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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers. | https://who13.com/news/national-news/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T20:20:59 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
The San Salvador is a replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship that first arrived in San Diego on September 28, 1542.
The San Diego Maritime Museum's full-scale re-creation of Cabrillo’s galleon is scheduled to sail up the California Coast for a ten day visit, hosted by the Morro Bay Maritime Museum.
The San Salvador will be moored at the Morro Bay docks from Friday, August 11 through Sunday, August 20. Tours are available every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ($12 adults, Seniors $10, Children $8 0-3 free).
Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the Morro Bay Maritime Museum for a visit Larry Newland who’s been involved with the Museum since its inception.
Funding for Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer is provided by the Foundation at Hearst Castle.
Conserving the past to inspire future generations of dreamers and preserving the legacy of Julia Morgan.
Experience authentically curated historical events that recreate what it was like to be a guest of William Randolph Hearst.
Learn more about becoming a supporting member of the Foundation at Hearst Castle.
You are invited to subscribe to the six time Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, the NPR One App and more than twenty other podcast hosting sites including iHeartRadio and Spotify | https://www.kcbx.org/podcast/journeys-of-discovery-with-tom-wilmer/2023-07-30/san-diego-maritime-museums-spanish-galleon-sailing-up-the-coast-to-visit-morro-bay | 2023-07-30T20:21:02 | 1 | https://www.kcbx.org/podcast/journeys-of-discovery-with-tom-wilmer/2023-07-30/san-diego-maritime-museums-spanish-galleon-sailing-up-the-coast-to-visit-morro-bay |
NEW YORK (AP) — At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump ramped up his calls for his GOP rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as he threatened to go after Republican members of Congress who fail to focus on investigating Democratic President Joe Biden.
Trump also urged a halt to Ukrainian military aid until the White House cooperates with congressional investigations into Biden and his family.
“Every dollar spent attacking me by Republicans is a dollar given straight to the Biden campaign,” Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night.
The former president and GOP front-runner said it was time for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others he dismissed as “clowns” to clear the field, accusing them of “wasting hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans should be using to build a massive vote-gathering operation” to take on Biden in November.
The comments came two days after federal prosecutors unveiled new criminal charges against Trump as part of the case that accuses him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and refusing to turn them over to investigators. The superseding indictment unsealed Thursday alleges that Trump and two staffers sought to delete surveillance at the club in an effort to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation.
The case is just one of Trump’s mounting legal challenges. His team is currently bracing for additional possible indictments, which could happen as soon as this coming week, related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election brought by prosecutors in both Washington and Georgia. Trump already faces criminal charges in New York over hush money payments made to women who accused him of sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Nevertheless, Trump remains the dominant early figure for the Republican nomination and has only seen his lead grow as the charges have mounted and as his rivals have struggled to respond. Their challenge was on display at a GOP gathering in Iowa Friday night, where they largely declined to go after Trump directly. The only one who did — accusing Trump of “running to stay out of prison” — was booed as he left the stage.
In the meantime, Trump has embraced his legal woes, turning them into the core message of his bid to return to the White House as he accuses Biden of using the Justice Department to maim his chief political rival. The White House has said repeatedly that the president has had no involvement in the cases.
At rallies, Trump has tried to frame the charges, which come with serious threats of jail time, as an attack not just on him, but those who support him.
“They’re not indicting me, they’re indicting you. I just happen to be standing in the way,” he said in Erie, adding, “Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists, communists and fascists indict me, I consider it actually a great badge of honor…. Because I’m being indicted for you.”
But the investigations are also sucking up enormous resources that are being diverted from the nuts and bolts of the campaign. The Washington Post first reported Saturday that Trump’s political action committee, Save America, will report Monday that it spent more than $40 million on legal fees during the first half of 2023 defending Trump and all of the current and former aides whose lawyers it is paying. The total is more than the campaign raised during the second quarter of the year.
“In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, the leadership PAC contributed to their legal fees to ensure they have representation against unlawful harassment,” said Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung.
At the rally, in a former Democratic stronghold that Trump flipped in 2016, but Biden won narrowly in 2020, Trump also threatened Republicans in Congress who refuse to go along with efforts to impeach Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said this past week that Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry into the president over unproven claims of financial misconduct.
Trump, who was impeached twice while in office, said Saturday that, “The biggest complaint that I get is that the Republicans find out this information and then they do nothing about it.”
“Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democrat fraud should be immediately primaries and get out — out!” he told the crowd to loud applause. “They have to play tough and … if they’re not willing to do it, we got a lot of good, tough Republicans around … and they’re going to get my endorsement every singe time.”
Trump, during the 2022 midterm elections, made it his mission to punish those who had voted in favor of his second impeachment. He succeeded in unseating most who had by backing primary challengers.
At the rally, Trump also called on Republican members of Congress to halt the authorization of additional military support to Ukraine, which has been mired in a war fighting Russia’s invasion, until the Biden administration cooperates with Republican investigations into Biden and his family’s business dealings — words that echoed the call that lead to his first impeachment.
“He’s dragging into a global conflict on behalf of the very same country, Ukraine, that apparently paid his family all of these millions of dollars,” Trump alleged. “In light of this information,” Congress, he said, “should refuse to authorize a single additional payment of our depleted stockpiles … the weapons stockpiles to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime family’s corrupt business dealings.”
House Republicans have been investigating the Biden family’s finances, particularly payments Hunter, the president’s son, received from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that became tangled in the first impeachment of Trump.
An unnamed confidential FBI informant claimed that Burisma company officials in 2015 and 2016 sought to pay the Bidens $5 million each in return for their help ousting a Ukrainian prosecutor who was purportedly investigating the company. But a Justice Department review in 2020, while Trump was president, was closed eight months later with insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
Trump’s first impeachment by the House resulted in charges that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on the Bidens while threatening to withhold military aid. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate. | https://who13.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-trump-amid-legal-perils-calls-on-gop-to-rally-around-him-as-he-threatens-primary-challenges/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:06 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-trump-amid-legal-perils-calls-on-gop-to-rally-around-him-as-he-threatens-primary-challenges/ |
Five-year anniversary gifts
Shop this article: Roses, I Love You Anniversary Card and 2-Stem Natural Wood Roses with Vase
Spending a half-decade together is a reason to celebrate. Roses, chocolate and champagne are fitting gifts for almost any anniversary or milestone. However, when you hit the five-year mark in your relationship, you might want to take things up a notch.
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Tradition dictates that the five-year wedding anniversary gift is wood and meant to signal long-lasting strength, wisdom and forgiveness. Still, nowhere does it say that you have to stick to that, and some great gift ideas include perfume, jewelry, shoes, bags and self-care options.
Five-year anniversary wooden gift ideas
I Love You Anniversary Card
If you’re a stickler for tradition and want to make sure you give a gift of wood, one simple way to achieve this is with your card. This laser-cut classic hearts design is more than just any old anniversary card. It’s a keepsake that can last for years to come.
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Kate Posh 5-Years of Marriage Photo Frame
Simple yet also sentimental. This wooden picture frame is engraved and comes in multiple sizes. It has a back-stand easel to display on a table and clips to mount it on the wall.
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2-Stem Natural Wood Roses with Vase
Carved from sugar wood and stained rich chocolate, this stylish, sentimental and symbolic anniversary gift comes with two wooden roses in an oak vase.
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The best fragrance gifts for her
With dazzling floral accents and woodsy notes, this scent exudes femininity and mystery. The may rose and jasmine with citrus notes and soft bourbon vanilla help create this sensual Chanel fragrance, making the perfect gift for a romantic anniversary.
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This scent oozes femininity without being overpowering, with an intoxicating blend of warm and spicy, with keynotes of jasmine, orange blossom and woods and patchouli. It’s also ageless, which makes it perfect for either your 5th or 50th anniversary.
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The best self-care gifts for her
Goop “The Martini” Emotional Detox Bath Soak
Treat your loved one to some peace and tranquility with a soothing bath to relax the mind and body. The pink salt will ease muscles. The chia seed oil hydrates and moisturizes the skin, while the wildcrafted frankincense will soothe the mind. This combination is just as good as a day at the spa.
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Give the gift that spoils your loved one night after night with this slip silk pillowcase that’s a known beauty secret of both beauty experts and dermatologists. Cover her pillow in the highest-grade mulberry silk to help create the ultimate night’s rest.
Herbivore Coco Rose Exfoliating Body Scrub
Pamper your partner with a body scrub made from virgin coconut oil, sugar and Moroccan rose to leave her skin moisturized and smelling of rose petals and coconuts. This luxe body scrub has been clinically tested and proven to offer softer, smoother and less dry skin.
The best jewelry gifts for her
TruMiracle Diamond Stud Earrings
These exquisite half-carat diamonds with side accents will dazzle and sparkle from every angle. They are available in 14-carat gold, white gold and rose gold.
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Sarah Chloe Andi Initial Pendant Necklace in 14k Gold-Plate Over Sterling Silver
This is a delicate and sophisticated pendant necklace you can wear casually or when dressing to impress. It’s set in 14 carat-gold-plate over sterling silver, with a lobster clasp for closure and a beaded chain.
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Le Vian Deep-Sea Blue Topaz & Diamond Statement Ring in 14k Rose Gold
Give her something she can’t help but show off with this dazzling deep-blue-sea topaz ring. It’s enhanced with nude and chocolate diamond rings that add to the color and sparkle. These gorgeous stones are set in a beautiful strawberry gold that will make your anniversary one to remember.
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The best handbag gifts for her
Michael Kors Bedford Legacy Logo Ladies Leather Crossbody Bag
There’s just something about a new handbag that makes a girl smile, so make her grin ear-to-ear with a stylish yet practical black, leather crossbody. This sleek and structured silhouette is an ideal everyday bag to match all outfits while remaining chic.
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The best shoes gifts for her
Badgley Mischka Kiara Embellished Peep-Toe Evening Pumps
You can never go wrong with super sexy shoes, and these sapphire satin peep-toe pumps with embellished detail fit the bill. These showstoppers will make her feel like a million bucks and make for one extraordinary anniversary.
Nine West Women’s Toe Dress Pumps
These shoes will be a gift for you and your loved one because you won’t be able to keep your eyes off her when she’s in these ultra-sexy t-strap stilettos. A mix of faux leather and skinny straps from the toe to the ankle make this exotic heel a special occasion in itself.
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://who13.com/reviews/br/beauty-personal-care-br/tools-accessories-br/best-five-year-anniversary-gifts-for-her/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:13 | 0 | https://who13.com/reviews/br/beauty-personal-care-br/tools-accessories-br/best-five-year-anniversary-gifts-for-her/ |
A comprehensive guide to pop-up campers
A pop-up camper provides a tentlike experience without having to sleep on the ground. When hitting the road in your pop-up camper, consider what and how to eat, what to sleep in, what toiletries to bring and what to do in case of an emergency.
Shop this article: Eagles Nest Outfitters Spark Camp Quilt, Sea to Summit X-Pot Collapsible Camping Cookpot and Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight Watertight .5 Medical First Aid Kit
What is a pop-up camper?
Pop-up campers are lightweight, compact vehicles that can park in more secluded areas due to their size. They are more affordable than the average camper and are quick to pack up and hook up, making the road trip easier. They can also keep you warmer than a tent in colder months but cooler in the heat of summer.
Pop-up camper setup
There are five aspects of pop-up camper setup.
- Location: Locate where you want to set up your camper and consider the slope of the ground, nearby trees and electrical hookups. This is where to check if your camper is level. If it is not level, you can use blocks to prop up one of the sides before unhooking the tow vehicle.
- Power: To power up the camper, run its electrical cord to the campsite’s electrical hookup after turning off the breaker. Once connected, you can turn the breaker on to provide electricity to amenities such as the sink and the refrigerator. At this point, users can crank down the leg support and crank up the roof.
- Beds: Make sure that the canvas is not holding onto anything and pull the first bed handle out to start setting up the beds. From there, pull the support pole free and position this onto the stud on the frame. Repeat this process for the remaining poles. Lastly, lift both beds to latch the supports until the beds sit down firmly.
- Water and propane: To set up water and propane in your pop-up camper, lift and lower the galley handle until it is in position. Then, link the male end of the propane hose to the female end on the lower frame of the camper. Finally, connect a sanitary water hose from your trailer to the water spigot at the campsite.
- Water heater: To set up the water heater, you need to access the hot water tank, turn the gas knob to “pilot” and hold down. Place a flame on the pilot end of the tube using a long lighter. Hold this down until it stays lit. You should be able to turn on the knob, and the hot water tank should start to heat your water.
Pre-make your food
Before hitting the road in your pop-up camper, make your meals ahead of time. These meals can be complete meals stored in a cooler or prepped to be quickly cooked at a campsite. Also, pre-pack any portion meals that you plan to make by the fire for convenience.
Stock your pop-up camper with necessities
Buy a set of camping pots and pans in advance to prepare for every meal and anything that goes on in the kitchen. This ensures that you do not have to go back and forth for camping utilities or go without food for a short time because you were unprepared. Moreover, pack extra sleeping bags and sheets of various insulation to prepare for any situation that may occur.
Air out your pop-up camper after it rains
Mold and other bacteria are more likely to form when it rains. Due to the foldable nature of the pop-up camper, this bacteria can get into crevices and breed. Before packing up your camper after it rains, make sure everything is dry so that it can be clean to use for the next trip.
Tips for hitting the road in a pop-up camper
If you are a first-time camper, keep your trip close to home in case something goes wrong, or it turns out that you are underprepared. This ensures that you are close to safety and have everything that you need. Additionally, make a grocery list and a checklist for all items that you think you need to bring in advance.
Pop-up camper FAQ
Where do I go to the bathroom while camping?
A. If there is no bathroom in your pop-up camper and you do not want to go out in nature, travel with a portable camping toilet. This item is best for rooftop tents, car campers and drive-up camp spots.
What style of chair is best to bring on a camping trip?
A. Classic camp chairs are a good choice. These chairs have four legs and are very stable. They make sitting and standing an act of ease in comparison to low chairs and rocking chairs. They’re also affordable.
Sleep essentials
Eagles Nest Outfitters Spark Camp Quilt
This 3-in-1 blanket, quilt and sleeping bag provides warmth and comfort in 40- to 60-degree weather. The weather-resistant materials help protect the sleeping bag from rain and any other damage caused by the elements.
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Kelty Mistral Sleeping Bag: 40 Fahrenheit Down
This mummy-style sleeping bag keeps heat in while being lightweight and durable. It comes with a stuff sack for storage and features an offset quilt construction to prevent cold spots. CloudLoft insulation locks in heat. The zipper is anti-snag, and the bag fits up to 6 feet in length. Use it inside or outside the pop-up tent.
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Kitchen essentials
Sea to Summit X-Pot Collapsible Camping Cookpot
This camping cook pot is heat-resistant and BPA-free to ensure food safety. The entire pot is collapsible for storage in small spaces. Its aluminum base conducts heat evenly for the best cooking experience and it comes with a strainer lid.
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MalloMe Camping Cookware Mess Kit Gear
This camping cookware kit is portable and made with food-safe, non-toxic anodized aluminum. The kit includes an aluminum nonstick pot, a pot cover, a nonstick pan, two bowls, a folding stainless steel spork, a soup spoon, a wooden spoon spatula, a cleaning sponge and a nylon travel drawstring pouch. It can be easily attached to a backpack and carried to campsites.
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First-aid essentials
Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight Watertight .5 Medical First Aid Kit
This first aid kit provides all the needed materials for any accidents that could happen while camping in your pop-up camper. It includes a wide array of medical supplies to treat pain, inflammation and common allergies. The wraps and bandages assist in immobilizing fractures and provide support. The antiseptic wipes and butterfly bandages help clean small wounds.
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Adventure Medical Sportsman Series Medical Kit
This medical kit provides items that treat common camping injuries. It is organized by injury type for quick access in an emergency and provides all the basic tools needed. This kit is also lightweight and portable.
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://who13.com/reviews/br/travel-br/travel-essentials-br/pop-up-camper-guide-everything-you-need-in-order-to-hit-the-road/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:19 | 0 | https://who13.com/reviews/br/travel-br/travel-essentials-br/pop-up-camper-guide-everything-you-need-in-order-to-hit-the-road/ |
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge is giving the New York Yankees an immediate boost — at a time when their front office has some tough decisions to make.
Judge homered and singled twice in his second game back from the injured list and the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 on Saturday night. Giancarlo Stanton and Kyle Higashioka went deep as well for New York, which is still 3 1/2 games behind Toronto and Houston for the last two wild cards in the American League.
That’s a tricky spot with Tuesday’s trade deadline approaching.
“We’ve had years where we stick with who we got. We’ve had years where we get some bullpen arms, starters, a big bat,” Judge said. “It comes down to us doing our job on the field and then letting them take care of the rest. We’ll see what happens.”
The Yankees knocked out struggling Orioles starter Tyler Wells (7-6) in the third inning. In the sixth, Isiah Kiner-Falefa capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a three-run double to make it 8-3.
Judge has three walks and three hits in nine plate appearances since returning Friday from the toe injury that kept him out since early June.
Ryan Mountcastle homered for the Orioles, but Clarke Schmidt (7-6) made it through five tough innings and the New York bullpen took it from there.
The Orioles remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the AL East.
Judge walked three times Friday night, but the Yankees lost that game 1-0 on a ninth-inning homer by Baltimore’s Anthony Santander. New York’s offense was relentless a night later.
Stanton’s first-inning drive easily cleared the big wall in left field at Camden Yards. Mountcastle tied it in the second, and Baltimore went ahead 2-1 on an RBI infield single by Ramón Urías. That lead was short-lived.
Judge hit a two-run shot — 442 feet to center field — in the third. Then Gleyber Torres added a sacrifice fly an inning later.
Santander made it 4-3 with an RBI groundout in the fifth, but New York broke the game open in the sixth. Cole Irvin allowed a leadoff homer by Higashioka — his third hit of the night — and then one-out singles to Judge, Stanton and Anthony Rizzo.
Bryan Baker came in and struck out DJ LeMahieu, but after fouling off five pitches, Kiner-Falefa cleared the bases with a line drive to left.
“One of the best at-bats of the season right there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Wells entered the game with a major league-leading WHIP of 0.99, but he allowed three runs, three hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. In three starts since the All-Star break, he’s lasted just nine innings total.
“I think we’re going to be talking about a lot of things here coming up,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Obviously, we’re in a weird week. He’s had tough times his last few starts. I think there are going to be discussions going on.”
Boone said he’s leaning toward giving Judge a day off in the series finale Sunday night. The Yankees are in a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.
“I kind of look at it as, hopefully he’s in a position to start nine or 10 of them,” Boone said. “Forget the toe. He hasn’t come close to playing games for almost two months. As much as I want him in there, we’ve got to be smart here a little bit, especially in this run.”
DIFFERENT ORDER
The Orioles used catcher Adley Rutschman in the leadoff spot because of his ability to get on base. He was hit by a pitch, walked and scored a run.
UP NEXT
New York’s Luis Severino (2-4) starts Sunday night against Baltimore’s Dean Kremer (10-4). It’s the final game of the season series, which is tied 6-all.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-aaron-judge-has-a-homer-and-3-hits-in-his-2nd-game-back-to-help-the-yankees-top-the-orioles-8-3/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:26 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-aaron-judge-has-a-homer-and-3-hits-in-his-2nd-game-back-to-help-the-yankees-top-the-orioles-8-3/ |
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the first time since returning from a toe injury, sending a 442-foot drive over the wall in center field in the third inning against Baltimore on Saturday night.
The two-run shot gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 advantage. Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer in the first.
Judge was hitless since returning Friday, although he drew three walks in that game. He hit a towering flyout in his first plate appearance Saturday. Then he connected off Tyler Wells two innings later.
It was his 20th home run of the season. Judge started in right field Saturday after he was the designated hitter Friday.
Judge had been out since tearing a ligament in his right big toe June 3.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-aaron-judge-slugs-442-foot-homer-in-2nd-game-back-for-yankees-from-toe-injury/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:33 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-aaron-judge-slugs-442-foot-homer-in-2nd-game-back-for-yankees-from-toe-injury/ |
TORONTO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Saturday for a postgame outburst at an umpire following a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays a night earlier.
Bench coach Ray Montgomery managed the Angels during the second game of the three-game series as Nevin served his suspension.
Nevin was seen holding up a tablet computer and yelling at plate umpire Mike Estabrook as the crew left the field after the 4-1 loss Friday night.
The umpires access their locker room through the tunnel at the end of the visitor’s dugout on the first base side of Rogers Centre.
A Toronto police officer accompanied the umpire crew as it descended the dugout steps. Montgomery had to restrain Nevin as the umpires passed through the end of the dugout.
Nevin was angry about the game-ending called third strike against pinch hitter Michael Stefanic, who entered in the ninth inning with the bases loaded after Shohei Ohtani left because of cramping in both of his calves.
“I just explained to him that I thought the pitch to Stefanic was outside,” Nevin later told reporters.
Ohtani hit his major league-leading 39th home run in the series opener — part of a streak of three homers in three at-bats over two games — before exiting early.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-angels-manager-phil-nevin-suspended-1-game-for-outburst-at-umpire/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:40 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-angels-manager-phil-nevin-suspended-1-game-for-outburst-at-umpire/ |
TORONTO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was taken to a Toronto hospital for tests after being hit in the head by a pitch from Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah in the fifth inning Saturday.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said he planned to visit Ward in the hospital after leaving the stadium following the Angels’ 6-1 loss.
Batting with the bases loaded, Ward was hit by a 2-0 pitch clocked at 91 mph. The ball appeared to strike Ward next to his next left eye, knocking off his batting helmet.
“It got him pretty flush,” Nevin said.
Plate umpire Andy Fletcher motioned to the Angels’ dugout for the trainer as Ward went down with blood running down his face.
“It’s scary,” Angels left-hander Reid Detmers said. “You’re just hoping and praying that he’s all right, that he gets up.”
Angels trainers rushed to the plate and held a towel to Ward’s face. After a couple of minutes, Ward got to his feet and left the field on a cart. His left eye appeared to be swollen shut.
“Obviously it didn’t look very good,” Angels infielder Mike Moustakas said. “Hopefully we get some good news here in a little bit. We’re all praying for him.”
Manoah put his hands on his head as he stood on the mound. It was the second hit batter of the game for Manoah, who hit Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani on the left foot in the first.
Andrew Velazquez ran for Ward, who drove in the first run of the game. Velazquez went to shortstop and Luis Rengifo, who scored on the play, moved to left field in the bottom of the inning.
Asked whether the Angels might visit Ward in hospital, Moustakas said he thought it was better to let his teammate rest.
“I’m sure we’ll all send him some text messages and see how he’s doing, but I don’t know if going over there is a good thing,” Moustakas said. “I don’t think that’s the right thing to do right now. Let him rest and recover, get healthy.”
Before play resumed, Blue Jays manager John Schneider came to the mound and replaced Manoah with left-hander Génesis Cabrera.
After the game, Manoah called it “a terrible moment.”
“That’s probably the worst feeling ever,” Manoah said. “Definitely want to pray for him and his family. That’s the last thing you want to do, no matter the situation, no matter the team, no matter anything. I feel really bad about it. I’ll definitely be looking to see how he’s doing.”
In September 2021, Manoah hit Oakland’s Starling Marte in the helmet with a 92 mph pitch. Marte stayed in the game to run the bases but was later replaced.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-angels-outfielder-taylor-ward-leaves-game-after-being-hit-in-head-by-alek-manoah-pitch/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:47 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-angels-outfielder-taylor-ward-leaves-game-after-being-hit-in-head-by-alek-manoah-pitch/ |
ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Céline Boutier carded a 4-under 67 in the third round of the Évian Championship on Saturday to increase her lead to four shots going into the final day.
The 29-year-old Boutier aims to become the first Frenchwoman to win the tournament, which became a major in 2013.
“I didn’t start that good to be honest. I missed the first three greens but got a good break on 2 and was able to chip in. Then I just had really good chances on the two par-fives, seven and nine, and was able to take advantage of that,” said Boutier, who had a bogey on the 12th hole in a round of five birdies.
“I was just trying to focus on making, hitting a good shot, and if I happen to have a birdie opportunity, I hit a solid putt. It was definitely positive and felt pretty good to start very good on the front.”
Boutier’s closest challenger is Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, who posted a 68 on Saturday after rounds of 70 and 67.
“Hopefully I will get more birdies tomorrow. It was good iron shots and distance control,” Hataoka said. “Also I was good too with my putting stroke, so I was really comfortable. Tomorrow is another new day, and I want to enjoy the next 18 holes.”
Minjee Lee of Australia and Brooke Henderson of Canada are joint-third, a shot behind Hataoka.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-boutier-takes-4-shot-lead-into-final-round-of-evian-championship/ | 2023-07-30T20:21:54 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-boutier-takes-4-shot-lead-into-final-round-of-evian-championship/ |
PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury say All-Star center Brittney Griner will not travel for the team’s next two games so she can focus on her mental health.
The 6-foot-9 center — who became an international story during her 10-month detainment in Russia last year — is averaging 18.2 points and 6.7 rebounds over 20 games this season.
“The Mercury fully support Brittney and we will continue to work together on a timeline for her return,” the team said in a statement on Saturday.
Griner’s impressive individual season hasn’t translated to success for the Mercury, who have a 6-17 record and fired Vanessa Nygaard earlier in the season.
The Mercury’s tough season and coaching change are among the multiple challenges Griner has faced in her return to the WNBA following her ordeal in Russia on drug-related charges that caused her to miss the entire 2022 season.
Griner and her teammates were confronted by what the WNBA called a “provocateur” at the Dallas airport in June and she’s also dealt with a hip injury that caused her to miss a handful of games.
Griner will miss road games against Chicago on Sunday and Indiana on Tuesday.
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Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-brittney-griner-wont-travel-for-next-2-games-to-focus-on-her-mental-health-team-says/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:00 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-brittney-griner-wont-travel-for-next-2-games-to-focus-on-her-mental-health-team-says/ |
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray’s football career was nearly flawless for the first 25 years of his life: First, he was a Texas high school phenom, then a Heisman Trophy winner, then the No. 1 overall pick for the Arizona Cardinals, then a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
In all those situations, Murray was being compared to other football players.
These days, the competition is with himself.
“This is different,” Murray said. “This is you-on-you. Nobody really knows what you’re going through except for yourself and whoever you’re working out with.”
Murray, who turns 26 on Aug. 7, is working his way back to football relevancy following an underwhelming fourth season that was cut short by a torn ACL in his right knee against the New England Patriots on Dec. 12.
The quarterback acknowledged some tough days after the surgery — nights when it was tough to sleep because of the pain — but said he’s not feeling sorry for himself as he works to get back to the field.
“I get to do what I love every day — play quarterback in the NFL,” Murray said. “Did I get hurt? Yeah. Did I experience something no one wants to experience? Yeah. But it’s nothing for me to get up and work out. I was already doing that before I got hurt.”
Murray’s expected to miss at least a few games of the upcoming season while he continues to recover, and the quarterback watched Saturday’s practice at State Farm Stadium in a gray hooded sweatshirt and long black sleeve over his entire right leg.
His impending return is the hottest topic for the Cardinals during camp, but says he’s not committing to a certain return date.
“I don’t have a timetable,” Murray said.
Murray said he saw Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at a recent UFC event and the two discussed the perils of an ACL injury. Burrow tore the ACL in his left knee during his rookie season in 2020, but returned to play 16 games in 2021.
“I wouldn’t want to go out there and hurt the team or hurt myself,” Murray said. “The advice that I’ve gotten from a lot of people around me is to go when you’re ready. Don’t listen to outside noise. Don’t feel pressure to come back because of this situation or that situation.
“Whenever you’re ready, you’ll know you’re ready.”
Murray has been very good — at times spectacular — for much of his first four seasons. His uncanny scrambling ability has produced several highlight-reel plays and he’s got plenty of arm to make all the throws he needs to make.
The apex of his pro career came in 2021, when the Cardinals started the season with a 10-2 record and looked like a Super Bowl favorite. But the franchise collapsed, losing four of the next five games before getting blown out against the Los Angeles Rams in an embarrassing playoff performance.
With high hopes in 2022, the Cardinals were one of the league’s most disappointing teams, finishing with a 4-13 record. Murray was far from the only reason for those struggles, but also wasn’t blameless, as his performance regressed in several areas.
“It’s not a bad thing to sit back, watch, and try to make this a positive deal,” Murray said. “I feel good. Getting better each and every day, taking one day at a time. Just trying to be there for my teammates and learn as much as possible before I do stuff on the field.”
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill made big changes after last season’s debacle, bringing in a defensive-minded coach in Jonathan Gannon and a new general manager in Monti Ossenfort. The new regime seems just as smitten with Murray as the previous one — Gannon said one major reason he took the Cardinals job was Murray’s presence.
Murray says he’s excited about what the changes can bring.
The Cardinals have a large monetary interest in making things work: Murray signed a $230.5 million, five-year deal before last offseason that keeps him in the desert until 2028.
“It’s been great so far,” Murray said. “We’re actually establishing a run game. I believe we’ll be able to run the ball a lot better, which will only be a weapon for us. Get under center, mix it up, not be as predictable.”
Veteran Colt McCoy is the Cardinals’ most likely quarterback while Murray continues to recover. The 36-year-old has been the team’s backup for the past two seasons and has a 3-3 record in the six games he’s started.
The other current options are David Blough, who played decently in two starts last season, and Clayton Tune, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Houston.
“To me, whoever is available, we’re trying to put the best guy out there to win football games,” Gannon said. “Obviously, Kyler’s not available right now, but we’ve got a lot of guys who are very capable who I’m excited to see play and compete if he’s not ready to go.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-cardinals-kyler-murray-says-his-knee-rehab-is-going-well-but-has-no-timetable-for-his-return/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:07 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-cardinals-kyler-murray-says-his-knee-rehab-is-going-well-but-has-no-timetable-for-his-return/ |
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The fight itself didn’t match the hype, but Terence Crawford’s performance exceeded it.
He knocked down Errol Spence Jr. three times Saturday night before finally ending the fight at 2:32 of the ninth round on a technical knockout to cement himself as one of the greatest welterweights in history.
The fight, the most-anticipated boxing match in several years, made Crawford the first undisputed champion in the 147-pound division in the four-belt era that began in 2004.
Crawford (40-0, 31 knockouts) already owned the WBO belt, and took the WBC, WBA and IBF titles from Spence (28-1). Crawford also ran his KO streak to 11 matches, the second-longest active stretch.
Crawford, 35, has won titles at super lightweight and lightweight in addition to welterweight, capturing the latter after moving up in 2018. The Omaha, Nebraska, fighter became the first male boxer to become the undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.
“I only dreamed of being a world champion,” Crawford said. “I’m an over-achiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer. I want to thank Spence and his team because without him none of this would have been possible.”
A big fight night on the Strip still brings out the stars, with recording artist Andre 3000 of Outkast, NBA star Damian Lillard and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at T-Mobile Arena. They were among the celebrities that also included former boxing champions such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Eminem introduced Crawford and his song “Lose Yourself” played as he walked into the ring before a sellout crowd of 19,990 at T-Mobile Arena.
Spence was the aggressor early on, but Crawford sent him to the floor with a right hand with 20 seconds left in the second round. Then Crawford went after Spence, but time ran out before he could finish him off.
Crawford, a minus-154 favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, then took control of the fight, landing several major blows, often on counters. But Crawford also picked his spots to go after Spence, his punching power taking a heavy toll.
“He was just better tonight,” Spence said. “I make no excuses. He was throwing a harder jab. He was timing with his jab, and he had his timing down on point.”
In the seventh round, Crawford knocked down Spence twice — with a short right at 1:02 and with another right with just a second left.
The fight was essentially over at that point, though Crawford backed off in the eighth round. He came roaring back in the ninth to end it for sure.
Crawford didn’t waste the chance to gloat afterward, directly responding to his critics.
“They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights,” Crawford said. “I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is. Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.”
Spence, however, said he would be up for a rematch, but wants to move up to the 154-pound division.
“We’ve got to do it again,” Spence said. “I would be a lot better.”
Crawford said he would have no problem moving up a weight class.
“I’m in the hurt business,” Crawford said. “Forty-seven is kind of hard for me, too. I was already talking about moving up in weight and challenging (champion Jermell) Charlo.”
The 33-year-old Spence, who lives in DeSoto, Texas, won the IBF title in 2017, claimed the WBC championship in 2019 and took the WBA championship last year.
In the co-main event, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (25-2-1) of Mexico beat Chicago resident Giovanni Cabrera (21-1) by split decision in a WBC and WBA lightweight match. Judges Benoit Roussel (114-113) and Don Trella (115-112) scored the fight in favor of Cruz, and Glenn Feldman gave Cabrera the fight by a 114-113 score. Cruz had a point deducted because of a head butt.
Also, Alexandro Santiago (28-3-5) of Mexico won the vacant WBC bantamweight title with a 115-113, 116-112, 116-12 decision over Nonito Donaire (42-8), who lives in Las Vegas.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-crawford-unifies-welterweight-division-with-9th-round-tko-in-dominant-performance-over-spence/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:14 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-crawford-unifies-welterweight-division-with-9th-round-tko-in-dominant-performance-over-spence/ |
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Two-time reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen won the rain-hit sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday to extend his huge lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to 118 points.
It was Verstappen’s ninth straight win including the two sprint races he has won this season. He collected eight points for the victory and will look to extend his overall lead further in Sunday’s main race as he continues his march to a third straight world title.
“That was not bad,” Verstappen said with casual understatement.
He finished a comfortable 6.7 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and 10.7 clear of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
“I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car, which is much better than it was at the start of the year,” said the 22-year-old Piastri. “It’s been amazing for me.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in fourth but dropped down to seventh after being given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision when trying to overtake Perez, who scored no points after retiring near the end.
“Lewis crashed into me and took the whole right hand side of my car off,” said Perez, blaming that incident on his failure to finish.
Hamilton’s penalty moved Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. into fourth spot ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris sixth and Mercedes driver George Russell in eighth behind his teammate Hamilton
This was the third of six scheduled sprint races this season, with Perez winning in Azerbaijan and Verstappen winning in Austria and here. The top eight drivers all score points from eight down to one.
The sprint race was delayed by more than one hour due to heavy rain, getting underway with a rolling start procedure after several laps behind a safety car, in order to clear more water off the track for the sprint, which lasted 11 laps.
“I think the rolling start was the smart thing to do,” Verstappen said. “(But) I think we could have a raced a little earlier, maybe two laps earlier.”
Safety was paramount at the Spa track, which has seen two drivers from other racing series killed in the past four years.
F2 driver Anthoine Hubert died in a multi-car crash at the track in 2019, on the eve of the F1 race.
Dutch teenage driver Dilano van ’t Hoff was killed earlier this month on the same circuit while competing in the Formula Regional European Championship.
Two years ago, six drivers from the all-female W Series needed medical checks following a heavy crash during a qualifying session on the same track.
Spa’s layout features a notorious flat-out uphill section known as Eau Rouge, which is followed by a blind corner sequence into Radillon.
The most serious issue during rain is a lack of visibility with so much spray from the cars flying up.
“The water just stayed in the air. I couldn’t see anything so I can only imagine how bad it was at the back,” said Gasly, who was close friends with Hubert. “I was hoping no car (goes) off the track or collides on the straight because we know what happened (in the past).”
Even Verstappen was unsighted when at slow speed.
“I couldn’t even see the safety car sometimes and I was the first car,” Verstappen said. “Unfortunately we had these accidents happen over the years.”
It was a welcome result for Gasly, who crashed out of the Hungarian GP last weekend and whose team is undergoing an overhaul after some disappointing results.
The encouraging performance was also a poignant one for Gasly.
“It feels very special to have done it here in Spa,” he said. “So obviously a thought for Anthoine.”
Earlier, Verstappen edged out Piastri by just .011 seconds to take the sprint pole.
The shortened qualifying format — known as the “sprint shootout” — was delayed by 35 minutes because of wet and rainy conditions, with air blowers used to clear water from the track.
Piastri shot to the top of the leaderboard on his last run, only for Verstappen to typically find extra pace.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll pushed too hard in the final seconds of Q2, the second part of qualifying, and slid off into the barriers, mangling his right tire and bringing out a red flag. His teammate Fernando Alonso was on his out lap when the crash happened and couldn’t set a time, meaning he also failed to make it into Q3.
Heavy rain had also impacted Friday’s running at the 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which is nestled in a forest amid the Ardennes countryside and is often impacted by gloomy weather.
Verstappen also set the fastest time in qualifying for Sunday’s main race, but Leclerc will start from pole because of Verstappen’s five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. He begins Sunday’s race from sixth, but that will not bother Verstappen considering he won here last year from 14th.
Verstappen and Perez have won every F1 race and sprint race between them in the ultra-dominant Red Bull car.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-f1-leader-verstappen-wins-rain-hit-belgian-gp-sprint-race-piastri-is-second/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:21 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-f1-leader-verstappen-wins-rain-hit-belgian-gp-sprint-race-piastri-is-second/ |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier with a head kick one minute into the second round to win the main event lightweight bout at UFC 291 on Saturday night.
The third-ranked Gaethje (26-4) celebrated his victory by climbing to the top of the Octagon fence and doing a backflip off it. His perfectly timed headshot helped him avenge a loss to Poirier in 2018 when he suffered a fourth-round technical knockout via strikes.
“This chance at redemption was amazing,” Gaethje said. “It drove me to work harder to be ready.”
It was Gaethje’s 20th win by knockout or TKO and his seventh victory in his last nine fights. He also scored his first knockout win since UFC 249 in 2020.
“I was surprised by myself and how good I fought,” Gaethje said.
Second-ranked Poirier (29-8) entered the rematch between the two former interim lightweight champions as a minus-152 favorite according to FanDuel. He matched Gaethje blow for blow in the first round – earning a 10-9 advantage on two of three scorecards – before being quickly dispatched in the second.
The decisive high kick from one former champ caught the other by surprise because it wasn’t a move that he expected to see from Gaethje.
“I thought I had four more rounds,” Poirier said. “I didn’t know I had two more minutes.”
With the victory, Gaethje earned a BMF belt – the second UFC fighter to be awarded that belt.
Beating Poirier opens the door for Gaethje to have a potential title bout against the winner of Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, who are set to square off at UFC 294 in October.
Gaethje’s BMF win over Poirier headlined five main card bouts.
Alex Pereira defeated Jan Blachowicz by split decision in a light heavyweight bout billed as the co-main event for his eighth win in his last nine fights.
Pereira (8-2), ranked second as a middleweight, made his debut in the light heavyweight division at UFC 291 after losing the middleweight title belt via knockout to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 in April. Blachowicz (29-10-1) did not make the transition in weight class a smooth one for the former champion.
He weathered early takedowns in the first two rounds and rallied in the third round.
Derrick Lewis earned a record 14th knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima just 33 seconds into the first round of the heavyweight bout. The No.10-ranked Lewis (27-11) scored an immediate takedown with a flying knee and pummeled 15th-ranked Rogerio de Lima (21-10-1) with repeated punches to score the early finish. He celebrated snapping a three-fight slide by stripping off his shorts and dancing around the Octagon.
“The win means a lot to me,” Lewis said. “I had a lot of pressure on me coming into this fight and I just wanted to prove to everyone I’m still one of the best fighters in the world.”
Bobby Green beat Tony Ferguson by submission via choke with six seconds left in the third round of the lightweight bout. Green (30-14-1) dominated the final two rounds to earn his second career submission, scoring takedowns in both rounds while raining repeated blows that left his opponent battered. He denied Ferguson (26-9) a shot at earning his first UFC victory since 2019, sending the 39-year-old fighter home with his sixth straight loss.
Kevin Holland made quick work of Michael Chiesa to win the welterweight bout. Holland (25-9) beat the 12th-ranked Chiesa — fighting for the first time following a two-year hiatus — by submission at 2:39 in the first round. He used his length and striking abilities to trap Chiesa (18-7) in a D’arce choke, forcing a quick tap out.
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, Jazz coach Will Hardy, and former Jazz stars Deron Williams and Karl Malone were among those in attendance at the second UFC pay-per-view event in 11 months in the Beehive State.
UFC reported a live gate of $6.5 million, breaking the previous venue record set at UFC 278 in August 2022. A sellout crowd of 18,467 was in attendance.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-gaethje-knocks-out-poirier-in-second-round-to-win-ufc-291-lightweight-bout/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:28 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-gaethje-knocks-out-poirier-in-second-round-to-win-ufc-291-lightweight-bout/ |
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Jimmy Graham offered a few reasons why — at age 36 and without having played football last year — he could become a playmaker again for the New Orleans Saints.
“I’m feeling better than ever. I’m still 6-(foot)-7 and I like the red zone,” the veteran tight end said Saturday in his first public comments since rejoining his first NFL team Tuesday. “I definitely came into this with a chip on my shoulder and with something to prove.”
Estimating he weighed as much as 285 pounds in his previous stint with the Saints, when he worked out like “a meathead,” Graham said he has been cycling “hundreds of miles a week” and has changed his workout and eating habits to suit to his age.
“I know I’m definitely in shape,” said Graham, now listed at 265 pounds. “That’s not a problem at all.”
Graham, who has caught at least eight touchdown passes in six of his 12 NFL seasons, was a favorite target of former star quarterback Drew Brees and among the most popular players in New Orleans before the club surprisingly traded him to Seattle in 2015.
Many fans were upset, including general manager Micky Loomis’ own daughter. So, too, was Graham.
“For me, it was pretty shocking,” Graham said. “I thought I would never leave this place. … I woke up to the part of the business that hurt.”
Alluding to a difficult childhood in which he sometimes lived in an orphanage, Graham added, “at first it was very difficult because of my connection with Drew as an ‘older brother’ and all the people in this building.”
“It was family, you know?” Graham continued. “So, for me, a guy who didn’t have a lot of family, it was definitely a difficult time.”
Graham played three seasons with the Seahawks — where he had a major knee injury 2015, but also his last 10-TD season in 2017 — before spending two seasons each at Green Bay and Chicago. He said he spent several of those seasons avoiding interviews because he “didn’t really have a lot to say that was positive.”
In recent years, Graham said, he longed for another chance to play in New Orleans.
“I’ve been trying to come home for a long time,” Graham said, adding that by last season, he didn’t want to play anywhere else. He said several teams reached out to him in 2022, but he told his agent, Jimmy Sexton, “that if I don’t retire as a Saint that I wasn’t going to play again.”
Sitting out last season was “extremely weird, especially after you spend a whole offseason preparing (to play), working out and making sure you’re in shape,” he said. “I think everything happens for a reason and I think it’ll be to my benefit.”
The Saints used a third-round pick to draft Graham in 2010, despite the fact that he’d played just one season of football at Miami after spending four seasons as a basketball power forward for the Hurricanes.
In just his second NFL season, Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns and was selected to his first of five Pro Bowls. He had another banner season in 2013, with 1,215 yards and a career-high 16 TDs receiving.
Around that time, current Saints tight end Foster Moreau was playing for Jesuit High School in New Orleans and had a signed No. 80 Graham Saints jersey in a shadow box in his room.
“Jimmy was a dog, and he still is. Honestly, he runs great,” Moreau said. “So, it’s just such a funny situation. You walk into the locker room and, ‘Oh my God! Jimmy Graham right there.’”
Graham’s production plummeted in his final season with the Bears in 2021, when he caught 14 passes for 167 yards and three TDs in 15 games.
And while the Saints cannot be sure how well he’ll play this season, they expressed confidence he’ll be a leader in the locker room. Graham sounded ready to embrace that role, noting that he, along with 13th-year defensive end Cameron Jordan, are the only players on the roster who’d once been teammates with most of the stars of the Saints’ 2009 championship team.
“I understand what that culture was like and what that looks like, the sacrifice that it takes and the brotherhood – that bond – that needs to be molded,” Graham said.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-jimmy-graham-is-grateful-to-be-back-with-the-saints-and-confident-he-can-still-play/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:35 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-jimmy-graham-is-grateful-to-be-back-with-the-saints-and-confident-he-can-still-play/ |
WESTFIELD, Ind. (AP) — Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday night.
Taylor, the 2021 NFL rushing champ, has been seeking a contract extension before his rookie contract expires at the end of this season and he’s been one of several running backs to publicly air their grievances throughout the offseason.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the request hadn’t been made public. NFL Network first reported Taylor’s request to be traded.
It came shortly after Taylor left team owner Jim Irsay’s motorhome after a meeting that lasted nearly an hour as the Colts conducted a night practice.
“It was just a good conversation and, you know, hopeful going forward,” Irsay told reporters after practice. “We’re looking forward to a great season, hoping that Jonathan’s a big part of that and I think we had a good conversation.”
Taylor has not spoken with reporters since being placed on the physically unable to perform list Tuesday. General manager Chris Ballard said then the Colts wanted to wait for a new deal until they could see how a healthy Taylor fit the new offense installed by first-year coach Shane Steichen.
Taylor topped the 2,000-yard mark twice in college at Wisconsin and rushed for 2,980 yards and 29 TDs in his first two NFL seasons. He was a unanimous All-Pro selection in 2021, when he led the league with 2,171 total yards and tied for the league lead in total touchdowns with 20.
Last year, he rushed for 861 yards despite missing six games with an ankle injury that required offseason surgery. Indy also struggled, finishing the season 4-11-1.
Irsay posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday suggesting some player agents were acting in bad faith by complaining about how much running backs earned with a franchise tag designation after the collective bargaining agreement was negotiated in good faith. The $10.1 million price tag is the lowest of any position other than kickers or punters.
On Saturday, in front of a capacity crowd at Grand Park in Westfield a staff member took Taylor to the nearby motorhome. Irsay did not divulge details of the meeting afterward, but did talk about two other former Colts star runners — Marshall Faulk, who was traded after Peyton Manning’s rookie season in 1998, and Edgerrin James, who left as a free agent between the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
“I’m responsible for everyone on the team and to look at the cap money as you go forward,” Irsay said. “It’s a great responsibility and you try to be as fair as you possibly can be with the whole football team. So again, I’m hopeful.”
Now the Colts may be looking to move Taylor before he even gets a chance to team up rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in April.
“We need to make sure he (Taylor) is healthy, and we expect he should have an outstanding year,” Irsay said. “(Linebacker) E.J. Speed had the same surgery and is doing well, but it’s early in the process and we want to make sure Jonathan is 100%.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-jonathan-taylor-requests-trade-after-meeting-with-owner-jim-irsay-at-colts-practice-source-says/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:42 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-jonathan-taylor-requests-trade-after-meeting-with-owner-jim-irsay-at-colts-practice-source-says/ |
Bomb squad investigates mysterious packages parachuted into neighborhood
SAN DIMAS, Calif. (Gray News) – A bomb squad was called in to investigate after packages were apparently parachuted into a city in California.
The San Dimas Sheriff’s Station said deputies responded to a call Thursday for a suspicious package in San Dimas. When they arrived at the location, they said they discovered a parachute with two packages attached to it.
The responding deputies then evacuated the residents of nearby homes and called in the arson and explosives unit.
After an investigation, officials determined the packages did not contain explosives or other dangerous materials and seemed to be a science project.
Officials informed the neighborhood of the finds, and the residents returned safely to their homes.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2023/07/30/bomb-squad-investigates-mysterious-packages-parachuted-into-neighborhood/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:46 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2023/07/30/bomb-squad-investigates-mysterious-packages-parachuted-into-neighborhood/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://www.koin.com/news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:49 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — The American swim team has had a so-so meet at the world championships in Japan. Meanwhile, Australia and China have been pouring it on.
The American gold-medal count at the worlds is the lowest in at least two decades, although the overall medal count of gold, silver and bronze, is similar to most years.
After winning only four gold medals during the first seven days, they picked up three on Sunday — the eighth and final day — for a total of seven golds and 38 overall. The gold total is still their lowest in a worlds going back as least 20 years. They won only eight in the 2015 worlds.
Australia finished with 13 gold and 20 overall, and China had five gold and 16 overall.
“Obviously, we’d like to win more gold medals and I think we will,” American coach Bob Bowman said going into Sunday’s final day.
The slight predicament for Bowman is that two of the swimmers he coaches at Arizona State University, Leon Marchand of France and Hungary’s Hubert Kos, have won four gold medals. Marchand has three, and he’s sure to be a star at next year’s Paris Olympics, and Kos has one.
That’s the same gold-medal total for the entire American team through seven of eight days — four gold. The average for the Americans over the last nine championships has been about 15 golds.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, two of the first three questions Bowman fielded were about Marchand and Kos, from French and Hungarian news outlets.
“If you look at swimming, every coach on the U.S. team is coaching a foreign swimmer, an international swimmer. There’s always that dynamic,” said Bowman, who has legendary status for helping Michael Phelps win 23 Olympic gold medals.”
Bowman was cautious about taking credit for Kos, who came to Arizona State late last year. He went from being a good individual medley swimmer to a world champion a few days ago in the 200-meter backstroke.
“I think it’s just the Bob Bowman effect,” said Kos, son of an American father and Hungarian mother. ”That’s as simple as it is.”
He said Bowman had a “magic” touch.
Bowman played down his role.
“He (Kos) had an excellent coach at home for 10 years before me,” Bowman said. “He deserved the credit for this. I just helped a little bit at the end.”
Bowman compared Marchand to Phelps. But can he produce and endure the pressure, particularly with the Olympics in his home country?
“It remains to be seen what he can do next year. It’s going to be a lot of expectations,” Bowman said. “But I feel like he’s done a very good rehearsal this year and last year. They’ve been good preparations for what will happen next year and we’ll try to carry that over to Paris.”
Swimming is an individual sport, separate from team sports like soccer. It would be unthinkable for the coach of Real Madrid to be also coaching Barcelona players on the side. But it’s normal in swimming, and Bowman said he was “ethically” comfortable with it.
“I mean, the bottom line is I get paid to coach these guys at ASU,” he said. “I’m representing my country for the love of my country and happy to do that. I don’t think there’s an ethical question. It’s not a zero-sum. I’m not taking away from the U.S. guys.”
He said he was interested in coaching the Americans at next year’s Olympics, but suggested any decision was still pending.
“I don’t think we know yet,” he said. “I have to go through this week, get home, think about what the scenarios look (like) and then we’ll decide. I always want to do. But we’ll see how it goes.”
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-legendary-coach-bob-bowman-keeps-turning-out-winning-swimmers-and-not-just-americans/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:48 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-legendary-coach-bob-bowman-keeps-turning-out-winning-swimmers-and-not-just-americans/ |
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Firefighters extinguished a “challenging” warehouse fire on Swan Island in North Portland Sunday morning.
Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the scene of the fire at approximately 7:50 a.m. after a neighboring business reported flames coming from the building. Responding firefighters faced multiple challenges battling the fire, PF&R said. Firefighters initially had trouble accessing the burning warehouse. Once inside, they faced thick, black smoke and towering racks of flammable carpeting.
“There was a locked gate, and being a Sunday morning, nobody was there to let them in,” PF&R said. “The second challenge was that this was a large, non-sprinklered building full of high racks of carpeting and rubber matting.”
Responding firefighters fought the fire from inside the building and from the roof. Firefighters opened a hole in the roof of the warehouse and used a hose to extinguish flames spreading to the rafters.
“This was a very dangerous fire that could have consumed the entire building if not for the strong work of all of the crews this morning,” PF&R said.
Firefighters are actively investigating the cause of the fire. Crews will remain on scene Sunday to prevent the fire from reigniting. | https://www.koin.com/news/portland/portland-firefighters-douse-swan-island-warehouse-fire/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:55 | 1 | https://www.koin.com/news/portland/portland-firefighters-douse-swan-island-warehouse-fire/ |
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Chasing his first PGA Tour victory Lee Hodges shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday to stretch his lead to five strokes with a round left in the 3M Open.
Hodges had a 20-under 193 total at the TPC Twin Cities to break the tournament 54-hole mark of 195 set last year by Scott Piercy. Hodges led at 8 under after the first round and a record 15 under after the second.
“I have nothing to lose,” Hodges said. “I’m out here playing with house money. I have a job next year on the PGA Tour, this is all great. This is just icing on the cake.”
J.T. Poston was second after a 66. Defending champion Tony Finau was another stroke back at 14 under after a 67.
Hodges’ best finish in 64 prior events was a tie for third at The American Express in 2022, the only other time the 28-year-old Alabama player has led or shared the lead after 54 holes.
And he almost certainly has played himself into the playoffs that begin in two weeks. He began the week 74th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 70 players qualifying.
“I honestly don’t think I’ll be that nervous tonight.” Hodges said. “I’ll hang out with my wife. We’ll go do something fun. I mean, yeah, it’s just golf at the end of the day. I’m lucky to be here.”
Hodges opened with an up-and-down even nine holes, then had five birdies on the back nine.
“I didn’t think I played bad on the front nine, I just couldn’t really get it close to the hole and when I did, I couldn’t make the putt,” he said.
Things were much different after the turn.
Hodges dropped birdie putts from 12 feet on No. 10 and nearly 11 feet on No. 11. His tee shot on the par-3 13th stopped 4 1/2 feet from the cup for another birdie. He added a 5-foorter for birdie on 16 and a 7-footer on 18.
He’ll be paired with Poston on Sunday the final group.
“We play some practice rounds together and I know him really well,” Poston said. “He’s a good friend. So, if I can’t get it done tomorrow, I’ll be pulling for him.”
Finau birdied four of his final eight holes. Last year, he trailed by five shots early in the final round and won by three at 17 under.
“It was just nice to make a run on the back nine today just to give myself a chance,” Finau said. “If I’m eight back, that’s a whole different feeling than five or six. I was just happy with the way I finished my round today and to creep up and just be a little closer to the lead.”
Aaron Baddeley was fourth at 13 under after a 65.
Sam Ryder (65), Keith Mitchell (67), Billy Horschel (68) and Kevin Streelman (69) were 12 under. Ryder birdied in his final five holes — and seven of nine — to toe the tournament back-nine record of 29. Mitchell set that mark two years ago.
Kevin Yu shot 29 on his first nine, tying a score recorded by five others, but he was 5 over for his final six holes to finish with a 67. He was tied for 11th.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-looking-for-1st-pga-tour-title-lee-hodges-takes-5-shot-lead-onto-3m-open-final-round/ | 2023-07-30T20:22:55 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-looking-for-1st-pga-tour-title-lee-hodges-takes-5-shot-lead-onto-3m-open-final-round/ |
DEAR ABBY: I have a friend I occasionally meet for breakfast. She always stops someplace en route and brings takeout coffee into the restaurant. I am often kept waiting because she’s in a drive-thru getting that drink. I find it embarrassing that she joins me with drink in hand from elsewhere. How should I handle this? -- EMBARRASSED IN THE EAST
DEAR EMBARRASSED: Ask your friend why she does it. It’s possible she simply doesn’t like the coffee that restaurant serves, although she does enjoy their food and your company. I don’t think you should tell her it embarrasses you, because it is really no reflection ON you.
***
MORE FROM DEAR ABBY:
Dear Abby: Woman expecting quadruplets is devastated when her fiancé unexpectedly leaves her
Dear Abby: I’m madly in love with a man who only wants to drink when not sleeping or working
Dear Abby: Father fails to show up for teen son
Dear Abby: Painting is a painful reminder of a former friend
Dear Abby: I want out, but he has nowhere to go. I feel guilty.
***
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
***
To receive a collection of Abby’s most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)
COPYRIGHT 2023 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION
1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500 | https://www.nj.com/advice/2023/07/dear-abby-my-friend-brings-takeout-coffee-to-restaurant-when-we-meet-for-breakfast.html | 2023-07-30T20:23:01 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/advice/2023/07/dear-abby-my-friend-brings-takeout-coffee-to-restaurant-when-we-meet-for-breakfast.html |
(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers.
And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) want more information on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) — commonly referred to as UFOs — beginning with new laws, a classified hearing and the possible creation of a select committee.
The lawmakers said they are willing to use subpoena power if needed to get the answers they’re seeking from the federal government.
“If there’s not a cover up, the government and the Pentagon are sure spending a lot of resources to stop us from studying it,” Burchett told The Hill.
He added that they hope House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can aid them in setting up a select committee to study the issue of UAPs — as well as any government program that addresses them. If they don’t get leadership approval, they’ll “just start holding field hearings because the public is demanding that we have transparency,” Burchett said.
The effort comes after three former military officials earlier this week and under oath gave bombshell testimony on the unexplained aerial objects, telling lawmakers that for years they’ve been kept in the dark about the mysterious sightings and encounters.
David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, gave the most shocking testimony when he said he was told of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” accusing the military of misdirecting funds to keep such operations secret.
The shocking testimony now has committee members questioning how Congress should begin to investigate the witness claims and demand more answers from the executive branch on programs it claims doesn’t exist.
Lawmakers hope to start with obtaining additional information and documents that Grusch said he submitted to the Pentagon’s inspector general after serving on two Defense Department task forces looking into UAPs.
To get the information from Grusch — who said he was unable to discuss specifics on what he told the Pentagon’s watchdog arm — lawmakers want to sit down with the former official in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) to get additional information from him.
The group has been blocked, however, by officials that have informed them that Grusch doesn’t currently have security clearance to discuss the issues in a SCIF, according to Burchett.
“I think we’ll get there eventually, it’s just frustrating. I’m ready to go and the American public are ready to go,” he said.
Luna argued the SCIF with Grusch would help lawmakers better understand the type of legislation they need to write regarding UAPs. She said she supports legislation that would declassify information on the phenomena.
With a growing amount of bipartisan interest for more government transparency surrounding the issue, a need for reporting procedures for UAP’s both in the miliary and commercial airspace, and “stronger and stricter punishment for those that try to silence whistleblowers,” the topic is more important than ever, she said.
There is currently a provision in the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization bill, inserted by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which would force federal government agencies to hand over UAP records to a review panel with the power to declassify them. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the Senate on Thursday and now must be reconciled with the House’s version, so the initiative could still be stripped out.
Burchett also made an attempt to put an amendment into a Federal Aviation Administration bill to improve air travel, passed July 20, that would have required UAP sightings be reported to Congress. The initiative was blocked, which Luna said was an indication that “we clearly have a battle ahead of us.”
Another avenue for lawmakers should they not receive access to a SCIF would be invoking the Holman rule.
During Wednesday’s hearing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) vowed to do just that, saying that he would “personally volunteer to initiate the Holman rule against any personnel, or any program, or any agency that denies access to Congress.”
The Holman rule is a House power through which they can strip the salary of a specific government position, fire civil servants or cut a particular program.
Ogles’s pledge came after Grusch told lawmakers that the federal government for decades has secretly funded a “UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and that he believes the government is in possession of non-human crafts, based on interviews with 40 witnesses.
Moskowitz told The Hill that while it’s too early to use the Holman rule — as Congress must first “figure out where these positions exist and then examine whether or not they should be funded” — he hopes that by discussing the rule it will create more transparency with the federal government.
“This is about government transparency. I’m all for protecting national security, but that can’t just be a shield to deny the American people the basics of what we know about UAPs,” he said.
And Burchett said if lawmakers “start getting stonewalled” by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, he will have “no hesitation,” to invoke the rule.
Luna, meanwhile, said whether lawmakers use the rule depends on the response they receive from various agencies, programs and appointees.
That process could start as soon as September when lawmakers consider the Defense Appropriations bill on the House floor.
“We know that enormous sums of money are being spent on UAP related activity, whether it’s retrieval/recovery, research and reverse engineering, or just security for whatever the government is hiding,” she told The Hill. “But none of that is on the books, so from a basic governance perspective, Congress needs to know where money is being misappropriated.”
The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai contributed reporting. | https://www.koin.com/news/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:01 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/news/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ |
The debate over equal pay in pro sports has continued for decades.
"Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs. I want women to be able to have the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top too," said Billie Jean King at the 2016 Miami Open.
In late 2022, Congress passed the Equal Pay for Team USA law, ensuring that women playing for international teams must make the same as men.
For national teams and athletes, tennis leagues have made significant moves toward equal pay here in the U.S.
Earlier this year, the Women's Tennis Association announced there would be equal prize money offered to both male and female athletes at more competitions, including the grand slam tournaments.
But a fair solution for the pay gap across the rest of the sports world seems elusive.
A recent CNN analysis found that internationally, women playing in the 2023 World Cup earn 25 cents to the dollar of men, a quadruple jump from the last cup but still far below their peers.
Other pro sports have seen low wages for women.
In hockey, about half of Team USA holds second and third jobs to pay the bills despite training and playing year-round.
The average salary for WNBA athletes was just over $102,000 in 2022, and many athletes sought work overseas for higher pay. Countries like China and Russia can offer contracts for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The average NBA salary is $8.2 million per year.
Of the top 50 highest-paid athletes, according to Forbes, there is just one woman: Serena Williams, at number 49.
But some prominent athletes and sports officials have voiced skepticism over a blanket equal pay policy in a number of sports. Critics saythe pay gap is an unfortunate but fair distribution based on revenue generated and viewership. Major men's sports in the U.S. still bring in bigger revenues and audiences than women's sports.
But it's difficult to make a direct comparison between revenues and viewership without examining sports media coverage itself and the lucrative broadcast rights.
SEE MORE: Fewer Coaching Jobs In Women's Sports Are Going To Women
"It takes time now for women to catch up after 50 years of lack of investment. It takes time for them to catch up, and now develop the audience in the same way. And how do you develop an audience? You get on television," said Donna Lopiano.
Broadcast rights make up the biggest share of revenue for major sports teams in the U.S.
Skeptics for equal pay argue women’s sports have less interest and thus aren't worth the bigger deals.
But is it a matter of less interest or less exposure? Would more people be interested in seeing women play if the hype levels and ability to tune in were the same?
A University of Southern California and Purdue University study found 95% of total television sports coverage in 2019 focused on men’s sports.
The imbalance was similar in social media posts and sports newsletters.
"This has nothing to do with whether or not there are great, you know, women athletes. This has everything to do with who is controlling mass communications," said Lopiano.
There are signs that the existing TV deals for women aren't as rich as they could be.
A 2021 NCAA analysis of March Madness tournaments found the broadcast rights for the women’s teams were undervalued by millions.
Even though fewer people watched the final for women's college basketball between 2015 and 2021, total viewers for the women’s final increased by 32%. While for men it has declined by 40%.
The women’s game was only available on cable, while the men's had a wider reach with free network TV.
A 2021 white paper for YouGov surveyed reasons why viewers around the world don't engage with women’s sports as much.
The top reasons given were: "less media coverage," "lack of knowledge of teams and athletes," and "limited marketing."
When women athletes share a broadcast and marketing promotion with men, we see the gap in interest disappear.
For example, U.S. audiences tend to be equally interested in male and female athletes when it comes to the Olympics, compared to pro sports and college sports.
Pro tennis players also receive equal media coverage and are broadcast together.
Female tennis matches and players draw similar viewership numbers as the men's.
As American interest in women’s sports grows and major sports leagues prepare for new TV rights deals, we may see slow progress toward more equal media coverage.
And as the playing field slowly evens out, the rise of media coverage may bring higher revenues, viewership, interest, and pay for women athletes.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.lex18.com/equal-pay-in-women-s-sports-the-challenge-for-female-athletes | 2023-07-30T20:23:01 | 1 | https://www.lex18.com/equal-pay-in-women-s-sports-the-challenge-for-female-athletes |
The Texas Rangers acquired three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in a blockbuster trade with the New York Mets, an all-in move for the surprise AL West leaders.
Both teams announced the deal Sunday after news of the agreement broke Saturday evening. Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Scherzer will make his Rangers debut Thursday when he starts at home against the Chicago White Sox.
“It’s great. We’re pumped about it. We’re getting an experienced guy with a tremendous resume,” Bochy said in San Diego before the Rangers played the Padres.
He said the message to his players is: “Hey, we mean business. We’re here to win. And it’s always a great message when a team does something like this.”
The trade netted the Mets one of Texas’ top prospects in infielder Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. New York said he will be optioned to Double-A Binghamton.
Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to complete the deal, and the Mets will send cash to Texas. The pitcher also agreed to opt in on the final year of his contract in 2024 at $43.3 million, according to reports that said the Mets were paying about $35 million of the remaining $58 million on the right-hander’s contract.
“Obviously, Max’s pedigree is a future Hall of Fame pitcher and the winner that he is is a perfect fit for what we need right now. You can never have enough starting pitching and to add someone of Max’s caliber is a great addition to our club,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “We landed the player we feel like is going to help us get where we want to go this year.”
The 39-year-old Scherzer joins another former Mets ace in Texas: injured right-hander Jacob deGrom. However, the two-time Cy Young Award winner had Tommy John surgery last month that could sideline him through the end of next season.
The Mets, one of baseball’s biggest disappointments, unloaded Scherzer just days after sending closer David Robertson to Miami for two minor leaguers Thursday night.
New York began the season with the highest payroll in baseball at a record $355 million but started Sunday 18 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East and seven games back in the wild-card race with a string of teams to catch.
“We just couldn’t get the consistency clicking,” general manager Billy Eppler said.
The next question is what the Mets will do with Justin Verlander, another three-time Cy Young Award winner signed through next season. There should be plenty of suitors for the 40-year-old right-hander, who pitched Sunday against Washington.
Texas has emerged from six consecutive losing seasons to lead the AL West all but one day in Bochy’s first season in charge. Bochy won three World Series championships from 2010-14 as manager of the San Francisco Giants.
The Rangers made the first notable move of this trading season by getting once-dominant closer Aroldis Chapman from Kansas City in June. Chapman has stayed in a setup role with Will Smith handling most of the closing duties.
Now, Texas has bolstered the rotation knowing deGrom might be out until Scherzer’s contract expires at the end of next season.
The trade announcement came on the same day the Rangers placed All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 27, with a right forearm strain.
The Rangers added deGrom in the offseason on a $185 million, five-year contract, knowing there was risk in signing the oft-injured right-hander.
He lasted just six starts — all Texas wins — before elbow issues sidelined deGrom for a month. It took multiple MRIs to determine the extent of the damage to his elbow, and the Tommy John procedure in June was the second of his career. The other was in rookie ball with the Mets in 2010.
“I think we need to improve as a starting rotation,” Bochy said before the Rangers’ game at San Diego on Saturday night, as reports of the trade were circulating. “I think that’s fair to say.”
Scherzer (9-4) was leading the Mets in wins but had his highest ERA (4.01) since 2011 with Detroit. The eight-time All-Star started Friday at home against Washington, allowing one run over seven innings in a 5-1 New York victory.
With 210 career wins, Scherzer is third among active pitchers behind Verlander and Kansas City’s Zack Greinke.
“Adding him not only to this rotation for this year but also for next year, is a huge pickup,” Eovaldi said. “He brings that experience. He’s accomplished everything. What he’s going to be able to do for the guys, the energy, and you see how he goes out there and competes on the mound, and then just that extra experience for the postseason as well. We’ve got more guys that have experienced it and been through it, and the more guys you have with everything that he’s been able to accomplish, the better it is for the whole rotation and the team itself.”
The 21-year-old Acuña was batting .315 with seven homers, 51 RBIs and an .830 OPS in 84 games with Double-A Frisco this season. He also had 25 doubles and was leading the Texas League in stolen bases (42) and runs (68).
Acuña was the third-ranked prospect in Texas’ farm system and No. 44 overall in the majors, according to MLB Pipeline.
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AP Sports Writer Bernie Wilson in San Diego contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-rangers-get-scherzer-from-mets-in-all-in-blockbuster-from-surprise-al-west-leaders/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:02 | 1 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-rangers-get-scherzer-from-mets-in-all-in-blockbuster-from-surprise-al-west-leaders/ |
(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.koin.com/news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:07 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
BALTiMORE — With Aaron Judge resting, the Yankees will play the Orioles in the rubber game of a weekend series on Sunday night at Oriole Park.
With Judge off the injured list as of Friday after missing 42 games with a sprained big right toe, the Yankees lost Friday night’s series opener 1-0 and prevailed 8-3 on Saturday night. Judge was 3-for-6 with a two-run homer and three walks in his first two games since June 3.
First pitch for Sunday’s game is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ESPN will televise the game nationally.
With Judge sitting, manager Aaron Boone moved Gleyber Torres from leadoff into Judge’s No. 2 spot and started his lineup with Jake Bauers, who is starting in right field. DJ LeMahieu also is out of the Yankees’ lineup. Greg Allen is playing left field.
The pitching matchup is Yankees Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46) opposing Orioles rookie righty Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59).
Here is the Yankees’ lineup:
1. Jake Bauers, RF
1. Gleyber Torres, 2B
3. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 3B
6. Harrison Bader, CF
7. Greg Allen, LF
8. Anthony Volpe, SS
9. Kyle Higashioka, C
Luis Severino, RHP
Here is the Orioles’ lineup:
1. Adley Rutschman, DH
2. Gunnar Henderson, SS
3. Anthony Santander, RF
4. Ryan O’Hearn, 1B
5. Austin Hays, CF
6. Adam Frazier, LF
7. Ramon Urias, 3B
8. Jordan Westburg, 2B
9. James McCann, C
Dean Kremer, RHP
Here are other recent Yankees posts on NJ.com to check out:
-- Marlins want Gleyber Torres badly, but not for Yankees’ price, source says
-- Back and hot, Aaron Judge ‘not happy’ Yankees planning bunch of rest days
-- How should Yankees handle trade deadline? Here’s Aaron Judge’s take
-- For a night, Yankees entice management to buy, buy, buy with bombs-away rout of Orioles
-- Aaron Judge delivers big home run (442 feet) and even bigger prediction | Klapisch
-- Aaron Boone’s take on trade deadline won’t thrill the Yankees fans screaming for new blood
-- Carlos Rodon got pillow-talk advice, then ensured blowing kiss to boobirds didn’t turn 1995 ugly
-- How Aaron Judge blew Yankees away in 1st game back
-- Yankees shoot blanks with Aaron Judge back, lose to Orioles 1-0 on walk-off homer
-- Why Aaron Judge wasn’t sure he was ready to return until Friday afternoon meeting
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.
Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com. | https://www.nj.com/yankees/2023/07/yankees-orioles-lineups-sunday-aaron-judge-dj-lemahieu-sit-greg-allen-in-73023.html | 2023-07-30T20:23:07 | 0 | https://www.nj.com/yankees/2023/07/yankees-orioles-lineups-sunday-aaron-judge-dj-lemahieu-sit-greg-allen-in-73023.html |
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Goodfellas Pizzeria hosted a "Creek Cleaning" event in the Lexington Distillery District on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The event was created to promote clean waterways and make the community more beautiful.
Participants received t-shirts, free slices, and free samples for helping.
Keep Lexington Beautiful, SKYY Vodka, Etheral Brewing, and Wise Bird Cider sponsored it. | https://www.lex18.com/news/goodfellas-pizzeria-distillery-district-hosts-creek-cleaning-event | 2023-07-30T20:23:08 | 1 | https://www.lex18.com/news/goodfellas-pizzeria-distillery-district-hosts-creek-cleaning-event |
(KTLA) — An invasive fly species has prompted the quarantine of an upscale Southern California neighborhood, the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
The Tau fruit fly is native to Asia and is a “serious pest for agriculture and natural resources,” according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The flies can be typically found on a variety of fruits and vegetables along with a “select range of native plants in California,” officials said.
After the detection of more than 20 Tau flies in the Stevenson Ranch area of the Santa Clarita Valley, a quarantine was placed on residents.
The quarantine area spans about 79 square miles, bordered on the north by Castaic Junction, on the south by Oat Mountain, on the west by Del Valle, and on the east by Honby Avenue.
Stevenson Ranch is an upscale neighborhood with a median home price of $1.15 million dollars according to Redfin.
Officials believe the fly was introduced to Los Angeles County by travelers who brought uninspected produce into the state. Agriculture officials note this is a common way for invasive species to arrive.
To prevent the species’ further spread, quarantined residents are asked not to move any fruits or vegetables away from their property. The produce they own may be safely consumed or processed, but must remain at the property.
If residents choose not to consume their produce, they must be disposed of by “double-bagging in plastic and placing the bags in a bin specifically for garbage,” officials said.
CDFA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the L.A. County Agricultural Commissioner to “utilize a multi-tiered approach to eliminate the Tau fruit fly and prevent its spread to new areas.”
On properties within 200 meters of fly detections, crews will cut host fruit and vegetables to inspect for present fly larvae. Those properties will also be treated with a “naturally derived organic-approved material known as Spinosad, which will help remove any live adult fruit flies and reduce the density of the population,” said CDFA.
Fly traps that incorporate a pheromone along with a small amount of pesticide will also be placed throughout the treatment zones. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/california-neighborhood-under-quarantine-due-to-invasive-fly-species/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:08 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/california-neighborhood-under-quarantine-due-to-invasive-fly-species/ |
SYDNEY (AP) — Some of the biggest names in soccer have yet to show up at the Women’s World Cup.
That’s literally been the case of Australian star Sam Kerr, who missed the first two games with a calf injury.
Kerr has recovered in time to play for Australia in a crucial final Group B game against Canada on Monday. The Matildas need to beat the Canadians to ensure they advance to the knockout round, and the Chelsea striker’s return to the lineup brings needed energy to the team.
“Mentally, it’s massive. It brings so much to our team and obviously also a lot to the opposition knowing that we have Sam available for this game,” Australia defender Ellie Carpenter said.
Kerr’s injury on the eve of Australia’s opening game against Ireland set the tone for a tournament that hasn’t been kind to some of its biggest stars. She was the face of co-host Australia’s preparations for the tournament, which is also being staged in New Zealand.
She dominated the covers of magazines across newsstands, while the autobiography she released late last year chronicled her rise to become arguably the best player in the women’s game right now. Kerr’s popularity transcends women’s soccer and she is considered a national icon.
So the disappointment was palpable when news broke about an hour before the opening match that Kerr was going to be sidelined at least two games in this tournament.
Kerr’s absence was felt in the 3-2 loss to Nigeria in Australia’s second game, a loss that put the Matildas in danger of elimination. It is not known what her role will be against Canada, but Australia needs Kerr to deliver in the final game of group play.
“I’m definitely going to be available, but how we decide to use that is not to be given to the opposition,” said Kerr.
The World Cup is supposed to be a showcase for the finest talent and biggest names, but injuries have always robbed the tournament of some its star players.
Norway forward Ada Hegerberg has had her playing time curtailed. Often referred to as “the Lionel Messi of women’s soccer,” Hederberg was part of a Norway’s 1-0 upset loss to New Zealand in the opening game of the World Cup.
It got worse for the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner when she suffered a groin injury in the warm-up ahead of Norway’s game against Switzerland, and she’s been ruled out of the final Group A game against the Philippines.
Keira Walsh of England suffered a knee injury against Denmark that will sidenline her for the Lionesses’ final Group D game against China. Described as irreplaceable, it is not known how much she will be able to play.
Even for some stars who have seen plenty of playing time, it has been difficult to make an impact.
American icon Alex Morgan has underwhelmed so far at her fourth World Cup, where she is hoping to help the United States to an unprecedented third consecutive title.
Morgan, the co-leading scorer at the last World Cup, has yet to score at this year’s event and missed a penalty in the 3-0 win against Vietnam. U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said Morgan was adapting to playing in a forward line with Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman.
“I think it’s not hard to realize that Alex’s role is slightly different than the Alex that we’re used to maybe in the past,” Andonovski said. “She does set up the other two forwards a lot more. It’s not that she’s not capable of scoring goals or getting behind crosses, but we can also see her playing balls to Trinity and Soph, but also getting crosses for them as well.”
Morgan, at 34, is now one of the older players at the tournament.
Christine Sinclair of Canada is also searching for first goal of the tournament. Sinclair is highest scorer in international soccer — men or women — with 190 goals.
Like Morgan, she also missed a penalty, in a 0-0 draw with Nigeria that could still prove costly. She was benched for Canada’s second game against Ireland before coming in as a substitute at halftime as the gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics logged a come-from-behind 2-1 win.
At 40 years old, Sinclair is having to accept a more limited role for Canada.
Brazil great Marta, at 37, has also been used sparingly in her sixth World Cup.
Her teammate, Debinha, who is also an iconic figure to Brazil fans, has been one of the standout players for her country so far. But she wasn’t able to stop a 2-1 loss to France on Saturday despite scoring in that match.
The gap appears to be closing in the women’s game, with underdogs proving more of a test for the more established nations. That’s one reason some of the big name stars have yet to impress in tournament.
One of the few standouts who has not disappointed so far has been Alexandra Popp, who scored twice in Germany’s 6-0 rout of Morocco.
Major tournaments are traditionally a mix of rising talents coming to the surface, while established stars have the chance to confirm their status among the greats.
Linda Caicedo of Colombia, Lauren James of England and Melchie Dumornay of Haiti have proven their worth as some of the brightest prospects in the game. But as the second round of games nears its completion, it feels like the tournament is still waiting for many of its big hitters to make an impact.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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More AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-some-of-soccers-biggest-stars-are-struggling-to-make-an-impact-at-the-womens-world-cup/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:08 | 0 | https://who13.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-some-of-soccers-biggest-stars-are-struggling-to-make-an-impact-at-the-womens-world-cup/ |
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – An active police investigation is taking place in northeast Fresno and the public is being asked to avoid the area, the Fresno Police Department says.
A representative for the department confirms that there is a large police presence near the area of Magill Avenue and Effie Street as a result of an officer-involved shooting.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Chief Paco Balderrama has arrived at the scene and is being briefed by investigators.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/officer-involved-shooting-investigation-in-northeast-fresno-fpd/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:14 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/officer-involved-shooting-investigation-in-northeast-fresno-fpd/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:20 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
(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.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:26 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/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.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:32 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers.
And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) want more information on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) — commonly referred to as UFOs — beginning with new laws, a classified hearing and the possible creation of a select committee.
The lawmakers said they are willing to use subpoena power if needed to get the answers they’re seeking from the federal government.
“If there’s not a cover up, the government and the Pentagon are sure spending a lot of resources to stop us from studying it,” Burchett told The Hill.
He added that they hope House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can aid them in setting up a select committee to study the issue of UAPs — as well as any government program that addresses them. If they don’t get leadership approval, they’ll “just start holding field hearings because the public is demanding that we have transparency,” Burchett said.
The effort comes after three former military officials earlier this week and under oath gave bombshell testimony on the unexplained aerial objects, telling lawmakers that for years they’ve been kept in the dark about the mysterious sightings and encounters.
David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, gave the most shocking testimony when he said he was told of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” accusing the military of misdirecting funds to keep such operations secret.
The shocking testimony now has committee members questioning how Congress should begin to investigate the witness claims and demand more answers from the executive branch on programs it claims doesn’t exist.
Lawmakers hope to start with obtaining additional information and documents that Grusch said he submitted to the Pentagon’s inspector general after serving on two Defense Department task forces looking into UAPs.
To get the information from Grusch — who said he was unable to discuss specifics on what he told the Pentagon’s watchdog arm — lawmakers want to sit down with the former official in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) to get additional information from him.
The group has been blocked, however, by officials that have informed them that Grusch doesn’t currently have security clearance to discuss the issues in a SCIF, according to Burchett.
“I think we’ll get there eventually, it’s just frustrating. I’m ready to go and the American public are ready to go,” he said.
Luna argued the SCIF with Grusch would help lawmakers better understand the type of legislation they need to write regarding UAPs. She said she supports legislation that would declassify information on the phenomena.
With a growing amount of bipartisan interest for more government transparency surrounding the issue, a need for reporting procedures for UAP’s both in the miliary and commercial airspace, and “stronger and stricter punishment for those that try to silence whistleblowers,” the topic is more important than ever, she said.
There is currently a provision in the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization bill, inserted by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which would force federal government agencies to hand over UAP records to a review panel with the power to declassify them. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the Senate on Thursday and now must be reconciled with the House’s version, so the initiative could still be stripped out.
Burchett also made an attempt to put an amendment into a Federal Aviation Administration bill to improve air travel, passed July 20, that would have required UAP sightings be reported to Congress. The initiative was blocked, which Luna said was an indication that “we clearly have a battle ahead of us.”
Another avenue for lawmakers should they not receive access to a SCIF would be invoking the Holman rule.
During Wednesday’s hearing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) vowed to do just that, saying that he would “personally volunteer to initiate the Holman rule against any personnel, or any program, or any agency that denies access to Congress.”
The Holman rule is a House power through which they can strip the salary of a specific government position, fire civil servants or cut a particular program.
Ogles’s pledge came after Grusch told lawmakers that the federal government for decades has secretly funded a “UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and that he believes the government is in possession of non-human crafts, based on interviews with 40 witnesses.
Moskowitz told The Hill that while it’s too early to use the Holman rule — as Congress must first “figure out where these positions exist and then examine whether or not they should be funded” — he hopes that by discussing the rule it will create more transparency with the federal government.
“This is about government transparency. I’m all for protecting national security, but that can’t just be a shield to deny the American people the basics of what we know about UAPs,” he said.
And Burchett said if lawmakers “start getting stonewalled” by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, he will have “no hesitation,” to invoke the rule.
Luna, meanwhile, said whether lawmakers use the rule depends on the response they receive from various agencies, programs and appointees.
That process could start as soon as September when lawmakers consider the Defense Appropriations bill on the House floor.
“We know that enormous sums of money are being spent on UAP related activity, whether it’s retrieval/recovery, research and reverse engineering, or just security for whatever the government is hiding,” she told The Hill. “But none of that is on the books, so from a basic governance perspective, Congress needs to know where money is being misappropriated.”
The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai contributed reporting. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:38 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ |
(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.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:23:44 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
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://who13.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:21 | 1 | https://who13.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://who13.com/news/national-news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:27 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
(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://who13.com/news/national-news/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:33 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/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://who13.com/news/national-news/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:39 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
(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://cw33.com/automotive/whether-gm-killed-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-not-its-returning-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:44 | 1 | https://cw33.com/automotive/whether-gm-killed-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-not-its-returning-soon/ |
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://who13.com/news/national-news/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:45 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
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://cw33.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:50 | 0 | https://cw33.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
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://who13.com/news/national-news/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:51 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:56 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
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://who13.com/news/national-news/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:24:57 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Have you ever found yourself at a crosswalk, waiting for the walk sign to appear as traffic buzzes by. And even though you press the crosswalk button – maybe multiple times – it seems to take forever for the light to change in your favor.
While some slow-changing stop lights just need you to tell them you’re there, some crosswalk signals don’t care how many times you press the crosswalk button – it’ll change when it’s ready.
Let’s explain.
It’s not exactly clear when and where the first walk/don’t walk signs were installed, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Records show it likely occurred in the 1930s, and they were much like they are today.
“When it was on, all traffic approaching the intersection stopped so pedestrians could cross the streets in all directions, including diagonally,” the DOT writes. One early system gave pedestrians 20 seconds to cross the street every 100 seconds. Another gave pedestrians the walk signal while traffic moving in the same direction had a green light.
About three decades later, crosswalk buttons began appearing. They were intended to allow vehicle traffic to continue moving smoothly until a pedestrian came along rather than frequently stopping traffic for nobody.
Today, many of those buttons are useless.
In Austin, Texas, for example, most of the downtown intersections have walk indicators that are part of the normal traffic cycle, the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department told Nexstar. This means pedestrians don’t have to push a button at all (however, outside of downtown Austin, almost all signals do have buttons).
In San Francisco, there are 1,286 traffic signals operated by the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency, 610 of which have a version of a pedestrian push button, a spokesperson told Nexstar.
At just 264 of those, pedestrians need to press a button to get a ‘walk’ signal to cross some or all of the streets at the intersection. San Francisco has 490 signals with Accessible Pedestrian Signal buttons – which verbally tell pedestrians what streets they’re on and when to cross – at 143 intersections, those buttons are also used to activate a walk signal at some or all of the crosswalks, a spokesperson explains.
Few work in Boston as well, where city officials told the Boston Globe there is too much vehicular and foot traffic to let one person influence the whole traffic light setup. Only about 100 of the roughly 1,000 pedestrian buttons in New York City work, according to reports. High costs of removing some of the non-working buttons prompted city officials to leave them in place, The New York Times reported, prompting many to find themselves pushing a useless button.
In addition to the impacts the buttons can have on interrupting traffic, some cities have cited their required maintenance when opting to abandon them.
Crosswalk signals that are actuated, meaning they are triggered by a pedestrian hitting the button or loop detectors, generally require more upkeep, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Still, actuated signals could be beneficial “where vehicle and pedestrian volumes vary considerably throughout the day.”
While some cities may leave you confused about whether the crosswalk button actually works, San Francisco has placed signs at intersections that require you to hit the button.
Unless you’re instructed not to push the crosswalk button, it’s likely in your favor to press the button to get the ‘walk’ signal. If you find yourself waiting for an extended period of time, you can cross the street when safe to do so. You can also report a walk signal that should be functioning but isn’t to your city, sometimes by calling 311 if your community uses that number. | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/are-you-wasting-your-time-pressing-crosswalk-buttons/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:02 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/are-you-wasting-your-time-pressing-crosswalk-buttons/ |
(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers.
And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) want more information on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) — commonly referred to as UFOs — beginning with new laws, a classified hearing and the possible creation of a select committee.
The lawmakers said they are willing to use subpoena power if needed to get the answers they’re seeking from the federal government.
“If there’s not a cover up, the government and the Pentagon are sure spending a lot of resources to stop us from studying it,” Burchett told The Hill.
He added that they hope House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can aid them in setting up a select committee to study the issue of UAPs — as well as any government program that addresses them. If they don’t get leadership approval, they’ll “just start holding field hearings because the public is demanding that we have transparency,” Burchett said.
The effort comes after three former military officials earlier this week and under oath gave bombshell testimony on the unexplained aerial objects, telling lawmakers that for years they’ve been kept in the dark about the mysterious sightings and encounters.
David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, gave the most shocking testimony when he said he was told of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” accusing the military of misdirecting funds to keep such operations secret.
The shocking testimony now has committee members questioning how Congress should begin to investigate the witness claims and demand more answers from the executive branch on programs it claims doesn’t exist.
Lawmakers hope to start with obtaining additional information and documents that Grusch said he submitted to the Pentagon’s inspector general after serving on two Defense Department task forces looking into UAPs.
To get the information from Grusch — who said he was unable to discuss specifics on what he told the Pentagon’s watchdog arm — lawmakers want to sit down with the former official in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) to get additional information from him.
The group has been blocked, however, by officials that have informed them that Grusch doesn’t currently have security clearance to discuss the issues in a SCIF, according to Burchett.
“I think we’ll get there eventually, it’s just frustrating. I’m ready to go and the American public are ready to go,” he said.
Luna argued the SCIF with Grusch would help lawmakers better understand the type of legislation they need to write regarding UAPs. She said she supports legislation that would declassify information on the phenomena.
With a growing amount of bipartisan interest for more government transparency surrounding the issue, a need for reporting procedures for UAP’s both in the miliary and commercial airspace, and “stronger and stricter punishment for those that try to silence whistleblowers,” the topic is more important than ever, she said.
There is currently a provision in the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization bill, inserted by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which would force federal government agencies to hand over UAP records to a review panel with the power to declassify them. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the Senate on Thursday and now must be reconciled with the House’s version, so the initiative could still be stripped out.
Burchett also made an attempt to put an amendment into a Federal Aviation Administration bill to improve air travel, passed July 20, that would have required UAP sightings be reported to Congress. The initiative was blocked, which Luna said was an indication that “we clearly have a battle ahead of us.”
Another avenue for lawmakers should they not receive access to a SCIF would be invoking the Holman rule.
During Wednesday’s hearing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) vowed to do just that, saying that he would “personally volunteer to initiate the Holman rule against any personnel, or any program, or any agency that denies access to Congress.”
The Holman rule is a House power through which they can strip the salary of a specific government position, fire civil servants or cut a particular program.
Ogles’s pledge came after Grusch told lawmakers that the federal government for decades has secretly funded a “UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and that he believes the government is in possession of non-human crafts, based on interviews with 40 witnesses.
Moskowitz told The Hill that while it’s too early to use the Holman rule — as Congress must first “figure out where these positions exist and then examine whether or not they should be funded” — he hopes that by discussing the rule it will create more transparency with the federal government.
“This is about government transparency. I’m all for protecting national security, but that can’t just be a shield to deny the American people the basics of what we know about UAPs,” he said.
And Burchett said if lawmakers “start getting stonewalled” by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, he will have “no hesitation,” to invoke the rule.
Luna, meanwhile, said whether lawmakers use the rule depends on the response they receive from various agencies, programs and appointees.
That process could start as soon as September when lawmakers consider the Defense Appropriations bill on the House floor.
“We know that enormous sums of money are being spent on UAP related activity, whether it’s retrieval/recovery, research and reverse engineering, or just security for whatever the government is hiding,” she told The Hill. “But none of that is on the books, so from a basic governance perspective, Congress needs to know where money is being misappropriated.”
The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai contributed reporting. | https://who13.com/news/national-news/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:03 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ |
(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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:08 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
(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://who13.com/news/national-news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:09 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
(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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:14 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
Officials attempt to identify driver of SUV after hit-and-run caught on camera
MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) - Law enforcement officials are attempting to identify the driver of an SUV after it was caught on camera during a hit-and-run at a car dealership.
The Pottawatomie Co. Sheriff’s Office says that around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, officials were called to Max Motors in the 7900 block of Highway 24 in Manhattan with reports of a hit-and-run.
When law enforcement arrived, they said they found a dark-colored SUV had hit two parked vehicles, reversed and fled eastbound on Frontage Rd.
The Sheriff’s Office said the crime cost the company about $15,000 in damages.
Anyone who may have seen the incident or has information about it has been asked to report what they know to Captain Tyler Garver at 785-457-3353.
Copyright 2023 WIBW. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/officials-attempt-identify-driver-suv-after-hit-and-run-caught-camera/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:15 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/officials-attempt-identify-driver-suv-after-hit-and-run-caught-camera/ |
Bomb squad investigates mysterious packages parachuted into neighborhood
SAN DIMAS, Calif. (Gray News) – A bomb squad was called in to investigate after packages were apparently parachuted into a city in California.
The San Dimas Sheriff’s Station said deputies responded to a call Thursday for a suspicious package in San Dimas. When they arrived at the location, they said they discovered a parachute with two packages attached to it.
The responding deputies then evacuated the residents of nearby homes and called in the arson and explosives unit.
After an investigation, officials determined the packages did not contain explosives or other dangerous materials and seemed to be a science project.
Officials informed the neighborhood of the finds, and the residents returned safely to their homes.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/bomb-squad-investigates-mysterious-packages-parachuted-into-neighborhood/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:16 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/bomb-squad-investigates-mysterious-packages-parachuted-into-neighborhood/ |
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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:20 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — An east Charlotte road is shut down Sunday afternoon following an accident involving a CATS bus, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
The serious crash, which involved a CATS bus and truck, happened Sunday, July 30, in the 5600 block of The Plaza, authorities said.
Medic confirms with Queen City News one person has been taken to Atrium CMC with life-threatening injuries, and two others with serious injuries.
Ten people have been evaluated at the scene for minor injuries with the mass casualty bus.
“The Plaza is shut down in both directions at Covecreek Drive,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said. “Please avoid the area.”
“Expect heavy delays and find an alternate route,” the Charlotte Fire Department said. “Yield way to emergency vehicles.”
No word on the official cause of the crash at this time.
This is a developing story; check back for updates. | https://www.qcnews.com/charlotte/crash-shuts-down-east-charlotte-road-fire-department-says/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:26 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/charlotte/crash-shuts-down-east-charlotte-road-fire-department-says/ |
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.wric.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:26 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
(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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:26 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ |
MATTHEWS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — One person has been rushed to the hospital with serious injuries following a shooting Sunday afternoon in Matthews, Medic confirmed.
The shooting happened Sunday, July 30, at the Exxon gas station in the 11200 block of East Independence Boulevard.
Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area 🚨 >> Latest stories here
Medic reports one person was shot and taken to Atrium CMC for serious injuries.
No word on the circumstances surrounding the shooting at this time, or if any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story; check back for updates. | https://www.qcnews.com/crime-and-public-safety/1-seriously-injured-in-shooting-at-matthews-gas-station-medic/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:32 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/crime-and-public-safety/1-seriously-injured-in-shooting-at-matthews-gas-station-medic/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:32 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:32 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
(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.qcnews.com/news/national-news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:38 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/national-news/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:38 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
(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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:38 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
(NerdWallet) – Inflation has rattled nearly every aspect of Americans’ finances, including vacation budgets. But one major travel cost isn’t just lower than it was last year — it’s even lower than pre-pandemic.
June 2023 airfares are 18.9% lower than what they were in June 2022, according to July 2023 consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Considering that booming demand — alongside other factors like high jet fuel costs — led to record-high airfares last summer, it’s not surprising to see prices normalize. Not only have air travel costs come back down to earth from 2022’s highs, they’re even lower than pre-pandemic prices.
According to BLS data, June 2023 airfares are down 1.33% from what they were in 2019, when airfares were already trending lower. Relative to what prices were a decade ago, they’re even cheaper.
Pandemic aside, airfares have been trending cheaper
Before the pandemic, airfares had steadily been trending downward since 2014, save for a small bump in 2019. In 2020, prices dropped sharply with the onset of the pandemic, with June 2020 airfares averaging 27% lower than June 2019 airfares.
But as travel returned, so did higher prices. June 2021 airfares spiked 25% over the prior year, and airfares rose 34% more between June 2021 and June 2022.
If you take a long-term view, those increases aren’t necessarily as big as they seem. In fact, in June 2022, airfares averaged just 0.4% more than in 2014.
Here’s a look at how airfares have changed relative to prices in 2014, using June prices from BLS inflation data:
In 2023, airfares are 19% lower than a decade ago.
Compare that with something like the cost of milk, which is up 9% over that same period, according to BLS data. Hotel prices are up 28%. Admission to movies, theaters and concerts is up 33%.
If airfares are lower, why do they feel so high?
Over the past decade, prices for most items have increased. But if airfares are down 19%, why do they feel so expensive?
For starters, not every route is necessarily cheaper. Data from travel booking app Hopper indicates airfares to Europe this summer are averaging nearly $1,200 per ticket, the highest prices in the past six years. That’s perhaps a response to people who might usually book a low-cost domestic flight finally taking extravagant bucket list trips.
And given recent major flight cancellations on airlines including United and Southwest, more travelers might opt for more expensive direct flights to reduce risk of flight disruptions.
Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, has her own theories as to why people feel like airfares are higher, including recency bias, shorter booking windows and unbundling.
Recency bias
Berg pointed to how many people traveled for this summer’s major holidays.
For example, Fourth of July weekend set records for U.S. air travel, with more than 2.884 million people passing through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, according to TSA checkpoint data. That topped the previous record of 2.882 million people flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.
“A lot of times, we anchor the cost of travel to our most recent trips,” Berg says. “For many, that meant July Fourth and Memorial Day. It’s always expensive to travel on those weekends.”
Shorter booking windows
Airfares typically get more expensive the closer they’re booked to departure, and Berg says people are booking trips later than usual — perhaps a holdover from those pandemic times when people intentionally booked last minute given the extreme uncertainty.
Berg recommends typically booking one to two months in advance for domestic travel and three to four months ahead for most international travel.
“Now, people are searching for travel three weeks later than they did pre-pandemic, and they’re subsequently booking later,” she says. “If I’m booking a trip today that I intend to take two weeks from now, it’s going to be expensive because it’s always more expensive to book at the last minute.”
Unbundling
Then there’s unbundling, where airlines advertise lower fares, often in the form of basic economy seats that offer few frills. But low base fares typically entail upcharges in the form of ancillary fees to check bags or to guarantee a window seat or early boarding.
“On the whole, unbundling is a good thing because you’re not paying a premium for things you may not necessarily want,” Berg says. “I don’t care if I’m in the middle seat if it means I save $100.”
Berg acknowledges that it can be painful when you search for a flight that has a low advertised price but doesn’t turn out to be that cheap.
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts when you add in all those fees,” she says. | https://www.qcnews.com/news/travel-news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:44 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/travel-news/airfares-are-back-to-normal-so-why-do-they-feel-so-high/ |
TORONTO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was placed on the 10-day injured list with facial fractures on Sunday, a day after he was hit by a 91 mph pitch from Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah.
Ward was taken to a Toronto hospital after being struck in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 6-1 loss. He was released from the hospital Saturday evening.
To replace Ward, the Angels selected the contract of infielder Kevin Padlo from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Batting with the bases loaded, Ward was hit by a 2-0 pitch from Manoah. The ball appeared to strike Ward next to his next left eye, knocking off his batting helmet.
Plate umpire Andy Fletcher motioned to the Angels’ dugout for the trainer as Ward went down, blood running down his face. Angels staff rushed to the plate and held a towel to Ward’s face. After a couple of minutes, Ward got to his feet and left the field on a cart. His left eye appeared to be swollen shut.
A six-year veteran who has spent his entire career with the Angels, Ward is batting .253 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI in 97 games.
Earlier this season, Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner suffered a skull fracture and a concussion after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos. The ball hit Feltner on the back right side of his head, and he fell to the ground. He lay on his stomach as two members of the Rockies athletic training staff aided him. He was able to get on his feet and walked off the field with the assistance of the two trainers.
While it isn’t clear if Feltner will return this season — he was placed on the 60-day injured list after the May incident — he told reporters he does not “want to rule it out.” | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/mlb-player-suffers-facial-fractures-after-being-hit-in-head-by-91-mph-pitch/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:44 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/mlb-player-suffers-facial-fractures-after-being-hit-in-head-by-91-mph-pitch/ |
(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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:46 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
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.qcnews.com/news/u-s/florida/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:50 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/florida/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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/nightclub-security-guard-allegedly-beaten-to-death-in-hollywood-police/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:50 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/nightclub-security-guard-allegedly-beaten-to-death-in-hollywood-police/ |
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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:52 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
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.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:56 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/elderly-couple-bound-held-at-gunpoint-during-north-carolina-home-invasion-fbi-investigating/ |
(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://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:57 | 0 | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:25:58 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)- The Anderson County Coroner’s Office said that an 18-month-old child was found dead after he drowned in the pool on Saturday morning.
According to the coroner, the Anderson County Coroner’s Office and the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 300 block of McAlister Road in Williamston, South Carolina for a child found in a pool around 10:40 a.m.
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The child was removed from the pool by his father and CPR was initiated. EMS personnel arrived
on the scene and provided emergency medical care, and transported the child to Prisma Health
Pediatric Hospital.
According to the coroner, the child was pronounced deceased at the hospital around 11:32 a.m.
The Anderson County Child Death Investigation Task Force was alerted and responded to the
hospital and the home to initiate the investigation.
The coroner has identified the 18-month-old as Josue Hernandez, of Williamston.
The coroner said that the child was apparently able to get out of the house this morning
while family members were asleep and got into the above-ground pool.
Upon further investigation, officials figured out that the rear door of the home was unintentionally opened by the family dog allowing the child to exit the home and get into the pool.
The investigation indicated the child died due to freshwater drowning and there appears to be no indication of foul play.
The investigation is ongoing by the Anderson County Child Death Investigation Task Force,
which is comprised of representatives of the Anderson County Office of the Coroner, Anderson
County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Department of Social Services, and the South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division Special Victims Unit. | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/south-carolina/toddler-drowns-in-family-pool-in-anderson-county/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:02 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/south-carolina/toddler-drowns-in-family-pool-in-anderson-county/ |
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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:04 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/man-dies-at-disney-resort-deputies-investigating/ |
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.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:06 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/have-an-older-verizon-phone-plan-your-bill-could-increase-soon/ |
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN) — The pilot in Saturday’s deadly helicopter crash in Springfield is now identified.
According to the Springfield Post of OSP, the preliminary investigation shows Isaac Lee Santos, 36, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was operating the helicopter near I-70 in Clark County on Saturday, July 29, around noon. It is believed by authorities that the pilot lost control, crashed into a field, taking the power lines down onto all lanes of I-70.
Santos was pronounced dead at the scene.
OSP reports only seven vehicles on the interstate were reportedly involved in “minor” crashes. At this time, law enforcement says no other injuries were reported.
After the highway was closed for numerous hours, traffic is back and moving following the crash.
The crash remains under investigation. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/pilot-idd-after-deadly-helicopter-crash-in-ohio/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:06 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/pilot-idd-after-deadly-helicopter-crash-in-ohio/ |
(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers.
And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) want more information on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) — commonly referred to as UFOs — beginning with new laws, a classified hearing and the possible creation of a select committee.
The lawmakers said they are willing to use subpoena power if needed to get the answers they’re seeking from the federal government.
“If there’s not a cover up, the government and the Pentagon are sure spending a lot of resources to stop us from studying it,” Burchett told The Hill.
He added that they hope House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can aid them in setting up a select committee to study the issue of UAPs — as well as any government program that addresses them. If they don’t get leadership approval, they’ll “just start holding field hearings because the public is demanding that we have transparency,” Burchett said.
The effort comes after three former military officials earlier this week and under oath gave bombshell testimony on the unexplained aerial objects, telling lawmakers that for years they’ve been kept in the dark about the mysterious sightings and encounters.
David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, gave the most shocking testimony when he said he was told of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” accusing the military of misdirecting funds to keep such operations secret.
The shocking testimony now has committee members questioning how Congress should begin to investigate the witness claims and demand more answers from the executive branch on programs it claims doesn’t exist.
Lawmakers hope to start with obtaining additional information and documents that Grusch said he submitted to the Pentagon’s inspector general after serving on two Defense Department task forces looking into UAPs.
To get the information from Grusch — who said he was unable to discuss specifics on what he told the Pentagon’s watchdog arm — lawmakers want to sit down with the former official in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) to get additional information from him.
The group has been blocked, however, by officials that have informed them that Grusch doesn’t currently have security clearance to discuss the issues in a SCIF, according to Burchett.
“I think we’ll get there eventually, it’s just frustrating. I’m ready to go and the American public are ready to go,” he said.
Luna argued the SCIF with Grusch would help lawmakers better understand the type of legislation they need to write regarding UAPs. She said she supports legislation that would declassify information on the phenomena.
With a growing amount of bipartisan interest for more government transparency surrounding the issue, a need for reporting procedures for UAP’s both in the miliary and commercial airspace, and “stronger and stricter punishment for those that try to silence whistleblowers,” the topic is more important than ever, she said.
There is currently a provision in the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization bill, inserted by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which would force federal government agencies to hand over UAP records to a review panel with the power to declassify them. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the Senate on Thursday and now must be reconciled with the House’s version, so the initiative could still be stripped out.
Burchett also made an attempt to put an amendment into a Federal Aviation Administration bill to improve air travel, passed July 20, that would have required UAP sightings be reported to Congress. The initiative was blocked, which Luna said was an indication that “we clearly have a battle ahead of us.”
Another avenue for lawmakers should they not receive access to a SCIF would be invoking the Holman rule.
During Wednesday’s hearing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) vowed to do just that, saying that he would “personally volunteer to initiate the Holman rule against any personnel, or any program, or any agency that denies access to Congress.”
The Holman rule is a House power through which they can strip the salary of a specific government position, fire civil servants or cut a particular program.
Ogles’s pledge came after Grusch told lawmakers that the federal government for decades has secretly funded a “UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and that he believes the government is in possession of non-human crafts, based on interviews with 40 witnesses.
Moskowitz told The Hill that while it’s too early to use the Holman rule — as Congress must first “figure out where these positions exist and then examine whether or not they should be funded” — he hopes that by discussing the rule it will create more transparency with the federal government.
“This is about government transparency. I’m all for protecting national security, but that can’t just be a shield to deny the American people the basics of what we know about UAPs,” he said.
And Burchett said if lawmakers “start getting stonewalled” by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, he will have “no hesitation,” to invoke the rule.
Luna, meanwhile, said whether lawmakers use the rule depends on the response they receive from various agencies, programs and appointees.
That process could start as soon as September when lawmakers consider the Defense Appropriations bill on the House floor.
“We know that enormous sums of money are being spent on UAP related activity, whether it’s retrieval/recovery, research and reverse engineering, or just security for whatever the government is hiding,” she told The Hill. “But none of that is on the books, so from a basic governance perspective, Congress needs to know where money is being misappropriated.”
The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai contributed reporting. | https://www.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:12 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ |
(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers.
And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) want more information on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) — commonly referred to as UFOs — beginning with new laws, a classified hearing and the possible creation of a select committee.
The lawmakers said they are willing to use subpoena power if needed to get the answers they’re seeking from the federal government.
“If there’s not a cover up, the government and the Pentagon are sure spending a lot of resources to stop us from studying it,” Burchett told The Hill.
He added that they hope House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) can aid them in setting up a select committee to study the issue of UAPs — as well as any government program that addresses them. If they don’t get leadership approval, they’ll “just start holding field hearings because the public is demanding that we have transparency,” Burchett said.
The effort comes after three former military officials earlier this week and under oath gave bombshell testimony on the unexplained aerial objects, telling lawmakers that for years they’ve been kept in the dark about the mysterious sightings and encounters.
David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, gave the most shocking testimony when he said he was told of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program,” accusing the military of misdirecting funds to keep such operations secret.
The shocking testimony now has committee members questioning how Congress should begin to investigate the witness claims and demand more answers from the executive branch on programs it claims doesn’t exist.
Lawmakers hope to start with obtaining additional information and documents that Grusch said he submitted to the Pentagon’s inspector general after serving on two Defense Department task forces looking into UAPs.
To get the information from Grusch — who said he was unable to discuss specifics on what he told the Pentagon’s watchdog arm — lawmakers want to sit down with the former official in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) to get additional information from him.
The group has been blocked, however, by officials that have informed them that Grusch doesn’t currently have security clearance to discuss the issues in a SCIF, according to Burchett.
“I think we’ll get there eventually, it’s just frustrating. I’m ready to go and the American public are ready to go,” he said.
Luna argued the SCIF with Grusch would help lawmakers better understand the type of legislation they need to write regarding UAPs. She said she supports legislation that would declassify information on the phenomena.
With a growing amount of bipartisan interest for more government transparency surrounding the issue, a need for reporting procedures for UAP’s both in the miliary and commercial airspace, and “stronger and stricter punishment for those that try to silence whistleblowers,” the topic is more important than ever, she said.
There is currently a provision in the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization bill, inserted by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which would force federal government agencies to hand over UAP records to a review panel with the power to declassify them. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, was passed by the Senate on Thursday and now must be reconciled with the House’s version, so the initiative could still be stripped out.
Burchett also made an attempt to put an amendment into a Federal Aviation Administration bill to improve air travel, passed July 20, that would have required UAP sightings be reported to Congress. The initiative was blocked, which Luna said was an indication that “we clearly have a battle ahead of us.”
Another avenue for lawmakers should they not receive access to a SCIF would be invoking the Holman rule.
During Wednesday’s hearing Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) vowed to do just that, saying that he would “personally volunteer to initiate the Holman rule against any personnel, or any program, or any agency that denies access to Congress.”
The Holman rule is a House power through which they can strip the salary of a specific government position, fire civil servants or cut a particular program.
Ogles’s pledge came after Grusch told lawmakers that the federal government for decades has secretly funded a “UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program” and that he believes the government is in possession of non-human crafts, based on interviews with 40 witnesses.
Moskowitz told The Hill that while it’s too early to use the Holman rule — as Congress must first “figure out where these positions exist and then examine whether or not they should be funded” — he hopes that by discussing the rule it will create more transparency with the federal government.
“This is about government transparency. I’m all for protecting national security, but that can’t just be a shield to deny the American people the basics of what we know about UAPs,” he said.
And Burchett said if lawmakers “start getting stonewalled” by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, he will have “no hesitation,” to invoke the rule.
Luna, meanwhile, said whether lawmakers use the rule depends on the response they receive from various agencies, programs and appointees.
That process could start as soon as September when lawmakers consider the Defense Appropriations bill on the House floor.
“We know that enormous sums of money are being spent on UAP related activity, whether it’s retrieval/recovery, research and reverse engineering, or just security for whatever the government is hiding,” she told The Hill. “But none of that is on the books, so from a basic governance perspective, Congress needs to know where money is being misappropriated.”
The Hill’s Sarakshi Rai contributed reporting. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:12 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ufo-curious-lawmakers-brace-for-a-fight-over-government-secrets/ |
(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.qcnews.com/technology/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:18 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/technology/do-smartphones-belong-in-classrooms-four-scholars-weigh-in/ |
(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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:18 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
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.qcnews.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:24 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/hill-politics/white-house-takes-the-gloves-off-ahead-of-2024/ |
UPDATE: According to VDOT, all lanes have reopened and the scene is clear.
NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 64 East in New Kent County is causing a significant backup.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, the crash took place at mile marker 216, just east of Courthouse Road. The eastbound right lane is currently closed.
Traffic is currently backed up to Olivet Church Road. Drivers are asked to use alternate routes and expect delays.
For real-time traffic information and highway cameras, visit 511Virginia.org. | https://www.wric.com/traffic/multi-vehicle-crash-causing-backup-on-i-64-east-in-new-kent/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:24 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/traffic/multi-vehicle-crash-causing-backup-on-i-64-east-in-new-kent/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Have you ever found yourself at a crosswalk, waiting for the walk sign to appear as traffic buzzes by. And even though you press the crosswalk button – maybe multiple times – it seems to take forever for the light to change in your favor.
While some slow-changing stop lights just need you to tell them you’re there, some crosswalk signals don’t care how many times you press the crosswalk button – it’ll change when it’s ready.
Let’s explain.
It’s not exactly clear when and where the first walk/don’t walk signs were installed, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Records show it likely occurred in the 1930s, and they were much like they are today.
“When it was on, all traffic approaching the intersection stopped so pedestrians could cross the streets in all directions, including diagonally,” the DOT writes. One early system gave pedestrians 20 seconds to cross the street every 100 seconds. Another gave pedestrians the walk signal while traffic moving in the same direction had a green light.
About three decades later, crosswalk buttons began appearing. They were intended to allow vehicle traffic to continue moving smoothly until a pedestrian came along rather than frequently stopping traffic for nobody.
Today, many of those buttons are useless.
In Austin, Texas, for example, most of the downtown intersections have walk indicators that are part of the normal traffic cycle, the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department told Nexstar. This means pedestrians don’t have to push a button at all (however, outside of downtown Austin, almost all signals do have buttons).
In San Francisco, there are 1,286 traffic signals operated by the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency, 610 of which have a version of a pedestrian push button, a spokesperson told Nexstar.
At just 264 of those, pedestrians need to press a button to get a ‘walk’ signal to cross some or all of the streets at the intersection. San Francisco has 490 signals with Accessible Pedestrian Signal buttons – which verbally tell pedestrians what streets they’re on and when to cross – at 143 intersections, those buttons are also used to activate a walk signal at some or all of the crosswalks, a spokesperson explains.
Few work in Boston as well, where city officials told the Boston Globe there is too much vehicular and foot traffic to let one person influence the whole traffic light setup. Only about 100 of the roughly 1,000 pedestrian buttons in New York City work, according to reports. High costs of removing some of the non-working buttons prompted city officials to leave them in place, The New York Times reported, prompting many to find themselves pushing a useless button.
In addition to the impacts the buttons can have on interrupting traffic, some cities have cited their required maintenance when opting to abandon them.
Crosswalk signals that are actuated, meaning they are triggered by a pedestrian hitting the button or loop detectors, generally require more upkeep, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Still, actuated signals could be beneficial “where vehicle and pedestrian volumes vary considerably throughout the day.”
While some cities may leave you confused about whether the crosswalk button actually works, San Francisco has placed signs at intersections that require you to hit the button.
Unless you’re instructed not to push the crosswalk button, it’s likely in your favor to press the button to get the ‘walk’ signal. If you find yourself waiting for an extended period of time, you can cross the street when safe to do so. You can also report a walk signal that should be functioning but isn’t to your city, sometimes by calling 311 if your community uses that number. | https://www.qcnews.com/news/are-you-wasting-your-time-pressing-crosswalk-buttons/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:30 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/are-you-wasting-your-time-pressing-crosswalk-buttons/ |
(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.qcnews.com/news/health/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:36 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/health/brain-eating-amoeba-will-the-warming-climate-bring-more-cases/ |
OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – Four people are dead and two are hospitalized after two separate crashes on Saturday. Both incidents are connected to an annual air show in Wisconsin, according to officials.
The first crash happened shortly after 9 a.m. A T-6 Texan aircraft crashed into Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, where the Experimental Aircraft Association is holding its annual fly-in convention, EAA AirVenture.
Both people aboard the aircraft died, according to EAA officials.
A few hours later, a Rotorway 162F helicopter and ELA 10 Eclipse gyrocopter collided in mid-air at the south end of the EAA AirVenture flight line at Wittman Regional Airport, killing two and injuring two others. Both of the injured are in stable condition, according to EAA.
The Oshkosh Fire Department said one of the aircraft landed on top of a parked plane, but did not clarify which.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both accidents and has not provided a cause for either.
“Naturally, with the mid-air collision, somebody was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” EAA director of communications Dick Knapinski said. “How that occurred and why that occurred is what the NTSB will investigate and, from then, lessons will be learned as to what aviators can do to keep themselves safer.”
The investigation will likely take months to reach its conclusion.
“NTSB investigations typically take between a full year to 18 months to complete,” Knapinski explained. “They will have a preliminary investigation within the next week or so and then put out those findings. But the probable cause will probably take a year or more to determine by the board.”
The factors the NTSB will examine in its investigations include weather conditions, pilot experience, aircraft condition, flight pattern, and communication between ground and flight operations to determine the cause, which could be pilot error, a mechanical issue, or another reason, according to Knapinski. He described the weather as “mild” and likely not a contributing factor.
“Having accidents like this in the singular is very rare,” he said. “Having two fatal accidents take place on the same day is exceedingly rare.”
These are not the first incidents regarding aircraft at or en route to EAA this week. On Thursday, a single-engine plane bound for EAA AirVenture crash-landed in a cornfield in Green Lake County, hospitalizing two people.
On Tuesday, Knapinski said there was a “forced landing” east of the north/south runway at EAA AirVenture. The pilot was the only person onboard and was not injured.
Last Saturday, a single-engine ERCO Ercoupe headed to EAA AirVenture crashed in Fond du Lac County, injuring the pilot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.qcnews.com/news/national-news/4-killed-in-2-separate-aircraft-crashes-near-wisconsin-air-show/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:42 | 1 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/national-news/4-killed-in-2-separate-aircraft-crashes-near-wisconsin-air-show/ |
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Pima County Sheriff's Department said one person is dead and two others are injured after being shot during a reported street racing incident early Sunday morning.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., deputies responded to the intersection of Nogales Highway and Aerospace Parkway for a report of street racing.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found three people who had been shot.
One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were transported to the hospital, one victim sustained life threatening injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to call 9-1-1. You can also submit an anonymous tip, with the potential for a reward, by text or phone at 88crime (520-822-7463) or by going to 88Crime.org.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Chatter on one of Prabha Rao’s WhatsApp groups exploded last week when India announced that it was severely curtailing some rice exports to the rest of the world, triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off.
As in any crisis situation — think bottled water and toilet paper— some rushed to supermarkets to stock up, stacking carts with bags and bags of rice. In some places, lines formed outside some stores as panic buying ensued.
But Rao, who lives near Syracuse, New York, was reassured when the proprietor of her Indian market sent out an email to customers to let them know there was no need to worry: There was an ample supply of rice.
At least for now.
An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.
Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government earlier this month imposed export bans on non-Basmati white rice varieties, prompting hoarding in some parts of the world.
The move was taken “to ensure adequate availability” and “to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market,” India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution announced July 20. Over the past year, prices have increased by more than 11%, and by 3% over the past month, the government said.
Non-Basmati white rice constitutes about a fourth of the rice exported by India.
“On WhatsApp, I got a lot of messages saying that rice was not going to be available. I think there was a lot of confusion in the beginning because, as you know, rice is very important for us,” Rao said.
“When we first heard the news, there was just mild confusion and people started panic buying because they thought that it may not be available,” she said.
There are scores of different varieties of rice, with people having their preference depending on taste and texture. India’s export ban does not apply to Basmati rice, a long-grain variety that is more aromatic.
The ban applies to short-grain rice that is starchier and has a relatively neutral flavor — which Rao says is preferable in some dishes or favored in specific regions of India, especially in southern areas of the country.
At Little India, a grocery store in New York City’s Curry Hill neighborhood in Manhattan, there was no shortage of Basmati rice and other varieties.
That wasn’t the case at other Indian groceries.
On its Facebook page, India Bazaar, an Indian grocery chain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, told customers not to panic. “We are working hard to meet all our shoppers’ demands,” the post said.
Customers cleared shelves and waited in long lines to stockpile bags of rice, reported NBC Dallas affiliate KXAS.
“They really wanted to purchase ten, 12, 15 bags,” India Bazaar’s president, Anand Pabari, told the station. “It was a really crazy situation.”
India’s move came days after Russia backed out of a deal to allow Ukrainian wheat safe passage through the Black Sea, prompting warnings that the action could lead to surging prices.
Some economists say the ban might further hurt food supplies around the world, and some governments have urged the Indian government to reconsider the export ban.
At least in the United States, the supply of imported rice from India may not yet be a problem — despite the panic buying — but a long-term ban would certainly deplete that stock.
Roa says she and others will just have to adapt by purchasing rice grown in the United States or imported from other countries.
“I might have to substitute Basmati rice,” she said, “but it doesn’t taste that good, especially with South Indian dishes.”
A U.S. resident for three decades, Rao said she is accustomed to improvising.
“When we first came here, there was not even that much rice from India,” she said. “So I’ve learned to substitute, and I’m fine with the other brands that we get.” | https://wgntv.com/business/ap-business/ap-india-cuts-rice-exports-triggering-panic-buying-of-food-staple-by-some-indian-expats-in-the-us/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:45 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/business/ap-business/ap-india-cuts-rice-exports-triggering-panic-buying-of-food-staple-by-some-indian-expats-in-the-us/ |
(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.qcnews.com/news/national-news/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:48 | 0 | https://www.qcnews.com/news/national-news/facebook-settlement-checks-can-you-still-get-a-payment-if-you-deleted-your-account/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Six straight days of 12-hour driving. Single digit paychecks. The complaints come from workers in vastly different industries: UPS delivery drivers and Hollywood actors and writers.
But they point to an underlying factor driving a surge of labor unrest: The cost to workers whose jobs have changed drastically as companies scramble to meet customer expectations for speed and convenience in industries transformed by technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated those changes, pushing retailers to shift online and intensifying the streaming competition among entertainment companies. Now, from the picket lines, workers are trying to give consumers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce a show that can be binged any time or get dog food delivered to their doorstep with a phone swipe.
Overworked and underpaid employees is an enduring complaint across industries — from delivery drivers to Starbucks baristas and airline pilots — where surges in consumer demand have collided with persistent labor shortages. Workers are pushing back against forced overtime, punishing schedules or company reliance on lower-paid, part-time or contract forces.
At issue for Hollywood screenwriters and actors staging their first simultaneous strikes in 40 years is the way streaming has upended entertainment economics, slashing pay and forcing showrunners to produce content faster with smaller teams.
“This seems to happen to many places when the tech companies come in. Who are we crushing? It doesn’t matter,” said Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, a screenwriter and showrunner on the negotiating team for the Writers Guild of America, whose members have been on strike since May. Earlier this month, the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the writers’ union on the picket line.
Actors and writers have long relied on residuals, or long-term payments, for reruns and other airings of films and televisions shows. But reruns aren’t a thing on streaming services, where series and films simply land and stay with no easy way, such as box office returns or ratings, to determine their popularity.
Consequently, whatever residuals streaming companies do pay often amount to a pittance, and screenwriters have been sharing tales of receiving single digit checks.
Adam Shapiro, an actor known for the Netflix hit “Never Have I Ever,” said many actors were initially content to accept lower pay for the plethora of roles that streaming suddenly offered. But the need for a more sustainable compensation model gained urgency when it became clear streaming is not a sideshow, but rather the future of the business, he said.
“Over the past 10 years, we realized: ‘Oh, that’s now how Hollywood works. Everything is streaming,’” Shapiro said during a recent union event.
Shapiro, who has been acting for 25 years, said he agreed to a contract offering 20% of his normal rate for “Never Have I Ever” because it seemed like “a great opportunity, and it’s going to be all over the world. And it was. It really was. Unfortunately, we’re all starting to realize that if we keep doing this we’re not going to be able to pay our bills.”
Then there’s the rising use of “mini rooms,” in which a handful of writers are hired to work only during pre-production, sometimes for a series that may take a year to be greenlit, or never get picked up at all.
Sanchez-Witzel, co-creator of the recently released Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest,” said television shows traditionally hire robust writing teams for the duration of production. But Netflix refused to allow her to keep her team of five writers past pre-production, forcing round-the-clock work on rewrites with just one other writer.
“It’s not sustainable and I’ll never do that again,” she said.
Sanchez-Witzel said she was struck by the similarities between her experience and those of UPS drivers, some of whom joined the WGA for protests as they threatened their own potentially crippling strike. UPS and the Teamsters last week reached a tentative contract staving off the strike.
Jeffrey Palmerino, a full-time UPS driver near Albany, New York, said forced overtime emerged as a top issue during the pandemic as drivers coped with a crush of orders on par with the holiday season. Drivers never knew what time they would get home or if they could count on two days off each week, while 14-hour days in trucks without air conditioning became the norm.
“It was basically like Christmas on steroids for two straight years. A lot of us were forced to work six days a week, and that is not any way to live your life,” said Palmerino, a Teamsters shop steward.
Along with pay raises and air conditioning, the Teamsters won concessions that Palmerino hopes will ease overwork. UPS agreed to end forced overtime on days off and eliminate a lower-paid category of drivers who work shifts that include weekends, converting them to full-time drivers. Union members have yet to ratify the deal.
The Teamsters and labor activists hailed the tentative deal as a game-changer that would pressure other companies facing labor unrest to raise their standards. But similar outcomes are far from certain in industries lacking the sheer economic indispensability of UPS or the clout of its 340,000-member union.
Efforts to organize at Starbucks and Amazon stalled as both companies aggressively fought against unionization.
Still, labor protests will likely gain momentum following the UPS contract, said Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, which released a report this year that found the number of labor strikes rose 52% in 2022.
“The whole idea that consumer convenience is above everything broke down during the pandemic. We started to think, ‘I’m at home ordering, but there is actually a worker who has to go the grocery store, who has to cook this for me so that I can be comfortable,’” Campos-Medina said.
___
Associated Press video journalist Leslie Ambriz contributed from Los Angeles. | https://wgntv.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-consumer-demand-for-speed-and-convenience-drives-labor-unrest-among-workers-in-hollywood-and-at-ups/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:52 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-consumer-demand-for-speed-and-convenience-drives-labor-unrest-among-workers-in-hollywood-and-at-ups/ |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shawn Steik and his wife were forced from a long-term motel room onto the streets of Anchorage after their rent shot up to $800 a month. Now they live in a tent encampment by a train depot, and as an Alaska winter looms they are growing desperate and fearful of what lies ahead.
A proposal last week by Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson to buy one-way plane tickets out of Alaska’s biggest city for its homeless residents gave Steik a much-needed glimmer of hope. He would move to the relative warmth of Seattle.
“I heard it’s probably warmer than this place,” said Steik, who is Aleut.
But the mayor’s unfunded idea also came under immediate attack as a Band-Aid solution glossing over the tremendous, and still unaddressed, crisis facing Anchorage as a swelling homeless population struggles to survive in a unique and extreme environment. Frigid temperatures stalk the homeless in the winter and bears infiltrate homeless encampments in the summer.
A record eight people died of exposure while living outside last winter and this year promises to be worse after the city closed an arena that housed 500 people during the winter months. Bickering between the city’s liberal assembly and its conservative mayor about how to address the crisis, and a lack of state funding, have further stymied efforts to find a solution.
With winter fast approaching in Alaska, it’s “past time for state and local leaders to address the underlying causes of homelessness — airplane tickets are a distraction, not a solution,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said in a statement to The Associated Press.
About 43% of Anchorage’s more than 3,000 unsheltered residents are Alaska Natives, and Bronson’s proposal also drew harsh criticism from those who called it culturally insensitive.
“The reality is there is no place to send these people because this is their land. Any policy that we make has to pay credence to that simple fact. This is Dena’ina land, this is Native land,” said Christopher Constant, chair of the Anchorage Assembly. “And so we cannot be supporting policies that would take people and displace them from their home, even if their home is not what you or I would call home.”
Bronson’s airfare proposal caps a turbulent few years as Anchorage, like many cities in the U.S. West, struggles to deal with a burgeoning homeless population.
In May, the city shut down the 500-bed homeless shelter in the city’s arena so it could once more be used for concerts and hockey games after neighbors complained about open drug use, trespassing, violence and litter. A plan to build a large shelter and navigation center fell through when Bronson approved a contract without approval from the Anchorage Assembly.
That leaves a gaping hole in the city’s ability to house the thousands of homeless people who have to contend with temperatures well below zero for days at a time and unrelenting winds blasting off Cook Inlet. At the end of June, Anchorage was estimated to have a little more than 3,150 homeless people, according to the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. Last week, there were only 614 beds at shelters citywide, with no vacancies.
New tent cities have sprung up across Anchorage this summer: on a slope facing the city’s historic railroad depot, on a busy road near the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson and near soup kitchens and shelters downtown.
Assembly members are slated to consider a winter stop-gap option in August falling far short of the need: a large, warmed, tent-like structure for 150 people.
Summer brings its own challenges: hungry bears last year roamed a city-owned campground where homeless people were resettled after the arena closed. Wildlife officials killed four bears after they broke into tents.
Bronson said he prefers to spend a few hundred dollars per person for a plane ticket rather than spending about $100 daily to shelter and feed them. He said he doesn’t care where they want to go; his job is to “make sure they don’t die on Anchorage streets.”
It’s not clear if his proposal will move forward. There is not yet a plan or a funding source.
Dr. Ted Mala, an Inupiaq who in 1990 became the first Alaska Native to serve as the state’s health commissioner, said Anchorage should be working with social workers and law enforcement to discover people’s individual reasons for homelessness and connect them with resources.
Buying the unsheltered a ticket to another city is a political game that’s been around for years. A number of U.S. cities struggling with homelessness, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, have also offered bus or plane tickets to homeless residents.
“People are not pawns, they’re human beings,” Mala said.
The mayor’s proposal, while focused on warmer cities, also would fund tickets to other Alaska locations for those who want them.
Clarita Clark became homeless after her medical team wanted her to move from Point Hope to Anchorage for cancer treatment because Anchorage is warmer. The medical facility wouldn’t allow her husband to stay with her, so they pitched a tent in a sprawling camp to stay together.
Having recently found the body of a dead teenager who overdosed in a portable toilet, Clark yearns to return to the Chukchi Sea coastal village of Point Hope, where her three grandchildren live.
“I got a family that loves me,” she said, adding she would use the ticket and seek treatment closer to home.
Danny Parish also is leaving Alaska, but for another reason: He’s fed up.
Parish is selling his home of 29 years because it sits directly across the street from Sullivan Arena. Bad acts by some homeless people — including harassment, throwing vodka bottles in his yard, poisoning his dog and using his driveway as a toilet — made his life “a holy hell,” he said.
Parish is convinced the arena will be used again this winter since there isn’t another plan.
He, too, hopes to move to the contiguous U.S. — Oregon, for starters — but not before asking Anchorage leaders for his own plane ticket out.
“If they’re going to give them to everybody else,” Parish said, “then they need to give me one.” | https://wgntv.com/health/ap-health/ap-anchorage-homeless-face-cold-and-bears-a-plan-to-offer-one-way-airfare-out-reveals-a-bigger-crisis/ | 2023-07-30T20:26:59 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/health/ap-health/ap-anchorage-homeless-face-cold-and-bears-a-plan-to-offer-one-way-airfare-out-reveals-a-bigger-crisis/ |
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://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-china-says-us-military-aid-to-taiwan-will-not-deter-its-will-to-unify-the-island/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:05 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-china-says-us-military-aid-to-taiwan-will-not-deter-its-will-to-unify-the-island/ |
‘Commanding the defense’: Nakobe Dean is taking control
In his second year with the Eagles, Dean is stepping up in a big way even before the season starts.
Nakobe Dean might only be 22, but the second-year linebacker is preparing himself for one of the most important roles on the Eagles.
Dean has been delegated by coach Nick Sirianni and new defensive coordinator Sean Desai as the main communicator in the defensive huddle. Throughout training camp and the upcoming regular season, Dean will sport the ‘green dot’ on his helmet as he relays the play call from the coaching staff to the rest of his teammates.
This marks a massive transition for Dean, who logged just 34 defensive snaps during his rookie season.
Asked if he feels extra pressure with his new responsibilities, Dean insists it has been business as usual.
“I feel like I attacked everything the same way last year,” he said after Sunday’s training camp practice. “But of course it’s more heightened because you have to be the guy that’s calling the plays, is communicating to the entire defense. Of course, there’s that component.”
When the Eagles selected Dean in the third round of the 2022 draft, they envisioned he’d one day step into this role. Last season, Dean played reserve to starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, both of whom left in free agency.
While Dean may be stepping into uncharted territory as a pro, acting as the de facto defensive captain is nothing new for the Mississippi native. Dean was the recipient of the 2021 Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker. That season, he played an important role on the nation’s top defense with the University of Georgia claiming its first of two consecutive national titles.
Jordan Davis, the team’s top pick last year and one of Dean’s former college teammates, explained Dean regaining his footing: “That’s the same ol’ Nakobe. That’s the Nakobe I know. Just seeing him take over the huddle and commanding the defense; he’s like the QB of the defense. Everything he says, we go by. It’s nothing new to me. But it’s good to see him back out there, getting a good feel for each other. This is really when the team starts to gel and connect together. The work we’re putting in now, it’s going to come into effect later.”
» READ MORE: James Bradberry’s penalty in the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss drove everyone crazy. Except him.
Dean’s communication with Desai will be crucial for a defense dealing with personnel changes at all three levels. The Eagles also are in the process of determining Dean’s running mate at inside linebacker. Current leaders for the other starting spot include free-agent signee Nicholas Morrow and Christian Elliss.
“The biggest thing I see from him is just the ability and the willingness to keep growing,” Desai said of Dean. “That’s what we’re looking for, really out of all these guys, and him in particular because it’s a new role for him, and we’re excited about it because he’s got that mindset. He’s been really working hard obviously in the offseason and all summer, [he’s] in constant communication with his coaches and myself, and kind of just setting himself up. He’s got to keep taking that ... daily grind-type of mindset.”
Dean said he and his teammates are still dealing with natural growing pains that come with learning a new playbook and scheme. The new starting linebacker said he’s logged many hours at the NovaCare Complex, saying typically he is in the building for a minimum of 12 hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. each day.
“It takes a few practices to get that confidence, but I feel like we’re definitely getting there,” Dean said. “[Desai] won’t allow us to have death by inches. He won’t have something little that might not seem like it matters, that might not seem like it’s pertinent — he won’t let it slide. He holds us accountable and expects everybody else to hold each other accountable.”
» READ MORE: AGLES Eagles’ Jordan Davis ready to reach lofty expectations in Year 2
“I really like Nakobe with the green dot,” third-year cornerback Zech McPhearson said. “He has a lot of confidence. He’s like a vet out there. He takes pride in his game. He’s not afraid to be a leader, not afraid to be loud. I think that’s a really good fit for him and he’s handled it really well in [the huddle].”
In addition to Desai, Dean also is getting adjusted to working with his new position coach, D.J. Eliot, who Sirianni hired from Temple after former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon brought along former linebackers coach Nick Rallis as his new coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals.
In Eliot, Dean says the defense is gaining a plethora of football knowledge.
“Every coach coaches a little differently,” Dean said. “I like what D.J. Eliot is doing. Everything he brought over from Temple — the other day he was telling us he’s coached 11 different defenses. So that’s a lot of football, a lot of knowledge that we’re gaining from him everyday. He’s the same way [as Desai]. He won’t let anything slide, even the little things. You love the accountability that he holds with us.” | https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/nakobe-dean-defense-sean-desai-jordan-davis-eagles-philadelphia-20230730.html | 2023-07-30T20:27:08 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/nakobe-dean-defense-sean-desai-jordan-davis-eagles-philadelphia-20230730.html |
SANTA MARIA DE JESUS, Guatemala (AP) — Presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo stood before a few hundred residents of this small Indigenous community on the slopes of the Agua Volcano and told them they could be the seeds of a brighter, more corruption-free spring in Guatemala.
The metaphor fits neatly with his political party, the Seed Movement, and allows the 64-year-old academic and former diplomat to riff on themes of renewal and growth.
But it also alludes to Guatemala’s “democratic spring,” considered a more inclusive period in the country’s history during the presidency in the 1940s and early 1950s of his late father, Juan José Arévalo.
Bernardo Arévalo won just 11% of the vote in the presidential election’s first round June 25, but it was enough to give him the surprise second slot in the Aug. 20 runoff ballot. He will face Sandra Torres, a conservative and former first lady who was the leading vote-getter in the first round and is making her third bid for the presidency.
Arévalo’s recent speech in Santa Maria de Jesus was similar to those he has given in Guatemala’s capital, but the imagery could be especially important in rural Indigenous communities as he seeks to rapidly expand his largely urban, youthful base before the runoff.
He won in Guatemala City and other important cities, including Sacatepequez and Quetzaltenango. It remains to be seen whether he can convince people in rural communities that he can address their daily problems.
The delayed certification of the first round results shortened the already small window that Arévalo has to reintroduce himself to much of the country as his opponents rush to paint their own negative picture.
“Do you feel what is happening?” Arévalo told the crowd in Santa Maria de Jesus. “The new spring is arriving, that’s what you feel, and you all are the seeds of that new spring.”
“A new spring that is going to bring us well-being, the water we lack, the education they owe us, the health that they have denied us thanks to those corrupt contracts that serve few,” Arévalo said, standing in front of an old, damaged Roman Catholic church, in a wide-brimmed hat and untucked shirt against the tropical heat.
Among those listening was Juana Orón, a 67-year-old homemaker of the Kaqchikel people. She is one of the older voters who remember hearing about Arévalo’s father, one of only two leftist presidents in Guatemala’s democratic era.
The elder Arévalo, who governed from 1945 to 1951, is credited with establishing key social programs that remain in place today, including Guatemala’s labor code and social security. Guatemala’s democratic spring was cut short in 1954 by the CIA-backed overthrow of his successor, President Jacobo Arbenz.
Under Juan José Arévalo, the state advocated for rights for Indigenous peoples and others beyond the country’s small elite.
“I remember I was little and (my parents) said he had done good things,” said Orón whose first language as a child was Kaqchikel. If his father was good, Arévalo could be a good president, too, she said.
Opponents have tried to frame Arévalo’s candidacy as a step toward some of the region’s more notorious leftist regimes, such as Cuba and Nicaragua. They warn that the progressive candidate will bring expropriations, abortion and same-sex marriage to the conservative country.
Arévalo has been the election’s surprise.
In the days before the June 25 vote, he was polling below 3% and trailing at least seven of the other 21 candidates. But his anti-corruption message resonated in the country where gains against corruption have been erased and the justice system reoriented to pursue the prosecutors and judges who formerly led that fight.
In the month since that initial result, the Attorney General’s Office announced an investigation into his party and had a judge suspend its legal status until the Constitutional Court stepped in to block that move.
In Santa Maria de Jesus, people wanted to compare Arévalo in person to what they were hearing about him. Some handed him flowers, posed for photos or reached out to touch him as he made his way through the throng.
Arévalo pushed back against attempts to frame him as a left-wing radical — he has said private property rights are not up for discussion — and pounded the issue of corruption.
“Let us work, let us get ahead on our own effort, let’s get rid of the corrupt once and for all,” he said.
For Francisco Jiménez, a political scientist at Rafael Landivar University, Arévalo will need concrete proposals to make inroads with the base of Torres, who has spent two decades assembling it.
“He will have to make governing proposals with a social agenda, where the people see that he is going to have an impact on their lives and communities,” Jiménez said. “The other part is continuing to present himself as the different model. That has been his success, someone totally different from the other candidates.”
Evangelical churches in Guatemala have painted Arévalo as an existential threat to the family.
Gladys Sunun, a 35-year-old Kaqchikel vendor from an evangelical family, said she came to hear Arévalo for herself. She said she had heard that Arévalo would convert Guatemala into another Cuba or Nicaragua, but left feeling that might not be true, though she wants to investigate more.
“He came to tell us not to worry,” she said. “It sounds real, but we don’t know.”
Her sister July Sunun said she wanted to hear more about Arévalo’s positions on gender ideology. “As a mother I’m afraid, because we’ve grown up with a Christian background. I don’t want to marry my daughter with another woman,” she said.
July Sunun acknowledged that Arévalo said he would respect the identities and decisions of the people, “but what he hasn’t said is that he won’t allow (same-sex marriage) to happen here.” | https://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-guatemala-presidential-candidate-rushes-to-expand-base-beyond-urban-youth/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:12 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-guatemala-presidential-candidate-rushes-to-expand-base-beyond-urban-youth/ |
Eagles greats weigh in on the return of kelly green
'There’s a lot of people in our age group that remember those jerseys and that they represent a tough, take-no-s— brand of football,' Seth Joyner said. ‘This takes you back.'
When Seth Joyner joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1986, he said the team was living in the basement of the NFC East.
But that team, under the leadership of the beloved Buddy Ryan, and with all-timers like Reggie White, Eric Allen, and Randall Cunningham, fought its way back to respectability with a fist of kelly green.
“So, yeah, I’m biased. I’m extremely biased about kelly green,” Joyner, 58, told The Inquirer. “It’s about time.”
The Eagles have been wearing midnight green, with the occasional alternate jersey, since 1996, but many fans lamented the end of kelly green and the iconic, sharp-pointed font. Rumors have swirled about the return of kelly green for years and when the team’s newest take on the iconic color leaked online Saturday, those longtime fans rejoiced.
» READ MORE: Eagles kelly green jerseys revealed after photos leak online
Joyner, 58, thinks he knows why.
“There’s a lot of people in our age group that remember those jerseys and that they represent a tough, take-no-s— brand of football,” Joyner said. “This takes you back.”
With the latest kelly green merchandise expected to go on sale Monday at team stores, The Inquirer checked in with Joyner and other Eagles greats about kelly green and other colors.
“I’m very excited,” former Eagles cornerback Eric Allen said in a message. “They bring back lots of good memories.”
NFL Hall-of-Famer Harold Carmichael said players rarely weighed in on uniform colors and styles when he played.
“I was just happy to be able to put one on,” Carmichael said Sunday. “We did wear the kelly green and sometimes we wore almost all white. I never paid much attention to it. Whatever color it was, I had to wear it.”
Carmichael said the return of kelly green just adds more excitement to an already amped-up fan base with high expectations.
“It’s like draft day, or opening day of training camp. It’s telling the world, ‘It’s time for football now’,” he said. “It’s exciting for the fans. I just hope I see a few number 17s out there.”
Allen said he hopes to see Joyner, Cunningham, and White jerseys in the crowd this year, along with his own.
Former Eagles quarterback Roman Gabriel, just shy of 83, said the kelly green and old blue-and-whites of the Los Angeles Rams were his two favorite uniforms.
“I love, love the kelly green,” he said.
Gabriel said some players care about uniforms and others don’t. He personally “hated” when the Rams used yellow instead of white.
“It looked like mustard,” he said.
All the former Eagles, along with longtime broadcaster Merrill Reese, agreed that the Eagles 1934 throwback jersey — a powder blue-and-yellow combo — were terrible.
“Those were a bomb,” Reese said.
Joyner said they “really sucked.”
Reese, 80, said his favorite jerseys are whatever the team wears when it’s winning.
“I grew up with the kelly green in the late ‘40s, when the top half of the shoulders were white,” Reese said. “I love the nostalgia and I think the latest versions are beautiful.”
Joyner said kelly green is just more Philadelphian.
“I see pictures online of little babies dressed in kelly green or some shade of green. That’s the way it should be,” he said. “That’s why when someone tells me they grew up in Philly, but they’re a Cowboys fans I’m like, ‘That’s fine, just get away from me.’”
» READ MORE: Eagles kelly green jerseys go on sale Monday. Here’s how to be the first to get one.
Where to get Eagles kelly green gear Monday: All stores open at 9 a.m.:
Eagles Pro Shop: 2000 Route 70 West, Suite E Building E, Cherry Hill.
Eagles Pro Shop: Rockvale @ Lancaster, 35 South Willowdale Dr., Suite 1713, Lancaster, Pa.
Lincoln Financial Field: Pepsi Plaza, One Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia. | https://www.inquirer.com/news/eagles-veterans-on-kelly-green-jerseys-20230730.html | 2023-07-30T20:27:14 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/news/eagles-veterans-on-kelly-green-jerseys-20230730.html |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country, officials said Sunday.
The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said one official, who spoke early Sunday on condition of anonymity as no authorization had been given to publicly discuss the summit. Russia was not invited, the official added.
Hours later, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia, without naming Jeddah as the location.
“The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world,” Yermak said in a statement. “We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land.”
Yermak;s statement described the 10 points as being “discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.”
Previously, Ukraine has described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Other peace plans have been floated amid the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin just finished meetings in St. Petersburg with African leaders about their own proposed plan. China and Pope Francis also been working separately on their own. No details of those plans have been released.
Saudi Arabia did not acknowledge the upcoming summit Sunday and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official who spoke to AP said. A high-level official from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration also is expected to attend the event, which is being planned by Kyiv, the official said.
Details remain in flux and the official did not offer dates for the talks, nor did Yermak.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the summit citing “diplomats involved in the discussion,” said the talks would take place Aug. 5 and 6, with some 30 countries attending. News of the summit comes after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom Thursday.
The official who spoke to AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah in May to press those nations to back Kyiv.
Arab nations largely have remained neutral since Russia launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022, in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow.
Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organization’s oil production cuts, even as Moscow’s war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, have angered Biden and American lawmakers.
But hosting such talks also help raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a détente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom’s yearslong war in Yemen.
Ties remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which U.S. intelligence agencies say was ordered by Prince Mohammed.
For Ukraine, the talks coincide with its efforts to beef up its security posture.
Yermak also said Sunday that Ukraine will begin talks with the United States next week on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees. He said the talks stem from a declaration by leaders of the Group of 7 nations earlier this month laying the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military.
Yermak said Ukraine is looking for “specific and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraine’s ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future.”
U.S. officials had not confirmed the negotiations.
___
Madhani reported from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Associated Press writer Andrew Katell in New York contributed to this report. | https://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-official-tells-ap-that-saudi-arabia-will-host-ukrainian-organized-peace-summit-in-august/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:18 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-official-tells-ap-that-saudi-arabia-will-host-ukrainian-organized-peace-summit-in-august/ |
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — Two people were killed and two others injured Saturday in a midair collision at an airport in Wisconsin.
A Rotorway 162F helicopter and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyrocopter collided shortly after noon local time at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, authorities said. The aircraft belonged to individuals attending the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in convention in Oshkosh but were not involved in the air show, a statement from the organization said.
The association, citing the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, said two people were killed and two injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital and were in stable condition.
The association said further information would be released as additional details are confirmed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Separately, a plane earlier Saturday crashed into Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, killing two people, according to the sheriff’s office. The NTSB is also investigating that case, which involved a single-engine North American T-6 aircraft. | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:25 | 1 | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-4-dead-2-injured-in-separate-aircraft-accidents-in-wisconsin-authorities-say/ |
The planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man with schizophrenia is back on after an appellate court reversed course Saturday.
Johnny Johnson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.
With questions swirling about his mental competency, the execution was halted last Tuesday by a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. But after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office asked that the full court reconsider, that decision was reversed in a 7-3 ruling.
The case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before the scheduled execution date.
Attorneys for Johnson have claimed his schizophrenia prevents him from understanding the link between his crime and the punishment. They have also said Johnson has delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.
The Missouri Supreme Court in June declined to halt the execution based on the mental health claim. The attorney general’s office challenged the credibility of psychiatric evaluations of Johnson and contended that medical records indicate he is able to manage his mental illness through medication.
Johnson lured the girl to an abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. He killed her with bricks and rocks, then washed off in the Meramec River. Johnson confessed to the crimes.
Casey’s disappearance set off a frantic search involving first responders and volunteers. Her body was found in a pit less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from her home, buried beneath rocks and debris.
The execution would be the fourth in Missouri this year. | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-appellate-court-rules-that-missouri-man-with-schizophrenia-can-be-executed-after-all/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:32 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-appellate-court-rules-that-missouri-man-with-schizophrenia-can-be-executed-after-all/ |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers. | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:39 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-judge-blocks-arkansas-law-allowing-librarians-to-be-criminally-charged-over-harmful-materials/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump ramped up his calls for his GOP rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as he threatened to primary Republican members of Congress who fail to focus on investigating Democratic President Joe Biden and urged them to halt Ukrainian military aid until the White House cooperates with their investigations into Biden and his family.
“Every dollar spent attacking me by Republicans is a dollar given straight to the Biden campaign,” Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. The former president and GOP front-runner said it was time for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others he dismissed as “clowns” to clear the field, accusing them of “wasting hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans should be using to build a massive vote-gathering operation” to take on Biden in November.
The comments came two days after federal prosecutors unveiled new criminal charges against Trump as part of the case that accuses him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and refusing to turn them over to investigators. The superseding indictment unsealed Thursday alleges that Trump and two staffers sought to delete surveillance at the club in an effort to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation.
The case is just one of Trump’s mounting legal challenges. His team is currently bracing for additional possible indictments, which could happen as soon as this coming week, related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election brought by prosecutors in both Washington and Georgia. Trump already faces criminal charges in New York over hush money payments made to women who accused him of sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Nevertheless, Trump remains the dominant early figure for the Republican nomination and has only seen his lead grow as the charges have mounted and as his rivals have struggled to respond. Their challenge was on display at a GOP gathering in Iowa Friday night, where they largely declined to go after Trump directly. The only one who did — accusing Trump of “running to stay out of prison” — was booed as he left the stage.
In the meantime, Trump has embraced his legal woes, turning them into the core message of his bid to return to the White House as he accuses Biden of using the Justice Department to maim his chief political rival. The White House has said repeatedly that the president has had no involvement in the cases.
At rallies — including Saturday’s — Trump has tried to frame the charges, which come with serious threats of jail time, as an attack not just on him, but those who support him.
“They’re not indicting me, they’re indicting you. I just happen to be standing in the way,” he told the arena crowd in Erie, adding that, “Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists, communists and fascists indict me, I consider it actually a great badge of honor…. Because I’m being indicted for you.”
But the investigations are also sucking up enormous resources that are being diverted from the nuts and bolts of the campaign. The Washington Post first reported Saturday that Trump’s political action committee, Save America, will report Monday that it spent more than $40 million on legal fees during the first half of 2023 defending Trump and all of the current and former aides whose lawyers it is paying. The total is more than the campaign raised during the second quarter of the year.
“In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, the leadership PAC contributed to their legal fees to ensure they have representation against unlawful harassment,” said Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung.
At the rally — held in a former Democratic stronghold that Trump flipped in 2016, but Biden won narrowly in 2020 — Trump also threatened Republicans in Congress who refuse to go along with efforts to impeach Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said this past week that Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry into the president over unproven claims of financial misconduct.
Trump, who was impeached twice while in office, said Saturday that, “The biggest complaint that I get is that the Republicans find out this information and then they do nothing about it.”
“Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democrat fraud should be immediately primaries and get out — out!” he told the crowd to loud applause. “They have to play tough and … if they’re not willing to do it, we got a lot of good, tough Republicans around … and they’re going to get my endorsement every singe time.”
Trump, during the 2022 midterm elections, made it his mission to punish those who had voted in favor of his second impeachment and succeeded in unseating most who had by backing primary challengers.
At the rally, Trump also called on Republican members of Congress to halt the authorization of additional military support to Ukraine, which has been mired in a war fighting Russia’s invasion, until the Biden administration cooperates with Republican investigations into Biden and his family’s business dealings — words that echoed the call that lead to his first impeachment.
“He’s dragging into a global conflict on behalf of the very same country, Ukraine, that apparently paid his family all of these millions of dollars,” Trump alleged. “In light of this information,” Congress, he said, “should refuse to authorize a single additional payment of our depleted stockpiles … the weapons stockpiles to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime family’s corrupt business dealings.”
House Republicans have been investigating the Biden family’s finances, particularly payments Hunter, the president’s son, received from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that became tangled in the first impeachment of Trump.
An unnamed confidential FBI informant claimed that Burisma company officials in 2015 and 2016 sought to pay the Bidens $5 million each in return for their help ousting a Ukrainian prosecutor who was purportedly investigating the company. But a Justice Department review in 2020, while Trump was president, was closed eight months later with insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
Trump’s first impeachment by the House resulted in charges that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on the Bidens while threatening to withhold military aid. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate. | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/ap-politics/ap-trump-amid-legal-perils-calls-on-gop-to-rally-around-him-as-he-threatens-primary-challenges/ | 2023-07-30T20:27:45 | 0 | https://wgntv.com/politics-3/ap-politics/ap-trump-amid-legal-perils-calls-on-gop-to-rally-around-him-as-he-threatens-primary-challenges/ |