren’t registered to vote or didn’t live within the city limits, both of which are required. Many seemed to have no idea what “Cop City” was and weren’t interested in finding out. The fact that it began raining certainly didn’t help. By the end of a 90-minute shift, 21 people had signed.
“We definitely need to come back here,” Sanchez said. “I was on a roll before the rain started.”
Over the past month, hundreds of people like them — many volunteers, some paid — have spread out across the city of about 500,000, in hopes of persuading more than 70,000 registered voters to sign on to the petition drive. The deadline had been mid-August, but the effort got a boost Thursday when a federal judge extended it to late September, though significant logistical and legal hurdles remain.
Technically, organizers say, they need just 58,203 signatures by Aug. 14 to qualify for the November ballot — the equivalent of 15% of registered voters as of the last city election — but they set the higher goal knowing some will be disqualified. If that’s not reached until late August or September, the referendum wouldn’t happen until March, when a competitive GOP presidential primary could turn out conservative voters and hurt its chances. The city also could move forward with construction in the meantime, unless a judge intervenes.
As of July 25, the drive had collected more than 30,000 signatures, according to Paul Glaze, a spokesperson for the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition. And with the paid canvassing effort still ramping up, he expects the pace to pick up significantly.
“We’re confident of hitting our number,” Glaze said. “How much extra padding we’re able to get is still a question. … Our experience is that when you talk about this with people, when they hear the price tag, when you ask them if they would choose this or something else to spend the money on, the vast majority are against it.”
Organizers of the drive say Mayor Andre Dickens and the City Council have failed to listen to a groundswell of opposition to the $90 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) training center, which they fear will lead to greater militarization of the police and exacerbate environmental damage in the South River Forest in a poor, predominantly Black area.
Officials counter that the campus would replace outdated, far-flung facilities and boost police morale, which is beset by hiring and retention struggles, especially in the wake of 2020 protests over racial injustice. Dickens has said that the facility will teach the “most progressive training and curriculum in the country” and that officials have repeatedly revised their plans to address concerns about noise pollution and environmental impact.
In June, after hearing about 14 hours of public testimony that was overwhelmingly against the training center, council members voted 11-4 to approve $67 million toward the project. Outraged but not surprised, organizers of the petition drive announced it the next day.
Outside the Kroger, located in a majority-Black neighborhood a few miles south of a Wendy’s parking lot where officers fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in 2020, Giraldi chatted with Lee Little, a Black construction worker who stopped to talk despite the rain, his hands full of bagged groceries.
Little was working near the proposed training center in March and saw the helicopters and mass of armed officers that descended on the area after about 150 masked activists stormed the site and torched construction equipment. He hadn’t thought about it much since, but he signed the petition after hearing Giraldi’s pitch.
“She was just saying that City Council approved 60-something million dollars without listening to the taxpayers. Does that sound fair to you? That should be for the voters to decide,” Little said afterward.
Another who signed was Makela Atchison, who was wearing a “Black Voters Matter” T-shirt as she left the store with her two children.
“I’m not saying I’m for it or against it,” Atchison said, “but I want to be able to have my input.”
The signature drive is the most ambitious in terms of numbers that has ever been launched in a Georgia city, but it has precedent from last year in Camden County, where voters overwhelmingly rejected a planned launchpad for blasting commercial rockets into space. The Georgia Supreme Court in February unanimously upheld the legality of that referendum, though it remains an open question whether citizens can veto decisions of city governments.
In a recent court filing seeking to quash the Atlanta referendum, attorneys for the city said residents can’t force officials to retroactively revoke the lease agreement, which was made in 2021. They called organizers’ efforts “futile” and “invalid.” The state agreed with the city in a separate filing, though that dispute is on hold for now.
Still, activists see the referendum as the best remaining option to block the project. They’ve gotten support from numerous groups, including the Working Families Party and the New Georgia Project Action Fund, which pledged to get 15,000 signatures over the next few weeks.
Activist Hannah Riley tries to collect a handful of them whenever she is out in public, including on a recent afternoon as she worked remotely from Muchacho, a popular taco restaurant in the ultra-liberal Reynoldstown neighborhood. At the end of her table, she taped a sign that read: “Voter? Sign Stop Cop City Petition Here.”
“This is a bit of a Hail Mary, but it’s a Hail Mary that makes a lot of sense,” Riley said. “They’ve begun to clear-cut the trees. They’re getting close to pouring concrete. … Our options are quite limited right now, so this does feel like the most practical, effective next step.”
At the same time, a small number of activists have continued taking a more violent tack, including torching eight police motorcycles over the Fourth of July weekend, actions that canvass organizers have not condemned.
Curtis Duncan, 40, said the first day he went out canvassing, a man approached and accused him of being one of the vandals.
“I said, ‘Well, sir, respectfully, I wasn’t burning cars, and the majority of people within this movement have not been engaging in any type of violent actions,’” Duncan said. He added that troopers fatally shot an activist in the forest and that authorities have brought dozens of “very flimsy” domestic terrorism charges against “Stop Cop City” protesters this year — actions he considers far worse.
Sanchez, who works for a voting rights nonprofit, said that even if the signature drive falls short, it will have made an important impact.
“I feel like we’ve exhausted all the other options, aside from full-on revolution, which I don’t think we need for this,” he said. “There’s a lot of obstacles in our way. … If we only get to 50,000, I think that still shows a real warning sign for these politicians for the 2025 election.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-atlanta-cop-city-activists-say-theyre-confident-of-getting-70k-signatures-but-big-hurdles-remain/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:16 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-atlanta-cop-city-activists-say-theyre-confident-of-getting-70k-signatures-but-big-hurdles-remain/ |
Remembering Korea part III: Small attacks, negotiations, armistice and aftermath
(This is the last of a three-part series marking the 70 year anniversary of the signing of the armistice in Korea on July 27, 1953.)
With neither side proving capable of military victory, the U.S. led United Nations Command (UNC) and the Chinese-North Korean alliance began truce talks as early as 1951. The Police Action would continue on. Why the term Police Action? The U.S. Congress never formally declared war on North Korea, China or the Soviet Union. While the U.S. supplied 90% of the troops, 22 other countries either contributed combat or medical assistance. They were all under the auspices of the United Nations. Since the UN itself cannot declare war, it declared this a Police Action.
Remembering Korea: West Texans made an impact as the war ramped up
From July 1951 to July 1953, the fighting continued, by settling into a military stalemate. Essentially, it was a stalemate between the three superpowers, the U.S., China and the Soviet Union. The war remained focused on gaining and losing ground near the 38th parallel where the war began. The two forces were constantly bombarding each other along the front. The U.S. possessed a large advantage in weapons, firepower (roughly 5:1) and air superiority, while the China-North Korean forces held a large advantage in the number of troops. While full-scale battles dwindled, major and minor skirmishes would not cease until the Armistice was signed.
The fall of 1952 saw several smaller, but deadly battles. The Battle of Old Baldy was a series of engagements for Hill 266 in west-central Korea that lasted nearly 10 months. Several battalions on both sides looked to take the high ground. Old Baldy, which was one of the most prominent of a series of hills, earned its nickname due to the lack of trees and vegetation after constant artillery and mortar fire. It was the most important hill because it dominated the terrain in three directions. The battle lasted until March 26, 1953, with the UN suffering 357 losses and China losing 1,100.
The Battle of White Horse was fought between Oct. 6-15, 1952. White Horse was so-named for the crest of one of the hills in the Yokkok-chon Valley. During 10 days of battle, the hill changed hands 24 times. It was a microcosm of the struggle to gain ground during the three years of the war. The losses were much heavier during this prolonged struggle, with 3,500 UN losses and an estimated 10,000 Chinese losses.
The Battle of Triangle Hill or Operation Showdown saw the UN forces, with support from the U.S. Air Force, against China’s 12th and 15th Corps. This battle was part of the American forces plan to control the so-called “Iron Triangle”. The Iron Triangle was a key communist communications junction located between Cheorwon and Pyongyang in the north. The area 20-30 miles north of the 38th parallel saw heavy fighting between the Chinese and the U.S. Eighth Army from October – November 1952.
On the home front, President Harry S Truman saw a rapid decline in popularity as his rating fell to a mere 22 percent as the 1952 presidential primaries drew near. Without the support of the Democratic Party, Truman declined to seek another term on March 29, 1952. His firing of WWII hero, Gen. Douglas McArthur was also a contributing factor. Truman would be the last president eligible to run for more than two terms. Republican majorities in the House and Senate passed a constitutional amendment in 1947 saying that “no person shall be elected to the office of president more than twice.”
On Nov. 4, 1952, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during WWII, won a landslide victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower’s campaign pledge was to bring an end to the conflict in Korea. He made the startling statement, “If elected, I shall go to Korea.” Acting on this campaign pledge, Eisenhower went to Korea on Dec. 1, 1952. While there, the old soldier did what he did best - he visited the U.S. troops, their commanders, South Korean leaders and received briefings on the military situation in Korea. He astutely observed, “Small attacks on small hills would not end this war.”
After Eisenhower’s visit, the negotiating and the fighting would continue on into 1953. One of the “small attacks on small hills” was Pork Chop Hill, west of the above mentioned Iron Triangle, from March–July 1953. During the two main battles for the hill, UN casualties stood at over 1,300 casualties with China and North Korea suffering over 4,000 casualties. One of the last battles of the Korean War was the Battle of Kumsong. South Korean forces refused to participate in peace negotiations, so the Chinese forces launched an attack along the Kumsong River and defeated the ROK forces. After an ROK counterattack, the Korean Armistice Agreement was finally signed on July 27, 1953, by the United States, North Korea and China. South Korea did not agree to sign, objecting to the continued division of Korea.
One of the main sticking points in getting a signed armistice in Korea centered around prisoners of war (POW’s). Even before the peace agreement was signed, both sides agreed to exchange sick and wounded prisoners. Levelland resident Alton Garner escaped the draft until April 1952 and was inducted into the U.S. Marines. Assigned to the 1st Medical Battalion, Alton was stationed west of Seoul in late 1952. In late April 1953, several Marines from the battalion were chosen to go to “Freedom Village” at Panmunjom where the UN prisoners were to be exchanged for communist prisoners from China and North Korea. Alton recalled that “Most of the (UN) prisoners were clothed in either Russian or Chinese clothing. All the men seemed to have been brainwashed and one of them said he 'had spent 1,001 days in captivity.'” The men were part of Operation Little Switch and Operation Big Switch. The exchanges lasted from April 20 through December 1953. The exchange saw nearly 796,000 communist prisoners and 13,000 UN prisoners exchanged (8,000 South Korean, 3,600 Americans and nearly 1,000 British). Nearly 23,000 communist soldiers declined repatriation. Twenty-one Americans, one Briton and 325 South Korean soldiers also declined repatriation.
By the time the shooting ended, South Korea had lost 10% of its pre-war population of nearly 21 million. Scholars have noted that the rate of civilian casualties in Korea was higher than in WWII or the Vietnam War, with 2 million to 3 million perishing. Virtually all of the major cities were destroyed. South Korea was slow to recover the first eight years after the war. They were ranked among the poorest nations in the world after the war. After years of struggle and change, South Korea finally transitioned from an authoritative military state (1948-1987) to a liberal democratic state in 1988.
South Korea is now a thriving nation of a little over 51 million inhabitants. Some of the largest companies in South Korea that export to the U.S. are the Samsung Group, LG, Hyundai Motor and KIA to name a few. They are America’s sixth largest trading partner. Why was the Korean War important? It was important to not only the U.S. and South Korea, but for democracy around the globe. This is why we should remember and honor those who sacrificed during the so-called Cold War. We continue to be vigilant against North Korean provocations to this day. | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/history/2023/07/30/korean-war-part-3-small-attacks-negotiations-armistice-and-aftermath/70459506007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:16 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/history/2023/07/30/korean-war-part-3-small-attacks-negotiations-armistice-and-aftermath/70459506007/ |
Nagy: The UN Security Council doesn’t provide security
It’s heartbreaking. All over the world millions of innocent people suffering the horrors of conflict – death, destruction, sexual violence, starvation – have a hope in the “International Community” at some point coming to the rescue, but the truth is the cavalry isn’t coming because there is neither a real cavalry nor a real International Community. And even if some United Nations “blue helmets” arrive, their mission will be under resourced and most likely fail. So, the only hope for long suffering victims in Congo, Yemen, Syria, Mali, South Sudan and Cameroon (among others) – recently joined by millions in Sudan and Haiti – is that the violence will eventually be extinguished through sheer exhaustion or one side “winning” over the other(s), and that they survive.
Of course, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Immediately after World War II, Roosevelt and Churchill planned a global institution which would safeguard the global order, unlike the disbanded League of Nations which failed miserably to prevent the war. Central to this task was to be the Security Council (UNSC) – to which the new United Nations’ charter delegated the “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” And key to the UNSC’s ability to fulfill this role were the Permanent Five (P5) members – the winners of WWII - the US, Britain, Soviet Union (Russia), France, and China (then represented by Taiwan). The council also had six rotating members (now 10) representing various world regions, but only the P5 had individual veto power to nullify any UNSC resolution. To conduct this overwhelming mandate, the UNSC was given broad powers to intervene to address conflicts or international tensions: diplomacy; sanctions; arms embargoes; and use of force known as Peace Keeping Operations (PKOs).
Unfortunately, from the beginning geopolitical realities turned this promise of global peace and security into a cruel hoax for the victims of conflicts. The same ideological split which emerged in the world between Communism and the West also divided the Council. For example, the only reason the UN was able to engage in the Korean War to stop North Korean/Communist Chinese aggression against South Korea was because the Soviet (Russian) P5 representative was boycotting the UNSC meetings. If not, the Soviets would have vetoed the operation. And the UN has no standing military force, meaning that it depends on member nations to provide them when the UNSC authorizes a PKO. The operations themselves have strict limits on what forces can and cannot do, can only be launched with the consent of the parties in conflict, and must maintain “impartiality.” These constraints are not a formula for success.
The dismal results are telling. There have been 57 PKOs since the UN’s inception, with about half in Africa. Some still ongoing operations (Arab/Israeli conflict, India/Pakistan) began way back in the 1940s, while others started in the 60s and 70s (Cyprus, Golan Heights), and more recent ones in the 90s and 2000s (Western Sahara, Kosovo, Darfur, Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali). A look around Africa, a region I know well, shows that no UN PKO has fully succeeded in ending the suffering it was launched to resolve. And two of the
greatest human disasters in the world, the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi and the Srebrenica massacre of Bosniaks in Bosnia happened under the noses of UN peacekeepers, whose missions were under-resourced, understaffed, and unprepared.
If anything, the divisions within the UNSC are even worse today than they were during the Cold War. Now we have a multipolar world and China’s P5 seat is held by the Chinese Communist Party, with its policy of “non-interference” in the “domestic” affairs of other states so it can gain favor with autocrats around the world – no mater how cruel or odious. We also have a rogue Russia, whose aggression in Ukraine speaks for itself, and its willingness to use its Wagner mercenaries to destabilize fragile countries and prop up dictators shows there are no limits to its malevolence. It’s not only our adversaries, even “friends” like France prevent the UNSC from taking up conflicts like Cameroon’s civil war because of its friendship with the Cameroon regime. I have the greatest respect for our very able Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose indefatigable efforts to cool global hotspots are constantly stymied by P5 vetoes and whose frustration level must be stratospheric.
So, what to do, and how to make the UNSC’s $6.4 Billion “peacekeeping” budget – of which the US pays about $2 Billion - more effective? One suggested “reform” the Biden administration supports is expanding the UNSC membership and the P5 with longer terms for non-permanent members to reflect current global realities. But there is no agreement as to which nations should join the P5 and would adding more potential vetoes really make the UNSC more effective? Just increasing membership would lead to more speeches, more conferences, and less action. There has also been discussion of taking away the veto power of permanent members, but they would have to agree, and the chances of that are nil.
To make the UNSC truly effective, the UN charter needs a major rewrite to add more muscle to PKOs, eliminate the need to get consent from parties engaged in conflicts for a PKO, and allow the UNSC to adopt resolutions based on a majority of the P5 rather than unanimity. But again, the chance for such radical change in today’s world is zero. For now we must live in the Twilight Zone where the noble goals of the UN charter exist only on paper and there is no cavalry to ride to the rescue of the millions of victims of needless conflicts. It’s also a world which invites brutal outfits like Wagner to fill the void left empty by ineffective peacekeeping.
Ambassador Tibor Nagy was most recently Assistant Secretary of State for Africa after serving as Texas Tech’s Vice Provost for International Affairs and a 30-year career as a US Diplomat. Follow him on Twitter @TiborPNagyJr | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2023/07/30/tibor-nagy-united-nations-security-council-doesnt-provide-security/70480510007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:17 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2023/07/30/tibor-nagy-united-nations-security-council-doesnt-provide-security/70480510007/ |
Dallas Wings vs. Las Vegas Aces: Betting Trends, Record ATS, Home/Road Splits
Sunday's WNBA slate includes Chelsea Gray's Las Vegas Aces (22-2) hosting Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings (14-10) at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The game tips off at 6:00 PM ET.
In Las Vegas' last game, it defeated Chicago 107-95. The Aces were led by Kelsey Plum, who finished with 27 points and six assists, and A'ja Wilson, with 24 points, four assists, three steals and four blocks. Led by Teaira McCowan with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists last time out, Dallas won 90-62 versus Washington.
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Aces vs. Wings Game Time and Info
- Who's the favorite?: Aces (-700 to win)
- Who's the underdog?: Wings (+500 to win)
- What's the spread?: Aces (-10.5)
- What's the over/under?: 173.5
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 6:00 PM ET
- Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
- TV: CBS Sports Network and BSSW
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Wings Season Stats
- Offensively, the Wings are the third-best squad in the WNBA (86.0 points per game). Defensively, they are fourth (81.7 points conceded per game).
- On the boards, Dallas is best in the WNBA in rebounds (39.8 per game). It is best in rebounds allowed (32.0 per game).
- This season the Wings are ranked fourth in the league in assists at 19.8 per game.
- Dallas commits 12.7 turnovers per game and force 13.6 per game, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively, in the WNBA.
- Beyond the arc, the Wings are ninth in the WNBA in 3-pointers made per game (6.6). They are worst in 3-point percentage at 29.6%.
- Giving up 7.3 3-pointers per game and conceding 32.8% from downtown, Dallas is fifth and fifth in the WNBA, respectively, in those categories.
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Wings Home/Away Splits
- In 2023 the Wings are averaging more points at home (86.8 per game) than away (85.2). And they are allowing less at home (80.7) than away (82.8).
- At home Dallas averages 41.8 rebounds per game, 4.0 more than away (37.8). It allows 29.3 rebounds per game at home, 5.5 fewer than away (34.8).
- The Wings collect 0.8 more assists per game at home (20.2) than on the road (19.4).
- This year Dallas is committing more turnovers at home (14.4 per game) than on the road (11.0). And it is forcing fewer turnovers at home (12.9) than on the road (14.3).
- At home the Wings drain 6.3 treys per game, 0.5 less than away (6.8). They shoot 29.1% from beyond the arc at home, 0.9% lower than away (30.0%).
- Dallas allows more 3-pointers per game at home (7.5) than away (7.2), but it allows a lower 3-point percentage at home (32.0%) than away (33.6%).
Wings Moneyline and ATS Records
- This season, the Wings have been the underdog seven times and won two of those games.
- The Wings have played as an underdog of +500 or more once this season and lost that game.
- Dallas is 13-10-0 against the spread this year.
- Dallas is unbeaten ATS (1-0) as a 10.5-point underdog or greater this year.
- Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Wings have a 16.7% chance to win.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dallas-wings-vs-las-vegas-aces-wnba-betting-trends-stats/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:20 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/dallas-wings-vs-las-vegas-aces-wnba-betting-trends-stats/ |
Police said at least eight dogs being transported inside an uncooled cargo van in Indiana died of heat-related injuries this week as temperatures soared amid an intense heat wave gripping much of the United States. The heat was not letting up Saturday in many areas, including in New York City, where temperatures were expected to surge into the lower 90s (around 35 C). Officials say the humid, thick air could make it feel well over the century mark for many Americans.
The sizzling air has heated up everything from the ocean to pools, making it difficult to cool off. One woman in the Southwest has been throwing blocks of ice in her pool.
Metro Phoenix hit its 30th consecutive day of record-breaking heat on Saturday. Scientists calculate this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen.
Here’s what’s happening related to extreme weather and the climate right now:
— Police said the eight dogs that died were among 18 Shepherds being transported from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to a K-9 training facility in Michigan City, Indiana. The driver told police he was unaware that the air conditioning unit was not cooling the back of the van until he heard dogs barking. He pulled over in Lake Station, Indiana, to open the back. Lake Station police said he then found several dogs dead and others suffering.
— Heat advisories continued in New York City, where high humidity has made it uncomfortable and dangerous. Some 500 cooling centers have opened across the city’s five boroughs, and the governor authorized the state’s swimming pools to stay open later. The extreme heat was forecast to ease Sunday.
— Parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut were under a heat advisory through Saturday night. In northern New England, temperatures were down 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit after getting into the 90s (around 35 degrees Celsius) on Friday, but the humidity lingered throughout the region.
— The weather was equally stifling and muggy in the center of the United States. An excessive heat warning was issued for much of Missouri, Kansas and western Illinois, where the sweaty mix of heat and humidity could make it feel like up to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius) in some areas. St. Louis health director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said the risk of heat stroke was high and warned that interior car temperatures could reach lethal levels in minutes.
— Similar warnings were issued for much of the Deep South, which encompasses Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, with temperatures in the 90s (around 35 Celsius) and heat indexes past 100 (43.3 Celsius).
— The extreme heat has refocused attention on the lack of air conditioning in prisons. The Prison Policy Initiative, a national think tank, included Missouri and Kansas in a 2019 list of 13 “famously hot states” that lack universal air conditioning in prisons. In Missouri, only half of the prisons are fully air conditioned. And in Kansas, adding air conditioning to the newest prison sparked outrage among some lawmakers who saw it as coddling inmates.
— Phoenix broke another heat record Saturday, marking the 30th consecutive day of temperatures reaching or surpassing 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius). With the arrival of monsoon rains, temperatures are forecast to start to drop in the hottest areas in the U.S. Southwest, especially Phoenix. Temperatures are also expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.
— With the scorching heat, even going for a swim offered little to no relief. Sea surface temperatures rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) at a spot off Florida’s southern tip, while swimming pools in the Southwest gave the sensation of being in soup.
— The high temperatures are reaching across the globe, including in Bolivia, where a drought alert has been declared for Lake Titicaca after water levels of the world’s highest navigable lake receded to a critically low threshold.
___
Associated Press writers Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Ken Ritter in Las Vegas; Chevel Johnson in New Orleans; John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
) | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-climate-glimpse-heres-what-you-need-to-see-and-know-today-8/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:22 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-climate-glimpse-heres-what-you-need-to-see-and-know-today-8/ |
MLB Games Tonight: How to Watch on TV, Streaming & Odds - Sunday, July 30
Today's MLB schedule has plenty of quality competition on the docket. Among those games is the Texas Rangers squaring off against the San Diego Padres.
You will find info on how to watch today's MLB action right here.
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How to Watch Today's MLB Games
The Toronto Blue Jays (59-46) take on the Los Angeles Angels (54-51)
The Angels hope to get a road victory at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays on Sunday at 12:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- TOR Key Player: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.268 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBI)
- LAA Key Player: Shohei Ohtani (.302 AVG, 39 HR, 81 RBI)
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The Atlanta Braves (66-36) face the Milwaukee Brewers (57-48)
The Brewers will hit the field at Truist Park versus the Braves on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- ATL Key Player: Ronald Acuña Jr. (.333 AVG, 24 HR, 61 RBI)
- MIL Key Player: Christian Yelich (.286 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The Pittsburgh Pirates (46-58) play host to the Philadelphia Phillies (56-48)
The Phillies will look to pick up a road win at PNC Park versus the Pirates on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- PIT Key Player: Bryan Reynolds (.255 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI)
- PHI Key Player: Bryson Stott (.306 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI)
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The Miami Marlins (56-49) play the Detroit Tigers (47-58)
The Tigers will take to the field at LoanDepot park against the Marlins on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- MIA Key Player: Luis Arraez (.381 AVG, 3 HR, 51 RBI)
- DET Key Player: Spencer Torkelson (.230 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI)
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The New York Mets (49-55) play the Washington Nationals (44-61)
The Nationals will hit the field at Citi Field versus the Mets on Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- NYM Key Player: Pete Alonso (.217 AVG, 30 HR, 73 RBI)
- WSH Key Player: Lane Thomas (.286 AVG, 16 HR, 55 RBI)
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The Chicago White Sox (43-63) take on the Cleveland Guardians (52-53)
The Guardians will look to pick up a road win at Guaranteed Rate Field against the White Sox on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- CHW Key Player: Luis Robert (.270 AVG, 29 HR, 60 RBI)
- CLE Key Player: José Ramírez (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 60 RBI)
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The Kansas City Royals (31-75) face the Minnesota Twins (54-52)
The Twins will hit the field at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- KC Key Player: Bobby Witt Jr. (.263 AVG, 18 HR, 60 RBI)
- MIN Key Player: Carlos Correa (.228 AVG, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
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The Houston Astros (59-46) take on the Tampa Bay Rays (63-44)
The Rays will take to the field at Minute Maid Park versus the Astros on Sunday at 2:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet SW
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- HOU Key Player: Kyle Tucker (.299 AVG, 18 HR, 69 RBI)
- TB Key Player: Wander Franco (.267 AVG, 12 HR, 49 RBI)
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The St. Louis Cardinals (46-60) face the Chicago Cubs (53-51)
The Cubs will hit the field at Busch Stadium versus the Cardinals on Sunday at 2:15 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- STL Key Player: Nolan Arenado (.282 AVG, 22 HR, 77 RBI)
- CHC Key Player: Nico Hoerner (.278 AVG, 7 HR, 57 RBI)
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The Colorado Rockies (40-64) host the Oakland Athletics (30-76)
The Athletics will take to the field at Coors Field against the Rockies on Sunday at 3:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet RM
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- COL Key Player: Ryan McMahon (.255 AVG, 16 HR, 48 RBI)
- OAK Key Player: Brent Rooker (.248 AVG, 17 HR, 47 RBI)
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The San Francisco Giants (57-48) play the Boston Red Sox (56-48)
The Red Sox will look to pick up a road win at Oracle Park versus the Giants on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SF Key Player: LaMonte Wade Jr (.269 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI)
- BOS Key Player: Justin Turner (.288 AVG, 16 HR, 68 RBI)
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The Los Angeles Dodgers (59-44) take on the Cincinnati Reds (57-49)
The Reds will look to pick up a road win at Dodger Stadium versus the Dodgers on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
- TV Channel: SportsNet LA
- Stream Live: Fubo (regional restrictions may apply)
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
Hitters to Watch
- LAD Key Player: Freddie Freeman (.328 AVG, 21 HR, 73 RBI)
- CIN Key Player: Spencer Steer (.276 AVG, 15 HR, 57 RBI)
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The San Diego Padres (51-54) play host to the Texas Rangers (60-45)
The Rangers will look to pick up a road win at PETCO Park versus the Padres on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- SD Key Player: Juan Soto (.265 AVG, 20 HR, 63 RBI)
- TEX Key Player: Marcus Semien (.275 AVG, 15 HR, 64 RBI)
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The Arizona Diamondbacks (56-49) host the Seattle Mariners (53-51)
The Mariners will take to the field at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks on Sunday at 4:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- ARI Key Player: Corbin Carroll (.288 AVG, 21 HR, 57 RBI)
- SEA Key Player: Julio Rodríguez (.252 AVG, 17 HR, 55 RBI)
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The Baltimore Orioles (63-41) play the New York Yankees (55-49)
The Yankees will look to pick up a road win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards against the Orioles on Sunday at 7:10 PM ET.
How to Watch
Hitters to Watch
- BAL Key Player: Adley Rutschman (.267 AVG, 14 HR, 46 RBI)
- NYY Key Player: Gleyber Torres (.258 AVG, 16 HR, 44 RBI)
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:26 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/mlb-odds-how-to-watch/ |
Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America.
Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. More than astrology, reincarnation, and the belief that physical things can have spiritual energies.
In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
“People are yearning for something greater than themselves — beyond their own understanding,” said Jack Grogger, a chaplain for the Los Angeles Angels and a longtime Southern California fire captain who has aided many people in their gravest moments.
That search for something bigger, he said, can take on many forms, from following a religion to crafting a self-driven purpose to believing in, of course, angels.
“For a lot of people, angels are a lot safer to worship,” said Grogger, who also pastors a nondenominational church in Orange, California, and is a chaplain for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.
People turn to angels for comfort, he said. They are familiar, regularly showing up in pop culture as well as in the Bible. Comparably, worshipping Jesus is far more involved; when Grogger preaches about angels it is with the context that they are part of God’s kingdom.
American’s belief in angels (69%) is about on par with belief in heaven and the power of prayer, but bested by belief in God or a higher power (79%). Fewer U.S. adults believe in the devil or Satan (56%), astrology (34%), reincarnation (34%), and that physical things can have spiritual energies, such as plants, rivers or crystals (42%).
The widespread acceptance of angels shown in the AP-NORC poll makes sense to Susan Garrett, an angel expert and New Testament professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky. It tracks with historical surveys, she said, adding that the U.S. remains a faith-filled country even as more Americans reject organized religion.
But if the devil is in the details, so are people’s understandings of angels.
“They’re very malleable,” Garrett said of angels. “You can have any one of a number of quite different worldviews in terms of your understanding of how the cosmos is arranged, whether there’s spirit beings, whether there’s life after death, whether there’s a God … and still find a place for angels in that worldview.”
Talk of angels, Garrett said, is often also about something else, like the ways God interacts with the world and other hard-to-articulate ideas.
The large number of U.S. adults who say they believe in angels includes 84% of those with a religious affiliation — 94% of evangelical Protestants, 81% of mainline Protestants and 82% of Catholics — and 33% of those without one. And of those angel-believing religiously unaffiliated, that includes 2% of atheists, 25% of agnostics and 50% of those identified as “nothing in particular.”
The broad acceptance is what fascinates San Francisco-based witch and author Devin Hunter: Angels show up independently in different religions and traditions, making them part of the fabric that unites humanity.
“We’re all getting to the same conclusion,” said Hunter, who spent 16 years as a professional medium, and started communicating as a child with what he believed were angels.
Hunter estimates that a belief in angels applies to about half of those practicing modern witchcraft today, and for some who don’t believe, their rejection is often rooted in the religious trauma they experienced growing up.
“Angels become a very big deal” for long-time practitioners who’ve made occultism their primary focus, said Hunter, an angel-loving occultist. “We cannot escape them in any way, shape or form.”
Jennifer Goodwin of Oviedo, Florida, also is among the roughly seven in 10 U.S. adults who say they believe in angels. She isn’t sure if God exists and rejects the afterlife dichotomy of heaven and hell, but the recent deaths of her parents solidified her views on these celestial beings.
Goodwin believes her parents are still keeping an eye on the family — not in any physical way or as a supernatural apparition, but that they manifest in those moments when she feels a general sense of comfort.
“I think that they are around us, but it’s in a way that we can’t understand,” Goodwin said. “I don’t know what else to call it except an angel.”
Angels mean different things to different people, and the idea of loved ones becoming heavenly angels after death is neither an unusual belief nor a universally held one.
In his reading of Scripture as an evangelical Protestant, Grogger said he believes angels are something else entirely — they have never been human and are on another level in heaven’s hierarchy. “We are higher than angels,” he said. “We do not become an angel.”
Angels do interact with humans though, said Grogger, but what “that looks like we’re not 100% sure.” They worship God who created this angelic legion of unknown numbers, he said, adding that evangelicals often attribute the demonic forces in the world to the angels who fell from heaven when the devil rebelled.
The Western ideas about angels can be traced through the Bible — and to the worldviews of its monotheistic authors, Garrett said. Those beliefs have changed and developed for millennia, influenced by cultures, theologians and even the ancient polytheistic beliefs that came before the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, she said.
“There are sort of lines of continuity from the Bible that you can trace all the way up to the New Age movement,” said Susan Garrett, who wrote “No Ordinary Angel: Celestial Spirits and Christian Claims about Jesus.”
The angels in the Bible do God’s bidding, and angelic violence is one part of their job description, said Esther Hamori, author of the upcoming book, “God’s Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible.”
“The angels of the Bible are just as likely to assassinate individuals and slaughter entire populations as they are to offer help and protect and deliver,” said Hamori. She doesn’t believe in these angels, but studies them as a Hebrew Bible professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York where she teaches a popular “Monster Heaven” class.
“They’re just God’s obedient soldiers doing the task at hand, and sometimes that task is in human beings’ best interests, and sometimes it’s not,” she said.
The perception that angels act angelic and look like the idyllic, winged figurines atop Christmas trees could be attributed to an early centuries belief that people are assigned one good angel and one bad — or have a good and bad spirit to guide them, Garrett said.
This idea shows up on the shoulders of cartoon characters and is likely what Abraham Lincoln was alluding to in his famous appeal for unity when he referenced “the better angels of our nature” in his first inaugural address, she said.
“It’s also tied in with ideas about guardian angels, which again, very ancient views that got developed over the centuries,” Garrett said.
For Sheila Avery of Chicago, angels are protectors, capable of keeping someone from harm. Avery, who belongs to a nondenominational church, credits them with those moments like when a person’s plans fall through, but ultimately it saves them from being in the thick of an unexpected disaster.
“They turn on the news and a terrible tragedy happened at that particular place,” Avery said, suggesting it was an “angel that was probably watching over them.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-do-you-believe-in-angels-about-7-in-10-u-s-adults-do-a-new-ap-norc-poll-shows/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:28 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-do-you-believe-in-angels-about-7-in-10-u-s-adults-do-a-new-ap-norc-poll-shows/ |
In the orbit of an icon: Ex-Texas Tech teammates share recollections of Zach Thomas
On Saturday in Canton, Ohio, Zach Thomas will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, taking his place among the greats of the game. He defied the odds all the way, making first-team All-Pro five times and second-team All-Pro twice after entering the league as a fifth-round draft choice.
Before that, he earned all-America recognition in each of his last two seasons as a Texas Tech linebacker, though he was lightly recruited coming out of Pampa High School in 1992.
Even though Thomas was in the Red Raiders' backyard in the Texas Panhandle, it wasn't a sure thing Texas Tech was going to offer him a scholarship, at least not until Thomas and Pampa played a playoff game in Jones Stadium.
Doyle Parker, Texas Tech assistant coach from 1987-91 and 1993-98: I think up until that night we were watching him out of Spike's office, we'd watched a lot of film and had the same concerns that a lot of other schools must have had, about his size and speed. That was the first that we'd seen him live, and that night watching him live was when the decision was made. Spike (Dykes) said, "It doesn't matter. We're taking that guy."
Thomas never redshirted at Tech, earning regular playing time the second half of the 1992 season. In his true sophomore season, he was the Southwest Conference's fourth-leading tackler and set a bowl record with seven tackles behind the line in a John Hancock Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
Matt DuBuc, Texas Tech running back, letterman from 1993-96: When I knew Zach Thomas was a great player, it was the spring of my freshman year. I was playing running back, and he calls out the formation. Then by formation, he calls out the play. I'm in the backfield going, '(Expletive), he's going to freaking tee off.' He's calling out the play by formation. He literally ripped the jersey off my back, he was in the backfield so fast.
What a football IQ, and then he had the tenacity of a bulldog. He wasn't the smartest guy in the classroom. Football was his Ph.D.
Q&A:Never caught short: Zach Thomas has all the answers when it comes to linebacker play
For much of his football career, Thomas was knocked for his unimpressive measurables. At the NFL scouting combine after Thomas's senior season, he was measured at 5-foot-11 and 233 pounds, ran 40 yards in 4.85 seconds and recorded a vertical jump of 28 1/2 inches. He offset his limitations with voracious film and video study and uncommon instincts for his position.
Shawn Banks, Texas Tech letterman from 1992-95, started alongside Thomas at inside linebacker in a 4-4 defense: I'm telling you, in a 20-yard radius, Zach was everywhere. I mean, everywhere. You put him in the middle and draw a circle 20 yards around, he was going to be right there. It was just amazing.
Anthony Armour, Texas Tech linebacker and defensive end who lettered from 1992-93 and 1995-96: Some people said he was undersized, and that could have been true. I really thought he was the perfect size, because he was able to do a lot of things as far as get up under the linemen and not be detected pretty easily. He kind of mastered that.
He leveled the field with his talent as far as being mentally strong and really instinctive. I think that made up for any lack of height or size.
Scott Fitzgerald, Texas Tech center and guard who lettered from 1991-94: It was like hittin' a rock. I mean, you've got that square head. The whole thing is just hard. Back then, Zach was just a huge fill guy, and then you had some of the smaller guys like Anthony Armour and Marcus Coleman and the others that weren't near the size.
Zach didn't have the height. I don't know if that helped him from a leverage standpoint or what, but when he hit you, you knew it. We'll put it that way.
Sharing the credit:Thomas, a College Hall of Famer, says it's all about team to him
The backbone of the Texas Tech defense during the mid-1990s was a linebacker corps that had Thomas and Banks starting on the inside and Robert Johnson and Marcus Coleman on the outside in the 4-4 alignment. Johnson, whose fearless tackling style belied his listed size of 5-11 and 186 pounds, was even more undersized than Thomas.
Johnson, an Estacado graduate and Texas Tech letterman from 1993-96: Back then, we would huddle as a defense. We would hold hands and actually have a huddle, and Zach would call it. I remember I would always have to ask Zach after he made the call, 'Hey, what'd you say?' I wasn't tall enough to hear him, because the defensive line was so big. He would tell me, 'Rob J, scoot over and get to the side so you can hear me.'
Thomas earned unanimous All-America recognition as a senior in 1995. The year before, the United Press International honored him as a first-team all-American, and other selectors made him second-team all-America. That season, Texas Tech demolished Texas 33-9 at Jones Stadium, still the Red Raiders' largest margin of victory in the series.
Thomas lived in a house in west Lubbock that year, and when he had an open room, invited wide receiver Jayson Lavender to move in. Thomas later was in Lavender's wedding.
Lavender: Zach had a really good schedule that semester, and I'll never forget, I'd come home every day. Back then it was VHS. It was back when (Texas coach John) Mackovic was doing all these crazy motions, when he'd do all these shifts and motions and all this stuff. And about Wednesday or Thursday, I'll never forget walking in and Zach goes, 'I got it. I got it.' I was like, 'What do you mean, you've got it?'
He knew when they shifted a certain way, the way they did it, knew exactly where they were going. He would call the plays before they were run. I mean, on video this is happening. Those are things people don't understand was his commitment to off-the-field stuff. His football IQ was unbelievable. He was always around the ball. The reason he was always around the ball was because he'd already played the game before it was played.
Banks, who roomed with Thomas their last three years on road games: That was what we really focused on was watching a lot of film. Back then, everything was VHS tapes. All that's out of style now, but that's all we had back then was VHS tapes, so it was really good to watch film together, because sometimes I would pick up stuff and sometimes he would pick up stuff. We were focused on being as prepared as possible for the game.
Damon Wickware, Tech linebacker and defensive lineman who lettered from 1991-94: I've seen some really big guys that, if you don't know where to be, you're useless. But if you know where to be and how to be there, man, you can cause some problems for people, and that's him. Zach might as well have been in the huddle for the other team, because it's like he knew. He had instincts.
Fitzgerald and Thomas were permanent team captains in 1994, joined by a rotating number of co-captains from week to week.
Fitzgerald: Before the game, we'd go out and he (Thomas) wouldn't talk at all. The officials would be kind of small talk here or there, and I'd more or less get to do the calls — the defending or ball or all that stuff. He was pretty well ready to go and pretty intense.
Jabbar Thomas, Texas Tech starting defensive end in 1994: Zach didn't say a lot. I know people think that Zach was rah-rah-rah, but Zach wasn't that type of guy. He was more focused on his assignment. So he would call the play, and then he would go and get in his position, and he would sit there and wait to see how the offensive formation came out so that he could get an idea what kind of play they were getting ready to run. So Zach did not say a lot.
Tech's conquest of Texas was one of four lopsided victories in a row for the Red Raiders during the second half of the 1994 season. A loss at TCU in the regular-season finale cost Tech the outright Southwest Conference title, and Southern California routed the Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl.
Nevertheless, expectations were high going into 1995. That August, Tech coach Spike Dykes called the team captains into his office.
Banks: Spike Dykes said, 'We plan on winning maybe eight games or so.' And so after that meeting, we walked out of the office and were like, 'Man, he only gave us eight wins. I think we're going to win all of them.' (Laughs) So we went back in there to talk to Spike Dykes and said, 'Coach, we want to win all the games.' (Laughs) Coach Dykes was like, 'I know, I know, I know.' But I don't think he actually knew how good a football team we actually had.
Texas Tech lost the 1995 season opener at No. 4 Penn State 24-23 and finished 9-3, beating Air Force 55-41 in the Copper Bowl.
Banks: That was really the cap to cement our careers together: Me, Marcus, Zach and Robert Johnson. He let us play the whole game, (defensive coordinator) coach (John) Goodner. He said, 'This is the last time I'm going to get to coach them,' so he let us play the whole game.
The game of the year in 1995 from a Tech standpoint was a 14-7 victory against No. 8 Texas A&M. Thomas intercepted Aggies quarterback Corey Pullig and returned it 25 yards for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds remaining. It snapped A&M's 29-game conference win streak and the Red Raiders' five-game losing streak in the series.
After the game, it was revealed that flu had sidelined Thomas for three days of practice that week.
"I wasn't going to miss a game because of being sick, especially this one," he said in a United Press International game story.
Verone McKinley, Texas Tech defensive back who lettered from 1992-95: I think actually on that interception play, I believe he was supposed to have been blitzing, and for him to have the wherewithal to understand what's going on in a certain situation and to drop into his zone and pick that ball off, that's what Zach does. He gets it.
Armour: Obviously, that was the best play of the season that year that we were able to enjoy. I think that pretty much solidified his position as the best linebacker in Tech history next to E.J. (Holub).
Banks: It was a great play, and we tackled him in the end zone. It was like, finally, we got 'em. When we got back to the locker room, coach Dykes was really excited. He really wanted to beat A&M.
Damon Wickware was 6-3, 220 pounds as a senior at Hurst Bell, and Texas Tech signed him to play safety. He likes to say he ate his way into being a defensive tackle, starting there for the Red Raiders after he grew to be 296. On the way, he made stops at linebacker and defensive end.
Wickware: I remember being in the linebackers' meeting room (in 1992), because I had been moved to linebacker, and I'd never played linebacker. I didn't understand any of that terminology. And in walked two freshmen, Anthony Armour and Zach Thomas, and I thought, 'Man, these guys must be good to be in the varsity meeting room at the beginning of the season and we hadn't even done anything.'
I remember him (Thomas) diagnosing stuff that coach (John Paul) Young was saying, and coach Young, he might as well have been talking Chinese. ... Unless you had played that position forever, it didn't make any sense. But when that boy came in, he knew his stuff — as a true freshman. It was impressive.
By the time they were upperclassmen, Wickware had a locker next to Thomas and a starting spot on the defensive line. With a hand on the back and some words of instruction pre-snap, Thomas would coordinate their movements.
Wickware: He would let us know which way he's going or he'd let us know which way I need to go a lot of times. Especially when it was short-yardage situations, because when he's coming, he's coming full speed, so if you're there, you're going to get hit in the back. If you're not there, be ready because he's either going to blow it up or he's going to cause them (the ball carrier) to jump outside your way or jump inside your way.
Yeah, I got many hits in the back, because if I didn't move my guy and he was hitting that hole, guess what: We're all going down.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2023 was revealed on Feb. 9. Thomas, elected in his 10th year of eligibility and after his fourth straight year as a finalist, is part of a nine-man class. It'll be a milestone birthday gift of sorts for Thomas, who turns 50 on Sept. 1.
A number of his former Tech teammates are planning to make the trip to Canton for the induction.
Banks: When he was inducted into the Red Raider Hall of Honor, we celebrated that. Everybody came back down there for that, and I said, 'You've only got one more left,' which we were talking about the NFL Hall of Fame.
Lavender: When this thing came around every year, I would be so mad when they wouldn't pick him. And he would talk with such humility, like, 'Man, there's guys that are better than me. There's guys that deserve it.' I was like, 'Heck no, Zach. You deserve it, man.'
But he never wavered in that mindset. It's crazy to me how he approached this Hall of Fame thing as a complete, 100% professional.
Parker: So happy for him that he's getting this honor — way past due, in my opinion, but glad it finally happened for him. He's sure deserving. Just an overachiever — he and Wes Welker, people like that, that nobody thought they had a chance to do what they did in the NFL. It's just a great tribute to him.
Robert Johnson: I know he was elated. He deserves all of it, because of everything he's put into the game. He's always been a natural leader, has always tried to do things right. I'm super proud of him.
Wickware: I got hit in the back so many times with him pushing the pile forward, I think I can attribute my backaches to him now. But you know what? It was all worth it, getting to see where he is now. I am so proud of that guy. I am one of his biggest supporters, because he did it the right way. | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/red-raiders/2023/07/30/texas-tech-football-ex-teammates-of-zach-thomas-share-recollections-of-pro-football-hall-of-famer/70435192007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:30 | 1 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/red-raiders/2023/07/30/texas-tech-football-ex-teammates-of-zach-thomas-share-recollections-of-pro-football-hall-of-famer/70435192007/ |
MLB Probable Starting Pitchers Tonight: Sunday, July 30
Who are the probable pitchers lined up to start on Sunday? Below, we list every starting pitching matchup for the day, which includes Luis Castillo toeing the rubber for the Mariners, and Merrill Kelly getting the call for the Diamondbacks.
Keep reading to find the probable starters for every contest on the docket for July 30.
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Today's Probable Starting Pitchers
Angels at Blue Jays Probable Pitchers
The Los Angeles Angels will send Tyler Anderson (5-2) to the hill as they play the Blue Jays, who will give the start to Jose Berrios (8-7) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Angels at Blue Jays
- TOR Odds to Win: -200
- LAA Odds to Win: +165
- Total: 9.5 runs
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Live Stream Angels at Blue Jays
- Game Time: 12:05 PM ET
- Streaming: Peacock (regional restrictions may apply)
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Brewers at Braves Probable Pitchers
The Milwaukee Brewers will send Colin Rea (5-4) to the mound as they play the Braves, who will counter with AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0) for the game between the clubs on Sunday.
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Live Stream Brewers at Braves
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Phillies at Pirates Probable Pitchers
The Philadelphia Phillies will send Cristopher Sanchez (0-3) to the hill as they take on the Pirates, who will look to Rich Hill (7-10) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Phillies at Pirates
- PHI Odds to Win: -150
- PIT Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Phillies at Pirates
- Game Time: 1:35 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Tigers at Marlins Probable Pitchers
The Detroit Tigers will send Tarik Skubal (1-1) to the bump as they face the Marlins, who will counter with Jesus Luzardo (8-5) when the clubs face off on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Tigers at Marlins
- MIA Odds to Win: -150
- DET Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 7 runs
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Live Stream Tigers at Marlins
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: BSFL (regional restrictions may apply)
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Nationals at Mets Probable Pitchers
The Washington Nationals will send Trevor Williams (5-5) to the hill as they face the Mets, who will look to Justin Verlander (5-5) for the matchup between the clubs on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Nationals at Mets
- NYM Odds to Win: -275
- WSH Odds to Win: +220
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Nationals at Mets
- Game Time: 1:40 PM ET
- Streaming: WPIX (regional restrictions may apply)
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Guardians at White Sox Probable Pitchers
The Cleveland Guardians will send Aaron Civale (4-2) to the mound as they play the White Sox, who will counter with Michael Kopech (4-9) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Guardians at White Sox
- CLE Odds to Win: -145
- CHW Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Guardians at White Sox
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-CHI (regional restrictions may apply)
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Twins at Royals Probable Pitchers
The Minnesota Twins will send Kenta Maeda (2-5) to the hill as they play the Royals, who will look to Ryan Yarbrough (3-5) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Twins at Royals
- MIN Odds to Win: -185
- KC Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Twins at Royals
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSKC (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rays at Astros Probable Pitchers
The Tampa Bay Rays will send Zack Littell (0-2) to the bump as they play the Astros, who will counter with Brandon Bielak (5-5) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Rays at Astros
- HOU Odds to Win: -110
- TB Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Rays at Astros
- Game Time: 2:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet SW (regional restrictions may apply)
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Cubs at Cardinals Probable Pitchers
The Chicago Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks (4-4) to the mound as they take on the Cardinals, who will counter with Steven Matz (1-7) when the teams play on Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Cubs at Cardinals
- STL Odds to Win: -145
- CHC Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Cubs at Cardinals
- Game Time: 2:15 PM ET
- Streaming: BSMW (regional restrictions may apply)
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Athletics at Rockies Probable Pitchers
The Oakland Athletics will send Luis Medina (3-7) to the hill as they play the Rockies, who will counter with Ty Blach (0-0) when the clubs play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Athletics at Rockies
- COL Odds to Win: -110
- OAK Odds to Win: -110
- Total: 12.5 runs
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Live Stream Athletics at Rockies
- Game Time: 3:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet RM (regional restrictions may apply)
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Red Sox at Giants Probable Pitchers
The Boston Red Sox will send Brennan Bernardino (1-0) to the mound as they play the Giants, who will look to Scott Alexander (6-1) when the clubs meet on Sunday.
Live Stream Red Sox at Giants
- Game Time: 4:05 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-BA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Reds at Dodgers Probable Pitchers
The Cincinnati Reds will send Graham Ashcraft (5-7) to the bump as they take on the Dodgers, who will give the start to Michael Grove (2-2) for the matchup between the clubs Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Reds at Dodgers
- LAD Odds to Win: -185
- CIN Odds to Win: +150
- Total: 10.5 runs
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- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet LA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rangers at Padres Probable Pitchers
The Texas Rangers will send Cody Bradford (2-1) to the hill as they play the Padres, who will give the start to Blake Snell (7-8) for the game between the clubs Sunday.
Live Stream Rangers at Padres
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: SDPA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Mariners at Diamondbacks Probable Pitchers
The Seattle Mariners will send Castillo (6-7) to the mound as they take on the Diamondbacks, who will counter with Kelly (9-4) when the teams play Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Mariners at Diamondbacks
- SEA Odds to Win: -120
- ARI Odds to Win: +100
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Mariners at Diamondbacks
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ARID (regional restrictions may apply)
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Yankees at Orioles Probable Pitchers
The New York Yankees will send Luis Severino (2-4) to the bump as they play the Orioles, who will hand the ball to Dean Kremer (10-4) when the teams face off Sunday.
Vegas Odds for Yankees at Orioles
- BAL Odds to Win: -125
- NYY Odds to Win: +105
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Yankees at Orioles
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ESPN (regional restrictions may apply)
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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. | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:34 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
High school football preview: Monterey 'hungry' after full offseason under Judd Thrash
Judd Thrash feels a lot more comfortable heading into this season.
A year ago, Thrash was in the midst of his first months as Monterey's football coach. There was no spring program. The new offense was taught with about 30 players on the roster.
Things have changed, and Thrash is hoping that translates to wins in his second season at the helm.
"We've been doing football since the end of November," Thrash said, "so we've been doing it for a long time. Then we had spring football, and then we've been doing summer (workouts). Last year our offense wasn't even installed. … We're way farther along than we were. We had a true offseason."
ESTACADO PREVIEW:Coach William Blaylock expects 'jump' in Year 2
The Plainsmen roster has since doubled, and Thrash said they've worked "extremely hard" during his first complete offseason. He called it a high-character, disciplined group.
"Like I tell those guys, the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender," Thrash said. "… We talk about our brand a lot. We're gonna outwork everybody in the area. We're gonna put in more hours, more time than everybody. We're gonna do everything we can to be the best."
Returning lettermen Luke Arrington and Ja'Marcus Smith will split time at quarterback of an experienced offense, which should be improved with a better understanding of the system, Thrash said.
"Each one of them has kind of a different air about them," Thrash said. "Ja'Marcus is good with his legs; Luke has a big arm. So we're gonna kind of use a combination of those two guys."
Smith will also see time at running back. Monterey is replacing the dynamic Jayden Hibbler, who transferred across town to Lubbock-Cooper. Hibbler was the district's offensive MVP last season.
Thrash said Christian Williams and Dez Williams will share backfield duties as well. A seasoned offensive line includes returning starters Case Carpenter and Daegan Hinson.
The defense, which was the Plainsmen's calling card in 2022, has more holes to fill. Still, Thrash is excited about a defensive line featuring K.J. Russell and L.A. Williams.
"In the area, we'll probably have one of the biggest and fastest D-lines," Thrash said. "They all run (40 yards in) under 4.9 (seconds)."
Linebacker Zach White will be a key figure, along with defensive backs Dez Williams, Austin Rivas and Kash Lewis. Lewis will double as a receiver.
Thrash said the defense prides itself on being the "toughest guys on the team."
LUBBOCK HIGH PREVIEW:Coach Juan Rodriguez making adjustments in 2nd year with Westerners
After a winless campaign, Thrash said one of the goals is to win the opener Aug. 25 against Odessa High. The Bronchos won 42-39 last season in one of four games decided by five or fewer points.
Thrash said ending the Plainsmen's losing skid will be a "huge" moment for the program.
"They're hungry, and they've been working their tail off," Thrash said. "They're ready to go against somebody else. They've been going against each other since the end of November, so I'm sure they're ready to get out there and show that their hard work has paid off."
Monterey Plainsmen
Head coach — Judd Thrash (10-21 overall, 0-10 at Monterey)
2022 record — 0-10 overall, 0-6 in District 2-5A Division I
Last district title/playoff appearance — 2006/2020
Base offense — Multiple
Base defense — Multiple
Returning lettermen — 16
Returning off./def. starters — 9/6
Players to watch — Ja'Marcus Smith, ATH; Luke Arrington, QB; Kash Lewis, WR/DB; Zach White, LB; K.J. Russell, DL; Christian Williams, RB/WR; Dez Williams, RB/DB; Case Carpenter, OL
2023 schedule
* — denotes District 4-3A DII game
Aug. 25 — vs. Odessa High, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 — at Abilene Wylie, 7 p.m.
Sept. 7 — vs. Frenship, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15 — at Midland High, 7 p.m.
Sept. 22 — vs. Abilene High*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 — at Amarillo Tascosa*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 — vs. Amarillo Caprock*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 — at Lubbock-Cooper*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 — vs. Coronado*, 7 p.m.
Nov. 2 — at Amarillo High*, 7 p.m.
2022 schedule
at Odessa High L, 42-39
Abilene Wylie L, 30-0
at Frenship L, 39-26
Midland High L, 18-13
at Abilene High* L, 37-7
Amarillo Tascosa* L, 21-10
at Amarillo Caprock* L, 14-13
Lubbock-Cooper* L, 31-14
at Coronado* L, 16-12
Amarillo High* L, 35-14 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/07/30/2023-texas-high-school-football-preview-lubbock-monterey-plainsmen-schedule-head-coach-judd-thrash/70428220007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:36 | 0 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/07/30/2023-texas-high-school-football-preview-lubbock-monterey-plainsmen-schedule-head-coach-judd-thrash/70428220007/ |
Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic: Prediction and Match Betting Odds | Truist Atlanta Open
In the Truist Atlanta Open final on Sunday, Taylor Fritz takes on Aleksandar Vukic.
Fritz is favored (-550) bring home the title versus Vukic (+375).
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Match Information
- Tournament: The Truist Atlanta Open
- Round: Finals
- Date: Sunday, July 30
- Venue: Atlantic Station
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Court Surface: Hard
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Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Prediction and Odds
Based on the moneyline in this match, Taylor Fritz has an 84.6% chance to win.
Bet on tennis with BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks!
Taylor Fritz vs. Aleksandar Vukic Trends and Insights
- By defeating No. 46-ranked Jeffrey John Wolf 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday, Fritz reached the finals.
- Vukic reached the finals by beating No. 38-ranked Ugo Humbert 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 on Saturday.
- Fritz has played 68 matches over the past year (across all court types), and 26.2 games per match (24.1 in best-of-three matches).
- Fritz has played 44 matches on hard courts over the past 12 months, and 25.8 games per match (24.3 in best-of-three matches).
- In the past year, Vukic has played 34 total matches (across all court types), winning 51.5% of the games. He averages 24.6 games per match (23.3 in best-of-three matches) and 9.8 games per set.
- Vukic has averaged 23.8 games per match (22.8 in best-of-three matches) and 9.6 games per set through 21 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months, winning 52.1% of those games.
- Dating back to 2015, Fritz and Vukic have not met on the court.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:39 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/taylor-fritz-vs-aleksandar-vukic-tennis-prediction-betting-odds-truist-atlanta-open/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trader Joe’s is recalling a broccoli cheddar soup that may contain insects and cooked falafel that may contain rocks, about one week after the grocery chain recalled two cookie products over similar concerns.
The soup recall impacts Trader Joe’s Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup with “Use By” dates ranging from July 18 to Sept. 15, according to a Thursday announcement from the company. On Friday, the grocer announced that Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Falafel sold in 35 states and Washington, D.C., was also under recall.
On July 21, Trader Joe’s announced that it was recalling Trader Joe’s Almond Windmill Cookies and Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with “sell by” dates ranging from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21. Like the falafel, the cookies may also contain rocks, the company said.
When asked for further information about how the insects and rocks may have gotten into these products, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson said that “there was an issue in the manufacturing processes in the facilities.” Suppliers alerted Trader Joe’s of the possible foreign material for each recall, the company said.
“We pulled the product from our shelves as soon as we were made aware of the issue. Once we understood the issue we notified our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Saturday.
All of the recalled cookies, soup and falafel have been removed from sale or destroyed, Trader Joe’s said in its announcements. But the Monrovia, California-based company is still urging consumers to check their kitchens for the products.
Trader Joe’s says customers who have the recalled products should throw them away or return them to any store for a full refund. Lot codes and further details about the products under recall, as well as customer service contact information, can be found on the company’s website.
Trader Joe’s did not specify how many products were impacted with each recall or identify suppliers. But one Food and Drug Administration notice cited by NBC News says that the Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup recall impacts around 10,889 cases sold in seven states. Winter Gardens Quality Foods, Inc. is identified as the recalling firm, per the notice.
No formal releases about the three recalls were published on the FDA’s Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts page as of Saturday. The Associated Press reached out to the FDA and Winter Gardens Quality Foods for information on Saturday.
“We have a close relationship with our vendors and they alerted us of these issues. We don’t hesitate or wait for regulatory agencies to tell us what to do,” the Trader Joe’s spokesperson said. “We will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer.” | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:40 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/ap-us-news/ap-more-trader-joes-recalls-this-soup-may-contain-bugs-and-falafel-may-have-rocks-grocer-says/ |
Lubbock ISD Athletics Hall of Honor: Kersey, Legan add another chapter together
It's only fitting Diana Kersey and Janice Farris Legan were side by side once again Saturday.
That's the way it was almost every step of their basketball careers.
Teammates at Monterey and then Texas Tech, the friends were part of 10 Lubbock ISD Athletics Hall of Honor inductees celebrated as the 2023 class.
When board member Craig Wells called Legan to deliver the good news in February, she made sure Kersey was getting her due as well.
"I said, 'Craig, who else is going in?'" Legan said. "He said, 'You and Diana both.' I said there's no other way I would do it. To play with her as long as I did, and within that a friendship way longer than just basketball, that's pretty cool."
Kersey and Legan, both 1990 Monterey graduates, formed a bond years after battling each other in junior high. Following a growth spurt, Legan joined Kersey on the Lady Plainsmen varsity, and the two shared the court through their playing days.
"We just have such a history together, and we love each other," Kersey said. "It really is special to be inducted at the same time as her. … We were close in high school, but I think we really developed a bond once we got to college."
HALL OF HONOR:Lubbock ISD Athletics announces 10 inductees for Class of 2023
The duo won the 1992-93 national championship at Tech. They had plenty of success at Monterey, too.
The Lady Plainsmen reached the state tournament their senior year, finishing 32-2 after a 70-65 semifinal loss to Houston Yates. It was the highest win percentage in program history and included a school-record 28-game winning streak.
Relationships like the one they've maintained for decades remain the biggest takeaway.
Lady Plainsmen teammates in town for the Hall of Honor ceremony got to visit the Old Box together Saturday. Kersey said it smelled "exactly the same."
Kersey welcomed the nostalgia. It gave her a chance to remember experiences she couldn't fully enjoy at the time. Her mother suffered a traumatic brain injury in an auto accident while Kersey was in high school.
"So I had kind of shut those memories down," Kersey said. "Being able to come back here and see my teammates and go down to Monterey and just remember that there was a lot of good in my high school years ― and a lot of good people. I even remember Coronado's girls team raised money for my mom.
"Hopefully this will open a new chapter of being able to remember those good times." | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/07/30/lubbock-isd-athletics-hall-of-honor-diana-kersey-janice-farris-legan-monterey-texas-tech-basketball/70482596007/ | 2023-07-30T11:58:42 | 0 | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/07/30/lubbock-isd-athletics-hall-of-honor-diana-kersey-janice-farris-legan-monterey-texas-tech-basketball/70482596007/ |