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Orioles vs. Yankees Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread - July 30
Sunday's contest between the Baltimore Orioles (63-41) and New York Yankees (55-49) squaring off at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has a projected final score of 5-4 (based on our computer prediction) in favor of the Orioles, so it should be a tight matchup. The game will start at 7:10 PM ET on July 30.
The Orioles will give the nod to Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59 ERA), who is eyeing win No. 11 on the season, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46 ERA).
Orioles vs. Yankees Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland
- How to Watch on TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
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Orioles vs. Yankees Score Prediction
Our pick for this game is Orioles 5, Yankees 4.
Total Prediction for Orioles vs. Yankees
- Total Prediction: Over 8.5 runs
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Discover More About This Game
Orioles Performance Insights
- The Orioles have been the favorite once in the past 10 games and lost that contest.
- In its last 10 games with a total, Baltimore and its opponents have combined to hit the over four times.
- Oddsmakers have not set a spread for any of the Orioles' last 10 games.
- This season, the Orioles have won 33 out of the 47 games, or 70.2%, in which they've been favored.
- Baltimore has a record of 24-9, a 72.7% win rate, when favored by -135 or more by bookmakers this season.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Orioles have a 57.4% chance to win.
- Baltimore ranks 11th in the majors with 502 total runs scored this season.
- The Orioles have a 4.19 team ERA that ranks 15th among all league pitching staffs.
Yankees Performance Insights
- The Yankees have played as the underdog in three of their past 10 games and have gone 1-2 in those contests.
- When it comes to the total, New York and its foes are 5-5-0 in its previous 10 contests.
- The Yankees' previous 10 games have not had a spread set by bookmakers.
- The Yankees have come away with 13 wins in the 31 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
- New York has a win-loss record of 8-8 when favored by +115 or worse by bookmakers this year.
- The Yankees have an implied victory probability of 46.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
- New York scores the 21st-most runs in baseball (454 total, 4.4 per game).
- The Yankees have pitched to a 3.86 ERA this season, which ranks fifth in baseball.
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Orioles Schedule
Yankees Schedule
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wsaz.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:21 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ |
NEW YORK — In March 2022, Mark Herman, a dog walker and recreational drug enthusiast in upper Manhattan, New York, came into possession of a dog, a painting and a story.
The dog was Phillipe, a 17-year-old toy poodle that belonged to Herman’s only client, an 87-year-old retired law professor named Isidore Silver.
The painting, which belonged to Silver, may be a lost work by artist Chuck Close, whose canvases once sold for as much as $4.8 million. Or it may not.
Therein lies the story. On a recent afternoon in his cluttered apartment, Herman offered a broken chair and began a circuitous account of friendship, loss and a commercial art market not meant for people like him.
In 1967, Close was an instructor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, “desperately unhappy” (as he recalled in a 1987 interview) and eager for the New York art world, when the school offered him his first solo exhibition, in the student union. Close, best known for his monumental photorealist portraits, had not yet found his style and was painting in an expressionist mode heavily influenced by Willem de Kooning.
For his exhibition, he chose 31 works, several of which featured male and female nudity. One semiabstract painting depicted Bob Dylan wearing only a T-shirt. Others had titles like “I’m Only 12 and Already My Mother’s Lover Wants Me” and “I Am the Only Virgin in My School.”
Needless to say, there were complaints. One drawing was stolen.
The university removed the paintings. Close sued on free speech grounds. His lawyer, in what became a well-known First Amendment case, argued that “art is as fully protected by the Constitution as political or social speech.”
The lawyer was Silver, future poodle owner.
Silver prevailed in court, then lost on appeal. Close, who later dismissed the exhibition as “sort of transitional work,” lost his job.
The paintings, which were returned to Close, disappeared from the record.
Both men moved to New York. Close became one of America’s preeminent artists, even after paralyzing spinal trauma, until several women accused him of sexual harassment in 2017. Silver, who never liked practicing law, joined the faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In his bedroom closet in upper Manhattan, he kept a large rolled-up painting that for a half-century he never showed to anyone. The painter, he claimed, was Close.
Enter the dog walker.
Herman, who was almost two decades younger than Silver, had studied the Buchla synthesizer and television production at New York University, worked in a photo lab, ran a recording studio and sold high-end stereo equipment online. By the time the two men met six years ago, he was walking dogs to support himself.
The older man was, to put it gently, a volatile character. “He had his moods,” Herman, 67, said, adding, “I know how to deal with people like that. You say yes.”
He and Silver hit it off, Herman said. Both liked movies and Lenny Bruce, and both loved Phillipe, whom Herman called Philly-bones. Herman started lingering in Silver’s apartment after his morning walks, staying for coffee and cake. Herman made his own cannabis oils, and he gave some to Silver for his back pain.
When the pandemic hit, and Herman stopped walking dogs, the two men talked for hours on the telephone daily, Herman said. Silver had alienated most of the people close to him, but he formed a bond with Herman.
“He had a temper,” Herman said. “If he wanted to say something, you stand back and take it. That’s the way I dealt with him, because he was very explosive.”
Asked what would set his friend off, Herman replied, “Everything.”
Still, Herman said, “He was like a second father to me. I loved that guy.”
One day, Silver mentioned having represented Close in the 1960s. Herman was intrigued. He had seen an exhibition of Close’s portraits at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1981 and had loved it. “I was blown away to see that in person,” he said.
In September 2021, Silver wrote about the case in The Daily News, asking, “What happened to the paintings at the exhibition?” before answering, teasingly, “Memory almost totally fails.” (Close died in August 2021.)
Silver’s health declined. Herman on three occasions arrived to get Phillipe and found Silver on the floor. Twice he had to call 911.
Silver told Herman about the painting rolled up in the closet. The plastic around the canvas was almost black from Silver’s pipe smoke. “He basically said, ‘Take the painting,’” Herman said. Herman did.
“Not only did I get the painting, but I got Phillipe,” he added. “I just took him.”
Silver died last March. Phillipe died in September. Silver did not include Herman in his will, but the family gave him $5,000. And he had the painting.
Herman, who had stopped walking dogs and was living on Social Security, checked out the auction prices for Close’s work: $3.2 million for a portrait of Philip Glass; $4.8 million for a portrait of painter John Roy. Even a very early abstract painting, “The Ballerina,” from 1962, sold for $40,000 at Sotheby’s, more than double the auction house’s estimate.
Under the influence of magic mushrooms, Herman received some numbers: first $1.4 million, and later $10 million. “But they’re pranksters,” he said of the mushrooms. “I would not jump out of an airplane and say, ‘Oh, the shrooms packed my chute.’ I wouldn’t trust them that far. They don’t know everything.”
Still, maybe Herman’s ship had come in.
“If I lived in a mansion, I’d keep it,” he said. “I wanted to sell it.”
He called an old prep school friend who had become part of the art squat movement in France, who warned him against hanging onto it. “He said the art world is the most cutthroat of any, even worse than Hollywood,” Herman said. “He was saying there might even be people coming in the middle of the night to steal it from you. I said, ‘What?!’”
Herman said he was afraid to unroll the painting, lest he damage it.
Through an internet search, Herman found Pace Gallery, Close’s longtime dealer. “Pace wanted $5,000 for stretching and evaluation,” he said. He did not have that kind of money.
He went to Sotheby’s auction house, which offered to put it up for sale in December 2022, with an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000 — low because it was an early work and because Close’s market had softened since the accusations of sexual harassment. The cost of stretching would come out of the sale price.
When the auction house unrolled the painting, it was the first time Herman had ever seen it, along with the signature: “Close 1965-6.” The colors were vibrant; the textures densely layered. “Almost like de Kooning,” Herman said.
But here things take a turn.
The auction house had contacted Pace Gallery, which had contacted Close’s studio. Neither had any record of the painting. “While this doesn’t necessarily mean that the work is not by Chuck Close, it is certainly a red flag for both us and Pace,” an associate specialist at Sotheby’s wrote to Herman. There would be no sale. In subsequent messages, she advised Herman that he would receive an invoice for $1,742 for stretching the canvas and that he should remove it soon or face storage fees.
Sotheby’s declined interview requests for this article; Pace Gallery responded only with a terse statement: “We’ve looked into this further and Pace does not have any information on the below work, or the 1967 exhibition.”
Herman’s big windfall had not materialized. Maybe he had a painting by one of America’s great artists. But he was in the wrong art market at the wrong time.
In recent decades, as prices for paintings have skyrocketed, so has litigation around their authenticity. In response, artists’ studios and estates have moved away from authenticating stray works that pop up, in order to avoid being sued. The estates of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein, among others, all closed their authentication services. At least one authenticator had his life threatened for not approving a painting.
Authentication is especially difficult with early work, said Tom Eccles, who runs the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.
“It’s almost impossible to authenticate an early work. They didn’t document the work. They didn’t photograph the work. It’s probably not in a database,” Eccles said. “So it’s not to say these works aren’t real, but it’s very hard to authenticate them.”
Often, as with Herman’s canvas, early efforts do not reflect the artist’s mature style, Eccles said, so they cannot be authenticated by analyzing the technique or materials. “And even if one does authenticate them, are they worth a lot of money? Probably not.”
Herman tried other auction houses and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney. No interest. He contacted the nonprofit International Foundation for Art Research, which authenticates work, but it wanted $3,000 and information regarding the painting’s provenance and expert opinions about the work — all things that Herman did not have.
He wrote to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to see if it had records of Close’s 1967 exhibition. Another dead end.
On July 13, Herman and a friend rented a van to retrieve the painting from Sotheby’s. It was his second trip to the auction house, this time without the great expectations of the first. And now he was out $125 for the van and worried that Sotheby’s would not let him take his painting unless he wrote a hefty check for the stretching. “I was excited the first time, but now it’s like getting a colonoscopy,” he said on the sidewalk outside.
The painting, stretched on a frame, was even more radiant than it had looked when the auction house first unrolled it. It bothered Herman that Pace had not looked at the actual painting, just dismissed it based on a photograph. The stretched canvas was almost 6 feet tall. It just barely fit into the van.
Back at Herman’s apartment in Washington Heights, it dominated the living room. Herman looked exhausted. He had been living with disappointments since December, to say nothing of his life before then. He missed his talks with Silver. “It’s documented that he was the lawyer at Chuck Close’s trial,” he said, frustrated. “And there’s the unbroken chain of custody in his closet.”
He looked at the painting. You couldn’t not look at it.
“I’m enjoying it right now,” he said, “but you don’t want to have ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Besides, his apartment, which he shared with his daughter-in-law and his grandson, was no place for a painting like that. “It wants to bust out and be alive,” he said. “It wants to be out in the world. It’s crying out for a home in the Hamptons.”
At last, Herman caught a break. On July 17, four days after Herman’s van run to Sotheby’s, an archivist at the University of Massachusetts uncovered a file on Close’s 1967 exhibition, including an issue of the school newspaper dedicated to the controversy. There on Page 3 was a photograph of Herman’s painting.
“Proof indeed,” said Eccles, the curatorial authority from Bard. “What a story!”
A Sotheby’s spokesperson, shown an image of the newspaper, said the auction house did not authenticate works and declined to comment. Pace reiterated that it had no details on the painting or the exhibition.
Herman was already making plans. With the sale of the painting, he could move out of his apartment and get a place for himself and his girlfriend.
“I’m on the moon,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed living with it. But I want to get it out of here, because a knife could fall on it. A can of paint could spill on it.”
What was it worth? He truly did not know. But after so many disappointments with the painting, what did he have to lose?
“There’s got to be some money in it,” he said. “Don’t you think?” | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/was-the-rolled-up-painting-in-the-dog-walkers-closet-worth-millions/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-30T19:00:22 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/was-the-rolled-up-painting-in-the-dog-walkers-closet-worth-millions/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
World Against Trafficking Day shines light on Tampa organization's effort to help young victims
TAMPA, Fla. - Advocates against human trafficking are raising awareness about a seemingly never-ending issue as Sunday marks World Against Trafficking Day.
Florida ranks third in the nation for number of calls to the human trafficking hotline.
With Tampa being right off an interstate, a city that hosts major events, and has a large amount of sexually oriented businesses, it remains an extremely prevalent issue.
The need highlights several local organizations that help victims get the resources they need for a fresh start. One of those is the Tampa-based specialized non-profit Redefining Refuge.
Their founder, Natasha Nascimento, is from South Africa and worked in finance when she moved to Tampa over a decade ago.
She told FOX 13 she was immediately taken aback by how many young trafficking victims were getting arrested for prostitution and the limited resources at the time to help them.
"There was just this genuinely crazy misconception that is still being perpetuated today that you have to be from another country to be a trafficking victim," Natasha explained. "Almost 100% of the kids we've served in our organization are born and raised in the United States, so we have a domestic minor sex trafficking problem and Redefining Refuge was born purely as an awareness campaign."
Victims of all ages are trafficked for a variety of reasons. In addition to commercial sex, that could be agricultural work or other forms of labor.
Shockingly, about 30% of human trafficking victims in Tampa are minors, and that's who Redefining Refuge focuses on.
The youngest child who came to redefining refuge for help was only nine years old and HIV positive.
Once a call comes in through Child Protective Services, the victims are put in touch with RR team members, who help them find safer living situations and recovery resources.
Natasha says one percent of child sex trafficking cases result from abduction or kidnapping by strangers.
A majority of them start online and with a family member or person the child is familiar with, luring them into the industry for personal reasons.
READ: Suitcase murder mystery: Florida police release sketches of woman found in 3 bags in water
"We have children that are trafficked by family members because of a substance use component," Natasha explained. "We have children that are lured on social media, gaming apps. That is a huge problem. About half of sex crimes against children are actually through interaction online, believe it or not."
Even with these disturbing facts, the most frustrating part can be the lack of punishment for predators.
"I know that law enforcement is trying their very best to get these guys off the streets," said Natasha. "But a lot of the times, we will make all these arrests and then they get out the same day. They don't even stay a night in jail. And now they're just smarter. We've told them basically, this is how you got caught. You aren't going to spend any real time in jail. And they just get wiser and wiser and more sophisticated in their approach."
If you want to get involved in prevention efforts, Natasha says one of the best ways to do so is becoming a guardian ad litem for a child.
These are people that are appointed by the court to advocate in the best interest of the children they serve.
You can also get involved in their 'All hands-on Deck' campaign.
All of this information can be found on their website by clicking here. | https://www.fox13news.com/news/world-against-trafficking-day-shines-light-on-tampa-organizations-effort-to-help-young-victims | 2023-07-30T19:00:23 | 0 | https://www.fox13news.com/news/world-against-trafficking-day-shines-light-on-tampa-organizations-effort-to-help-young-victims |
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Frank Clark has reunited with Russell Wilson in Denver and now the outside linebacker has former teammate Patrick Mahomes in his sights instead.
The 30-year-old outside linebacker signed with Denver after being jettisoned by the Kansas City Chiefs in a cost-cutting move this offseason and the Broncos are counting on him to add some oomph to their pass rush.
Still in the AFC West, Clark gets two opportunities at beating his former team this season, something the Broncos haven’t done since 2015. Their 15-game skid against the Chiefs is the fourth longest by one team to a single opponent in NFL history.
Unlike his reunion with Wilson, revenge and rivalry aren’t top of mind for Clark as he embraces his fresh start in the Rocky Mountains.
“I wouldn’t call it a rivalry. A rivalry is competitive,” Clark interjected in his first public comments since signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with Denver last month. “I’m (with) the Broncos now. I’ve been on the other side. We didn’t call it a rivalry then.”
And before anyone around Denver can call it that the Broncos will have to beat Mahomes, something they have a better shot at doing with Clark on their side.
The Chiefs parted ways with Clark just a year after signing him to a two-year, $30 million extension. The Broncos haven’t had a fearsome pass rush since trading Von Miller two years ago. And with Baron Browning sidelined by a knee injury and Randy Gregory coming off an injury-filled debut season in Denver, first-year head coach Sean Payton eagerly welcomed the veteran with 58 1/2 sacks.
Clark had 23 1/2 sacks in four seasons in Kansas City and another 10 1/2 in the playoffs, helping the Chiefs go 10-2 in the postseason and make three trips to the Super Bowl.
“What we did in Kansas City was special,” Clark said. “Four-year run, two Super Bowl (rings), three AFC titles. It was fun, but at the end of the day all good things come to an end.”
Bad things, too, he hopes. Such as Denver’s 15-game skid to the Chiefs.
One thing Clark insists isn’t nearing the finish line in his proclivity for getting after the passer even though his five sacks in 2022 and two-game suspension for gun possession incidents a year earlier meant an end to his three-year run as a Pro Bowler.
“I wouldn’t say it was the end” in Kansas City last season, Clark said. “It’s never the end when you get the job finished.”
Now he aims to help the Broncos and Wilson bounce back in 2023.
“He’s still dangerous. Don’t get it twisted,” Clark said of Wilson, whom he played with in Seattle from 2015-18. “Russ is a veteran. He’s a guy that’s won on multiple levels. … I was a part of Seahawks teams that were successful; I was a part of teams where we didn’t make the playoffs. But it was the same Russ.
“So don’t think a bad season’s going to shake a guy like Russ,” Clark added. “Naw, bro, we start fresh every year. Every summer’s a fresh start.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nfl/ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-07-30T19:00:23 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nfl/ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
(NEXSTAR) – Infections of brain-eating amoeba are on the rise — and the warming climate may only exacerbate the problem, according to one of the world’s preeminent experts on the subject.
“Yes, we are experiencing warmer temperatures, and these amoeba are thermal-tolerant … so the numbers of amoeba will be higher,” explains Dr. Dennis Kyle, the head of the cellular biology department at the University of Georgia and the scholar chair of antiparasitic drug discovery with the Georgia Research Alliance.
“Warmer climates means, yes, more exposure and more cases,” he added.
Kyle, speaking with Nexstar, confirmed that reported cases of Naegleria fowleri infection — more commonly known as an infection of brain-eating amoeba — have “significantly increased” over the past four to five years. But he warned that increased cases cannot be linked solely to warmer waters, but rather more awareness and fewer misdiagnoses than in previous years.
“There’s more recognition that these amoeba are possibly causing disease, when before, virologists were misclassifying these cases as bacterial meningitis or [other diseases],” he said.
Naegleria fowleri, the microscopic organism responsible for the infection, is primarily found in warm freshwater and soil, but also hot springs, improperly chlorinated pool water, improperly treated tap water, and, in lower concentrations, even cooler freshwaters. Infection of N. fowleri usually occurs after water is forced into the nose, allowing the organism to enter the nasal cavity and cross the epithelial lining into the brain, where it begins destroying the tissue of the frontal lobe.
This brain infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), can lead to symptoms including fever, headaches, stiff neck, seizures and hallucinations within two weeks of exposure. It is almost always fatal, with death occurring within another one to 18 days of the first symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most infections tend to occur between June and September, but cases outside of these months are not entirely unheard of, Kyle said.
N. fowleri is also found in higher concentrations in warmer, smaller bodies of freshwater, but the organism can be found in pretty much any freshwater lake, including cooler, clearer waters, Kyle said. There was even a case in 2016 in which a teenager contracted a fatal infection of N. fowleri after going whitewater rafting — an activity generally undertaken in less-risky colder waters.
The highest concentrations, though, are generally found in freshwater with surface temperature readings of 75 degrees F or higher, especially for extended periods of time.
And climate change, as scientists have observed, is already having an impact on the temperature of the world’s freshwater lakes. The quality and color of the water can also change due to warming temperatures, recent studies have suggested.
“There’s a constant risk in warmer climates,” Kyle remarked.
The amoeba itself can’t be specifically targeted with current treatments either, leading to a fatality rate of 97%. In fact, Kyle only knows of four known cases in the U.S. where patients survived, and “maybe” seven globally.
“I’m not convinced that were any further along in getting better treatment,” Kyle told Nexstar of the current antifungal and antibiotic cocktails that are currently used. “But If people can get diagnosed earlier, even with the suboptimal treatments that we have, they have a better chance of survival.”
To that end, Kyle, and the families of some of the victims, are hoping to spread awareness of the disease. He and his colleagues have also worked to identify what they believe is a biomarker that can help doctors diagnose infection earlier than previously possible, but their test is not yet FDA-approved.
“Most tests use cerebral spinal fluid, but we don’t have to have that,” he told Nexstar. “We can use blood or even urine. In our analyst studies, we can detect it three or four days before symptoms develop. I’m pretty excited.”
Preventing infection in the first place is currently the best course of action, he added.
“Raising awareness helps. But I think any warm freshwater facility, or hot spring … and at splashpads, you have to look at it carefully,” he said. “It’s incumbent on people running these facilities to minimize risk and minimize exposure.”
People can also take precautions by avoiding bodies of warm freshwater, and especially refraining from jumping or diving into such waters, which increases the risk of having contaminated water forced into the nose. He also recommends using nose plugs, keeping your head above the surface, and properly cleaning and chlorinating wading pools, swimming pools and spas (or opting for salt-water pools or spa facilities).
Parents should also know that children are at the highest risk of infection, but likely for no other reason than that they’re more prone to be more active in the water.
“It’s difficult to define the risk,” Kyle said. “But think of it like a lightning storm. Everybody knows not to walk outside in a lightning storm with a golf club in their hands. But many parents don’t know the risk that their kids might be open to.” | https://www.wane.com/dont-miss/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:23 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/dont-miss/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
Peña has career-high 4 RBIs as Astros beat Rays 17-4
HOUSTON, ( AP) - Jeremy Peña had a career-high four RBIs, Yainer Díaz and José Abreu added three apiece and the Houston Astros had their highest-scoring game of the season in a 17-4 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.
Díaz put Houston up early with a two-run shot in the second. Peña, who had two hits, made it 5-0 with a bases-loaded double in the fourth.
Chas McCormick hit a two-run triple in Houston’s three-run fifth and Abreu made it 11-0 with his 10th homer of the season in the sixth to help the Astros bounce back after a 4-3 loss in the series opener Friday.
"We know that we’re able to have games like this," Díaz said in Spanish through a translator. "It was definitely fun for a lot of us and we enjoyed it."
The Astros got eight hits and five RBIs from the bottom three batters in their lineup Saturday.
"That's why you kind of stagger your lineup to have some balance all the way through versus stacking it with guys that are swinging well," manager Dusty Baker said. "The bottom of the lineup came through tonight."
Hunter Brown (7-7) allowed four hits and two runs in 6-plus innings for his first win since June 13.
Isaac Paredes hit a two-run homer in the seventh and a solo shot in the ninth and Wander Franco added a home run in the eighth for the Rays, but it wasn’t nearly enough as they fell to 6-16 this month.
With the game out of hand, manager Kevin Cash brought in catcher René Pinto for his first career pitching appearance to start the seventh inning.
With Pinto throwing as slow as 50 mph, the Astros easily padded the lead. Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer with one out and Alex Bregman added a two-run shot with two outs before Yordan Alvarez homered on the next at-bat to make it 16-2.
"I wanted René to pitch both innings, but the way that inning unfolded probably we need to stop it right there," Cash said. "Not how we drew it up, but we were trying to avoid both innings of no pitcher, but we might have been here all night if we sent him back out there."
Houston's 17 runs bested the 14 it scored in a win over St. Louis on June 29.
Tampa Bay rookie starter Taj Bradley (5-7) allowed three hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings for his fourth straight loss.
"I know he’s wearing it because he’s a competitor and he wants to go out there and help contribute to us winning games," Cash said. "It’s certainly not on, on his shoulders, but I would guess any of them would feel that way."
Franco singled with one out in the first. He stole second base and moved to third on the play on a throwing error by Díaz.
But the Rays came away empty when Bregman caught a fly ball hit by Brandon Lowe in foul territory and threw home in time for Díaz to tag Franco for the double play.
Abreu opened Houston’s second with a single before Díaz homered to center field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.
Bradley walked Jake Meyers walked with one out in the fourth to load the bases and end his night. Kevin Kelly took over and struck out Altuve before Peña doubled off the wall in left field to clear the bases and push the lead to 5-0.
Alvarez and Abreu hit consecutive singles with one out in the fifth before the triple by McCormick made it 7-0. A double by Díaz sent McCormick home and left the Astros up 8-0.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays RHP Zach Eflin (right knee discomfort) threw a bullpen session Saturday and Cash said he was feeling better after being injured Wednesday. But Cash added that they’re still not sure if he’ll be able to make his scheduled start Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Brandon Bielak (5-5, 3.62 ERA) opposes RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 5.11) when the series wraps up Sunday. | https://www.fox13news.com/sports/pena-has-career-high-4-rbis-as-astros-beat-rays-17-4 | 2023-07-30T19:00:29 | 1 | https://www.fox13news.com/sports/pena-has-career-high-4-rbis-as-astros-beat-rays-17-4 |
LEO-CEDARVILLE, Ind. (WANE) – Before kicking off his final season of high school football at Leo, Kaden Hurst is keeping an eye on the future.
On Sunday, the 3-star recruit committed to Ohio University to continue his football career. Hurst also had offers from Kent State, Western Illinois, Toledo, Akron and Ball State.
Hurst began his high school career at North Side High School. In his junior season, Hurst caught 26 passes for 418 yards and five touchdowns.
Hurst and other student-athletes in the Hoosier state will begin official practices on Monday, while Leo kicks off the 2023 season on Friday, Aug. 18 at Kokomo. | https://www.wane.com/high-school-sports/leos-hurst-commits-to-ohio-football/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:29 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/high-school-sports/leos-hurst-commits-to-ohio-football/ |
The Biden White House has tried to present itself as being above the fray of day-to-day squabbles, but increasingly, it’s jumping in, bashing the GOP and other critics at every opportunity.
The administration didn’t miss a chance this week to hammer Republicans over Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) floating that the House would move towards an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. They were quick with memos and statements to criticize the GOP attacks as a “clown carousel” and the idea of pursuing impeachment as “baseless.”
And the White House issued a scathing rebuke of Fox New host Greg Gutfeld, who said that Jews captured and tortured during the Holocaust survived by having skills and being useful, calling out his comments as a “dangerous, extreme lie.”
The new levels of punchy rhetoric preview the White House messaging strategy going into 2024, which is to fight back and call out what they consider extreme.
It’s a shift from their previous attitude, which was to let what they considered to be Republican chaos speak for itself.
“The cost is too expensive, both short and long term, to let them operate in a vacuum without showing that one, we know how to fight; two, that we will fight; three, we fight with facts and not with some flaming lies of information,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist.
Early in Biden’s presidency, the White House was careful not to weigh in on controversial comments from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), hoping to avoid elevating her words and giving the far-right congresswoman more of a platform.
When McCarthy was struggling in January to get enough votes to be Speaker of the House, they sat back and watched it unfold.
Biden gently knocked the vote series at the time, saying, “It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long,” but also added, “that’s not my problem.” The White House had also insisted that Biden would not “insert himself” into the election, which ended up taking 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally clench enough votes.
But this week, when the Speaker signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry, the White House came out with multiple statements and highlighted quotes from fellow Republicans in his conference pushing back on the idea.
It also released a memo about Republicans’ slams against the president overall, reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack.
Hunter Biden appeared in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.
The White House this week touted “Bidenomics” after gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showed surprisingly strong economic growth. It rebuked GOP lawmakers for not embracing the data, pointing to Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone, who said Thursday, “There goes that recession talk, right?”
“Even Fox Business is welcoming today’s blockbuster economic growth numbers, the latest in a long line of proof points that Bidenomics is delivering for middle class families,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a memo. “That’s because this strong growth report is objectively good news for the American people, which elected officials should support regardless of their political party.”
In the past, the White House has called out what it deemed antisemitism, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in particular has spearheaded the effort against hatred towards Jewish Americans. The rebuke of Gutfeld was particularly notable, considering it called the conservative media voice’s comments insulting to the memory of people who suffered the Holocaust.
Over the last week, Vice President Harris has gone on the attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a presidential candidate, over changes his administration has made regarding the way slavery is taught in his state. She quickly traveled to Jacksonville to deliver remarks over his recent moves.
And press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has turned Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) into an almost-daily punching bag, chastising him for blocking military promotions over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
Democrats argue that it’s significant the White House is getting punchier and not relying on the Biden reelection campaign to do it for them.
“I think the reason why it’s so important that it comes from the White House is because Joe Biden is a president for all people, and that White House works for all people,” Seawright said. “It helps weed out some of the foolishness, because I don’t think we can afford at this moment to let false information go unchecked or go numb to bad or false information for the sake of political gain.”
Another Democratic strategist argued the White House has picked its spots well, seeking to highlight when Republicans are fixated on issues that don’t resonate with most moderate voters. The strategist pointed to the GOP’s fixation on Hunter Biden as an example of something that is unlikely to move many mainstream voters.
Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew noted the window for moving legislation closes early in election cycles so it “makes sense” the White House is preparing for 2024.
“They know they’re going to have to defend against Republicans’ insatiable appetite for investigations and impeachments, and the best defense is a good offense,” said Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy. “When top Republicans continue to spout controversial rhetoric and spend time on divisive issues that the vast majority of Americans don’t agree with, the White House is going to use those moments to illustrate to the American people how extreme today’s Republican Party has become.”
Jim Kessler, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said Biden and his team are wisely both selling their own victories and highlighting Republican dysfunction.
Ultimately, though, Kessler argued the 2024 election will be decided by broader issues such as the economy, something the White House has leaned into with its recent messaging.
“This election is going to come down to the middle. The middle ideologically, the middle of the country geographically, and the middle class,” Kessler said. “These are places where Biden’s got to win.” | https://www.wane.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:35 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The FBI has issued arrest warrants and released disturbing details in the armed home invasion and kidnapping of an elderly North Carolina couple and the theft of more than $150,000 of their cryptocurrency in April.
The incident took place at gunpoint at the couple’s home the morning of April 12 after thieves allegedly posed as construction workers and forced their way into the home, according to the Durham Police Department and the FBI.
According to an FBI criminal complaint obtained by Nexstar’s WNCN, the incident began when two men, dressed as construction workers, came to the victims’ home around 7:30 a.m. The duo claimed they would be inspecting pipes for damage and told the husband they would be “walking around the house.”
After a few minutes, the pair knocked on the door again and the wife answered the door. The suspects, who allegedly both had guns, then pushed their way inside.
“The men restrained and zip-tied the husband’s hands and the wife’s hands,” the FBI complaint said.
A man armed with a pink gun showed the wife it was loaded by opening the cylinder and then dragged her into a bathroom by her legs, the criminal complaint said.
The husband was taken to his Apple iMac and forced at gunpoint to log in and install a remote desktop application called AnyDesk. A person on the phone with a thief already knew “details about the account without being told,” the FBI complaint said.
The FBI believes the husband’s email account was compromised in the past, allowing the thieves to learn the details ahead of the trip to Durham and the home invasion.
The suspects were able to transfer $156,853 worth of cryptocurrency during the next 45 minutes, the FBI said. Before leaving, the thieves allegedly smashed the couple’s cellphones and the iMac.
The elderly couple managed to get out of their home and ask neighbors to call 911 for help. The pair suffered minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, Durham police said.
The arrest warrants released Thursday for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping indicate two West Palm Beach, Florida, men are wanted — Jarod Gabriel Seemungal and Remy Ra St. Felix.
According to the FBI criminal complaint filed the same day, the suspects began targeting retirees who had cryptocurrency as early as February. The accused men even had the license plate number for the husband’s car, authorities said. A third man is also named in the criminal complaint, but no arrest warrant was issued for him as of Thursday.
Messages sent between those involved identified actual cryptocurrency amounts and their locations, the criminal complaint said. One suspect had a photo of the husband’s North Carolina driver’s license in his email account, according to the FBI.
The two suspects also discussed in internet messages how potential victims “have so much” money in accounts that it would be “retirement licks” — the FBI explained in the complaint that “licks” is slang for a robbery.
The thieves apparently rented a car in Florida and visited the Millennium Hotel in Durham a couple of days before the actual robbery, according to the complaint. Video from a home near the victims’ showed the thieves’ BMW SUV “conducting surveillance” at the couple’s home each of the three days before the alleged kidnapping, the FBI said.
The FBI also noted that a person driving a similar vehicle purchased costumes — a clipboard, reflective vest, sunglasses and a pair of khaki pants — at a nearby Walmart that allowed the suspected thieves to get into the victims’ home. Both suspects were seen on surveillance video from the store.
Additional details about potential victims wasn’t immediately available. As of Sunday, authorities have not said whether either man is in custody. | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:42 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Facebook users still have a few weeks to claim their piece of a $725 million settlement Meta agreed to pay to resolve a lawsuit. Ex-Facebook users can get in on the action too, as long as they meet a few criteria.
The main requirement is that you had a Facebook account for any time between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022. You also need to have been a United States resident during that period of time.
Even people who deleted their Facebook account qualify – they’re just likely to see a smaller payout. How big your check ends up being depends in part on how long your account was active.
People have until Aug. 25, 2023 to file a claim, either online or by mail.
After the deadline passes, a judge will need to give the settlement final approval. That hearing is set for Sept. 7.
If the settlement gets the final OK, it’s not yet clear when the payments will be sent out – but you might not need to wait for a check in the mail. When submitting your claim, you can fill out your Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or direct deposit info to get your payment sent straight to your account.
It’s also not clear how much each eligible recipient will get. Legal fees and administrative costs need to be deducted first. The remaining amount will be divvied up among eligible Facebook users, but we don’t know how many people have submitted a claim.
We asked Scott Dodson, a distinguished professor of law at UC Law San Francisco and the director of the Center for Litigation and Courts, to help us estimate a figure. He broke down all the factors that go into calculating the size of a class action lawsuit payment, and said that based on similar cases he estimated the higher end of payments might be in the “triple digits.” Many more people will likely receive less than $100, he estimated.
Earlier this year, Meta agreed to settle the lawsuit claiming Facebook allowed users’ personal data to be shared with third parties, the most famous being Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The firm harvested the data of as many as 87 million Facebook users, the Associated Press reported. | https://www.wane.com/news/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:48 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Live music lovers and foodies should head to the Charles Event Center for the Sounds Of The Summit City Music Festival Sunday, August 6.
The event is outdoors, moving indoors if the weather shifts, that will have local music acts, and when guests grow tired of dancing they can head to the food trucks to get a bite or refreshing drink. This is a family-friendly event, with kids’ activities available and dog-friendly areas as long as they remain on a leash.
The event will feature 5 local bands, OK Boomer, Sunglasses at Night, The Y’s Guys, Whoa, Man!, and The Fort Wayne Funk Orchestra. Bring your lawn chairs and comfy shoes and dance the night away.
The event takes place at the Charles Event Center, at 3127 Carroll Road, and goes on from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm. The event is $5 a ticket and you can purchase tickets on their website. | https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/bring-your-dancing-shoes-to-sounds-of-the-summit-city-music-festival/ | 2023-07-30T19:00:54 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/bring-your-dancing-shoes-to-sounds-of-the-summit-city-music-festival/ |
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.wane.com/news/national-world/in-summer-heat-bear-spotted-in-southern-california-backyard-jacuzzi/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:00 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/in-summer-heat-bear-spotted-in-southern-california-backyard-jacuzzi/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man died at a Disney Resort in Orlando on Wednesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call around 5:30 a.m. regarding an unresponsive person at Disney’s Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom.
The man, identified as 39-year-old Jeffrey Vanden Boom of Greendale, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Orange County Medical Examiner determined Vanden Boom fell from a hotel room balcony, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The fall was ruled as accidental.
Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.
The death remains an ongoing investigation.
Last fall, an 83-year-old man died after riding the Tomorrowland Authority PeopleMover at Disney World. Authorities said he experienced a “cardiac event,” and his death was “deemed natural” by medical officials.
Earlier this year, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Disneyland, accusing park employees of laughing at a 66-year-old disabled woman who fell while getting off the Jungle Cruise ride in 2021 and later died. | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:06 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
(The Conversation) – Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt classroom learning, expose students to cyberbullying and can compromise students’ privacy.
About 1 in 7 countries globally, such as the Netherlands and France, have banned the use of smartphones in school – and academic performance improved as a result, particularly for low-performing students, the report notes.
As school leaders in the U.S. wrestle with whether or not to ban smartphones, The Conversation has invited four scholars to weigh in on the issue.
Daniel G. Krutka: Use smartphones to encourage ‘technoskepticism’
While the issue of smartphone use in schools is complicated, evidence suggests that spending more time on smartphones is associated with young people being less happy and less satisfied with life.
Technology scholars have long argued that the key to living well with technology is in finding limits. However, in banning smartphones, I worry educators might be missing opportunities to use smartphones to encourage what I and other researchers refer to as technoskeptical thinking; that is, questioning our relationship with technology.
For example, students might be encouraged to consider the benefits and drawbacks of using navigational apps to travel from one place to another, as opposed to old-fashioned paper maps. Or, students might explore their social media feeds to critique what algorithms feed them, or how notifications get their attention.
In my research, I have looked at how teachers can encourage students to go on techno-fasts – that is, abstaining from the use of technology for a certain period of time. This, I argue, will give students time to reflect on the time they spend away from their devices.
Policy debates often focus on whether or not to put smartphones out of reach during the school day. But I believe educators might find it more beneficial to make the phones an object of inquiry.
Sarah Rose: Consult parents, teachers and students
While there is evidence that classroom phone usage can be a distraction, it can also promote engagement and learning. While research about the potential positive and negative consequences of classroom phones can be used to inform school phone policies, the views of those who are most directly impacted by the policies should also be taken into account.
The views of parents matter because their views may influence the extent to which their children follow the policy. The views of children matter because they are the ones being expected to follow the policy and to benefit from it. The views of teachers matter because they are often the ones that have to enforce the policies. Research shows that enforcing cellphone policies is not always a straightforward issue.
In my research, I have found that children – aged 10 and 11 years old – in collaboration with their parents, were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. For example, one parent-child pair suggested mobile phone use in school could be banned but that a role of “telephone monitor” could be given to an older pupil. This “telephone monitor” would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.
This recommendation reflected how parents and middle and high school students – whether from rural and urban areas – felt cellphones were important to keep in touch with each other during the school day. Beyond safety, children and parents also told us that phones were important for keeping in touch about changing plans and for emotional support during the school day.
I believe policies that simply ban phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to educate children about responsible mobile device use. When parents and children are involved in policy development, it has the potential to increase the extent to which these policies are followed and enforced.
Arnold L. Glass: Cellphone use in college lectures hurts performance in ways that are hard to see
The intrusion of internet-enabled electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and cellphones, has transformed the modern college lecture. Students now divide their attention between the lecture and their devices. Classroom studies reveal that when college students use an electronic device for a nonacademic purpose during class, it hurts their performance on exams.
When attention is divided between an electronic device and the classroom lecture, it does not reduce comprehension of the lecture – at least, not when measured by within-class quizzes. Instead, divided attention reduces long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which hurts performance on unit exams and final exams.
When some students open electronic devices, it also negatively affects the performance of all the students around them. Research has shown that student performance on final exams was worse when electronic devices were permitted during classes that covered exam material versus when the devices were not.
Many students won’t think their divided attention is affecting their retention of new information. It may not be for the moment, but a couple of weeks later or down the line, research shows, it does.
Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most
Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.
In a 2015 study, my co-author, Richard Murphy, and I examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.
Similar studies in Spain and Norway using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students’ grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from Belgium suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.
Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder learning and task execution. Taking notes by hand has been shown to better enhance memory retention compared to typing on a computer.
In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately. | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:12 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Verizon customers with older phone plans could see their bill go up next month.
According to the company, starting Aug. 29, some older plans will be charged an additional $3 or $5 per mobile phone line every month.
Customers with Go Unlimited 2.0, Beyond Unlimited 2.0, Above Unlimited, and 5G Start 1.0 plans will see the $3 monthly increase, while single basic phone plans will see the $5 monthly increase.
The company says unlimited plans that are currently available to new customers won’t get hit with the additional charge.
Verizon says lines with tablets, smartwatches, and other devices also won’t be affected.
This comes after a price hike back in April, which, as reported by USA Today, saw a $2 monthly increase for some wireless plans.
In June 2022, Verizon raised some plan fees in response to “pressure,” the company’s head of business said at the time. It led to a $1.35 increase on its administrative fees, and an “Economic Adjustment Charge” for companies using the business plans. It was the first time the fees had been increased since 2019. | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:18 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
(Green Car Reports) — GM brought back the Chevrolet Bolt EV this week—as a future affordable EV product peg for the company’s product plan.
While the timeline is yet to be disclosed for the revamped Bolt EV, the timeline for the current Bolt EV disappearing from dealerships remains confirmed.
In April, GM disclosed that it would discontinue the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV at the end of 2023, as production winds down at the Orion Assembly plant in Michigan. GM had already committed that plant to produce the Chevrolet Silverado EV and other large electric trucks on its Ultium platform.
“Drawing on various Ultium and Ultifi technological advancements will help GM bring this popular model back to market on an accelerated timeline,” GM said Tuesday, confirming that the future Bolt EV won’t carry over its existing propulsion tech.
Future Bolt EV won’t be all-new
The automaker also suggested that not everything on the Bolt EV will be new. GM noted that it “will execute it more quickly compared to an all-new program with significantly lower engineering expense and capital investment by updating the vehicle with Ultium and Ultifi technologies and by applying our ‘winning with simplicity’ discipline.”
Ultium is the broad trade term applying to GM battery and electric propulsion families, and Ultifi is the term applying to its EV software, so this simply means that the future Bolt EV won’t carry forward with its present-generation LG Chem cells. Those cells had been the focus of a very costly, large-scale recall that appears to have been worth the effort, leaving customers satisfied and loyal to the brand and nameplate.
GM had no incentive to carry the current Bolt EV’s battery tech forward anyhow.
“We’re already on the road to delivering a 60% cost reduction compared to the Bolt EV with the next generation of Ultium,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in 2021, of tech set to arrive mid-decade, as part of a statement touting the automaker as one of the few to have an EV that’s as affordable as the Bolt family.
Did GM ever actually kill the Chevy Bolt EV?
GM executives had already hinted to Green Car Reports and other outlets that while future electric small cars might be in the works, those vehicles wouldn’t use the same large-format Ultium pouch cells that GM planned to deploy on everything from the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Blazer EV on up to big trucks such as the GMC Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV.
Likewise, GM and Honda announced in April 2022 that they were working together on a joint architecture for affordable EVs—one that would use “next-generation Ultium battery technology,” according to GM.
At that time, those compact EVs were set to arrive for 2026. It’s hard to imagine GM working on multiple compact EV platforms outside China, so this week’s announcement likely signals that the project has been pulled ahead—perhaps like how the automaker managed to accelerate development of the Cadillac Lyriq.
GM may have provided some of the answer to what comes next. Earlier this year the company clarified that it might include the flexibility of cylindrical cells in future EVs, as part of its Ultium tech but not as part of the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture. That was made clearer this April with the announcement of a joint venture between GM and Samsung SDI that will mass-produce cylindrical cells for GM products starting in 2026.
The lower-profile cells would help answer the dimensional challenges that make those large-format cells harder to package within a small car or beneath the floor of a low-profile vehicle.
Bolt EV’s manufacturing dilemma
While the Bolt EV’s Michigan plant shifts to electric truck production later in the year, the automaker doesn’t have other immediate options for U.S. manufacturing. GM vacated its Lordstown, Ohio, plant that used to assemble compact cars and is located near the Ultium LLC cells facility. It’s now under the ownership of Foxconn, which will likely assemble the $29,900 Fisker Pear urban EV there.
Meanwhile, demand for the Bolt EV surges, and GM will face a gap in its lineup after the end of the year. Of the 36,024 EVs GM delivered in the first half of 2023, just 2,365 were of its new-generation Ultium EVs. The remaining 33,659 were Chevrolet Bolt EVs.
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In its update for investors earlier this week, CEO Barra pointed to the Bolt as one of its most in-demand vehicles, at or under a 10-day supply in dealer inventory.
“Actually, we can’t build enough Bolts right now,” Barra said to Wolfe Research analyst Rod Lache. | https://www.localsyr.com/automotive/whether-gm-killed-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-not-its-returning-soon/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:49 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/automotive/whether-gm-killed-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-not-its-returning-soon/ |
The Biden White House has tried to present itself as being above the fray of day-to-day squabbles, but increasingly, it’s jumping in, bashing the GOP and other critics at every opportunity.
The administration didn’t miss a chance this week to hammer Republicans over Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) floating that the House would move towards an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. They were quick with memos and statements to criticize the GOP attacks as a “clown carousel” and the idea of pursuing impeachment as “baseless.”
And the White House issued a scathing rebuke of Fox New host Greg Gutfeld, who said that Jews captured and tortured during the Holocaust survived by having skills and being useful, calling out his comments as a “dangerous, extreme lie.”
The new levels of punchy rhetoric preview the White House messaging strategy going into 2024, which is to fight back and call out what they consider extreme.
It’s a shift from their previous attitude, which was to let what they considered to be Republican chaos speak for itself.
“The cost is too expensive, both short and long term, to let them operate in a vacuum without showing that one, we know how to fight; two, that we will fight; three, we fight with facts and not with some flaming lies of information,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist.
Early in Biden’s presidency, the White House was careful not to weigh in on controversial comments from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), hoping to avoid elevating her words and giving the far-right congresswoman more of a platform.
When McCarthy was struggling in January to get enough votes to be Speaker of the House, they sat back and watched it unfold.
Biden gently knocked the vote series at the time, saying, “It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long,” but also added, “that’s not my problem.” The White House had also insisted that Biden would not “insert himself” into the election, which ended up taking 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally clench enough votes.
But this week, when the Speaker signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry, the White House came out with multiple statements and highlighted quotes from fellow Republicans in his conference pushing back on the idea.
It also released a memo about Republicans’ slams against the president overall, reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack.
Hunter Biden appeared in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.
The White House this week touted “Bidenomics” after gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showed surprisingly strong economic growth. It rebuked GOP lawmakers for not embracing the data, pointing to Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone, who said Thursday, “There goes that recession talk, right?”
“Even Fox Business is welcoming today’s blockbuster economic growth numbers, the latest in a long line of proof points that Bidenomics is delivering for middle class families,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a memo. “That’s because this strong growth report is objectively good news for the American people, which elected officials should support regardless of their political party.”
In the past, the White House has called out what it deemed antisemitism, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in particular has spearheaded the effort against hatred towards Jewish Americans. The rebuke of Gutfeld was particularly notable, considering it called the conservative media voice’s comments insulting to the memory of people who suffered the Holocaust.
Over the last week, Vice President Harris has gone on the attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a presidential candidate, over changes his administration has made regarding the way slavery is taught in his state. She quickly traveled to Jacksonville to deliver remarks over his recent moves.
And press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has turned Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) into an almost-daily punching bag, chastising him for blocking military promotions over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
Democrats argue that it’s significant the White House is getting punchier and not relying on the Biden reelection campaign to do it for them.
“I think the reason why it’s so important that it comes from the White House is because Joe Biden is a president for all people, and that White House works for all people,” Seawright said. “It helps weed out some of the foolishness, because I don’t think we can afford at this moment to let false information go unchecked or go numb to bad or false information for the sake of political gain.”
Another Democratic strategist argued the White House has picked its spots well, seeking to highlight when Republicans are fixated on issues that don’t resonate with most moderate voters. The strategist pointed to the GOP’s fixation on Hunter Biden as an example of something that is unlikely to move many mainstream voters.
Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew noted the window for moving legislation closes early in election cycles so it “makes sense” the White House is preparing for 2024.
“They know they’re going to have to defend against Republicans’ insatiable appetite for investigations and impeachments, and the best defense is a good offense,” said Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy. “When top Republicans continue to spout controversial rhetoric and spend time on divisive issues that the vast majority of Americans don’t agree with, the White House is going to use those moments to illustrate to the American people how extreme today’s Republican Party has become.”
Jim Kessler, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said Biden and his team are wisely both selling their own victories and highlighting Republican dysfunction.
Ultimately, though, Kessler argued the 2024 election will be decided by broader issues such as the economy, something the White House has leaned into with its recent messaging.
“This election is going to come down to the middle. The middle ideologically, the middle of the country geographically, and the middle class,” Kessler said. “These are places where Biden’s got to win.” | https://www.localsyr.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T19:01:56 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Bills are “not even close” to deciding the position battle at middle linebacker, head coach Sean McDermott said Sunday.
The battle continues between Tyrel Dodson, Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector ahead of the team holding its first practice with pads on Monday. Since training camp began on Wednesday, it has been clear that it is an open competition for who will get the starting job.
McDermott said he does have a rough estimate of when he would like the starting job to be settled, but that has yet to happen. For now, all of them continue to gets reps with the first team.
“We want to be able to stay consistent,” McDermott said. “I think that’s important, as much as we can for as long as we can to stay consistent. After that, it’s earned. If you take advantage of the opportunities you’re given, you’ll get more.
The position is to replace Tremaine Edmunds, who signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency last spring.
The team also drafted Dorian Williams, a linebacker out of Tulane, in the third round of this year’s draft, but he has not seen any reps with the first team as of Sunday.
McDermott stressed the importance of the position and how the team will need the best player possible at the position.
“It’s command of the defense,” he said. “Knowing one’s job, being able to tell other people what their job is, when you see a bad formation, whatever it is, to get that straightened out all before the snap of the ball. The leadership piece is evaluated as well, because it’s a position that comes with a great amount of leadership in the job description.”
Whether it ends up being Dodson, Bernard or Spector, it seems to be a battle that will last throughout much of camp.
“We’re not there,” he said. “We’re not even close, still today working without pads, but really just trying to evaluate right now who has the best command and who can lead our defense.”
You can watch a full replay of Sean McDermott’s Sunday press conference in the video player above. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/bills-not-even-close-to-deciding-middle-linebacker-battle-as-padded-practices-near/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:02 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/bills-not-even-close-to-deciding-middle-linebacker-battle-as-padded-practices-near/ |
Biden acknowledges 7th grandchild, and Republicans take jabs
▶ Watch Video: Trump addresses GOP voters in Iowa; Biden acknowledges 7th grandchild
President Biden publicly acknowledged Hunter Biden’s 4-year-old daughter, Navy, as his granddaughter, for the first time on Friday, and several Republican presidential candidates took jabs at his handling of the situation.
In a statement Friday, the president said he and the first lady “only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.” Navy Roberts was born to Lunden Roberts, an Arkansas woman who filed a paternity suit against Hunter Biden in 2019. A DNA test confirmed he is the father and he agreed to pay child support.
“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of heir daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,” the president said in the statement. “This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”
The statement was first given to People Magazine. It followed criticism of the president, particularly from Republicans, for not acknowledging Hunter Biden’s youngest daughter as a grandchild. The president also has six older grandchildren.
“When you go and you talk about family values … it’s odd that he wouldn’t acknowledge one of his grandchildren,” GOP candidate Nikki Haley said in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
Another GOP contender, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, quipped at an Iowa political dinner Friday, “I want you to know I know how many grandchildren I have.”
Hunter Biden settled his child support case in Arkansas last month, reaching an agreement with the child’s mother after a long dispute. Hunter Biden previously agreed to pay $20,000 a month in child support, but it’s not clear what the new monthly amount is, as it’s redacted. The agreement does say Hunter Biden will give some of his paintings to his daughter for her to do with them as she pleases.
The president’s recognition comes after Hunter Biden earlier this week pleaded not guilty to two tax charges when a tentative plea agreement between his attorneys and federal prosecutors crumbled in court. The president and first lady have expressed support for their son as he seeks to rebuild his life from drug addiction, while declining to comment on his criminal charges directly.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the day of Hunter Biden’s initial court appearance in Delaware that “the president, the first lady, they love their son and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life.”
—Weijia Jiang contributed to this report | https://www.wsgw.com/biden-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-and-republicans-take-jabs/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:03 | 0 | https://www.wsgw.com/biden-acknowledges-7th-grandchild-and-republicans-take-jabs/ |
SKANEATELES, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Town of Skaneateles finished hosting its antique boat show today, July 30, at Clift Park.
Festivities wrapped up around 2 p.m. today after going from 3 p.m. to dusk on Friday and 9 a.m. to dusk on Saturday.
Exhibitors came from across New York, the Midwest, East Coast and Canada, bringing roughly 90 boats to show, including canoes, sailboats, race boats and more. A boat parade and fly-by were also put on by the Skaneateles Fire Department on Saturday afternoon.
Musical performances were done throughout the weekend by the Skaneateles Community Band, the Diana Jacobs Band and the Soda Ash Six.
Various children’s activities were offered as well, with painting wooden boats and a youth boat judging competition.
This was the 45th year where the boat show was held in Skaneateles. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/skaneateles-finishes-hosting-antique-boat-show/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:08 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/skaneateles-finishes-hosting-antique-boat-show/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Infections of brain-eating amoeba are on the rise — and the warming climate may only exacerbate the problem, according to one of the world’s preeminent experts on the subject.
“Yes, we are experiencing warmer temperatures, and these amoeba are thermal-tolerant … so the numbers of amoeba will be higher,” explains Dr. Dennis Kyle, the head of the cellular biology department at the University of Georgia and the scholar chair of antiparasitic drug discovery with the Georgia Research Alliance.
“Warmer climates means, yes, more exposure and more cases,” he added.
Kyle, speaking with Nexstar, confirmed that reported cases of Naegleria fowleri infection — more commonly known as an infection of brain-eating amoeba — have “significantly increased” over the past four to five years. But he warned that increased cases cannot be linked solely to warmer waters, but rather more awareness and fewer misdiagnoses than in previous years.
“There’s more recognition that these amoeba are possibly causing disease, when before, virologists were misclassifying these cases as bacterial meningitis or [other diseases],” he said.
Naegleria fowleri, the microscopic organism responsible for the infection, is primarily found in warm freshwater and soil, but also hot springs, improperly chlorinated pool water, improperly treated tap water, and, in lower concentrations, even cooler freshwaters. Infection of N. fowleri usually occurs after water is forced into the nose, allowing the organism to enter the nasal cavity and cross the epithelial lining into the brain, where it begins destroying the tissue of the frontal lobe.
This brain infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), can lead to symptoms including fever, headaches, stiff neck, seizures and hallucinations within two weeks of exposure. It is almost always fatal, with death occurring within another one to 18 days of the first symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most infections tend to occur between June and September, but cases outside of these months are not entirely unheard of, Kyle said.
N. fowleri is also found in higher concentrations in warmer, smaller bodies of freshwater, but the organism can be found in pretty much any freshwater lake, including cooler, clearer waters, Kyle said. There was even a case in 2016 in which a teenager contracted a fatal infection of N. fowleri after going whitewater rafting — an activity generally undertaken in less-risky colder waters.
The highest concentrations, though, are generally found in freshwater with surface temperature readings of 75 degrees F or higher, especially for extended periods of time.
And climate change, as scientists have observed, is already having an impact on the temperature of the world’s freshwater lakes. The quality and color of the water can also change due to warming temperatures, recent studies have suggested.
“There’s a constant risk in warmer climates,” Kyle remarked.
The amoeba itself can’t be specifically targeted with current treatments either, leading to a fatality rate of 97%. In fact, Kyle only knows of four known cases in the U.S. where patients survived, and “maybe” seven globally.
“I’m not convinced that were any further along in getting better treatment,” Kyle told Nexstar of the current antifungal and antibiotic cocktails that are currently used. “But If people can get diagnosed earlier, even with the suboptimal treatments that we have, they have a better chance of survival.”
To that end, Kyle, and the families of some of the victims, are hoping to spread awareness of the disease. He and his colleagues have also worked to identify what they believe is a biomarker that can help doctors diagnose infection earlier than previously possible, but their test is not yet FDA-approved.
“Most tests use cerebral spinal fluid, but we don’t have to have that,” he told Nexstar. “We can use blood or even urine. In our analyst studies, we can detect it three or four days before symptoms develop. I’m pretty excited.”
Preventing infection in the first place is currently the best course of action, he added.
“Raising awareness helps. But I think any warm freshwater facility, or hot spring … and at splashpads, you have to look at it carefully,” he said. “It’s incumbent on people running these facilities to minimize risk and minimize exposure.”
People can also take precautions by avoiding bodies of warm freshwater, and especially refraining from jumping or diving into such waters, which increases the risk of having contaminated water forced into the nose. He also recommends using nose plugs, keeping your head above the surface, and properly cleaning and chlorinating wading pools, swimming pools and spas (or opting for salt-water pools or spa facilities).
Parents should also know that children are at the highest risk of infection, but likely for no other reason than that they’re more prone to be more active in the water.
“It’s difficult to define the risk,” Kyle said. “But think of it like a lightning storm. Everybody knows not to walk outside in a lightning storm with a golf club in their hands. But many parents don’t know the risk that their kids might be open to.” | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:14 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
(The Conversation) – Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt classroom learning, expose students to cyberbullying and can compromise students’ privacy.
About 1 in 7 countries globally, such as the Netherlands and France, have banned the use of smartphones in school – and academic performance improved as a result, particularly for low-performing students, the report notes.
As school leaders in the U.S. wrestle with whether or not to ban smartphones, The Conversation has invited four scholars to weigh in on the issue.
Daniel G. Krutka: Use smartphones to encourage ‘technoskepticism’
While the issue of smartphone use in schools is complicated, evidence suggests that spending more time on smartphones is associated with young people being less happy and less satisfied with life.
Technology scholars have long argued that the key to living well with technology is in finding limits. However, in banning smartphones, I worry educators might be missing opportunities to use smartphones to encourage what I and other researchers refer to as technoskeptical thinking; that is, questioning our relationship with technology.
For example, students might be encouraged to consider the benefits and drawbacks of using navigational apps to travel from one place to another, as opposed to old-fashioned paper maps. Or, students might explore their social media feeds to critique what algorithms feed them, or how notifications get their attention.
In my research, I have looked at how teachers can encourage students to go on techno-fasts – that is, abstaining from the use of technology for a certain period of time. This, I argue, will give students time to reflect on the time they spend away from their devices.
Policy debates often focus on whether or not to put smartphones out of reach during the school day. But I believe educators might find it more beneficial to make the phones an object of inquiry.
Sarah Rose: Consult parents, teachers and students
While there is evidence that classroom phone usage can be a distraction, it can also promote engagement and learning. While research about the potential positive and negative consequences of classroom phones can be used to inform school phone policies, the views of those who are most directly impacted by the policies should also be taken into account.
The views of parents matter because their views may influence the extent to which their children follow the policy. The views of children matter because they are the ones being expected to follow the policy and to benefit from it. The views of teachers matter because they are often the ones that have to enforce the policies. Research shows that enforcing cellphone policies is not always a straightforward issue.
In my research, I have found that children – aged 10 and 11 years old – in collaboration with their parents, were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. For example, one parent-child pair suggested mobile phone use in school could be banned but that a role of “telephone monitor” could be given to an older pupil. This “telephone monitor” would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.
This recommendation reflected how parents and middle and high school students – whether from rural and urban areas – felt cellphones were important to keep in touch with each other during the school day. Beyond safety, children and parents also told us that phones were important for keeping in touch about changing plans and for emotional support during the school day.
I believe policies that simply ban phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to educate children about responsible mobile device use. When parents and children are involved in policy development, it has the potential to increase the extent to which these policies are followed and enforced.
Arnold L. Glass: Cellphone use in college lectures hurts performance in ways that are hard to see
The intrusion of internet-enabled electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and cellphones, has transformed the modern college lecture. Students now divide their attention between the lecture and their devices. Classroom studies reveal that when college students use an electronic device for a nonacademic purpose during class, it hurts their performance on exams.
When attention is divided between an electronic device and the classroom lecture, it does not reduce comprehension of the lecture – at least, not when measured by within-class quizzes. Instead, divided attention reduces long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which hurts performance on unit exams and final exams.
When some students open electronic devices, it also negatively affects the performance of all the students around them. Research has shown that student performance on final exams was worse when electronic devices were permitted during classes that covered exam material versus when the devices were not.
Many students won’t think their divided attention is affecting their retention of new information. It may not be for the moment, but a couple of weeks later or down the line, research shows, it does.
Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most
Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.
In a 2015 study, my co-author, Richard Murphy, and I examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.
Similar studies in Spain and Norway using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students’ grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from Belgium suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.
Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder learning and task execution. Taking notes by hand has been shown to better enhance memory retention compared to typing on a computer.
In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:20 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The FBI has issued arrest warrants and released disturbing details in the armed home invasion and kidnapping of an elderly North Carolina couple and the theft of more than $150,000 of their cryptocurrency in April.
The incident took place at gunpoint at the couple’s home the morning of April 12 after thieves allegedly posed as construction workers and forced their way into the home, according to the Durham Police Department and the FBI.
According to an FBI criminal complaint obtained by Nexstar’s WNCN, the incident began when two men, dressed as construction workers, came to the victims’ home around 7:30 a.m. The duo claimed they would be inspecting pipes for damage and told the husband they would be “walking around the house.”
After a few minutes, the pair knocked on the door again and the wife answered the door. The suspects, who allegedly both had guns, then pushed their way inside.
“The men restrained and zip-tied the husband’s hands and the wife’s hands,” the FBI complaint said.
A man armed with a pink gun showed the wife it was loaded by opening the cylinder and then dragged her into a bathroom by her legs, the criminal complaint said.
The husband was taken to his Apple iMac and forced at gunpoint to log in and install a remote desktop application called AnyDesk. A person on the phone with a thief already knew “details about the account without being told,” the FBI complaint said.
The FBI believes the husband’s email account was compromised in the past, allowing the thieves to learn the details ahead of the trip to Durham and the home invasion.
The suspects were able to transfer $156,853 worth of cryptocurrency during the next 45 minutes, the FBI said. Before leaving, the thieves allegedly smashed the couple’s cellphones and the iMac.
The elderly couple managed to get out of their home and ask neighbors to call 911 for help. The pair suffered minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, Durham police said.
The arrest warrants released Thursday for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping indicate two West Palm Beach, Florida, men are wanted — Jarod Gabriel Seemungal and Remy Ra St. Felix.
According to the FBI criminal complaint filed the same day, the suspects began targeting retirees who had cryptocurrency as early as February. The accused men even had the license plate number for the husband’s car, authorities said. A third man is also named in the criminal complaint, but no arrest warrant was issued for him as of Thursday.
Messages sent between those involved identified actual cryptocurrency amounts and their locations, the criminal complaint said. One suspect had a photo of the husband’s North Carolina driver’s license in his email account, according to the FBI.
The two suspects also discussed in internet messages how potential victims “have so much” money in accounts that it would be “retirement licks” — the FBI explained in the complaint that “licks” is slang for a robbery.
The thieves apparently rented a car in Florida and visited the Millennium Hotel in Durham a couple of days before the actual robbery, according to the complaint. Video from a home near the victims’ showed the thieves’ BMW SUV “conducting surveillance” at the couple’s home each of the three days before the alleged kidnapping, the FBI said.
The FBI also noted that a person driving a similar vehicle purchased costumes — a clipboard, reflective vest, sunglasses and a pair of khaki pants — at a nearby Walmart that allowed the suspected thieves to get into the victims’ home. Both suspects were seen on surveillance video from the store.
Additional details about potential victims wasn’t immediately available. As of Sunday, authorities have not said whether either man is in custody. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:26 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Facebook users still have a few weeks to claim their piece of a $725 million settlement Meta agreed to pay to resolve a lawsuit. Ex-Facebook users can get in on the action too, as long as they meet a few criteria.
The main requirement is that you had a Facebook account for any time between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022. You also need to have been a United States resident during that period of time.
Even people who deleted their Facebook account qualify – they’re just likely to see a smaller payout. How big your check ends up being depends in part on how long your account was active.
People have until Aug. 25, 2023 to file a claim, either online or by mail.
After the deadline passes, a judge will need to give the settlement final approval. That hearing is set for Sept. 7.
If the settlement gets the final OK, it’s not yet clear when the payments will be sent out – but you might not need to wait for a check in the mail. When submitting your claim, you can fill out your Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or direct deposit info to get your payment sent straight to your account.
It’s also not clear how much each eligible recipient will get. Legal fees and administrative costs need to be deducted first. The remaining amount will be divvied up among eligible Facebook users, but we don’t know how many people have submitted a claim.
We asked Scott Dodson, a distinguished professor of law at UC Law San Francisco and the director of the Center for Litigation and Courts, to help us estimate a figure. He broke down all the factors that go into calculating the size of a class action lawsuit payment, and said that based on similar cases he estimated the higher end of payments might be in the “triple digits.” Many more people will likely receive less than $100, he estimated.
Earlier this year, Meta agreed to settle the lawsuit claiming Facebook allowed users’ personal data to be shared with third parties, the most famous being Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The firm harvested the data of as many as 87 million Facebook users, the Associated Press reported. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:32 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ |
Full transcript of “Face the Nation,” July 30, 2023
▶ Watch Video: Face The Nation: Hutchinson, Kashkari, Nirenberg
On this “Face the Nation” broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan:
- Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
- Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
- Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
- San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg
Click here to browse full transcripts of “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington.
And this week on Face the Nation: New charges of a cover-up are filed against former President Trump in the classified documents case, and some optimistic signs when it comes to the economy.
(Begin VT)
(MUSIC)
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Under the heading of “You can’t make it up,” a popular song on the campaign trail ushered the embattled former president onto the stage in Iowa Friday.
But Donald Trump was undeterred by that and seemingly by the growing list of criminal charges against him.
(Begin VT)
DONALD TRUMP (Former President of the United States): We will win the election big, and we will make America great again.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Equally undeterred, his supporters.
(Begin VT)
MAN: They’re trying everything they can do to keep him from running.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: And his opponents aren’t having much luck gaining traction by being critical.
(Begin VT)
FMR. REP. WILL HURD (R-TX) (Presidential Candidate): Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison.
And if we elect…
(BOOING)
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will hear from two other Republican presidential hopefuls, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Then we will look at the bright spots on the economic front last week with Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.
Plus:
(Begin VT)
ANTONIO GUTERRES (United Nations Secretary-General): The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: A stark warning from the United Nations. But has the July extreme heat changed Americans’ views of climate change? We have got new insights.
And we will talk to the mayor of another city suffering from extreme heat, San Antonio’s Ron Nirenberg.
It’s all just ahead on Face the Nation.
Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation.
Legal troubles continue to mount for former President Donald Trump, even as he continues to overshadow the rest of the field for the 2024 Republican nomination, both in terms of polling and popularity within the party.
He campaigned over the weekend in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
(Begin VT)
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You know, they’re not indicting me. They’re indicting you. I just happen to be standing in their way.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Late Thursday, we learned of new charges in the classified document case being investigated by special prosecutor Jack Smith Mr. Trump on two occasions showed off classified documents related to military plans. He’s now been charged with an additional violation of the Espionage Act and two other counts.
Despite his denials, we’d known about the incidents, one of which was captured on an audiotape obtained by CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge as Trump allegedly shares plans to attack Iran.
(Begin VT)
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I just found — isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know.
STAFFER: Mm-hmm.
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Except it is, like, highly confidential.
STAFFER: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: See, as president I could have declassified it.
STAFFER: Yes.
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Now I can’t.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Trump has now been charged with unlawful retention of that document and is now accused of attempting to destroy evidence by pressuring a Mar-a-Lago employee to delete security video that had been subpoenaed by prosecutors in June of 2022.
Sources tell chief campaign and election correspondent Robert Costa, that footage could show a Trump aide moving boxes believed to be classified material out of a storage room.
And who better to walk us through these developments than Catherine Harris and Robert Costa here in Washington with me and CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman, who is in Southampton, New York.
Rikki, good morning to you.
I want to start with the question in this classified documents case. We are now at a total of 40 counts facing Donald Trump. If he is found guilty, what kind of punishment would he face?
RIKKI KLIEMAN: Well, ultimately, he is facing tens of tens of years in prison.
I mean, you could look up to it to 80 years in prison.But facing the maximum has no reality, Margaret. What we’re really looking about — looking at is how a judge would assess what is appropriate. And that goes back to what we call the judicial guidelines for crimes such as these.
In addition to that, Donald Trump does not stand in the same shoes as any other defendant, because you do have considerations about whether or not you’re going to put him in prison at all if he were to be convicted, and then the logistics of such a detention, in terms of Secret Service. He’s entitled to it throughout his life.
So, it is not simple to say he’s going to face 80 years in prison or eight years in prison. It’s really what is the best thing to do at the time if there is a conviction and a sentence. Also, keep in mind, Margaret, there’s appeals. This could take a very, very long time.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And there will be political ramifications here, but we know this won’t, practically, prevent him from continuing this bid for the presidency.
Catherine, I want to get to what we just played, that audiotape that you obtained. The indictment, the superseding indictment, included reference to this document, which investigators had found previously Donald Trump said didn’t exist.
Audio shows he was talking about it. What is the significance of it?
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: Well, charging the Iran document has a ripple effect.
It undercuts the former president’s public statements that he was just showing some media articles and clippings. But I think it also opens the door to the potential compromise of sources, methods, tactics, and military techniques.
A war plan is a very unique document. It is a reflection of what the U.S. government believes to be the weaknesses of an adversary, in this case, Iran. It probably included intelligence from our allies in the region. So, the sensitivity of this document is unique and also so important to U.S. national security.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And national security, I mean, protecting the American public is a fundamental responsibility of the American presidency.
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: Bottom line. Exactly.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And there’s another document referenced in there as well, a map included in that charge.
Robert, the president — the former president’s attorneys were at the Department of Justice this past week. What were they talking about? What kind of agreement, if anything, did they come to?
ROBERT COSTA: Those lawyers are waiting to see if the former president will be indicted on the January 6 investigation being led by the special counsel.
Right now, the special counsel…
MARGARET BRENNAN: The second federal case.
ROBERT COSTA: There are two federal cases on separate tracks being led by Jack Smith, one on classified records, which is ramping up with these additional indictments.
And there’s also the investigation of Trump’s conduct in and around January 6. But what we hear about the January 6 investigation is intriguing. It’s not just about Trump’s conduct on the day of the attack. And we heard a lot about that from the House committee that investigated it.
But this is more about an alleged sweeping scheme led by Trump to overturn the 2020 election. And in conversations with sources last night close to Trump and this morning, there is some concern around the Republican front- runner, that this is not just a campaign now. It’s almost like he’s leading a legal defense fund.
So many people around Trump are looking to his PAC Save America to pay their legal fees. In a filing we expect to come on Monday, there will be tens of millions of dollars, perhaps $40 million, that is being put toward legal expenses from a political action committee. And that’s an indication of what’s to come in the coming weeks as Trump faces not only those two special counsel investigations, but he faces also a possible indictment in Georgia for his pressuring of election officials.
And you have the New York case hovering on the horizon over those hush money payments. All of it, though, comes down to how Trump puts pressure, allegedly, on people around him, including those who work at that Mar-a- Lago property.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And this indictment is incredibly detailed about some of those things, text messages, implications that “the boss” wanted a deletion.
ROBERT COSTA: They called him the boss. They called him the boss inside Mar-a-Lago: The boss wants us to do this. He’s maybe suggesting we should delete footage.
Trump has denied that he suggested that they should delete any footage. And Trump’s lawyers have told us they do have some of that footage. Trump said today he has that footage. It was never deleted.
But this comes down to a culture, and a culture that could come back to the United States, in terms of governing, if Trump wins the White House again. Who is this person who exerts this kind of pressure intensely on the people around him?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Rikki, I want to get to you on something Robert Costa just mentioned in terms of the legal fees.
There’s been reports reporting in “The New York Times” and “The Washington Post” that it gets up to $40 million in legal spending to defend Trump and people working with him, that this money that people out there donate to his campaign then gets used as part of a legal defense for people working for him and for Mr. Trump himself.
Is that appropriate? Is there anything to prevent that?
RIKKI KLIEMAN: There probably is nothing to prevent it. And it may not be inappropriate if people know that, when they contribute to the PAC, that one of the things they may be contributing to is, in fact, Donald Trump’s legal fees, but also the legal fees of others.
By the way, Margaret, one of things that happens in multiple-defendant cases, if there is a leader of the pack — and, in this case, it is Donald Trump. As Robert Costa pointed out, when we look at the speaking indictment, it’s “the boss” wanted the server needed, “the boss.”
It often happens in multiple-defendant case that whoever is the boss and who has access to the money may pay the fees of other defendants. And that becomes a known factor.
However, when you have someone like the now Employee Number 4, whose name has now been disclosed by the press, Mr. Taveras, that when he is going to now testify against Walt Nauta, against Donald Trump, his co-defendants, he cannot possibly be represented by a lawyer who is working in tandem with Donald Trump’s lawyers.
So, he had to get a new lawyer. And I am quite sure that his legal fees will no longer be paid by Donald Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Catherine, I want to come back to you on another big legal development this past week.
The U.S. attorney in Delaware, as we know, for five years has been investigating Hunter Biden, the son of the president. This has been wide- ranging, but the deal came down to two tax charges and a diversion agreement related to a gun charge.
What happened in that courtroom this week that made the judge hit the brakes?
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: Well, I was inside that courtroom, Margaret, just sitting about 20 feet behind Hunter Biden during that three-hour hearing.
The simple explanation is that the federal judge is always handling plea agreements. They’re very familiar documents to her. And when this one hit her desk, she said, hold on a minute. This is not a standard agreement. These are different terms than what I’m used to.
And when she pulled that thread, what she found out is that there was no agreement between the defense and the prosecution over whether this deal would shut down the prospect of any future criminal charges. And that is really when the whole thing went off the rails.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And now we know, in 30 days’ time…
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: Correct.
MARGARET BRENNAN: … they will have to reconvene in regard to this agreement.
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: That’s…
MARGARET BRENNAN: So it could come together?
CATHERINE HERRIDGE: It could come together.
What I would say, being inside that courtroom for three hours, is that the two sides now have an opportunity to answer her questions and sort of renegotiate the language in this plea. But as one former federal prosecutor said to CBS News, what happened in that courtroom was a train wreck. And based on the judge’s line of questioning, I think that these could be big gaps to bridge, and the bar may be even higher with this federal judge to get her approval.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Catherine Harris, Robert Costa, Rikki Klieman, thank you so much for laying out the big developments of the week.
And we spoke earlier with former U.N. Ambassador and presidential hopeful Nikki Haley from Des Moines, Iowa, where she was campaigning yesterday. And we began by asking her whether the former president should face prosecution over mishandling of classified documents.
(Begin VT)
NIKKI HALEY (R-Presidential Candidate): If these accusations are true, it’s incredibly dangerous to our national security.
But, again, this is coming down from a Department of Justice that, frankly, the American people don’t trust.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Two other defendants named in this indictment, Carlos De Oliveira and Trump body man Walt Nauta, were allegedly instructed to delete security camera footage.
And the details in this indictment are very specific. It says, just a day after Trump received the subpoena requesting the video, they went to the basement and looked at the security cameras. Two days later, De Oliveira took aside a fourth employee, went through a basement tunnel to a small room, and asked about how many days the server retained footage from those surveillance cameras.
He then told another employee: “The boss wanted the server deleted.”
Does that sound kosher to you?
NIKKI HALEY: No, I mean, none of that sounds good, the same way it didn’t sound good when Hillary erased her e-mails.
It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican or Democrat. It doesn’t matter if you’re Hillary or if you’re Trump. You shouldn’t be erasing anything unless you have something to hide.
But everybody needs to be treated the same way. And that’s what the American people are frustrated about. It’s not that they don’t want people held accountable. They just want everyone to be treated fairly. And, right now, they don’t trust the Department of Justice.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you trust the Department of Justice yourself?
NIKKI HALEY: If I become president, the first thing we’re going to do is, we’re going to make sure we clean up any sort — we’ll clean it up from the top and all of senior management.
They have weaponized and put politics in the Department of Justice over years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve said in the past, though, you would be inclined to pardon Donald Trump. That assumes he’ll be convicted. That assumes he had something to hide here.
Has your position changed? Would you still pardon him?
NIKKI HALEY: Well, I have — what I have said is, if he is found guilty, that is certainly showing that it was dangerous to our national security.
But I will take you back to Nixon and Ford. I mean, I think that one of the things we have to look at is not what’s in the best interest of the president, but what’s in the best interest of the country. We have to move forward. We’ve got to quit living in the past. And I don’t want there to be all of this division over the fact that we have a president serving years in jail over a documents trial.
I want all of this to go away. It’s why we have to have a new generational leader. It’s why we need to move forward. We can’t keep living with indictments and court cases and vengeance of the past. We’ve got to start going forward. American people are not talking about these indictments.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have said in the past that you would support Donald Trump if he’s the — wins the nomination, but he can’t win a general election.
Do you think, then, that he should drop out?
NIKKI HALEY: While I think he was the right president at the right time earlier and why I think his policies were good, I don’t think he’s the right president at the right time going forward.
I think we’ve got to move forward. We can’t have a general election where we are handing it over to Kamala Harris because we’re dealing with indictments and court cases and legal issues of President Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it would help you get your message out and Republicans get their message out if he drops out? Is that what you’re saying?
NIKKI HALEY: Well, none of us want to be talking about indictments.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
NIKKI HALEY: I don’t even know if it’s the third, fourth, or fifth indictment right now, but what I can tell you is, it’s a distraction.
And, frankly, the media is talking about it nonstop. But when I do these town halls, the American public is not talking to me about that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve said sanctions on China are not working and that, as president, you would push Congress to revoke permanent normal trade relations until the flow of fentanyl ends.
Our two economies are incredibly intertwined. How do you hit China without having blowback here at home?
NIKKI HALEY: That’s the exact response that the Europeans would have told you about Russia, and look at where that got them. That got them to where they’re right on the border of a Ukrainian-Russian war.
What we have to understand is, China is a massive national…
MARGARET BRENNAN: China is the second most powerful economy in the world.
NIKKI HALEY: And China is also our number one biggest national security threat. All you have to do is look at the infiltration they’re doing in our country.
They’re doing nuclear. They’re doing artificial intelligence. They’re doing cyber. We need to deal with China as the threat that they are. The way I would deal with it is, number one, we wouldn’t allow them to buy U.S. soil. We would take the — the land that they bought back from them. We would go and say, no more are we selling any sort of sensitive technologies that allow them to build up their military and threaten the U.S.
We would stop that. We would tell our universities, you either take Chinese money or American money, but the days of taking both are over, and we would get that Chinese infiltration out.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So…
NIKKI HALEY: And when it comes to fentanyl — the number one cause of death for adults 18 to 49, Margaret, is fentanyl. And don’t think for a second China doesn’t know what they’re doing.
So what I would do is say to China, we will end all normal trade relations with you when — until you stop killing Americans.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you would kick out the Chinese manufacturers who have invested in the state of South Carolina?
NIKKI HALEY: What I would say to the Chinese manufacturers is, I would say, look, we’re going to make sure we know exactly what you’re doing.
We only took less than 2 percent, but I wish — I wish the administration had told the governors what was going on. What we need to do is make sure there’s no sensitive technology being stolen.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have been speaking a fair amount about President Biden’s seventh grandchild, who you’ve said he should acknowledge. On Friday, he did, in a statement saying, it’s a personal matter, not a political one.
Do you accept that request for privacy, given that there is a 4-year-old child involved?
NIKKI HALEY: When I was talking about the grandchildren, what I was saying is that we need to have term limits in Congress, and we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75.
And I don’t say that to be disrespectful. When you go and look at Biden and you — and you ask him what country he was in the week before, and he can’t say it, when you go and ask him how many grandchildren he has and he doesn’t know, when you go and see him falling asleep with leaders, that’s concerning.
And I know, when I was at the United Nations, leaders watch the health and — the health status of other leaders. They are watching Biden right now. You see what happened with McConnell.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
NIKKI HALEY: You see what happened with Feinstein.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
So I want to follow up on that. But I think — are you saying that you believe the privacy of this child should be dealt with as a nonpolitical matter?
NIKKI HALEY: I haven’t paid attention to what he said…
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
NIKKI HALEY: … in terms of his interview.
But, of course, when it comes to family, we always want to keep that private. That’s fine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
NIKKI HALEY: But, when you go and you talk about family values, and you talk about all of that, it’s odd that he wouldn’t acknowledge one of his grandchildren.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have just criticized Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, who is 81 and had some issues in front of a camera this week where he seemed to — to freeze a bit.
Are you confident in his ability to lead? Because he says he’s going to serve out his term.
NIKKI HALEY: I think Mitch McConnell did an amazing job when it comes to our judiciary, when we look at the judges, when we look at the Supreme Court. He’s been a great leader.
But I do think that this is one — you know, we’ve got to stop electing people because they look good in the picture or they hold a baby well. We’ve got to stop electing people because we like them and they’ve been there a long time. That’s actually the problem.
You need to have term limits, because we need new ideas, new solutions. We’ve got to have a new generation. I hit Republicans and Democrats.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.
NIKKI HALEY: We are $32 trillion in debt. We’re having to borrow money just to make our interest payments.
I would love to say Biden did that to us. But Republicans did that to us too. Republicans, in the ’24 budget, asked for $7.4 billion in earmarks. Democrats asked for $2.8 billion. Who are the big spenders there?
What I am saying about Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, all of them, know when to walk away. Know when to walk away. We have huge issues that need new solutions. We need new generational leaders. We appreciate your service. We appreciate what you’ve done. But this is why we will fight for term limits. We’ve got to get it done in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Donald Trump is 77 years old. Would he pass that mental acuity test?
NIKKI HALEY: I don’t know. I say everybody should take it. I’m willing to take it. I think everybody else should take it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you didn’t list — you didn’t list his name when you listed all those older Washington lawmakers.
NIKKI HALEY: That goes for all of them.
You can look across D.C. They’re all that. Of course, I’m talking about Trump. I have said that all throughout this campaign that it is time for us to have a new generation. We’ve lost — Republicans have lost the last seven out of eight popular votes for president.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
NIKKI HALEY: That’s nothing to be proud of. We should want to win the majority of Americans. We’ve got to start going with a new generation so that we can do that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go, I do want to ask you your thoughts on Governor Ron DeSantis.
He signed that law changing curriculums in the state of Florida with new standards. As you know, a lot of scrutiny about how slavery would be taught.
Do you think he has overstepped by attacking some of the black Republicans in Congress who have said they personally take issue with what he is doing and the language that he is defending?
NIKKI HALEY: Well, I haven’t read the actual curriculum that he proposed in Florida.
But what I can say is, it’s the 21st century. And I think we can all agree that there was no — there were no positives that came out of slavery. And I think everybody can and should agree on that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Has he overstepped?
NIKKI HALEY: Well, I mean, I think he needs to go and talk with the — with the Republicans and Democrats that have issues with this.
I mean, he just should come out and say, no positives came out of slavery. I think that’s important to say. And I think that’s what these — these Republicans and Democrats have asked him to say. We’ll see what he does.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Thank you for your time today, Ambassador Nikki Haley.
NIKKI HALEY: Thanks. Go to NikkiHaley.com and join us.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: July looks to be the hottest month ever recorded.
And, according to CBS polling, two-thirds of Americans say they have had unusually high temperatures recently. But, like most everything, there is a split by party as to how it’s impacting their thoughts on climate change. Three in four Democrats are more concerned. Just 28 percent of Republicans are, with six in 10 Republicans saying the high temperatures haven’t changed their opinions.
In our next half-hour, we will talk with the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, particularly hard-hit by the heat.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: If you miss an episode, you can find it on our Web site or on our YouTube page. Just search Face the Nation.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will be right back with former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential hopeful Asa Hutchinson.
Plus, is our economy finally on the rebound? We will get into it.
Stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION.
We’re joined now by presidential candidate and former governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson.
Good to have you here in person.
ASA HUTCHINSON (R, 2024 Presidential Candidate): It is indeed good to be here. Thanks, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’ve got a lot to ask you about, but I do want to pick up on something Nikki Haley continues to raise, and this is this idea of a mental acuity test for anyone over 75. You’re 72 years old. If you win the presidency, you’d be right in that range. What do you think of her concept? Do you think that’s appropriate?
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, there’s a mental acuity test every time you go to Iowa and there’s a town hall meeting with the questions from the voters. They do a pretty good job of assessing those issues.
You know, as a – as a practical matter, you want a president to be in good health and in charge of, you know, the country in a good mental state. But the tests are not constitutional. And so it’s really something that’s a throw-away line that catches people’s attention.
But the voters, I have a lot of confidence in to make the right decisions. If I get in the race – well, I’m in the race, but if I’m the nominee of the party and you’ve got Joe Biden there, I’ll be the youngest person in the race.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK. Well, I want to ask you about a number of things in terms of who else is in this race. You have already called on Donald Trump to – to drop out. You’ve been saying that for some time now. He’s not taking your advice. And now we have these new charges on classified documents.
Do you think he should be pardoned for the good of the company, as Ambassador Haley suggested?
ASA HUTCHINSON: No. First of all, that should not be any discussion during a presidential campaign. You don’t put pardons out there to garner votes. That is premature. Obviously, if there’s a conviction —
MARGARET BRENNAN: You think that’s what she’s doing?
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, I – I think that anybody who promises pardons during a presidential campaign is not serving our system of justice well, and it’s inappropriate.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are unique as a Republican candidate because while many of the Republicans on the trail are using this phrase, weaponization of the justice system, you are avoiding that. And, in fact, you have put forward a plan to overhaul federal law enforcement agencies. “The Washington Post” editorial board came close to endorsing it just a few days ago saying the idea should be taken seriously. Explain this approach.
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, our justice system is the envy of the world. It’s what sets our democracy apart. That we’re under the rule of law. And if you undermine that system of justice, then you’re undermining our democracy. And it’s a human system so there’s going to be flaws in it that you’ve got to correct and adjust. And so mistakes are made. And I don’t like the way the Justice Department has handled the Hillary Clinton case. I think there’s been errors that they have made in their investigations. That was found in the Durham report. But let’s address this by reform.
And that’s why I put out the reform proposal to reduce the jurisdiction of the FBI, to make them more accountable, more focused in their missions and their national security responsibilities. So, let’s reform it. Let’s make it accountable. And that’s the approach that we should – we should take. As a party, it’s about the rule of law and supporting our system of justice.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, traditionally for Republicans it was about law and order, but the top three Republican frontrunners are all using this term weaponization. Why is this resonating so much?
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, because the public sees a discrepancy in how cases are handled. And, clearly, Jim Comey was wrong whenever he made the decision on Hillary Clinton that no prosecutor was going to take that case. And that wasn’t his job to do it to begin with. And so they see differences as to how cases are handled. But that is not a defense in a case that’s been brought against Donald Trump. So, the public is —
MARGARET BRENNAN: Which is a serious indictment on federal charges.
ASA HUTCHINSON: It’s a serious indictment with enormous ramifications for our national security and our equal treatment of individuals under the law. And every case is factually different. But — so there’s frustration that’s there. Let’s solve those frustrations by not attacking our justice system and buying into what Donald Trump is doing, which is every day appeasing Russia and attacking our justice system. That’s what I heard last night when I listened to the tape in Erie, Pennsylvania, at his rally. Both are wrong. And it’s – it’s putting his personal good above the public good. And above the common good. And that’s what we should be talking about and not undermining that system of justice.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re referring there to a reference he made to tying further aid to Ukraine to fight Russia to what happens with law enforcement and congressional Republicans.
ASA HUTCHINSON: Which is simply appeasing Russia. That’s what he’s talking about doing. And then simultaneously attacking our justice system in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You used to run the Drug Enforcement Agency. Fentanyl is killing a lot of people in this country right now. It’s also used for legitimate medicinal purposes by physicians. Should it be a schedule one drug? How do you stop the fentanyl crisis?
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, it won’t make any difference what schedule it is in terms of our enforcement activities. But right now the precursor chemicals are coming from China. And they have legitimate medical purposes. And, so, we want good reporting and requirements on what’s being shipped out of China. We’d like to see it stop. Particularly that which is going to Mexico.
But the key is Mexico, because that’s where the precursor chemicals are going. The cartels have it. They’re making the fentanyl at the labs there. And Mexico can control both of those.
We need greater support from Mexico. We need to use our economic pressure against Mexico so that they will cooperate us – cooperate with us to a greater extent in fighting fentanyl.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, when you hear Ambassador Haley point the finger solely at China, you’re saying she’s missing part of the problem here, and that is the Mexican cartels?
ASA HUTCHINSON: Well, first of all, China is not cooperating with us, and we have a better chance of getting Mexico’s cooperation. And so the solution is better there. And — so, yes, let’s focus on what we can address. It’s also a challenge here in America. We need to use education. The risk, the danger of going on the street and buying a Percocet pill that could be laced with fentanyl. We have to do that education.
Governor Reynolds had a great conference there in Iowa educating parents on this. So, there’s multiple responsibilities and approaches we have to do to go after the crisis we have with fentanyl.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor Hutchinson, thank you for your time today.
ASA HUTCHINSON: Thank you. Good to be with you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be right back.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: There were some positive signs last week that the economy might be holding firm.
Mark Strassmann has those details.
(BEGIN VT)
MARK STRASSMANN (voice over): So far so good for the Fed and its twin goals, chip away at inflation but avoid a rockslide of job losses that could bury us in a recession.
JEROME POWELL (Chairman, Federal Reserve): We’ve seen so far the beginnings of disinflation without any real costs in the labor market. And that’s a – that’s a really good thing.
MARK STRASSMANN: Chairman Powell’s Fed hiked interest rates again last week, bringing them to the highest rate in 22 years. Despite the high cost of credit, some sectors are booming.
For example –
MARK STRASSMANN (on camera): Construction. Average gains of roughly 15,000 jobs a month over the last year. Residential construction is especially hot despite rising interest rates. There’s just so little existing inventory for sale.
MARK STRASSMANN (voice over): Inflation has eased. Last month prices were up 3 percent year over year. That’s the smallest 12-month jump in more than two years. It’s still higher than the Fed’s 2 percent target.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I’m not here to declare victory on the economy. We have more work to do.
MARK STRASSMANN: But there’s been significant progress considering America’s unemployment rate, 3.6 percent, lingers at a historic low. While most people have paychecks, our new CBS News poll shows widespread pessimism about the economy. Roughly two-thirds describe it as bad. Most say the economy’s struggling and uncertain.
Personally, 70 percent of working Americans say those paychecks can’t keep up with rising prices. Most say, at best, financially they’re staying in place. But more than one-third say they’re falling behind. Nearly half, 45 percent, think the Biden administration’s actions are increasing inflation. But nearly two in three believe congressional Republicans have nothing to show in the fight to tame inflation.
The message, millions of Americans still feel hard times while the Fed works to stick a soft landing with the economy.
(END VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mark Strassmann reporting in Atlanta.
We go now to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari.
Welcome back. Good morning to you, Neel.
NEEL KASHKARI (President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis): Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You just heard, Americans aren’t feeling great about the economy, but then we have good economic news this week on inflation. And you have economists at the Fed saying they no longer see a recession on the horizon.
Who do you agree with here? Do you agree with the assessment, no recession ahead?
NEEL KASHKARI: I do right now. That’s our base case scenario. The economy continues to surprise how resilient it is. That’s a really good thing. As your reporting just showed, the unemployment rate is still very low at 3.6 percent. Nonetheless, I’m not going to dismiss the hardship that Americans are feeling. High inflation for several years has really put a dent in people’s pocketbooks. We’re now starting to dig our way out of that. So, we’re making progress. But I’m also not surprised that people are still frustrated by how long it has taken to get here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, the Fed carried out the 11th rate hike since last year. How many more rate hikes do we have ahead of us here? Because Chairman Powell said repeatedly the full effects of the hikes are yet to be realized. When will the job be done?
NEEL KASHKARI: Well, we’re not sure yet. We need to get inflation all the way back down to 2 percent. And while that headline number that your reporter just shared — 3 percent is really positive news — that headline number tends to move around a lot as oil prices and gas prices and food prices fluctuate. The underlying number – the core number is more around 4.1 percent. That’s down from around 5.5 percent a year ago. So, we’re making good progress.
But it’s still double our 2 percent rate. And so we don’t want to declare victory. We’re making good progress and we’re staying on it. If we need to hike — raise rates further from here, we will do so. But we’re going to let the data guide us and not prejudge the outcome.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The outcome potentially in September when you meet again about those rate hikes?
NEEL KASHKARI: Correct, September and beyond. You know, we may or may not raise in September, but we also will continue to watch all the data, the inflation data, the wage data, as well as the unemployment data to make those assessments.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, there are some unknowns on the horizon here. And I’m wondering how you’re thinking about them. We have a big labor strike already hitting a major sector of the economy. You have the resumption of student loan payments in October that Moody’s estimates could suck $70 billion a year from the economy. We have all this tension with China. How do you think about these potential shocks?
NEEL KASHKARI: Well, we monitor the economy all the time for potential socks. The biggest shock, of course, was the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year and a half ago. Some of those economic effects here at home have diminished, which is good news for us, though the war still persists. So, we’re monitoring all those shocks.
The one thing that has continued to surprise us is how resilient the American economy has been even when shocks have hit us. So, for example, when the enhanced unemployment benefits from a couple years ago, when those expired, we thought that would have a profound impact on the labor market. It ended up not having a profound impact on the labor market. And so we will monitor the shocks, but so far the U.S. economy just continues to signal that it is very strong, that there’s a lot of demand, workers are coming off the sidelines. And so right now we know shocks can hit us, but right now the base case scenario seems to be that we’ll have a slowing economy, but that we would avoid a recession. And I hope that that’s true.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Can you gauge how much fiscal spending has been a factor here? I know Morgan Stanley raised their growth projections based on some of the spending that’s fueling construction, for example.
NEEL KASHKARI: Yes, I think, you know, on the infrastructure side, with a lot of the investment in alternative energies and bringing manufacturing back, that will also have some effect on keeping prices in those sectors, those raw materials high. But I — I’m not — overall, I think that the inflation outlook is quite positive, that it should be slowly diminishing from here. But, again, we’ve just continued to be surprised by the dynamics of this re-opening economy. And so we can’t prejudge it. We have to let the data actually guide us.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, what are you thinking at this point? Can you actually pull off this soft landing of lowering inflation, slowing growth without, you know, causing job losses and a recession?
NEEL KASHKARI: Well, I think that I would love to see what – see it continued. You know, in your reporting you shared a quote from Chairman Powell where he said there’s been so far no cost to the labor market, which is absolutely right and absolutely terrific.
I personally don’t think that’s realistic that we’re going to end this inflation cycle with no cost to the labor market. It would not surprise me to see the unemployment rate tick up from 3.6 to 3.7, 3.8, maybe even 4 percent. That, I — in my book, that would still be a soft landing.
We definitely want to avoid a deep recession where you have hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs month after month after month. The kind of painful recession that we have seen in the past. If we can achieve 2 percent inflation with only a modest softening in the labor market, I think that that would be a resounding, positive outcome for the country as a whole.
We can get back to the kind of economy we had before the pandemic, which was very low unemployment, low inflation, modest but positive real wage gains for the American people. That is absolutely achievable, but we need to finish the job.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are president of the Minneapolis Fed. So, you have a lot of farmland in your district, in that heartland part of the country. Do you have any sense yet what economic impact there will be from this extreme weather?
NEEL KASHKARI: Well, it’s very challenging, obviously, for the Ag sector overall. We’re blessed in our part of the country that we have a very diverse economy. So if parts of the Ag sector are under pressure, usually other parts of the economy are doing better.
But it’s going to be a transition. I mean I think if — year after year, if we continue to see record-high temperatures, it’s going to drive changes to what farmers are planting, it’s going to drive changes to where they’re planting. You may see – you know, in our part of the country it’s quite cold in much of the – you know, much of the year. That warming may mean that we have longer growing seasons here at the cost of growing seasons in further, you know, further southern regions like California, for example. So, I think it’s going to drive long-term changes. But some of those changes might be upon us more quickly than we appreciated.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we are trying to gauge that here, Neel, in our reporting. Thank you so much, Neel Kashkari, for joining us.
We’ll be right back.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the ongoing heat wave which has put much of the southeastern United States under dangerous heat alerts from Florida to Texas. San Antonio has set a record high heat index this month. And its mayor, Ron Nirenberg, joins us with more.
Good morning to you, Mr. Mayor.
RON NIRENBERG (Mayor, San Antonio, Texas): Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What has been the impact of this high heat, the demand for electricity, what is it doing to your community?
RON NIRENBERG: Well, we continue to set records every week with respect to electric — electricity demand. Our emergency calls for heat exhaustion, heat illness are up 50 percent since last year, which itself was a record breaker. So, it is a dangerous heat wave that we’re experiencing with just an unrelenting day after day heat exposure. So, we’re certainly grateful for a president now that’s treating this heat wave with the urgency that I think is necessary, especially given the fact that one of the challenges that we have is cities in Texas are fighting our legislature and our state government for local control, we’re trying to protect residents and workers, and they are doing everything they can to prevent that from happening.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking about President Biden making it now through the Department of Labor a heat hazard alert so it will guarantee workers heat-related protections. But I wonder, in San Antonio, are you actually seeing employers deny outdoor workers water breaks?
RON NIRENBERG: Well, we had a case that actually is in the courts now last year where a young man died from heat exposure. But the challenge for us is, again, we need to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to ensure that employees are aware of their rights and that federal protections are known to the employers. And so we were contemplating an ordinance at the local level to mandate local water breaks, similar to what has been done in other cities. Legislation has been passed that purports to prevent local governments from doing that. And labor code, as well as preventing us from, you know, utilizing our local authority in many other areas. But, again, what we’re trying to do is make sure that there’s a backstop to prevent the most vulnerable members, the workers in our community, who deserve those basic things.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So this was — you’re talking about the fight you have with the state of Texas where there are rules limiting your ability locally to set regulations that would allow for water breaks. But it doesn’t outlaw them, it just — I guess the governor has justified it saying that there are federal guarantees already. Why aren’t those federal guarantees sufficient?
RON NIRENBERG: Well, what the announcement from President Biden will do is make sure that employers and employees know their rights, that there are protections in place. Also, to ramp up enforcement activities through OSHA.
But the reality of the legislation I mentioned is the fact that HB-2127, which was passed by the legislature, upends 70 plus years of local authorities that have been adopted through city constitution, city charters in cities all across the state, in areas that go beyond just labor code, property code, agricultural code, commercial code, you know, local communities, local governments are – are solving problems brought to us many times by our constituents. And legislation like that upends that process and prevents local residents from able — being able to address their concerns through the local governments that they elect. And I believe it’s an affront to our democratic process, and that’s why we’re challenging it in court.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, and so that will continue, it sounds like.
I want to ask you as well about immigration. A federal judge in California just struck down last Tuesday the Biden administration’s restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, arguing that it was the Biden administration violating federal law. So, if the Justice Department loses an expected appeal, what’s the practical impact for a city like yours in this heat with the migrants that are crossing?
RON NIRENBERG: Sure. Well, since January 2021, San Antonio has seen, like many other big cities, a surge in migrants. And in San Antonio it’s — it’s over 400,000 migrants since 2021.
While we don’t have authority to reform the immigration policies in America, what we are doing is treating people with compassion. And so we have worked with the Biden administration, with the Department of Homeland Security to be able to fund a migrant resource center where we help folks who are coming through our city on their way to their sponsor families or to the next destination in — as they wait for their asylum hearings.
The process now, we have to make sure that folks are getting their hearings, but they also have an opportunity to work in the meantime. So, while, you know, we are in the midst of the further politicization and demagoguery that’s happening in Texas with respect to the immigration crisis, I do have to thank folks who are trying to take one step forward in the absence of congressional action that we’ve been waiting for, for 30 years. Our representative, Tony Gonzalez, has offered some legislation that would expand the work visa process. The reality is people are coming. While we don’t have the authority to fix immigration at the local level, we do have an obligation to treat people with common humanity and dignity.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Mr. Mayor, thank you for your time today.
We’re going to have to leave it there. We’ll be back with more FACE THE NATION in a moment.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s it for us today. Thank you for watching. Until next week, for FACE THE NATION, I’m Margaret Brennan.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Content and programming Copyright MMXXIII CBS Broadcasting Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2023 VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. | https://www.wsgw.com/full-transcript-of-face-the-nation-july-30-2023/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:34 | 1 | https://www.wsgw.com/full-transcript-of-face-the-nation-july-30-2023/ |
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Verizon customers with older phone plans could see their bill go up next month.
According to the company, starting Aug. 29, some older plans will be charged an additional $3 or $5 per mobile phone line every month.
Customers with Go Unlimited 2.0, Beyond Unlimited 2.0, Above Unlimited, and 5G Start 1.0 plans will see the $3 monthly increase, while single basic phone plans will see the $5 monthly increase.
The company says unlimited plans that are currently available to new customers won’t get hit with the additional charge.
Verizon says lines with tablets, smartwatches, and other devices also won’t be affected.
This comes after a price hike back in April, which, as reported by USA Today, saw a $2 monthly increase for some wireless plans.
In June 2022, Verizon raised some plan fees in response to “pressure,” the company’s head of business said at the time. It led to a $1.35 increase on its administrative fees, and an “Economic Adjustment Charge” for companies using the business plans. It was the first time the fees had been increased since 2019. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:38 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man died at a Disney Resort in Orlando on Wednesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call around 5:30 a.m. regarding an unresponsive person at Disney’s Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom.
The man, identified as 39-year-old Jeffrey Vanden Boom of Greendale, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Orange County Medical Examiner determined Vanden Boom fell from a hotel room balcony, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The fall was ruled as accidental.
Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.
The death remains an ongoing investigation.
Last fall, an 83-year-old man died after riding the Tomorrowland Authority PeopleMover at Disney World. Authorities said he experienced a “cardiac event,” and his death was “deemed natural” by medical officials.
Earlier this year, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Disneyland, accusing park employees of laughing at a 66-year-old disabled woman who fell while getting off the Jungle Cruise ride in 2021 and later died. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:44 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
(KTLA) – A security guard at a nightclub was killed after being brutally beaten by a large mob in Hollywood early Sunday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Officers responded to the Dragonfly Hollywood nightclub in the 6500 block of Santa Monica Boulevard near Wilcox Avenue around 2 a.m. on reports of a group of 10 people attacking one person, police said.
“The victim was working at this nightclub, and a large group – for unknown reasons – confronted that security guard, causing him to fall into the street,” said LAPD West Bureau Homicide Division Detective Samuel Marullo. “At which time the group advanced and kicked and stomped him to death.”
Police are still investigating whether the fight began inside the club and spilled onto the street or if it began outside entirely.
Video from the scene captured first responders attempting life-saving measures on the security guard, only identified as a male in his 30s, as he was lying in the street.
Dragonfly Hollywood was still open and full of patrons at the time of the security guard’s death. According to the club’s social media, it was hosting its weekly Signature Saturdays event, with Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley headlining the festivities.
The club also hosts an event on Sundays called Sunday Night Fever, but it is unclear whether that event will be postponed following the security guard’s death.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information regarding the attack is urged to contact the LAPD immediately. | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/nightclub-security-guard-allegedly-beaten-to-death-in-hollywood-police/ | 2023-07-30T19:02:50 | 1 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/nightclub-security-guard-allegedly-beaten-to-death-in-hollywood-police/ |
Social media reaction to one of Auburn’s biggest recruiting weeks in recent memory has led to a common question: Is the status quo changing in a state’s Iron Bowl recruiting battle?
Alabama football’s 2024 recruiting class is still in a good spot with five top-100 recruits and presumably more on the way. Yet, there’s no argument that Saturday’s news of Perry Thompson making his long-awaited flip to the Tigers was a splash.
The efforts of Hugh Freeze and a reinvigorated effort on the Plains leave the Crimson Tide in a position it hasn’t faced recently. Highly rated in-state players are choosing Auburn over Tuscaloosa, at least in the class of 2024.
According to 247Sports Composite rankings, nine of the top-25 rated rising seniors are verbally committed to Hugh Freeze and co. That’s compared to four for Saban and his assistants (seven are committed out-of-state).
In 2023, Alabama pulled eight to Auburn’s four. UA had seven to Auburn’s three in 2022. In the last decade, Alabama has pulled in more top-25 in-state players eight times compared to one Auburn win (2014) and a tie (2015).
It should be noted that class rankings aren’t finalized in July and Alabama doesn’t gauge its success on the trail via other people’s evaluations. Still, the pure number of decisions in Freeze’s favor is a building block for the new coach, especially with arguably more talented prospects in the class of 2025, including 5-star Auburn legacy and Tide commit Ryan Williams of Saraland.
Here are four of Alabama’s remaining undecided prospects and where they’re trending as the season nears.
RELATED: The Alabama fallout of Auburn landing 5-star Demarcus Riddick
Start date set for Alabama football’s 2023 fall camp
Jordan Ross, Vestavia Hills
4-star edge
No. 36 player nationally, No. 5 in AL
A stellar athlete at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, it doesn’t appear like Ross is a contender for either in-state powerhouse. Ross has taken official visits to Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. The Tide already has two in-state defensive linemen committed in Central-Phenix City three-star Isaia Faga and Parker four-star Jeremiah Beaman.
Bradley Shaw, Hoover
4-star linebacker
No. 157 nationally, No. 9 in AL
Shaw may be trending toward being the 10th in-state player to commit to Auburn. The Hoover product has been on campus thrice since the season ended and was in town for Big Cat weekend, Auburn’s biggest event that saw Thompson announce his flip. Alabama offered in January. On3′s prediction machine currently gives the Tide the best odds, however, over Notre Dame, Auburn and Mississippi State.
Mario Craver, Clay-Chalkville
4-star athlete
No. 312 nationally, No. 15 in AL
The electric wideout will pair with Alabama commit Jaylen Mbawke, who’s playing quarterback as a senior, on Friday nights this fall. Will it continue in college? Evaluators are split with Florida 247Sports reporter Blake Alderman predicting in March that Craver would end up in Gainesville with the Gators. Yet, On3 gives Freeze the best odds with Alabama falling short.
JaCorey Whitted, McAdory
4-star tight end
No. 380 nationally, No. 20 in AL
A big-bodied pass-catcher at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, Whitted is going to be an intriguing prospect wherever he goes. He’s made a handful of trips to Southeastern Conference programs this summer and holds offers from the Tigers and Tide. While both Auburn and Alabama have a commitment at his position — Martavious Collins for the Tigers and Caleb Odom for the Tide — Whitted’s potential would make him a welcome addition to both classes.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com. | https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2023/07/where-does-alabama-stand-with-in-state-recruits-after-losing-5-star-to-auburn.html | 2023-07-30T19:02:55 | 0 | https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2023/07/where-does-alabama-stand-with-in-state-recruits-after-losing-5-star-to-auburn.html |
A 30-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman are dead after Mobile police say the man shot her during an argument early Sunday morning and then killed himself.
On Sunday around 12:52 a.m., police officers got a call about a domestic-related shooting at the 1000 block of Burdette Drive in south Mobile near I-10, per a Mobile Police Department statement. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a woman with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to the hospital, where she died of her injuries.
While at the scene, officers got another call about shots fired a few blocks away, at the 1000 block of Marengo Drive. There, they found a man who appeared to have died after shooting himself.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the female victim was shot during a verbal altercation with the male,” the police department said in a statement.
Mobile police are investigating what happened and say they will release the two individuals’ names after notifying their families.
Authorities are asking that anyone who has information about the case to contact the police department at (251) 208-7211. | https://www.al.com/crime/2023/07/mobile-police-investigate-after-man-apparently-shoots-kills-woman-then-himself.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:01 | 0 | https://www.al.com/crime/2023/07/mobile-police-investigate-after-man-apparently-shoots-kills-woman-then-himself.html |
A body was found Sunday morning on a Jefferson County roadside.
The discovery was made at 6:40 a.m. by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service in the 200 block of Quebec Drive. Because that location is in unincorporated Jefferson County, the sheriff’s office was notified.
Sheriff’s Lt. Joni Money said deputies found an adult male dead on the scene. There were no obvious signs of trauma.
The body was taken to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy will be performed to determine the identity of the victim, as well as a cause and manner of death.
Sheriff’s detectives are looking into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 or the sheriff’s office at 205-325-1450, option 2. | https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/mans-body-found-on-jefferson-county-roadside-investigation-underway.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:07 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/mans-body-found-on-jefferson-county-roadside-investigation-underway.html |
The Biden White House has tried to present itself as being above the fray of day-to-day squabbles, but increasingly, it’s jumping in, bashing the GOP and other critics at every opportunity.
The administration didn’t miss a chance this week to hammer Republicans over Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) floating that the House would move towards an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. They were quick with memos and statements to criticize the GOP attacks as a “clown carousel” and the idea of pursuing impeachment as “baseless.”
And the White House issued a scathing rebuke of Fox New host Greg Gutfeld, who said that Jews captured and tortured during the Holocaust survived by having skills and being useful, calling out his comments as a “dangerous, extreme lie.”
The new levels of punchy rhetoric preview the White House messaging strategy going into 2024, which is to fight back and call out what they consider extreme.
It’s a shift from their previous attitude, which was to let what they considered to be Republican chaos speak for itself.
“The cost is too expensive, both short and long term, to let them operate in a vacuum without showing that one, we know how to fight; two, that we will fight; three, we fight with facts and not with some flaming lies of information,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist.
Early in Biden’s presidency, the White House was careful not to weigh in on controversial comments from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), hoping to avoid elevating her words and giving the far-right congresswoman more of a platform.
When McCarthy was struggling in January to get enough votes to be Speaker of the House, they sat back and watched it unfold.
Biden gently knocked the vote series at the time, saying, “It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long,” but also added, “that’s not my problem.” The White House had also insisted that Biden would not “insert himself” into the election, which ended up taking 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally clench enough votes.
But this week, when the Speaker signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry, the White House came out with multiple statements and highlighted quotes from fellow Republicans in his conference pushing back on the idea.
It also released a memo about Republicans’ slams against the president overall, reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack.
Hunter Biden appeared in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.
The White House this week touted “Bidenomics” after gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showed surprisingly strong economic growth. It rebuked GOP lawmakers for not embracing the data, pointing to Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone, who said Thursday, “There goes that recession talk, right?”
“Even Fox Business is welcoming today’s blockbuster economic growth numbers, the latest in a long line of proof points that Bidenomics is delivering for middle class families,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a memo. “That’s because this strong growth report is objectively good news for the American people, which elected officials should support regardless of their political party.”
In the past, the White House has called out what it deemed antisemitism, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in particular has spearheaded the effort against hatred towards Jewish Americans. The rebuke of Gutfeld was particularly notable, considering it called the conservative media voice’s comments insulting to the memory of people who suffered the Holocaust.
Over the last week, Vice President Harris has gone on the attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a presidential candidate, over changes his administration has made regarding the way slavery is taught in his state. She quickly traveled to Jacksonville to deliver remarks over his recent moves.
And press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has turned Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) into an almost-daily punching bag, chastising him for blocking military promotions over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
Democrats argue that it’s significant the White House is getting punchier and not relying on the Biden reelection campaign to do it for them.
“I think the reason why it’s so important that it comes from the White House is because Joe Biden is a president for all people, and that White House works for all people,” Seawright said. “It helps weed out some of the foolishness, because I don’t think we can afford at this moment to let false information go unchecked or go numb to bad or false information for the sake of political gain.”
Another Democratic strategist argued the White House has picked its spots well, seeking to highlight when Republicans are fixated on issues that don’t resonate with most moderate voters. The strategist pointed to the GOP’s fixation on Hunter Biden as an example of something that is unlikely to move many mainstream voters.
Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew noted the window for moving legislation closes early in election cycles so it “makes sense” the White House is preparing for 2024.
“They know they’re going to have to defend against Republicans’ insatiable appetite for investigations and impeachments, and the best defense is a good offense,” said Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy. “When top Republicans continue to spout controversial rhetoric and spend time on divisive issues that the vast majority of Americans don’t agree with, the White House is going to use those moments to illustrate to the American people how extreme today’s Republican Party has become.”
Jim Kessler, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said Biden and his team are wisely both selling their own victories and highlighting Republican dysfunction.
Ultimately, though, Kessler argued the 2024 election will be decided by broader issues such as the economy, something the White House has leaned into with its recent messaging.
“This election is going to come down to the middle. The middle ideologically, the middle of the country geographically, and the middle class,” Kessler said. “These are places where Biden’s got to win.” | https://www.krqe.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:13 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
Nathan Jennings, a defensive end at James Clemens High School in Madison, has committed to South Alabama.
Jennings (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) chose the Jaguars over a final list of scholarship offers that also included Troy, Arkansas State, Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern. He announced his decision Sunday on Twitter:
Jennings is South Alabama’s 11th verbal commitment for the 2024 class, the eighth from inside the state of Alabama. He hails from the same high school that also produced quarterback Gio Lopez, currently a freshman with the Jaguars.
The early signing period for the 2024 class begins in late December.
South Alabama 2024 football commitments (11)
Will Felton, LB, 6-2, 215, Pelham/Pelham HS
Amarion Fortenberry, DB, 6-0, 170, Columbia, Miss./Columbia HS
Charles Gurley, CB, 6-2, 180, New Orleans, La./St. Augustine HS
Asher Hale, OL, 6-5, 300, Mobile/St. Paul’s Episcopal School
Jared Hollins, QB, 6-4, 185, Mobile/Mary G. Montgomery HS
Nathan Jennings, DE, 6-4, 240, Madison/James Clemens HS
Logan Joellenbeck, OL, 6-6, 330, Foley/Foley HS
Jamauri McClure, RB, 5-10, 185, Goshen/Goshen HS
Kevin Norwood, DT, 6-3, 290, Mobile/Theodore HS
Parker Shattuck, LB, 6-2, 215, LaGrange, Ga./LaGrange HS
Achilles Wood, DE, 6-4, 250, Decatur/Austin HS | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/james-clemens-defensive-end-nathan-jennings-commits-to-south-alabama.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:13 | 1 | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/james-clemens-defensive-end-nathan-jennings-commits-to-south-alabama.html |
(NEXSTAR) – Infections of brain-eating amoeba are on the rise — and the warming climate may only exacerbate the problem, according to one of the world’s preeminent experts on the subject.
“Yes, we are experiencing warmer temperatures, and these amoeba are thermal-tolerant … so the numbers of amoeba will be higher,” explains Dr. Dennis Kyle, the head of the cellular biology department at the University of Georgia and the scholar chair of antiparasitic drug discovery with the Georgia Research Alliance.
“Warmer climates means, yes, more exposure and more cases,” he added.
Kyle, speaking with Nexstar, confirmed that reported cases of Naegleria fowleri infection — more commonly known as an infection of brain-eating amoeba — have “significantly increased” over the past four to five years. But he warned that increased cases cannot be linked solely to warmer waters, but rather more awareness and fewer misdiagnoses than in previous years.
“There’s more recognition that these amoeba are possibly causing disease, when before, virologists were misclassifying these cases as bacterial meningitis or [other diseases],” he said.
Naegleria fowleri, the microscopic organism responsible for the infection, is primarily found in warm freshwater and soil, but also hot springs, improperly chlorinated pool water, improperly treated tap water, and, in lower concentrations, even cooler freshwaters. Infection of N. fowleri usually occurs after water is forced into the nose, allowing the organism to enter the nasal cavity and cross the epithelial lining into the brain, where it begins destroying the tissue of the frontal lobe.
This brain infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), can lead to symptoms including fever, headaches, stiff neck, seizures and hallucinations within two weeks of exposure. It is almost always fatal, with death occurring within another one to 18 days of the first symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most infections tend to occur between June and September, but cases outside of these months are not entirely unheard of, Kyle said.
N. fowleri is also found in higher concentrations in warmer, smaller bodies of freshwater, but the organism can be found in pretty much any freshwater lake, including cooler, clearer waters, Kyle said. There was even a case in 2016 in which a teenager contracted a fatal infection of N. fowleri after going whitewater rafting — an activity generally undertaken in less-risky colder waters.
The highest concentrations, though, are generally found in freshwater with surface temperature readings of 75 degrees F or higher, especially for extended periods of time.
And climate change, as scientists have observed, is already having an impact on the temperature of the world’s freshwater lakes. The quality and color of the water can also change due to warming temperatures, recent studies have suggested.
“There’s a constant risk in warmer climates,” Kyle remarked.
The amoeba itself can’t be specifically targeted with current treatments either, leading to a fatality rate of 97%. In fact, Kyle only knows of four known cases in the U.S. where patients survived, and “maybe” seven globally.
“I’m not convinced that were any further along in getting better treatment,” Kyle told Nexstar of the current antifungal and antibiotic cocktails that are currently used. “But If people can get diagnosed earlier, even with the suboptimal treatments that we have, they have a better chance of survival.”
To that end, Kyle, and the families of some of the victims, are hoping to spread awareness of the disease. He and his colleagues have also worked to identify what they believe is a biomarker that can help doctors diagnose infection earlier than previously possible, but their test is not yet FDA-approved.
“Most tests use cerebral spinal fluid, but we don’t have to have that,” he told Nexstar. “We can use blood or even urine. In our analyst studies, we can detect it three or four days before symptoms develop. I’m pretty excited.”
Preventing infection in the first place is currently the best course of action, he added.
“Raising awareness helps. But I think any warm freshwater facility, or hot spring … and at splashpads, you have to look at it carefully,” he said. “It’s incumbent on people running these facilities to minimize risk and minimize exposure.”
People can also take precautions by avoiding bodies of warm freshwater, and especially refraining from jumping or diving into such waters, which increases the risk of having contaminated water forced into the nose. He also recommends using nose plugs, keeping your head above the surface, and properly cleaning and chlorinating wading pools, swimming pools and spas (or opting for salt-water pools or spa facilities).
Parents should also know that children are at the highest risk of infection, but likely for no other reason than that they’re more prone to be more active in the water.
“It’s difficult to define the risk,” Kyle said. “But think of it like a lightning storm. Everybody knows not to walk outside in a lightning storm with a golf club in their hands. But many parents don’t know the risk that their kids might be open to.” | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:19 | 1 | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
Linebacker Kwon Alexander is joining the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in preparation for his ninth NFL season.
On Sunday, the Steelers announced they had signed the former Oxford High School star to a one-year contract. The monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Alexander had been an unrestricted free agent since March.
In 2022, Alexander played in 17 games, with 12 starts, for the New York Jets. Alexander had 69 tackles, one-half sack, six tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one forced fumble for New York.
Two other free-agent signings entered training camp as the frontrunners to man the inside-linebacker positions for Pittsburgh, with Elandon Roberts coming from the Miami Dolphins and Cole Holcomb from the Washington Commanders.
RELATED: RASHAAN EVANS, JULIO JONES AMONG UNSIGNED NFL PLAYERS
A fourth-round draft pick from LSU in 2015, Alexander was a starter from his first NFL game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Alexander led the league in solo tackles in 2016 and earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2017.
In 2018, Alexander had played in six games when a torn anterior cruciate ligament ended his season. That didn’t dissuade San Francisco from signing him as a free agent to a four-year, $54 million contract in March 2019.
Alexander suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the 49ers’ eighth game of the 2019 season. But he made it back to the field for the postseason and helped San Francisco reach Super Bowl LIV.
The 49ers sent Alexander to New Orleans for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and linebacker Kiko Alonso on Nov. 2, 2020. He started seven straight games for the Saints before he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in the next-to-last game of the 2020 regular season, an injury that also caused him to miss the first four games of the 2021 campaign.
Alexander also signed a one-year contract in free agency in July last year when he joined the Jets.
Alexander becomes the fourth Oxford alumnus on an NFL roster, joining Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker K.J. Britt, Atlanta Falcons linebacker Tae Davis and New York Giants defensive back Bobby McCain.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1. | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/pittsburgh-steelers-sign-former-alabama-prep-standout.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:20 | 1 | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/pittsburgh-steelers-sign-former-alabama-prep-standout.html |
(The Conversation) – Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt classroom learning, expose students to cyberbullying and can compromise students’ privacy.
About 1 in 7 countries globally, such as the Netherlands and France, have banned the use of smartphones in school – and academic performance improved as a result, particularly for low-performing students, the report notes.
As school leaders in the U.S. wrestle with whether or not to ban smartphones, The Conversation has invited four scholars to weigh in on the issue.
Daniel G. Krutka: Use smartphones to encourage ‘technoskepticism’
While the issue of smartphone use in schools is complicated, evidence suggests that spending more time on smartphones is associated with young people being less happy and less satisfied with life.
Technology scholars have long argued that the key to living well with technology is in finding limits. However, in banning smartphones, I worry educators might be missing opportunities to use smartphones to encourage what I and other researchers refer to as technoskeptical thinking; that is, questioning our relationship with technology.
For example, students might be encouraged to consider the benefits and drawbacks of using navigational apps to travel from one place to another, as opposed to old-fashioned paper maps. Or, students might explore their social media feeds to critique what algorithms feed them, or how notifications get their attention.
In my research, I have looked at how teachers can encourage students to go on techno-fasts – that is, abstaining from the use of technology for a certain period of time. This, I argue, will give students time to reflect on the time they spend away from their devices.
Policy debates often focus on whether or not to put smartphones out of reach during the school day. But I believe educators might find it more beneficial to make the phones an object of inquiry.
Sarah Rose: Consult parents, teachers and students
While there is evidence that classroom phone usage can be a distraction, it can also promote engagement and learning. While research about the potential positive and negative consequences of classroom phones can be used to inform school phone policies, the views of those who are most directly impacted by the policies should also be taken into account.
The views of parents matter because their views may influence the extent to which their children follow the policy. The views of children matter because they are the ones being expected to follow the policy and to benefit from it. The views of teachers matter because they are often the ones that have to enforce the policies. Research shows that enforcing cellphone policies is not always a straightforward issue.
In my research, I have found that children – aged 10 and 11 years old – in collaboration with their parents, were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. For example, one parent-child pair suggested mobile phone use in school could be banned but that a role of “telephone monitor” could be given to an older pupil. This “telephone monitor” would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.
This recommendation reflected how parents and middle and high school students – whether from rural and urban areas – felt cellphones were important to keep in touch with each other during the school day. Beyond safety, children and parents also told us that phones were important for keeping in touch about changing plans and for emotional support during the school day.
I believe policies that simply ban phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to educate children about responsible mobile device use. When parents and children are involved in policy development, it has the potential to increase the extent to which these policies are followed and enforced.
Arnold L. Glass: Cellphone use in college lectures hurts performance in ways that are hard to see
The intrusion of internet-enabled electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and cellphones, has transformed the modern college lecture. Students now divide their attention between the lecture and their devices. Classroom studies reveal that when college students use an electronic device for a nonacademic purpose during class, it hurts their performance on exams.
When attention is divided between an electronic device and the classroom lecture, it does not reduce comprehension of the lecture – at least, not when measured by within-class quizzes. Instead, divided attention reduces long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which hurts performance on unit exams and final exams.
When some students open electronic devices, it also negatively affects the performance of all the students around them. Research has shown that student performance on final exams was worse when electronic devices were permitted during classes that covered exam material versus when the devices were not.
Many students won’t think their divided attention is affecting their retention of new information. It may not be for the moment, but a couple of weeks later or down the line, research shows, it does.
Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most
Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.
In a 2015 study, my co-author, Richard Murphy, and I examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.
Similar studies in Spain and Norway using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students’ grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from Belgium suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.
Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder learning and task execution. Taking notes by hand has been shown to better enhance memory retention compared to typing on a computer.
In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately. | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:25 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
The San Diego Padres host the Texas Rangers in MLB 2023 action Sunday, July 30, at Petco Park in San Diego. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
The Rangers are 60-45 this season, while the Padres are 51-54. Texas will send Cody Bradford to the mound vs. fellow left-hander Blake Snell for San Diego.
The Rangers-Padres game starts at 3:10 pm. Central (4:10 p.m. Eastern) and will be live streamed on ESPN+, which is available for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Bally Sports Southwest and San Diego Padres MLB will broadcast the game regionally.
Preview
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -183, Rangers +155; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres will try to sweep a three-game series with a victory against the Texas Rangers.
San Diego has a 28-25 record at home and a 51-54 record overall. The Padres have gone 27-10 in games when they did not allow a home run.
Texas has a 60-45 record overall and a 26-25 record in road games. The Rangers have the top team slugging percentage in the AL at .459.
The teams play Sunday for the third time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 24 doubles and 20 home runs while hitting .265 for the Padres. Ha-Seong Kim is 14-for-33 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.
Nate Lowe leads the Rangers with a .285 batting average, and has 27 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 61 walks and 57 RBI. Marcus Semien is 12-for-40 with three home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 6-4, .246 batting average, 2.76 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
Rangers: 4-6, .254 batting average, 6.79 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
INJURIES: Padres: Alek Jacob: 15-Day IL (july), Reiss Knehr: 60-Day IL (elbow), Adrian Morejon: 15-Day IL (knee), Michael Wacha: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Carlton: 15-Day IL (elbow), Preston Tucker: 10-Day IL (foot), Drew Pomeranz: 60-Day IL (elbow/flexor), Eguy Rosario: 60-Day IL (ankle)
Rangers: Nathan Eovaldi: day-to-day (elbow), Jonah Heim: 10-Day IL (wrist), Corey Seager: 10-Day IL (thumb), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Odorizzi: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brett Martin: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/rangers-padres-mlb-2023-live-stream-730-how-to-watch-online-tv-info-time.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:26 | 1 | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/rangers-padres-mlb-2023-live-stream-730-how-to-watch-online-tv-info-time.html |
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The FBI has issued arrest warrants and released disturbing details in the armed home invasion and kidnapping of an elderly North Carolina couple and the theft of more than $150,000 of their cryptocurrency in April.
The incident took place at gunpoint at the couple’s home the morning of April 12 after thieves allegedly posed as construction workers and forced their way into the home, according to the Durham Police Department and the FBI.
According to an FBI criminal complaint obtained by Nexstar’s WNCN, the incident began when two men, dressed as construction workers, came to the victims’ home around 7:30 a.m. The duo claimed they would be inspecting pipes for damage and told the husband they would be “walking around the house.”
After a few minutes, the pair knocked on the door again and the wife answered the door. The suspects, who allegedly both had guns, then pushed their way inside.
“The men restrained and zip-tied the husband’s hands and the wife’s hands,” the FBI complaint said.
A man armed with a pink gun showed the wife it was loaded by opening the cylinder and then dragged her into a bathroom by her legs, the criminal complaint said.
The husband was taken to his Apple iMac and forced at gunpoint to log in and install a remote desktop application called AnyDesk. A person on the phone with a thief already knew “details about the account without being told,” the FBI complaint said.
The FBI believes the husband’s email account was compromised in the past, allowing the thieves to learn the details ahead of the trip to Durham and the home invasion.
The suspects were able to transfer $156,853 worth of cryptocurrency during the next 45 minutes, the FBI said. Before leaving, the thieves allegedly smashed the couple’s cellphones and the iMac.
The elderly couple managed to get out of their home and ask neighbors to call 911 for help. The pair suffered minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, Durham police said.
The arrest warrants released Thursday for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping indicate two West Palm Beach, Florida, men are wanted — Jarod Gabriel Seemungal and Remy Ra St. Felix.
According to the FBI criminal complaint filed the same day, the suspects began targeting retirees who had cryptocurrency as early as February. The accused men even had the license plate number for the husband’s car, authorities said. A third man is also named in the criminal complaint, but no arrest warrant was issued for him as of Thursday.
Messages sent between those involved identified actual cryptocurrency amounts and their locations, the criminal complaint said. One suspect had a photo of the husband’s North Carolina driver’s license in his email account, according to the FBI.
The two suspects also discussed in internet messages how potential victims “have so much” money in accounts that it would be “retirement licks” — the FBI explained in the complaint that “licks” is slang for a robbery.
The thieves apparently rented a car in Florida and visited the Millennium Hotel in Durham a couple of days before the actual robbery, according to the complaint. Video from a home near the victims’ showed the thieves’ BMW SUV “conducting surveillance” at the couple’s home each of the three days before the alleged kidnapping, the FBI said.
The FBI also noted that a person driving a similar vehicle purchased costumes — a clipboard, reflective vest, sunglasses and a pair of khaki pants — at a nearby Walmart that allowed the suspected thieves to get into the victims’ home. Both suspects were seen on surveillance video from the store.
Additional details about potential victims wasn’t immediately available. As of Sunday, authorities have not said whether either man is in custody. | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:31 | 1 | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
An eventful week of state high school football recruiting was capped off with a few surprises among plenty of commitments, offers and more.
Charles Henderson 4-star defensive end Zion Grady announced his top 10 from a list of more than 20 schools. The final 10 are Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, USC, Florida State and Louisville.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Grady is ranked among the top 10 juniors in the state and was ASWA Class 5A Lineman of the Year as well as first team all-state last season.
He contributed 99 tackles with 34 tackles for loss and 21 sacks as a sophomore while helping the Trojans to the Class 5A title game before losing to Ramsay.
RELATED: Auburn flips 5-star receiver from Alabama
In other news:
A pair of James Clemens senior prospects made news when Jaylen Brown announced a Missouri offer and Nathan Jennings committed to South Alabama.
The Missouri offer was the first from an SEC school for Brown, a 6-4, 230-pound defensive end who also has offers from Maryland, Jacksonville State, Arkansas State, Tennessee-Martin, Austin Peay and more.
Jennings announced his choice of the Jaguars on Sunday. The 6-5, 240-pound defensive lineman also had offers from Jacksonville State, South Alabama, Arkansas State, Troy, Austin Peay, Murray State, Southeast Missouri and more.
RELATED: 4-star receiver commits to Auburn
COMMITMENTS
Helena’s Nate Thomason committed to Memphis over Air Force, Army, Navy, Southern Miss, Jacksonville State and others. Thomason is a 6-2, 207-pound senior linebacker for the Huskies.
Ashton Wright of B.C. Rain announced he will play for Louisiana. The 6-4, 274-pound senior defensive lineman also had offers from UAB, Georgia Southern and others.
OFFERS
Enterprise 4-star prospect Eric Winters continues to impress recruiters, adding a Washington State offer. The 6-2, 200-pound ATH already has offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Clemson, Penn State, Oklahoma, USC, Georgia Tech, UAB, Central Florida and Troy.
Sarland junior Antonio Coleman added to an notable list with a Florida offer on Saturday. The 6-2, 265-pound defensive lineman is a 4-star prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, UAB and more.
A 3-star prospect from Elmore County, Jabari Murphy announced a Tulane offer on Sunday. The 6-2, 195-pound senior receiver also has offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Penn State, Maryland, West Virginia, Appalachian State and North Alabama.
Jackson sophomore teammates Jamarrion Gordon and Keeyun Chapman picked up SEC offers.
A 5-11, 176-pound ATH, Gordon received offers from both Auburn and South Carolina in the past few days. He also has offers from Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Penn State.
Chapman also added a South Carolina offer, his first from the SEC. The 6-3, 180-pound receiver also has offers from TCU and Central Florida.
Troy offered a pair of instate prospects in Vigor’s Kevin Malone and UMS-Wright’s Joe Lott.
Malone is a 5-9, 165-pound junior ATH who also has offers from UAB, Alabama State, Tuskegee and others.
The list for senior 6-3, 180-pound defensive back Lott includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Western Michigan, Miami-Ohio and Southern Illinois.
BASKETBALL
Colben Landrew of Thompson continues to garner attention, adding an Ole Miss basketball offer for the 6-5 sophomore guard who’s also a receiver on the football team. He already has other basketball offers from Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, UAB, Jacksonville State and others. | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/recruiting-update-big-week-highlighted-by-plenty-of-commitments-offers-and-more.html | 2023-07-30T19:03:32 | 0 | https://www.al.com/sports/2023/07/recruiting-update-big-week-highlighted-by-plenty-of-commitments-offers-and-more.html |
CLEVELAND (WJW) – Verizon customers with older phone plans could see their bill go up next month.
According to the company, starting Aug. 29, some older plans will be charged an additional $3 or $5 per mobile phone line every month.
Customers with Go Unlimited 2.0, Beyond Unlimited 2.0, Above Unlimited, and 5G Start 1.0 plans will see the $3 monthly increase, while single basic phone plans will see the $5 monthly increase.
The company says unlimited plans that are currently available to new customers won’t get hit with the additional charge.
Verizon says lines with tablets, smartwatches, and other devices also won’t be affected.
This comes after a price hike back in April, which, as reported by USA Today, saw a $2 monthly increase for some wireless plans.
In June 2022, Verizon raised some plan fees in response to “pressure,” the company’s head of business said at the time. It led to a $1.35 increase on its administrative fees, and an “Economic Adjustment Charge” for companies using the business plans. It was the first time the fees had been increased since 2019. | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:37 | 1 | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man died at a Disney Resort in Orlando on Wednesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call around 5:30 a.m. regarding an unresponsive person at Disney’s Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom.
The man, identified as 39-year-old Jeffrey Vanden Boom of Greendale, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Orange County Medical Examiner determined Vanden Boom fell from a hotel room balcony, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The fall was ruled as accidental.
Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.
The death remains an ongoing investigation.
Last fall, an 83-year-old man died after riding the Tomorrowland Authority PeopleMover at Disney World. Authorities said he experienced a “cardiac event,” and his death was “deemed natural” by medical officials.
Earlier this year, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Disneyland, accusing park employees of laughing at a 66-year-old disabled woman who fell while getting off the Jungle Cruise ride in 2021 and later died. | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:43 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
Honduran child travels alone to U.S. to reunite with mother, unaware of her passing
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 1:22 PM CDT|Updated: 41 minutes ago
EAGLE PASS, Texas (Gray News) – A child from Honduras made the dangerous trek to the United States up through Mexico on her own, according to authorities.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Facebook that their brush team encountered the Honduran child Thursday.
The department said the girl was found in Mexico by three undocumented women who crossed her illegally through the river.
Officials said the girl was traveling to the U.S. to find her mother. After an investigation, however, authorities determined the girl’s mother had sadly died three days before.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ | 2023-07-30T19:03:59 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ |
Two people killed in shooting near University of Florida campus
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 1:13 PM CDT|Updated: 50 minutes ago
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray News) - Two people were killed after gunshots rang out in a crowd early Sunday near the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, WCJB reports.
Gainesville Police were near the Checkers and Bodytech on West University Avenue around 2:40 a.m. when they heard gunshots. There were three victims, two of which died from their injuries.
Police were seeking the public’s help for any information on the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WCJB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:06 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ |
WATCH: Officers pull unconscious man from burning car
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 12:12 PM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (CNN) – Dramatic video out of Texas caught the moment officers pulled a man from a burning car.
Police in White Settlement, Texas, said they responded to a report of a car hitting a pole early Saturday morning.
The responding officers found two people in the car.
The driver was able to get out safely, but a male passenger was unconscious and unable to get out.
Officers quickly pulled the man from the burning car until medics could arrive.
The driver and passenger were taken to a hospital and are expected to survive.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/watch-officers-pull-unconscious-man-burning-car/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:13 | 1 | https://www.kswo.com/2023/07/30/watch-officers-pull-unconscious-man-burning-car/ |
Nearly 50 years after panic gripped suburbia, a new book, a key witness, and a confession
In a Georgia police station this month, David Zandstra cracked when presented with new evidence. Police say the retired reverend confessed to murdering 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington in 1975.
Robert Jordan was playing in his backyard on Aug. 15, 1975, another summer afternoon in his idyllic Delaware County neighborhood, when the panic began to spread from house to house.
Gretchen Harrington, an 8-year-old girl from his Bible camp, was missing.
“I remember being asked, ‘Have you seen Gretchen?’ and saying, ‘No, why?’” Jordan, who was 9 years old at the time, recalled this week.
The Amber Alert system wouldn’t begin for two more decades. There were no cell phones. No Facebook, Citizen or Nextdoor apps.
But through a network of suburban moms, everyone in Jordan’s Marple Township neighborhood seemed to hear the news at nearly the same time.
“It went right down the line, housewives not even getting on the phone, just going to tell each other something had happened,” Jordan said. “We knew something was happening because our mothers were so jittery.”
They sprang into action. Jordan piled into a neighbor’s Volkswagen van with his mother and four other kids. Their search began at a nearby park.
Hundreds of residents from Marple and neighboring towns would later comb wooded areas with no results. Tracking dogs were called in. Even a psychic.
“We haven’t got a thing, not a thing,” then-Broomall Fire Chief Knute Keober told The Inquirer two days after Gretchen’s disappearance. “If she’s in the area, she’s by Jesus well-hidden.”
It wasn’t until Oct. 14, 1975, that a hiker found skeletal remains along a path in Ridley Creek State Park. At first, he thought they belonged to an animal.
“I looked closely and saw what I thought was fingernails,” the man told police, according to a new book on the case. The body was positively identified as that of Gretchen Harrington. It bore signs of blunt force trauma to her skull. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Jordan, 57, now a health care marketing executive, still thinks of Gretchen and that summer each time he drives down Lawrence Road, the last place she was seen.
He remembers the Bible camp. Hot dogs and baked beans. Kickball and Wiffle ball. Then, an abduction and a murder. It haunted families for years.
“So many young people from the ‘70s still bear that pain and anxiety today,” he said. “She was a lovely girl.”
‘It was always a dead end’
Brandon Graeff was 2 years old when Gretchen Harrington’s body was found. The case had long turned cold by 1997, when he joined the Marple Township police force.
Tips had poured in early on, then slowed. Detectives pursued them all, on and off the clock.
“Everything — and I mean everything — was followed up on,” said Graeff, who became chief in 2020.
The case came up from time to time, in roll call, or when a detective would grab the folder again during a slow week.
“They’d look through it, maybe try to see something different for her,” Graeff said, “But we couldn’t. We didn’t. It was always a dead end.”
Since 1975, the case has proceeded along two tracks: the abduction handled by Marple Police, and the homicide by state police, because the park in Edgmont Township is in their jurisdiction.
In early 2021, Graeff got a call from a man named Mike Mathis, who said he and another former township resident, Joanna Sullivan, were working on a book about the murder and were hoping the department would cooperate with granting them some access to the files.
With little movement in the investigation in decades, Graeff couldn’t think of a good reason to say no.
“We’re dealing with a little girl whose killer was not held to account,” he said. “My question to myself was, ‘Why not? How could it hurt?’”
Sullivan, 57, remembers being at Lawrence Park Swim club the day that Gretchen disappeared. The image of a hovering helicopter was seared into her memory.
“We were just at the pool on a hot summer day and the helicopter was overhead,” she said. “We were wondering what was going on. Then we heard.”
Mathis, 58, remembers his father joining the search for Gretchen. He and Sullivan would meet a few years later at Paxon Hollow Middle School. They were editors at the student newspaper, The Hollow Log.
They kept in touch through high school and beyond. At a reunion decades later, they’d talk about writing a book together about Gretchen.
“It just stayed with me and Mike and many other kids through the years,” said Sullivan, now the editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Business Journal. “I always thought I’d like to write that story.”
When COVID struck in 2020, Sullivan and Mathis suddenly had more time. They got started by creating a list of people they wanted to interview.
“At the top of the list,” she said, “was the Zandstra family.”
The book, Marple’s Gretchen Harrington Tragedy: Kidnapping, Murder and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia, was published in October 2022. Sullivan and Mathis did a round of public appearances in the area, including a December book signing at the Barnes & Noble in the Lawrence Park Shopping Center — just down the street from where Gretchen was abducted.
They had no idea that, just a few weeks later, a woman would come forward with information that would break the case wide open.
“I think it was Mr. Z”
On Jan. 2, 2023, state police interviewed a woman later identified in court documents only by her initials. She said she’d frequently slept at the home of a local reverend named David Zandstra and his family because she was friends with his daughter.
Zandstra had served at Trinity Chapel Christian Reformed Church, one of two churches on Lawrence Road in Marple Township that were used for the Bible camp that Gretchen attended. The other was the Reformed Presbyterian Church, where Gretchen’s father was the pastor.
It was Zandstra who called police and reported Gretchen missing at 11:23 a.m. on Aug. 15, 1975. He said he was calling at the request of the girl’s father.
The new witness told state investigators that during two sleepovers at the Zandstra house when she was 10 years old, she awoke to Zandstra touching her. She also showed police a childhood diary she’d kept that mentioned the sleepovers and, in September 1975, her suspicion that Zandstra might have been involved with the attempted kidnapping of a girl in her class, as well as Gretchen’s disappearance.
“It’s a secret, so I can’t tell anyone, but I think he might be the one who kidnapped Gretchen,” she wrote. “I think it was Mr. Z.”
At first, a cordial interview
Earlier this month, David Zandstra, 83 and living in Marietta, Ga., walked into an interview room at the Cobb County Police Headquarters with no reservations about speaking with police. He didn’t lawyer up. It was the department’s “soft” interview room. Couch, comfortable chairs, unlocked.
Two Pennsylvania troopers were waiting for him: Cpl. Andrew Martin, who had picked up the Harrington case about 2017, and Eugene Tray, who’d been called in recently. They’d caught a flight to Atlanta on July 17 to interview the octogenarian suspect, with the new information in hand.
If Zandstra was worried about the interview when he sat down, he didn’t show it — at least not at first.
Back in 1975, police had interviewed Zandstra twice. He also spoke to Mathis for the book, which focused on a different man as the prime suspect.
“Deep down, I’m sure he was very, very concerned,” Tray said.
The conversation was almost cordial to start. Zandstra denied ever seeing Gretchen on the day she went missing.
But then police told Zandstra about the sexual assault allegations from the girl with the diary. It was the final straw placed on top of nearly a half-century of guilt. He broke down and confessed.
“We asked and he spoke,” Tray said. “He was presented with things I don’t think he expected to be presented with. Then, I think he started to think more on it. I think he just wanted his sick, twisted version of redemption, and to come clean.”
Zandstra admitted to abducting Gretchen as she was walking to Trinity Chapel for morning exercises, according to the criminal complaint. He said Gretchen asked to go home, but he drove her to a wooded area and parked. When she refused his demand to take off her clothes, he struck her in the head with his fist, court documents state.
Zandstra said he checked her pulse and believed that she had died, so he attempted to cover up her half-naked body with sticks and left the area.
“He was two different people,” Tray said of Zandstra, before and after his confession. “He was definitely relieved and happy to get that off his chest, how sick that may be.”
Searching for other victims
Zandstra left Delaware County in 1976, and worked in Texas and California before retiring to Georgia. Cops in and around Marple Township who’d worked on the case, or helped search for Gretchen in 1975, have retired and died.
The case took a toll on many of them, knowing a child killer could have gotten away with it, said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who was 12 years old when Gretchen disappeared.
“It’s important to understand law enforcement officers are moved by the trauma they see happen,” he said. “That’s why they’re in this business of trying to bring justice.”
Stollsteimer described Zandstra’s arrest as a “great relief” to police in Delaware County and praised Martin, in particular, for sticking with the case.
“This is just great, old-fashioned police work,” he said.
Martin was unable to attend the news conference on Monday announcing Zandstra’s arrest and was not available for an interview this week. Tray, however, said the “case would not have been solved were it not for him.”
State police collected DNA from Zandstra when he was arrested, which could prove useful if there are additional victims in other parts of the country.
As part of that effort, the Christian Reformed Church in North America says it is reaching out to Zandstra’s former congregations. He served in Flanders, N.J.; Broomall, Pa.; Plano, Texas; and San Diego and Fairfield, Calif.
After settling in Georgia, Zandstra continued to advise clients of a pregnancy resource center, according to a 2012 religious newsletter in which he wrote a small section titled “Peace to you.” A photo shows him smiling, with gray hair and a closely cropped beard.
“The prospect of peace was and is badly needed in the uncounted and constant conflicts of our world,” he wrote. “Only believers in Jesus are able to find real peace with God.”
California police are now looking into whether Zandstra might be connected to the 1991 disappearance of 4-year-old Nikki Campbell in Fairfield, and police in Delaware County are also reexamining other cases from the 1970s.
“Who knows? This guy was a monster,” Stollsteimer said. “Nothing would surprise me.”
Sullivan, the author of the book on the Harrington murder, has been fielding calls and Facebook messages this week from people in Marple who might have information about other cases of abuse.
“I don’t think it was an isolated case,” Sullivan said.
As for whether the book helped lead to the break in the case, that depends on whom you ask. Some law enforcement officials are convinced that it did. Others cautioned against such speculation. Regardless, a new chapter is planned if the book goes to another printing: Case solved.
On Friday, the Delco DA’s office got word that Zandstra would waive an extradition hearing and agree to be transported from Georgia to Pennsylvania. But his defense lawyer later sought to have the waiver recalled because he was not present with Zandstra when it was signed. Authorities are awaiting a judge’s ruling.
The Harrington family released a statement this week, thanking police for their work and community members for their support over the years. Gretchen’s father, Harold, died in November 2021 at the age of 94.
“If you met Gretchen, you were instantly her friend,” the family wrote. ”She exuded kindness to all and was sweet and gentle. Even now, when people share their memories of her, the first thing they talk about is how amazing she was and still is. At just 8 years old, she had a lifelong impact on those around her.” | https://www.inquirer.com/crime/have-you-seen-gretchen-nearly-50-years-after-panic-gripped-suburbia-confession-20230730.html | 2023-07-30T19:04:13 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/crime/have-you-seen-gretchen-nearly-50-years-after-panic-gripped-suburbia-confession-20230730.html |
NEWPORT, R.I. — It turns out that it’s possible to have a major outdoor concert or festival in New England in the summer of 2023 without rainstorms putting a literal and figurative damper on things. After downpours drenched Taylor Swift, truncated Luke Combs, and nixed LCD Soundsystem altogether, it wasn’t looking good for the sold-out second day of this year’s Newport Folk Festival, as little lightning clouds dotted forecast apps throughout the day. But somehow, the weather that dogged the Boston area seemed to hold off from hitting Fort Adams State Park until after Saturday’s scheduled 7:30 p.m. end time. The only protection from the elements that turned out to be necessary was sunscreen.
With five stages, two of which were little more than tents covering the bare ground (and one of which was powered by bicycles pedaled by eager audience members), there were always options and always hard choices to make; committing to Aimee Mann meant forgoing Jason Isbell and vice versa. The smaller, grassier stages tended to hew more closely to the traditional understanding of folk, like earnest but not saccharine Virginia trio Palmyra, 2023 John Prine Songwriter Fellowship winner Jobi Riccio (who recalled early Shawn Colvin mixed with a little classic country heartache), and Odie Leigh, who was Joni Mitchell by way of Ani DiFranco.
Some of the larger-stage acts were at least folk-adjacent. Jaime Wyatt’s throaty and sharp vocals suited rousing dive-bar country and organ-fired soul/rock grooves, while Danielle Ponder offered a ‘70s-style soul revue capped by an astonishing gospel-ballad version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” And Goose continued their jam-royalty ascension, making like the Band on “Baby Don’t You Do It” before partaking in the Newport tradition of inviting a guest on stage, which in this case meant Animal from the Muppets drumming (unnervingly convincingly) on the band’s own “Animal.”
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Other acts similarly hit harder than the Newport reputation would imply. Indigo De Souza played her frayed-edges indie rock with admirable tension and sang in a voice like Olivia Rodrigo’s, where it wasn’t clear if she was on the verge of fury or tears. And with their roaring guitars, ringing piano, and propulsive drums, the Hold Steady came out of the gate with the day’s most unabashed rock ‘n’ roll, though the call-and-response and audience clapping in rhythm fit solidly within the folk tradition.
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Then there was the adult pop contingent, beginning with Of Monsters and Men singer Nanna, who funneled the elemental feel of fellow Icelanders Sigur Rós into more straightforward material that showcased her as an open, beating heart always reaching for connection. South Africa’s Alice Phoebe Lou offered a sparking, driving variant, while Angel Olsen sang her atmospheric Americana in a tightened voice that was particularly suited to soft disappointment, though she seemed slightly detached, letting her songs emote for her. Aimee Mann was similarly not especially demonstrative, but her voice’s nasal thinness and quaver instantly gave it an ache that was more than sufficient to supercharge sad and direct songs like “You Never Loved Me” and “I Can’t Help You Anymore,” an excellent anthem of giving up on someone, a.k.a. Mann’s sweet spot.
Jon Batiste’s wide-ranging headlining set covered Indigenous chanting, soul-based rock, New Orleans second line, and acoustic-based adult contemporary, and transformed blues standard “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” into a dense, existentially wounded churn. Despite rumors all day of a James Taylor collaboration, it was Lauren Daigle who joined Batiste on the Colbie Caillat-like “Saint Ferdinand” and a “Down by the Riverside”/”When the Saints Go Marching In” medley that led into the audience and then petered out. By then it was 7:30, and organizers anticlimactically announced the concert’s end to get ahead of the inclement weather that miraculously hadn’t arrived yet. Since it’s Newport, though, that was no guarantee that this year’s festival had seen the last of him.
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Marc Hirsh can be reached at officialmarc@gmail.com or on Twitter @spacecitymarc
NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL
At Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I., Saturday | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/arts/its-sunny-side-up-newport-folk-festival/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:13 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/arts/its-sunny-side-up-newport-folk-festival/ |
4 found clinging to hull of overturned boat off New Jersey rescued, taken to NJ hospital
SANDY HOOK, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say four people found clinging to the hull of an overturned boat off New Jersey were rescued and taken to a hospital. Coast Guard officials in New York say Coast Guard crews and New York police and fire units were deployed to the area off Sandy Hook after receiving a distress call over VHF Channel 16. Petty Officer Logan Kaczmarek told the Asbury Park Press that rescue crews found the four holding onto the floating hull near the Romer Shoal Light Station at about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. All four were pulled from the water and taken to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch. | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/30/4-found-clinging-to-hull-of-overturned-boat-off-new-jersey-rescued-taken-to-nj-hospital/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:14 | 0 | https://kion546.com/ap-colorado/2023/07/30/4-found-clinging-to-hull-of-overturned-boat-off-new-jersey-rescued-taken-to-nj-hospital/ |
Project 2025 is GOPers’ blueprint for destroying the planet. It must be stopped.
It sounds insane: In a summer of 110-degree heat waves and killer floods, GOPers draft a 2025 scheme to end all action on climate change.
Chill out, America. Midway through the long, hot summer of 2023 — with the human-made furnace of fossil fuel pollution turning up the knobs on 110-degree-plus heat in Phoenix, killer floods just north of Philadelphia, and suffocating smoke from uncontrollable fires in Canada — the Washington Post has published an answer to the climate crisis.
It can be summed up in four words: Get. Used. To. It.
Under the helpful heading of “Climate Solutions,” the newspaper owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos wants you to know you can gradually adapt to the hottest recorded days in the history of Planet Earth, in Saturday’s piece headlined: “Your body can build up tolerance to heat. Here’s how.” The key source is a professor of physiology at Penn State — a university that (probably a coincidence) has drawn heat for its ties to the fossil fuel industry — who suggests going outside for longer and longer intervals. Voila! No need to come down hard on Big Oil and its billion-dollar profits, let alone stop driving your massive SUV. Just don’t trip — the sidewalk might send you to the burn unit!
This is not a serious “Climate Solution.” The article was widely mocked on The Social Media Site Formerly Known As Twitter and elsewhere, and rightfully so. And yet this wasn’t the worst approach to the world’s escalating climate crisis in the news last week — not by a long shot.
While you were turning up the air-conditioning or trying to find an open city pool, the brain trust of the conservative movement — including key officials of Donald Trump’s disastrous 2017-21 presidency — were spending $22 million to craft a 950-page plan called Project 2025 that (among other things) is a blueprint for unconditional surrender in the war on climate change. The scheme drafted by the Heritage Foundation and other think tanks that have guided GOP administrations since Ronald Reagan wouldn’t just halt the desperately needed transition to clean energy and electric cars, but restore the unchecked hegemony of burning fossil fuels.
While Trump’s 45th presidency was a disastrous pause button on climate action in the world’s largest economy, these proposed policies for a Trump 47th presidency, or a like-minded GOP POTUS, are a total rollback that go much, much deeper. Given 2023′s unmistakable jolts of an already-here planetary crisis from Antarctica to Sicily to Phoenix, Project 2025 sounds utterly insane for those of us living in the hotter, reality-based world.
Some specifics: Blocking the expansion of the electrical grid to accommodate clean energy sources like wind and solar. Eliminating three offices within the Department of Energy promoting the renewable power transition. Wiping out funding for environmental justice work in the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection. Massive growth of the natural gas infrastructure such as pipelines. Ensuring that no other states win approval for the kind of strict electric car guidelines being implemented in California. The EPA and other key agencies would be radically downsized and placed under the care of right-wing pro-fossil fuel zealots. It even includes restrictions on new scientific research.
» READ MORE: President Biden should address the nation and declare war ... on climate change
The 350 or so ultraconservative thinkers and activists who’ve been toiling in quiet obscurity on Project 2025 and hope to implement it in the first 180 days of a Republican presidency beginning Jan. 20, 2025, are a rogues gallery of former Trump officials and Big Oil fanatics. They are advocates like Bernard McNamee, whom POTUS 45 had named to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after a stint at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think tank opposing climate action and as an adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz.
And these conservatives behind Project 2025 aren’t shy about touting the radical, reactionary nature of their environmental blueprint.
“Project 2025 is not a white paper. We are not tinkering at the edges. We are writing a battle plan, and we are marshaling our forces,” Paul Dans, the Project 2025 director with the Heritage Foundation, told Politico’s E&E News. “Never before has the whole conservative movement banded together to systematically prepare to take power day one and deconstruct the administrative state.”
Genevieve Guenther, a scientist who founded the organization End Climate Silence, agreed with one aspect of Project 2025 — that it is, indeed, a battle plan, and a wakeup call for people on the other side who want action on the warming planet. “The war being waged is against our children’s future, she posted on the former Twitter now known as X, adding: “Elections matter!”
Indeed. To anyone following the news, or with faith in science, Project 2025 would have sounded bat-guano crazy any time, but especially this past week — and not just because of the 30-plus consecutive days of 110-degree-plus temperatures in Phoenix or the shocking 101-degree ocean water temperature recorded off Florida.
In Antarctica, scientists are stunned at the extent of disappearing sea ice — directly linked to the world’s sea levels and likelihood of inundation of highly populated coastal cities — that has occurred even with the arrival of the Southern Hemisphere winter. “Unprecedented is a word that gets bandied around a lot, but it doesn’t really get to just how shocking this is,” said University of Tazmania sea ice scientist Will Hobbs. Meanwhile, other experts are debating evidence that the Atlantic Ocean currents, so central to regulating climate, could collapse because of the warming crisis, perhaps by mid-century or even as early as — irony alert — 2025.
Given the recent news, conservatives opposed to climate action seem to be backing away from their past positions that planetary warming isn’t happening — or at least that it’s not because of human pollution. The new line is that the weather is being used by “the deep state,” or “woke” liberal elites, to deprive everyday folks of their freedom. Even fact-free Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — once a brilliant environmental lawyer — has adopted this plank, tweeting that climate change has become an excuse for government “to control you through fear.”
This new radical libertarianism around climate is a threat to the planet, but not the only one. The cynical nihilism of the right’s Project 2025 could also be aided by what activists call “doomerism,” a sense of despair that climate action is too overwhelming or, increasingly, too late. “Many things that were once true — that we didn’t have adequate solutions, that the general public wasn’t aware or engaged — no longer are,” the essayist Rebecca Solnit argued last week. “Outdated information is misinformation, and the climate situation has changed a lot in recent years.”
Today, many top experts hail the rapid advances in clean energy and say that sustained action to reduce carbon pollution can still stave off the worst predicted impacts of climate change. Michael Mann, director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media, has generally praised the $369 billion for climate action in President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and says it shows that serious policy changes are both possible and worthwhile.
Biden is also a politician, and he’s made some compromises — on things like offshore oil leases or an Appalachian pipeline deal — that are getting harder to defend as the climate crisis accelerates. Some young voters will be tempted to vote for an idealistic but unelectable candidate like the Green Party’s Cornel West, who has made ending fossil fuel use central to his campaign. West threatens to undo the left-wing unity that ousted Trump and elected Biden in 2020.
This didn’t seem possible, but awareness of Project 2025 should dramatically raise the stakes for November 2024. Not only is the future of U.S. democracy on the ballot, but also the very future of the planet, given America’s centrality to reducing global carbon pollution. Barring unforeseen events, the choice will be between Biden — who believes climate change is real and that government action can help — and the nihilistic greed of the Heritage Foundation and Team Trump. “Doomerism” can’t be an option, and neither is “getting used to it.” The extreme right has its “battle plan” for 2025. Does Planet Earth have an army to fight back?
» READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter | https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/project-2025-gop-plan-climate-change-20230730.html | 2023-07-30T19:04:19 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/project-2025-gop-plan-climate-change-20230730.html |
Beyoncé's BeyHive is alive and well in the Boston area. Members of one of the most devoted fan bases in the world will be filling the seats at Gillette Stadium Tuesday when Beyoncé’s “Renaissance World Tour” touches down there.
Maverick Flood, who’s attended 36 Beyoncé concerts in over 20 cities across three continents, hopes to add another to the list. “I normally don’t miss the Boston shows,” the New York native says. Should he make it to Foxborough, he’ll be joining these four local superfans.
Kiamesha Quarles, 39, Mattapan
Quarles, an EMT, has spent thousands on Queen Bey merch, tickets, magazines, and DVDs. At a flea market, an airbrush artist sprayed “Beyoncé” on the back of her jean jacket. She once went to store after store in search of the 2013 Super Bowl cardboard cut-out of Beyoncé promoting Pepsi. Eventually she found one on eBay.
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During Destiny’s Child’s reign, Beyoncé wasn’t even her favorite member of the trio, but after seeing the singer solo on her “I Am . . . World Tour,” she was a goner. The “Renaissance” show at Gillette will be her sixth Beyoncé concert. (She’ll have seats on the stadium floor — after getting floor seats for the first time for the 2014 “On the Run” tour, “I was like I can’t sit anywhere else.”) When she told her three brothers she was being interviewed about her fandom for this story, one said cheekily, “Oh, so you’re gonna expose your illness to the rest of the world? You have a problem.” He clearly doesn’t understand.
Brenden McHenry, 34, South End
“I think my husband’s gonna be offended, but this is gonna be the greatest night of my life,” says McHenry, a school programs manager at the Boch Center. Seeing Beyoncé in concert has been tops on his bucket list, and now he’ll finally get his chance. “I will be able to die peacefully after the concert. I will be happy.”
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He bought her first solo album, “Dangerously in Love,” with his birthday money when he turned 14. He’s been “totally obsessed” ever since. In high school he learned her choreography and quoted her songs. On Halloween in 2016, he dressed as “Becky with the good hair,” the mistress Beyoncé famously referenced on her “Lemonade” album.
McHenry works with elementary school children and teens at the Boch Center. During dance classes, he says, the teacher tells the kids to put their Beyoncé faces on, to demand attention and own the stage. “She can be a huge motivating factor for self-empowerment,” McHenry says. “She really promotes positive self-talk.”
Alexis Maxwell, 22, Brighton
“Beyoncé to me is like the sun to a flower. There is no higher. She’s everything,” says Maxwell, a teaching artist assistant at the Boch Center.
Maxwell says she came out of the womb listening to Beyoncé, since her mother was a huge fan. As a queer woman, she applauds Beyoncé for celebrating the queer community on her “Renaissance” album and tour. They have been “pushed up to the front because Beyoncé said so. Beyoncé just has so much power and influence. It’s truly scary. I mean, I appreciate it because I love her,” she says, smiling. “So many Black queer kids are seeing how they can be loved and embraced. They see a community out there for them.”
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Tyler Rowe, 29, Dorchester
Rowe, an academic assessment adviser at Emerson College, marks important times in his life according to Beyoncé album releases.
Rowe, who is gay, says 2008′s “I Am . . . Sasha Fierce” helped him “come into his identity” when he was in middle school. “Diva,” from that album, “is just all about accepting you’re a diva and you’re fabulous, and you have this confidence and you don’t need to hide it. Just flaunt it. I remember I memorized the choreography. I’ve like burned that music video into my mind,” he says.
To Rowe, being a diva means “having confidence in yourself no matter what, and not caring what other people say.”
He describes listening to Beyoncé’s music as an “out-of-body experience.” It “embodies freedom,” it’s cathartic, and “there’s a song for every experience.”
Rowe will be attending Tuesday’s concert with his husband and a friend. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Kajsa Kedefors can be reached at kajsa.kedefors@globe.com. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/arts/meet-beyonc-superfans-wholl-be-cheering-their-queen-gillette-stadium/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:19 | 0 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/arts/meet-beyonc-superfans-wholl-be-cheering-their-queen-gillette-stadium/ |
Georgia resident dies from rare brain-eating amoeba, health officials say
By Raja Razek, CNN
(CNN) — A Georgia resident who was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond has died from a rare brain eating amoeba infection, the Georgia Department of Public Health said.
“A Georgia resident has died from Naegleria fowleri infection, a rare infection which destroys brain tissue, causing brain swelling and usually death,” the health department said in a news release Friday. “The individual was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond in Georgia.”
Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that lives in soil and warm freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds and hot springs. It is not found in salt water, properly treated drinking water or swimming pools, according to the release.
“Prior to this newly confirmed case of Naegleria fowleri infection, there have been five other cases reported in Georgia since 1962,” the release said.
From 1962 to 2021, only four out of 154 people in the United States survived a brain-eating amoeba infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this month, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health said a 2-year-old boy died from a brain-eating amoeba infection likely contracted at a natural hot spring. In February, Florida officials said a resident died from the amoeba after a sinus rinse with tap water.
Signs and symptoms of infection are initially severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting and they can progress to a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and coma. The infection is treated with a combination of drugs, including the antibiotic azithromycin, the antifungal fluconazole, the antimicrobial drug miltefosine and the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
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CNN’s Sarah Dewberry and Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report. | https://kion546.com/health/cnn-health/2023/07/30/georgia-resident-dies-from-rare-brain-eating-amoeba-health-officials-say/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:20 | 0 | https://kion546.com/health/cnn-health/2023/07/30/georgia-resident-dies-from-rare-brain-eating-amoeba-health-officials-say/ |
How to Watch the Orioles vs. Yankees Game: Streaming & TV Channel Info for July 30
Adley Rutschman and the Baltimore Orioles meet Giancarlo Stanton and the New York Yankees on Sunday at 7:10 PM ET.
Sign up for Fubo to watch this matchup and make sure you don't miss any of the action all season long!
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Orioles vs. Yankees Live Stream, TV Channel and Game Info:
- Date: Sunday, July 30, 2023
- Time: 7:10 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Location: Baltimore, Maryland
- Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
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Orioles Batting & Pitching Performance
- The Orioles are 14th in MLB action with 122 home runs. They average 1.2 per game.
- Baltimore's .417 slugging percentage ranks 10th-best in baseball.
- The Orioles have the 17th-ranked batting average in the majors (.248).
- Baltimore has the No. 11 offense in MLB play, scoring 4.8 runs per game (502 total runs).
- The Orioles are 19th in MLB with an on-base percentage of .316.
- The Orioles' 8.3 strikeouts per game rank 11th in baseball.
- The nine strikeouts per nine innings compiled by Baltimore's pitching staff ranks 11th in the majors.
- Baltimore has the 15th-ranked team ERA across all MLB pitching staffs (4.19).
- The Orioles have the 19th-ranked WHIP in MLB (1.302).
Yankees Batting & Pitching Performance
- The Yankees rank sixth in Major League Baseball with 144 home runs.
- New York is 18th in MLB with a slugging percentage of .404 this season.
- The Yankees rank 29th in MLB with a team batting average of just .230.
- New York ranks 21st in the majors with 454 total runs scored this season.
- The Yankees have an on-base percentage of .302 this season, which ranks 26th in the league.
- The Yankees have shown patience at the plate this season with the seventh-best rate of strikeouts per game (8.1) among MLB offenses.
- New York averages the 13th-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.8) in the majors this season.
- New York pitchers have a combined ERA of 3.86 ERA this year, fifth-best in baseball.
- The Yankees have a combined WHIP of just 1.239 as a pitching staff, which is the fifth-best in baseball this season.
Orioles Probable Starting Pitcher
- Dean Kremer makes the start for the Orioles, his 22nd of the season. He is 10-4 with a 4.59 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 115 2/3 innings pitched.
- His last time out was on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies, when the righty went seven innings, surrendering one earned run while allowing three hits.
- Kremer is trying to record his 11th quality start of the year.
- Kremer will look to secure his 18th matchup of five or more innings pitched this season. He averages 5.5 innings per appearance.
- In two of his appearances this season he did not allow an earned run.
Yankees Probable Starting Pitcher
- Luis Severino (2-4) will take the mound for the Yankees, his 12th start of the season.
- The right-hander last pitched on Sunday, July 23, when he gave up three earned runs and allowed eight hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
- In 11 starts this season, he's earned three quality starts.
- Severino has pitched five or more innings in two straight games and will look to extend that streak.
- He has finished one appearance without allowing an earned run in 11 chances this season.
Orioles Schedule
Yankees Schedule
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kswo.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-vs-yankees-mlb-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:19 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-vs-yankees-mlb-live-stream-tv/ |
Two people killed after shots fired blocks from University of Florida campus
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Police say two people were killed after shots rang out in a crowd in the home city of Florida’s flagship university. The Gainesville Police Department said police officers had been conducting crowd control in downtown Gainesville, several blocks from the University of Florida campus, when they heard gunshots early Sunday. The department didn’t say how many people were shot but reported two of the shooting victims later died from their injuries. The police department is seeking the public’s help for any information on the shootings. | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shots-fired-blocks-from-university-of-florida-campus/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:26 | 0 | https://kion546.com/news/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shots-fired-blocks-from-university-of-florida-campus/ |
Q. Years ago, my now-fiancé and I took a chance and moved away to start a life together. I was pregnant, moving for a job, and I wanted the father of my child to be with me and family. Five years after the move, I was pregnant again. (This was a happy surprise. For a few medical reasons, the chances of this happening again were low.)
But then I had a miscarriage that required a D&C. My fiancé didn’t support me much, and when I wanted to talk about it, he would ask why and tell me to move on. I kept going over things in my head, what happened with the miscarriage, and would get sad.
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Just before the year anniversary of the miscarriage, my fiancé and I began arguing. He said he was the one who made the decisions in our house. My son wouldn’t listen to me for some time; his dad had made it clear he was “top dog” — the only voice that mattered. I felt like our life wasn’t what I wanted us to be.
Eventually, my fiancé started to do nice things again, but ... I find myself unable to want to love him again. I feel like he left me in the dark and didn’t want to talk about the loss. I’m still struggling with what happened.
The only time I feel slightly better is when I’m away from him. I don’t want to end our relationship, but I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I find myself imagining a new relationship, one I’m not hurt in. The hard part is that I’m trying to stay strong for my son, but he can tell I’m upset. He gives me hugs and says he loves me out of nowhere. I feel horrible for not being more attentive to his needs as a child, and like I’m not a good enough mom. I’m so lost and just want to feel better.
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It seems like the only way to do this is leave, but I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do. Will my fiancé let me have a year to think things over? Is that fair of me, because he still has to work and pay bills for the house? Am I being totally unfair?
UNFAIR?
A. I’m so sorry. This has been a difficult time, and it sounds like you haven’t had much support.
That’s why it would be wonderful to find some mental health services. This miscarriage was devastating, and there are experts who can help you deal with the grief. Ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist, someone who can see you soon. Consider support groups. Be clear about the urgency. You’ve been trying to compartmentalize your feelings for a long time now.
Tell your fiancé you’re seeking help, and ask if he’s interested in joining you at any point. It doesn’t have to be couples therapy. Once you’re settled in with a professional, there might be appropriate moments to bring someone along for discussion.
I don’t know about the “one year” idea, mainly because it seems arbitrary. It puts you both in an uncomfortable position with a countdown clock. If anything, you could move out, set up a schedule for parenting, and see how things go. No timeline, just cooperation.
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To start, a week away — maybe with family or an excellent friend — might be a nice way to refuel as you set up appointments.
If you have any concerns about how your fiancé will respond to your needs, talk to your doctor about that too. This isn’t about someone “letting” you go; it’s about figuring out what’s best for you and your child.
It’s about being healthy — so you can have a good life.
MEREDITH
READERS RESPOND:
Your partner sounds disconnected from you emotionally. It’s a little complicated since you have a child together but you don’t have to stay with him just because of that. Your son already senses your sadness. He’s more emotionally clued in than your own partner. You want to make sure you’re modeling healthy relationships for him — so remember that this isn’t just about you and what you can tolerate.
BKLYNMOM
If you need a year to decide if you want to do something, you don’t really want to do it.
ZEPTEMBER-
I’m with Meredith. Get yourself some therapy, so you can tease all these issues apart and make the best decision for both you and your child.
WIZEN
Send your own relationship and dating questions to loveletters@globe.com or fill out this form. Catch new episodes of Meredith Goldstein’s “Love Letters” podcast at loveletters.show or wherever you listen to podcasts. Column and comments are edited and reprinted from boston.com/loveletters.
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Orioles vs. Yankees Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread - July 30
Sunday's contest between the Baltimore Orioles (63-41) and New York Yankees (55-49) squaring off at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has a projected final score of 5-4 (based on our computer prediction) in favor of the Orioles, so it should be a tight matchup. The game will start at 7:10 PM ET on July 30.
The Orioles will give the nod to Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59 ERA), who is eyeing win No. 11 on the season, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46 ERA).
Orioles vs. Yankees Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland
- How to Watch on TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
Bet on this matchup with BetMGM Sportsbook and use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Orioles vs. Yankees Score Prediction
Our pick for this game is Orioles 5, Yankees 4.
Total Prediction for Orioles vs. Yankees
- Total Prediction: Over 8.5 runs
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Discover More About This Game
Orioles Performance Insights
- The Orioles have been the favorite once in the past 10 games and lost that contest.
- In its last 10 games with a total, Baltimore and its opponents have combined to hit the over four times.
- Oddsmakers have not set a spread for any of the Orioles' last 10 games.
- This season, the Orioles have won 33 out of the 47 games, or 70.2%, in which they've been favored.
- Baltimore has a record of 24-9, a 72.7% win rate, when favored by -135 or more by bookmakers this season.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Orioles have a 57.4% chance to win.
- Baltimore ranks 11th in the majors with 502 total runs scored this season.
- The Orioles have a 4.19 team ERA that ranks 15th among all league pitching staffs.
Yankees Performance Insights
- The Yankees have played as the underdog in three of their past 10 games and have gone 1-2 in those contests.
- When it comes to the total, New York and its foes are 5-5-0 in its previous 10 contests.
- The Yankees' previous 10 games have not had a spread set by bookmakers.
- The Yankees have come away with 13 wins in the 31 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
- New York has a win-loss record of 8-8 when favored by +115 or worse by bookmakers this year.
- The Yankees have an implied victory probability of 46.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
- New York scores the 21st-most runs in baseball (454 total, 4.4 per game).
- The Yankees have pitched to a 3.86 ERA this season, which ranks fifth in baseball.
Put your picks to the test and bet on with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Orioles Schedule
Yankees Schedule
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First on CNN: Biden administration launches new income-driven student debt repayment plan
By Arlette Saenz, CNN
(CNN) — The Biden administration is launching a beta website for its new income-driven student loan repayment plan today, officials told CNN, allowing borrowers to begin submitting applications for the program as federal student loan payments are set to resume in October.
The SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan was finalized after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness initiative in June. It marks a significant change to the federal student loan system that could lower monthly loan payments for some borrowers and reduce the amount they pay back over the lifetime of their loans.
“Part of the president’s overall commitment is to improve the student loan system and reduce the burden of student loan debt on American families,” a senior administration official said, previewing the beta website first to CNN. “The SAVE plan is a big part of that. It is important in this moment as borrowers are getting ready to return to repayment.”
Federal student loan borrowers can access the beta website at https://studentaid.gov/idr/. The enrollment process is estimated to take 10 minutes, and many sections can be automatically populated with information the government has on hand, including tax returns from the IRS, administration officials said.
“We will be able to show borrowers their exact monthly payment amount and give them the ability to choose the most affordable repayment plan for them,” one official said.
Borrowers will only need to apply one time, not yearly as past systems require, which officials said would make this plan “much easier to use.” Users will receive a confirmation email once the application is submitted, and the approval process, which can be tracked online, is expected to take a few weeks.
Those already enrolled in the federal government’s REPAYE, or Revised Pay As You Earn, income-driven repayment plan will be automatically switched to the new plan.
The full website launch will occur in August, and applications submitted during the beta period will not need to be resubmitted. The beta period will allow the Department of Education to monitor site performance in real time to identify any issues, and the site may be paused to make any necessary updates, officials said.
The SAVE plan, which applies to current and future federal student loan borrowers, will determine payments based on income and family size, and some monthly payments will be as small as $0. The income threshold to qualify for $0 payments has been increased from 150% to 225% of federal poverty guidelines, which translates to an annual income of $32,805 for a single borrower or $67,500 for a family of four. The Education Department estimates this means more than 1 million additional borrowers will qualify for $0 payments under the plan.
Some borrowers could have their payments cut in half when the program is in full effect next year and see their remaining debt canceled after making at least 10 years of payments, a significant change from previous plans.
With the new plan, unpaid interest will not accrue if a borrower makes their full monthly payments.
But the new plan does come at a cost to the federal government. Estimates of the program’s expense have varied depending on how many borrowers sign up for the new plan, but they range from $138 billion to $361 billion over 10 years. By comparison, Biden’s student loan forgiveness program was expected to cost about $400 billion.
The Education Department has created similar income-driven repayment plans in the past and has not faced a successful legal challenge, officials noted.
The beta site launch comes as borrowers will need to begin making federal student loan payments again in October after a pause of more than three years because of the pandemic.
Since the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s effort to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt for millions of borrowers, the administration has taken a number of steps aimed at helping federal student loan borrowers in other ways.
Earlier this month, the Education Department announced that 804,000 borrowers will have their student debt wiped away – about $39 billion worth of debt – after fixes that more accurately count qualified monthly payments under existing income-driven repayment plans.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2023/07/30/first-on-cnn-biden-administration-launches-new-income-driven-student-debt-repayment-plan/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:32 | 0 | https://kion546.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2023/07/30/first-on-cnn-biden-administration-launches-new-income-driven-student-debt-repayment-plan/ |
ERIE, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Republicans in Congress while campaigning in Pennsylvania on Saturday, threatening members of his party who do not share his appetite for pursuing corruption investigations against President Joe Biden and his family — and for retribution.
In a litany of grievances about his deepening legal woes and the direction of the country, the twice-indicted former president cast GOP holdouts as meek during a rally in Erie, criticizing their response to what he described as politically motivated prosecutions against him.
“The Republicans are very high class,” he said. “You’ve got to get a little bit lower class.”
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And then Trump, the overwhelming front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, put party members on notice.
“Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democratic fraud should be immediately primaried,” said Trump, to the roaring approval of several thousand supporters at the Erie Insurance Arena. Throughout the night he referenced the case against Hunter Biden and accused the president of complicity in his son’s troubles.
It was the first solo campaign event and the second public appearance for Trump since the Justice Department added charges against him in connection with his mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.
In a superseding indictment filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Florida, federal prosecutors presented evidence that Trump told the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, that he wanted security camera footage there to be deleted.
Prosecutors also charged him, along with one of his personal aides, with conspiring to obstruct the government’s repeated attempts to reclaim the classified material.
On the same day that the additional charges were announced, Trump’s lawyers met with federal prosecutors to discuss another expected indictment, one centering on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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To Trump’s unflinching supporters gathered inside the arena, the cascade of indictments was a punchline — if not a badge of honor.
Edward X. Young, 63, a debt consolidation company consultant and part-time actor who was dressed like Elvis Presley, wore a T-shirt with a mock-up mug shot of Trump. He said he had driven 10 hours from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to attend Trump’s rally, his 59th.
“I think he’s being persecuted,” he said of the former president.
Ruth Jenkins, 61, a Republican from Rochester, New York, who works for a Wegmans grocery store, said that she did not believe that Trump had been motivated to run for president to avoid criminal liability.
“Well, who wouldn’t want to be kept out of prison?” she said, claiming that the latest charges against Trump were the latest attempt to shift attention away from the case against the president’s son.
As Trump prepared to take the stage, campaign workers helped fill in an empty section near the back of the arena, which had been configured to seat 8,000.
The playlist for the rally featured “Try That in a Small Town,” the Jason Aldean hit that was filmed at the site of a lynching and pulled from Country Music Television amid criticism.
With Trump as its standard-bearer, the Republican Party has watched Democrats in Pennsylvania secure high-profile victories in the last year, including flipping a U.S. Senate seat, holding on to the governor’s office and gaining control of the statehouse.
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In 2020, Trump lost the battleground state by nearly 82,000 votes to Biden, who was born there.
Despite several courts rejecting his election lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Trump has continued to cling to falsehoods about results, including Saturday.
“We got screwed,” he said, baselessly claiming that news outlets had delayed their race calls because he had been ahead. “I said, ‘Why aren’t they calling Pennsylvania?’”
Trump, who spoke for more than 100 minutes, said that he still had not decided whether he would take part in the first Republican presidential debate, which will take place Aug. 23 and be televised by Fox News.
Trump said that there appeared to be little upside to debating on a “hostile” network — Fox News began to fall out of favor with the former president after it became the first major outlet to call Arizona for Biden in 2020 — and noted his commanding polling lead over his GOP opponents. His nearest competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, trailed him by about 30 percentage points in national polls.
“If I don’t go to the debate, they say — I’m not saying this — they say the ratings are going to be very bad,” he said. “Should I do it or not?”
The crowd’s answer was resounding: “No.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times. | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/nation/trump-threatens-republicans-who-dont-help-him-exact-vengeance/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:32 | 1 | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/30/nation/trump-threatens-republicans-who-dont-help-him-exact-vengeance/ |
Demi Vollering seals Tour de France Femmes title as her team dominates race
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — The Netherlands’ Demi Vollering sealed her first ever Tour de France Femmes title on Sunday shaking her head in disbelief as she crossed the finish line.
She took overall victory by three minutes and three seconds ahead of her SD Worx teammate Lotte Kopecky,
“I still can’t believe it. Hard work, but it’s not just working hard, it’s believing in it. It’s so much,” Vollering said afterward, according to CyclingNews.
“In the end, you have a dream and you work really hard for it, but you keep yourself a bit calm. You need to find a good balance in your life, and how you can do it, find a relaxed way to do all this. I think this year I feel really stable, good in what I’m doing. I feel like everything comes together, it’s just an amazing season for me.”
Another teammate, Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser, won the final day’s time trial stage while Vollering finished second, completing a dazzling race for SD Worx who won the yellow jersey, green jersey, team classification and four of the race’s eight stages.
However, it was not an entirely straightforward race for women’s cycling most dominant team.
Much was made of a 20-second penalty that Vollering received on Stage 4 for drafting behind her team car while returning to the peloton after a puncture.
But in the end, none of that mattered. Vollering simply rode away from her competitors and effectively secured the yellow jersey on Stage 7, climbing up the fearsome Col du Tourmalet with only the camera and police motorbikes for company, their headlights blazing through the fog.
She won that stage, the most difficult and mountainous in the race, by almost two minutes, consigning her compatriot, longtime rival and last year’s champion Annemiek van Vleuten to defeat.
Van Vleuten, who has already announced that she will retire at the end of the year, finished in fourth in the general classification while Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma rounded out the overall podium in third.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/demi-vollering-seals-tour-de-france-femmes-title-as-her-team-dominates-race/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:38 | 1 | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/demi-vollering-seals-tour-de-france-femmes-title-as-her-team-dominates-race/ |
How to watch Australia, Canada and Nigeria battle for Women’s World Cup knockout phase spot
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Crunch time at the 2023 Women’s World Cup is well and truly upon us.
The outcome of Group B and C will be decided on Monday. Two of the tournament’s most impressive sides – Japan and Spain – will vie against each other for top spot knowing they are both into the next round. In Group C’s other game, Costa Rica and Zambia play looking for their first points and goals.
And then later in the day, Group B’s qualification comes down to the wire, with Australia needing to beat Canada to progress and Nigeria needing at least a draw to reach the last 16.
How to watch
In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo will provide Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
Costa Rica vs. Zambia and Japan vs. Spain start at 3 a.m. ET (8 a.m. BST), while Canada vs. Australia and the Republic of Ireland vs. Nigeria both kick off at 6 a.m. ET (11 a.m. BST).
Group B
Monday’s standout game comes from Melbourne as Australia play Olympic champion Canada.
Canada, after a win and a draw in its opening two games, sits level atop Group B with Nigeria, while Australia lies just a point behind after a disappointing loss in its last game against the Super Falcons.
Canada knows that a draw or victory will see it progress to the round of 16, while if Australia win, it will qualify for the next stage, regardless of the result in the other group game between the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria.
Australia could be bolstered by the return of captain and star player Sam Kerr who missed the Matildas’ opening two games of the tournament because of injury.
Kerr declared herself fit for Monday’s crunch tie but remained coy over how head coach Tony Gustavsson might choose to use her, off the bench or from the start.
For Canada, avoiding defeat will be the aim of the game. Canada’s own star striker, Christine Sinclair, is still attempting to etch her name into the history books.
A goal for the 40-year-old at this year’s tournament would see her become the first player, either male or female, to score at six World Cups.
In Brisbane, Group B leader Nigeria will be playing the Republic of Ireland.
Nigeria knows a draw will see it through to the knockout stage. Debutant Ireland has already been eliminated.
Group C
There are far fewer permutations heading into the final round of fixtures in Group C.
In Wellington, Spain and Japan will face off having both won its two group games so far, impressing many with their performances.
Spain – having already achieved its best tally in the group stage of a World Cup – knows a draw or win will see it top the group for the first time in its history.
Japan, on the other hand, is behind the Spanish on goal difference, so if it wants to face the runner-up in Group A rather than the first-placed team, it has to beat Spain.
That won’t be an easy task, with Spain the top scorers at the competition so far.
Group C’s other game will see two winless teams, Costa Rica and Zambia, go head-to-head in what will be a first senior competitive meeting between the two nations.
Although a dead rubber in terms of qualification, they have plenty of pride to play for with a first-ever World Cup win a possibility for both.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/how-to-watch-australia-canada-and-nigeria-battle-for-womens-world-cup-knockout-phase-spot/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:45 | 1 | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/how-to-watch-australia-canada-and-nigeria-battle-for-womens-world-cup-knockout-phase-spot/ |
Sarah Sjöström surpasses a Michael Phelps record at the World Championships
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström surpassed another of Michael Phelps’ records at the World Aquatic Championships, setting a new record for the most individual swimming world podium finishes.
The 29-year-old cruised to victory in the 50-meter freestyle to win her 21st individual medal at the world championships, setting a blistering time of 23.62, just 0.01 seconds slower than the world record she set in the semifinals.
On Saturday, the same day as setting the world record in the 50-meter freestyle, Sjöström had also won her fifth consecutive world title in the 50-meter butterfly, becoming the fourth ever swimmer to win a world title in the same event five times.
“I’m super happy with that. It was very busy yesterday, with the world record and the gold medal,” she said, according to Reuters.
Sjöström has won a medal at every world championships, except one, since her debut at the event in 2009 as a 15-year-old, according to the Olympics’ official website.
Several of Phelps’ records have fallen at these world championships in Fukoka, Japan.
On Saturday, American swimmer Katie Ledecky surpassed Phelps for the most career individual world swimming titles after winning her 16th gold, while last week France’s Leon Marchand obliterated Phelps’ last remaining world record time.
Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte set her second world record in two days in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke, taking the gold medal with a time of 29.16 seconds.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/sarah-sjo%CC%88stro%CC%88m-surpasses-a-michael-phelps-record-at-the-world-championships/ | 2023-07-30T19:04:51 | 1 | https://kion546.com/sports/cnn-sports/2023/07/30/sarah-sjo%CC%88stro%CC%88m-surpasses-a-michael-phelps-record-at-the-world-championships/ |
Trading ace Max Scherzer doesn’t mean the Mets are preparing to undergo a full-blown rebuild, general manager Billy Eppler insisted Sunday.
Eppler said the front office isn’t punting on the 2024 season and expects to field a competitive roster, despite sending Scherzer to the Texas Rangers with another year left on his contract.
“We took this opportunity to serve another goal of the organization, which is to enhance the farm system,” Eppler said Sunday after the trade became official. “But I do want to be clear: It’s not a rebuild. It’s not a fire sale. It’s not a liquidation. This is just a repurposing of [owner Steve Cohen’s] investment in the club, and kind of shifting that investment from the team into the organization.”
In trading Scherzer, the Mets received minor-league infielder Luisangel Acuna, the 21-year-old brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. and one of the Rangers’ top prospects. The Mets also traded closer David Robertson to the Marlins last week for a pair of teenage prospects.
The Mets will continue to listen to offers for players on their roster, according to Eppler, who said his prices are high. He considers trading Schezer, 39, a “strategic decision” based on the team’s low odds of making the playoffs.
“We used this opportunity to bring a player into the organization that we’re extremely excited about, that’s close to the big leagues, talent that you can’t access,” Eppler said of Acuna, who has advanced to Double-A. “Generally with clubs that are going to go through a rebuild, you have to endure five, six, seven years of losing, and we don’t have the appetite for that. We’re not gonna do that. What we want to do is use Steve’s investment and enhance this farm system and get us to our larger goal.”
Coming off a 101-win season, the Mets entered the 2023 campaign with the biggest payroll in MLB history. The team failed to live up to its sky-high expectations, entering Sunday with a 49-55 record and seven games out of the third-and-final National League Wild Card spot.
Scherzer is in the second season of a three-year, $130 million contract. He waived his no-trade clause and picked up next year’s $43.3 million player option as part of the trade to the AL West-leading Rangers, who hope the three-time Cy Young Award winner can bolster a rotation that lost ace Jacob deGrom to elbow surgery.
The move came a day after Scherzer said he wanted to speak with the Mets’ front office about its intentions ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. Eppler said he was already talking to other teams about the right-hander at that point but didn’t get into specifics with Scherzer until Saturday afternoon.
The trade stunned members of the Mets clubhouse, including Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.
“Honestly, shocked,” Alonso said after Saturday’s game. “Max wasn’t around the clubhouse and I didn’t really see him around today, so that’s when I knew it was like, ‘Oh man, this is legit. This isn’t just, like, clickbait.’ … It’s a loss for us for sure.”
Eppler believes Las Vegas’ preseason odds for the Mets in 2024 will be lower than the past two seasons. His goal is to build a top-flight farm system, he said, but acknowledged the team will need to remain active in free agency.
“Free agency is not the market that we want to rely on to build a championship team,” Eppler said. “It’s a market that we want to use to enhance the team that we have, but we would rather go to that market for opportunities than necessity. We’re not there yet.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/30/max-scherzer-trade-doesnt-mean-mets-are-rebuilding-gm-billy-eppler-says/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:19 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2023/07/30/max-scherzer-trade-doesnt-mean-mets-are-rebuilding-gm-billy-eppler-says/ |
Honduran child travels alone to U.S. to reunite with mother, unaware of her passing
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 11:22 AM MST|Updated: 44 minutes ago
EAGLE PASS, Texas (Gray News) – A child from Honduras made the dangerous trek to the United States up through Mexico on her own, according to authorities.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Facebook that their brush team encountered the Honduran child Thursday.
The department said the girl was found in Mexico by three undocumented women who crossed her illegally through the river.
Officials said the girl was traveling to the U.S. to find her mother. After an investigation, however, authorities determined the girl’s mother had sadly died three days before.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:24 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ |
Roofing companies get to work after storm damage
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Monsoon is in full effect and homeowners are feeling the impact, especially those dealing with damage.
“We’ve been nonstop since (last) Sunday’s storm,” Arizona Pristine Roofing owner Jazlyn Muzio said. “We’re out here helping homeowners get their roofs covered.”
The severe storms this season have put Muzio and her team to work.
Gusty winds and heavy rain have put a real dent into many people’s roofs, some even ripped off Friday night during the storm.
“Our phones have been blowing up all day,” Muzio said. “We’ve had all our field inspectors out on the field today just helping out all the homeowners in the area all across town. It’s basically spread out now.”
Monsoon is far from over and the damage could get even worse, especially those with holes in their roof.
Companies are giving out temporary tarps until permanent repairs can be done. The problem is - that typically takes weeks.
“So that when the gusts blow up again tomorrow or the day after, that their homes are protected,” Muzio said.
Although damage is uncontrollable, Muzio says the strategy is simple - be prepared and you’ll protect your wallet.
“Always maintain your roof,” Muzio said. “Get your annual, biannual inspections to properly maintain it so that when occurrences like this happen that are out of your control, at least when insurances come out they see that you are properly maintaining your home and they don’t have any reason to deny your claim when it’s storm-related or “Acts of God” as they call it.”
They also say it’s important to get help from a licensed professional in order to ensure that you are receiving the service that you paid for with high-quality materials that will better withstand these storms.
Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold
Copyright 2023 13 News. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/roofing-companies-get-work-after-storm-damage/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:31 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/roofing-companies-get-work-after-storm-damage/ |
(NEXSTAR) — For five days this year, all national parks will be offering free admission to all visitors. One of those special days is nearly upon us.
The National Park Service announced the 2023 free days late last year. There are more than 400 parks, monuments, seashores and other NPS lands, the majority of which do not require an entrance fee. For the roughly 100 that do, these free admission days open the gates to everyone.
We’ve already had two free days this year: Jan. 16, which is Martin Luther King Day, and April 22, which was the first day of National Park Week.
Now, on Friday, Aug. 4, we’ll have another, which marks the anniversary of the Great Americans Outdoors Act.
The act, GAOA, was signed in 2020 and brought bipartisan investments to “improve visitor experiences, bolster climate resilience, and invest in the economy by creating good-paying jobs” at the parks, the Department of the Interior explains.
In honor of the bill signing anniversary, you won’t need to pay entrance fees at parks that usually require them. Fees will, however, still be necessary for overnight camping, cabin rentals, transportation, group day use and use of special areas.
The next two free admission days are Sept. 23, National Public Lands Day, and Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
Last year, there were roughly 312 million recreational visits to 395 national parks that track attendance, a 15 million increase over 2021. The most visited park was Blue Ridge Parkway, which received 15.7 million visits last year, edging out the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by slightly more than 72,000 visits. | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:35 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/national/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
Storm damages power lines across Tucson
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Tens of thousands of people across Tucson were without power this weekend after a major storm Friday night.
Over 56,000 TEP customers lost power, but TEP crews had restored power to more than 55,000 people by Sunday morning.
The remaining 1,000 customers may not be able to turn the lights on until the end of the weekend.
Residents say this has been one of the most damaging storms in years.
“Unbelievable,” said Carol Davis, a Tucson resident. “We never had anything like that happen in our neighborhood before.”
To restore power, many customers were transferred out of their damaged circuits and into functioning circuits. Initially, TEP asked customers to conserve as much energy as possible. By Sunday morning, TEP lifted that request.
TEP opened two ice distribution centers to help customers without power. Those locations are:
- Albertson’s, 1350 N. Silverbell Rd., north of Speedway
- 5550 E Grant Road, east of Craycroft Road, in the Chuze Fitness parking lot.
TEP said it will post repair updates at https://www.tep.com/major-storm-update/
Tucson’s east side was hit hard, especially on Golf Links Road, where at least three polls are down. With power lines dangling, almost touching the ground, safety was a major concern.
Traffic was redirected with the assistance of TPD, and no pedestrians were allowed on the sidewalk to prevent any injuries. Another safety concern is for the TEP workers, as they are out in the field during the hottest hours of the day.
“We don’t want them to be overworked, we don’t want to keep them in working conditions that are unsafe,” said Barrios.
“So as they reached their time limits, they get to go home and take a rest, and that’s when we get fresh employees that have been waiting in the wings so to speak, so that they can continue those repairs.”
If you happen to come across a downed power line, do not touch it, leave it alone, and make sure to report it to TEP or call 911.
Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold
Copyright 2023 13 News. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/storm-damages-power-lines-across-tucson/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:37 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/storm-damages-power-lines-across-tucson/ |
Authorities: Three shot during street race in Pima County
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 10:58 AM MST|Updated: 1 hour ago
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Three people were found shot near Nogales Highway and Aerospace Parkway in Pima County early Sunday, July 30.
One of the victims died and the other two were transported to the hospital. One of those other victims had life-threatening injuries, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The PCSD said deputies were called to the intersection for a report of street racing. While on their way to the scene, deputies received reports of a shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME.
Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold
Copyright 2023 13 News. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/three-shot-during-street-race-nogales-highway-aerospace-parkway/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:43 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/three-shot-during-street-race-nogales-highway-aerospace-parkway/ |
Two people killed in shooting near University of Florida campus
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 11:13 AM MST|Updated: 53 minutes ago
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray News) - Two people were killed after gunshots rang out in a crowd early Sunday near the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, WCJB reports.
Gainesville Police were near the Checkers and Bodytech on West University Avenue around 2:40 a.m. when they heard gunshots. There were three victims, two of which died from their injuries.
Police were seeking the public’s help for any information on the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WCJB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:49 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ |
Honduran child travels alone to U.S. to reunite with mother, unaware of her passing
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 1:22 PM CDT|Updated: 42 minutes ago
EAGLE PASS, Texas (Gray News) – A child from Honduras made the dangerous trek to the United States up through Mexico on her own, according to authorities.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Facebook that their brush team encountered the Honduran child Thursday.
The department said the girl was found in Mexico by three undocumented women who crossed her illegally through the river.
Officials said the girl was traveling to the U.S. to find her mother. After an investigation, however, authorities determined the girl’s mother had sadly died three days before.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:56 | 0 | https://www.weau.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ |
Jose Herrera Player Prop Bets: Diamondbacks vs. Mariners - July 30
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 11:24 AM MST|Updated: 42 minutes ago
After going 1-for-4 in his last game, Jose Herrera and the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Seattle Mariners (who will hand the ball to Luis Castillo) at 4:10 PM ET on Sunday.
In his previous game he had a one-hit showing (1-for-4) against the Mariners.
Jose Herrera Game Info & Props vs. the Mariners
- Game Day: Sunday, July 30, 2023
- Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
- Stadium: Chase Field
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Mariners Starter: Luis Castillo
- TV Channel: ARID
- Hits Prop: Over/under 0.5 hits (Over odds: -105)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +1100)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +340)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: +275)
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Read More About This Game
Jose Herrera At The Plate
- Herrera has four doubles and eight walks while batting .234.
- Herrera has gotten at least one hit in 40.0% of his games this season (10 of 25), with at least two hits five times (20.0%).
- In 25 games played this season, he has not hit a home run.
- Herrera has driven in a run in five games this year (20.0%), including one multiple-RBI game.
- In 10 games this season (40.0%), he has scored, including multiple runs twice.
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Jose Herrera Home/Away Batting Splits
Mariners Pitching Rankings
- The 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings compiled by the Mariners pitching staff ranks eighth in the league.
- The Mariners have a 3.88 team ERA that ranks seventh among all league pitching staffs.
- Mariners pitchers combine to surrender the ninth-fewest home runs in baseball (115 total, 1.1 per game).
- The Mariners are sending Castillo (6-7) out for his 22nd start of the season. He is 6-7 with a 3.09 ERA and 142 strikeouts through 125 1/3 innings pitched.
- In his last outing on Monday against the Minnesota Twins, the right-hander threw seven innings, giving up two earned runs while surrendering four hits.
- This season, the 30-year-old ranks seventh in ERA (3.09), fifth in WHIP (1.045), and 13th in K/9 (10.2) among pitchers who qualify.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/jose-herrera-mlb-player-prop-bets/ | 2023-07-30T19:06:55 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/jose-herrera-mlb-player-prop-bets/ |
Orioles vs. Yankees Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread - July 30
Sunday's contest between the Baltimore Orioles (63-41) and New York Yankees (55-49) squaring off at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has a projected final score of 5-4 (based on our computer prediction) in favor of the Orioles, so it should be a tight matchup. The game will start at 7:10 PM ET on July 30.
The Orioles will give the nod to Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59 ERA), who is eyeing win No. 11 on the season, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46 ERA).
Orioles vs. Yankees Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland
- How to Watch on TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
Bet on this matchup with BetMGM Sportsbook and use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Orioles vs. Yankees Score Prediction
Our pick for this game is Orioles 5, Yankees 4.
Total Prediction for Orioles vs. Yankees
- Total Prediction: Over 8.5 runs
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Discover More About This Game
Orioles Performance Insights
- The Orioles have been the favorite once in the past 10 games and lost that contest.
- In its last 10 games with a total, Baltimore and its opponents have combined to hit the over four times.
- Oddsmakers have not set a spread for any of the Orioles' last 10 games.
- This season, the Orioles have won 33 out of the 47 games, or 70.2%, in which they've been favored.
- Baltimore has a record of 24-9, a 72.7% win rate, when favored by -135 or more by bookmakers this season.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Orioles have a 57.4% chance to win.
- Baltimore ranks 11th in the majors with 502 total runs scored this season.
- The Orioles have a 4.19 team ERA that ranks 15th among all league pitching staffs.
Yankees Performance Insights
- The Yankees have played as the underdog in three of their past 10 games and have gone 1-2 in those contests.
- When it comes to the total, New York and its foes are 5-5-0 in its previous 10 contests.
- The Yankees' previous 10 games have not had a spread set by bookmakers.
- The Yankees have come away with 13 wins in the 31 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
- New York has a win-loss record of 8-8 when favored by +115 or worse by bookmakers this year.
- The Yankees have an implied victory probability of 46.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
- New York scores the 21st-most runs in baseball (454 total, 4.4 per game).
- The Yankees have pitched to a 3.86 ERA this season, which ranks fifth in baseball.
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Orioles Schedule
Yankees Schedule
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ | 2023-07-30T19:07:02 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ |
Looking for a good book for your book club to read next? Pima County Public Library is sharing Bookclubs.com’s most anticipated book club picks of 2023:
WE RECOMMEND
Looking for a good book for your book club to read next? Pima County Public Library is sharing Bookclubs.com’s most anticipated book club picks of 2023:
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. | https://tucson.com/life-entertainment/local/most-anticipated-book-club-picks-for-2023/article_a67cdd8c-2a44-11ee-b6be-5b5a6c9a47b8.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:10 | 1 | https://tucson.com/life-entertainment/local/most-anticipated-book-club-picks-for-2023/article_a67cdd8c-2a44-11ee-b6be-5b5a6c9a47b8.html |
PHOENIX — Republican leaders of the Arizona House and Senate have reached a deal with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to bring a proposal extending a half-cent Maricopa County transportation tax up for a vote when the Legislature returns on Monday.
But a large faction of GOP lawmakers known as the Arizona Freedom Caucus remain staunchly opposed to the plan to ask voters to extend the tax that has been in place for nearly 40 years. It has paid for a massive expansion of the metro region's freeway and roads system and helps fund public transit services, including the light rail.
And even if the deal confirmed by Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma to Capitol Media Services passes the Legislature and is signed by Hobbs, voters would still be able to reject the tax when it goes to the ballot next year.
If the so-called Proposition 400 extension fails on any of those steps, residents of Arizona's other 14 counties would pay the price. That’s because without the approximately $20 billion the tax is expected to raise between 2025 and 2045, their cities and counties have to compete with Maricopa County for limited state transportation funding.
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Democrats are expected to rally behind the deal, even though House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras, D-Avondale, said they have still not seen the details.
They've been solidly aligned with the leaders of the region’s 27 cities, three tribes, Maricopa and parts of Pinal County that belong to the regional planning group called the Maricopa Association of Governments that is pushing the tax extension. MAG doles out the tax money for various transportation projects and crafted the initial plan that GOP lawmakers rejected.
"The one thing that we do know is that the cities, all the people that have been working on it, have blessed it," Contreras said. "The individuals that we have been fighting for say they are good with it."
Toma said Saturday that final details were still being worked out, and he was reticent to discuss it at length for fear of endangering a deal that already appeared shaky.
Petersen provided a two-page outline of the agreement that showed it cuts MAG's planned allocation for transit from a range of 40-45% over the life of the plan to 37%. Freeways and major roadways get 63% of the total, an increase that could reach $2 billion over the 20 years the new tax will be in effect if approved by voters.
The deal bars any of the sales tax money from being spent to extend the region's light rail system, cutting the total allocated to rail from 14% to just 3.5%, which can be used for major maintenance. It also bars the approved route for a 1.4-mile extension to the Capitol and cuts five years off the 25-year life of the tax as proposed by MAG.
The Arizona Freedom Caucus remains unsatisfied, tweeting that the plan is still being sold as improving roads while nearly 40% goes to transit that only a fraction of people use.
"A clear NO vote," the post said.
A MAG spokeswoman said the group supports the basic deal outlines but declined to comment further because discussions on final bill language were ongoing. And gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater said he would not discuss details.
The Legislature is expected to adjourn for the year after Monday's session.
The fight over the tax extension is now in its second year.
Lawmakers approved MAG's plan on how to split the tax revenue between freeways, major roadways, transit and programs like air quality last year, but then-Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed it. That move surprised its backers and came after a low-tax group called the Arizona Free Enterprise Club urged the Republican governor to reject MAG's plan.
This year, Toma, Petersen and Freedom Caucus members demanded major changes to the plan MAG had worked out with its members. Despite a host of tweaks agreed to by the regional planning group and Hobbs coming in at the last minute to negotiate on MAG's behalf, Republican lawmakers ended up passing their own plan without Democratic backing.
It shifted more of the money to freeways and highways, cut transit spending to just 28% of the future tax revenues, and barred any sales tax cash from being used to expand the region's light rail system, which the new plan also does.
Hobbs promptly vetoed it last month, leaving the fate of the tax extension plan in limbo as the GOP-led House and Senate took an unprecedented seven-week break. Some of the region’s leaders began talking about a voter initiative to repeal a law that requires only Maricopa County to get the Legislature’s approval to put a transportation tax on the ballot.
Toma, Petersen and others believe the light rail is a hugely expensive boondoggle and that taxpayers across the county should not have to pay for extensions that will not benefit them. The plan to extend the rail lines from downtown Phoenix to the state Capitol drew particular derision, and they vowed to kill that.
The major difference in the new deal is that it no longer splits the ballot question into two parts, a non-starter for Hobbs and MAG that they said endangered the whole plan. Other items were tweaked, and there is a tiny decrease in the overall tax rate needed to get support from some Republican lawmakers.
Like the vetoed plan, the agreement will force MAG to move the Capitol extension at least a short distance away from the host of state office buildings teeming with Arizona employees, cutting its utility for commuters if the extension is built. That proposed line has already been paid for by the current tax, federal funding and cash from the city of Phoenix.
A later extension is planned to run west from the Capitol and then along the Interstate 10 median to 79th Avenue, ending at the Desert Sky Mall and the Ak-Chin Pavilion.
The new deal also limits air quality programs Petersen worried could be used to curb private vehicle use, allowing money only to be used to pave dirt roads and buy street sweepers. And like the vetoed plan, it says any projects must decrease congestion and not boost travel times.
There are also new rules requiring bus lines to bring in more money, and the Legislature will get new seats on MAG’s board.
Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, who leads her chamber's Democrats, said she'll have to wait to see bill language and then determine if MAG can still implement the transportation plan unanimously adopted by the region's cities. If they can, she said it will win Democratic support.
A wild card not addressed in the two-page summary Petersen provided is the fate of a ban on city home and apartment rental taxes that Hobbs vetoed earlier this year. A new version passed the House and Senate on June 13 but is still sitting on Petersen's desk despite court rulings that say legislation must be "promptly'' sent to the governor.
Contreras, the leader of House Democrats, said that Hobbs signing the rental tax ban "is supposedly part of an all-around package.''
Petersen did not respond when asked about that part of the deal.
On Twitter: @AzChristieNews | https://tucson.com/news/local/government-politics/republican-leaders-of-arizona-house-senate-reach-deal-with-hobbs-on-road-tax-deal/article_799d460c-2ef0-11ee-8e54-7b0edf59d73e.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:16 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/government-politics/republican-leaders-of-arizona-house-senate-reach-deal-with-hobbs-on-road-tax-deal/article_799d460c-2ef0-11ee-8e54-7b0edf59d73e.html |
If you haven’t returned your ballot for Tucson’s Aug. 1 primary election, there’s still time to make sure your vote counts.
The last day to mail in your ballot was July 25, but drop-off ballot boxes will be available until 7 p.m. Tuesday on Election Day.
You can drop off your filled-out and sealed ballot at 10 different locations throughout the city. Seven of those locations will allow voters to bring a vote-by-mail ballot and cast it in person or receive a replacement ballot after signing a statement attesting the original ballot was spoiled or not received.
Four voting locations are open Monday, July 31, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and all of them will be open on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Only the races in wards 1 and 2 are contested, with two Democrats vying for the City Council seats in each race. Ward 1 Council Member Lane Santa Cruz is running against challenger Miguel Ortega as Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham faces political newcomer Lisa Nutt.
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Open Monday, July 31, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.:
- Tucson City Clerk Elections Center: 800 E. 12th St.
- Pima County Recorder – Downtown Office: 240 N. Stone Ave. (drop-off only)
- Pima County Recorder – Elections Department: 6550 S. Country Club Road (drop-off only)
- Pima County Recorder – Eastside Office: 6920 E. Broadway (drop-off only)
Open Tuesday, Aug. 1 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.:
- Department of Housing and Community Development: 310 N. Commerce Park Loop
- Morris K. Udall Regional Center: 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road
- Donna R. Liggins Recreation Center: 2160 N. Sixth Ave.
- William Clements Recreation Center: 8155 E. Poinciana Dr.
- El Pueblo Senior Center: 101 W. Irvington Road
- Parks and Recreation Administration Randolph Park: 900 S. Randolph Way
Read the Star's latest coverage of this year's local elections, meet the candidates and read candidate responses to local issues.
Contact reporter Nicole Ludden at nludden@tucson.com | https://tucson.com/news/local/government-politics/tucson-elections-city-council-voters/article_55c29f70-2cb1-11ee-929b-1f88cd035b0a.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:22 | 0 | https://tucson.com/news/local/government-politics/tucson-elections-city-council-voters/article_55c29f70-2cb1-11ee-929b-1f88cd035b0a.html |
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Back in the innocent days of the early twenty-aughts, I would open my university English methods classes with a five-point scheme for successful teaching: Love your subject. Know your students. Stay flexible. Keep it simple. Nurture your sense of humor.
Teaching has always presented a thicket of expectations — yep, some thorny: deliver content, wrestle with standards, monitor learning, maintain order, evaluate progress, model scholarship. Simple, no; doable, yes.
But now that artificial intelligence has entered the classroom, add “prevent cheating.”
Like a young tough, AI has strolled into class, commandeered a coveted back-row seat, and glowered at you. Your students’ wannabe Mephistopheles. Their work done for free.
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You’d better match him gaze for gaze.
So, how to understand and address him?
After hearing an NPR spot recently on AI, I decided to follow the lead of New York Times reporter Sheera Frenkel. As she related it on “The Daily,” Frenkel asked an AI app to produce a paragraph in her writer’s voice. What she got creeped her out — her voice indeed, in phrases she didn’t realize she used.
I have enough words out there, I thought. Why not try out AI?
So I downloaded an app. Easy — thumbprint ID, pull up menu, select “essay,” and — voilà! “What is your question?” “A 300-word review of Barbara Kingsolver’s novel ‘Demon Copperhead,’ in the style of book reviewer Christine Wald-Hopkins,” I wrote. Voilà again! In seconds, my phone spewed out a glowing five-paragraph review of “Demon Copperhead.”
The review praised themes, characters, and plot. It addressed three elements of fiction, was logically organized, and grammatically flawless.
What it wasn’t, was accurate.
Apparently our boy AI neglected to read the book. He referred to “protagonist Sarah and her estranged father.” (The clue to “Demon Copperhead”’s protagonist, sweetheart, is the name in the title. And “estranged father”? Well, maybe … long dead, anyway.)
In the writing style of this book reviewer? Nope. I’m a restrained critic, stingy with praise. Although the words “rich, intricately crafted, beautifully portrayed, thought-provoking, skillfully intertwined, and eloquent and evocative” might have appeared separately and individually in various reviews over the years, their gag-worthy fulsomeness would never have shown up in one piece.
AI Boy, with all his internet access, also missed the history of critic Wald-Hopkins reviewing novelist Kingsolver: previous reviews were mixed; respectful, but never fully laudatory. (“Demon Copperhead,” though, I consider inspired. No reservations.)
This paper would fail sophomore English.
So what does this say, and how can it apply to teaching?
First, as convenient as a click away, AI is unreliable. Students should recognize that. Secondly, submitting an AI piece as original work is cheating. Bottom line. We’ve always fought plagiarism (oh, for the halcyon days of Turnitin, with its highlighted plagiarized passages!); this is plagiarism super-sized. Until a tool is developed to help teachers identify AI cheating (and reports have a Princeton undergrad close), they are going to have to remain alert.
Remember Piece of Teaching Advice No. 2? Know your students? Never before has the need to know students’ abilities and performance been so pressing. Any teacher who posts an essay assignment without a hands-on monitoring process is asking for an inbox full of A Insights.
I have an approach that might be useful, though: For decades now, English teachers have followed a writing instruction strategy that mirrors how professionals write. It breaks the process down into consecutive steps — discovery, pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing — and checks each step. Labor-intensive but simple, it’s proved to be both an effective instructional tool and a hedge against cheating. (“Protagonist Sarah” could be plucked out as soon as she’s slipped into a draft.) With conferences and drafts, the teacher follows students’ arguments from conception to publication, and can spot aberrations. (One teacher I know announces major assignments in class — without advance notice — and has students do preliminary “discovery” without internet access … on paper, on their own. Teacher monitored.)
It’s anything but failsafe, but it beats giving up.
Now, I’m not so naïve as to think kids wouldn’t consult with AI over the course of the process. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the possible boon to teaching AI could provide — modeling styles, patterns of exposition and organization; editing.
I’m simply not ready to let machines take over the thinking processes of students just as they are developing them.
I’m less disturbed now about Artificial Intelligence now than I was before Sarah the “Copperhead” protagonist. The bad boy in the back row may be a challenge, but he, too, is primed to be challenged.
Writer and book critic Christine Wald-Hopkins, who contributes to the Star’s Southern Arizona Authors column, taught English and teaching methods in TUSD, Pima College, and the University of Arizona for 40 years. | https://tucson.com/opinion/column/local-opinion-teaching-in-the-time-of-ai/article_92a40bc6-2a46-11ee-8230-136c0d1e50e0.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:28 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/column/local-opinion-teaching-in-the-time-of-ai/article_92a40bc6-2a46-11ee-8230-136c0d1e50e0.html |
Kudos to Michigan’s Attorney General for pursuing charges against her state’s set of 2020 Presidential fake electors. I can only hope that Kris Mayes here in AZ follows her lead. Lori Osieski and her merry band of “faithless electors” (the AZ legal term for them) purporting to be “The Sovereign Citizens of the Great State of Arizona” and the “real” Republican electors committed fraud by using the great seal of the state and sending notarized copies of (fake) elector certificates to the National Archives and Congress. I want to know who supervised this effort in Arizona. Who did they get their instructions from? Three years ago, Mark Brnovitch established an Election Integrity Unit to ferret out election fraud. It produced little evidence of such. Now let’s redirect it to pursue a real crime, an attempt by the Republican party to steal everyone’s vote in the State.
Emilie Sikora
People are also reading…
Green Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-2020-election-fraud-investigation/article_828979d6-2cb9-11ee-9a7d-cbcde288f7c8.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:34 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-2020-election-fraud-investigation/article_828979d6-2cb9-11ee-9a7d-cbcde288f7c8.html |
Re: the Opinion letter from Tom Chester directed to all elected officials, on Saturday, July 22, 2023
How I wish his comments could/would be sent to all those in Congress, because it is so 'right-on'. If only our officials would remember the reason why they are there - to serve their constituents and all those affected by their actions, not to coddle the wealthy.
Also, I believe all Congressional officials should have term limits, so they won't be sidetracked from their duties by forever running for office.
Mr Chester's letter is so important, necessary and timely, because our country is flailing with all the divisiveness. It is past time to accomplish the important items on their schedules. Please put aside the "My way or no way" type of thought and get something done!!
Marylee Peterson
People are also reading…
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-elected-officials/article_ed2966fc-2b5b-11ee-b927-abde9baa070b.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:40 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-elected-officials/article_ed2966fc-2b5b-11ee-b927-abde9baa070b.html |
Re: The “most powerful people” article of Wednesday, July 19th. The author referred to Airman Jack Teixeira as to “how a lowly Air National Guardsman could be trusted with highly classified information.” I was sworn into the army on my 17th birthday. I was trained in electronic intelligence. I soon arrived in Sinop, Turkey to begin my duties with a top secret, special intelligence, codeword clearance; six weeks before my 18th birthday. Would the author have referred to me as a lowly private first class. No one in a U S armed forces uniform is lowly.
Jon Langione, US Army (retired)
Marana
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-lowly/article_a4d1d708-2bd9-11ee-a384-c38955b643c8.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:47 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-lowly/article_a4d1d708-2bd9-11ee-a384-c38955b643c8.html |
With reference to Ron DeSantis' assertion that some enslaved people benefited from the arrangement, you would think that a candidate with two Ivy league degrees might try to impress voters with how smart he is. That he thinks he can win the GOP nomination by posing as an uneducated nitwit tells you all you need to know about today's Republican party.
Steve Robinson
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-ron-desantis-and-slavery/article_663f841a-2b37-11ee-b573-2f59400e5586.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:53 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/letter-ron-desantis-and-slavery/article_663f841a-2b37-11ee-b573-2f59400e5586.html |
I write fairly often, and when I do, I find myself complaining or disagreeing about something. I've wanted to touch on the Brush and Bulky pick up by Tucson but haven't done it until today.
Twice a year the City picks up outsized items, left in the alley easement, and transports them away. Because of the size of my back alley easement neighbors also use my assigned spot to drop off their oversize items. Whenever I go to my alley trash can I notice the tremendous amount of various items left for pickup. I always whisper under my breath that "they won't pick up that, it's too unwieldy". Every time, without exception, I return to the alley the day after pickup and find everything gone. Not just removed but the dirt bladed to a smoothness that it hasn't seen in many years. These unsung heroes do an outstanding job. Thanks so much for going above and beyond.
Phil Reinecker
People are also reading…
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-brush-and-bulky/article_a4dd0152-2c95-11ee-b406-e7c017e507b2.html | 2023-07-30T19:07:59 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-brush-and-bulky/article_a4dd0152-2c95-11ee-b406-e7c017e507b2.html |
There is much to love about Tucson, like calling a government office and actually talking to a human being within 30 seconds (if Pima County can do that why can’t my doctors office?), not to mention a large contingent of people who actually think it’s our humanitarian responsibility to assist those desperate enough to travel days, months, years, to seek asylum in our country. But one of my personally favorite things about Tucson is the city’s Brush & Bulky pick up! What an enormous service this is to the community. Thank you.
Margaret Zanger
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-brush-bulky-rocks/article_8a0968ba-2cb9-11ee-bc25-27f83616d0fe.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:05 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-brush-bulky-rocks/article_8a0968ba-2cb9-11ee-bc25-27f83616d0fe.html |
The article on the newest Rep, Juan Ciscomani was surprising to say the least. He's quoted in the article, stating, "I'm a conservative and it's how I'm governing"; but what he believes is not what his job is, it's what his constituents want; so not sure how bipartisan that makes Juan; when he only governs as a conservative? He supports a national abortion ban, proof he wants to govern by his beliefs, irregardless of what his constituents want. How Bi-partisan has he actually voted? Juan obviously is a "party player" and can't be trusted to vote in line with his constituents. I'm just waiting to see what happens, if the Republicans try to impeach Biden. I'm guessing, Juan will vote to impeach because he has already proven he cannot think for himself and is just a follower. Do we really want him to lead us going forward?
Donna Allen
Green Valley
People are also reading…
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-ciscomani-bi-partisan-or-conservative/article_686fe6d4-2cb9-11ee-ae76-1321396e61a2.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:11 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-ciscomani-bi-partisan-or-conservative/article_686fe6d4-2cb9-11ee-ae76-1321396e61a2.html |
Why not grow pecan trees between our recharge basins?
It seems to me that we could recharge our groundwater and grow a commercial crop at the same time. Our recharge basins appear to be totally exposed to the sun. Wouldn’t shading the basins reduce some of the evaporation?
The pecan tree is not native to Arizona; however, the Arizona black walnut is native and once grew along the Santa Cruz River up to and possibly through Marana. In Marana I have seen some of our lowest elevation remnant black walnut trees growing along irrigation ditches. Black walnut and other riparian trees once present here, like the cottonwood, willow, ash, hackberry, soapberry and elderberry for the most part can no longer be found growing along the Santa Cruz River through Tucson.
Could growing pecan trees be beneficial to our environment and reduce the evaporation from our recharge basins, especially if the recharge basins are located along the Santa Cruz River?
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Bill Kendall
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-pecan-trees-and-recharge-basins/article_a345560e-2cb9-11ee-a091-c7f3982c7a6d.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:17 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-pecan-trees-and-recharge-basins/article_a345560e-2cb9-11ee-a091-c7f3982c7a6d.html |
ROANOKE, Va. – A man is dead following a shooting in Roanoke Sunday morning, according to the Roanoke Police Department.
On Sunday at around 9 a.m., police were called the 600 block of King George Avenue SW for the report of a person with a gunshot wound.
Officers arrived to find a man inside a vehicle with what appeared to be a critical gunshot wound. Authorities said Roanoke Fire-EMS personnel arrived and pronounced the man deceased on scene.
Police said details about this shooting are limited. We’re told no suspects were located on scene and no arrests have been made at this time.
This is an ongoing homicide investigation, according to authorities.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call (540)344-8500 and share what you know. You can also text 274637; please begin the text with “RoanokePD” to ensure it’s properly sent. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous. | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/07/30/man-dead-after-shooting-in-roanoke/ | 2023-07-30T19:08:20 | 0 | https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/07/30/man-dead-after-shooting-in-roanoke/ |
Honduran child travels alone to U.S. to reunite with mother, unaware of her passing
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 2:22 PM EDT|Updated: 46 minutes ago
EAGLE PASS, Texas (Gray News) – A child from Honduras made the dangerous trek to the United States up through Mexico on her own, according to authorities.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Facebook that their brush team encountered the Honduran child Thursday.
The department said the girl was found in Mexico by three undocumented women who crossed her illegally through the river.
Officials said the girl was traveling to the U.S. to find her mother. After an investigation, however, authorities determined the girl’s mother had sadly died three days before.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ | 2023-07-30T19:08:20 | 1 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/honduran-child-travels-alone-us-reunite-with-mother-unaware-her-passing/ |
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Frank Clark has reunited with Russell Wilson in Denver and now the outside linebacker has former teammate Patrick Mahomes in his sights instead.
The 30-year-old outside linebacker signed with Denver after being jettisoned by the Kansas City Chiefs in a cost-cutting move this offseason and the Broncos are counting on him to add some oomph to their pass rush.
Still in the AFC West, Clark gets two opportunities at beating his former team this season, something the Broncos haven't done since 2015. Their 15-game skid against the Chiefs is the fourth longest by one team to a single opponent in NFL history.
Unlike his reunion with Wilson, revenge and rivalry aren't top of mind for Clark as he embraces his fresh start in the Rocky Mountains.
“I wouldn't call it a rivalry. A rivalry is competitive,” Clark interjected in his first public comments since signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with Denver last month. “I'm (with) the Broncos now. I've been on the other side. We didn't call it a rivalry then."
And before anyone around Denver can call it that the Broncos will have to beat Mahomes, something they have a better shot at doing with Clark on their side.
The Chiefs parted ways with Clark just a year after signing him to a two-year, $30 million extension. The Broncos haven't had a fearsome pass rush since trading Von Miller two years ago. And with Baron Browning sidelined by a knee injury and Randy Gregory coming off an injury-filled debut season in Denver, first-year head coach Sean Payton eagerly welcomed the veteran with 58 1/2 sacks.
Clark had 23 1/2 sacks in four seasons in Kansas City and another 10 1/2 in the playoffs, helping the Chiefs go 10-2 in the postseason and make three trips to the Super Bowl.
“What we did in Kansas City was special,” Clark said. “Four-year run, two Super Bowl (rings), three AFC titles. It was fun, but at the end of the day all good things come to an end.”
Bad things, too, he hopes. Such as Denver's 15-game skid to the Chiefs.
One thing Clark insists isn't nearing the finish line in his proclivity for getting after the passer even though his five sacks in 2022 and two-game suspension for gun possession incidents a year earlier meant an end to his three-year run as a Pro Bowler.
“I wouldn't say it was the end" in Kansas City last season, Clark said. “It's never the end when you get the job finished.”
Now he aims to help the Broncos and Wilson bounce back in 2023.
“He's still dangerous. Don't get it twisted,” Clark said of Wilson, whom he played with in Seattle from 2015-18. "Russ is a veteran. He's a guy that's won on multiple levels. ... I was a part of Seahawks teams that were successful; I was a part of teams where we didn’t make the playoffs. But it was the same Russ.
“So don't think a bad season's going to shake a guy like Russ,” Clark added. "Naw, bro, we start fresh every year. Every summer's a fresh start.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.wsls.com/sports/2023/07/30/ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/ | 2023-07-30T19:08:21 | 1 | https://www.wsls.com/sports/2023/07/30/ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/ |
Two people killed in shooting near University of Florida campus
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 2:13 PM EDT|Updated: 55 minutes ago
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray News) - Two people were killed after gunshots rang out in a crowd early Sunday near the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, WCJB reports.
Gainesville Police were near the Checkers and Bodytech on West University Avenue around 2:40 a.m. when they heard gunshots. There were three victims, two of which died from their injuries.
Police were seeking the public’s help for any information on the shootings.
Copyright 2023 WCJB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ | 2023-07-30T19:08:21 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/30/two-people-killed-after-shooting-near-university-florida-campus/ |
I voted against Proposition 211 as an invasion of privacy and a hindrance to free speech. However, if it forces Cathy Herrod and her organization to disclose their hidden donors, I can live with it.
DONALD HARTMAN
Northwest side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-re-the-july-25-article-two-groups-seek-exemptions-from-arizonas-dark-money-ban/article_4d42db92-2b37-11ee-afae-6b80c80fd7b7.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:24 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-re-the-july-25-article-two-groups-seek-exemptions-from-arizonas-dark-money-ban/article_4d42db92-2b37-11ee-afae-6b80c80fd7b7.html |
Orioles vs. Yankees Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread - July 30
Sunday's contest between the Baltimore Orioles (63-41) and New York Yankees (55-49) squaring off at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has a projected final score of 5-4 (based on our computer prediction) in favor of the Orioles, so it should be a tight matchup. The game will start at 7:10 PM ET on July 30.
The Orioles will give the nod to Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59 ERA), who is eyeing win No. 11 on the season, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46 ERA).
Orioles vs. Yankees Game Info & Odds
- When: Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland
- How to Watch on TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
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Orioles vs. Yankees Score Prediction
Our pick for this game is Orioles 5, Yankees 4.
Total Prediction for Orioles vs. Yankees
- Total Prediction: Over 8.5 runs
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Discover More About This Game
Orioles Performance Insights
- The Orioles have been the favorite once in the past 10 games and lost that contest.
- In its last 10 games with a total, Baltimore and its opponents have combined to hit the over four times.
- Oddsmakers have not set a spread for any of the Orioles' last 10 games.
- This season, the Orioles have won 33 out of the 47 games, or 70.2%, in which they've been favored.
- Baltimore has a record of 24-9, a 72.7% win rate, when favored by -135 or more by bookmakers this season.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Orioles have a 57.4% chance to win.
- Baltimore ranks 11th in the majors with 502 total runs scored this season.
- The Orioles have a 4.19 team ERA that ranks 15th among all league pitching staffs.
Yankees Performance Insights
- The Yankees have played as the underdog in three of their past 10 games and have gone 1-2 in those contests.
- When it comes to the total, New York and its foes are 5-5-0 in its previous 10 contests.
- The Yankees' previous 10 games have not had a spread set by bookmakers.
- The Yankees have come away with 13 wins in the 31 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
- New York has a win-loss record of 8-8 when favored by +115 or worse by bookmakers this year.
- The Yankees have an implied victory probability of 46.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
- New York scores the 21st-most runs in baseball (454 total, 4.4 per game).
- The Yankees have pitched to a 3.86 ERA this season, which ranks fifth in baseball.
Put your picks to the test and bet on with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Orioles Schedule
Yankees Schedule
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ | 2023-07-30T19:08:25 | 1 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/sports/betting/2023/07/30/orioles-yankees-mlb-picks-predictions/ |
Re: the July 27 letter 'Free buses are better than free.'
If something is free, it has no cost. So the concept of "free bus rides" is a fantasy. Buses cost money to purchase and operate and thus, by definition, are not free, i.e., some entity (the taxpayers) are paying for it. This does not deny that it is possibly a good investment by the city; it may be. But please, do not call this free! The rider may not have to pay to board and ride the bus, but someone, somewhere is underwriting the cost.
Dale Knight
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-redefining-free/article_73eafcec-2cb9-11ee-a267-27bc82a29067.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:30 | 0 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-redefining-free/article_73eafcec-2cb9-11ee-a267-27bc82a29067.html |
GARRETSON, S.D. — With the Class B state amateur bracket being unveiled Sunday afternoon, at least one state tournament regular won’t be in it.
The Garretson BlueJays, the 2022 Class B state runner-up, has been disqualified from postseason play by the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association for using an American Legion baseball player in their district playoff game.
Austin Vanhove, the Garretson manager, told the Mitchell Republic on Sunday that the BlueJays used a Legion baseball player in their July 23 game against Akron, Iowa in the District 7B tournament in Larchwood, Iowa. According to Vanhove, the SDABA rule is that Legion-level players are not supposed to play in the amateur district tournaments until the Legion state tournament is done. Vanhove said they checked with the district commissioner at the start of the tournament on the rule regarding Legion players participating and Vanhove said they got the approval from the commissioner, who later came back and told Garretson he gave them wrong information.
“We’re disappointed,” Vanhove said. “I’m the coach, and I might have made a mistake by not knowing the rule. But I felt like I went to a higher-up authority and asked for the correct rule and they didn’t give the correct information when we asked.”
The decision was made Friday when Garretson was told they were out. Vanhove said it was a closed-door meeting from the SDABA and they weren’t given further justification or the opportunity to plead their case.
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Vanhove told the Mitchell Republic that a second amateur team has been disqualified from the postseason in the same manner, using a Legion player after receiving information from a league commissioner that said that player was eligible. The newspaper has not been able to independently verify that.
Redfield Dairy Queen, which had won the District 2B title game on July 25, wasn’t among the 32 teams in Sunday’s bracket. Miller/Wessington was selected into the tournament instead.
The player Garretson used played for the Elk Point/Jefferson Legion team, which was in the Class B state tournament this weekend. Vanhove said the BlueJays accept the penalty but are left feeling frustration about the SDABA leadership not taking responsibility for its communication of the rules.
“It makes it look like we were trying to cheat and that’s not the case,” Vanhove said. “Garretson doesn’t have a Legion team, and the amateur team is a big deal to our town. We weren’t hiding anything, we were just looking to follow the rules.”
Longtime Garretson player Nick Bonte said the state tournament is the highlight of the season and they’ve heard from a lot of other amateur teams in the state that are on Garretson’s side on the matter.
“We play all season just for the state tournament,” Bonte said. “To find out a week after we won our first game and without being able to respond, that’s a big deal to us.”
Messages left with the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association were not returned prior to the publication of this story.
The SDABA rule is not a new one. Wagner was disqualified in 2019 for using a still-active Junior Legion player for an amateur postseason game. Senior Legion, Junior Legion and VFW-level players are allowed to play with amateur teams during the season but the rules change for the postseason to prioritize the team and age-level they normally play at.
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The BlueJays were 10-6 on the season and were set to play in the district championship game on Saturday in Larchwood, Iowa. They were ranked No. 3 in the final amateur baseball poll of the regular season.
One of the strongest teams annually in Class B amateur baseball, Garretson had a 12-year streak of making the state tournament from 2009 to 2020 and then reached the state championship in 2022, where it fell to the Dell Rapids Mudcats by a 5-2 score. They’ve finished as state runners-up in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
Prior to the start of the postseason, District 7B was slated to have five teams play for four state tournament spots and Garretson defeated Akron, Iowa 4-3 on July 23 to qualify for the championship game and assure themselves a state tournament berth.
On Friday, the District 7B bracket was rearranged, deeming the Garretson-Akron game a forfeit in the Rebels’ favor. On Saturday, Akron faced Elk Point for the championship, instead of facing Lennox/Chancellor/Worthing in the district last-chance game for a state tournament spot.
With Garretson’s disqualification, all four teams qualified for the state tournament and automatically advanced Lennox/Chancellor/Worthing to the 32-team state bracket. | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/garretson-disqualified-from-state-amateur-baseball-tourney-over-rules-violation | 2023-07-30T19:08:35 | 0 | https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/garretson-disqualified-from-state-amateur-baseball-tourney-over-rules-violation |
We’re all concerned about rising energy costs, unfortunately many energy policies at the state and federal levels do not take our economy into account. We need commonsense energy policies that will grow our economy and protect our environment.
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6) and am encouraged that he is interested in supporting all-of-the-above energy policies. He’s a member of the Conservative Climate Caucus and plays an integral role in securing domestic mineral supply chains, reducing regulatory barriers, and increasing energy security. In fact, Rep. Ciscomani’s work to boost copper production and update carbon capture wells is crucial to meeting energy needs while reducing emissions.
We can develop American-made energy, promote innovation, lower energy prices, and be responsible stewards of our environment. Congressman Ciscomani has shown support for clean energy in our nation’s future, and I know he’ll continue to do so, and put the interests of Arizonans first.
People are also reading…
Jaime A. Molera
Downtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-supporting-strong-energy-policy/article_6c299fca-2c98-11ee-a090-2355ff9ebc44.html | 2023-07-30T19:08:36 | 1 | https://tucson.com/opinion/letters/local-issues/letter-supporting-strong-energy-policy/article_6c299fca-2c98-11ee-a090-2355ff9ebc44.html |
The Biden White House has tried to present itself as being above the fray of day-to-day squabbles, but increasingly, it’s jumping in, bashing the GOP and other critics at every opportunity.
The administration didn’t miss a chance this week to hammer Republicans over Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) floating that the House would move towards an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. They were quick with memos and statements to criticize the GOP attacks as a “clown carousel” and the idea of pursuing impeachment as “baseless.”
And the White House issued a scathing rebuke of Fox New host Greg Gutfeld, who said that Jews captured and tortured during the Holocaust survived by having skills and being useful, calling out his comments as a “dangerous, extreme lie.”
The new levels of punchy rhetoric preview the White House messaging strategy going into 2024, which is to fight back and call out what they consider extreme.
It’s a shift from their previous attitude, which was to let what they considered to be Republican chaos speak for itself.
“The cost is too expensive, both short and long term, to let them operate in a vacuum without showing that one, we know how to fight; two, that we will fight; three, we fight with facts and not with some flaming lies of information,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist.
Early in Biden’s presidency, the White House was careful not to weigh in on controversial comments from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), hoping to avoid elevating her words and giving the far-right congresswoman more of a platform.
When McCarthy was struggling in January to get enough votes to be Speaker of the House, they sat back and watched it unfold.
Biden gently knocked the vote series at the time, saying, “It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long,” but also added, “that’s not my problem.” The White House had also insisted that Biden would not “insert himself” into the election, which ended up taking 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally clench enough votes.
But this week, when the Speaker signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry, the White House came out with multiple statements and highlighted quotes from fellow Republicans in his conference pushing back on the idea.
It also released a memo about Republicans’ slams against the president overall, reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack.
Hunter Biden appeared in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.
The White House this week touted “Bidenomics” after gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showed surprisingly strong economic growth. It rebuked GOP lawmakers for not embracing the data, pointing to Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone, who said Thursday, “There goes that recession talk, right?”
“Even Fox Business is welcoming today’s blockbuster economic growth numbers, the latest in a long line of proof points that Bidenomics is delivering for middle class families,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a memo. “That’s because this strong growth report is objectively good news for the American people, which elected officials should support regardless of their political party.”
In the past, the White House has called out what it deemed antisemitism, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in particular has spearheaded the effort against hatred towards Jewish Americans. The rebuke of Gutfeld was particularly notable, considering it called the conservative media voice’s comments insulting to the memory of people who suffered the Holocaust.
Over the last week, Vice President Harris has gone on the attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a presidential candidate, over changes his administration has made regarding the way slavery is taught in his state. She quickly traveled to Jacksonville to deliver remarks over his recent moves.
And press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has turned Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) into an almost-daily punching bag, chastising him for blocking military promotions over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
Democrats argue that it’s significant the White House is getting punchier and not relying on the Biden reelection campaign to do it for them.
“I think the reason why it’s so important that it comes from the White House is because Joe Biden is a president for all people, and that White House works for all people,” Seawright said. “It helps weed out some of the foolishness, because I don’t think we can afford at this moment to let false information go unchecked or go numb to bad or false information for the sake of political gain.”
Another Democratic strategist argued the White House has picked its spots well, seeking to highlight when Republicans are fixated on issues that don’t resonate with most moderate voters. The strategist pointed to the GOP’s fixation on Hunter Biden as an example of something that is unlikely to move many mainstream voters.
Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew noted the window for moving legislation closes early in election cycles so it “makes sense” the White House is preparing for 2024.
“They know they’re going to have to defend against Republicans’ insatiable appetite for investigations and impeachments, and the best defense is a good offense,” said Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy. “When top Republicans continue to spout controversial rhetoric and spend time on divisive issues that the vast majority of Americans don’t agree with, the White House is going to use those moments to illustrate to the American people how extreme today’s Republican Party has become.”
Jim Kessler, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said Biden and his team are wisely both selling their own victories and highlighting Republican dysfunction.
Ultimately, though, Kessler argued the 2024 election will be decided by broader issues such as the economy, something the White House has leaned into with its recent messaging.
“This election is going to come down to the middle. The middle ideologically, the middle of the country geographically, and the middle class,” Kessler said. “These are places where Biden’s got to win.” | https://www.pahomepage.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:00 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
EAST STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Fire departments across our viewing area are busy today as multiple fire departments in Monroe County respond to an apartment complex fire Sunday afternoon.
Officials said several fire departments were dispatched to the 200 block of North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg for a reported apartment complex fire around 12:15 p.m.
Witnesses told a 28/22 News team on the scene that the fire quickly spread across the building and forced residents out into the street as crews try to put out the fire.
A 28/22 News crew on the scene said one side of the building was engulfed in flames around 12:30 p.m.
This is a developing situation, 28/22 News will have more on this story as more information is made available. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/breaking-news/fire-tears-through-apartment-complex-in-east-stroudsburg/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:06 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/breaking-news/fire-tears-through-apartment-complex-in-east-stroudsburg/ |
PECKVILLE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Crews are in the process of extinguishing a house fire in Lackawanna County.
Officials with the Lackawanna County Communications Center say crews were dispatched to the 500 block of Keystone Avenue, Peckville, just before noon for a reported house fire.
Several crews have been called to the scene with Blakely and Peckville taking the lead of the response.
This is a developing story, 28/22 News will have more on this story in our 6 p.m. newscast tonight. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/crews-respond-to-lackawanna-county-house-fire/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:12 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/crews-respond-to-lackawanna-county-house-fire/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Infections of brain-eating amoeba are on the rise — and the warming climate may only exacerbate the problem, according to one of the world’s preeminent experts on the subject.
“Yes, we are experiencing warmer temperatures, and these amoeba are thermal-tolerant … so the numbers of amoeba will be higher,” explains Dr. Dennis Kyle, the head of the cellular biology department at the University of Georgia and the scholar chair of antiparasitic drug discovery with the Georgia Research Alliance.
“Warmer climates means, yes, more exposure and more cases,” he added.
Kyle, speaking with Nexstar, confirmed that reported cases of Naegleria fowleri infection — more commonly known as an infection of brain-eating amoeba — have “significantly increased” over the past four to five years. But he warned that increased cases cannot be linked solely to warmer waters, but rather more awareness and fewer misdiagnoses than in previous years.
“There’s more recognition that these amoeba are possibly causing disease, when before, virologists were misclassifying these cases as bacterial meningitis or [other diseases],” he said.
Naegleria fowleri, the microscopic organism responsible for the infection, is primarily found in warm freshwater and soil, but also hot springs, improperly chlorinated pool water, improperly treated tap water, and, in lower concentrations, even cooler freshwaters. Infection of N. fowleri usually occurs after water is forced into the nose, allowing the organism to enter the nasal cavity and cross the epithelial lining into the brain, where it begins destroying the tissue of the frontal lobe.
This brain infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), can lead to symptoms including fever, headaches, stiff neck, seizures and hallucinations within two weeks of exposure. It is almost always fatal, with death occurring within another one to 18 days of the first symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most infections tend to occur between June and September, but cases outside of these months are not entirely unheard of, Kyle said.
N. fowleri is also found in higher concentrations in warmer, smaller bodies of freshwater, but the organism can be found in pretty much any freshwater lake, including cooler, clearer waters, Kyle said. There was even a case in 2016 in which a teenager contracted a fatal infection of N. fowleri after going whitewater rafting — an activity generally undertaken in less-risky colder waters.
The highest concentrations, though, are generally found in freshwater with surface temperature readings of 75 degrees F or higher, especially for extended periods of time.
And climate change, as scientists have observed, is already having an impact on the temperature of the world’s freshwater lakes. The quality and color of the water can also change due to warming temperatures, recent studies have suggested.
“There’s a constant risk in warmer climates,” Kyle remarked.
The amoeba itself can’t be specifically targeted with current treatments either, leading to a fatality rate of 97%. In fact, Kyle only knows of four known cases in the U.S. where patients survived, and “maybe” seven globally.
“I’m not convinced that were any further along in getting better treatment,” Kyle told Nexstar of the current antifungal and antibiotic cocktails that are currently used. “But If people can get diagnosed earlier, even with the suboptimal treatments that we have, they have a better chance of survival.”
To that end, Kyle, and the families of some of the victims, are hoping to spread awareness of the disease. He and his colleagues have also worked to identify what they believe is a biomarker that can help doctors diagnose infection earlier than previously possible, but their test is not yet FDA-approved.
“Most tests use cerebral spinal fluid, but we don’t have to have that,” he told Nexstar. “We can use blood or even urine. In our analyst studies, we can detect it three or four days before symptoms develop. I’m pretty excited.”
Preventing infection in the first place is currently the best course of action, he added.
“Raising awareness helps. But I think any warm freshwater facility, or hot spring … and at splashpads, you have to look at it carefully,” he said. “It’s incumbent on people running these facilities to minimize risk and minimize exposure.”
People can also take precautions by avoiding bodies of warm freshwater, and especially refraining from jumping or diving into such waters, which increases the risk of having contaminated water forced into the nose. He also recommends using nose plugs, keeping your head above the surface, and properly cleaning and chlorinating wading pools, swimming pools and spas (or opting for salt-water pools or spa facilities).
Parents should also know that children are at the highest risk of infection, but likely for no other reason than that they’re more prone to be more active in the water.
“It’s difficult to define the risk,” Kyle said. “But think of it like a lightning storm. Everybody knows not to walk outside in a lightning storm with a golf club in their hands. But many parents don’t know the risk that their kids might be open to.” | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:18 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
(The Conversation) – Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt classroom learning, expose students to cyberbullying and can compromise students’ privacy.
About 1 in 7 countries globally, such as the Netherlands and France, have banned the use of smartphones in school – and academic performance improved as a result, particularly for low-performing students, the report notes.
As school leaders in the U.S. wrestle with whether or not to ban smartphones, The Conversation has invited four scholars to weigh in on the issue.
Daniel G. Krutka: Use smartphones to encourage ‘technoskepticism’
While the issue of smartphone use in schools is complicated, evidence suggests that spending more time on smartphones is associated with young people being less happy and less satisfied with life.
Technology scholars have long argued that the key to living well with technology is in finding limits. However, in banning smartphones, I worry educators might be missing opportunities to use smartphones to encourage what I and other researchers refer to as technoskeptical thinking; that is, questioning our relationship with technology.
For example, students might be encouraged to consider the benefits and drawbacks of using navigational apps to travel from one place to another, as opposed to old-fashioned paper maps. Or, students might explore their social media feeds to critique what algorithms feed them, or how notifications get their attention.
In my research, I have looked at how teachers can encourage students to go on techno-fasts – that is, abstaining from the use of technology for a certain period of time. This, I argue, will give students time to reflect on the time they spend away from their devices.
Policy debates often focus on whether or not to put smartphones out of reach during the school day. But I believe educators might find it more beneficial to make the phones an object of inquiry.
Sarah Rose: Consult parents, teachers and students
While there is evidence that classroom phone usage can be a distraction, it can also promote engagement and learning. While research about the potential positive and negative consequences of classroom phones can be used to inform school phone policies, the views of those who are most directly impacted by the policies should also be taken into account.
The views of parents matter because their views may influence the extent to which their children follow the policy. The views of children matter because they are the ones being expected to follow the policy and to benefit from it. The views of teachers matter because they are often the ones that have to enforce the policies. Research shows that enforcing cellphone policies is not always a straightforward issue.
In my research, I have found that children – aged 10 and 11 years old – in collaboration with their parents, were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. For example, one parent-child pair suggested mobile phone use in school could be banned but that a role of “telephone monitor” could be given to an older pupil. This “telephone monitor” would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.
This recommendation reflected how parents and middle and high school students – whether from rural and urban areas – felt cellphones were important to keep in touch with each other during the school day. Beyond safety, children and parents also told us that phones were important for keeping in touch about changing plans and for emotional support during the school day.
I believe policies that simply ban phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to educate children about responsible mobile device use. When parents and children are involved in policy development, it has the potential to increase the extent to which these policies are followed and enforced.
Arnold L. Glass: Cellphone use in college lectures hurts performance in ways that are hard to see
The intrusion of internet-enabled electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and cellphones, has transformed the modern college lecture. Students now divide their attention between the lecture and their devices. Classroom studies reveal that when college students use an electronic device for a nonacademic purpose during class, it hurts their performance on exams.
When attention is divided between an electronic device and the classroom lecture, it does not reduce comprehension of the lecture – at least, not when measured by within-class quizzes. Instead, divided attention reduces long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which hurts performance on unit exams and final exams.
When some students open electronic devices, it also negatively affects the performance of all the students around them. Research has shown that student performance on final exams was worse when electronic devices were permitted during classes that covered exam material versus when the devices were not.
Many students won’t think their divided attention is affecting their retention of new information. It may not be for the moment, but a couple of weeks later or down the line, research shows, it does.
Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most
Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.
In a 2015 study, my co-author, Richard Murphy, and I examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.
Similar studies in Spain and Norway using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students’ grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from Belgium suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.
Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder learning and task execution. Taking notes by hand has been shown to better enhance memory retention compared to typing on a computer.
In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:24 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The FBI has issued arrest warrants and released disturbing details in the armed home invasion and kidnapping of an elderly North Carolina couple and the theft of more than $150,000 of their cryptocurrency in April.
The incident took place at gunpoint at the couple’s home the morning of April 12 after thieves allegedly posed as construction workers and forced their way into the home, according to the Durham Police Department and the FBI.
According to an FBI criminal complaint obtained by Nexstar’s WNCN, the incident began when two men, dressed as construction workers, came to the victims’ home around 7:30 a.m. The duo claimed they would be inspecting pipes for damage and told the husband they would be “walking around the house.”
After a few minutes, the pair knocked on the door again and the wife answered the door. The suspects, who allegedly both had guns, then pushed their way inside.
“The men restrained and zip-tied the husband’s hands and the wife’s hands,” the FBI complaint said.
A man armed with a pink gun showed the wife it was loaded by opening the cylinder and then dragged her into a bathroom by her legs, the criminal complaint said.
The husband was taken to his Apple iMac and forced at gunpoint to log in and install a remote desktop application called AnyDesk. A person on the phone with a thief already knew “details about the account without being told,” the FBI complaint said.
The FBI believes the husband’s email account was compromised in the past, allowing the thieves to learn the details ahead of the trip to Durham and the home invasion.
The suspects were able to transfer $156,853 worth of cryptocurrency during the next 45 minutes, the FBI said. Before leaving, the thieves allegedly smashed the couple’s cellphones and the iMac.
The elderly couple managed to get out of their home and ask neighbors to call 911 for help. The pair suffered minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, Durham police said.
The arrest warrants released Thursday for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping indicate two West Palm Beach, Florida, men are wanted — Jarod Gabriel Seemungal and Remy Ra St. Felix.
According to the FBI criminal complaint filed the same day, the suspects began targeting retirees who had cryptocurrency as early as February. The accused men even had the license plate number for the husband’s car, authorities said. A third man is also named in the criminal complaint, but no arrest warrant was issued for him as of Thursday.
Messages sent between those involved identified actual cryptocurrency amounts and their locations, the criminal complaint said. One suspect had a photo of the husband’s North Carolina driver’s license in his email account, according to the FBI.
The two suspects also discussed in internet messages how potential victims “have so much” money in accounts that it would be “retirement licks” — the FBI explained in the complaint that “licks” is slang for a robbery.
The thieves apparently rented a car in Florida and visited the Millennium Hotel in Durham a couple of days before the actual robbery, according to the complaint. Video from a home near the victims’ showed the thieves’ BMW SUV “conducting surveillance” at the couple’s home each of the three days before the alleged kidnapping, the FBI said.
The FBI also noted that a person driving a similar vehicle purchased costumes — a clipboard, reflective vest, sunglasses and a pair of khaki pants — at a nearby Walmart that allowed the suspected thieves to get into the victims’ home. Both suspects were seen on surveillance video from the store.
Additional details about potential victims wasn’t immediately available. As of Sunday, authorities have not said whether either man is in custody. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:30 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man died at a Disney Resort in Orlando on Wednesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call around 5:30 a.m. regarding an unresponsive person at Disney’s Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom.
The man, identified as 39-year-old Jeffrey Vanden Boom of Greendale, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Orange County Medical Examiner determined Vanden Boom fell from a hotel room balcony, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The fall was ruled as accidental.
Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.
The death remains an ongoing investigation.
Last fall, an 83-year-old man died after riding the Tomorrowland Authority PeopleMover at Disney World. Authorities said he experienced a “cardiac event,” and his death was “deemed natural” by medical officials.
Earlier this year, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Disneyland, accusing park employees of laughing at a 66-year-old disabled woman who fell while getting off the Jungle Cruise ride in 2021 and later died. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T19:09:42 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated.
“Barbie,” the pink-infused pop sensation, has seen remarkably sustained business following its year-best $162 million opening. Its ticket sales dipped only 43%.
“Barbie” has also outpaced Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” to notch the best first two weeks in theaters of any Warner Bros. release. It’s rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie” has made at least $20 million.
“Oppenheimer,” from Universal Pictures, again landed in second place with an estimated $46.2 million. It, too, held especially strong in its second weekend, with sales decreasing just 44%. Nolan’s three-hour drama starring Cillian Murphy as atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has accrued $174.1 million thus far.
With an additional $72.4 million in international cinemas, “Oppenheimer” has already surpassed $400 million globally.
The week’s top new release, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” blitz. The film, which cost about $150 million, debuted with $24 million domestically and $9 million in overseas sales. “Haunted Mansion,” directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring an ensemble of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, struggled to overcome mediocre reviews.
“Talk to Me,” the A24 supernatural horror film, fared better. It debuted with $10 million. The film, directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, was a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received terrific reviews from critics (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million.
While theaters being flush with moviegoers has been a huge boon to a film industry still recovering ground it lost during the pandemic, it’s been tougher sledding for Tom Cruise, the so-called savior of the movies last summer with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. Its domestic total stands at $139.2 million.
Instead, the sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” has been the best performing non-“Barbenheimer” release in theaters. The Angel Studios’ release, which is counting crowdfunding pay-it-forward sales in its box office totals, made $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its haul thus far to nearly $150 million. | https://www.capitalgazette.com/entertainment/ct-ent-barbie-oppenheimer-box-office-20230730-lbvdnp4ypjb7xbcwbi6dhx7tpq-story.html | 2023-07-30T19:09:44 | 1 | https://www.capitalgazette.com/entertainment/ct-ent-barbie-oppenheimer-box-office-20230730-lbvdnp4ypjb7xbcwbi6dhx7tpq-story.html |
At 24, Alberto Rodriguez has grandparents younger than Joe Biden. But he’s more interested in the 80-year-old president’s accomplishments than his age.
“People as young as me, we’re all focusing on our day-to-day lives and he has done things to help us through that,” Rodriguez, a cook at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, said of Biden’s support among young voters. Rodriguez pointed specifically to federal COVID-19 relief payments and government spending increases on infrastructure and other social programs.
Voters like him were a key piece of Biden’s winning 2020 coalition, which included majorities of young people as well as college graduates, women, urban and suburban voters and Black Americans. Maintaining their support will be critical in closely contested states such as Nevada, where even small declines could prove consequential to Biden’s reelection bid.
His 2024 campaign plans to emphasize messages that could especially resonate with young people in the coming weeks as the anniversary of the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act approaches in mid-August. That legislation includes provisions that the White House will embrace to argue that Biden has done more than any other president to combat climate change.
Such efforts, however, could collide with Biden’s personal reality — like when he recalled that, while attending a St. Patrick’s Day parade at age 14, he appeared in a photo with President Harry S. Truman.
“Purely by accident — I assume it was an accident — the photographer from the newspaper got a picture of me making eye contact with Harry Truman,” Biden said to chuckles last week at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington.
In 2020, 61% of voters under age 30 — and 55% of those between 30 and 44 — supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of the electorate.
It’s an age group with which Republicans hope to make inroads. Former President Donald Trump, who is the early front-runner in the GOP presidential primary and is only 3 1/2 years younger than Biden, said Friday, “We are hitting the young person’s market like nobody’s ever seen before.”
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, referred to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement in arguing that “young people are acutely impacted by the issues front and center in this election, driven by the extreme MAGA agenda.” He said that included inaction on climate change, gun violence and student debt.
“We will meet younger Americans where they are and turn their energy into action,” Munoz said in a statement.
That might not defuse questions about age, though, when it comes to Biden or Trump.
“There’s a frustration and exhaustion that they feel with the rematch,” Terrance Woodbury, co-founder & CEO of the Democratic polling firm HIT Strategies, said of young voters.
“That’s more of a problem than either of those two candidates individually, is that a system can just keep reproducing,” Woodbury added. “And I think a lot of people just find that untenable.”
An April poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 25% of Democrats under 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats. A majority of Democrats across age groups said they would probably support him as the party’s nominee, however.
Biden’s campaign is relying heavily on the Democratic National Committee, which during last year’s midterms, hired campus organizers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and other battleground states and offered weekly youth coordinating meetings to encourage in-class contacts and “dormstorms.” The DNC sees young people as some of the most critical voters it will need to reach in 2024 and promises “significant investments” to mobilize them. Plans are underway to expand on its work last cycle, including trainings it held on how best to turn out voters.
The Republican National Committee is trying to use Biden’s age against him, posting online videos of Biden seeming frail or making verbal gaffes, such as when he declared in June “God save the queen,” nearly nine months after the death of England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Rodriguez shrugged off online attacks, “People can make all the hit pieces and memes and TikToks all they want.”
A starker contrast might be between the president and rising Democrats such as 46-year-old California Rep. Ro Khanna and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 41, one of Biden’s primary rivals in 2020. Neither seriously entertained running for the White House in 2024 and have backed Biden’s reelection.
“The only thing that really matters is your ability to do the job,” Buttigieg, who was 37 when he launched his 2020 presidential bid, said recently on CNN. Khanna told Fox News Channel that age will “obviously” be a 2024 factor, but suggested that Biden’s staff “overprotects” him and “the more he’s out there, the better.”
Other top young Democrats have lined up to back Biden. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, who was elected to Congress last year at 26, is on the Biden campaign’s advisory board, as is Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 44. New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, 33, recently endorsed Biden.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive who says strong turnout among young voters helped him win a runoff election this spring, said Biden’s policies transcend his age. Johnson noted that the president’s work “around climate justice speaks not just to this generation, but generations to come.”
“The excitement that I believe that we’re going to have is going to speak to the incredible work and organizing that we are committed to doing as a party,” said Johnson, 47. “And we’re looking forward to working with the president over the course of his next four years.”
Still, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, acknowledged that even the president’s supporters understand how demanding the White House can be.
“People worry about Joe Biden. They worry like you would worry about a beloved father or grandfather,” said Weingarten, 65. “What you normally hear from Democrats is this sense of, ‘OK, I just want him to be OK.’ And you’re hearing just the consternation of, ‘This is a hard job.’”
Biden said he “took a hard look” at his age while deciding to seek a second term. But he’s also tried to suggest his age and experience are assets rather than liabilities by joking repeatedly about them. That’s a departure from 2020, when Biden called himself a “transition candidate” and pledged to be a “bridge” to younger Democrats.
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Santiago Mayer, the founder of Voters of Tomorrow, which has 20-plus chapters nationwide and works to increase political engagement among young voters, argues that Biden is not defying his past promise by running for reelection, but keeping it.
“He just needs more time,” said Mayer, who graduated from California State University at Long Beach in May. “I think the second term is a very important part of that pledge. He’s building a progressive future for young people and he can’t actually pass the baton until that’s done.”
One key policy piece of Biden’s efforts to appeal to young voters, providing student debt relief, was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. The White House has launched a new effort, but it will take longer.
“Of course it’s going to dampen some of that because people are disappointed,” Weingarten said of the ruling’s effect on enthusiasm for Biden. But she said the decision could also motivate young Biden supporters anxious show their support for the president’s alternative plan.
“It is also about the fight,” Weingarten said “not just about the results.”
___
AP polling director Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report. | https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-biden-young-vote-20230730-md3qtr2yjrcspmxelaixprctbi-story.html | 2023-07-30T19:09:50 | 0 | https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-biden-young-vote-20230730-md3qtr2yjrcspmxelaixprctbi-story.html |
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.capitalgazette.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-china-us-taiwan-military-aid-20230730-spim5worszgmhk7p3amgwksqae-story.html | 2023-07-30T19:09:56 | 1 | https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-china-us-taiwan-military-aid-20230730-spim5worszgmhk7p3amgwksqae-story.html |