text string | url string | crawl_date timestamp[ms] | label int64 | id string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Voting rights activists are returning to court to fight Alabama’s redrawn congressional districts, saying state Republicans failed to follow federal court orders to create a district that is fair to Black voters.
Plaintiffs in the high-profile redistricting case filed a written objection Friday to oppose Alabama’s new redistricting plan. They accused state Republicans of flouting a judicial mandate to create a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it” and enacting a map that continues to discriminate against Black voters in the state.
A special three-judge panel in 2022 blocked use of the the state’s existing districts and said any new congressional map should include two districts where “Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority” or something close. That panel’s decision was appealed by the state but upheld in June in a surprise ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which concurred that having only one Black-majority district out of seven — in a state where more than one in four residents is Black — likely violated federal law.
The plaintiffs in the case, represented by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and other groups, asked the three-judge panel to step in and draw new lines for the state.
“Alabama’s new congressional map ignores this court’s preliminary injunction order and instead perpetuates the Voting Rights Act violation that was the very reason that the Legislature redrew the map,” lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case wrote.
The new map enacted by the Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature maintained one-majority Black district but boosted the percentage of Black voters in the majority-white 2nd Congressional District, now represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, from about 30% to 39.9%
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in the case wrote Friday that the revamped district “does not provide Black voters a realistic opportunity to elect their preferred candidates in any but the most extreme situations.” They accused state Republicans of ignoring the courts’ directive to prioritize a district that would stay under GOP control “pleasing national leaders whose objective is to maintain the Republican Party’s slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Alabama has maintained the new plan complies with the Voting Rights Act, and state leaders are wagering that the panel will accept their proposal or that the state will prevail in a second round of appeals to the Supreme Court. Republicans argued that the map meets the court’s directive and draws compact districts that comply with redistricting guidelines.
The state must file its defense of the map by Aug. 4. The three judges have scheduled an Aug. 14 hearing in the case as the fight over the map shifts back to federal court.
The outcome could have consequences across the country as the case again weighs the requirements of the Voting Rights Act in redistricting. It could also impact the partisan leanings of one Alabama congressional district in the 2024 elections with control of the U.S House of Representatives at stake.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a statement that Alabama’s new map is a “brazen defiance” of the courts.
“The result is a shameful display that would have made George Wallace—another Alabama governor who defied the courts—proud,” Holder said in a statement. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/ap-plaintiffs-in-voting-rights-case-urge-judges-to-toss-alabamas-new-congressional-map/ | 2023-07-30T23:12:44 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/ap-plaintiffs-in-voting-rights-case-urge-judges-to-toss-alabamas-new-congressional-map/ |
A woman from New Hampshire who works for a nonprofit organization in Haiti and her young daughter have been reported as kidnapped as the U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” in the country and ordered nonemergency personnel to leave there amid growing security concerns.
Alix Dorsainvil, a nurse for El Roi Haiti, and her daughter were kidnapped on Thursday, the organization said in a statement Saturday. El Roi, which runs a school and ministry in Port au Prince, said the two were taken from campus. Dorsainvil is the wife of the program’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil.
“Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in the statement. “Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.”
A State Department spokesperson said in a statement Saturday is it “aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti,” adding, “We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners.”
In its advisory Thursday, the department said that “kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens.”
It said kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed.
Earlier this month, the National Human Rights Defense Network issued a report warning about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings and the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Haiti’s worsening situation.
WMUR-TV reported that Dorsainvil is from Middleton, New Hampshire, and went to Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, which has a program to support nursing education in Haiti.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Alex chose to get involved in this type of service work,” Regis College president Toni Hays told the station. “She was amazing. She was passionate, she was compassionate.” | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/ap-us-mother-daughter-reported-kidnapped-in-haiti-people-warned-not-to-travel-there/ | 2023-07-30T23:12:50 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/ap-us-mother-daughter-reported-kidnapped-in-haiti-people-warned-not-to-travel-there/ |
Chipotle’s guacamole will not cost extra this National Avocado Day.
All you need to do is use the promo code AVO2023 at checkout in the Chipotle app or website on July 31.
There are a few things you need to keep in mind before you can get the freebie, however. First, you must to be a Chipotle rewards member to use the deal.
Second, the deal is not valid for in-store purchases or through third-party delivery apps, such as Seamless.
The actual retail price of a guacamole add-on at Chipotle in some states can reach up to $4.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/business/2023/07/national-avocado-day-2023-chipotle-is-offering-free-guacamole.html | 2023-07-30T23:12:54 | 1 | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/business/2023/07/national-avocado-day-2023-chipotle-is-offering-free-guacamole.html |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ | 2023-07-30T23:12:58 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ |
Just six years ago, Ron Burke nearly had his first Hambletonian victory before What The Hill suffered the only disqualification of a first-place finisher in the race’s history. He and Yannick Gingras, also still chasing a win in the American classic, exited Saturday night (July 29) at The Meadowlands primed and ripe for revenge after sweeping the pair of $100,000 Hambletonian eliminations.
The faster of the two eliminations went to Celebrity Bambino, who flambéed a crispy 1:50.4 jogburger to win in hand to Gingras. | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/2023/07/gingras-has-big-saturday-at-big-m-as-he-goes-in-search-of-first-hambo-title.html | 2023-07-30T23:13:01 | 0 | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/2023/07/gingras-has-big-saturday-at-big-m-as-he-goes-in-search-of-first-hambo-title.html |
At 24, Alberto Rodriguez has grandparents younger than Joe Biden. But he’s more interested in the 80-year-old president’s accomplishments than his age.
“People as young as me, we’re all focusing on our day-to-day lives and he has done things to help us through that,” Rodriguez, a cook at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, said of Biden’s support among young voters. Rodriguez pointed specifically to federal COVID-19 relief payments and government spending increases on infrastructure and other social programs.
Voters like him were a key piece of Biden’s winning 2020 coalition, which included majorities of young people as well as college graduates, women, urban and suburban voters and Black Americans. Maintaining their support will be critical in closely contested states such as Nevada, where even small declines could prove consequential to Biden’s reelection bid.
His 2024 campaign plans to emphasize messages that could especially resonate with young people in the coming weeks as the anniversary of the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act approaches in mid-August. That legislation includes provisions that the White House will embrace to argue that Biden has done more than any other president to combat climate change.
Such efforts, however, could collide with Biden’s personal reality — like when he recalled that, while attending a St. Patrick’s Day parade at age 14, he appeared in a photo with President Harry S. Truman.
“Purely by accident — I assume it was an accident — the photographer from the newspaper got a picture of me making eye contact with Harry Truman,” Biden said to chuckles last week at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington.
In 2020, 61% of voters under age 30 — and 55% of those between 30 and 44 — supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of the electorate.
It’s an age group with which Republicans hope to make inroads. Former President Donald Trump, who is the early front-runner in the GOP presidential primary and is only 3 1/2 years younger than Biden, said Friday, “We are hitting the young person’s market like nobody’s ever seen before.”
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, referred to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement in arguing that “young people are acutely impacted by the issues front and center in this election, driven by the extreme MAGA agenda.” He said that included inaction on climate change, gun violence and student debt.
“We will meet younger Americans where they are and turn their energy into action,” Munoz said in a statement.
That might not defuse questions about age, though, when it comes to Biden or Trump.
“There’s a frustration and exhaustion that they feel with the rematch,” Terrance Woodbury, co-founder & CEO of the Democratic polling firm HIT Strategies, said of young voters.
“That’s more of a problem than either of those two candidates individually, is that a system can just keep reproducing,” Woodbury added. “And I think a lot of people just find that untenable.”
An April poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 25% of Democrats under 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats. A majority of Democrats across age groups said they would probably support him as the party’s nominee, however.
Biden’s campaign is relying heavily on the Democratic National Committee, which during last year’s midterms, hired campus organizers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and other battleground states and offered weekly youth coordinating meetings to encourage in-class contacts and “dormstorms.” The DNC sees young people as some of the most critical voters it will need to reach in 2024 and promises “significant investments” to mobilize them. Plans are underway to expand on its work last cycle, including trainings it held on how best to turn out voters.
The Republican National Committee is trying to use Biden’s age against him, posting online videos of Biden seeming frail or making verbal gaffes, such as when he declared in June “God save the queen,” nearly nine months after the death of England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Rodriguez shrugged off online attacks, “People can make all the hit pieces and memes and TikToks all they want.”
A starker contrast might be between the president and rising Democrats such as 46-year-old California Rep. Ro Khanna and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 41, one of Biden’s primary rivals in 2020. Neither seriously entertained running for the White House in 2024 and have backed Biden’s reelection.
“The only thing that really matters is your ability to do the job,” Buttigieg, who was 37 when he launched his 2020 presidential bid, said recently on CNN. Khanna told Fox News Channel that age will “obviously” be a 2024 factor, but suggested that Biden’s staff “overprotects” him and “the more he’s out there, the better.”
Other top young Democrats have lined up to back Biden. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, who was elected to Congress last year at 26, is on the Biden campaign’s advisory board, as is Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 44. New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, 33, recently endorsed Biden.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive who says strong turnout among young voters helped him win a runoff election this spring, said Biden’s policies transcend his age. Johnson noted that the president’s work “around climate justice speaks not just to this generation, but generations to come.”
“The excitement that I believe that we’re going to have is going to speak to the incredible work and organizing that we are committed to doing as a party,” said Johnson, 47. “And we’re looking forward to working with the president over the course of his next four years.”
Still, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, acknowledged that even the president’s supporters understand how demanding the White House can be.
“People worry about Joe Biden. They worry like you would worry about a beloved father or grandfather,” said Weingarten, 65. “What you normally hear from Democrats is this sense of, ‘OK, I just want him to be OK.’ And you’re hearing just the consternation of, ’This is a hard job.’”
Biden said he “took a hard look” at his age while deciding to seek a second term. But he’s also tried to suggest his age and experience are assets rather than liabilities by joking repeatedly about them. That’s a departure from 2020, when Biden called himself a “transition candidate” and pledged to be a “bridge” to younger Democrats.
Santiago Mayer, the founder of Voters of Tomorrow, which has 20-plus chapters nationwide and works to increase political engagement among young voters, argues that Biden is not defying his past promise by running for reelection, but keeping it.
“He just needs more time,” said Mayer, who graduated from California State University at Long Beach in May. “I think the second term is a very important part of that pledge. He’s building a progressive future for young people and he can’t actually pass the baton until that’s done.”
One key policy piece of Biden’s efforts to appeal to young voters, providing student debt relief, was recently struck down by the Supreme Court. The White House has launched a new effort, but it will take longer.
“Of course it’s going to dampen some of that because people are disappointed,” Weingarten said of the ruling’s effect on enthusiasm for Biden. But she said the decision could also motivate young Biden supporters anxious show their support for the president’s alternative plan.
“It is also about the fight,” Weingarten said “not just about the results.”
___
AP polling director Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-joe-biden-americas-oldest-sitting-president-needs-young-voters-to-win-again-will-his-age-matter/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:04 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-joe-biden-americas-oldest-sitting-president-needs-young-voters-to-win-again-will-his-age-matter/ |
Walner Payton and driver Dexter Dunn made a strong move to take the lead and never relinquished control to win the first $40,000 Hambletonian Oaks elimination in 1:51.4 on Saturday night (July 29) at The Meadowlands, and a shocking 1:51.2 upset performance by Heart Of Fire, handled by Todd McCarthy, was the highlight of the second Oaks elimination.
Walner Payton, a Walner filly, sat third to the first quarter while Railee Something cut that section in :27.4 with Mambacita gliding along in the catbird seat. Dunn took Walner Payton to the outside and carefully rolled by Railee Something as the half clocked in :55.3. | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/2023/07/walner-payton-heart-of-fire-crush-favorites-in-hambletonian-oaks-elminations.html | 2023-07-30T23:13:07 | 0 | https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/2023/07/walner-payton-heart-of-fire-crush-favorites-in-hambletonian-oaks-elminations.html |
Carbon County emergency crews jumped into action to rescue a person from the Lehigh River.
Initial dispatch reports indicate a man was clinging to a rock in the river Sunday afternoon in Bowmanstown, about a half-mile north of the Route 895 bridge.
An emergency communications official said the rescued person was taken to the hospital.
There's no word on the person's condition or what led to him getting stuck in the river. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/person-rescued-from-lehigh-river-taken-to-hospital/article_61f29b3c-2f1e-11ee-ae5d-7fec2b62e698.html | 2023-07-30T23:13:12 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/person-rescued-from-lehigh-river-taken-to-hospital/article_61f29b3c-2f1e-11ee-ae5d-7fec2b62e698.html |
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — With less than a month to go until the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign, seven candidates say they have met qualifications for a spot on stage in Milwaukee.
But that also means that about half the broad GOP field is running short on time to make the cut.
To qualify for the Aug. 23 debate, candidates needed to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.
A look at who’s in, who’s (maybe) out and who’s still working on making it:
DONALD TRUMP
The current front-runner long ago satisfied the polling and donor thresholds. But he is considering boycotting and holding a competing event.
Campaign advisers have said the former president has not made a final decision about the debate. One noted that “it’s pretty clear,” based on Trump’s public and private statements, that he is unlikely to appear with the other candidates.
“If you’re leading by a lot, what’s the purpose of doing it?” Trump asked on Newsmax.
In the meantime, aides have discussed potential alternative programming if Trump opts for a rival event. One option Trump has floated is an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who now has a program on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
RON DESANTIS
The Florida governor has long been seen as Trump’s top rival, finishing a distant second to him in a series of polls in early-voting states, as well as national polls, and raising an impressive amount of money.
But DeSantis’ campaign has struggled in recent weeks to live up to the sky-high expectations that awaited him when he entered the race. He let go of more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
If Trump is absent, DeSantis may be the top target on stage at the debate.
TIM SCOTT
The South Carolina senator has been looking for a breakout moment. The first debate could be his chance.
A prolific fundraiser, Scott enters the summer with $21 million cash on hand.
In one debate-approved poll in Iowa, Scott joined Trump and DeSantis in reaching double digits. The senator has focused much of his campaign resources on the leadoff GOP voting state, which is dominated by white evangelical voters.
NIKKI HALEY
She has blitzed early-voting states with campaign events, walking crowds through her electoral successes ousting a longtime incumbent South Carolina lawmaker, then becoming the state’s first woman and first minority governor. Also serving as Trump’s U.N. ambassador for about two years, Haley frequently cites her international experience, arguing about the threat China poses to the United States.
The only woman in the GOP race, Haley has said transgender students competing in sports is “the women’s issue of our time” and has drawn praise from a leading anti-abortion group, which called her “uniquely gifted at communicating from a pro-life woman’s perspective.”
Bringing in $15.6 million since the start of her campaign, Haley’s campaign says she has “well over 40,000 unique donors” and has satisfied the debate polling requirements.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
The biotech entrepreneur and author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” is an audience favorite at multicandidate events and has polled well despite not being nationally known when he entered the race.
Ramaswamy’s campaign says he met the donor threshold earlier this year. He recently rolled out “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet” to boost his donor numbers even more, by letting fundraisers keep 10% of what they bring in for his campaign.
CHRIS CHRISTIE
The former New Jersey governor opened his campaign by portraying himself as the only candidate ready to take on Trump. Christie called on the former president to “show up at the debates and defend his record.”
Christie will be on that stage, even if Trump isn’t, telling CNN this month that he surpassed “40,000 unique donors in just 35 days.” He also has met the polling requirements.
DOUG BURGUM
Burgum, a wealthy former software entrepreneur now in his second term as North Dakota’s governor, has been using his fortune to boost his campaign.
He announced a program this month to give away $20 gift cards — “Biden Relief Cards,” as a critique of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy — to as many as 50,000 people in exchange for $1 donations. Critics have questioned whether the offer violated campaign finance law.
Within about a week of launching that effort, Burgum announced he had surpassed the donor threshold. Ad blitzes in the early-voting states also helped him meet the polling requirements.
MIKE PENCE
Trump’s vice president has met the polling threshold but has yet to amass a sufficient number of donors, raising the possibility that he might not qualify for the party’s first debate.
Pence and his advisers have expressed confidence he will do so, noting that most other Republican hopefuls took a month or two of being active candidates to meet the mark. Pence entered the race on June 7, the same day as Burgum and one day after Christie.
“We’re making incredible progress toward that goal. We’re not there yet,” Pence told CNN in a recent interview. “We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage.”
ASA HUTCHINSON
According to his campaign, the former two-term Arkansas governor has met the polling requirements but is working on satisfying the donor threshold. As of Wednesday, Hutchinson marked more than 11,000 unique donors.
Hutchinson is running in the mold of an old-school Republican and has differentiated himself from many of his GOP rivals in his willingness to criticize Trump. He has posted pleas on Twitter for $1 donations to help secure his slot.
FRANCIS SUAREZ
The Miami mayor has been one of the more creative candidates in his efforts to boost his donor numbers. He offered up a chance to see Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi’s debut as a player for Inter Miami, saying donors who gave $1 would be entered in a chance to get front-row tickets.
Still shy of the donor threshold, he took a page from Burgum’s playbook by offering a $20 “Bidenomics Relief Card” in return for $1 donations. A super political action committee supporting Suarez launched a sweepstakes for a chance at up to $15,000 in tuition, in exchange for a $1 donation to Suarez’s campaign.
Suarez’s campaign did not return a message seeking details on his number of donors or qualifying polls.
LARRY ELDER
The conservative radio host wrote in an op-ed that the RNC “has rigged the rules of the game by instituting a set of criteria that is so onerous and poorly designed that only establishment-backed and billionaire candidates are guaranteed to be on stage.”
His campaign last week declined to detail its number of donors, saying only that there had been “a strong increase the last few weeks.” He has not met the polling requirements.
PERRY JOHNSON
Johnson, a wealthy but largely unknown businessman from Michigan, said in a recent social media post that he had notched 23,000 donors and was “confident” he would make the debate stage. He added that all donors were “eligible to attend my free concert in Iowa featuring” country duo Big & Rich next month.
Johnson, who has reached 1% in one qualifying poll, has also offered to give copies of his book “Two Cents to Save America” to anyone who donated to his campaign.
WILL HURD
The former Texas congressman — the last candidate to enter the race, on June 22 — has said repeatedly that he would not pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee, a stance that would keep him off the stage even if he had the qualifying donor and polling numbers.
___
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-whos-in-whos-out-a-look-at-which-candidates-have-qualified-for-the-1st-gop-presidential-debate/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:11 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/ap-whos-in-whos-out-a-look-at-which-candidates-have-qualified-for-the-1st-gop-presidential-debate/ |
After a sticky and stormy stretch to wrap up last week, the new week is kicking off on a much drier, sunnier, and comfier note. If you stepped outside on Sunday you immediately noticed the refreshingly lower humidity levels with comfortable afternoon high temperatures in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees along with mostly sunny skies. Similar conditions are expected through the first half of the week ahead. We'll have partly to mostly sunny skies through Wednesday, and while it will be on the cooler side compared to where we've been (near 90 degrees) and where we should be for late July and early August (mid 80s), most of us will find the highs near 80 degrees very pleasant and comfy. A few very weak disturbances could touch off a sprinkle or shower tonight through Tuesday, but any raindrop should be the exception to the otherwise dry and sunny rule we have in place through Wednesday. Clouds increase on Thursday, with humidity and rain chances also rising late Thursday and peaking on Friday, the only good chance of rain for the entire week. Enjoy one of the nicer, drier, and comfier stretches we've had all summer over the next several days!
DETAILED FORECAST
TONIGHT
Skies will likely start out on the clearer side but some clouds will pass through overnight, so we'll call it partly cloudy overall. A weak disturbance could touch off a sprinkle or shower south and west of Berks County…but it's hardly worth mentioning and most places will remain dry. Also be sure to get ready for a string of comfy summer nights for sleeping, with lows in the upper 50s to low 60s.
MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
If you don't mind it a bit cooler than average for mid-summer, you'll love the three days to open up the new work week. Look for partly to mostly sunny skies with highs around 80, give or take a few degrees, each afternoon. The nights will be partly to mostly clear and comfy and mostly around 55-60 degrees, great sleeping weather for early August. A very weak cold front dropping in from our north may touch off a sprinkle or shower later Monday across portions of the Poconos, and then perhaps in a couple other spots further south on Tuesday, however the overwhelming majority of our region should remain dry through Wednesday.
THURSDAY
While we'll still likely have some sunshine to start on Thursday, clouds likely increase during the day, and the humidity will likely gradually increase as well. Much of the day may end up dry, but shower chances will increase later in the afternoon and overnight, although the best chances of rain will hold off until Friday. Highs will be similar to the rest of the week and around 80 degrees, but Thursday night will likely be warmer and stickier with more clouds around, with mid 60s expected for lows.
FRIDAY
Here's our best and really only good chance for wet weather over the next seven days, with showers and a few thunderstorms likely during the day. It will be humid ahead of a cold front, but mostly cloudy skies and some rain will likely keep temperatures down in the upper 70s. As long as our front continues east and slides offshore, next weekend should see a return of the dry and comfy sunshine we will see to wrap up our current weekend.
TRACK THE WEATHER: | https://www.wfmz.com/weather/refreshingly-low-humidity-with-plenty-of-sunshine-through-wednesday/article_90a4cc16-2f1e-11ee-8c63-03063963660d.html | 2023-07-30T23:13:18 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/weather/refreshingly-low-humidity-with-plenty-of-sunshine-through-wednesday/article_90a4cc16-2f1e-11ee-8c63-03063963660d.html |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Thousands of people backing the coup in Niger marched through the streets of the capital denouncing France, the country’s former colonial power, waving Russian flags, and setting a door at the French Embassy ablaze on Sunday before the army broke up the crowd.
Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Russia’s involvement in the rallies, if any, isn’t clear but some protesters have carried Russian flags, along with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian mercenary group Wagner is operating in neighboring Mali, and under Putin Russia has expanded its influence in West Africa. The new junta’s leaders have not said whether they intend to ally themselves with Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that attacks on France and its interests would not be tolerated and anyone who attacks French citizens will see an immediate response.
Niger, a French colony until 1960, had been seen as the West’s last reliable partner battling jihadists in Africa’s Sahel region. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens. The United States and other European countries have helped train the nation’s troops.
At an emergency meeting Sunday, the West African bloc known as ECOWAS said that it was suspending relations with Niger, and authorized the use of force if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week. The African Union has issued its own 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the democratically elected government.
Shortly after the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Chadian President Mahamat Deby arrived in Niger to lead mediation efforts, according to the Chad state radio station.
ECOWAS has struggled to make a definitive impact on the region’s political crises in the past but Bazoum was democratically elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.
Members of the Niger military announced on Wednesday that they had deposed Bazoum and on Friday named Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as the country’s new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa’s Sahel region.
Some leaders of the mutiny said they overthrew Bazoum because he wasn’t able to secure the nation against growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that was a pretext for a takeover driven by internal power struggles.
“We couldn’t expect a coup in Niger because there’s no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power,” Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.
He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Tchiani. Tchiani, who also goes by Omar, was loyal to Bazoum’s predecessor, and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said.
Niger’s dire security situation is not as bad as that in neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year, Niger was the only one of the three to see a decline in violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Some taking part in Sunday’s rally warned outside bodies to stay away.
“I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please, please stay out of our business,” Oumar Barou Moussa said at the demonstration. “It’s time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It’s time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty.”
Niger has the most at stake of any country in the Sahel if it turns away from the West, given the millions of dollars of military assistance it has received from abroad.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic cooperation with the U.S. hinges on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”
Macron said he’d spoken to Bazoum and his predecessor on Sunday. On Saturday France suspended all development and financial aid to Niger.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military regimes in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
While the bloc has struggled to have much impact, the measures placed on Niger Sunday show the gravity of the situation, said Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute.
“The strenuous measures they have put in place or threatened to put in place show not only how seriously they are taking this crisis, but also the urgency the regional body and larger international community feel in trying to force a return to normal that will likely prove elusive,” he said.
The response from the bloc towards Niger differs from how it dealt with recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, which did not involve the threat of force if constitutional rule wasn’t reinstated.
In the last few decades it has sent troops into member countries a handful of times.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017 it intervened in The Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Approximately 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.
Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. The sanctions would suspend all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger.
In a televised address Saturday, Col. Major Amadou Abdramane, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, accused the meeting of making a “plan of aggression” against Niger and said the country would defend itself.
“Tensions with the military are still ongoing. There could be another coup after this one, or a stronger intervention from ECOWAS, potentially military force,” said Tatiana Smirnova, a researcher in conflict resolution and peace missions at the Centre FrancoPaix. “Many actors are also trying to negotiate, but the outcome is unclear.”
___
Associated Press reporters Angela Charlton in Paris and Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria and Edouard Takadji in N’Djamena, Chad contributed. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-as-regional-and-global-powers-decry-nigers-coup-the-countrys-future-remains-uncertain/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:18 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-as-regional-and-global-powers-decry-nigers-coup-the-countrys-future-remains-uncertain/ |
DENVER (AP) — As Denver neared triple-digit temperatures, Ben Gallegos sat shirtless on his porch swatting flies off his legs and spritzing himself with a misting fan to try to get through the heat. Gallegos, like many in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, doesn’t have air conditioning.
The 68-year-old covers his windows with mattress foam to insulate against the heat and sleeps in the concrete basement. He knows high temperatures can cause heat stroke and death, and his lung condition makes him more susceptible. But the retired brick layer, who survives on about $1,000 a month largely from Social Security, says air conditioning is out of reach.
“Take me about 12 years to save up for something like that,” he said. “If it’s hard to breathe, I’ll get down to emergency.”
As climate change fans hotter and longer heat waves, breaking record temperatures across the U.S. and leaving dozens dead, the poorest Americans suffer the hottest days with the fewest defenses. Air conditioning, once a luxury, is now a matter of survival.
As Phoenix weathered its 27th consecutive day above 110 degrees (43 Celsius) Wednesday, the nine who died indoors didn’t have functioning air conditioning, or it was turned off. Last year, all 86 heat-related deaths indoors were in uncooled environments.
“To explain it fairly simply: Heat kills,” said Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington professor who researches heat and health. “Once the heat wave starts, mortality starts in about 24 hours.”
It’s the poorest and people of color, from Kansas City to Detroit to New York City and beyond, who are far more likely to face grueling heat without air conditioning, according to a Boston University analysis of 115 U.S. metros.
“The temperature differences … between lower-income neighborhoods, neighborhoods of color and their wealthier, whiter counterparts have pretty severe consequences,” said Cate Mingoya-LaFortune of Groundwork USA, an environmental justice organization. “There are these really big consequences like death. … But there’s also ambient misery.”
Some have window units that can offer respite, but “in the dead of heat, it don’t do nothing,” said Melody Clark, who stopped Friday to get food at a nonprofit in Kansas City, Kansas, as temperatures soared to 101, and high humidity made it feel like 109. When the central air conditioning at her rental house went on the fritz, her landlord installed a window unit. But it doesn’t do much during the day.
So the 45-year-old wets her hair, cooks outside on a propane grill and keeps the lights off indoors. She’s taken the bus to the library to cool off. At night she flips the box unit on, hauling her bed into the room where it’s located to sleep.
As far as her two teenagers, she said: “They aren’t little bitty. We aren’t dying in the heat. … They don’t complain.”
While billions in federal funding have been allocated to subsidize utility costs and the installation of cooling systems, experts say they often only support a fraction of the most vulnerable families and some still require prohibitive upfront costs. Installing a centralized heat pump system for heating and cooling can easily reach $25,000.
President Joe Biden announced steps on Thursday to defend against extreme heat, highlighting the expansion of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which funnels money through states to help poorer households pay utility bills.
While the program is critical, said Michelle Graff, who studies the subsidy at Cleveland State University, only about 16% of the nation’s eligible population is actually reached. Nearly half of states don’t offer the federal dollars for summer cooling.
“So people are engaging in coping mechanisms, like they’re turning on their air conditioners later and leaving their homes hotter,” Graff said.
While frigid temperatures and high heating bills birthed the term “heat or eat,” she said, “we can now transition to AC or eat, where people are going to have to make difficult decisions.”
As temperatures rise, so does the cost of cooling. And temperatures are already hotter in America’s low-income neighborhoods like Gallegos’ Denver suburb of Globeville, where people live along stretches of asphalt and concrete that hold heat like a cast-iron skillet. Surface temperatures there can be roughly 8 degrees hotter than in Denver’s wealthier neighborhoods, where a sea of vegetation cools the area, according to the environmental advocacy group American Forests.
This disparity plays out nationwide. Researchers at the University of San Diego analyzed 1,056 counties and in over 70%, the poorest areas and those with higher Black, Hispanic and Asian populations were significantly hotter.
About one in 10 U.S. households have no air conditioning, a disparity compounded for marginalized groups, according to a study by the Brookings Institution. Less than 4% of Detroit’s white households don’t have air conditioning; it’s 15% for Black households.
At noon on Friday, Katrice Sullivan sat on the porch of her rented house on Detroit’s westside. It was hot and muggy, but even steamier inside the house. Even if she had air conditioning, Sullivan said she’d choose her moments to run it to keep her electricity bill down.
The 37-year-old factory worker pours water on her head, freezes towels to put around her neck, and sits in her car with the air conditioner on. “Some people here spend every dollar for food, so air conditioning is something they can’t afford,” she said.
Shannon Lewis, 38, lived in her Detroit home for nearly 20 years without air conditioning. Lewis’s bedroom was the only place with a window unit, so she’d squeeze her teenager, 8-year-old and 3-year-old-twins into her queen-size bed to sleep, eat meals and watch television.
“So it was like cool in one room and a heat stroke in another,” Lewis said. For the first time, Lewis now has air conditioning through a local non-profit, she said. “We don’t have to sleep or eat in the same room, we are able to come out, sit at the dining room table, eat like a family.”
After at least 54 died during a 2021 heat wave, mostly elderly people without air conditioning, in the Portland area, Oregon passed a law prohibiting landlords from placing blanket bans on air conditioning units. By and large, however, states don’t have laws requiring landlords to provide cooling.
In the federal Inflation Reduction Act, billions were set aside for tax credits and rebates to help families install energy-efficient cooling systems, but some of those are yet to be available. For people like Gallegos, who doesn’t pay taxes, the available credits are worthless.
The law also offers rebates, the kind of state and federal point-of-sale discounts that Amanda Morian has looked into for her 640-square-foot home.
Morian, who has a 13-week-old baby susceptible to hot weather, is desperate to keep her house in Denver’s Globeville suburb cool. She bought thermal curtains, ceiling fans and runs a window unit. At night she tries to do skin-to-skin touch to regulate the baby’s body temperature. When the back door opens in the afternoon, she said, the indoor temperature jumps a degree.
“All of those are just to take the edge off, it’s not enough to actually make it cool. It’s enough to keep us from dying,” she said.
She got estimates from four different companies for installing a cooling system, but every project was between $20,000 and $25,000, she said. Even with subsidies she can’t afford it.
“I’m finding that you have to afford the project in the first place and then it’s like having a bonus coupon to take $5,000 off of the sticker price,” she said.
Lucy Molina, a single mom in Commerce City, one of Denver’s poorest areas, said her home has reached 107 degrees without air conditioning. Nearby, Molina’s two teenage children slurped popsicles to cool off, lingering in front of the open freezer.
For Molina, who bustled around her kitchen on a recent day when temperatures reached 99 degrees outdoors, it’s hard to see any path to a cooling respite.
“We’re just too poor,” she said.
____
Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Kansas, and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
——
Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-record-heat-waves-illuminate-plight-of-poorest-americans-who-suffer-without-air-conditioning/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:24 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-record-heat-waves-illuminate-plight-of-poorest-americans-who-suffer-without-air-conditioning/ |
Rare Beauty products by Selena Gomez are going viral
Since its debut in 2019, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty company has taken the makeup industry by storm, mostly by dominating social media. The brand offers tinted moisturizer, bronzer, highlighter, setting powder, blush and other facial products; eye makeup such as eyeshadow, mascara and eyebrow pencils; products to enhance the lips, including lipstick, lip liner, lip oil and more. We researched the trendiest, most popular products from this celebrity-owned beauty brand worth adding to your makeup routine.
Shop this article: Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer, and Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara
About Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez’s vision for Rare Beauty breaks down unrealistic standards of perfection in the makeup industry. The brand’s mission is to help wearers celebrate the rarity that is their individuality, the main objective being “to create a safe, welcoming space in beauty — and beyond — that supports mental well-being across age, gender identity, sexual orientation, rare, cultural background, physical or mental ability and perspective,” according to the Rare Beauty site.
Rare Beauty products are cruelty-free, meaning they were developed without experimentation on animals. Depending on the product type, they’re also ophthalmologist- and/or dermatologist-tested. Many of the products have noncomedogenic ingredients that won’t clog or block pores, and there are various options for sensitive skin. Rare Beauty has a selection of vegan products, as well. They’re a skin-friendly, self-aware brand that wants to make the world a better place.
Top Rare Beauty products, according to customers
Rare Beauty Kind Words Matte Lipstick
This buttery matte lipstick comes in 10 pigment-rich shades ranging from natural to bold. Suitable for sensitive skin, the creamy formula lasts all day while keeping lips soft and moisturized throughout wear.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Kind Words Matte Lip Liner
This creamy, waterproof lip liner defines and shapes the lips while staying put all day — it’s perfect for outlining the lips or coloring them in. The lightweight formula keeps the lips feeling soft and won’t smudge. It features a built-in sharpener and comes in the same 10 shades as the Kind Words Matte Lipstick for effortless color matching.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
This lush liquid blush is Rare Beauty’s top-seller, having received Allure’s Best of Beauty award in 2022. The lightweight, buildable formula gives you a soft flush of color with long-lasting pigments for all-day wear. It’s suitable for sensitive skin and has 13 beautiful matte and dewy finishes.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer
This medium-coverage concealer hides blemishes, dark circles, redness and fine lines while evening out skin texture. It’s made with botanical ingredients that soothe and nourish the skin. The creamy formula is lightweight, buildable and sweat-resistant, with 48 shades to match virtually every skin tone.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation
This liquid foundation feels like a serum with a layerable, medium-coverage formula and a blend of botanical ingredients that soothe and nourish the skin. It’s best used with normal and combination skin types, available in 48 shades that accommodate nearly every skin tone.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer
This silky liquid highlighter feels like a second skin, creating a dewy, healthy-looking glow with superfine, light-catching pearls. Botanical ingredients have a soothing and nourishing effect on the skin. It layers well over makeup and provides all-day coverage with seven luminous shades.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick
This cream bronzer gives you a sun-kissed glow and adds gentle warmth to the skin with its natural finish. The formula is buildable, water-resistant and won’t clog your pores. It features Rare Beauty’s signature botanical ingredients for a calming and hydrating effect on the skin. The brand sells seven natural-looking shades, and the stick application makes it easy to use.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Soft Radiance Setting Powder
This loose setting powder smooths skin texture, blurring the look of pores and controlling shine for a radiant yet natural finish. It helps makeup stay in place all day and is especially useful for those who struggle with oily skin. The container has a locking sifter for keeping the application process and storage mess-free. This setting powder comes in five sheer shades.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara
This volumizing mascara was created for all lash types, featuring castor oil that conditions and nourishes your lashes. The unique curvy brush design combines long bristles that add length and short bristles for increasing volume. It’s an ultra-black, buildable, water-resistant formula that performs well all day. This mascara is safe for those with sensitive eyes and contact lenses.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Positive Light Under Eye Brightener
If you struggle with dark circles or discoloration under the eyes, this liquid brightener will visibly brighten and smooth out the under-eye area for a refreshed look. The lightweight formula is enriched by hydrating white peony and vitamin E extracts. It’s easy to blend and layer using your fingertip, with six shades covering various skin tones.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Positive Light Tinted Moisturizer
This tinted moisturizer blurs and evens skin tone while minimizing the look of pores and fine lines. It offers glowy, light to medium coverage, with a hydrating formula containing vitamin E and SPF 20 broad-spectrum sunscreen. The long-lasting moisturizer is nongreasy and comes in 24 flexible shades.
Sold by Sephora
Rare Beauty Always an Optimist 4-In-1 Mist
This unique facial mist contains a layer of water-based active ingredients and another with nourishing oils that work together to hydrate, prime and set the skin. The refreshing mist boosts the foundation’s performance, and the natural, radiant finish won’t feel greasy. Suitable for sensitive skin, this versatile product comes in 0.12- and 2.87-fluid-ounce bottles.
Sold by Sephora
Worth checking out
- With a glossy finish and gentle plumping effect on the lips, the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil is a beauty-lover favorite.
- If you prefer using a powder highlighter, the Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter is an excellent option for a soft, natural-looking glow.
- The award-winning Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Melting Blush offers a natural satin finish with a subtle blurring effect.
- The Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Longwear Gel Eyeliner is a waterproof product that will stay in place — even on the waterline — with a built-in sharpener for precise application.
- The waterproof Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Precision Pencil is another stellar pick among fans for fuller-looking, more defined brows.
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Amy Evans writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/beauty-personal-care-br/makeup-palettes-sets-br/these-are-the-most-popular-rare-beauty-products/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:32 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/beauty-personal-care-br/makeup-palettes-sets-br/these-are-the-most-popular-rare-beauty-products/ |
Bouldering equipment for beginners
Bouldering is gaining in popularity throughout the world. It’s an exciting and rewarding way to strengthen your muscles, increase flexibility and improve coordination. It lets you explore new locations and meet new people. Though it may seem intimidating when starting out, one of the best aspects of bouldering is the minimal equipment required. By investing in a few core pieces of climbing gear, you can tackle your next adventure and work your way up a challenging route.
Shop this article: La Sportiva Men’s TarantuLace Climbing Shoe, Black Diamond Circuit Crash Pad and Sukoa Chalk Bag
Bouldering vs. rope climbing: what’s the difference?
There are a few main differences between bouldering and traditional rock climbing. Most importantly, bouldering doesn’t require the use of any ropes since most routes are less than 15 feet in height. If you do happen to fall, you land on either a cushioned gym floor or a crash pad in outdoor situations. Traditional climbing requires the use of ropes, a harness, carabiners and often a partner to help belay while you make your ascent.
Bouldering also often uses different techniques and climbing moves compared to big wall climbs. It can be a great way for beginner climbers to build up their stamina and endurance before attempting longer routes or “boulder problems.”
Bouldering tips to get started
Here are five tips for bouldering.
- Know the scales: Most bouldering routes have a rating that corresponds to their difficulty. The two most common grading scales are V-scale and Font scale. V-scale is the system most commonly used in the United States and grades the difficulty on a scale of V0 to V16. While V0 is usually considered the easiest, you may sometimes encounter a route rated as VB, meaning it is for beginners.
- Start slow: As with most new sports or athletic activities, it’s always a good idea to start off slow and work your way up as you gain strength and experience. While it may seem tempting to tackle a hard boulder problem right out of the gate, overdoing it can lead to an increased risk of injury.
- It’s fine to fall: Always take all safety precautions seriously and always use proper safety gear, such as a crash pad when bouldering outdoors. However, the occasional fall while attempting a climb is only natural. As long as you have the proper safety equipment, each fall can be a learning experience, helping you improve your climbing abilities.
- Practice different moves: Don’t get stuck climbing in one style. Trying out different moves and varying your grip can help improve your skills. This is especially important for beginners starting out in a gym setting before transitioning to outdoor climbs.
- Legs are important: It may seem like bouldering is all about arm strength for beginners, but that isn’t the case. Your legs and core muscles are equally important. Your legs can help tightly grip footholds and push your body upwards without relying solely on arm strength.
Beginner bouldering gear
The three main pieces of gear you need to start bouldering are climbing shoes, a crash pad and a chalk bag to keep your hands dry. Besides the big three, there are several accessories that can improve your bouldering experience.
Best climbing shoes
La Sportiva Men’s TarantuLace Climbing Shoe
These bouldering shoes are perfect for both beginner and intermediate climbers. The high-traction Frixion sole means you can grip the rock face with confidence. The quick-lacing system provides a comfortable fit.
Sold by Amazon
Scarpa Origin Women’s Climbing Shoe
These women’s climbing shoes are a great beginner option. They use a flat last and heel system that reduces pressure and tension so they aren’t painful on your feet after a full day spent bouldering.
Sold by Backcountry
Best crash pads
Black Diamond Circuit Crash Pad
This crash pad is great for transporting to your favorite bouldering spot without being too heavy or bulky. The closed-cell PE foam is ideal for cushioning falls from various heights. It has backpack straps and easy-to-carry handles.
Sold by Amazon
This protective crash pad features 5 inches of padding and can even serve as a comfortable chair when not in use. You can choose between several fun colors.
Sold by Amazon
Best chalk bags and chalk
This budget-friendly chalk bag is great for beginners. It features two built-in pockets, letting you store important items while bouldering. The main compartment uses water-resistant materials. It’s spacious enough to accommodate larger hands.
Sold by Amazon
This simple chalk bag with a drawstring closure makes it easy to access your chalk with one hand. It is also available in several color options.
Sold by Amazon
This non-toxic chalk prevents any type of moisture from interfering with your climb, keeping your hands dry and your mind focused.
Sold by Amazon
Best climbing accessories
Using climbing tape can be helpful when getting your fingers and hands used to rough rock surfaces. This tape uses durable cotton and can prevent painful scrapes and scratches while building up callouses.
Sold by Amazon
Metolius Simulator 3D Training Board
An at-home training board can help you practice your grips on days when the weather isn’t cooperating, and you can’t make it to the gym. This Metolius model can be installed above your door frame and features a variety of holds in different sizes.
Sold by Amazon
PETZL Unisex Boreo Climbing Helmet
Not all people who boulder choose to wear a helmet, but they can help prevent a serious head injury in the event of an unexpected fall. This helmet has ventilation holes for breathability and sports a soft, comfortable headband.
Sold by Backcountry
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Matthew Young writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/gear-br/beginners-guide-to-bouldering-equipment-what-you-need-to-get-started/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:38 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/gear-br/beginners-guide-to-bouldering-equipment-what-you-need-to-get-started/ |
Which product helps prevent thigh chafing best?
Do you find your sense of style forever or athletic endeavors in conflict with the possibility of uncomfortable thigh chafing? You’re not alone. Sometimes a great outfit can be rendered completely unusable because you know your thighs will be left feeling red and raw after a little while. The same goes for people who do a lot of running or swimming. Fortunately, you no longer have to choose between what you want to do or wear and the toll it will take on your skin. There are creams, clothes and even creative accessories designed to soothe skin and prevent thigh chafing so you can live your life comfortably.
Shop this article: Monistat Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel, Body Glide Skin Glide Anti-Friction Cream and Undersummers by CarrieRae Women’s Shortlette
What causes thigh chafing?
The friction produced between the thighs when they rub together causes thigh chafing. It can make the skin red and cause irritation or even pain. Chafing, in general, is often considered an athlete concern, but it can be especially problematic for anyone during seasons when skirts and dresses are popular. Long pants usually lessen friction by providing a barrier of fabric between your thighs, which is why it’s often less of a problem when temperatures drop. Though inconvenient and uncomfortable, you can address thigh chafing and lessen or prevent it in a variety of ways.
What solutions are available?
These days, there are a few preventative measures you can take to avoid thigh chafing. There are rub-in creams or roll-on palms designed to do the trick, but if you’d prefer something wearable, there are shorts and bands that serve the same purpose.
Best rub-in thigh chafing preventatives
Monistat Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel
This is a non-greasy, fragrance-free formula that’s gentle on sensitive skin and combines the best of lotion and powder care. It protects skin, relieves irritation and is reliable for everyday use. It can be used for thigh chafing as well as underarm or breast chafing.
Sold by Amazon
Body Glide Skin Glide Anti-Friction Cream
This hypoallergenic hydrating cream doesn’t leave a greasy residue and creates a smooth barrier that protects sensitive skin. It won’t clog pores and washes off easily in the bath or shower. The cream prevents thigh chafing in both humid and dry climates.
Sold by Amazon
Though Aquaphor is mostly used for cracked skin, chapped lips and even tattoo care, it also makes for an excellent thigh chafing preventative. It’s incredibly nourishing for sensitive skin and it’s fragrance-free. A little goes a long way, and so a large jar like this one will last a while.
Sold by Amazon
Chamois Butt’r Original Anti-Chafe Cream
This anti-chafe cream is great for athletes or anyone experiencing uncomfortable thigh chafing. It’s gluten-free, paraben-free and has no artificial fragrances or colors in it. It also rubs into the skin smoothly and evenly.
Sold by Amazon
Blue Steel Sports Anti-Chafe Cream
This anti-chafing cream is called a “sports” cream but is made for anyone and includes natural tea tree oil. It’s water/sweat resistant, making it great for those planning on swimming or even just walking around on a hot day. It’s not greasy and won’t stain your clothes either.
Sold by Amazon
Best stick/roll-on thigh chafing preventatives
Vaseline All Over Body Balm Jelly Stick
This anti-friction jelly stick really nourishes dry skin. It can prevent chafing before it happens or soothes skin already sore from it. You can even use it on chapped lips or dry, cracked hands.
KT Tape KT Performance+ Anti-Chafing Stick
Here is a gel stick that is sweat-resistant, water-resistant and made to last up to 24 hours. It’s not sticky and holds up in both humid and dry climates. There are no sulfates, parabens, petroleum or dyes included in this formula.
Sold by Amazon
Zone Naturals Chub Rub All Natural Anti-Chafing Stick
This anti-chafing stick is made with all-natural ingredients that include coconut oil, Shea butter and aloe. It helps to protect and hydrate skin with the bonus of being paraben-free and fragrance-free.
Sold by Amazon
Squirrel’s Nut Butter All Natural Anti Chafe Salve Stick Applicator
Here is a salve popular with men and women for dry/sensitive skin. It’s in stick applicator form and great at preventing thigh chafing but can also be used for eczema, dry skin, diaper rash, razor burn and tattoo recovery.
Sold by Amazon
This anti-friction stick is designed specifically for thighs but you can use it anywhere to prevent chafing. It is made with aloe, pomegranate seed extract, Vitamin E and other natural ingredients. It’s sulfate, aluminum, paraben and phthalates-free.
Sold by Ulta Beauty
Best wearable thigh chafing preventatives
Hanes Men’s Comfort Flex Fit Total Support Pouch 3-Pack
Available in long leg or regular leg sizes, this package comes with three comfortable and breathable boxer briefs in assorted colors. They are made from a polyester/spandex blend and won’t ride up the thigh even after going through the washing machine.
Sold by Amazon
Wirarpa Women’s Anti Chafing Cotton Underwear
This set of three comes available in several color combinations and provides a comfortable fit for chafe-free thighs. The underwear is made from a cotton/spandex blend and it’s machine washable (though you should hang dry).
Sold by Amazon
Bandelettes Patented Trademarked Original Elastic Anti-Chafing Thigh Bands
Available in several colors and styles, this set of nylon/spandex blend bands is perfect for those who want their thighs protected but don’t want to wear long underwear or shorts beneath their clothes. They look delicate and flirty but are hand-wash only and line dry.
Sold by Amazon
Undersummers by CarrieRae Women’s Shortlette
This stretchy polyester/spandex shortlette protects thighs without causing extra friction that can be painful to the skin. It doesn’t ride up and comes in three colors (ecru, beige and black).
Sold by Amazon
Chicky Chaps Stretch-Mesh Breathable Thigh Bands
These mesh and lace thigh bands clip onto underwear to not fall and come in seven colors and styles. They aren’t the most durable chafe preventative, but if you’re looking for something sexier that looks like lingerie, these bands fit the bill. They are hand-wash only and line dry.
Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Emily Verona writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/medical-supplies-equipment-br/15-products-that-help-prevent-thigh-chafing/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:45 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/medical-supplies-equipment-br/15-products-that-help-prevent-thigh-chafing/ |
Smart thermostats
Smart thermostats save you time, money and energy by creating heating and cooling schedules and monitoring your usage. You can even make adjustments from your phone. But these aren’t the only features of smart thermostats.
Shop this article: Honeywell Home Wi-Fi Thermostat, Ecobee SmartSensor Two-Pack and Nest Thermostat Wall Plate
How does a smart thermostat work?
Smart thermostats use Wi-Fi connectivity to connect to your smart home network. They can also connect to your smartphone, laptop, tablet or smartwatch. This lets you use those devices to monitor, make adjustments to and set schedules for the temperature in your home. This is usually through a smart thermostat’s companion app. They can also adjust temperatures with algorithms that track your routines, lifestyle and the weather.
For example, a smart thermostat can learn that you come home at 5 p.m. every day. It can then adjust your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to ensure your home is at a comfortable temperature when you arrive. Some smart thermostats can also turn off your heat or AC when you depart each day.
How can a smart thermostat save me money?
Some manufacturers claim their smart thermostats can save you up to 25% on utility bills. This is partly accomplished by improving your heating, ventilation and AC system’s performance and reducing energy consumption. Another way is by letting you monitor and make adjustments to temperature settings remotely. If you forget to turn off your heat before leaving, for example, you could use your smart thermostat’s companion app to turn it off without returning. Being able to set schedules and take advantage of algorithmic learning also helps.
Many smart thermostats, such as the Nest Learning Thermostat or Honeywell Home Wi-Fi Thermostat, also generate reports on energy usage and heating and cooling patterns. By reviewing your usage data you can make informed decisions about how you consume energy.
What do I need to consider when choosing a smart thermostat?
Existing heating, ventilation and AC system
The smart thermostat you buy must be compatible with your home’s existing heating, ventilation and AC system. Many popular smart thermostat models include compatibility checkers on their websites. Smart thermostats also often require a C-wire, enabling the continuous flow of power to the thermostat. This is necessary for features like Wi-Fi connectivity and touch screens. Some thermostat ports aren’t equipped with C-wires because many older thermostats don’t need them.
If you don’t have a C-wire, you can hire an electrician to install one. You can also choose a smart thermostat designed to work without a C-wire, such as the Emerson Sensi. Alternatively, you can buy a C-wire adapter to install near your heating, ventilation and AC system’s control board.
Compatibility with your existing smart home system
If you already have smart home devices, select a smart thermostat that is compatible with your system. If you use Apple HomeKit, for example, select a model you can control from the platform such as the Carrier Cor or the Hive. For an IFTTT smart home system, consider the Google Nest Learning Thermostat.
What you need to buy to go with your smart thermostat
These sensors work with the Ecobee Smart Thermostat to detect motion to adjust the temperature in rooms that are in use.
Sold by Amazon
Match your Nest Thermostat to the other design elements of your living space. Wall plates come in a variety of colors including white, silver, black and bronze.
Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Evelyn Waugh writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/home-br/heating-cooling-air-quality-br/how-do-smart-thermostats-work/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:53 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/home-br/heating-cooling-air-quality-br/how-do-smart-thermostats-work/ |
Make your own pasta at home
Making pasta by hand looks impressive, but the truth is, homemade pasta is surprisingly simple to create. You can get started with just three ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. Even if the only tools you have are a rolling pin and a chef’s knife, you can feed your family and friends a satisfying and delicious meal made entirely from scratch. All you’ll need is a recipe, a couple of hours, and just a little bit of practice.
Shop this article: Fox Run Polished Marble Rolling Pin with Wooden Cradle, Spring Chef Bench Scraper and OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Egg Separator
Is homemade pasta better?
You won’t just get a sense of accomplishment from making your own pasta — it tastes better, too. Fresh pasta has a more tender texture and a more pronounced eggy flavor than commercial-dried pasta. The pasta’s springiness holds up equally well, whether it goes into lasagna or straight onto the plate with some butter. You can even try making pasta dough with unusual ingredients like spinach or saffron for an extra-special meal.
How to get started making pasta
Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap Food Processor
Making the pasta dough
There are as many fresh pasta recipes as there are people who make pasta, but to get started, it’s best to stick with a simple pasta dough that uses just a few ingredients: unbleached all-purpose flour, eggs, and a bit of salt.
If you want, you can use semolina durum flour, which is a more authentic pasta flour with a higher protein content and a coarser texture that helps sauces stick. However, if all-purpose flour is all you have in your pantry, it’ll turn into wonderful pasta.
Place 10 ounces of flour on a clean work surface and make a well. Add two eggs plus four egg yolks to the well and gently start incorporating the flour using a fork, gradually scraping in flour from the sides of the well. Switch to a bench scraper when it becomes too difficult to use a fork and mix until it’s fully combined by scraping and folding over the dough, turning it 45 degrees each time.
Kneading and rolling the pasta dough
You’ll know the dough is ready for kneading when it stops sticking to your hands and holds its shape when rolled into a ball. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it’s smooth and satiny, then shape it into a ball. Let it rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 30 to 60 minutes to let gluten develop.
Use the bench scraper to cut the ball into four equal portions and cover them with a towel to keep them from drying out. Working with one portion at a time, roll out the dough into an oblong shape between a quarter-inch and half-inch thick.
Making pasta by hand vs. using a stand mixer
If your arms aren’t up to the task of all that kneading, you can use a powerful food processor or a stand mixer. Simply place all the ingredients in the work bowl and run the machine (using a dough hook if you’re using a stand mixer) until a large, smooth ball forms.
How to shape homemade pasta
CucinaPro Pasta Maker Deluxe Set
Making pasta shapes with a pasta machine
Roll out your dough by hand or use a pasta maker. Some pasta machines can create extruded shapes like penne, while others deliver smooth sheets and strands of lasagna or fettuccine. Following the manufacturer’s instructions for the type of pasta you want to make, feed your rolled-out dough between the rollers until it reaches the right thickness.
At this point, you can trim it by hand to make filled pasta or lasagna or run it through the pasta machine to cut it into strands. As the cut pasta strands emerge from the machine, carefully catch them, dust them with flour, shape them into nests, and keep them covered until you’re ready to cook or dry them.
A stand mixer offers another advantage here: after you’ve whipped up a batch of pasta dough in the bowl, use the mixer’s pasta-making attachment to roll out, cut, or shape pasta.
How to make filled pasta
For filled pasta, make sure your filling is relatively dry so you can seal up your pasta and avoid leaking or soggy dough. Avoid the temptation to overload your pasta — follow your recipe’s guidance for the amount of filling to use in each pasta shape.
Depending on the type of stuffed pasta you’re making, you can use a pasta stamp, a pastry wheel, biscuit cutters, or even a chef’s knife to create rounds or squares. Seal the pasta by brushing the edges with a little water, then using gentle pressure to close the shapes. Make sure the filling is fully enclosed and that no air is trapped inside.
How to cook homemade pasta
Weston Bamboo Pasta Drying Rack
Cooking fresh pasta
Homemade pasta cooks very quickly — depending on the shape, it will need only two to four minutes in boiling water, and slightly longer for stuffed pasta. Salt your cooking water generously to amplify your pasta’s flavor, especially if your dough recipe doesn’t call for salt. Serve it immediately.
How to dry fresh pasta
Alternatively, you can dry your uncooked pasta to serve at a future date. Leaving egg-based food out in the open can feel counterintuitive, but when properly dried and stored, there should be no moisture remaining to encourage bacteria.
Toss the pasta shapes in flour, then lay the strands in a single layer on a drying rack or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the pasta dry uncovered and away from heat and sunlight, or use a food dehydrator for more consistency, especially if it’s a humid day. When the pasta snaps instead of bending, it’s ready for storage. Keep it in a dry, airtight container in your pantry or freezer.
FAQ
Q. How long does homemade pasta last?
A. Homemade pasta has a much shorter shelf life than commercially made pasta. Uncooked pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for just one day. Properly dried homemade pasta can be stored in your pantry for up to six weeks. Alternatively, before you cut your pasta shapes, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to one month.
Q. What sauces go with homemade pasta?
A. How you serve your pasta may come down to personal preference, but the shape of the pasta is a contributing factor. Pair fettuccine or tagliatelle with a homemade alfredo sauce or pesto. Wider pasta like pappardelle is great with slow-simmered meat sauces. You can also highlight the flavor of your fresh pasta (especially ravioli) by simply tossing it in browned butter and high-quality Parmesan.
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Laura Duerr writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/utensils-gadgets-br/how-to-make-homemade-pasta/ | 2023-07-30T23:13:59 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/utensils-gadgets-br/how-to-make-homemade-pasta/ |
Can you fertilize a lawn in the summer?
Few things can add or detract as much from a home’s curb appeal as the landscaping, and your grass is a significant aspect of that. Healthy and well-manicured grass gives a home a welcoming feeling, while a dead or overgrown yard makes everything look unkempt.
Fertilizing is vital to keeping your lawn looking its best, but it must be done correctly and at the right time of the year. Many people often wonder if they can fertilize their yard in the summer. To clear up that confusion once and for all, we’ve put together this handy guide that covers everything you need to know.
Shop this article: Scott’s Natural Lawn Food, Scotts EdgeGuard Mini Broadcast Spreader and Flexzilla Garden Hose
What is the best time to fertilize your lawn?
You should be fertilizing your lawn at least twice a year. However, if you pick the wrong season or the wrong fertilizer, you can cause excessive weed growth or even burn the grass. Part of knowing when to fertilize your yard is about knowing what type of grass you have. You should fertilize your lawn when it is actively growing. If you have cool-season grass, early spring, when the temperatures are between 60-75 degrees is the optimal time for the first feeding.
Warm-season grasses tend to start sending up green shoots a bit later in the spring when the temperatures reach 80 degrees or higher. When you see this start happening, it’s time to sprinkle your fertilizer.
You should also fertilize both cool- and warm-season grasses in the fall. This helps ensure healthy roots during the winter months, which results in healthier, greener grass the following spring.
How often should you fertilize your lawn in the summer?
While the most important times to fertilize your lawn are the spring and fall, these shouldn’t necessarily be the only times. For both types of grasses, a second feeding should follow about six weeks after the first. Depending on the date of your first round of fertilizing, this might be very late spring or early summer. However, make sure to read the manufacturer’s guidelines on the fertilizer you use, as the recommended interval between feedings may be longer or shorter.
It is usually best to avoid fertilizing during the hottest months, but if you have to do it, make sure to use the correct fertilizer type.
Choosing the right fertilizer
Synthetic fertilizers come in slow- and fast-release formulas. In addition to the essential nutrients of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate, they may also contain calcium, magnesium, sulfur and other ingredients.
While synthetic fertilizers are a good choice for spring and fall use, you should avoid them during the summer. This is because they typically have a very high nutrient content and are likely to burn the grass.
Organic fertilizers are made from fish meal, compost, manure and other natural ingredients. It has a lower nutrient content, which makes it gentler and ideal for summer use. Organic fertilizer tends to break down slowly too, so it will continue feeding the grass for months after application.
Fertilizing your lawn in the summer heat
Prepare your yard in advance
To get the best results, mow your lawn a day or two before you plan on applying the fertilizer. This helps ensure the fertilizer spreads evenly and falls to the soil, rather than sitting atop the blades of grass where it can potentially burn them. After the mowing, heavily water your lawn to saturate the soil thoroughly.
Do it at the right time of day
Later afternoon or early evening is the best time to apply fertilizer. Never do it in the middle of the day under direct sun, or you may burn the grass.
Use the right equipment
It is essential to spread fertilizer evenly across the yard. Too little in one place, and it won’t grow as well as the rest of the lawn. Too much in one spot, and it can harm or even kill the grass. The best way to ensure an even spread is by using a broadcast spreader.
Water after fertilizing
After applying fertilizer, lightly water your lawn. This is to wash any fertilizer that may have landed on the blades of grass down to the soil. Make sure not to overly saturate the soil, though, as you want to give it some time to absorb the nutrients. If you water it too heavily, you run the risk of washing the fertilizer away.
What you need to buy for fertilizing
This all-natural fertilizer is safe to use around kids and pets and is suitable for all grass types and seasons. A single bag covers a 4000-square-foot lawn.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Scotts EdgeGuard Mini Broadcast Spreader
A reliable and reasonably-priced model, this broadcaster spreader is a good choice for many homeowners. It offers easy-to-use rate control and doesn’t require any assembly.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Scotts Wizz Hand-held Spreader
If your yard is too small for a wheeled broadcast spreader, or you simply find a handheld model to be more convenient, the Wizz is a suitable option. It is lightweight and features 23 flow-rate settings.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
The Flexzilla garden hose comes in several lengths ranging from 10-100 feet, so there is certainly one that will perfectly fit your needs. It retains its flexibility in all weather conditions and has a rugged build that should last through many seasons.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Luster Leaf 1601 Rapitest Test Kit for Soil
Though unnecessary for fertilizing your lawn, having a soil test kit like this is a brilliant idea. It helps you identify what nutrients your soil is lacking, or has an excess of, so you can make sure to buy the right fertilizer.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Brett Dvoretz writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/fertilizers-br/should-i-fertilize-my-lawn-in-the-summer/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:05 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/fertilizers-br/should-i-fertilize-my-lawn-in-the-summer/ |
Become a lawn master
Knowing how to plant a new lawn is a useful skill to have, no matter if you’re moving into a new house, sprucing up your current one, or you just want to develop your green thumb. A lush green lawn is often the first thing people notice about your home, and well-manicured grass can greatly increase the value of your property. With a few personal touches, you can make it your own.
While it may seem like a daunting task at first, planting or renovating your lawn is relatively simple when broken down into a few easy-to-follow steps.
Shop this article: Tillers, Fertilizers and Lawn Rollers
Sod vs. seed
First, you must decide whether you want to use grass seed or sod on your lawn.
Let’s start with sod, as grass seed is relatively self-explanatory. Sod, also known as instant lawn or turf grass, is rolled grass that offers several benefits over grass seed. The most obvious is that it’s much faster to establish and gives the look of a finished lawn instantly. In addition, quality sod has few or no weed seeds present, which can save major headaches (and backaches) down the road. Also, because it’s heartier than young grass, sod can be installed nearly any time of year, so long as the ground isn’t frozen or exposed to extreme heat. However, it’s not without disadvantages.
Due to its convenience, sod is initially more expensive than grass seed and requires labor to install. Your grass choices are restricted as well, because most sod farmers grow their products in full sun. That means if your lawn is shaded by houses or large trees, sod may not thrive as well as seed designed for those environments. Shade blend sod is available in some areas, but it’s not always easy to find.
By contrast, grass seed is simpler, cheaper, less labor-intensive at the onset, and offers more choice when it comes to grass variety. It requires more consistent maintenance, though, and the chance for weed contamination is higher. Perhaps the most notable drawback is this method has a defined window for success, as extreme temperatures can lead to patchy results or complete seed failure.
How to prepare lawn for new grass
No matter which method you choose to grow your new lawn, the initial preparation is relatively consistent. Follow these steps:
-
First, remove debris and any existing vegetation, i.e. weeds and grass. You can do this physically, with a flame torch, using a home remedy, or with a non-selective herbicide. If you use chemicals, remember to wait for the compounds to become inert before planting (check product labels for this info).
-
Repeat the first step, till the soil, and check it again to make sure all remaining seeds are gone. Doing this will ensure a weed-free lawn in the long term.
-
Once the area is free of vegetation, you are ready to plant.
How to plant a lawn with sod
-
Till the first two inches of soil with a tiller or rake. If needed, add seeding soil to the top of your existing soil.
-
Level soil. Any dips or bumps could stay there for years and can look unsightly.
-
If you do not use seeding soil (these generally have starter fertilizer mixed in), apply a starter fertilizer, water, and till in.
-
Roll out sod. Keep edges snug against each other but don’t overlap them.
-
Use a lawn roller to smooth out and firm the sod, connecting it with the ground below and facilitating root contact. Keep sod moist for the first two weeks after application to further assist root growth.
How to plant a lawn with seed
-
Till the first two inches of soil with a tiller or rake. If needed, add seeding soil to the top of your existing soil.
-
Level soil. Any dips or bumps could stay there for years and can look unsightly.
-
If you do not use seeding soil (these generally have starter fertilizer mixed in), apply a starter fertilizer, water, and till in.
-
Divide your seed into two equal portions. Spread one half going one direction, with the other half going at a right angle in the other direction. This crisscross pattern guarantees even coverage across your lawn. For higher accuracy, use a drop spreader.
-
Tamp seed down with a lawn roller. For added protection, cover the seeds with 1/4 inch of peat moss or compost. This prevents the seeds from washing away, stops birds from eating them, and also holds in moisture.
-
Gently soak the soil about six inches deep after seeding, and keep the seeds moist until grass has germinated. This should take approximately two weeks. Continue to lightly water three to four times a day until the grass is about a half-inch high, then maintain as normal.
How to take care of new grass
-
A watering rule of thumb: Once the grass is high enough to mow, water at approximately one inch per week.
-
Water your lawn early in the morning. Doing it at night keeps the water stagnant, which raises the risk for mold and fungus, and watering midday increases evaporation risk. In addition, water deeply and infrequently as opposed to lightly and more often, as this improves root health.
-
Keep your mower blades sharp, and don’t cut more than a third of the grass blade at a time to prevent shocking the grass.
-
Fertilize every four to six weeks with lawn fertilizer.
Lawn care shopping list
-
Planting a new lawn is incredibly rewarding, but it takes a toll on your hands. Invest in some high-quality gardening gloves to stay safe from thorns, sharp sticks, sunlight, and abrasions.
-
A sturdy rake or cultivator will help you till your lawn before planting. This is a necessary step to remove unwanted vegetation, loosen up dirt, and aerate the soil.
-
A lawn roller is the most efficient way to both tamp down new grass seeds and secure sod to the soil below. Fill your lawn roller with water if more weight is needed to finish the job. Choose between tow models that hook up to powered equipment or simple push/pull versions.
-
Drop spreaders are extremely helpful in evenly distributing grass seed over an area. Available in rolling and handheld versions, these spreaders are adjustable for different drop rates. Great for grass seed or fertilizer!
-
Fertilizer is necessary to keep a lawn healthy and full. Lawn fertilizers are typically rich in nitrogen, which is very water-soluble and promotes green, leafy growth.
-
Your lawn won’t survive without water, and an adjustable rotating sprinkler helps it stay irrigated at the seedling stage as well as when it’s fully developed. Interested in even more control? Consider a multi-zone irrigation controller.
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Bob Beacham writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/lawn-care-br/how-to-plant-a-new-lawn/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:11 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/lawn-care-br/how-to-plant-a-new-lawn/ |
Tips and tricks for protecting your home from the elements
If you like learning new skills and having a to-do list that never ends, there’s no better investment than purchasing a home. But becoming a homeowner isn’t just the biggest financial commitment you’ll ever make, it’s also a pledge to take care of something, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live. Or at least until you decide it’s time to move.
Along with the bills, repairs, and perpetual upkeep, one of the biggest tasks you face as a homeowner is your never-ending battle with Mother Nature. Just when you think you’ve reshingled your last roof and can rest easy when it comes to leaks, you find a small pond in the basement after the latest storm. This list will walk you through everything you need to know in order to best protect your home from the elements.
But first, it’s important to review your insurance policy so you are aware of what is and isn’t covered. Your homeowner’s insurance policy might not cover floods and damage caused by the elements. Take a few minutes, read over your policy, call your agent and make the needed changes to get the peace of mind you deserve.
Shop this article: Tempera 9′ Outdoor Market Patio Table Umbrella, Deconovo Blackout Curtains and Jegs 3-Drawer Toolbox
What are the elements?
It’s not just water — which causes mold and rot — that you have to worry about. Wind, snow, hail, cold and heat can also do substantial damage to your home. Here are just a few examples of the havoc the elements can wreak on your home.
Wind
A gentle breeze is refreshing, but a gale-force wind? Anything over 50 or 60 mph can be devastating. From hurling projectiles and prying loose shingles to stripping away siding and shearing off the entire roof, strong winds can dismantle a house in a matter of minutes.
Snow
It’s pristine, and it twinkles as if infused by magic. Snow is beautiful. But it’s also heavy. On average, a square foot of snow weighs a little over 12 pounds. If you have a house that’s 2,000 square feet and it snows 12 inches, that’s roughly an extra 24,000 pounds — 12 tons — on your roof. See how this could cause a little trouble? Especially if the snow is resting on large tree branches or that evergreen that’s already leaning toward your house.
Hail
Hail is Mother Nature’s mischievous child. They enjoy causing trouble. Got cracked shingles? Divots in the lawn? Broken windows? Dents in your car? Damaged outdoor furniture? You’ve got hail!
Cold
Cold is the silent destroyer of homes. If you’ve ever had a pipe burst, you already know this. But beyond that, cold can create ice dams in your gutters that force water beneath your shingles, thereby ruining the items under your roof. And if water gets into any tiny crack, be it in your driveway or your foundation, it will expand when it freezes, turning that tiny crack into a crevasse.
Heat
Excessive moist heat can warp hardwood floors and accelerate deterioration in other areas, such as your attic and roof. Excessive dry heat can suck the moisture out of the ground, making it shrink and taking away some much-needed support from your home’s foundation.
Best strategies for keeping your home safe
Indeed, the elements can be devastating to your home. Thankfully, there are a number of quick and easy things you can do to protect it from the elements. Following is a list of the best (and most effortless) strategies.
Strategy 1: Bring items inside
Tempera 9′ Outdoor Market Patio Table Umbrella
Lawn chairs, watering cans, bicycles, scooters, patio umbrellas, and other loose items that you keep outside need to be brought inside before a storm. After all, the wind can turn anything that’s not fastened down into a destructive projectile.
Sold by Amazon
Strategy 2: Close the curtains
If anything flies into your window during a storm, having your blinds drawn and your drapes closed can help block some of the broken glass and other debris from entering your home.
Sold by Amazon
Strategy 3: Use your garage
If you don’t want dings in your car, put your vehicle in the garage before all hail breaks loose — along with anything else that could be damaged should the sky begin to pelt ice at your property. If your garage is full of clutter, however, this might not be as simple as it is supposed to be. Take time to organize and store your tools before the storm, and you could be thanking yourself later.
Sold by Amazon
Strategy 4: Rake the roof
When snow piles up on your house, it can get beneath your shingles as it melts, damaging your roof. When it’s safe to do so, grab a roof rake and clear your roof so melting snow can flow away without much damage. Note: always leave a thin layer of snow on your roof, because too much scraping could damage your shingles.
Strategy 5: Seal your driveway
Those tiny cracks in your driveway become bigger cracks when they fill with water which then freezes. Be proactive and seal your driveway — or at the very least, fill those cracks in with gravel — before winter arrives.
Sold by Amazon
Strategy 6: Run a dehumidifier
All that humidity in the summer can really mess with the wood in your house. It can also make everything feel quite sticky. To remedy the situation (and save your hardwood floors), turn on a dehumidifier and let it work its magic.
Sold by Amazon
Strategy 7: Use a sprinkler
During those hot, rainless periods of summer when the ground dries up and pulls away from your house, weakening its foundation, don’t fret. Instead, turn on your sprinkler and put some moisture back into the soil. Don’t add too much, though, because excess water near your home’s foundation has a way of seeping into your basement or crawlspace.
Sold by Amazon
Extra tips for protecting your home from weather damage
The following tips involve a little more than a quick fix, but they are much cheaper than full-blown repairs.
Anchor down your large items
If you have a storage shed, a grill, trash cans, or any large item that doesn’t have a permanent foundation or isn’t securely fastened, anchor it down. You can use straps, anchors, or bolts. In strong winds, this will help minimize dangerous projectiles. In a flood, it will help keep your valuables from drifting away.
Remove trees that pose a threat
Rain can make the ground soggy, allowing trees to lean. Once tilted, wet snow or strong winds can be all it takes to topple even the mightiest oak. Consider having any trees within striking distance of your home taken down before the next storm.
Bring in the reinforcements
A home is only as safe as its weakest spots. If you live in an area prone to severe weather, you need to do something about those spots. Get a professional out to reinforce your garage door, and consider installing storm shutters over your windows and glass doors.
The elements can be brutal on your home. From minor inconveniences to major repairs, Mother Nature really knows how to dish out the damage. But you aren’t helpless. Your best defense is a strong offense. Stay vigilant, smart, and proactive, and your home will be able to weather any storm.
Want to shop the best products at the best prices? Check out Daily Deals from BestReviews.
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Allen Foster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/safety-equipment-br/how-to-protect-your-home-from-harsh-weather/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:18 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/safety-equipment-br/how-to-protect-your-home-from-harsh-weather/ |
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 hospital Saturday evening.
Before Sunday’s game, Angels manager Phil Nevin said Ward did not have vision damage. Surgery is an option for Ward, but no decision has been made. It was not clear when Ward would be able to return to California. The Angels play a three-game series at Atlanta this week before returning home Thursday to host Seattle.
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.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-angels-outfielder-taylor-ward-placed-on-il-with-facial-fractures-after-being-hit-in-head/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:24 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-angels-outfielder-taylor-ward-placed-on-il-with-facial-fractures-after-being-hit-in-head/ |
FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh should be a star at next year’s Paris Olympics, and she showed why Sunday on the closing day of the swimming world championships in Japan.
The 16-year-old McIntosh won her second gold of the event, taking the 400-meter individual medley after winning the 200 butterfly gold on Friday.
That made up for a slow start for the young Canadian, who finished fourth in the 400 free, where she held the world record until Australia’s Ariarne Titmus took it back. She also took bronze in the 200 free, at least getting a medal.
“Going into tonight I just wanted to see how hard I could push myself,” McIntosh said.
She did just that. Her time of 4 minutes, 27.11 seconds was the third fastest ever, not far off her world record of 4:25.87. She was also the defending world champion. American Katie Grimes took the silver in 4:31.41, with Jenna Forrester of Australia picking up the bronze in 4:32.30.
“It was definitely motivating,” McIntosh said of her first few days. “I try to turn everything that goes wrong into motivation somehow.”
Asked about Paris, she replied: “Right now I’m just thinking about a little break.”
McIntosh should be joined by other young stars in Paris like 21-year-old Frenchman Leon Marchand and Australia’s 22-year-old Kaylee McKeown. Marchand and McKeown each won three individual golds.
The Americans also closed fast.
After winning only four gold medals during the first seven days, they picked up three on 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 for around 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.
“This is the cherry on top,” said American Regan Smith, part of the winning 4×100 women’s medley relay. “I love racing with these girls and I love relays so much and brining home a gold in the last event for Team USA means so much to me and all of us.”
The Americans finished in 3:52.08, followed by Australia (3:53.37) and Canada (3:54.12).
The United States also won the men’s 4×100 medley in 3:27.20, ahead of China (3:29.00) and Australia (3:29.62), and added another gold with Hunter Armstrong in the 50-meter backstroke (24.05).
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden made history with her victory in the women’s 50-meter freestyle. The gold gave Sjostrom 21 medals in individual races in the world championships, surpassing Michael Phelps who had 20.
Sjostrom, who set the world record in the semifinals on Saturday, powered home in the final 25 meters for the win, clocking 23.62. Shayna Jack of Australia picked up the silver in 24.10, while Zhang Yufei of China earned the bronze in 24.15.
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania set a world record on the way to winning gold in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke in 29.16. She equaled the old world mark of 29.30 the night before in the semifinals.
Meilutyte grabbed the early lead and was never challenged. American Lilly King claimed the silver in 29.94, while Benedetta Pilato of Italy picked up the bronze in 30.04. She shared the old record of 29.30 with Meilutyte.
Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia added the men’s 1,500-meter free gold to the 800 free he won earlier in the worlds, prevailing in an epic battle with American Bobby Finke that went down to the wire.
The 20-year-old Hafnaoui, the defending 400 free Olympic champion, captured the gold in 14:31.54, with Finke clocking 14:31.59 for silver. Sam Short of Australia rounded out the podium with the bronze in 14:37.28.
The mark was just off the world record by Sun Yang of China, 14:31.02, set in 2012. Sun has been suspended for a doping violation.
“Bobby (Finke) is so fast at the end of the race. he pushed us to do the 14.31,” Hafnaoui said. “It was so close to the world record. I mean I enjoyed the race and thanks Bobby for pushing me.”
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-canadian-summer-mcintosh-16-gets-second-gold-medal-at-swimming-worlds-in-japan/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:30 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-canadian-summer-mcintosh-16-gets-second-gold-medal-at-swimming-worlds-in-japan/ |
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Dalvin Cook got an up-close view of Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets while watching practice from the sideline Sunday.
The free agent running back has to see if he’ll spend the rest of training camp in their backfield — or elsewhere.
Cook spent Sunday meeting with the Jets as he ponders the next stop of his playing career. The four-time Pro Bowl selection was released by the Vikings on June 8 for salary cap savings, according to a person familiar with Minnesota’s decision.
The Jets are the first team Cook has officially visited as a free agent, with his hometown Miami Dolphins also among possible suitors. New York also must consider whether to make him an offer before he leaves the team’s practice facility.
Cook, who turns 28 on Aug. 10, was greeted by chants of “Dal-vin Cooook! Sign that contract!” from fans in the stands as he walked onto the field. He later responded to the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a green heart emoji.
Several Jets players, including Rodgers, greeted Cook and he spent a few moments chatting with owner Woody Johnson.
“He’s a good young man, a very good young man,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “We didn’t interact too much. There’s a lot of stuff going on, especially when it’s open to the public. But it was good to say hello.”
Cook has talked up the Jets in TV interviews in recent days, telling NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Friday they “are right at the top of the list” and the odds of him signing with them were “pretty high.”
“It’s a unique situation because I think they’re building something special over there,” Cook told “Good Morning Football” during the interview. “When you look at it, you always want to be around a great QB, you always want to be around somebody you can pick his brain and just learn from. A-Rod is a four-time MVP. So, just being around a guy like that you can learn a lot more and just develop as a player.
“That’s what I’m looking to do.”
He reiterated those comments Saturday during an interview with ESPN, saying he thinks “the coaching staff, I think everything about what they got going on, just says winning.”
But Cook, a former Florida State star, also said in the interview he was interested in the Dolphins and it would be “a Cinderella story” to play for his hometown team.
He was the guest of the Jets on Sunday, though. And now they have to wait to see if they offer Cook a deal and he accepts — or explores his options.
Both sides have expressed interest, and the Jets wanted Cook to take a physical to be sure his surgically repaired shoulder is healthy.
“That’s pretty much it,” Saleh said. “Call it a meet and greet.”
Cook, who has run for at least 1,000 yards in each of the past four seasons, was scheduled to count more than $14.1 million against the Vikings’ salary cap before he was released. He’s third on Minnesota’s career rushing list with 5,993 yards in six seasons.
With the Jets, Cook could give New York some insurance in the backfield with Breece Hall working his way back from a knee injury that cut short a promising rookie season. New York also has Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight, Damarea Crockett, fifth-round draft pick Israel Abanikanda and undrafted free agent Travis Dye at the position.
NOTES: Saleh said WR Garrett Wilson has a lower right ankle injury and the Jets are being cautious by holding him out of practice. Wilson appeared to have a slight limp and his right ankle was wrapped. … WR Corey Davis remains out with an illness, but Saleh said he could return to practice Monday. … WR Randall Cobb was activated from the physically unable to perform list and participated in practice. … Saleh said the starters aren’t expected to play Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game against Cleveland in Canton, Ohio. Among those players who will play include QB Zach Wilson and OT Mekhi Becton.
___
AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell and Rob Maaddi contributed.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-dalvin-cook-visits-with-the-jets-and-watches-practice-as-he-considers-his-options/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:38 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-dalvin-cook-visits-with-the-jets-and-watches-practice-as-he-considers-his-options/ |
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- One of Richmond's biggest races is now a favorite for some of NASCAR's tiniest fans.
Families from near and far came to the Richmond International Raceway Sunday for the Cook Out 400, bringing their children along with them.
It's the second time in roughly 30 years that the race has not been held at night, during the school year.
Now, hundreds of them are learning the lay of the land and getting creative to beat the heat.
“We have a pool in our Airbnb, so we got lucky on that,” said Ryland, a 9-year-old from Pennsylvania visiting the area for the race.
His family is one of many, like the Petersons from Long Island, New York, who traveled for hours to see their favorite race car drivers.
The Petersons named their 8-year-old son, who is autistic and nonverbal, after Chase Elliott.
“He likes the race car noises and everything," his mother said.
Fans like 10-year-olds Livy and Layla say they want to get behind the wheel one day, following the footsteps of female NASCAR drivers like Danica Patrick.
“There’s not many girl racers, and she just wanted to be one," Livy said.
Their families hope the family friendly culture will continue, to help the fandom last for years to come.
Local News
NASCAR driver: Kids surprised with free bikes were 'jumping up and down'
Do you know about a good news story happening in your community? Click hereto email WTVR.com and the CBS 6 News team. | https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/parents-kids-rave-about-cook-out-400-richmond-raceway-july-29-2023 | 2023-07-30T23:14:42 | 0 | https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/parents-kids-rave-about-cook-out-400-richmond-raceway-july-29-2023 |
Senate GOP leaders didn’t want it to get to this point.
They tried and tried to get Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift the holds he’s placed on hundreds of military promotions — which have opened Republicans up to attacks from the Biden administration.
But their efforts have failed, and they are now in a situation where the earliest a resolution might be found is September — when lawmakers will also be busy trying to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.
“It’s hung around for a while. I support his goals,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. “The challenge obviously is the mechanism he used to get to the result has created some challenges. We want to figure out a way to resolve it and address that.”
“There are conversations now going on, which is good — between him and the military and others. We’ll have some time in August to work on a path forward, and hopefully we’ll find it,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been among those trying to find a resolution, Thune said. Tuberville said he and McConnell discussed the holds Wednesday, hours after the GOP leader froze and felt lightheaded in front of reporters.
“At this point, everybody’s engaged trying to figure out how to solve this,” Thune added.
Tuberville began his holds in early March to protest a new Defense Department policy to reimburse service members who must travel to seek an abortion for those travel expenses.
Six months later, the list of holds has grown to 300. Senate Republicans were hoping to find a solution before leaving Washington for five weeks — five additional weeks during which those military officers will remain in limbo, fueling Democratic attacks and frustrating the Pentagon.
One Senate Republican said finding an offramp agreeable to both Tuberville and those opposed to the holds has become a “recurring discussion” in the Senate GOP conference, and that McConnell has been personally involved in that quest.
“There’s not a lunch that goes by that we don’t talk about it,” the senator said, but added there’s “no chance of a resolution” any time soon.
Aside from the potential political and national security implications of the holds, McConnell is worried about the institutional implications.
The longtime GOP leader recently told reporters at a press conference that he is concerned this could lead to a renewed Democratic effort to change the chamber’s rules.
Despite disagreeing with Tuberville’s tactic, however, he says he recognizes it is the prerogative of any single senator to place a hold on a nominee.
Senators on both sides of the aisle for months have been musing publicly and privately about what it would take to get the Alabama Republican to set his hold aside, but have come up empty at every turn.
Initially, there had been hope that a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the abortion travel policy could do the trick, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led the effort.
But more recently, Tuberville has maintained that not only does any vote have to be standalone, but that the Pentagon would have to reverse its policy before any vote could be taken.
Trying to bridge that gap for lawmakers has become a herculean challenge no one has been able to complete.
Tuberville didn’t comment on efforts by Senate GOP leaders to seek a remedy, but he criticized the Biden administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for their lack of outreach in trying to strike a deal. He also hasn’t had any further conversations with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since their July 17 call and said that the initial series of calls didn’t yield anything productive.
“There’s no conversation from the other side. It’s ‘our way or the highway.’ … How does that help?” Tuberville said. “They’re not worried about it, I guess. … I hate it, for the promotions and all that.”
He added that he has yet to talk to Schumer, who has refused to use up floor time moving the nominees through regular order because he believes it is the Senate GOP’s job to figure a way out of the maze of military holds.
“This is the responsibility of the Republican Senate caucus. … It’s up to them. I think in August, pressure will mount on Tuberville, and I think the Republicans are feeling that heat,” Schumer said late Thursday. “He’s boxing himself into a corner.”
But Democrats are trying to increase that pressure, with President Biden on Thursday night laying into the Alabama Republican and arguing his holds are harming military readiness and creating instability within the ranks of the armed forces.
“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security and leadership, and troop morale,” Biden said in remarks at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington. “Freezing pay, freezing people in place. Military families who have already sacrificed so much, unsure of where and when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in the new school.”
Senate Democrats also took to the floor before and after the NDAA vote Thursday to criticize their GOP colleague. Since the hold was put into place, Democratic senators have made 12 attempts to move the military promotions in bloc via unanimous request.
Perhaps adding to the difficulty, Tuberville has received a boost in support from voters at home and from conservative corners of the Senate GOP conference who believe he is making the right call, albeit a difficult one.
They also argue that if Senate Democrats truly want to move on some of the nominations, they can start to do so via regular order — a move Democrats have avoided in order to not set precedent.
“Democrats think they have a winning political thing on this. I don’t think they do, and I think Sen. Tuberville morally is in the right position with regard to the issue of abortion,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “The [Defense] Department has just as much of a responsibility to find a path forward as any single member does, and I’m not seeing the Department try to work in any fashion other than to simply put pressure on Sen. Tuberville.”
“They’re not trying to find a path forward. They think this is one of those items where if they keep putting pressure on him, he’ll cave, and I don’t think he will,” Rounds continued. “On the issue, he’s correct.” | https://www.wdtn.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:42 | 0 | https://www.wdtn.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ |
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Frank Clark has reunited with Russell Wilson in Denver and now the outside linebacker has former teammate Patrick Mahomes in his sights instead.
The 30-year-old outside linebacker signed with Denver after being jettisoned by the Kansas City Chiefs in a cost-cutting move this offseason and the Broncos are counting on him to add some oomph to their pass rush.
Still in the AFC West, Clark gets two opportunities at beating his former team this season, something the Broncos haven’t done since 2015. Their 15-game skid against the Chiefs is the fourth longest by one team to a single opponent in NFL history.
Unlike his reunion with Wilson, revenge and rivalry aren’t top of mind for Clark as he embraces his fresh start in the Rocky Mountains.
“I wouldn’t call it a rivalry. A rivalry is competitive,” Clark interjected in his first public comments since signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal with Denver last month. “I’m (with) the Broncos now. I’ve been on the other side. We didn’t call it a rivalry then.”
And before anyone around Denver can call it that the Broncos will have to beat Mahomes, something they have a better shot at doing with Clark on their side.
The Chiefs parted ways with Clark just a year after signing him to a two-year, $30 million extension. The Broncos haven’t had a fearsome pass rush since trading Von Miller two years ago. And with Baron Browning sidelined by a knee injury and Randy Gregory coming off an injury-filled debut season in Denver, first-year head coach Sean Payton eagerly welcomed the veteran with 58 1/2 sacks.
Clark had 23 1/2 sacks in four seasons in Kansas City and another 10 1/2 in the playoffs, helping the Chiefs go 10-2 in the postseason and make three trips to the Super Bowl.
“What we did in Kansas City was special,” Clark said. “Four-year run, two Super Bowl (rings), three AFC titles. It was fun, but at the end of the day all good things come to an end.”
Bad things, too, he hopes. Such as Denver’s 15-game skid to the Chiefs.
One thing Clark insists isn’t nearing the finish line in his proclivity for getting after the passer even though his five sacks in 2022 and two-game suspension for gun possession incidents a year earlier meant an end to his three-year run as a Pro Bowler.
“I wouldn’t say it was the end” in Kansas City last season, Clark said. “It’s never the end when you get the job finished.”
Now he aims to help the Broncos and Wilson bounce back in 2023.
“He’s still dangerous. Don’t get it twisted,” Clark said of Wilson, whom he played with in Seattle from 2015-18. “Russ is a veteran. He’s a guy that’s won on multiple levels. … I was a part of Seahawks teams that were successful; I was a part of teams where we didn’t make the playoffs. But it was the same Russ.
“So don’t think a bad season’s going to shake a guy like Russ,” Clark added. “Naw, bro, we start fresh every year. Every summer’s a fresh start.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:46 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-ex-chiefs-linebacker-frank-clark-reunites-with-russell-wilson-in-denver/ |
RICHMOND, Va. — Chris Buescher pulled away on a restart with three laps to go and won at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, earning himself a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Buescher led 88 laps. He was ahead by nearly six seconds when a caution came out with under 10 laps to go. That erased his sizeable lead over local favorite Denny Hamlin, but when the race went back to green, Buescher pulled away easily.
He and Roush Fenway teammate Brad Keselowski led a combined 190 of the 400 laps, with Keselowski's Ford pacing the field for 102 laps on the 0.75-mile oval.
Local News
Parents, kids rave about family-friendly Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
Hamlin, coming off a victory last weekend at Pocono, finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Ryan Preece.
The race was slowed just three times by caution flags, the last sending the leaders to pit road for four tires with eight laps to go. When the green flag was shown again, Buescher used the inside line to pull away for his third career victory.
Hamlin's bid for the victory ended on the second lap of the final sprint when he drove in too deep in the first turn and slid up the track. He finished 0.549 seconds behind Buescher, with Busch winding up 0.817 off the winning pace. | https://www.wtvr.com/sports/chris-buescher-wins-cook-out-400-richmond-nascar-playoffs-spot-july-29-2023 | 2023-07-30T23:14:48 | 1 | https://www.wtvr.com/sports/chris-buescher-wins-cook-out-400-richmond-nascar-playoffs-spot-july-29-2023 |
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Say ‘goodbye’ to high heat and humidity and ‘hello’ to cooler and much less humid air. We can thank in advance a large area of high pressure that will settle across the Great Lakes over the next several days.
Instead of stifling dew points in the mid 70s, a much drier air mass will usher in dew points in just the mid 50s. This will make for very comfortable conditions for the first half of the work week. We’ll also enjoy lots of sunshine without any threat of rain.
TONIGHT: Becoming mostly clear. A little cooler and less humid. Low 61
MONDAY: Mostly sunny and very comfortable. High 82
MONDAY NIGHT: Clear and comfy. Low 59
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Seasonably warm and continued very pleasant. High 84
As the high shifts eastward by midweek, winds will becoming southerly which will spike temperatures and bring back “the muggies” once again. Highs Wednesday into the weekend will range from the mid to upper 80s. It’ll also be noticeably more humid Thursday and Friday with a low chance of showers and thunderstorm both days. | https://www.wdtn.com/news/cooler-comfy-start-to-work-week/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:48 | 0 | https://www.wdtn.com/news/cooler-comfy-start-to-work-week/ |
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers is sticking by his offensive coordinator and firing his hardest throw of the summer at Sean Payton.
The Jets quarterback was bothered by critical comments Payton, the Denver Broncos’ head coach, recently made about offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Payton told USA Today for a story published Thursday that Hackett’s 15-game stint with the Broncos last season ”was one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.″
Payton also said there were “20 dirty hands” around Russell Wilson’s career-worst season, and took some shots at the Jets — Hackett’s new team where he and Rodgers are reunited after enjoying success together in Green Bay.
“It made me feel bad that someone who has accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some sort of easy fall if it doesn’t go well for that team this year,” Rodgers told NFL Network on Sunday. “I think it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”
Rodgers, acquired by New York in April from Green Bay, said Hackett is “arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.” The pair was together for two of Rodgers’ four NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 with the Packers.
During the interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Payton also criticized the Jets being the latest NFL team “trying to win the offseason” — something he said the Broncos under Hackett tried to do and were “embarrassed.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh said Thursday “Hackett’s doing a phenomenal job here” when asked about Payton’s comments. He also said the Jets are just focused on themselves, but recognizes “there’s a lot of people that are hatin’ on us and a lot of people looking for us to fail.”
Payton on Friday said he regretted his comments in which he disparaged Hackett, and said he would reach out to Hackett and Saleh “at the right time” to do so.
“Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my Fox hat on and not my coaching hat,” said Payton, who’s returning to the sideline this season after a year’s sabbatical during which he worked as a studio football analyst for Fox Sports following a 15-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Rodgers told NFL Network he thought Payton’s initial comments “were very surprising, for a coach to do that to another coach.”
Meanwhile, the back-and-forth made the Jets’ matchup in Denver in Week 5 on Oct. 8 a bit juicier. Payton acknowledged Friday his comments “certainly will bring more interest to the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now.”
___
AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton in Englewood, Colorado, contributed.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-jets-aaron-rodgers-defends-nathaniel-hackett-and-fires-back-at-the-broncos-sean-payton/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:52 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-jets-aaron-rodgers-defends-nathaniel-hackett-and-fires-back-at-the-broncos-sean-payton/ |
A lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against the news network CNN has been dismissed by a federal judge.
In a federal lawsuit filed last year in Florida, the former president claimed that some news articles and on-air statements from a host on the network created a "false and incendiary association" between him and Adolf Hitler. Trump also said that the use of the phrase "the Big Lie," used in reference to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, was defamatory, as it allegedly generated feelings of "hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear" towards Trump among readers and viewers.
Ultimately, Trump sought punitive damages amounting to $475 million in the lawsuit.
But in a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal stated that Trump's defamation claims lacked merit because the references made were opinions and not statements of fact.
The judge further emphasized that it would be a stretch to believe that the phrase "the Big Lie" would link Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election results with Nazi propaganda in the minds of viewers.
"CNN’s use of the phrase "the Big Lie" in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people. No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference," Judge Singhal wrote in the filing, first obtained by the Washington Post.
According to the filing, Trump's lawsuit cited various instances, including opinion pieces by former CNN Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza and one episode of CNN's "State of the Union," hosted by Jake Tapper, where the phrase "the Big Lie" was used.
SEE MORE: Trump's 2024 rivals ignored legal cases against him at Iowa GOP event
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kbzk.com/federal-judge-dismisses-trump-s-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn | 2023-07-30T23:14:55 | 0 | https://www.kbzk.com/federal-judge-dismisses-trump-s-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Megan Rapinoe is adjusting to her new role at the Women’s World Cup, even if it means she’s not on the field as much as she’d like to be.
The outspoken 38-year-old known for her eclectic hair colors and the iconic victory pose she struck at the 2019 World Cup is the oldest player on the team. She already announced that her fourth World Cup would be her last.
“Ultimately, we’re at the World Cup. This is where everybody wants to be, whether you’re playing 90 minutes, whether you’re a game changer, whatever,” she said Sunday. “I think it’s a lot similar to what I thought it would be — bringing all the experience that I can, all the experience that I have, and ultimately being ready whenever my number is called up.”
Rapinoe has played limited minutes so far, coming in as a substitute in the 3-0 victory over Vietnam in the tournament opener, which was her 200th career appearance for the team.
She was available but didn’t play in the disappointing 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on Thursday in Wellington. U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski made just one substitution in the match, bringing in midfielder Rose Lavelle after the first half.
“I think all of us on the bench, it’s like we think we should be on the field as much as the players on the field believe that they should be on the field,” Rapinoe said. “Every player on the field that starts the game thinks that they should play 90 minutes, and every player who doesn’t, who is a sub, thinks that they should be on at some point.”
The United States has won the last two World Cups, but the players find themselves in a more precarious position as they chase an unprecedented third consecutive title. The Americans need at least a draw going into the final group match against Portugal on Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland.
The Americans top Group E, even on points with the Netherlands, but hold the edge because of goal difference. Portugal, which beat Vietnam, could send the United States home early with a win over the Americans.
“We’re unsatisfied with the way we played, but we know there are areas that we can be better and I think there’s some really simple fixes we can do to put ourselves in a better position to have more joy on the ball, especially in the final third,” Rapinoe said. “I think everybody’s looking at this like `Let’s go.’”
At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe scored six goals over the course of the tournament, including a penalty in a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final. She also finished with three assists and claimed both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for the best overall player.
Rapinoe, who is engaged to former WNBA star Sue Bird, has been a leader on and off the field.
She made headlines during the 2019 tournament when she said she wouldn’t visit the White House if the United States won. Her decision was based on her disdain for then-President Donald Trump, and the team did not go to the White House after winning its second World Cup.
And in the midst of a dispute with U.S. Soccer over equal pay with the men’s national team, Rapinoe helped the women hold firm on their position.
“I just think back to 2019 in particular. We didn’t really talk about it a lot as a group but we were like, `Well, we have to win. This is kind of like a must-win World Cup for us.’ And I think it did give us confidence,” she said. “It pressured us, but I think we also knew that we could handle it and it was almost a mandatory upping of our level to be able to match everything that we were saying off the field. I think in so many ways we were betting on ourselves.”
Rapinoe has won two Women’s World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal with the United States. She also took home the Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Women’s Player awards — the game’s top individual honors — for her play in 2019.
As a fierce advocate for social justice issues, including gender equity and LGBTQ rights, she was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Joe Biden last year.
The team also won a new contract that pays the players the same as their male counterparts.
“I’ve always tried to use whatever platform we have, and this platform was built long before I got here. We just continue to add to to it, to grow the game, to make the world a better place, to use our voices, to advocate for more,” she said.
At this World Cup, she’s passing that legacy on to younger generation. Fourteen of the U.S. players are playing in their first World Cup. In 2019, Carli Lloyd was in a similar role of a player who was also something of a coach who led by example.
Rapinoe is doing that now.
“Still every day in training I’m like, `I’m gonna try to bust your ass,’ and that makes them better, that makes me better,” she said. “That makes the whole team better. So I think it’s been really rewarding. And I think ultimately, and I think that this gets lost, but I get to play in another World Cup.”
___
AP Women’s World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-megan-rapinoe-adjusts-to-new-role-at-womens-world-cup-while-still-savoring-final-days-in-spotlight/ | 2023-07-30T23:14:59 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-megan-rapinoe-adjusts-to-new-role-at-womens-world-cup-while-still-savoring-final-days-in-spotlight/ |
- Innovative Relay Event Introduces Korean Ginseng Across to the East and West Coast
- with Billboard Ads Featuring Hollywood Stars Arden Cho and Kieu Chin
- HSW Brand expanding its lineup with Two New Sparkling Beverages Designed to Beat the Summer Heat: Recharge and Calm
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Korea Ginseng Corp., the world's number one ginseng brand and leading next-generation global herbal brand, is spreading the word about its new beverage product, HSW, which reflects the health functional food's major trend keyword, 'Food as Medicine,' in a guerilla marketing campaign in key areas of the United States.
Korea Ginseng Corp., unveiled a brand advertisement on a billboard in Times square, Manhattan in the past month. Building on this momentum, Korea Ginseng Corp. has recently announced their plans for a relay guerilla marketing campaign, starting from the K-week event held at the Rockefeller center in New York. The event showcased their newest product, HSW, and featured traditional Korean games like Yut-nori and Dddakji-chiji, capturing the attention of American K-Culture fans. Building on the success of this first event, the brand is currently holding relay events across the city.
On the West Coast, Korea Ginseng Corp. will send its new mobile Ginseng Museum Café to this year's editions of the 626 Night Market, the largest night market in the United States, and to the Moon Festival, which celebrates LA's booming Asian street food scene. To draw attention to their one-of-a-kind trailer café, KGC will be running a fun social media awareness campaign and hosting on-the-spot game events and interactive samplings.
HSW is Korea Ginseng Corp.'s latest beverage offering, a contemporary twist on its best-selling energy tonic, Hong Sam Won. The new product is very much in sync with the hottest health food trend – 'Food as Medicine' – and caters to consumers seeking healthy, natural beverage options. With less than 40 calories per serving and zero caffeine, HSW is a light and guilt-free indulgence for the diet-conscious. In addition, Korea Ginseng Corp. is expanding its lineup with 'Recharge' and 'Calm,' two sparkling beverages designed for this year's hot summer season.
Rian Heung Sil Lee, a representative of Korea Ginseng Corp. U.S., notes, "Korean culture is being embraced by Americans, and interest in Korean health foods is at all-time high. We will be redoubling our efforts to make Korean red ginseng's unparalleled role as a food-as-medicine better known."
Korea Ginseng Corp.'s U.S. expansion began in 2002 and reached a new high point in 2021 with the opening of its flagship Ginseng Museum Café, in Manhattan. Since then, the global brand has introduced a new American-specific product line, KORESELECT, and has broadened its appeal with new distribution channels, including Amazon and Costco. Over the past three years, sales have more than doubled, confirming the impressive potential of the American market.
Leveraging its new American R&D Center, the company is committed to a proactive localization strategy and is planning to launch even more new products with the major marketing support of Korea's aT Center for Globalizing Korean Foods.
About Korea Ginseng Corp.
Korea Ginseng Corp.(KGC) is the world's number one ginseng brand and herbal dietary company. Established in 1899, it is one of the most proven and trusted herbal dietary supplement manufacturers, providing the highest quality, traditionally harvested Korean Red Ginseng products to support health and well-being. KGC runs four regional headquarters in the United States, China, Japan, and Taiwan, in addition to South Korea, and exports products to over 40 countries. With over 40% world market share, its presence spans Asia, Europe, the Middle East region and the U.S. KGC's family of brands include KORESELECT, CheongKwanJang, Good Base, and Donginbi. The KGC brands, inclusive of over 250 products, use the most exceptional ginseng combined with the finest herbs and ingredients to deliver superior products to meet everyone's needs.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE KGC (Korea Ginseng Corp.) | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/30/expanding-global-presence-korea-ginseng-corp-leads-guerrilla-marketing-new-york-times-square-rockefeller-center-la-street-fair-taking-lead-capturing-us-herbal-market/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:01 | 0 | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/30/expanding-global-presence-korea-ginseng-corp-leads-guerrilla-marketing-new-york-times-square-rockefeller-center-la-street-fair-taking-lead-capturing-us-herbal-market/ |
DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand outshot Switzerland and even moved goalkeeper Victoria Esson into an attack position several times, but failed to break a 0-0 tie Sunday in the Women’s World Cup and became the first host nation to be eliminated in group play in tournament history.
The Football Ferns are co-hosting the World Cup with Australia, which must win Monday against Canada to avoid its own early elimination.
Switzerland advanced to the round of 16. The Swiss also played to a scoreless draw against Norway, but won the group with the draw against New Zealand, coupled with the Norwegians’ simultaneous 6-0 rout of the Philippines.
New Zealand controlled the pace for long stretches of the match and had its chances to score, outshooting Switzerland 12-3. Jacqui Hand knocked a shot off the right post in the 24th minute.
All 25,947 seats at Forsyth Barr Stadiums were filled — the only one of Dunedin’s six tournament matches to sell out. The raucous crowd stomped and cheered all night, to no avail.
The tournament began July 20 with New Zealand upsetting Norway 1-0, but the Ferns failed to score from the 48th minute of that match through two more games. They lost their previous match 1-0 against the Philippines.
KEY MOMENTS
Esson moved into an offensive position several times in the last minutes of the match as New Zealand pressed for a winner. She managed a header off a corner kick but was off target.
WHY IT MATTERS
Switzerland becomes one of two teams from Group A to advance to the round of 16. It’s only the team’s second time in the knockout round — the first was in the Swiss’ only previous Women’s World Cup in 2015.
The New Zealanders’ failure to score put an end to their Women’s World Cup run.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“Just gutted, I think. Obviously we talked and we were proud of ourselves and what we’ve been able to accomplish, but at the end of the day we wanted to get out of this group stage and we just didn’t. It’s just black and white. So, obviously gutted,” said New Zealand midfielder Malia Steinmetz of the elimination.
“We expected it to be really tough. New Zealand really tried everything they could, and I think we knew how to respond, especially defensively. We did a lot right,” said Inka Grings, Switzerland’s coach.
WHAT’S NEXT
Switzerland will play either Spain or Japan from Group C, pending a match between those teams on Monday to decide the top two places in that group.
New Zealand is done for the Women’s World Cup.
__
Ellen McIntyre is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
—-
AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-new-zealand-out-of-womens-world-cup-following-0-0-draw-with-switzerland-as-swiss-advance/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:06 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-new-zealand-out-of-womens-world-cup-following-0-0-draw-with-switzerland-as-swiss-advance/ |
HOUSTON (AP) — Quarterback C.J. Stroud, taken second overall in this year’s draft, isn’t worried that the Panthers picked No. 1 selection Bryce Young as their starter on Day 1 of training camp while the Houston Texans are making him compete for the job.
“I’m happy for him, but his situation is his situation, and my situation is mine,” Stroud said Sunday. “So, I know that I’ve got to work on my end and do whatever I’ve got to do to make this team better. It’s not about the starter (or) who’s not the starter, it’s about getting better for Week 1 against Baltimore.”
Stroud is vying with Davis Mills to be the team’s quarterback. The Texans have split first-team snaps between the two in the first few days of camp.
Houston drafted Stroud after Mills struggled as the team’s starter for the past two years after Deshaun Watson sat out following a trade request before being shipped to Cleveland before last season.
Mills went 5-22-1 in 28 games, including 26 starts, as the Texans were among the NFL’s worst teams.
Stroud is just the third quarterback the Texans have drafted in the first round, joining Watson, taken 12th in 2017 and David Carr, the team’s first draft pick who was taken first overall in 2002.
After using such a high pick on Stroud it’s hard to imagine that he won’t end up as the team’s starter. But for now, new coach DeMeco Ryans is adamant that it’s an open competition between the former Ohio State star and Mills.
While Ryans won’t answer questions about what Stroud will have to do to win the job, he’s had plenty to say about the dedication the 21-year-old has shown since joining the team.
“What you see about C.J. is the work and preparation that he does when he’s not here,” Ryans said. “He’s a true football junkie. He loves football, always watching football, always asking for extra cut-ups from our coaches. I’m so impressed with the mental part of him and just how much he loves the game of football. When a guy has that much love for the game of football, he’s (only) going to continue to get better.”
Stroud was a two-year starter for Ohio State, where he threw for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions as the Buckeyes went 21-4. His 85 touchdowns over two seasons broke a Big Ten record held by Drew Brees.
Despite competing with Mills for the job, the rookie said that he and fellow quarterback Case Keenum have both helped him a lot as he’s made the jump from college to the pros.
“I’ve learned everything from Davis,” Stroud said. “Davis and Case are great vets. And just because we may be competing against each other, doesn’t mean that we’re not going to learn from each other. I’ve had a really great time being in the room with those guys.”
Stroud certainly knows what’s at stake for him in this camp, but he’s trying not to let the competition change how he approaches his job day to day.
“I feel like when you try to have a different mindset you confuse yourself,” he said. “So, for me, I just try to keep my head down and I work — just try to work harder and harder every day. Just trying to … be the best person I can be on and off the field.”
As Stroud prepares for his first NFL season, he certainly has plenty of goals. However, his approach to goals has never been to list only lofty, far down the road ones.
“I have goals written down,” he said. “I did it in college and I’ll do it now. But I have a lot of things that I put down, like really small goals. I think the more you can accomplish small goals in your life, the big ones can come kind of natural. And they come as you get the small ones checked off.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-no-2-pick-stroud-competes-with-mills-for-starting-qb-job-with-houston-texans/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:14 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-no-2-pick-stroud-competes-with-mills-for-starting-qb-job-with-houston-texans/ |
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Sophie Roman Haug’s hat trick kick-started Norway’s dormant offense and sparked a 6-0 blowout win over the Philippines on Sunday that moved the Norwegians into to the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup.
The Philippines’ debut run in the tournament came to an end as Norway scored early and often, netting three goals in the first 31 minutes.
Norway’s spot in the round of 16 was secured when Switzerland and New Zealand simultaneously played to a 0-0 draw and the Norwegians. Norway and New Zealand were tied in Group A but Norway advanced on goal differential. New Zealand became the first host country to be eliminated in the group stage in tournament history.
Before the game, Norway had not scored in three consecutive Women’s World Cup matches dating to the quarterfinals of the 2019 tournament.
But Roman Haug one-timed a ball into the net in the sixth minute, and scored again 11 minutes later. Caroline Graham Hansen added a long-distance shot in the 31st minute.
Roman Haug completed the hat trick in injury time.
In the second half, an Alicia Barker own goal in the 48th minute and Guro Reiten’s penalty kick in the 53rd minute extended Norway’s lead to 5-0. Filipina defender Sofia Harrison received a red card in the 67th minute for using excessive force, and the Philippines played the rest of the match a player down.
Eden Park was turned into a makeshift home match for the Philippines, as the Filipina fans screamed in unison any time the Philippines touched the ball, even as the deficit grew.
The Philippines were fresh off of a historic 1-0 win over co-host New Zealand that marked the first Women’s World Cup win for the debutantes.
KEY MOMENTS
Roman Haug got the Norwegians off to a hot start. The first of her two goals was a left-footed volley from inside the six-yard box in the sixth minute. Eleven minutes later, Roman Haug scored a header delivered by a Vilde Boe Risa cross. Roman Haug’s header flew over the reach of Philippines goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel.
Graham Hansen scored on a long-distance strike that curled into the bottom left corner in the 31st minute to give Norway its third goal of the half.
From that point on, Norway was in control.
WHY IT MATTERS
The win advances Norway to the knockout stage after the Norwegians found themselves in last place in Group A heading into the Philippines match.
The Norwegians had yet to score in 2023 before their six-goal eruption.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“They showed some of their class today with their skill. They picked us apart and won a couple of battles in the air in the box early. We really released the pressure early and allowed them to, sort of, be a little more creative as the game went on,” Philippines head coach Alen Stajcic said.
“We’ve been talking quite a bit about having the first goal, then it will give us energy. We know in our attack, we are strong and have good combination play both on the right side and left side. Today was the day that, when we had the first one, we knew there could be more,” Norway head coach Hege Riise said.
__
WHAT’S NEXT
Norway will play either Japan or Spain in the round of 16 next Saturday, depending on the results of a game between those Group C teams on Monday.
The inaugural tournament run ends for the Philippines, who needed at least a draw to have a chance of moving on.
__
Zach Allen is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
—-
AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-norway-moves-into-the-knockout-round-at-womens-world-cup-with-6-0-rout-over-the-philippines/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:20 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-norway-moves-into-the-knockout-round-at-womens-world-cup-with-6-0-rout-over-the-philippines/ |
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen enters the mid-season break in unstoppable form, after emphatically winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday for an eighth straight win and 10th overall of a crushingly dominant season.
Despite starting from sixth place he finished 22.3 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez to give Red Bull an easy 1-2. It moved Verstappen ominously closer to a third straight world title and his own F1 record of 15 wins from last year.
Verstappen is 125 points ahead of Perez after just 12 races, and his next target is matching Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight wins with a victory at the Dutch GP when the lopsided season resumes on Aug. 27.
“I just want to have a nice time now, have a bit of time with family and friends,” Verstappen said.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished in third spot for a third podium of the season, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, with Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) completing the top 10.
Leclerc started on pole ahead of Perez, with Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. behind them. McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was on the next row alongside Verstappen — who was fastest in Friday’s qualifying but took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change and had to avoid early traffic.
“It was just about surviving turn one. I could see it was all getting really tight,” Verstappen said. “I’ve been in that position before myself so I am just going to stay out of that and it worked out. From there onwards I made the right overtakes.”
Last year Verstappen won from 14th, and once he overtook Perez on Lap 17 of 44 his 45th career win was seemingly inevitable.
“Really enjoyable to drive once I got in the lead,” Verstappen said. “It was again a great race.“
Red Bull extended its record to 13 straight wins, including the final race of last season.
Hamilton came in on the penultimate lap for a tire change and the move paid off as he took the bonus point for fastest lap from Verstappen — a very minor blip for the dominant Dutchman.
It was yet another stellar weekend for Verstappen, who also won Saturday’s sprint race. The only issue was some more bickering with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over radio, as they continued their spat from Friday’s qualifying.
“Don’t forget Max, use your head, please,” Lambiase told Verstappen when he questioned why Perez was making his first tire change on Lap 14.
Verstappen defused any talk of tension with Lambiase.
“It’s fine. We know each other very well and we have a very good relationship,” he said. “I think it’s really important.”
With some rain forecast, Verstappen boxed on the next lap and came out about 2 seconds behind Perez. Just minutes later he cruised past Perez and, as so often this season, the rest was just about control.
Perez, meanwhile, pledged to stay on the podium for the rest of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a rough patch,” the 33-year-old Mexican said. “I really need this summer break, it’s been really intense. I’ll come back really strong for Zandvoort.”
Conditions were dry for the race start, in stark contrast to the two previous days, which were impacted by heavy rain at the 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Leclerc, who won his first F1 race here in 2019, made a solid start but Perez’s extra pace soon put him in front.
“I knew it was quite crucial for my race to get Charles on Lap 1,” Perez said.
Verstappen rose two places to fourth after Sainz bumped into Piastri on the first corner.
Piastri had to retire, while Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 6, Leclerc three laps later and made short work of Perez just before some rain fell briefly.
Some good overtaking from Ocon moved the Frenchman up from 10th to eighth in the closing stages.
It was an early end for Piastri, who had impressed with a second place in Saturday’s sprint race.
A bad day for Sainz saw him retiring on Lap 25 and Leclerc moving above him in the standings.
“Of course the race was good on my side, a shame for Carlos as we had good pace,” Leclerc said. “When you look at the Red Bulls we still have a lot of work to do … This was the best we could achieve today, no doubt.”
After the F1 break there will be 10 races left, but most of the competition for places will be behind Verstappen.
Alonso is one point ahead of Hamilton in third overall, with Leclerc and Russell level and Sainz seven points behind them.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-verstappen-wins-belgian-gp-to-extend-huge-f1-lead-red-bull-teammate-perez-2nd/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:27 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/ap-verstappen-wins-belgian-gp-to-extend-huge-f1-lead-red-bull-teammate-perez-2nd/ |
Cool & quiet night ahead with isolated rain chances Monday
TV5 First Alert Sunday Evening Forecast Update
SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - Temperatures are very comfortably holding in the middle-upper 70s across Mid-Michigan this evening, as forecast. We should generally hold onto the 70s through the next few hours before cooling down to some of our colder overnight temperatures since the end of June, thus possibly making tonight’s low temperatures the coolest recorded temperature in month.
I expect widespread upper 40s across our northern counties by early tomorrow morning with a few locations in the higher elevations perhaps falling into the middle 40s for a brief time. Nearer the Bay, in the Thumb and down by Flint, widespread lower-middle 50s are expected.
Skies will remain clear all night tonight through tomorrow morning.
MONDAY
Temperatures start out cool Monday, as discussed above, leading to another pleasant and refreshing morning. Sunny skies will allow temperatures to eventually make another climb into the middle-upper 70s, thus remaining below normal once again (normal is 82 for Saginaw).
Monday currently holds our best chance of rain out of the next seven days, for parts of Mid-Michigan. Our counties north of the Bay and the Thumb currently hold our best chance for isolated showers and storms Monday evening. That’s not to say that everyone else will be dry, but rather that the better chances exist in those areas. Smaller chances for rain will also exist for the Tri-Cities and down towards Flint-Lapeer. Some heavier downpours and lightning will be possible. The risk for severe weather is currently very low, with the best -- *still very low chance* -- being in the thumb, in the form of gusty winds. In the absolute most unlikely on scenarios, one of the strongest storms could support weak rotation -- though this chance is very, very low.
Wildfire smoke also returns to Mid-Michigan Monday. Thankfully this time most of it will remain above the surface, therefore leading to little impact to use here on the ground, but we will certainly see the hazy skies through at least early Tuesday.
Copyright 2023 WNEM. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2023/07/30/cool-quiet-night-ahead-with-isolated-rain-chances-monday/ | 2023-07-30T23:15:41 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2023/07/30/cool-quiet-night-ahead-with-isolated-rain-chances-monday/ |
LAS VEGAS — Ohana, the Hawaiian word for family, defines the lasting influence the late Dick Tomey has on college football.
Ohana is a principle on which former Tomey assistant Brent Brennan strives to continue the growth of a San Jose State program that Tomey — the former University of Arizona coach from 1987-2000 — helmed in the last of his three head-coaching stops.
“So much of who I am as a coach,” Brennan said earlier this month at Mountain West Conference media days in Las Vegas, “I owe to coach Tomey.”
In Brennan’s tenure at SJSU — his seventh season of which kicks off Aug. 26 when the Spartans visit preseason Pac-12 Conference favorite USC — the Spartans have reached some impressive milestones: the program’s first-ever defeat of an SEC opponent with a 31-24 win at Arkansas in 2019; the 2020 Mountain West championship, marking SJSU’s first league title since claiming the 1990 Big West crown; and bowl games in two of the last three seasons, an achievement last accomplished in 1986-87.
People are also reading…
The Spartans were tabbed to finish fifth in this season’s Mountain West media poll, positioning that would likely qualify for a third bowl in four years. SJSU also boasts the conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Chevan Cordeiro.
When the Spartans host Pac-12 title-hopeful Oregon State on Sept. 3, it will mark the first game at CEFCU Stadium since completion of a renovation projected at almost $58 million.
SJSU football is in a much better place today than in was back in 2005. That's when, four-plus years after his final game in Tucson, Tomey first arrived in the Bay Area with Brennan as one of his assistants.
The Spartans had just one winning campaign in the 12 years preceding Tomey’s arrival — a drought that ended with SJSU capping a 9-4 campaign at the New Mexico Bowl in Tomey’s second season — and in 2004, faced a potential budgetary crisis.
Per a Los Angeles Times report that April, the university’s Academic Senate voted to slash public funding, which made up almost half of SJSU’s already meager $12 million athletic budget, by 50%. The vote was “symbolic,” but only a little more than a decade removed from fellow California State University system schools Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State abandoning Div. I-A football, made for an ominous gesture.
And yet, an undeterred Tomey told the Arizona Republic in 2005 he believed SJSU should have “a terrific football program. And if you don’t have one, you have to fire the coach.”
Tomey — who died of lung cancer in May 2019 at age 80 — did not get to witness SJSU beat Arkansas, nor win its first Mountain West championship, nor position itself as a potential regular contender in its conference.
“I think he’d be excited,” Brennan said of how he believes Tomey would react to SJSU’s current success, though added with a laugh: “I think he’d also still call me and chew me out if we got penalized for something stupid.”
The same kind of biting humor Tomey offered in 2005 helped SJSU build through the initial lean years of Brennan’s head-coaching tenure when the Spartans went 2-11 in 2017 and 1-11 in 2018.
“When he was still alive, I’d talk to him every Sunday after our game, and he’d always watch all of our games,” Brennan said. “Most of the time, he was pretty critical, but not in an ugly way; in a funny way, like ‘You’ve got to get this under control!’
“But it was all helpful because I was a first time. I was learning as I went, too,” Brennan added.
That unbending frankness manifested at UA with the Desert Swarm defenses that defined the program in the 1990s. Tomey oversaw the highest peaks in program history, first with a share of the 1993 Pac-10 Conference championship and the first-ever Fiesta Bowl shutout in a rout of Miami; then with a final No. 4 overall ranking in the historic 12-win campaign in 1998.
Perhaps more than his humor or matter-of-fact critiques, however, may have been the sense of ohana Tomey brought to Tucson from Hawaii, where he coached from 1977-86.
Brennan’s brother, Brad, played wide receiver in the Tomey latter UA years, including for the 1998 Wildcats and the 2000 squad — the latter a team that started 5-1 and ranked in the top 20 before sputtering to a 5-6 finish that ultimately led to Tomey's resignation. That 2000 season was the first in which Brent coached with Tomey.
Brent relayed Brad’s observations from the perspective of playing for Tomey.
“‘I don’t remember if we beat Washington State in 1997 or whatever,’” Brennan said his brother told him — UA lost a 35-34 overtime heartbreaker to the Pac-10-winning Cougars that year — “‘But I remember all the team-building stuff and I remember all the things that (Tomey) had us do off the field.’"
Brennan's ties to Tomey and the Arizona program, let alone that turnaround success with the Spartans, made him a seemingly legitimate candidate to replace Kevin Sumlin at the UA three years ago. On Dec. 23, 2020, the same day Arizona announced Jedd Fisch as its next head coach, Brennan signed a long-term contract extension to stay in Northern California. Eight days later, Brennan coached SJSU in Tomey's old Tucson haunt, Arizona Stadium, in the Arizona Bowl.
“We have built a lot of that into our (SJSU) program,” Brennan added of Tomey's influence on fostering culture in addition to developing on-field capabilities. “And I think because of that, we have built a really close vibe.”
That vibe, Cordeiro said, is “the difference between a good team and a bad team.”
Cordeiro, a Honolulu native, transferred to SJSU from Hawaii amid the turmoil that led to the resignation of former UH and Arizona State head coach Todd Graham.
For Cordeiro, leaving the only home city and state he had ever known was a difficult choice that resulted in some initial homesickness.
However, the Tomey-inspired atmosphere of SJSU eased the quarterback’s concerns.
“It was a good transition,” Cordeiro said. “Coach Brennan’s the type of coach you want to play for, that you like waking up everyday, putting on the pads for.”
Brennan said he “felt honored” Cordeiro felt like "we had a program that had the ohana, so to speak, that he was looking for.”
And in that ohana is the enduring legacy of Tomey’s impact. | https://tucson.com/sports/college/football/wildcats/brennan-continues-legacy-of-dick-tomey-at-san-jose-state/article_e97737f0-2d9a-11ee-bc5d-77e2d68c95e6.html | 2023-07-30T23:15:46 | 1 | https://tucson.com/sports/college/football/wildcats/brennan-continues-legacy-of-dick-tomey-at-san-jose-state/article_e97737f0-2d9a-11ee-bc5d-77e2d68c95e6.html |
TAMPA, Fla. — ABC Action News, Feeding Tampa Bay and more are teaming up this August to help "Pack the Pantries" at area schools to make sure all kids have enough food for a successful academic year.
Help ABC Action News and Feeding Tampa Bay "Pack the Pantries" at local schools
One dollar can buy five meals for students and families in need.
Posted at 6:28 PM, Jul 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-30 18:28:22-04
Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
DONATE OR DROP-OFF
Donate online on this page or you can drop-off non-perishable food items at Bay area DFCU Financial locations.
Lobby Hours:
Monday-Friday
9am-5pm
- 1314 Oakfield Dr
Brandon, FL 33511 - 10824 N Dale Mabry Hwy
Tampa, FL 33618 - 13850 Sheldon Road
Tampa, FL 33626 - 4302 W Kennedy Blvd
Tampa, FL 33609 - 4240 Henderson Blvd
Tampa, FL 33629 - 300 1st Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/community/pack-the-pantry/help-abc-action-news-and-feeding-tampa-bay-pack-the-pantries-at-local-schools | 2023-07-30T23:17:16 | 0 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/community/pack-the-pantry/help-abc-action-news-and-feeding-tampa-bay-pack-the-pantries-at-local-schools |
TAMPA, Fla. — First-round draft pick Calijah Kancey of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was carted off the practice field Sunday with what coach Todd Bowles described as a right calf strain.
“We’ll get an MRI and see where it’s at,” said Bowles, who did not speculate on the severity of the injury suffered when the defensive tackle made a sharp turn during a training camp drill.
Kancey was the 19th overall pick in the draft and is expected to be an immediate starter after drawing comparisons in college to another former Pitt standout, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.
The injury occurred on the fourth day of camp with the Bucs.
“He’s adapting to the scheme, mentally, and then he was adding his physical part to it,” Bowles said. “He was putting it together quicker than normal rookies do. Hopefully, it’s not that bad and he can get back.”
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was also carted off the field on Thursday with a calf strain. Bengals coach Zac Taylor has said that Burrow will be out “several weeks.” | https://www.abcactionnews.com/media/v/content/85e009a21224a2a247448854b213d908 | 2023-07-30T23:17:22 | 1 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/media/v/content/85e009a21224a2a247448854b213d908 |
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network's hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the Big Lie” were tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
Trump had been seeking punitive damages of $475 million in the federal lawsuit filed last October in South Florida, claiming the references hurt his reputation and political career. Trump is a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in what is his third run for the presidency as a major-party candidate.
U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump, said Friday in his ruling that the former president's defamation claims failed because the references were opinions and not factual statements. Moreover, it was a stretch to believe that, in viewers' minds, that phrase would connect Trump's efforts challenging the 2020 election results to Nazi propaganda or Hitler's genocidal and authoritarian regime, the judge said.
“CNN’s use of the phrase ‘the Big Lie' in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people,” the judge wrote in his decision.
Email messages seeking comment were sent to Trump's attorneys in South Florida and Washington. CNN declined to comment on Sunday. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/trumps-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn-over-the-big-lie-dismissed-in-florida | 2023-07-30T23:17:28 | 1 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/trumps-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn-over-the-big-lie-dismissed-in-florida |
DADE CITY, Fla. — The Dade City Police Department is currently investigating a motocross accident that happened Sunday morning, killing an 11-year-old child.
Around 10 a.m., several people were at the motocross track practicing on dirt bikes at the Dade City Motocross, located at 36722 County Road 52.
An 11-year-old boy riding an 85cc dirt bike crashed after completing a jump on the track, but was able to start picking up his dirt bike.
As he picked up his bike, another person jumped the same hill, striking the boy's upper body as he came back onto the track.
Medics who were on scene quickly began assessing his injuries. They requested that the Pasco County Fire Rescue be called due to injuries the boy received to his shoulder area.
Pasco County Fire Rescue later arrived on scene and requested that the child be transported via helicopter to a nearby hospital due to his injuries.
The child later died from his injuries. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pasco/11-year-old-boy-dies-in-motocross-accident-dade-city-police-say | 2023-07-30T23:17:34 | 0 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pasco/11-year-old-boy-dies-in-motocross-accident-dade-city-police-say |
Expect a hot and muggy Monday with highs in the low to mid 90s. Heat indices will reach 105-110. Storms are likely, but the best coverage will likely be along and east of I-75.
Forecast: Scattered storms to start the work week
Florida's Most Accurate Forecast
Posted at 6:53 PM, Jul 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-07-30 18:53:12-04
Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/weather/forecast-scattered-storms-to-start-the-work-week | 2023-07-30T23:17:40 | 1 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/weather/forecast-scattered-storms-to-start-the-work-week |
Armed suspects sought for robbing 2 Bucks County 7-Elevens in just one hour: police
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - Police are asking for the public's help to find two men they say are responsible for a morning of crime in Bucks County this weekend.
The masked suspects were spotted on surveillance robbing a 7-Eleven at gunpoint early Sunday morning on Street Road in Upper Southampton Township.
Police believe the same suspects robbed another 7-Eleven in Montgomery Township within the same hour.
MORE HEADLINES:
- Woman fought back with machete after sexual assault at Philadelphia hotel: police
- Fight inside Philly bar ends with man fatally shot in the head: police
- Vehicle found after teen bicyclist killed in hit-and-run in Northeast Philadelphia
One suspect is seen pulling a black semi-automatic handgun while wearing hi-visibility yellow gloves.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police. | https://www.fox29.com/news/armed-suspects-sought-for-robbing-2-bucks-county-7-elevens-in-just-one-hour-police | 2023-07-30T23:18:06 | 0 | https://www.fox29.com/news/armed-suspects-sought-for-robbing-2-bucks-county-7-elevens-in-just-one-hour-police |
Updated July 30, 2023 at 5:02 PM ET
KHAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.
The Bajur district near the Afghan border was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan's Taliban government — before the Pakistani army drove the militants out of the area. Supporters of hardline Pakistani cleric and political party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally supports regional Islamists, were meeting in Bajur in a hall close to a market outside the district capital. Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally but organizers added tents because so many supporters showed up, and party volunteers with batons were helping control the crowd.
Officials were announcing the arrival of Abdul Rasheed, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, when the bomb went off in one of Pakistan's bloodiest attacks in recent years.
Provincial police said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives vest close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting. It said initial investigations suggested the Islamic State group — which operates in Afghanistan and is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban — could be behind the attack, and officers were still investigating.
"There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs," said Adam Khan, 45, who was knocked to the ground by the blast around 4 p.m. and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands.
The Pakistan Taliban, or TTP, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that "such crimes cannot be justified in any way."
The Afghan Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 emboldened the TTP. They unilaterally ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government in November, and have stepped up attacks across the country.
The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.
In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. However, some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, told The Associated Press that so far 44 people had been "martyred" and nearly 200 wounded in the bombing.
The bombing was one of the four worst attacks in the northwest since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. n February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and asked officials to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the bereaved families. Sharif later, in a phone call to Rehman, the head of the JUI, conveyed his condolences to him and assured him that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack. In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, it expressed its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims killed in the attack..
Maulana Ziaullah, the local chief of Rehman's party, was among the dead. JUI leaders Rasheed and former lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin were also on the stage but escaped unhurt.
Rasheed, the regional chief of the party, said the attack was an attempt to remove JUI from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but he said such tactics would not work. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack.
Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. Meetings are being organized across the country to mobilize supporters for the upcoming elections.
"Many of our fellows lost their lives and many more wounded in this incident. I will ask the federal and provincial administrations to fully investigate this incident and provide due compensation and medical facilities to the affected ones," Rasheed said.
Mohammad Wali, another attendant at the rally, said he was listening to a speaker address the crowd when the huge explosion temporarily deafened him.
"I was near the water dispenser to fetch a glass of water when the bomb exploded, throwing me to the ground," he said. "We came to the meeting with enthusiasm but ended up at the hospital seeing crying, wounded people and sobbing relatives taking the bodies of their loved ones."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-30/a-bombing-at-a-political-rally-in-pakistan-has-killed-at-least-44-and-wounded-some-200 | 2023-07-30T23:18:06 | 1 | https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-30/a-bombing-at-a-political-rally-in-pakistan-has-killed-at-least-44-and-wounded-some-200 |
Heavy winds down power lines and large trees, leave homes condemned in South Jersey
SALEM COUNTY, N.J. - Cleanup is underway after another round of severe weather left behind a trail of destruction around parts of the Delaware Valley this weekend.
Storms started rolling in through the afternoon as heavy rain and wind pummeled the region, prompting several warnings for residents.
Most severe activity came to an end as the sun set Saturday, however, a significant amount of damage had already been sustained.
In South Jersey, emergency crews responded to downed trees, utility poles and wires around Woodstown.
MORE HEADLINES:
- 2 firefighters injured battling 2-alarm blaze in West Philadelphia: officials
- Fight inside Philly bar ends with man fatally shot in the head: police
- Vehicle found after teen bicyclist killed in hit-and-run in Northeast Philadelphia
Officials say they were forced to condemn at least two homes due to trees that fell during the storms.
Photos posted by law enforcement show grave sites damaged by an uprooted tree at a local cemetery.
Several roads were closed as crews made repairs, but many have since reopened. | https://www.fox29.com/news/heavy-winds-down-pour-lines-and-large-trees-leave-homes-condemned-in-south-jersey | 2023-07-30T23:18:12 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/heavy-winds-down-pour-lines-and-large-trees-leave-homes-condemned-in-south-jersey |
Police: Murder suspect lived with dead roommate for 'extended period of time'
LAS VEGAS - A Nevada man is accused of killing his roommate and living with her deceased body for an extended period of time.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said 31-year-old George Anthony Bone was arrested and booked on a murder charge.
Officers said on July 26, they responded to a home after getting a report that a deceased woman was inside.
Police said her death appeared to be suspicious and classified her death as a homicide but provided no other details about the circumstances.
According to FOX 5 Vegas, the victim has been identified as Beverly Ma. The outlet reported that the Ma's sister reached out to authorities to conduct a welfare check.
RELATED: 2 female hikers found dead in Nevada park as heat scorches parts of US
She also told the outlet that her sister had been dead inside the master bedroom closet for two months.
The family also said Ma suffered trauma and was not close to the family. They last saw here in April and had supposedly received subsequent texts from Ma's phone saying she couldn't make a family trip. The family texted her again but didn't get a response.
FOX 5 also reported that recently, the family went to go check on Ma, but Bone had told them she was dead. Bone also told the family that he didn't call the police because he knew he would be arrested.
The outlet also reported that when one of Ma's relative went to go check on her, Bone reportedly said, "Why do you have to see? If you want to see, I can show her to you," then led her to the master bedroom.
This story was reported from Los Angeles. | https://www.fox29.com/news/police-murder-suspect-lived-with-dead-roommate-for-extended-period-of-time | 2023-07-30T23:18:18 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/police-murder-suspect-lived-with-dead-roommate-for-extended-period-of-time |
Tractor trailer fire shuts down Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in Northeast Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - Emergency crews are on the scene after a tractor trailer caught fire in Northeast Philadelphia Sunday evening.
Officials say the fire erupted under the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge around 5:30 p.m.
The bridge is currently shut down with lanes closed in both directions as crews fight to get the fire under control.
Heavy smoke billowed from under the bridge as drivers rode past the blaze prior to the road closures.
No injuries have been reported.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. | https://www.fox29.com/news/tractor-trailer-fire-shuts-down-tacony-palmyra-bridge-in-northeast-philadelphia | 2023-07-30T23:18:24 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/tractor-trailer-fire-shuts-down-tacony-palmyra-bridge-in-northeast-philadelphia |
Watch: Amusement park ride spins out of control for 10-plus minutes
RYE, N.Y. - Screams were heard and witnesses watched in terror as riders of an amusement park ride in New York were stuck spinning backward for several minutes.
Video recorded by Giovanni Martinez shows the Music Express ride at Rye Playland spin out of control as riders scream and passersby film the ordeal.
In the video, technicians eventually arrive and get the ride to stop, prompting applause from concerned people standing by.
A ride worker tries to calm riders as an amusement park ride spins out of control (Credit: Giovanni Martinez via Storyful)
The amusement park released the following statement to local media:
READ MORE: Oklahoma officials announce $2 billion theme park, resort
"Safety is our number one priority and as such, the Music Express ride is currently closed as we work closely with the manufacturer."
No injuries were reported. | https://www.fox29.com/news/watch-rye-playland-amusement-park-ride-spins-out-of-control | 2023-07-30T23:18:30 | 1 | https://www.fox29.com/news/watch-rye-playland-amusement-park-ride-spins-out-of-control |
Senate GOP leaders didn’t want it to get to this point.
They tried and tried to get Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift the holds he’s placed on hundreds of military promotions — which have opened Republicans up to attacks from the Biden administration.
But their efforts have failed, and they are now in a situation where the earliest a resolution might be found is September — when lawmakers will also be busy trying to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.
“It’s hung around for a while. I support his goals,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. “The challenge obviously is the mechanism he used to get to the result has created some challenges. We want to figure out a way to resolve it and address that.”
“There are conversations now going on, which is good — between him and the military and others. We’ll have some time in August to work on a path forward, and hopefully we’ll find it,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been among those trying to find a resolution, Thune said. Tuberville said he and McConnell discussed the holds Wednesday, hours after the GOP leader froze and felt lightheaded in front of reporters.
“At this point, everybody’s engaged trying to figure out how to solve this,” Thune added.
Tuberville began his holds in early March to protest a new Defense Department policy to reimburse service members who must travel to seek an abortion for those travel expenses.
Six months later, the list of holds has grown to 300. Senate Republicans were hoping to find a solution before leaving Washington for five weeks — five additional weeks during which those military officers will remain in limbo, fueling Democratic attacks and frustrating the Pentagon.
One Senate Republican said finding an offramp agreeable to both Tuberville and those opposed to the holds has become a “recurring discussion” in the Senate GOP conference, and that McConnell has been personally involved in that quest.
“There’s not a lunch that goes by that we don’t talk about it,” the senator said, but added there’s “no chance of a resolution” any time soon.
Aside from the potential political and national security implications of the holds, McConnell is worried about the institutional implications.
The longtime GOP leader recently told reporters at a press conference that he is concerned this could lead to a renewed Democratic effort to change the chamber’s rules.
Despite disagreeing with Tuberville’s tactic, however, he says he recognizes it is the prerogative of any single senator to place a hold on a nominee.
Senators on both sides of the aisle for months have been musing publicly and privately about what it would take to get the Alabama Republican to set his hold aside, but have come up empty at every turn.
Initially, there had been hope that a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the abortion travel policy could do the trick, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led the effort.
But more recently, Tuberville has maintained that not only does any vote have to be standalone, but that the Pentagon would have to reverse its policy before any vote could be taken.
Trying to bridge that gap for lawmakers has become a herculean challenge no one has been able to complete.
Tuberville didn’t comment on efforts by Senate GOP leaders to seek a remedy, but he criticized the Biden administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for their lack of outreach in trying to strike a deal. He also hasn’t had any further conversations with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since their July 17 call and said that the initial series of calls didn’t yield anything productive.
“There’s no conversation from the other side. It’s ‘our way or the highway.’ … How does that help?” Tuberville said. “They’re not worried about it, I guess. … I hate it, for the promotions and all that.”
He added that he has yet to talk to Schumer, who has refused to use up floor time moving the nominees through regular order because he believes it is the Senate GOP’s job to figure a way out of the maze of military holds.
“This is the responsibility of the Republican Senate caucus. … It’s up to them. I think in August, pressure will mount on Tuberville, and I think the Republicans are feeling that heat,” Schumer said late Thursday. “He’s boxing himself into a corner.”
But Democrats are trying to increase that pressure, with President Biden on Thursday night laying into the Alabama Republican and arguing his holds are harming military readiness and creating instability within the ranks of the armed forces.
“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security and leadership, and troop morale,” Biden said in remarks at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington. “Freezing pay, freezing people in place. Military families who have already sacrificed so much, unsure of where and when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in the new school.”
Senate Democrats also took to the floor before and after the NDAA vote Thursday to criticize their GOP colleague. Since the hold was put into place, Democratic senators have made 12 attempts to move the military promotions in bloc via unanimous request.
Perhaps adding to the difficulty, Tuberville has received a boost in support from voters at home and from conservative corners of the Senate GOP conference who believe he is making the right call, albeit a difficult one.
They also argue that if Senate Democrats truly want to move on some of the nominations, they can start to do so via regular order — a move Democrats have avoided in order to not set precedent.
“Democrats think they have a winning political thing on this. I don’t think they do, and I think Sen. Tuberville morally is in the right position with regard to the issue of abortion,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “The [Defense] Department has just as much of a responsibility to find a path forward as any single member does, and I’m not seeing the Department try to work in any fashion other than to simply put pressure on Sen. Tuberville.”
“They’re not trying to find a path forward. They think this is one of those items where if they keep putting pressure on him, he’ll cave, and I don’t think he will,” Rounds continued. “On the issue, he’s correct.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ | 2023-07-30T23:18:37 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ |
ACCIDENT
FHP: Old Town woman, 46, killed in single-vehicle crash south of High Springs
Alan Festo
Gainesville Sun
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating after a fatal crash just south of High Springs.
Here's what we know:
When did the crash occur?
Saturday at 9 a.m.
Crime:Gainesville police: Two dead in shooting on University Avenue near downtown
Where did the crash occur?
Near South Highway 441 and Northwest 194th Street, just south of High Springs.
How the crash unfolded
According to the FHP report, an SUV driven by a 46-year-old woman from Old Town was traveling north on US Highway 441 when the vehicle left the roadway. The SUV traveled through a ditch, struck a culvert and overturned on its roof. The woman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene. | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/accident/2023/07/30/old-town-woman-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-south-of-high-springs/70494183007/ | 2023-07-30T23:18:43 | 0 | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/accident/2023/07/30/old-town-woman-killed-in-single-vehicle-crash-south-of-high-springs/70494183007/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ | 2023-07-30T23:18:43 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ |
ST ANTHONY, Idaho — Lori Vallow Daybell, or Lori Vallow -- the eastern Idaho woman found guilty of murdering her two children and conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife -- is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on July 31 at the Fremont County Courthouse.
What can be expected?
Vallow will not face the death penalty, but she could face up to life in prison for murdering her two children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and taking their security benefits. The two were found buried in shallow graves on Vallow’s husband’s property in Salem in June of 2020. 16-year-old Tylee Ryan's remains were found in charred, burnt pieces. 7-year-old JJ Vallow was found suffocated and bound in duct tape.
During Vallow’s sentencing, four people are expected to give victim impact statements, or statements about how the crimes affected their family and their lives. Those who wanted to give impact statements at the sentencing had to submit a request – under Idaho law, the only people allowed to give victim impact statements during a sentencing have to be immediate family members of the murder victim(s).
Vallow’s only surviving child, 27-year-old Colby Ryan, is expected to speak along with Summer Shiflet, who is Vallow’s sister.
Kay Woodcock, the grandmother of JJ Vallow, is also expected to give a statement in court.
Vallow was also convicted of conspiring to murder her husband Chad Daybell’s wife at the time, Tammy Daybell. Her aunt, Vicki Hoban, will likely give a victim impact statement at the time of sentencing.
The defense – Jim Archibald and John Thomas – will have an opportunity to speak on behalf of Vallow. It is likely that the prosecutors or defense will bring up contents from the presentence investigation (PSI) report, which is put together in order to recommend incarceration, type of treatment or programs she should complete while in prison. These are conducted by the Idaho Department of Correction’s Probation and Parole.
A presentence investigation must be ordered by the judge. Fremont County District Judge Steven Boyce signed off ordering a full report on May 24, 12 days after Vallow was convicted.
Former Ada County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jean Fisher told KTVB the presentence investigation is a very important part of this case considering how heinous the crimes were.
"Just the psychological evaluation itself takes a period of time. The presentence investigator is going to look into her entire background, her history, they will have contacted prior family members, other family members, prior employers, and they are trying to get as big of a picture as they can about who Lori Vallow is in order to try and determine what the sentencing should be in this case. It's a very, very lengthy extensive report," Fisher said.
Under Idaho Criminal Rules, a full PSI must include:
- Prior criminal record
- Social history, family relationships, marital status, age, interests, activities
- Educational background
- Employment background, present employment
- Residence history
- Financial status
- Health status
- Sense of values and “outlook on life”
- Results of any substance abuse evaluation, mental health evaluation, domestic assault evaluation and or psychosexual evaluation
- The presentence investigator’s analysis of the defendant’s condition, which would be a complete summary of the psychological factors surrounding the commission of the crime. The analysis would also include a recommendation about any type of rehabilitation
The defense is able to use information from the presentence analysis to show a judge that Vallow deserves a lesser sentence. Because she was found mentally incompetent to stand trial in May of 2021, it's possible the defense could bring up Vallow's mental health as a reason she should not receive maximum prison time.
Fisher said that she believes a judge will absolutely take Vallow's mental health into consideration when sentenced.
"They're always looking for sentencing guidelines and criteria that include some punishments and retribution, and mental health is a very important part of that. We know that Lori Vallow had been declared incompetent for a period of time during the pretrial in this case, but then she was able to withstand and make it through the trial. That is important to the court," Fisher said. "At this point, her competency has been determined and she will go forward in this."
Vallow also can't be sentenced to a state hospital, even if the judge decides she could have mental health issues.
According to an Idaho Department of Correction spokesperson, that has never happened, and the agency typically does not transfer prison residents to state hospitals because IDOC has in-house treatment plans.
But, according to Idaho Code 66-335, it is possible that mentally ill prison residents can be admitted into state institutions if they meet the regulations provided by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
When the victim impact statements and arguments have concluded, Judge Boyce will ask Vallow if she would like to make a statement. Once she finishes her statement or declines to speak, the judge can then issue his own statement and sentence Vallow to her term in prison.
Ultimately, the decision on the punishment is up to Judge Boyce, but Fisher says it's unlikely Vallow will get anything less than a fixed life sentence.
"People who who have a mental illness, if that's indeed what she has... It continues to make her a greater threat if she were to be out in the in the community because she can't control her behavior, or is so fixated on what it is that she believes religiously, that she cannot be trusted... And I think that the judge is going to think about that very seriously," Fisher said.
She also stated that the judge can take into consideration what the family members want, the impact of the murders on those family members and the nature of the case itself.
"Because of the ages of the children, but then the nature in which they were murdered in particularly heinous ways and the way that they were buried..." Fisher said. "It will be a big part of what he considers."
Reporter and anchor Shirah Matsuzawa and crime and investigative reporter Alexandra Duggan will be reporting from the courtroom on the day of the sentencing. Follow Shirah on Twitter at @ShirahKTVB, Alex on Twitter @dugganreports, and stay tuned on KTVB for updates.
Watch more Lori Vallow Trial:
Watch more coverage of the Lori Vallow trial on the KTVB YouTube channel:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download. | https://www.king5.com/article/news/special-reports/heres-what-to-expect-during-lori-vallows-sentencing-what-will-happen-at-sentencing/277-4eb1d0fc-0fd3-4382-b73e-a8a5e63edddc | 2023-07-30T23:18:43 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/news/special-reports/heres-what-to-expect-during-lori-vallows-sentencing-what-will-happen-at-sentencing/277-4eb1d0fc-0fd3-4382-b73e-a8a5e63edddc |
CRIME
Gainesville police: Two dead in shooting on University Avenue near downtown
Staff report
Two people are dead following a shooting early Sunday morning near downtown Gainesville, according to a GPD social media post.
Here's what we know:
What time did the shooting happen?
2:42 a.m.
More:Hundreds again attend the annual Stop the Violence Back to School Rally in Gainesville
Where did the shooting happen?
In the area of 900 W. University Ave.
How the shooting unfolded
According to the GPD post, officers were conducting crowd control when multiple gunshots rang out. Officers made contact with several victims, two of which later succumbed to their injuries.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call GPD at 352-955-1818 or Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867. | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/crime/2023/07/30/gainesville-police-report-two-dead-in-shooting-on-university-avenue/70494169007/ | 2023-07-30T23:18:49 | 1 | https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/crime/2023/07/30/gainesville-police-report-two-dead-in-shooting-on-university-avenue/70494169007/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 26 points with eight assists, Jordan Horston made 7 of 11 from the field and finished with 15 points to help the Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 85-62 on Sunday.
Seattle (6-19), which snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak with a 97-74 win Friday over the Chicago Sky, has won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Indiana (6-19) has lost four games in a row and 12 of its last 13 to fall into a tie with the Storm for last in the WNBA standings — a half-game behind the Phoenix Mercury.
Loyd made 4 of 6 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the first half and had 15 points and four assists as the Storm took a 47-27 lead into halftime. Indiana went scoreless for six-plus minutes in the second quarter as Seattle scored 15 points to open its biggest lead of the game at 44-19 with 2:32 left in the first half.
Kelsey Mitchell hit a 3-pointer to cap a 9-2 spurt that trimmed Indiana's deficit to 57-51 late in the third quarter but Loyd answered with a three-point play and then hit two free throws and the Fever trailed by double figures throughout the fourth.
The Storm had 23 assists on 31 made field goals and shot 53.4% from the field, made 12 of 24 from behind the arc and hit 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. Indiana was 25-of-66 (38%) shooting and made just 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
Mitchell hit three 3s and led the Fever with 19 points. Alliyah Boston added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. | https://www.king5.com/article/sports/wnba/storm/jewell-loyd-scores-26-jordan-horston-adds-15-points-as-storm-beat-fever-85-62/281-cbcdd89f-1b61-40c6-8502-5e2ebe5b3bb5 | 2023-07-30T23:18:49 | 0 | https://www.king5.com/article/sports/wnba/storm/jewell-loyd-scores-26-jordan-horston-adds-15-points-as-storm-beat-fever-85-62/281-cbcdd89f-1b61-40c6-8502-5e2ebe5b3bb5 |
Everything Florida football coach Billy Napier had to say on report day for fall camp
Florida football players reported for fall camp on Sunday in preparation for its month-long schedule to prepare for its season opener Aug. 31 at Utah.
In all, the Gators will practice 15 times over the next three weeks, with the first practice scheduled for Monday. That will include an open practice next Saturday, Aug. 5, at The Swamp. The final five practices will lead up to the season opener in UF's first Thursday night game since losing 30-6 at Mississippi State on Oct. 1, 1992.
The Gators aim to improve upon a 6-7 first season under coach Billy Napier. There is optimism that more depth on the roster and more buy-in will produce better results in 2023. Not everyone is convinced. Most preseason projections, including the SEC Media Days preseason media poll, pick the Gators to finish fifth in the seven-team SEC East, ahead of just Vanderbilt and Missouri.
New targets:Will Florida football wide receivers provide consistency in 2023? We break it down.
Keeping coaches in check:Once Congress and Tommy Tuberville get under NCAA's hood, no telling what they'll do | Toppmeyer
Here's what Napier had to say in advance of fall camp:
Florida football strength and conditioning gains
"I'm really proud of the progress that our team made this summer in phase 5. The development staff I thought in particular really improved in year two. All the metrics that we have from a testing perspective I think we took a step forward, strength speed, explosiveness. All the Dex information was really good.
"Certainly, that group works together. They execute as a team, the strength and conditioning, sports science, the nutrition, the training room. Really good leadership and insight from Mark Hocke and his staff, and then certainly the addition of Tyler Miles and Kelsey continues to get better, Tony Hill and Paul Silvestri, that group of people has to work extensively together, oftentimes while the coaches are out of time for vacation.
"Their leadership, their relationships with the players and their plan, I think we took a huge step forward there.
"Some really interesting numbers here. For you guys, I think you'll get a kick out of some of this. We had 53 players that set records for max velocity this summer, which I think was really positive. T.J. Searcy gained 12 pounds of muscle since January; Jalen Kimber has gained eight pounds since April of muscle; Jack Pyburn, 10 pounds of muscle mass since January. His body fat percentage went down 6 percent. Really Jack did a terrific job.
"Jason Marshall, seven pounds of lean muscle. A couple guys, Princely had a fantastic summer. He maxed in all three lifts, all three core lifts, bench, squat, clean. He improved his max velocity, gained 10 pounds of lean muscle, and he lost seven pounds of fat mass. Really good summer there.
"I do think Tony Livingston, this guy has gained 28 pounds of muscle since January, so there's two Dexes worth of information. Bryce Lovett gained 10 pounds of muscle and lost 10 pounds of fat.
"There's others, Andy Jean, nine pounds of lean mass; Graham Mertz gained four pounds of lean muscle; Ricky Pearsall, four pounds of lean muscle, actually decreased his body fat slightly.
Got a lot of guys using the resources. I thought the buy-in was much improved, and I think we've benefitted from being in the Heavener Center. Overall really pleased with that part of our team.
"I think there's a renewed accountability with this group of players. I think they would tell you that. I think we saw really good leadership.
Team bonding
"Really from a team perspective, I think leadership, we're asking them four questions coming out of the summer. Amongst the team, who do you view as a great example and a guy that really did a good job throughout the summer in your position group. Within your class, I think we're looking for lots of cross-section in terms of giving the player a voice. A lot of players had different places relative to how long they've been here, and then one of the things we did this summer, as you guys know, is we have accountability teams. We have two leaders for each team, and then we ask the players, hey, which person on your team that wasn't a leader did the best job.
"I think that's one of the things I've been most pleased with is we have a number of leaders emerging that maybe weren't in that place when we started in January, if that makes sense.
"I think there's a different level of connection with this group. The team chemistry, the morale, the energy in the building is really fun to be a part of.
"We're turning the page. Today is report today. This is phase 6, training camp. It's going to be 21 days this year, so essentially we'll finish up three weeks from today.
"As a competitor, and I would say as competitors that make up our team, this is a time of the year that you really look forward to, as we kind of prepare for the challenges that are ahead of us.
"This is a critical time of the year. You've got to work really hard, but you've got to work smart.
"I think we're kind of -- the theme here for training camp, all parts of the organization and the team, is we have to agree to an expectation. I think that's a big deal.
"I think if we can agree to what's expected of each other, we can go into this training camp with the right attitude, the right approach, and we can say, hey, you know what, I'm up for that challenge. I'm going to put my ego aside, and I'm going to put my emotions aside, and I'm going to be -- coach me, tell me the truth. We can establish trust. We can establish respect, and I'm talking about relative to core values.
"I think there's a football piece of this, but more importantly, how about your integrity, your role on the team, what type of teammate you are, your discipline, your effort, your toughness, both physically but mentally, emotionally, and then do you bring confidence to the team, do you spark belief amongst the team because of how hard you work, the attitude and approach that you take.
"We need to expose and eliminate any issues that we have, any chink in the armor that we have as we build our team.
"I ran across a question the other day that I think is important this time of year. What is integrity. We talk about it being a core value.
"I would say you almost have to ask yourself, am I doing the things that I expect of others. I think if all parts of our team and organization take that approach for the next 21 days, we've got a chance to have a good football team.
Team depth
"I think we're in a little bit better place. I do think there's parts of our team where we're going to have young players playing. But I think they're talented. I think there's areas of our team where injuries are important. But I also think we've added some experience. I think we've added some awareness, some maturity. We've added some veteran players I think that make our team better.
"In the two deep, I think when we get done with this thing, there's going to be a ton of competition going into this camp, but I do anticipate as we approach that first game, we're going to have young players that are going to be out there.
"The positive thing about that is we've had those players since January, and I think with the amount of work that we do, our year-round plan to get those guys I think will give us a better opportunity to work with some of those young players.
"It's becoming more prevalent, right, when you start talking about roster attrition, freshmen impacting your team, portal players impacting your team. We said it at Media Day, 93 percent of the team has been here since the first day."
Expectations internally compared to expectations externally
"Yeah, I think your question is relevant, and I think it's really a part of where we're at as an organization and as a program. I think the way I would describe it is if we can agree as a team all parts of the organization and especially amongst the players, hey, look, this is the expectation we're going to establish for each other, and that should be much higher than any outside narrative or outside opinion. If I'm walking around the building each day, if I'm living life and I'm most concerned with not letting the people down that are going to be in this team meeting in a couple hours, that's the most important piece.
"I think when you have that and you're seeing things through that lens from a football standpoint but also from a character standpoint, and really am I doing what I would expect of other people, then I think you've got a chance.
"There's no doubt in this arena that you have to have that perspective as an organization, as a team.
Judging expectations outside of wins and losses
"Well, I think we have work to do, and I think again, I'm talking about the next 21 days. We'll evaluate what's next after that. We're going to allocate our energy and effort and time to getting our football team ready, technically but also the team dynamic. Building a team is building the football part, but more importantly I think it's building that human element.
"You're sitting in that locker room before those games, you're looking around the room, there is absolute trust with every person in that room. That's what we're in the process of building.
Fixing mistakes
"Well, I think the cool thing about where we're at is lots of parts of our building, players and staff, had to go through that. I think when you have adversity, I think it presents opportunity.
"The key here is that we grow through struggle. Anything that's been built that's accomplished anything significant went through some adversity. I think it's all about how you respond to that.
"But there's technical aspects to playing winning football that in those games that we lost, we just didn't do what we were supposed to do. There's an emotional component relative to how you're going to respond. Are you resilient? Are you mentally tough enough to continue to be consistent?
"Ultimately take a good look in the mirror, what is your role and how can you do it better to help the team.
"We've got a core group of people that went through that with us last year that are back, and I think that's made our team better."
How have you evolved as a coach?
"Yeah, I think so. I think I'm much more aware of the arena. I hate to say it, but you're probably callused a little bit if that makes sense. I think there's an element to like, look, it is what it is. I joke around with my brothers all the time and say, hey, look, it doesn't matter if you're at LaGrange High School; if you don't win, there's going to be tough dynamics that come with that. This is obviously the same.
"I think it goes back to the things we talked about earlier relative to perspective.
"I think if we are more concerned with the people in our building that are part of our team and how we're going to do our job and not let them down, I think it gives us a better chance.
"I think there's lots of areas where we had work to do. There was a long list of issues to resolve, to come with better systems, better strategies, rebuilding the player experience, getting accustomed to the recruiting calendar, getting really strategic plans for the portal, for NIL. There's just a lot of work to do.
"I think we've moved into a new facility. All parts of our organization are in a much better place from an execution standpoint. Ultimately, that's my job is to get each part of our organization executing at a really high level.
"I think hopefully I'll be better because we've had a year to work on everything."
Balancing physicality in camp
"Yeah, I don't necessarily know that -- I think the workload may change depending on the players that are available practice to practice. But we've got a blueprint that we've used for a long time that's time-tested.
"We continue to evolve relative to the information that's available from a sports science standpoint.
"It's kind of all the data -- we've taken a look at the last few years' training camp relative to approach. We use the information, we adjust, and I really believe it's not only the team practice to practice, position group to position group, but it's the individual player.
"We've gotten to a point where we can say, hey, we know the player load on this guy and we need to adjust accordingly."
"The scripts are built. The meeting time is built. The walk throughs are built, the sleeping, everything is built, and we're going to try to go execute it."
"We'll adjust relative to the data, practice to practice."
Decision to hold an open practice
"Yeah, I think some of these traditions maybe that existed prior to COVID, I think that those are healthy things to bring back, and I think our fan base obviously -- you count the spring game, you count the open practice, they get two opportunities to come see the team, and I think this is a special place because of the following and the support that we have.
"It's a little bit of a thank you and appreciation for what they do for us every Saturday in the Swamp in the fall.
"I think that there's an NIL piece associated with that, as well, relative to what's available after the practice is over.
"It's an old tradition that I think we can bring back, and certainly there's an NIL opportunity, as well."pla
Enhancing 'producuity'
"Yeah, I think we do some cool stuff. This year we're moving the players into Tolbert Hall. We're putting them in a random roommate. They're in there for the first week of training camp. We're eating all of our meals in the dining hall where they actually have to sit down, put their phone away for the next three weeks.
"We're going to do some leadership cross-sectioned of our team from a leadership development standpoint, and then we're going to have some unique opportunities throughout camp where some small groups.
"I think that it's important that we connect and we try to create crossover relationships in all parts of what we do. It's absolutely important to what we do.
"It's one thing to know the guy's first name, but it's another thing to know his first and last name, where he's from, part of his story, and I think with time we'll get to that place. But it's about agreeing that there's an expectation, and then hey, if you can do better, you can do better.
"I think that's the key to the drill. That's where we're at as a team.
Is rooming really random?
"Yeah, we just try to put them with someone maybe they don't spend an extensive amount of time with, like an O-lineman is not with an O-lineman. He might be with a DB, running back might be with an outside linebacker. And use it as an experience, as well. It's beneficial."
Get to know teammate quiz
"I think it's an emphasis, right? You get what you emphasize. You'd be surprised how competitive these guys will get.
"You know, some of them take great pride in it, and I think it uncovers some things. It uncovers some realities to some degree. I think we might have a little know-your-teammate quiz in here one day.
"But I just think it's relevant to -- football, there's a human element to the game of football. This is not just players. Heck, we challenge them to know the names of their equipment manager, their student trainer, the people that work that clean the building, whatever the case may be.
"You want a place where everybody's role is appreciated and everyone feels like they can make an impact, and they might just be the difference."
"I think we compete just a small amount of time, but there's a ton of people working the entire year that may never step foot between the lines.
"If we can create a humility where every piece of the puzzle matters, I think it gives us a chance to have a better team."
How changes in preseason practice have evolved
"Yeah, we've learned that it was a wise decision. I think ultimately, whether it's concussion protocol and testing, all the data we get from the helmets, from the mouthpieces, it's Catapult, it's force plates, it's HRV. There's a number of metrics here that -- these things weren't available 10 years -- I can remember specifically when I was a college football player, we did freshman-only practices for a week and then we did 10 straight days of two-a-days in full gear. Those days are long gone.
"We're basically going to practice in four-day cycles in training camp, five four-day cycles, 10:30, 2:30, 6:30, off, or I should say reload, and we practice one time, we walk through one time.
"You know, there's rules relative to spiders, to shells, to full gear. I think it's really well thought out, and I think we've all learned that we can get the same things across.
"COVID taught us a lot in that regard, I think. Your team can be prepared and the quality of football can be presentable with this amount of work." | https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/07/30/florida-gators-coach-billy-napier-discusses-start-of-fall-camp/70445716007/ | 2023-07-30T23:18:55 | 0 | https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/07/30/florida-gators-coach-billy-napier-discusses-start-of-fall-camp/70445716007/ |
"It blows my mind." Florida football DB Jaydon Hill reacts to being picked 5th in SEC East
Count Florida football defensive back Jaydon Hill as someone who feels disrespected by preseason predictions regarding the Gators.
Florida was picked fifth in the SEC East by both Athlon Magazine and the preseason poll at SEC Football Media Days, behind Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky.
"Yeah, it kind of like — it blows my mind a little bit, but then again, we've just got to win games," Hill said. "It just comes down to winning.
"We talk about it all the time, us players in the locker room. We see the doubt and all that, and every day that's kind of how we approach our work, we just come with a chip on our shoulder every day and we just plan to get better."
Camp rundown:Florida football: Everything Billy Napier had to say on report day for fall camp
QB decision:Who will be the Florida football starting quarterback? We break it down
Last season, Florida went 6-7 overall, 3-5 in the SEC and 1-3 against the four teams picked ahead of it in the SEC East, with the lone win coming against the Gamecocks. But Hill, who is moving from cornerback to the star position this season, is confident that more depth on the roster and a better understanding of the offense and defense in year two under head coach Billy Napier will yield better results.
"We're going to shock a lot of people this year as far as the standard is so low right now," Hill said. "Because the bar is so low. They can't know what we've got in the locker room. I really feel like we're going to shock a lot of people. We've got a lot of great players in the locker room and a lot of great coaches."
Florida running back Montrell Johnson Jr. intends to use the predictions as fuel heading into fall camp, which starts Monday in preparation for UF's season opener Aug. 31 at Utah.
"We had a bad season last year, and we use that as motivation," Johnson said. "We try to learn from our mistakes, and yeah, we feel like the world is against us, so we're going to try to keep it all in house and get better as we go ...
"The most important accolades come at the end of the season."
" | https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/07/30/florida-gators-db-jaydon-hill-thinks-uf-can-surprise-teams-this-season/70483126007/ | 2023-07-30T23:19:01 | 0 | https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/07/30/florida-gators-db-jaydon-hill-thinks-uf-can-surprise-teams-this-season/70483126007/ |
Former Alabama golf star earns first career PGA Tour victory
Published: Jul. 30, 2023 at 4:58 PM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Lee Hodges is a PGA Tour champion!
Hodges, a native of Ardmore, Alabama, won the PGA Tour’s 3M Open in Minneapolis, Minnesota Sunday. Hodges led the tournament since day one on Thursday after an opening round 63 (-8), and never looked back, winning the tournament by seven shots. You can find the full leaderboard here.
Hodges began his collegiate career at UAB before transferring to Alabama to play under HC Jay Seawell, graduating in 2018 from the university.
Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.
Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbrc.com/2023/07/30/former-alabama-golf-star-earns-first-career-pga-tour-victory/ | 2023-07-30T23:20:51 | 1 | https://www.wbrc.com/2023/07/30/former-alabama-golf-star-earns-first-career-pga-tour-victory/ |
DERBY, Kan. (KSNW) — Derby football’s DaSaahn Brame is still in the early phases of his high school career. Yet, the rising junior is already turning heads as a top recruit in the class of 2025, collecting over 20 offers from universities around the country.
“I mean it’s great,” Brame said. “I enjoy every second of it, going to see different places around the country. So yeah, it’s definitely a cool thing,”
The 16-year-old has yet to show his full potential. He’s battled injuries through his first two seasons and says he only played four weeks in 2022.
“I tore my MCL last year, so it was kind of hard. I didn’t have a lot of catches last year, so I want to definitely build on that and get a lot more of those this year,” Brame said.
“We never saw the full DaSaahn last year, but this year we will,” said Derby Head Football Coach Brandon Clark. “He’s one of the strongest guys in the weight room, he’s one of the fastest guys on the field, he’s got good agility. He’s just an overall great athlete.”
Athletic talent seems to run in his bloodline. Both of Brame’s parents were athletes at K-State. His father DaVon Brame was a defensive end for the Wildcats from 1997-2000. His mother Nicole was a forward for K-State Women’s Basketball from 1996-2000.
“We’re both some very competitive people,” DaVon said, “His mom was a big-time star basketball player at K-State. So I think his competitiveness comes from both of us.”
“[DaVon] was a big guy, a big strong guy,” DaSaahn said, “I always come back when we have a max that week and try and always beat his numbers and all that good stuff. So yeah, there’s definitely a family rivalry going on.”
Coach Clark is also close with the Brame family. He played college football at K-State with DaVon. After spending nearly 10 years apart, an accident brought their worlds back together.
“I was in a bad car accident while I was at work and [Clark] didn’t know I was here,” DaVon said. “He heard it on the news and he came to see me in the hospital. And that is how we reconnected after college.”
Once DaVon heard coach Clark was the head coach at Derby, it was a “no-brainer” to have him as DaSaahn’s coach. Clark explains their two families are fully intertwined.
“His dad and I are best friends, his mom and my wife are best friends, our families hang out all the time, so, it’s kind of fun,” Clark said. “To watch [DaSaahn] get all these accolades and to be able to get his college paid for is pretty cool.”
DaVon coached his son in junior football. It’s no surprise Clark says the two have similar qualities and mindsets.
“His size, his athletic ability, his just never take a play off, never take a rep off, do everything right and become the best football player they can,” Clark said.
“The kid is way more talented than I was in football. If he continues the route that he’s going, I think he can make it into a professional career,” said DaVon.
While DaVon says he’d love to see DaSaahn become a Wildcat, he says it’s his journey. A journey that coach Clark believes will be incredible to watch.
“The sky is the limit for him, you know, and he’s going to reach that,” Clark said. “He’s going to reach the sky because of his work ethic, his leadership ability, the person that he is on and off the field … I mean he’s a very humble kid. He does a lot of community service work. All of that combined is going to take him to wherever he wants to go.” | https://www.ksn.com/sports/competitive-drive/the-sky-is-the-limit-for-derby-football-top-recruit-dasaahn-brame/ | 2023-07-30T23:21:37 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/sports/competitive-drive/the-sky-is-the-limit-for-derby-football-top-recruit-dasaahn-brame/ |
- Innovative Relay Event Introduces Korean Ginseng Across to the East and West Coast
- with Billboard Ads Featuring Hollywood Stars Arden Cho and Kieu Chin
- HSW Brand expanding its lineup with Two New Sparkling Beverages Designed to Beat the Summer Heat: Recharge and Calm
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Korea Ginseng Corp., the world's number one ginseng brand and leading next-generation global herbal brand, is spreading the word about its new beverage product, HSW, which reflects the health functional food's major trend keyword, 'Food as Medicine,' in a guerilla marketing campaign in key areas of the United States.
Korea Ginseng Corp., unveiled a brand advertisement on a billboard in Times square, Manhattan in the past month. Building on this momentum, Korea Ginseng Corp. has recently announced their plans for a relay guerilla marketing campaign, starting from the K-week event held at the Rockefeller center in New York. The event showcased their newest product, HSW, and featured traditional Korean games like Yut-nori and Dddakji-chiji, capturing the attention of American K-Culture fans. Building on the success of this first event, the brand is currently holding relay events across the city.
On the West Coast, Korea Ginseng Corp. will send its new mobile Ginseng Museum Café to this year's editions of the 626 Night Market, the largest night market in the United States, and to the Moon Festival, which celebrates LA's booming Asian street food scene. To draw attention to their one-of-a-kind trailer café, KGC will be running a fun social media awareness campaign and hosting on-the-spot game events and interactive samplings.
HSW is Korea Ginseng Corp.'s latest beverage offering, a contemporary twist on its best-selling energy tonic, Hong Sam Won. The new product is very much in sync with the hottest health food trend – 'Food as Medicine' – and caters to consumers seeking healthy, natural beverage options. With less than 40 calories per serving and zero caffeine, HSW is a light and guilt-free indulgence for the diet-conscious. In addition, Korea Ginseng Corp. is expanding its lineup with 'Recharge' and 'Calm,' two sparkling beverages designed for this year's hot summer season.
Rian Heung Sil Lee, a representative of Korea Ginseng Corp. U.S., notes, "Korean culture is being embraced by Americans, and interest in Korean health foods is at all-time high. We will be redoubling our efforts to make Korean red ginseng's unparalleled role as a food-as-medicine better known."
Korea Ginseng Corp.'s U.S. expansion began in 2002 and reached a new high point in 2021 with the opening of its flagship Ginseng Museum Café, in Manhattan. Since then, the global brand has introduced a new American-specific product line, KORESELECT, and has broadened its appeal with new distribution channels, including Amazon and Costco. Over the past three years, sales have more than doubled, confirming the impressive potential of the American market.
Leveraging its new American R&D Center, the company is committed to a proactive localization strategy and is planning to launch even more new products with the major marketing support of Korea's aT Center for Globalizing Korean Foods.
About Korea Ginseng Corp.
Korea Ginseng Corp.(KGC) is the world's number one ginseng brand and herbal dietary company. Established in 1899, it is one of the most proven and trusted herbal dietary supplement manufacturers, providing the highest quality, traditionally harvested Korean Red Ginseng products to support health and well-being. KGC runs four regional headquarters in the United States, China, Japan, and Taiwan, in addition to South Korea, and exports products to over 40 countries. With over 40% world market share, its presence spans Asia, Europe, the Middle East region and the U.S. KGC's family of brands include KORESELECT, CheongKwanJang, Good Base, and Donginbi. The KGC brands, inclusive of over 250 products, use the most exceptional ginseng combined with the finest herbs and ingredients to deliver superior products to meet everyone's needs.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE KGC (Korea Ginseng Corp.) | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/30/expanding-global-presence-korea-ginseng-corp-leads-guerrilla-marketing-new-york-times-square-rockefeller-center-la-street-fair-taking-lead-capturing-us-herbal-market/ | 2023-07-30T23:21:37 | 0 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2023/07/30/expanding-global-presence-korea-ginseng-corp-leads-guerrilla-marketing-new-york-times-square-rockefeller-center-la-street-fair-taking-lead-capturing-us-herbal-market/ |
HOUSTON — Scientists have woken up a 46,000-year-old roundworm.
They said the roundworm, which was of a previously unknown species, spent those tens of thousands of years deep in the Siberian permafrost. According to the Washington Post, once it was revived, researchers said it started having babies!
The findings of this roundworm were detailed Thursday in PLOS Genetics.
“It’s kind of super fascinating finally to suddenly see life, living animals crawling out of a piece of soil that been deep frozen for 46,000 years,” Dr. Philipp Schiffer from the University of Cologne told CBS News.
The Washington Post said the roundworms, also called nematodes, were brought back to life by warming the soil they were in.
The species is now known as Panagrolaimus kolymaensis. They're able to suspend metabolism, which is known as cryptobiosis.
Right now, scientists are focused on how the species adapted through that time. Schiffer said it could teach us about conservation biology and how, at a molecular level, species can adapt through changing climates.
You can read a whole lot more about these nematodes in the Washington Post. | https://www.11alive.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 | 2023-07-30T23:22:28 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/life/animals/roundworm-siberian-permafrost-wake-up/285-9496acf0-8843-40cc-afe4-ba01b4536f32 |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was a big day at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine as zoological medicine residents strapped a 376-pound alligator to a table and began taking blood samples.
The alligator's name is Brooke, so named because he originally lived at the Brookfield Zoo before spending nearly 20 years at his current home, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. The park's reptile curator said that Brooke had recently been showing symptoms, including "intermittent head-rolling" in his lagoon habitat, so he was brought to UF to be examined and treated.
"Dr. Bridget Walker, a UF zoological medicine resident, performed a blood draw to obtain a sample for analysis, and Brooke received standard radiographs along with a CT scan during his stay here," university leaders wrote in a Facebook post.
As it turned out, Brooke was suffering from an ear infection.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park also posted on social media thanking the university's medical team and hailing their work as, "Gators taking care of Gators." The post also said Brooke's medical treatment was painless and stress-free.
"Brooke has years of experience coming to his name, accepting food (sometimes with medicine), and holding still. Some of our crocodilians are trained to remain still for blood draws without restraining them. So, however Brooke needs medical treatment, he will be able to receive it without any stress or worry," the post read in part.
Brooke is neither the first nor the biggest gator to be treated at the University of Florida. The College of Veterinary Medicine also made headlines when it successfully treated Bob, a 660-pound gator, for a leg injury. | https://www.11alive.com/article/life/animals/st-augustine-alligator-medical-treatment-university-of-florida/67-8012def6-5383-4168-857b-3166592ef72d | 2023-07-30T23:22:34 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/life/animals/st-augustine-alligator-medical-treatment-university-of-florida/67-8012def6-5383-4168-857b-3166592ef72d |
Senate GOP leaders didn’t want it to get to this point.
They tried and tried to get Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift the holds he’s placed on hundreds of military promotions — which have opened Republicans up to attacks from the Biden administration.
But their efforts have failed, and they are now in a situation where the earliest a resolution might be found is September — when lawmakers will also be busy trying to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.
“It’s hung around for a while. I support his goals,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. “The challenge obviously is the mechanism he used to get to the result has created some challenges. We want to figure out a way to resolve it and address that.”
“There are conversations now going on, which is good — between him and the military and others. We’ll have some time in August to work on a path forward, and hopefully we’ll find it,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been among those trying to find a resolution, Thune said. Tuberville said he and McConnell discussed the holds Wednesday, hours after the GOP leader froze and felt lightheaded in front of reporters.
“At this point, everybody’s engaged trying to figure out how to solve this,” Thune added.
Tuberville began his holds in early March to protest a new Defense Department policy to reimburse service members who must travel to seek an abortion for those travel expenses.
Six months later, the list of holds has grown to 300. Senate Republicans were hoping to find a solution before leaving Washington for five weeks — five additional weeks during which those military officers will remain in limbo, fueling Democratic attacks and frustrating the Pentagon.
One Senate Republican said finding an offramp agreeable to both Tuberville and those opposed to the holds has become a “recurring discussion” in the Senate GOP conference, and that McConnell has been personally involved in that quest.
“There’s not a lunch that goes by that we don’t talk about it,” the senator said, but added there’s “no chance of a resolution” any time soon.
Aside from the potential political and national security implications of the holds, McConnell is worried about the institutional implications.
The longtime GOP leader recently told reporters at a press conference that he is concerned this could lead to a renewed Democratic effort to change the chamber’s rules.
Despite disagreeing with Tuberville’s tactic, however, he says he recognizes it is the prerogative of any single senator to place a hold on a nominee.
Senators on both sides of the aisle for months have been musing publicly and privately about what it would take to get the Alabama Republican to set his hold aside, but have come up empty at every turn.
Initially, there had been hope that a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the abortion travel policy could do the trick, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led the effort.
But more recently, Tuberville has maintained that not only does any vote have to be standalone, but that the Pentagon would have to reverse its policy before any vote could be taken.
Trying to bridge that gap for lawmakers has become a herculean challenge no one has been able to complete.
Tuberville didn’t comment on efforts by Senate GOP leaders to seek a remedy, but he criticized the Biden administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for their lack of outreach in trying to strike a deal. He also hasn’t had any further conversations with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since their July 17 call and said that the initial series of calls didn’t yield anything productive.
“There’s no conversation from the other side. It’s ‘our way or the highway.’ … How does that help?” Tuberville said. “They’re not worried about it, I guess. … I hate it, for the promotions and all that.”
He added that he has yet to talk to Schumer, who has refused to use up floor time moving the nominees through regular order because he believes it is the Senate GOP’s job to figure a way out of the maze of military holds.
“This is the responsibility of the Republican Senate caucus. … It’s up to them. I think in August, pressure will mount on Tuberville, and I think the Republicans are feeling that heat,” Schumer said late Thursday. “He’s boxing himself into a corner.”
But Democrats are trying to increase that pressure, with President Biden on Thursday night laying into the Alabama Republican and arguing his holds are harming military readiness and creating instability within the ranks of the armed forces.
“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security and leadership, and troop morale,” Biden said in remarks at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington. “Freezing pay, freezing people in place. Military families who have already sacrificed so much, unsure of where and when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in the new school.”
Senate Democrats also took to the floor before and after the NDAA vote Thursday to criticize their GOP colleague. Since the hold was put into place, Democratic senators have made 12 attempts to move the military promotions in bloc via unanimous request.
Perhaps adding to the difficulty, Tuberville has received a boost in support from voters at home and from conservative corners of the Senate GOP conference who believe he is making the right call, albeit a difficult one.
They also argue that if Senate Democrats truly want to move on some of the nominations, they can start to do so via regular order — a move Democrats have avoided in order to not set precedent.
“Democrats think they have a winning political thing on this. I don’t think they do, and I think Sen. Tuberville morally is in the right position with regard to the issue of abortion,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “The [Defense] Department has just as much of a responsibility to find a path forward as any single member does, and I’m not seeing the Department try to work in any fashion other than to simply put pressure on Sen. Tuberville.”
“They’re not trying to find a path forward. They think this is one of those items where if they keep putting pressure on him, he’ll cave, and I don’t think he will,” Rounds continued. “On the issue, he’s correct.” | https://who13.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:38 | 0 | https://who13.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ |
BRIGHTON, Iowa (AP) — You-pick farms are struggling through heat, drought and haze as customers cancel picking appointments and crops across Iowa refuse to grow.
These farms offer visitors the chance to harvest their own produce straight from the tree, bush or ground.
But this summer marks Iowa’s third year in a row of drought. And that is hurting farmers who grow water-intensive crops like blueberries and strawberries that are particularly sensitive to heat and drought, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.
Kim Anderson told The Gazette that her well started faltering during last summer’s heat and drought at her 5-acre Blueberry Bottom Farm near Brighton in southeastern Iowa.
Many of her blueberry bushes became parched. And recently, for the first time in the farm’s five-season history, she had to cancel a day of picking appointments because there weren’t enough ripe berries.
“I just never anticipated something like this, that the well wouldn’t have enough water,” she said.
Similarly, Dean Henry told The Gazette that these are the worst conditions he has seen in his 56 years of operating the Berry Patch Farm in Nevada in central Iowa.
Henry said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources restricted his well water usage from 20 acres a day to 1 acre a day. But his strawberry plants need lots of water.
This year, his entire crop failed.
The heat has affected customers too. Some you-pick farms reported a decrease in customer visits, according to The Gazette. If people do come, they aren’t staying as long as normal to take in the entertainment at the farms, like picnic tables or games.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires also caused Iowa skies to grow hazy and air quality to be poor several times this summer. Customers canceled their appointments on especially hazy days, Anderson said. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/business/ap-business/ap-you-pick-farms-lose-customers-and-crops-through-heat-drought-and-haze-in-iowa/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:38 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/business/ap-business/ap-you-pick-farms-lose-customers-and-crops-through-heat-drought-and-haze-in-iowa/ |
SMYRNA, Ga. — Cobb County parents were taking advantage of last-minute school supply giveaways days before students head back to the classroom.
Some mothers and fathers said these kinds of events are helpful – in more ways than one.
Jacqueline Afanador has a blended family of 10. She said this time of year is challenging for parents as well as kids.
“Their mentality changes," she said. "They start wanting to sleep in and don’t want to get up early at all."
She’s a parent but also a volunteer who came out Sunday to the Smyrna Community Center. Afanador was helping families find those last-minute essentials for their children before the first day of school.
Ramon Cruz was also volunteering with Emerge City Church which was putting on the school supply giveaway. The group plans to outfit 80 kids with everything they’ll need for the fall semester.
“I would have to come and ask for donations and things of that nature to help with their school time," Cruz said, "so now that I’m in a different position and have more resources being able to give back is mandatory."
The spirit of giving was appreciated by parents working to be back-to-school ready. Classes start back up Tuesday for the Cobb County School District. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/education/cobb-county-financial-relief-school-supply-giveaway/85-d8d1c812-7f90-47cc-9774-d2b492997e51 | 2023-07-30T23:22:40 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/education/cobb-county-financial-relief-school-supply-giveaway/85-d8d1c812-7f90-47cc-9774-d2b492997e51 |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://who13.com/news/national-news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:44 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated.
Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Oppenheimer” stayed in second with a robust $46.2 million. Sales for the two movies dipped 43% and 44%, respectably — well shy of the usual week-two drops.
“Barbenheimer” has proven to be not a one-weekend phenomenon but an ongoing box-office bonanza. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, call it “a touchstone moment for movies, moviegoers and movie theaters.”
“Having two movies from rival studios linked in this way and both boosting each other’s fortunes — both box-office wise and it terms of their profile — I don’t know if there’s a comp for this in the annals of box-office history,” said Dergarabedian. “There’s really no comparison for this.”
Following its year-best $162 million opening, the pink-infused pop sensation of “Barbie” saw remarkably sustained business through the week and into the weekend. The film outpaced Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” to have the best first 11 days in theaters of any Warner Bros. release ever.
“Barbie” has rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box-office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie” has made at least $20 million.
And the “Barbie” effect isn’t just in North America. The film made $122.2 million internationally over the weekend. Its global tally has reached $775 million. It’s the kind of business that astounds even veteran studio executives.
“That’s a crazy number,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “There’s just a built-in audience that wants to be part of the zeitgeist of the moment. Wherever you go, people are wearing pink. Pink is taking over the world.”
Amid the frenzy, “Barbie” is already attracting a lot of repeat moviegoers. Goldstein estimates that 12% of sales are people going back with friends or family to see it again.
For a movie industry that has been trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing — and that now finds itself largely shuttered due to actors and screenwriters strikes — the sensations of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have showed what’s possible when everything lines up just right.
“Post-pandemic, there’s no ceiling and there’s no floor,” Goldstein said. “The movies that miss really miss big time, and the movies that work really work big time.”
Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, is performing more like a superhero movie than a three-hour film about scientists talking.
Nolan’s drama starring Cillian Murphy as atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has accrued $174.1 million domestically thus far. With an additional $72.4 million in international cinemas, “Oppenheimer” has already surpassed $400 million globally.
Showings in IMAX have typically been sold out. “Oppenheimer” has made $80 million worldwide on IMAX. The large-format exhibitor said Sunday that it will extend the film’s run through Aug. 13.
The week’s top new release, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” blitz. The film, which cost about $150 million, debuted with $24 million domestically and $9 million in overseas sales. “Haunted Mansion,” directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring an ensemble of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, struggled to overcome mediocre reviews.
“Talk to Me,” the A24 supernatural horror film, fared better. It debuted with $10 million. The film, directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, was a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received terrific reviews from critics (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million.
While theaters being flush with moviegoers has been a huge boon to the film industry, it’s been tougher sledding for Tom Cruise, the so-called savior of the movies last summer with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which debuted the week before the arrival of “Barbenheimer,” grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. The film starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, has grossed $139.2 million domestically and $309.3 million oveseas.
Instead, the sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” has been the best performing non-“Barbenheimer” release in theaters. The Angel Studios’ release, which is counting crowdfunding pay-it-forward sales in its box office totals, made $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its haul thus far to nearly $150 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Barbie,” $93 million.
2. “Opppenheimer,” $46.2 million.
3. “Haunted Mansion,” $24.2 million.
4. “Sound of Freedom,” $12.4 million.
5. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” $10.7 million.
6. “Talk to Me,” $10 million.
7. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $4 million.
8. “Elemental,” $3.4 million.
9. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $3.2 million.
10. “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” $1.6 million.
___
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-the-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-the-no-2-spot/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:45 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-the-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-the-no-2-spot/ |
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A SWAT standoff in Forsyth County ended with a man in the hospital, authorities say.
Forsyth County Sheriff's Office officials said deputies and its SWAT team were serving an arrest and search warrant Saturday at a home along Kelly Drive when matters escalated.
According to deputies, the warrants stemmed from a domestic dispute that happened earlier that morning in which a man is accused of strangling a woman. The man is now accused of aggravated assault.
Deputies said the suspect is a convicted felon and was also believed to illegally have at least one firearm. SWAT and negotiations teams tried to coerce the suspect to surrender but he refused to cooperate, according to authorities.
As negotiation attempts fell flat, deputies said they heard what they believed to be muffled gunshots in the home.
FCSO sent a robot into the home and eventually a K-9 along with the SWAT team where they found the man alive with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, investigators said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital with critical injuries.
As for the woman, she is also being treated at a hospital for injuries.
The sheriff's office said deputies did not fire any weapons during this incident. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/forsyth-county-swat-kelly-drive/85-352618a0-f58d-490b-a737-d047ad4b94ac | 2023-07-30T23:22:47 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/forsyth-county-swat-kelly-drive/85-352618a0-f58d-490b-a737-d047ad4b94ac |
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s no surprise that the summer heat can do significant damage to your vehicle. But as cities around the country continue to break temperature records and endure long heat waves, some car technicians are finding unusual vehicle issues.
Doc Watson, a national training manager with Bosch Diagnostics, said typical summertime issues include dead car batteries and flat tires. However, he said technicians in Texas and along the West Coast have also been recording more unusual vehicle complications due to the extensive heat waves.
In Texas, Arizona and California, technicians are reporting an emergence of “brake fade” cases in cars. When the temperature outside tops 100 degrees for extended periods of time, temperatures under the hood of vehicles during the summer can reach up to 230 degrees.
Brake fluids inside the cylinder under the hood of the car can absorb moisture, as the heat causes that moisture to expand within the fluid. When that happens, stepping on the brake pedal can feel “mushy.” That means the vehicle owner will need to take the car in for maintenance.
Both heat and humidity can add extra wear and tear to the windshield wiper blades, which have a typical lifespan between 12 and 18 months.
“People don’t stop to think about wiper blades — they don’t need them until it rains, right?” Watson said. “You’re driving around in 112-degree temperature, you’ve got heat reflecting off the glass, and that causes the rubber components of a wiper blade to break down.”
The plastic parts of the blades can also suffer.
“With these extreme temperatures that you guys are seeing, it’s the plastic breaking down off the wiper blade itself, and people not realizing that that’s happened until it’s too late,” he said. “The wiper blade breaks and then you’ve got this metal arm scratching the glass.”
Watson recommended car owners keep a checklist of key vehicle parts to monitor during the summer months. Those include:
- Car batteries: Traditionally, car batteries last between three and five years. Amid excessive heat spells, temperatures under the hood of a vehicle reach up to 230 degrees, which can lead to battery fluid evaporations and dead batteries. Watson suggests car owners have their batteries tested by a technician during the summer to get a condition status.
- Tires: Low tire pressure is exacerbated by hot asphalt on roadways. Watson encouraged car owners to purchase a tire pressure gauge and to test their vehicle’s tire pressure early in the morning while it’s still cool to ensure an accurate reading.
- Engine overflow tank: During the summer months, cooling an engine is critical. Watson said when car owners check underneath the hood, they’ll find a plastic overflow tank with a graduated scale. If it looks low, he suggested adding antifreeze to aid your engine.
- Wiper blades: Check wiper blades during dry spells (and before rain storms) to make sure they’re properly working and not deteriorating. If they show signs of wear and tear, replace them and make sure they’re upgraded every 12-18 months.
- Oil changes: Most newer vehicles require an oil change every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. However, remote starting a vehicle and running the air conditioning works the engine without adding any mileage to the vehicle. As a result, Watson suggested not waiting until you hit that 5,000 to 7,000-mile range if you often use remote start on your vehicle during the summer or winter months.
“People aren’t changing oil regularly like they think they are,” he said. “People need to pay more attention to them because these engines will go many miles — 200,000, 300,000 miles — as long as they’re maintained correctly. That’s big with this extreme heat.” | https://who13.com/news/national-news/the-weird-car-issues-mechanics-are-seeing-during-heat-waves/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:50 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/the-weird-car-issues-mechanics-are-seeing-during-heat-waves/ |
HOUSTON — Over the past three days, Callie Clemens, her dog Giselle -- who is a fantastic puppy sniffer -- and a group of volunteers have been scouring storm drains near the Spring Branch area looking for dogs she says are trapped.
Why is she doing this?
"Because I can’t sleep knowing there are puppies in there going to die,” Clemens said.
Since the search effort started, the group has managed to save two of the lost litter. She said there are two others underground that she can still hear.
The volunteers have been using dog sounds on their phones in hopes that they can get some type of response from the remaining puppies.
“I know they’re still in there, I just think they’re further down," she said.
Volunteers spent Friday night searching after dark for the remaining litter, wading through nasty water and fighting through nests of cockroaches, looking for the lost puppies that they say they hear crying.
The group hopes it won't be too much longer before the puppies are found. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/houston-puppies-stuck-in-storm-drain/285-f8b32d33-edf3-4616-b137-ae7fd612ecb2 | 2023-07-30T23:22:53 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/houston-puppies-stuck-in-storm-drain/285-f8b32d33-edf3-4616-b137-ae7fd612ecb2 |
BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting raged Sunday in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, killing at least five people and wounding seven, Palestinian officials said.
UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, put the death toll at six, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two children were among those wounded.
The Palestinian officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the fighting broke out after an unknown gunman tried to kill Islamist militant Mahmoud Khalil, killing a companion of his instead.
Later, Islamist militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group and three escorts as they were walking through a parking lot, another Palestinian official told AP.
Ein el-Hilweh is notorious for its lawlessness and violence is not uncommon. The U.N. says about 55,000 people live in the camp, which was established in 1948 to house Palestinians displaced by Israeli forces during the establishment of Israel.
On Sunday, factions blazed away with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers and lobbed hand grenades in the camp as ambulances zoomed through its narrow streets to take the wounded to the hospital.
The fighting stopped for several hours in the morning, though state media said there was still sporadic sniper fire, but fighting erupted again after the killing of the Palestinian general and his escorts.
Some residents in Sidon neighborhoods near the camp fled their homes as stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts. The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that a mortar shell hit a military barracks outside the camp and wounded one soldier, whose condition is stable. Military commandos deployed near the camp’s entrances as clashes continued into the night.
UNRWA said two of its schools that serve some 2,000 students were damaged in the fighting. It said it suspended all its operations in Ein el-Hilweh.
Fatah in a statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a “bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps.” It vowed to hold the “perpetrators accountable.”
In Ramallah, the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement decrying violence in a camp for Palestinian refugees.
“No one is allowed to intimidate our people and tamper with their security,” it said. “We support what the Lebanese government is doing to impose law and order, and we affirm our commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, including the Palestinian refugee camps, and maintaining security and the rule of law.”
Late in the day, the factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a ceasefire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and militant Hezbollah group in Sidon. But local media said fighting continued. A spokesperson from the Palestinian militant group Hamas told AP that the groups were working to implement the truce.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the clashes. “We call on the Palestinian leadership to cooperate with the army to control the security situation and hand over those meddling with security to the Lebanese authorities,” Mikati said in his statement.
Palestinian factions in the camp for years have cracked down on militant Islamist groups and fugitives seeking shelter in the camp’s overcrowded neighborhoods. In 2017, Palestinian factions engaged in almost a week of fierce clashes with a militant organization affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group.
___
Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-1-killed-6-wounded-in-overnight-clashes-in-crowded-palestinian-refugee-camp-in-lebanon/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:52 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-1-killed-6-wounded-in-overnight-clashes-in-crowded-palestinian-refugee-camp-in-lebanon/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated.
Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Oppenheimer” stayed in second with a robust $46.2 million. Sales for the two movies dipped 43% and 44%, respectably — well shy of the usual week-two drops.
“Barbenheimer” has proven to be not a one-weekend phenomenon but an ongoing box-office bonanza. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, call it “a touchstone moment for movies, moviegoers and movie theaters.”
“Having two movies from rival studios linked in this way and both boosting each other’s fortunes — both box-office wise and it terms of their profile — I don’t know if there’s a comp for this in the annals of box-office history,” said Dergarabedian. “There’s really no comparison for this.”
Following its year-best $162 million opening, the pink-infused pop sensation of “Barbie” saw remarkably sustained business through the week and into the weekend. The film outpaced Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” to have the best first 11 days in theaters of any Warner Bros. release ever.
“Barbie” has rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box-office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie” has made at least $20 million.
And the “Barbie” effect isn’t just in North America. The film made $122.2 million internationally over the weekend. Its global tally has reached $775 million. It’s the kind of business that astounds even veteran studio executives.
“That’s a crazy number,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “There’s just a built-in audience that wants to be part of the zeitgeist of the moment. Wherever you go, people are wearing pink. Pink is taking over the world.”
Amid the frenzy, “Barbie” is already attracting a lot of repeat moviegoers. Goldstein estimates that 12% of sales are people going back with friends or family to see it again.
For a movie industry that has been trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing — and that now finds itself largely shuttered due to actors and screenwriters strikes — the sensations of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have showed what’s possible when everything lines up just right.
“Post-pandemic, there’s no ceiling and there’s no floor,” Goldstein said. “The movies that miss really miss big time, and the movies that work really work big time.”
Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, is performing more like a superhero movie than a three-hour film about scientists talking.
Nolan’s drama starring Cillian Murphy as atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has accrued $174.1 million domestically thus far. With an additional $72.4 million in international cinemas, “Oppenheimer” has already surpassed $400 million globally.
Showings in IMAX have typically been sold out. “Oppenheimer” has made $80 million worldwide on IMAX. The large-format exhibitor said Sunday that it will extend the film’s run through Aug. 13.
The week’s top new release, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” blitz. The film, which cost about $150 million, debuted with $24 million domestically and $9 million in overseas sales. “Haunted Mansion,” directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring an ensemble of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, struggled to overcome mediocre reviews.
“Talk to Me,” the A24 supernatural horror film, fared better. It debuted with $10 million. The film, directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, was a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received terrific reviews from critics (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million.
While theaters being flush with moviegoers has been a huge boon to the film industry, it’s been tougher sledding for Tom Cruise, the so-called savior of the movies last summer with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which debuted the week before the arrival of “Barbenheimer,” grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. The film starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, has grossed $139.2 million domestically and $309.3 million oveseas.
Instead, the sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” has been the best performing non-“Barbenheimer” release in theaters. The Angel Studios’ release, which is counting crowdfunding pay-it-forward sales in its box office totals, made $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its haul thus far to nearly $150 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Barbie,” $93 million.
2. “Opppenheimer,” $46.2 million.
3. “Haunted Mansion,” $24.2 million.
4. “Sound of Freedom,” $12.4 million.
5. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” $10.7 million.
6. “Talk to Me,” $10 million.
7. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $4 million.
8. “Elemental,” $3.4 million.
9. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $3.2 million.
10. “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” $1.6 million. | https://who13.com/news/national-news/while-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-no-2-spot/ | 2023-07-30T23:22:56 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/while-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-no-2-spot/ |
HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Search crews are on the water working to locate a 27-year-old man Sunday.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said this is the second day in a row that crews are searching for the man. Game wardens and Hall County fire crews were first called to the search near Van Pugh Park on Saturday after the man was swimming and never came back up, according to DNR.
DNR has not shared any other details about the man but said updates would be forthcoming.
This marks the second drowning this weekend.
DNR said a 61-year-old man also went under and never resurfaced Saturday near East Bank Park. Crews were able to recover him beneath 46 feet of water. The deceased was identified as Tracey Stewart of Stone Mountain. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lake-lanier-missing-27-year-old-man/85-cf3380de-16c5-4553-9790-8404c17353e7 | 2023-07-30T23:22:59 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lake-lanier-missing-27-year-old-man/85-cf3380de-16c5-4553-9790-8404c17353e7 |
MOSCOW (AP) — Ten people — including three children — died after high winds tore through central Russia, emergency services and a local official reported Sunday.
Eight of the dead were part of a group of tourists camping close to Lake Yalchik in the Mari-El region when the storm hit Saturday, Russia’s emergencies ministry said.
The strong winds caused a large number of trees to fall in the area, including where the group’s tents had been pitched on a stretch of wild beach inside the Mariy Chodra National Park, regional leader Yuri Zaitsev wrote on social media. He said that three children were among the dead. Russia’s investigative committee has opened a criminal case to determine whether unsafe or sub-standard services provided by the park’s management company contributed to the deaths.
Across the wider Volga Federal District, 76 people were injured in the storm, with thousands of households losing power, emergency services said. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-9-die-including-3-children-as-strong-winds-hit-tourist-camp-in-central-russia-officials-say/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:00 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-9-die-including-3-children-as-strong-winds-hit-tourist-camp-in-central-russia-officials-say/ |
(The Hill) – Northwestern is the latest in a long line of universities to come under public scrutiny due to a scandal over hazing, a practice that has refused to go extinct in colleges and high schools despite multiple concerted efforts to end it.
Hazing, which in rare instances has proven fatal, in particular plagues sports teams and Greek Life.
Experts say education on the issue and increased consequences are needed to create a real change, although they are skeptical the dangerous practice will exit school life anytime soon.
“Hazing has always been prevalent in society, not just in colleges. It’s anywhere that you see a different power dynamic between people who are trying to join a group [and] people who are in the group,” said Todd Shelton, executive director of the Hazing Prevention Network. “There’s research that shows that hazing starts long before college and in those younger ages. It’s especially prevalent in athletic teams camps, performing arts groups.”
The latest high-profile hazing incident comes from Northwestern University, where the head football coach was recently let go and a barrage of lawsuits have fallen on the school.
One of the reported rituals of hazing on the school’s football team was younger players getting restrained in the locker room by older ones while others dry humped the individual. Another incident described in a lawsuit against the school was a ritual called “carwash” where players were forced to rub themselves against a line of naked men in the showers.
“Certainly, it is typical hazing activities that we’ve seen before and it’s not unusual that they’re shrouded with secrecy. So I applaud the people who came forward and reported because that’s — that’s key for institutions to be able to make changes,” Shelton said. “I think those acts are horrible and examples of how hazing can quickly escalate from what individuals think is something that’s mild and or funny, to quickly being something that’s dangerous, either mentally or physically, to the victims.”
Experts say preventing hazing incidents has to start by educating people about its warning signs and dangers.
A study in 2008 showed 73 percent of students who have been in a sorority or fraternity said they experienced behaviors that meet the definition of hazing, such as being forced into drinking games or getting screamed at by other members.
The same study showed 74 percent of athletes in athletic programs also experienced behaviors that amount to hazing.
“Hazing is specific to that group context where someone is seeking inclusion or a sense of belonging in a club, team or organization. They’re a newcomer typically coming into this group situation, and because of that group dynamic there can be an incredible amount of peer pressure and sometimes a coercive environment. And so that can impede or be a barrier to recognizing and or reporting hazing because there can be a lot of fear,” Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine, said.
These rituals and desires to be part of the in-group have led to some deadly consequences for young people.
In 2019, five Penn State University students were sentenced to jail after a 19-year-old student at a Beta Theta Pi fraternity house died at a party after hazing-based binge drinking.
While most hazing incidents don’t result in incarceration, there are other consequences for students who are caught for the crime.
“Financial, monetary damages. People have lost their jobs. People have gone to jail or had, criminal penalties, fines and so forth. Let’s say sometimes when it’s a student organization or a team so with a student organization, they’re often suspended or lose their recognition with the campus for a period of time, and with an athletic team sometimes a portion of the season is put on hold or canceled entirely sometimes at the high school level, we’ve seen that recently.” Allan, who also leads the organization Stop Hazing, said.
And yet, even as schools ramp up their efforts, hazing persists.
Allan says a multifaceted strategy is needed to tackle the problem, and her group has developed a “Hazing Prevention Framework” for schools to follow.
“They can use it to also do some strategic planning and set some goals for the improvements they want to make, and all this is really … based on a public health approach to organizational change and promoting healthy behaviors in a community setting,” Allan said.
Shelton said his group also advocates for hazing to be treated as a felony, whereas many states look at it as a misdemeanor.
“The problem is it’s not taken seriously in the law, and we’ve seen a lot of hazing cases, even when there’s been a death… [where] prosecutors don’t consider it hazing or don’t consider hazing to be a serious crime to go through the measures of prosecuting,” Shelton said. “And so that’s why we’ve been working hard to strengthen those state laws.” | https://who13.com/news/national-news/why-is-hazing-so-hard-to-eliminate/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:02 | 1 | https://who13.com/news/national-news/why-is-hazing-so-hard-to-eliminate/ |
CAPE CORAL, Fla. — After a drunk driver crashed into a Cape Coral canal, an everyday unsung hero saved her life moments before they drowned.
Kyle Mann is a firefighter with the Cape Coral Fire Department (CCFD). Every day he and his team at Station No. 5 are face to face with danger and doing the unthinkable.
When the call came in just after 5 a.m. on March 25, Mann and his crew did what they do best: save lives.
In newly released body-worn camera footage released by the Cape Coral Police Department (CCPD), the world gets a first-hand look at the bravery and heroism of both Cape Coral Police officers and Cape Coral firefighters.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Body cam video shows heroic rescue by Cape Coral Police, firefighters
Inside the car that just crashed into a canal on NE 12th Street near NE 9th Avenue is Flabia Parades-Lamas. The 30-year-old Cape Coral resident was on the phone with 911 as her car sank with her trapped inside. Her final breath was on the phone with emergency dispatchers before the call dropped.
“The call came in as a car in the water,” said CCFD Battalion Chief Eric Hawkins. “It’s something that we’ve heard several times.”
By the time Hawkins and his crew arrived, the car was already underwater.
“4302. The vehicle is fully submerged underwater,” said a police officer.
Cape Coral Police arrived at the scene first, jumping into the water to try and save Paredes-Lamas.
“4330. Myself and Tango 42 are going to go in the water. Someone’s still in the vehicle,” another officer said in body cam recordings.
They weren’t able to reach the woman who was running out of time. Moments later, the crew from fire station No 5. Arrived.
“My first initial thing is just react. There’s somebody in the car. We have to get there,” said firefighter Kyle Mann.
Before a ladder was even taken off the fire truck, Mann was in the water and swimming to the car sitting just beneath the surface of the water.
“I reached down, I feel the door handle. The doors locked,” Mann said. “And then I get my life hammer and I immediately start breaking the window. Once I got the window broken, I had to come up, get some air. I told PD, ‘Hey. I got the window broken. I’m getting ready to get her out.’ I felt her immediately on the inside. She was already out of her seatbelt. So I just pulled her right out.”
The body cam video is too dark to see this happen and too dark to see his reaction.
“She was unconscious,” Mann said. “It was very close. Like I said, she was extremely limp when we pulled her out. When I pulled her out of the vehicle, I was unsure.”
In the video, you see Mann swim to shore. Firefighters, including his Battalion Chief, are getting ready to pull Paredes-Lamas from the water.
“Ready? One, two, three,” the emergency responders say in unison.
“Everybody getting on the ladder,” Hawkins told NBC2. “You saw how we all pulled her up. That’s how we train.”
Not even the hours of training can prepare them for the unknown. Will she make it? Did they save her?
“I was unsure until, like I said, I heard the faint cough come across,” Mann said. “And I took a sigh of relief, essentially that we made it.”
Medics were somehow able to bring Paredes-Lamas back to life. You can see her sitting wrapped in a blanket on the back of the ambulance.
“It’s a really great feeling knowing that that person is able to still be walking and talking after an event like that,” Mann said.
“It was good to see that all come together and work,” added Hawkins.
The Cape Coral Police Department arrested Paredes-Lamas for drunk driving. She was found guilty earlier this month.
While she’s facing some consequences, at least she’s here to deal with them, all thanks to the heroic actions that morning.
“Very grateful, but I’m no hero,” Mann said. “I’m just a guy who signed up for the fire department and love what I do.” | https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/07/29/meet-the-hero-that-saved-drowning-woman-who-crashed-into-cape-coral-canal/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:04 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/07/29/meet-the-hero-that-saved-drowning-woman-who-crashed-into-cape-coral-canal/ |
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The Lawrenceville Police Department is mourning one of its own and is now asking the community to honor the beloved K-9's life.
K-9 Hyro died last week. The department said it was a sudden passing as he died July 20 after undergoing surgery due to an unexpected illness.
As the department honors Hyro's sacrifice, it is inviting the public to say its final farewells.
His funeral will be held Monday at Oak Rest Pet Gardens. There will be a procession beginning at 9 a.m. from Cherokee Bluffs Park in Flowery Branch to the cemetery. Route details can be found at the bottom of this story.
"K-9 Hyro's handler has read all the messages and truly appreciates them all," the department said. "Thank you to everyone that has reached out to us during this difficult time."
K-9 Hyro Procession
Monday, July 31 | 9 a.m.
Funeral begins at 10 a.m.
9 a.m. | Leave Cherokee Bluffs Park
5867 Blackjack Rd., Flowery Branch
- Blackjack Road to Williams Road
- Williams Road to Spout Springs Road
- Spout Springs Road to Friendship Road
- Friendship Road to Highway 211
- Highway 211 to Oak Rest Pet Gardens | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lawrenceville-k-9-hyro-funeral/85-2567f640-3811-416c-a435-a4f0fe0cac69 | 2023-07-30T23:23:05 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lawrenceville-k-9-hyro-funeral/85-2567f640-3811-416c-a435-a4f0fe0cac69 |
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.
The Bajur district near the Afghan border was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government — before the Pakistani army drove the militants out of the area. Supporters of hardline Pakistani cleric and political party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally supports regional Islamists, were meeting in Bajur in a hall close to a market outside the district capital. Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally but organizers added tents because so many supporters showed up, and party volunteers with batons were helping control the crowd.
Officials were announcing the arrival of Abdul Rasheed, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, when the bomb went off in one of Pakistan’s bloodiest attacks in recent years.
Provincial police said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives vest close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting. It said initial investigations suggested the Islamic State group — which operates in Afghanistan and is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban — could be behind the attack, and officers were still investigating.
“There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs,” said Adam Khan, 45, who was knocked to the ground by the blast around 4 p.m. and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands.
The Pakistan Taliban, or TTP, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The Afghan Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 emboldened the TTP. They unilaterally ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government in November, and have stepped up attacks across the country.
The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.
In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. However, some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, told The Associated Press that so far 44 people had been “martyred” and nearly 200 wounded in the bombing.
The bombing was one of the four worst attacks in the northwest since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. n February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and asked officials to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the bereaved families. Sharif later, in a phone call to Rehman, the head of the JUI, conveyed his condolences to him and assured him that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack. In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, it expressed its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims killed in the attack..
Maulana Ziaullah, the local chief of Rehman’s party, was among the dead. JUI leaders Rasheed and former lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin were also on the stage but escaped unhurt.
Rasheed, the regional chief of the party, said the attack was an attempt to remove JUI from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but he said such tactics would not work. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack.
Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. Meetings are being organized across the country to mobilize supporters for the upcoming elections.
“Many of our fellows lost their lives and many more wounded in this incident. I will ask the federal and provincial administrations to fully investigate this incident and provide due compensation and medical facilities to the affected ones,” Rasheed said.
Mohammad Wali, another attendant at the rally, said he was listening to a speaker address the crowd when the huge explosion temporarily deafened him.
“I was near the water dispenser to fetch a glass of water when the bomb exploded, throwing me to the ground,” he said. “We came to the meeting with enthusiasm but ended up at the hospital seeing crying, wounded people and sobbing relatives taking the bodies of their loved ones.”
___
Riaz Khan reported from Peshawar. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad contributed from Islamabad. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-a-bomb-at-a-political-rally-in-northwest-pakistan-kills-10-people-and-wounds-more-than-50/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:07 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-a-bomb-at-a-political-rally-in-northwest-pakistan-kills-10-people-and-wounds-more-than-50/ |
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A person was sent to the hospital after an EMS vehicle crashed head-on with another vehicle in Collier County Friday night.
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), a person was trauma alerted after the crash near Immokalee Road and Camp Keais Road.
No injuries were reported from the EMS vehicle. Immokalee Road is closed at this time.
FHP is currently investigating the crash.
Count on NBC2 to provide updates as more information is released. | https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/07/29/one-person-sent-to-hospital-after-crash-involving-ems-vehicle-in-collier-county/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:10 | 0 | https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/07/29/one-person-sent-to-hospital-after-crash-involving-ems-vehicle-in-collier-county/ |
SWANTON, Ohio — In the little library on Chestnut Street, there is a new employee with a personality that is anything but small.
With gray hair, green eyes, youthful energy and four little paws, he may be the cutest employee, too.
Meet Benny the cat, Swanton Public Library's newest reader.
Benny is a 3-month-old tuxedo kitten who was found as a stray after being thrown out of a moving truck. Luckily for him, the Wood County Humane Society found him and helped him recover.
And luckily for the kids, library-goers, and anyone else in Swanton who loves books and cats, the person who eventually adopted Benny had ties to the local library.
Anna Burwell is the adult services coordinator for Swanton Public Library and is also Benny's human. Not long after Burwell started bringing Benny to work, the kitten took the initiative and started helping out the best way he knew how: being adorable.
"The kids love him," Burwell said. "People tend to react really well to animals."
And Benny reacts well to his new routine, too. While not technically on the payroll, he does have duties. He starts each shift by making his rounds around the library by zooming through the empty bottom shelves of the bookcases and chasing the children before settling down for storytime.
"He likes to pop in to see what the kids are up to then passes out," Burwell said.
In just a couple of short weeks, Benny has made a big impression.
"We've had a couple of people come up to the desk and ask for him," Burwell said.
The library hopes to train Benny as an official therapy cat and, of course, hopes he encourages the children to read.
"Benny is a good listener. He makes the children feel comfortable," Burwell said.
So the next time you find yourself in Swanton ready to check out your next book, stop by the little library on Chestnut and also check out Benny the cat. He may have the purr-fect book for you. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/swanton-library-benny-the-cat/512-2f39a0c6-3a2f-4c5a-a780-ccc2e078ff09 | 2023-07-30T23:23:11 | 0 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/swanton-library-benny-the-cat/512-2f39a0c6-3a2f-4c5a-a780-ccc2e078ff09 |
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African leaders have left two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin with little to show for their requests to resume a deal that kept grain flowing from Ukraine and to find a path to end the war there.
Putin in a press conference late Saturday following the Russia-Africa summit said Russia’s termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies. He added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the “poorest nations.”
That commitment, with no details, follows Putin’s promise to start shipping 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain for free to each of six African nations in the next three to four months — an amount dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the U.N. World Food Program to several hungry countries, African and otherwise, under the grain deal. Russia plans to send the free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic.
Fewer than 20 of Africa’s 54 heads of state or government attended the Russia summit, while 43 attended the previous gathering in 2019, reflecting concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even as Moscow seeks more allies on the African continent of 1.3 billion people. Putin praised Africa as a rising center of power in the world, while the Kremlin blamed “outrageous” Western pressure for discouraging some African countries from showing up.
The presidents of Egypt and South Africa were among the most outspoken on the need to resume the grain deal.
“We would like the Black Sea initiative to be implemented and that the Black Sea should be open,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said. “We are not here to plead for donations for the African continent.”
African leaders also called clearly for peace.
“This war must end and it can only end on the basis of justice and reason,” said the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. “The disturbances that it causes in the supply of energy and grain must cease immediately” for the benefit of all, especially Africans.
Putin said Russia would analyze African leaders’ peace proposal for Ukraine, whose details have not been publicly shared. But the Russian leader asked: “Why do you ask us to pause fire? We can’t pause fire while we’re being attacked.”
The next significant step in peace efforts instead appears to be a Ukrainian-organized peace summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in August. Russia is not invited.
Africa’s nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Delegations at the summit in St. Petersburg roamed exhibits of weapons, a reminder of Russia’s role as the top arms supplier to the African continent.
But African nations need more concrete results from such meetings, the AU Commission head told the summit.
“The trade balance between Russia and Africa, very unbalanced in favor of the first party, must be improved,” Mahamat said. At the first Russia-Africa Summit in 2019, Putin vowed to double Russia’s trade with the continent within five years. Instead, it has stalled at around $18 billion a year.
In addition, “the strengthening of cooperation on peace and security and the fight against terrorism calls for more deeds and fewer declarations of intent,” Mahamat said, while he and other African leaders were rushing to respond to a coup in Niger that could upend the regional response to a growing threat from Islamic extremist groups.
Putin in his remarks on Saturday also downplayed his absence from the BRICS economic summit in South Africa next month amid a controversy over an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court. His presence there, Putin said, is not “more important than my presence here, in Russia.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-african-leaders-leave-russia-summit-without-grain-deal-or-a-path-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:14 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-african-leaders-leave-russia-summit-without-grain-deal-or-a-path-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine/ |
HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A 61-year-old drowned in Lake Lanier Saturday, game wardens said.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said game wardens along with Hall County fire rescue personnel were called to a drowning call near East Bank Park. They began searching for a man who was swimming from a boat and did not resurface.
Authorities searched for the man, identified as Tracey Stewart, 61, using boat-mounted sonar. Hall County fire officials also used ROV.
Just after 9 p.m., Stewart was recovered under 46 feet of water. | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/tracey-stewart-lake-lanier-drowning/85-9dc88b21-b50e-4163-a46c-8b5a05af23bb | 2023-07-30T23:23:17 | 1 | https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/tracey-stewart-lake-lanier-drowning/85-9dc88b21-b50e-4163-a46c-8b5a05af23bb |
BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The Central African Republic went to the polls Sunday in a highly anticipated vote on a new constitution, which would remove presidential term limits.
President Faustin Archange Touadera wants to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and remove the previous two-term limit, enabling him to run again in 2025.
The new constitution would replace the one adopted at Touadera’s inauguration in 2016, when the country was in a civil war and 80% of it was not under state control. If the new constitution is passed, it could entrench the ruling party’s power indefinitely, analysts say.
“This referendum basically confirms the fears of authoritarian drift (in CAR),” said Enrica Picco, Central Africa project director with the International Crisis Group. The new constitution would weaken checks on the executive by opposition parties, closing the space for Central Africans to participate in democratic decision-making, she said.
The proposed changes also would lift requirements that executive decisions be debated by the legislative and permit Central Africans with dual nationalities to vote.
The mineral-rich but impoverished nation has faced intercommunal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced then-President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias later fought back, also targeting civilians in the streets. The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting had killed thousands and displaced over a million people, one fifth of the country’s population.
When Touadera won re-election in 2020, barely a third of Central Africans made it to the polls, largely due to threats of violence by rebel groups. Touadera’s government has relied on support from UN peacekeepers, soldiers from neighboring Rwanda and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to keep rebels out of the capital Bangui.
“Now that there is peace … the time has come for us to take action,” said Fidel Gouandjika, a presidential advisor.
Opposition groups accuse the ruling party of making a draft of the new constitution publicly available too late for people to make informed decisions, less than three weeks before the referendum, said Picco.
Together with opposition parties they are calling on Central Africans to vote against the proposed constitution, or abstain from the referendum.
“Touadera wants to see himself as an emperor, and he wants to make our country what he wants, not what Central Africans want,” said former Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-constitutional-referendum-to-remove-presidential-term-limits-divides-central-african-republic/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:21 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-constitutional-referendum-to-remove-presidential-term-limits-divides-central-african-republic/ |
BEIJING (AP) — The French finance minister said Sunday he pressed Chinese leaders to open their markets wider to foreign companies and lobbied for investment in France’s electric car industry, as the European Union’s second-largest economy followed Washington in reviving post-COVID economic talks amid tension over Beijing’s surging trade surpluses.
Bruno Le Maire also defended Paris’s controls on foreign access to technology after authorities said two Chinese citizens are under investigation for what news reports say is possible smuggling of French-made processor chips with military uses to China and Russia.
Le Maire met Saturday with Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing’s top envoy on economic issues. He followed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who visited Beijing on July 9-10 as part of U.S. efforts to revive frosty relations with China.
Chinese officials gave Le Maire and Yellen a warm welcome as part of efforts to reverse an economic slump by reviving foreign investor interest. But Beijing has given no indication of possible changes in technology and other policies that its trading partners say violate Chinese market-opening commitments.
Officials of the 27-nation European Union are trying to narrow a trade deficit with China that swelled to 396 billion euros ($432 billion) last year. Le Maire cited cosmetics, aerospace and agriculture as possible areas for more French exports.
“There is a need to improve access to the Chinese market. I think that it was at the core of our discussions,” Le Maire said in an interview at the French Embassy. “We want to have a stronger economic relationship between Europe and China, between France and China, which means to get access for all European goods.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government has looked to Europe as an alternative market and source of technology since Washington tightened controls on access to U.S. processor chips and other high-tech goods and hiked tariffs on imports from China in a feud over its industry development ambitions.
Le Maire and Chinese officials pledged to cooperate on climate change, financing for developing countries and nuclear power. They announced plans to set up a group to settle a dispute over access to China’s market for cosmetics, a major French export.
Le Maire also lobbied for investment from China’s fast-growing electric car industry. He was due to fly to the southern city of Shenzhen to meet Wang Chuanfu, founder of BYD Auto, one of the world’s biggest electric vehicle producers. BYD Auto and other Chinese brands are starting to sell in developed markets including Europe and Japan. Chinese battery supplier CATL has set up a factory in Germany to supply automaker BMW.
“We want China to make investments in France in electric vehicles,” Le Maire said. “In the climate transition, there is a place for Chinese investment in France, which allows us to reinforce our economic relations and also speed up action against global warming.”
The talks were overshadowed by Russia’s war against Ukraine and complaints China might be helping Moscow evade Western sanctions, but Le Maire said he didn’t discuss the war with Chinese officials. However, he said it was in Beijing’s interest to end the 17-month-old war. President Emmanuel Macron’s security adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, said this month China was delivering “military equipment” to Russia but gave no details.
“I want to make very clear that we want this war to go to an end as soon as possible,” Le Maire said. “Indeed, (it is) in the interest of China, it is in the interests of the global growth to have peace as soon as possible.”
Le Maire also defended French controls on technology exports and foreign investment in high-tech industry. French authorities are investigating two Chinese citizens associated with chip producer Ommic who the newspaper Le Parisien said face possible charges of exporting chips to a Chinese armaments maker using forged documents.
French counter-espionage officials believe a Chinese investor who bought control of Ommic in 2018 was trying to transfer chip manufacturing technology to China, according to the newspaper. The ruling Communist Party is trying to develop its own chip industry, but Washington has blocked access to advanced manufacturing tools and persuaded allies Japan and the Netherlands to impose their own restrictions.
Chinese authorities complain their companies are unfairly targeted by restrictions on access to foreign technology. They have warned curbs on access to semiconductors will disrupt smartphone and other industries.
“Everybody can understand that France wants to protect its key technologies,” Le Maire said. “We don’t want any foreign country to get access to those French sovereign technologies.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-frances-le-maire-presses-china-on-market-access-and-lobbies-for-electric-car-investment/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:28 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-frances-le-maire-presses-china-on-market-access-and-lobbies-for-electric-car-investment/ |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Salvage crews started towing a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of cars to a temporary anchorage location off the northern Dutch coast on Sunday after smoke pouring from the stricken vessel eased, authorities said.
On Saturday night, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management had said the Fremantle Highway was unlikely to be moved because of a southeasterly wind blowing smoke from the days-old fire over tugboats.
But that changed Sunday.
“The smoke from the cargo ship subsided considerably this afternoon and the salvage combination Multraship/Smit Salvage immediately made use of this,” the ministry said in a statement referring to two salvage companies involved in the operation.
The ship was being slowly towed by two tugs to a temporary anchor point about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Dutch islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland.
Experts are continuously monitoring the ship’s stability and a specialized boat used to clean up oil is nearby in case there is a spill, the ministry added.
The salvage teams ultimately want to tow the stricken ship to a port but it is not yet clear where or when that will happen.
The crews on Saturday attached a second towing cable to the ship, which was transporting 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore.
The ship has been burning since Tuesday. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meter (219-yard) ship unstable as it floats close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat.
One crew member died and others were injured after the fire broke out. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-high-winds-stall-efforts-to-tow-a-burning-cargo-ship-packed-with-cars-off-northern-dutch-coast/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:35 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-high-winds-stall-efforts-to-tow-a-burning-cargo-ship-packed-with-cars-off-northern-dutch-coast/ |
Chiefs lose Nazeeh Johnson to torn ACL
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Nazeeh Johnson will miss the 2023 season with a torn ACL.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed the news Sunday after Johnson went down during Saturday’s practice.
“Nazeeh was playing good football,” Reid said. “We’ve got some other guys who can play there, but he was a good special teams player and a good corner and he’s really developed over the year. It’s too bad that it happened. He’s got a good attitude about it and he’ll get back when he gets back.”
On Saturday, special teams coach Dave Toub praised Johnson’s abilities as a gunner.
“It’s difficult to see anybody go down,” Toub said before knowing the severity of the injury. “It’s unfortunate that that happened. He is my starting gunner -- there are other guys that can do it -- but he really came on last year at the end of the year and ended up being one of my better players. It would be a blow to lose him.”
Johnson played in 11 games as a rookie, making 8 tackles. He was undrafted out of Marshall, and was signed to the Chiefs active roster on Sept. 28, 2022.
Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/chiefs-lose-nazeeh-johnson-torn-acl/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:37 | 0 | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/chiefs-lose-nazeeh-johnson-torn-acl/ |
Shockwave held the Fourth annual Sunflower Aquathon
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Nearly 100 participants came out to the Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center on July 30.
Participants enjoyed hours of splashing around while also getting to exercise and listen to engaging music.
Even though they were in the cool water, organizers say that it is still important that everyone stays hydrated.
Lead instructor and owner of Shockwave Aqua Fitness, Sharlie Peterson, said taking care of your body helps to keep you safe.
“Especially in the water, you don’t realize that you’re sweating, but you really are and you’re burning a lot of calories,” said Peterson. “So you need to make up for that breath and for that lung capacity. Everything that’s taken out of your body you need to replenish and your electrolytes. Stay hydrated so that your muscles aren’t as sore afterwards, it prevents stiffness and everything.”
Copyright 2023 WIBW. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/shockwave-held-fourth-annual-sunflower-aquathon/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:43 | 1 | https://www.wibw.com/2023/07/30/shockwave-held-fourth-annual-sunflower-aquathon/ |
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian factions met Sunday in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts as violence in the occupied West Bank surged between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The main groups, Hamas and Fatah, have been split since 2007 and repeated reconciliation attempts having failed, so expectations for the one-day meeting were low.
Participants at the closed-door meeting gave no indication of what was discussed. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who initiated the session in the Egyptian city of el-Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea, said at its conclusion only that the meeting was a “first and significant step” in efforts to end the long-running division.
It came amid soaring violence in the West Bank, where Abbas and his Fatah group are based and exert limited self-rule. Israel has been staging near-nightly raids in Palestinian areas of the territory in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy, especially in areas where Abbas’ security forces have less of a foothold.
Those raids have led to some of the worst fighting in nearly two decades in the West Bank. Palestinians also say the Israeli raids undermine their own security forces and weaken their leadership.
The meeting in Egypt was chaired by Abbas, presenting the aging and longtime Palestinian leader with a chance to portray an image of control and statesmanship to both Palestinians and the international community at a time when he is deeply unpopular at home and his room for maneuver is constrained by the Israeli incursions.
The meeting was attended by other Palestinian leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. Fatah and Hamas have been rivals since Hamas violently routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza in 2007, taking over the impoverished coastal enclave. Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the territory.
For Hamas, joining the meeting was an opportunity to show Gazans that it is making an effort to mend the rift, even if nothing changes as a result.
Another key group playing a central role in the fighting with Israel, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, boycotted the gathering to protest the detentions by the Palestinian Authority of its members, said to the group’s leader, Ziyad al-Nakhala.
Egypt has for years acted as a mediator in trying to end the infighting between Palestinian factions. It also helped broker truces in multiple rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-palestinian-factions-meet-in-egypt-to-try-to-reconcile-as-violence-surges-in-the-west-bank/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:43 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-palestinian-factions-meet-in-egypt-to-try-to-reconcile-as-violence-surges-in-the-west-bank/ |
PAVLIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — The summer winds carried the smell of burned grain across the southern Ukrainian steppe and away from the shards of three Russian cruise missiles that struck the unassuming metal hangars.
The agricultural company Ivushka applied for accreditation to export grain this year, but the strike in mid-July destroyed a large portion of the stock, days after Russia abandoned the grain deal that would have allowed the shipments across the Black Sea without fear of attack.
Men shirtless and barefoot, with blackened soles from ash, swept unburnt grain into piles and awaited the loader, whose driver deftly steered around twisted metal shrapnel, bits of missile and craters despite his shattered windshield.
They hoped to beat the next rain to rescue what was left of the crop. According to the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Russia struck the facility July 21 with three Kalibr- and Onyx-class cruise missiles.
“We don’t have a clue why they did it,” explained Olha Romanova, the head of Ivushka. Romanova, who worked in the debris alongside the others, wore a red headscarf and an exhausted expression and was too frazzled to even estimate her losses.
She cannot comprehend why the Russians targeted Ivushka, as there are no nearby military facilities and the frontlines are far from the village in the Odesa region.
“They spent so much money on us,” she said, puzzled. The missiles that ruined the silos are worth millions of dollars — far more than the crop they destroyed.
But Ivushka wasn’t the only target in Odesa. The main port also was struck, leaving Black Sea shipping companies that relied upon the grain deal to keep them safe and food supplies flowing to the world at a standstill.
The Black Sea handled about 95% of Ukrainian grain exports before Russia’s invasion and the U.N.-brokered initiative allowed Ukraine to ship much of what farmers harvested in 2021 and 2022, said Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Ukraine, a major supplier of corn, wheat, barley and vegetable oil, shipped 32.9 million metric tons (36.2 million U.S. tons) of grain under the nearly yearlong deal designed to ease a global food crisis. It has been able to export an additional 2 million to 2.5 million metric tons (2.2 to 2.7 million U.S. tons) monthly by the Danube River, road and rail through Europe.
Those are now the only routes to ship grain, but have stirred divisions among nearby European countries and generated higher costs to be absorbed by Ukrainian farmers, said Glauber, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Russian missiles strikes against the Danube port last Monday also raised questions about how much longer that route will remain viable.
That’s a disincentive to keep planting fields already threatened by missiles and strewn with explosive mines. Corn and wheat production in agriculture-dependent Ukraine is down nearly 40% this year from prewar levels, analysts say.
From the first of July last year until June 30 this year, Ukraine exported 68 million tons of grain, according to data from Mykola Horbachov, the president of the Ukrainian Grain Association. Ukrainian farmers shipped 11.2 million tons via railways, 5.5 million tons by road transport and around 18 million tons through Danube ports. Additionally, nearly half of the total exported grain, 33 million tons, was delivered through seaports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Ihor Osmachko, the general director of Agroprosperis Group, was unsurprised by Russia’s withdrawal from the deal leading to its collapse. His company had never considered it a reliable or permanent solution during wartime.
He said Russians frequently stymied the deal, even while it was functioning, by delaying ship inspections until the cargos were sent back, leading to $30 million in losses for his company alone. Now, they are once again forced to pay to reroute 100,000 tons of grain trapped in ports that are no longer safe, Osmachko said.
“We have been preparing for this whole time,” Osmachko said. “We haven’t stopped. We are moving forward.”
Osmachko estimated around 80% to 90% of the approximately 3.2 million tons of grain Agroprosperis exported to China, Europe and African countries during the past year went through the grain corridor.
“The most significant problem today is the cost of logistics,” explained Mykola Horbachov, president of the Ukrainian Grain Association. Before the war, farmers paid approximately $20 to $25 per ton to transport grain to the Odesa ports. Now, logistics costs have tripled as they are forced to pay more than $100 to transport a single ton via alternative routes through the Danube port to Constanta, Romania.
“If we were to go on the Danube with the grain corridor closed, practically all our production would be unprofitable,” Osmachko said.
The Danube ports can’t handle the same volume as seaports. The most Agroprosperis has sent through this route is 75,000 tons per month, compared with a monthly average of 250,000 tons through Black Sea ports.
The Ukrainian harvest this year is the lowest in a decade, according to a July report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Horbachov said shipping costs to export around the world and uncertainty about the length of the war will last could quickly make new planting unprofitable for Ukrainian farmers.
Ukraine currently produces three times more grain than it consumes, while global prices will inevitably rise if the country’s exports decrease.
“I think you’re looking at a diminished Ukraine for at least the next couple of years and maybe longer,” said Glauber, the former U.S. agricultural official. “That’s something the rest of the world just needs to make up.”
The war from all sides poses risks for Agroprosperis.
In the Sumy region on the Russian border, farmers harvest their crops wearing body armor. Sometimes they must stop their combines in the middle of the wheat fields to pick up shrapnel from Russian projectiles.
“It can get tough at times,” Osmachko acknowledged. “But there are responsibilities — some have duties on the front. Some must grow food and ensure the country’s and world’s security.”
___
Volodymyr Yurchuk in Lviv, Ukraine, and Courtney Bonnell in London contributed.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-russian-missile-attacks-leave-few-options-for-ukrainian-farmers-looking-to-export-grain/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:50 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-russian-missile-attacks-leave-few-options-for-ukrainian-farmers-looking-to-export-grain/ |
Senate GOP leaders didn’t want it to get to this point.
They tried and tried to get Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift the holds he’s placed on hundreds of military promotions — which have opened Republicans up to attacks from the Biden administration.
But their efforts have failed, and they are now in a situation where the earliest a resolution might be found is September — when lawmakers will also be busy trying to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.
“It’s hung around for a while. I support his goals,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. “The challenge obviously is the mechanism he used to get to the result has created some challenges. We want to figure out a way to resolve it and address that.”
“There are conversations now going on, which is good — between him and the military and others. We’ll have some time in August to work on a path forward, and hopefully we’ll find it,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been among those trying to find a resolution, Thune said. Tuberville said he and McConnell discussed the holds Wednesday, hours after the GOP leader froze and felt lightheaded in front of reporters.
“At this point, everybody’s engaged trying to figure out how to solve this,” Thune added.
Tuberville began his holds in early March to protest a new Defense Department policy to reimburse service members who must travel to seek an abortion for those travel expenses.
Six months later, the list of holds has grown to 300. Senate Republicans were hoping to find a solution before leaving Washington for five weeks — five additional weeks during which those military officers will remain in limbo, fueling Democratic attacks and frustrating the Pentagon.
One Senate Republican said finding an offramp agreeable to both Tuberville and those opposed to the holds has become a “recurring discussion” in the Senate GOP conference, and that McConnell has been personally involved in that quest.
“There’s not a lunch that goes by that we don’t talk about it,” the senator said, but added there’s “no chance of a resolution” any time soon.
Aside from the potential political and national security implications of the holds, McConnell is worried about the institutional implications.
The longtime GOP leader recently told reporters at a press conference that he is concerned this could lead to a renewed Democratic effort to change the chamber’s rules.
Despite disagreeing with Tuberville’s tactic, however, he says he recognizes it is the prerogative of any single senator to place a hold on a nominee.
Senators on both sides of the aisle for months have been musing publicly and privately about what it would take to get the Alabama Republican to set his hold aside, but have come up empty at every turn.
Initially, there had been hope that a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the abortion travel policy could do the trick, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led the effort.
But more recently, Tuberville has maintained that not only does any vote have to be standalone, but that the Pentagon would have to reverse its policy before any vote could be taken.
Trying to bridge that gap for lawmakers has become a herculean challenge no one has been able to complete.
Tuberville didn’t comment on efforts by Senate GOP leaders to seek a remedy, but he criticized the Biden administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for their lack of outreach in trying to strike a deal. He also hasn’t had any further conversations with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since their July 17 call and said that the initial series of calls didn’t yield anything productive.
“There’s no conversation from the other side. It’s ‘our way or the highway.’ … How does that help?” Tuberville said. “They’re not worried about it, I guess. … I hate it, for the promotions and all that.”
He added that he has yet to talk to Schumer, who has refused to use up floor time moving the nominees through regular order because he believes it is the Senate GOP’s job to figure a way out of the maze of military holds.
“This is the responsibility of the Republican Senate caucus. … It’s up to them. I think in August, pressure will mount on Tuberville, and I think the Republicans are feeling that heat,” Schumer said late Thursday. “He’s boxing himself into a corner.”
But Democrats are trying to increase that pressure, with President Biden on Thursday night laying into the Alabama Republican and arguing his holds are harming military readiness and creating instability within the ranks of the armed forces.
“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security and leadership, and troop morale,” Biden said in remarks at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington. “Freezing pay, freezing people in place. Military families who have already sacrificed so much, unsure of where and when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in the new school.”
Senate Democrats also took to the floor before and after the NDAA vote Thursday to criticize their GOP colleague. Since the hold was put into place, Democratic senators have made 12 attempts to move the military promotions in bloc via unanimous request.
Perhaps adding to the difficulty, Tuberville has received a boost in support from voters at home and from conservative corners of the Senate GOP conference who believe he is making the right call, albeit a difficult one.
They also argue that if Senate Democrats truly want to move on some of the nominations, they can start to do so via regular order — a move Democrats have avoided in order to not set precedent.
“Democrats think they have a winning political thing on this. I don’t think they do, and I think Sen. Tuberville morally is in the right position with regard to the issue of abortion,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “The [Defense] Department has just as much of a responsibility to find a path forward as any single member does, and I’m not seeing the Department try to work in any fashion other than to simply put pressure on Sen. Tuberville.”
“They’re not trying to find a path forward. They think this is one of those items where if they keep putting pressure on him, he’ll cave, and I don’t think he will,” Rounds continued. “On the issue, he’s correct.” | https://www.wric.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:53 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/hill-politics/gop-leaders-strike-out-on-getting-tuberville-to-bend/ |
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish government researchers said Sunday they had identified 357 foreign fighters who went missing during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the conflict that foreshadowed World War II.
Researchers confirmed the names of 212 fighters from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, according to a statement from the government Sunday. Some 102 are of German origin, 70 Austrian and 40 Dutch. It gave no information on how many people of other nationalities had been identified.
The identified combatants fought within the International Brigades, military units set up by the Communist International to fight against General Francisco Franco’s fascist forces. Some 40,000 foreign men and women joined up as volunteers, fighting alongside the forces of the democratic Second Spanish Republic and against the rise of fascism in Europe in late 1930s.
The findings are based on a year of research in records held in documentary archives in Spain and Russia. Researchers combed through the daily lists of casualties and missing soldiers compiled by officers in the International Brigades.
The names of private soldiers were frequently omitted from the lists, making the research process more difficult. These lists are held in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, in Moscow. Researchers also dipped into the main archives on the Spanish Civil War located in Spain.
By cross-referencing documents, researchers were also able to identify the likely area where the soldiers died or were badly wounded. It is an important step toward locating their remains inside mass graves scattered across the country.
This research provides “very valuable information that gives us the opportunity to contact the families of the missing combatants and, in the future, to intervene in the mass graves that have been located,” said Alfons Aragoneses, head of the project.
All those identified were part of the Thälmann Brigade, a Communist unit made up largely of anti-Nazi Germans. The battalion was active on the Ebro River front in northeastern Spain between March and September 1938, the site of the longest and deadliest battle of the war.
The research is ongoing and it is funded by Catalan regional government, with the aim of contributing to the country’s historical memory. The second phase of the project will try to identify missing militiamen from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and the United States. The final step would require opening the graves in search of bodies.
Historians estimate nearly 10,000 foreign volunteers died in combat on Spanish soil during the war. How many are still unidentified, buried inside graves, remains unknown.
The Spanish Civil War served as a testing ground for Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy prior to World War II. This triggered an international outcry to try to save the Republic’s democratic government, which eventually succumbed to Franco in 1939. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-spain-identifies-212-german-austrian-and-dutch-fighters-who-went-missing-during-spanish-civil-war/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:57 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-spain-identifies-212-german-austrian-and-dutch-fighters-who-went-missing-during-spanish-civil-war/ |
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Sunday, NACSAR fanatics attended Richmond Raceway with an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation for the Cook Out 400, despite thunderstorms that affected Virginia on Saturday.
Sunday, July 30, Chris Buescher took home first place in the 400-lap race. As #17 driving a Fastenal Ford for RFK Racing, this was Buescher’s first win in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2016’s Pennsylvania 400.
The Cook Out 400 was the 135th Cup race hosted by Richmond Raceway in the Cup’s history, according to NASCAR.
Kevin Harvick, who drives the #4 car for Stewart-Haas Racing, won the Cup Series race in Richmond in 2022, which was his fourth win at Richmond Raceway.
The next race in the Cup Series — FireKeepers Casino 400 — will occur on Aug. 6 at Michigan International Speedway. | https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/henrico-county/chris-buescher-crowned-winner-of-cook-out-400-at-richmond-raceway/ | 2023-07-30T23:23:59 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/henrico-county/chris-buescher-crowned-winner-of-cook-out-400-at-richmond-raceway/ |
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Several thousand people briefly took to the streets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday to protest chronic power outages and difficult living conditions, providing a rare public show of discontent with the territory’s Hamas government. Hamas security forces quickly dispersed the gatherings.
Marches took place in Gaza City, the southern town of Khan Younis and other locations, chanting “what a shame” and in one place burning Hamas flags, before police moved in and broke up the protests.
Police destroyed mobile phones of people who were filming in Khan Younis, and witnesses said there were several arrests. Dozens of young supporters and opponents of Hamas briefly faced off, throwing stones at one another.
The demonstrations were organized by a grassroots online movement called “alvirus alsakher,” or “the mocking virus.” It was not immediately known who is behind the movement.
Hamas rules Gaza with an iron fist, barring most demonstrations and quickly stamping out public displays of dissent.
The Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, prompting Israel and Egypt to impose a crippling blockade on the territory. Israel says the closure is needed to prevent Hamas, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, from building up its military capabilities.
The closure has devastated Gaza’s economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing and led to frequent power outages. During the current heat wave, people have been receiving four to six hours of power a day due to heavy demand.
“Where is the electricity and where is the gas?” the crowds shouted in Khan Younis. “What a shame. What a shame.”
Protesters also criticized Hamas for deducting a roughly $15 fee from monthly $100 stipends given to Gaza’s poorest families by the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar.
There was no immediate comment from the Hamas authorities. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-thousands-take-to-streets-in-gaza-in-rare-public-display-of-discontent-with-hamas/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:04 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/international/ap-international/ap-thousands-take-to-streets-in-gaza-in-rare-public-display-of-discontent-with-hamas/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:05 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Thousands of people backing the coup in Niger marched through the streets of the capital denouncing France, the country’s former colonial power, waving Russian flags, and setting a door at the French Embassy ablaze on Sunday before the army broke up the crowd.
Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Russia’s involvement in the rallies, if any, isn’t clear but some protesters have carried Russian flags, along with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian mercenary group Wagner is operating in neighboring Mali, and under Putin Russia has expanded its influence in West Africa. The new junta’s leaders have not said whether they intend to ally themselves with Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that attacks on France and its interests would not be tolerated and anyone who attacks French citizens will see an immediate response.
Niger, a French colony until 1960, had been seen as the West’s last reliable partner battling jihadists in Africa’s Sahel region. France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens. The United States and other European countries have helped train the nation’s troops.
At an emergency meeting Sunday, the West African bloc known as ECOWAS said that it was suspending relations with Niger, and authorized the use of force if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week. The African Union has issued its own 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the democratically elected government.
Shortly after the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Chadian President Mahamat Deby arrived in Niger to lead mediation efforts, according to the Chad state radio station.
ECOWAS has struggled to make a definitive impact on the region’s political crises in the past but Bazoum was democratically elected two years ago in Niger’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from France in 1960.
Members of the Niger military announced on Wednesday that they had deposed Bazoum and on Friday named Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as the country’s new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa’s Sahel region.
Some leaders of the mutiny said they overthrew Bazoum because he wasn’t able to secure the nation against growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that was a pretext for a takeover driven by internal power struggles.
“We couldn’t expect a coup in Niger because there’s no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power,” Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.
He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Tchiani. Tchiani, who also goes by Omar, was loyal to Bazoum’s predecessor, and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said.
Niger’s dire security situation is not as bad as that in neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, which have also been battling an Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year, Niger was the only one of the three to see a decline in violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Some taking part in Sunday’s rally warned outside bodies to stay away.
“I would like also to say to the European Union, African Union and ECOWAS, please, please stay out of our business,” Oumar Barou Moussa said at the demonstration. “It’s time for us to take our lives, to work for ourselves. It’s time for us to talk about our freedom and liberty.”
Niger has the most at stake of any country in the Sahel if it turns away from the West, given the millions of dollars of military assistance it has received from abroad.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the continued security and economic cooperation with the U.S. hinges on the release of Bazoum — who remains under house arrest — and “the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger.”
Macron said he’d spoken to Bazoum and his predecessor on Sunday. On Saturday France suspended all development and financial aid to Niger.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military regimes in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
While the bloc has struggled to have much impact, the measures placed on Niger Sunday show the gravity of the situation, said Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow with the Clingendael Institute.
“The strenuous measures they have put in place or threatened to put in place show not only how seriously they are taking this crisis, but also the urgency the regional body and larger international community feel in trying to force a return to normal that will likely prove elusive,” he said.
The response from the bloc towards Niger differs from how it dealt with recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, which did not involve the threat of force if constitutional rule wasn’t reinstated.
In the last few decades it has sent troops into member countries a handful of times.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017 it intervened in The Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Approximately 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.
Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. The sanctions would suspend all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger.
In a televised address Saturday, Col. Major Amadou Abdramane, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, accused the meeting of making a “plan of aggression” against Niger and said the country would defend itself.
“Tensions with the military are still ongoing. There could be another coup after this one, or a stronger intervention from ECOWAS, potentially military force,” said Tatiana Smirnova, a researcher in conflict resolution and peace missions at the Centre FrancoPaix. “Many actors are also trying to negotiate, but the outcome is unclear.”
___
Associated Press reporters Angela Charlton in Paris and Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria and Edouard Takadji in N’Djamena, Chad contributed. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-as-regional-and-global-powers-decry-nigers-coup-the-countrys-future-remains-uncertain/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:10 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-as-regional-and-global-powers-decry-nigers-coup-the-countrys-future-remains-uncertain/ |
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s no surprise that the summer heat can do significant damage to your vehicle. But as cities around the country continue to break temperature records and endure long heat waves, some car technicians are finding unusual vehicle issues.
Doc Watson, a national training manager with Bosch Diagnostics, said typical summertime issues include dead car batteries and flat tires. However, he said technicians in Texas and along the West Coast have also been recording more unusual vehicle complications due to the extensive heat waves.
In Texas, Arizona and California, technicians are reporting an emergence of “brake fade” cases in cars. When the temperature outside tops 100 degrees for extended periods of time, temperatures under the hood of vehicles during the summer can reach up to 230 degrees.
Brake fluids inside the cylinder under the hood of the car can absorb moisture, as the heat causes that moisture to expand within the fluid. When that happens, stepping on the brake pedal can feel “mushy.” That means the vehicle owner will need to take the car in for maintenance.
Both heat and humidity can add extra wear and tear to the windshield wiper blades, which have a typical lifespan between 12 and 18 months.
“People don’t stop to think about wiper blades — they don’t need them until it rains, right?” Watson said. “You’re driving around in 112-degree temperature, you’ve got heat reflecting off the glass, and that causes the rubber components of a wiper blade to break down.”
The plastic parts of the blades can also suffer.
“With these extreme temperatures that you guys are seeing, it’s the plastic breaking down off the wiper blade itself, and people not realizing that that’s happened until it’s too late,” he said. “The wiper blade breaks and then you’ve got this metal arm scratching the glass.”
Watson recommended car owners keep a checklist of key vehicle parts to monitor during the summer months. Those include:
- Car batteries: Traditionally, car batteries last between three and five years. Amid excessive heat spells, temperatures under the hood of a vehicle reach up to 230 degrees, which can lead to battery fluid evaporations and dead batteries. Watson suggests car owners have their batteries tested by a technician during the summer to get a condition status.
- Tires: Low tire pressure is exacerbated by hot asphalt on roadways. Watson encouraged car owners to purchase a tire pressure gauge and to test their vehicle’s tire pressure early in the morning while it’s still cool to ensure an accurate reading.
- Engine overflow tank: During the summer months, cooling an engine is critical. Watson said when car owners check underneath the hood, they’ll find a plastic overflow tank with a graduated scale. If it looks low, he suggested adding antifreeze to aid your engine.
- Wiper blades: Check wiper blades during dry spells (and before rain storms) to make sure they’re properly working and not deteriorating. If they show signs of wear and tear, replace them and make sure they’re upgraded every 12-18 months.
- Oil changes: Most newer vehicles require an oil change every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. However, remote starting a vehicle and running the air conditioning works the engine without adding any mileage to the vehicle. As a result, Watson suggested not waiting until you hit that 5,000 to 7,000-mile range if you often use remote start on your vehicle during the summer or winter months.
“People aren’t changing oil regularly like they think they are,” he said. “People need to pay more attention to them because these engines will go many miles — 200,000, 300,000 miles — as long as they’re maintained correctly. That’s big with this extreme heat.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/the-weird-car-issues-mechanics-are-seeing-during-heat-waves/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:11 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/the-weird-car-issues-mechanics-are-seeing-during-heat-waves/ |
Ramp closures on southbound I-35 begin Monday south of Owatonna
Published 1:38 pm Sunday, July 30, 2023
Motorists on Interstate 35 will find exit and on-ramp closures for four days at Steele County Road 4 and the Straight River Southbound Rest Area beginning Monday as crews resurface the ramps south of Owatonna, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Access to the southbound rest area will be closed until the work is completed.
The following detours will take place:
- Southbound I-35 motorists will be detoured past the Steele County Road 4 exit (Exit 32). Motorists will continue south on I-35 to Highway 30 (Ellendale, Exit 26) and turn (left) east, cross the bridge to take the entrance ramp to northbound I-35 and use the northbound I-35 exit at Steele County Road 4.
- Motorists traveling on Steele County Road 4 who want to enter southbound I-35 will be detoured to Steele County Road 3 southbound to make a right turn onto Highway 30 west and then to the I-35 interchange.
The ramp closures will last four days and are part of the highway resurfacing project spanning approximately 8.8 miles of I-35 from Highway 30 to Steele County Road 31.
Construction maps and more project details can be found at the project website. | https://www.albertleatribune.com/2023/07/ramp-closures-on-southbound-i-35-begin-monday-south-of-owatonna/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:15 | 1 | https://www.albertleatribune.com/2023/07/ramp-closures-on-southbound-i-35-begin-monday-south-of-owatonna/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated.
Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Oppenheimer” stayed in second with a robust $46.2 million. Sales for the two movies dipped 43% and 44%, respectably — well shy of the usual week-two drops.
“Barbenheimer” has proven to be not a one-weekend phenomenon but an ongoing box-office bonanza. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, call it “a touchstone moment for movies, moviegoers and movie theaters.”
“Having two movies from rival studios linked in this way and both boosting each other’s fortunes — both box-office wise and it terms of their profile — I don’t know if there’s a comp for this in the annals of box-office history,” said Dergarabedian. “There’s really no comparison for this.”
Following its year-best $162 million opening, the pink-infused pop sensation of “Barbie” saw remarkably sustained business through the week and into the weekend. The film outpaced Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” to have the best first 11 days in theaters of any Warner Bros. release ever.
“Barbie” has rapidly accumulated $351.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, a rate that will soon make it the biggest box-office hit of the summer. Every day it’s played, “Barbie” has made at least $20 million.
And the “Barbie” effect isn’t just in North America. The film made $122.2 million internationally over the weekend. Its global tally has reached $775 million. It’s the kind of business that astounds even veteran studio executives.
“That’s a crazy number,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “There’s just a built-in audience that wants to be part of the zeitgeist of the moment. Wherever you go, people are wearing pink. Pink is taking over the world.”
Amid the frenzy, “Barbie” is already attracting a lot of repeat moviegoers. Goldstein estimates that 12% of sales are people going back with friends or family to see it again.
For a movie industry that has been trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing — and that now finds itself largely shuttered due to actors and screenwriters strikes — the sensations of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have showed what’s possible when everything lines up just right.
“Post-pandemic, there’s no ceiling and there’s no floor,” Goldstein said. “The movies that miss really miss big time, and the movies that work really work big time.”
Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, is performing more like a superhero movie than a three-hour film about scientists talking.
Nolan’s drama starring Cillian Murphy as atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer has accrued $174.1 million domestically thus far. With an additional $72.4 million in international cinemas, “Oppenheimer” has already surpassed $400 million globally.
Showings in IMAX have typically been sold out. “Oppenheimer” has made $80 million worldwide on IMAX. The large-format exhibitor said Sunday that it will extend the film’s run through Aug. 13.
The week’s top new release, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” blitz. The film, which cost about $150 million, debuted with $24 million domestically and $9 million in overseas sales. “Haunted Mansion,” directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring an ensemble of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rosario Dawson, struggled to overcome mediocre reviews.
“Talk to Me,” the A24 supernatural horror film, fared better. It debuted with $10 million. The film, directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, was a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received terrific reviews from critics (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million.
While theaters being flush with moviegoers has been a huge boon to the film industry, it’s been tougher sledding for Tom Cruise, the so-called savior of the movies last summer with “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which debuted the week before the arrival of “Barbenheimer,” grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. The film starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, has grossed $139.2 million domestically and $309.3 million oveseas.
Instead, the sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” has been the best performing non-“Barbenheimer” release in theaters. The Angel Studios’ release, which is counting crowdfunding pay-it-forward sales in its box office totals, made $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its haul thus far to nearly $150 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Barbie,” $93 million.
2. “Opppenheimer,” $46.2 million.
3. “Haunted Mansion,” $24.2 million.
4. “Sound of Freedom,” $12.4 million.
5. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” $10.7 million.
6. “Talk to Me,” $10 million.
7. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $4 million.
8. “Elemental,” $3.4 million.
9. “Insidious: The Red Door,” $3.2 million.
10. “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani,” $1.6 million. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/while-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-no-2-spot/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:17 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/while-barbie-bonanza-continues-at-the-box-office-oppenheimer-holds-no-2-spot/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/ap-a-boom-in-apartment-construction-is-helping-to-curb-rents-but-not-all-renters-will-benefit/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:17 | 0 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/ap-a-boom-in-apartment-construction-is-helping-to-curb-rents-but-not-all-renters-will-benefit/ |
(The Hill) – Northwestern is the latest in a long line of universities to come under public scrutiny due to a scandal over hazing, a practice that has refused to go extinct in colleges and high schools despite multiple concerted efforts to end it.
Hazing, which in rare instances has proven fatal, in particular plagues sports teams and Greek Life.
Experts say education on the issue and increased consequences are needed to create a real change, although they are skeptical the dangerous practice will exit school life anytime soon.
“Hazing has always been prevalent in society, not just in colleges. It’s anywhere that you see a different power dynamic between people who are trying to join a group [and] people who are in the group,” said Todd Shelton, executive director of the Hazing Prevention Network. “There’s research that shows that hazing starts long before college and in those younger ages. It’s especially prevalent in athletic teams camps, performing arts groups.”
The latest high-profile hazing incident comes from Northwestern University, where the head football coach was recently let go and a barrage of lawsuits have fallen on the school.
One of the reported rituals of hazing on the school’s football team was younger players getting restrained in the locker room by older ones while others dry humped the individual. Another incident described in a lawsuit against the school was a ritual called “carwash” where players were forced to rub themselves against a line of naked men in the showers.
“Certainly, it is typical hazing activities that we’ve seen before and it’s not unusual that they’re shrouded with secrecy. So I applaud the people who came forward and reported because that’s — that’s key for institutions to be able to make changes,” Shelton said. “I think those acts are horrible and examples of how hazing can quickly escalate from what individuals think is something that’s mild and or funny, to quickly being something that’s dangerous, either mentally or physically, to the victims.”
Experts say preventing hazing incidents has to start by educating people about its warning signs and dangers.
A study in 2008 showed 73 percent of students who have been in a sorority or fraternity said they experienced behaviors that meet the definition of hazing, such as being forced into drinking games or getting screamed at by other members.
The same study showed 74 percent of athletes in athletic programs also experienced behaviors that amount to hazing.
“Hazing is specific to that group context where someone is seeking inclusion or a sense of belonging in a club, team or organization. They’re a newcomer typically coming into this group situation, and because of that group dynamic there can be an incredible amount of peer pressure and sometimes a coercive environment. And so that can impede or be a barrier to recognizing and or reporting hazing because there can be a lot of fear,” Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine, said.
These rituals and desires to be part of the in-group have led to some deadly consequences for young people.
In 2019, five Penn State University students were sentenced to jail after a 19-year-old student at a Beta Theta Pi fraternity house died at a party after hazing-based binge drinking.
While most hazing incidents don’t result in incarceration, there are other consequences for students who are caught for the crime.
“Financial, monetary damages. People have lost their jobs. People have gone to jail or had, criminal penalties, fines and so forth. Let’s say sometimes when it’s a student organization or a team so with a student organization, they’re often suspended or lose their recognition with the campus for a period of time, and with an athletic team sometimes a portion of the season is put on hold or canceled entirely sometimes at the high school level, we’ve seen that recently.” Allan, who also leads the organization Stop Hazing, said.
And yet, even as schools ramp up their efforts, hazing persists.
Allan says a multifaceted strategy is needed to tackle the problem, and her group has developed a “Hazing Prevention Framework” for schools to follow.
“They can use it to also do some strategic planning and set some goals for the improvements they want to make, and all this is really … based on a public health approach to organizational change and promoting healthy behaviors in a community setting,” Allan said.
Shelton said his group also advocates for hazing to be treated as a felony, whereas many states look at it as a misdemeanor.
“The problem is it’s not taken seriously in the law, and we’ve seen a lot of hazing cases, even when there’s been a death… [where] prosecutors don’t consider it hazing or don’t consider hazing to be a serious crime to go through the measures of prosecuting,” Shelton said. “And so that’s why we’ve been working hard to strengthen those state laws.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/why-is-hazing-so-hard-to-eliminate/ | 2023-07-30T23:24:23 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/why-is-hazing-so-hard-to-eliminate/ |