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SYDNEY — What happens if teams finishing even on points cannot be separated by all of FIFA’s tournament tiebreakers following the completion of the group stage at the Women’s World Cup?
FIFA issued a statement explaining the drawing of lots “will only occur should all steps, as outlined in Article 13 of the Competition Regulations, prove unable to determine the ranking.”
The tournament’s tiebreaker criteria starts with which of the tied teams in the group has superior goal difference in its group matches and the greatest number of goals scored.
If that’s not enough to determine a final rankings, then the head-to-head results between the teams concerned is the tiebreaker. If that doesn’t work, it goes down to a tabulation of how many yellow and red cards each team has accrued through the tournament.
In the highly unlikely scenario that the teams are still unable to be separated after all that, FIFA will draw lots to determine the group rankings. If required, those draws will take place in Sydney, will be open to accredited media and will be streamed.
Drawing of lots involves slips of paper placed inside plastic balls which are put into a bowl and drawn randomly. It’s similar to how the groupings for World Cup tournaments are conducted.
Lots have only been drawn once in World Cup tournament history. At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, lots were used to separate the Ireland and Netherlands for second and third place in a group. Both teams were already assured of qualification for the next round, so no teams have so far been eliminated at a World Cup based upon drawn lots.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-fifa-tiebreaker-lots/8cf66804-2f78-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T09:11:55 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-fifa-tiebreaker-lots/8cf66804-2f78-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
HAMILTON, New Zealand — Barbra Banda of Zambia scored the 1,000th goal in Women’s World Cup history with her penalty kick in the 31st minute against Costa Rica on Monday.
The referee awarded the penalty after Banda appeared to be taken down in the six-yard box by an out-stretched Katherine Alvarado. Costa Rican players argued the call unsuccessfully.
This tournament has been the Women’s World Cup debut for Zambia, and the goal was its second ever, giving the Copper Queens a 2-0 lead. The first Zambian goal came in the third minute of the game from Lushomo Mweemba.
FIFA has held a Women’s World Cup every four years since 1991.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-zambia-thousand/f11d2f38-2f79-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T09:12:01 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-zambia-thousand/f11d2f38-2f79-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
A 35-year-old Australian man who fell overboard on his way back to Brisbane. A Louisiana teen who jumped ship on a dare. A 7-year-old boy who died after falling into the ocean, followed by his mother, who tried to save him.
The Coast Guard said last week it had given up on its search for 30-year-old Jaylen Hill, who went overboard during a four-day Carnival Cruise trip from Florida to the Bahamas. It searched more than 1,300 square miles for him.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the Hill family,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter.
Hill was reported missing by a travel companion hours after he was last seen. Experts say such time gaps between a fall and the start of a search are a big part of why overboard incidents are so deadly.
Even if crew members are immediately aware of the incident, it takes the average ship at least a mile to turn around. The ship usually dispatches life boats and alerts authorities, such as the Coast Guard, which may not be close enough to assist, said Ross Klein, a cruise industry researcher and retired professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In many cases, ships are not aware that someone has gone overboard until a travel partner reports them missing, which could be hours or days later.
By then, it’s often too late.
“It’s a huge ocean. Just being found at all would be incredible,” Klein said. “The longer you are out there, whether you’re alive or not, the lower the possibility of being recovered. The vast majority of people are gone forever.”
Even in cases where a fall is noticed immediately, a lot can go wrong.
“The fall itself can kill you, a cruise ship engine can suck you underneath the water, fear and anxiety or intoxication could prevent you from swimming — there’s many different scenarios,” said Brett Rivkind, a Miami lawyer who specializes in maritime law and represents families in overboard cases. A person can also become unconscious from hypothermia in as little as 15 minutes, depending on sea temperatures.
At least 386 people were reported to have gone overboard, voluntarily or by accident, from 2000 to 2020, according to data Klein compiled. He began tracking overboard cases in 1995 using media reports, tips, information requests and other methods, later serving as an expert witness before Congress.
“People overboard was an area that hadn’t been studied, and, really, there was no data,” he said. “Even within the industry, they said back in 2012 and 2013 before Congress that they don’t keep track of this.”
While it’s true that tens of millions of people vacation on cruise ships every year without incident, experts say a combination of mitigatable risks and loose safety regulations are contributing to deaths.
In a 2020 study, a professor examined more than 620 cruise deaths from 2000 through the end of 2019. He found that overboard incidents — falling, jumping or being thrown — were the leading cause of death among passengers and crew members, accounting for 23 percent of all deaths.
“It’s a lot more common than people think,” said the professor, Travis Heggie, who tracks tourist deaths around the world at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Death rates for overboard incidents vary significantly among cruise lines, according to Klein’s calculations, which he said proves more can be done to protect passengers.
Only a handful of cruise lines have installed man-overboard systems, which use sensors or other technology to immediately detect when a person has fallen or jumped off the vessel, Klein said. (The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 requires vessels to “integrate technology” for detecting falls overboard “to the extent that such technology is available,” and some operators have argued that existing technology is not reliable enough yet.)
The safest cruise lines were able to rescue only 40 percent of overboard passengers, and most save far fewer, he said. The rescue rate was as low as 6 percent on at least one cruise line.
The amount of alcohol being served on cruise ships is also a concern cited by several experts, who said passengers are being overserved. Alcohol is involved in up to 60 percent of overboard cases, according to Klein, and alcoholic drinks have become one of the leading sources of onboard revenue for cruise lines in recent years.
“Cruise lines make a lot of money serving alcohol,” Rivkind said, “and what they’ve done over the years is, they’ve moved to all-you-can-drink policies. They often allow them to drink as many as 15 alcoholic beverages a day. To me, that’s a big source of the problem.”
Defenders of the industry often characterize cruise ships as a microcosm of a city, with the same problems that come up on land. But Heggie and others disagree.
“Nobody is saying 23 percent of hotel client deaths are from falling off balconies,” he said. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/07/31/cruise-ship-fall-death/ | 2023-07-31T09:12:07 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/07/31/cruise-ship-fall-death/ |
Today (Monday): We can’t rule out some early-morning or late-day showers but, on balance, the day is dry. Clouds cycle in and out as high temperatures range from the low to mid-80s, or about 5 degrees below normal. Humidity is moderate (dew points in the upper 50s to near 60), and winds are light from the north at about 5 to 10 mph. Confidence: Medium
Tonight: Skies clear and it’s a delightful summer night. Lows range from the upper 50s and low 60s in our cooler areas to near 65 downtown. Confidence: Medium-High
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest weather updates. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...
Tomorrow (Tuesday): The first day of August delivers one of the nicer days of the summer so far. We’ll have partly to mostly sunny skies, low-ish humidity (dew points in the 50s) and highs from 80 to 85. Winds remain light from the north. Confidence: High
Tomorrow night: Skies are clear to partly cloudy and lows range from near 60 in our cooler areas to the upper 60s downtown. Confidence: High
A look ahead
Wednesday is another terrific summer day with partly sunny skies, below-average humidity (dew points 55 to 60) and highs in the mid-80s. Partly cloudy at night with lows in the 60s to near 70. Confidence: Medium-High
As winds come in from the south, humidity returns to more typical early-August levels Thursday through the weekend, with dew points from 65 to 70. The added mugginess means late-day showers and storms could pop up daily, although Friday may offer the highest rain chances as a disturbance sweeps by. Despite the daily afternoon-evening rain chances, it’s dry more often than not during this stretch. High temperatures do edge upward some, averaging in the upper 80s. Lows at night are pretty close to 70 (except the mid-70s downtown). Confidence: Medium | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/31/dc-forecast-less-hot-august/ | 2023-07-31T09:12:13 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/31/dc-forecast-less-hot-august/ |
HONG KONG — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, were gathering with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
In a video for her memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
In Coco Lee’s recent social media posts, she kept spreading positivity. In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
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Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/coco-lee-funeral/fc7c4dfe-2f75-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T09:12:19 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/coco-lee-funeral/fc7c4dfe-2f75-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles slammed into the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least one person and likely trapping others beneath rubble, an official said Monday.
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region and has seldom been targeted by the Kremlin’s forces since the war began in February 2022.
But bombardment with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow’s tactics since the full-scale invasion, with some aerial attacks hitting civilian areas. Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets.
That approach has continued during Kyiv’s recently launched counteroffensive that is trying to drive Russian forces out of occupied areas.
Commenting on the attack, Ukraine’s president said that “in recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing.”
“But this terror will not frighten us or break us,” Zelenskyy said in a social media statement.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/russia-ukraine-war-missile-attack-kryvyi-rih/1adfc986-2f7d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T09:12:25 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/russia-ukraine-war-missile-attack-kryvyi-rih/1adfc986-2f7d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:12:49 | 1 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:12:49 | 0 | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Woman who died during hiking trip remembered for adventurous, selfless spirit
LAS VEGAS (FOX5/Gray News) - Thirty-four-year-old Jessica Rosalie Rhodes was one of two women found dead in Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park after going missing from a hiking trip on July 22.
The temperature in the park that day reached a high of approximately 113 degrees.
“It could’ve happened to any of us, doesn’t matter how good of shape you’re in, how prepared you are,” said Julie Johnston, Jessica Rhodes’ friend and owner of Camp Rhino, where she regularly exercised. “Nobody really knows what actually happened, but nobody could’ve been in better shape or more prepared to do something like that.”
Jessica Rhodes and 29-year-old Diana Matienzo Rivera were found separated, one on the trails and the other in a canyon. They were first reported missing by another group of hikers.
Her mother, Josephine Rhodes, said she believes her daughter was trying to help her friend.
“They were trying to get back, but they just didn’t make it and she didn’t want to leave her friend down there, so she tried to help her friend,” Josephine Rhodes said. “And that’s just the type of child she is.”
Family remembered Jessica Rhodes for her strength, smile and selflessness.
“Jessica, as a child, everybody is going to tell you, was always smiling. I don’t care what it is, she was always smiling,” Jessica Rhodes’ mother said.
Jessica Rhodes was a certified nursing assistant at Summerlin Hospital and in school to become a nurse. She was also a fitness enthusiast who competed and won often.
She even won a medal for her work as a first responder during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Taking care of people, that’s what she loved to do,” Hannah Ariolae, Jessica Rhodes’ sister, said. “Her patients and stuff, she’d go above and beyond for them.”
Rhodes’ siblings, mother and her fitness family in Las Vegas are now remembering her for her adventurous spirit, and they want to encourage others to embrace the joys of life like she did.
“She just loved life. So when she went on the trail there, that’s what she liked to do,” Josephine Rhodes said.
Copyright 2023 KVVU via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/31/woman-who-died-during-hiking-trip-remembered-adventurous-selfless-spirit/ | 2023-07-31T09:12:55 | 1 | https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/07/31/woman-who-died-during-hiking-trip-remembered-adventurous-selfless-spirit/ |
Dear Amy: My partner of four years has a group of college friends.
With every reunion, I have done my best to be kind, to participate, to be funny and inquire about their lives.
It’s hard for me to engage with many of the members of his friend group.
They don’t understand my humor, I am rarely asked questions about how I am doing or what I am up to, and I find that the majority of their conversations are satirical put-downs of other people from college.
I’m a realistic person; I don’t need to be liked by everyone, simply because I, myself, do not like everyone.
That being said, I love my partner.
He makes a notable effort with my numerous friends and family, winning approvals and gaining acceptance with each encounter.
I don’t understand why I haven’t had the same experience with his friends and family members.
The people in his life don’t seem to reflect the man that I know, and it is upsetting to me that I may never fit into some parts of his life as well as he fits into mine.
I’ve talked to him about this many times. He seems to want to be supportive, but completely lacks the ability to understand how I feel.
I feel lonely and worthless in my efforts to make things better.
The more effort I put into trying to make these people like me, the more it feels like I’m not myself.
I’m using so much energy to gain the acceptance of people I would never choose to be around. It’s exhausting and has ignited deep-seated insecurities.
Of course, I have considered just not going to any of his gatherings, but I want to support my partner just as he supports me.
I feel I am losing no matter what decision I make, and I am asking for some guidance on how to handle this.
– Unsure
Dear Unsure: There is one sure way not to “lose” in this dynamic, and that is not to care quite so much and not to try so very hard to befriend people who are not your primary connections, and who might also be jerks.
If you don’t enjoy these friend reunions, then you could either skip them altogether, or show up to say hello and make your exit when you’re ready to leave.
Your boyfriend can’t necessarily change the way you feel.
Changing how you feel is within your power, and this power is accessed by changing your behavior.
Ease up. Liberate yourself from the need to impress, amuse, or befriend these people. Conserve your energy. You may see that if you spend less energy, others will spend more.
There are ways your boyfriend could be more generous toward you by drawing you in, but when he is with his obnoxious friends, some of their attitudes may rub off on him.
Dear Amy: I am married to my awesome husband, and I’m incredibly blessed to have wonderful in-laws who live in a different state.
For holidays we send gifts and cards.
I usually purchase the gifts and cards, it’s my wheelhouse – I love gift-giving.
My issue is that my husband hates writing cards.
He says he has a hard time finding words.
I give him ideas, but sometimes the card sits for a week before he decides to write on it.
It drives me a little batty since that means the cards are late.
Is it OK if I write the cards?
I feel like since they are his parents, especially Mother’s and Father’s Day cards should be written by him (I do sign them).
What do you think?
– Generous Giver
Dear Generous: If your “love language” is giving gifts (it obviously is), then go ahead and do it, take responsibility for it, and write the cards in your own voice: “Thank you for being such a great dad! We hope you have a wonderful day. Much love always …” (and you and he can sign).
If your husband feels so uncomfortable writing a sentence or two on a card, then he should make sure to call his folks on these occasions.
Dear Amy: “Devastated” was trying to cope with his wife’s drunken rages.
I was surprised and disappointed that you didn’t recommend Al-anon for him! Attending Al-anon meetings absolutely saved my sanity in a similar situation.
– Upset
Dear Upset: In my response, I did recommend Al-anon.
Readers have notified me that some newspapers edited out that line, and I’m upset, too.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.) | https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/ask-amy/ask-amy-gift-giving-20230731-yflpzbirn5a23ebq23727yafca-story.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:05 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/ask-amy/ask-amy-gift-giving-20230731-yflpzbirn5a23ebq23727yafca-story.html |
In the wake of a mass shooting at a block party at a South Baltimore public housing complex, the city’s housing authority is imposing a new rule on its more than 40,000 residents that would make it easier to evict them for hosting events without permission.
The agency’s five-person board voted unanimously July 18 to impose a new rule on residents’ use of utilities for parties, a response to the use of electricity during what agency officials have called the “unsanctioned” annual Brooklyn Day celebration at Brooklyn Homes. Thirty people were wounded, two fatally, when gunfire erupted during the party early in the morning of July 2.
The housing authority’s dwelling lease already says tenants must obtain “prior written approval” before hosting events in common areas. The new change to the agency’s policies now requires residents to request permission before using electricity for those events. Failure to do so would constitute a “material violation” of the lease, according to the amendment the board approved, meaning residents could be evicted as a result.
Housing advocates and some Brooklyn Homes residents called the housing authority’s focus on regulating residents’ gatherings after the shooting misplaced and punitive.
David Prater, a managing attorney at Disability Rights Maryland, called the policy changes an “overreaction” to a tragedy that came out of residents’ attempts to hold a positive community event. Prater’s organization has represented public housing residents facing eviction.
“I don’t know of any other scenario where victims of a mass shooting have been threatened with eviction or some other measure,” Prater said. “We had all of these politicians come out and say, ‘We’re here to stay and we’re here to do good things,’ and that response was, ‘We’re going to crack down on people.’”
At a July 13 City Council hearing when the housing authority was questioned about its response to the shooting, Housing Authority CEO Janet Abrahams said residents did not tell housing staff about the annual event and that a former resident who used to plan Brooklyn Day died, making the event less coordinated. Abrahams said some families do not follow “proper protocols” for hosting events, and that there are consequences for violating those policies.
“The consequence is to make sure that we terminate their lease, understanding that if the Housing Authority terminates your lease, you cannot be housed in any programs across the country, because of these types of events. So we’re very careful about how we carry out consequences,” Abrahams said at the City Council hearing.
A second council hearing on the shooting is set for Sept. 13.
Housing authority spokesperson Ingrid Antonio said the agency has identified which Brooklyn Homes units supplied electricity for the July 2 party, but declined to say whether those residents will face eviction or other repercussions.
“This is an ongoing investigation and we do not want to hinder or disrupt the investigative process,” Antonio wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.
Changes to a housing authority’s occupancy policies would not ordinarily impact tenants’ leases immediately, Prater said. Tenants and resident organizations have 30 days to comment on new terms before an updated lease is adopted under a U.S. Housing and Urban Development rule.
“I hope the housing authority pays attention to what residents say,” Prater said.
Antonio wrote in an email that the policy document would be uploaded to the agency’s website once it is revised. In response to further questions, Antonio wrote that “details are in development, and once finalized the agreement will be signed.”
Brooklyn Homes resident Ebony Pendergrass said the annual Brooklyn Day party that typically reunites current and former complex residents has been happening since she moved there seven years ago and that similar events take place in other communities.
“I’m not gonna sit here and blame this on the residents,” Pendergrass said. “It’s done all around: Cherry Hill, Brooklyn Day, they’ve done all of this for years.”
Indigo Null, a housing rights advocate and tenant organizer with Baltimore Renters United, said the new policy language aligns with a pattern of the agency responding to systemic issues impacting public housing tenants with “punitive measures.”
“You’re taking a community that’s already been through a really hard thing, threatening them with surveillance, more punitive responses, more problems,” Null said. “It puts tenants in a position where it almost becomes impossible to have a normal life without violating your lease.”
Null also criticized the housing authority for deflecting blame to residents instead of ensuring its own staff are responsive to residents’ everyday problems.
“They’re trying to launder the story of what happened,” they said.
Public Justice Center housing attorney Albert Turner said the housing authority already places many restrictions on the movement of public housing residents in their homes. Turner called the proposed changes “arbitrary” and “victim-blaming” and questioned what evidence there was that further regulating events would keep people safe.
Bunny Krabal, a 30-year resident of Brooklyn Homes, said the provisions of her 30-page lease are extensive.
“This is like jail,” she said, listing rules related to smoking, pools, tiki torches, car-washing and appliances.
Not everyone from Brooklyn disagrees with the added rule.
Jesseca Hussain, who moved away from Brooklyn Homes and into private housing after the July 2 shooting, said residents should get approval in advance.
“It does make sense to ask permission before you would use [utilities],” Hussain said. “You want to make sure everyone’s safe at the event.”
Residents said word of the neighborhood party that began in the afternoon of July 1 spread through flyers distributed throughout the complex.
The housing authority declined to make Brooklyn Homes’ full-time property manager available for an interview, citing the ongoing Baltimore Police investigation into the shooting. Police have arrested one person so far, a 17-year-old injured in the shooting who is charged with weapons offenses, as well as charges of inciting a riot and reckless endangerment.
The agency has not fulfilled a Maryland Public Information Act request filed July 20 by The Sun for any housing staff policies, known as operating orders, related to events on housing authority properties.
“If I can go on Facebook and know when it’s Cherry Hill Day … I believe [housing staff] already knew about it but didn’t care,” Pendergrass said.
The board on July 18 also approved a contract already in the works to hire armed security guards from Metropolitan Protective Services to patrol each of the city’s public housing complexes, expanding a pilot program in place at four sites with United Security Services. The annual contract will cost about $2.45 million.
Brooklyn Homes’ residents largely praised the move to add security guards, although some questioned whether guards would be present during late-night hours when their presence was most needed.
Antonio wrote in an email that two guards would patrol each site during two eight-hour shifts.
At the beginning of the July 18 meeting, Antonio read aloud a letter from Abrahams, calling the shooting a “tragic, horrific act that continues to impact our community.”
Antonio said the housing authority had “an action plan” that included providing trauma support and resources with public and private partners to Brooklyn Homes residents, continuing to provide social services, using the agency’s app and social platforms to allow residents to share information and adding “transparent policies” clarifying rules for events.
“‘The Housing Authority of Baltimore City stands with our entire Brooklyn Homes community, especially individuals and families who lost loved ones and who are dealing with injuries sustained from the shooting,’” Antonio read from the letter. “‘We maintain our commitment to provide the necessary resources and support for our Brooklyn Homes households.’” | https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-housing-authority-commissioners-lease-changes-20230731-zwme2khdgfe37ewqqnphlwpfja-story.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:12 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-housing-authority-commissioners-lease-changes-20230731-zwme2khdgfe37ewqqnphlwpfja-story.html |
Dr. Yener S. Erozan, a longtime professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, died July 22 after suffering a cerebral event at his home in the Cross Keys neighborhood in North Baltimore. He was 93.
The longtime physician was renowned for his contributions to the field of cytopathology, the study of diseases at the cellular level. He published over 100 peer-reviewed articles on the subject, as well as writing three books and several chapters of other scholarly works.
Colleagues at Hopkins described Dr. Erozan as a humble and supportive professor at a time when physicians could be intimidating and distant toward students.
“He taught by example,” said colleague Dr. Ralph Hruban, director of the pathology department at Hopkins. “He was a brilliant, kind teddy bear, who kindly walked students and trainees through differential diagnoses to the correct answer.”
“His defining characteristic was his kindness,” said Dr. Syed Ali, the current cytopathology director at Hopkins, who studied under Dr. Erozan for two years after he came to Hopkins in 1995. “I’ve never seen him upset or angry.”
In addition to being an internationally recognized cytopathologist and a longtime pillar of the Hopkins pathology department, Dr. Erozan was also remembered for his immaculate sense of style.
“He loved to dress nicely,” his brother-in-law, Franklin Martin, said. “He was always dressed like he walked out of GQ.”
Born in Ankara, Turkey, to Ahmet Celal Sahir and Hatice Atiye, Yener Sahir Erozan grew up aspiring to become a doctor and never considered another profession, his family and colleagues said. He attended high school at Bogazici Lisesi in Istanbul, graduating in 1948.
He obtained his medical degree in 1954 at the University of Istanbul School of Medicine, completing a residency at Haydarpasa Numune Hospital in Istanbul before coming to Maryland in 1959 for another residency at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.
There, he met Brenda Martin, whom he would marry in 1966 during a stint as an instructor at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Turkey, which followed a fellowship at Hopkins, where he studied under Dr. John K. Frost, the university’s first director of cytopathology.
Dr. Erozan returned to Baltimore in late 1968 to become an assistant professor in pathology at Hopkins, where he would spend nearly four decades until his retirement in 2007.
[ Joyce E. Leviton, former Baltimore community planning chief, activist and civic booster, dies ]
He worked as an associate editor for Acta Cytologica, a scholarly clinical cytology journal, and served in multiple positions at the American Society of Cytopathology, including as president of the association. He received the society’s Papanicolaou Award in 1997 for his contributions to the field of cytopathology, as well as the Papanicolaou Society’s L.C. Tao Educator of the Year award and the International Academy of Cytology’s Maurice Goldblatt Cytology Award.
While his work spanned across the cytopathology field, Dr. Erozan was particularly focused on early detection of lung cancer, his colleagues said. Some of his work in China focused on diagnosing lung cancer early in people who worked in the mining industry, Dr. Ali said.
Dr. Erozan notably “recognized the potential of minimally invasive biopsy to diagnose cancer,” Dr. Hruban said. Along with his colleagues at Hopkins, Dr. Erozan used the technique of fine needle aspiration biopsy, the use of a thin needle to remove a sample of tissue or fluid, to diagnose “early, more curable, lung cancers,” he said.
In 2000, Hopkins established the Yener S. Erozan Fellowship in Cytopathology in his honor. He was named a professor emeritus of pathology at Hopkins in 2014 and became director emeritus of the university’s cytopathology institute.
Outside medicine, Dr. Erozan was a family man who enjoyed traveling around the world with his wife and retreating to their cottage in West Virginia, Mr. Martin said.
Dr. Erozan is survived by his wife, Brenda Erozan. He was preceded in death by a brother, Turkay Erozan, and a sister, Darrin Nadi. No service information was immediately available. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-yener-erozan-20230731-3shtljwdbfcmpckpn7255aqbny-story.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:18 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-yener-erozan-20230731-3shtljwdbfcmpckpn7255aqbny-story.html |
I’m coming up empty to name another Chesapeake Bay sport fish that greyhounds out of the water like a Spanish mackerel. And arguably none are as ornery as a bluefish, which can set those razor-sharp choppers on your fingers in a New York minute.
Finding yourself smack dab in the middle of a full-blown bluefish-Spanish mac blitz is as close to angling heaven as you can get in these parts. These melees pop up anytime, anywhere — a raucous, salty froth in which silvery missiles bust the surface.
Late last summer I stumbled onto one such event, where the Chesapeake’s surface was “slick cam,” save for the flailing silversides catapulting across the water as the day faded. Spend enough time prowling the open bay and its river mouths now into autumn and you too are bound to enjoy a front-row seat for this unscripted mayhem.
If you’re new to Chesapeake Bay fishing, a “blitz” is a wildly intoxicating event wherein frantic baitfish fly out of the water every which way but loose to avoid the jaws of stripers, blues and occasionally Spanish mackerel.
Bluefish, the sole members of the Pomatomidae family, are at first glance ho-hum in appearance but look again: pretty green-blue hues along the dorsal and silvery-white down along the belly.
Also in the summer blitz mix will be Spanish mackerels, which have forked tails similar to tunas and wahoo, their pelagic relatives. Mackerel schools roam full-throttle, thick in an area during one tide cycle, and gone the next. They’re a delight to hook into, and their iridescent flanks shimmer like a doubloon, elliptical orange spots and green to light yellow hues throughout its vibrant body. Magnificent.
Anglers who troll typically catch more Spanish macks than fly- and light-tackle fishermen do. Gold or silver spoons in sizes 0 and 00 trolled on size one and two diving planers or with inline sinkers are what most fishermen use. I like Drones, Hard Head Baits and Clarks, all on the small side. Bump up your boat speed to six or seven knots.
In the casting spoon category two of my favorites are Rain Minnows and Lil’ Bunkers, though I retrieve them differently because they have different actions. Bluefish and occasionally Spanish macks will mash topwater lures, but hook-ups can be inconsistent. Yo-Zuris, Smack-it Jrs. and Super Spook Jrs. all catch.
Tying on a fly trailer often adds to my fun. I typically replace treble hooks with singles to reduce the risk of injury to both me and any fish not destined for the smoker. This also gets me back to the action more quickly after catching a fish.
For this kind of light tackle fishing, I use a medium power, fast action seven-foot rod matched to a 2500 reel loaded with 20-pound braid and at least 24 inches of fluorocarbon leader of the same pound test, if not larger.
For sheer excitement, nothing beats catching blues and Spanish macs on eight-weight fly gear or a pattern that resembles an anchovy (aka rain minnow) will work. Flies tied Clouser-style as well as Gurglers and epoxy flies with lots of flash chucked on an intermediate line is my go-to.
Keep in mind that Spanish mackerel also have sharp teeth, though they don’t seem as vengeful as blues.
As table fare, both species are rather oily (higher fat content) compared to many other fish, which is what makes them tasty but also produces that fishy taste. The key to a tasty meal is to dispatch them quickly, bleed them out and put them on ice as soon as possible. Eat them on the same day if possible. My favorite method is freshly grilled; a close second is smoked. Neither fish freezes all that well.
Blue/Mack Brine: Equal parts sugar and salt (1 cup), bay leaves, ground pepper or mustard, two cups water. Experiment with different flavors – I love fruit juices – and seasonings as you like Smoke low and slow, long enough to get the firm texture you’re looking for. Some even top with mayo in the last 10 minutes or so. Whatever floats your boat, as long as it’s Dukes.
Calendar
Aug. 1-Dec. 10: Summer-Fall rockfish season. Anglers may keep one striped bass per person, per day, with a minimum size of 19 inches, unless on charter trips. Then you can keep two rockfish per person, per day, if captain is enrolled in DNR’s FACTS electronic reporting system.
July 31-Aug. 3: ASMFC Summer Meeting, Arlington, Virginia. Details at asmfc.org.
Aug. 7-11: White Marlin Open, 50th Anniversary of the world’s largest and richest billfish tournament. Ocean City, MD.
Aug. 19: “Youth Fishing Derby” sponsored by the Kent Island Fishermen, Inc. and the Kent Island Estates Community Association in memory of Jon Bupp. Romancoke Pier on Kent Island. Age groups: 3-5, 6-10 and 11-16. All participants must be accompanied by a parent of an adult. Registration at 8 a.m., fishing from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prizes and refreshments at the Kent Island American Legion #278.
Sept. 21: Chesapeake Perspective “Habitat Preservation and Restoration” features industry leaders from the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic region. Ask questions during the live stream via Facebook on YouTube. 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Moderated by FishTalk’s Lenny Rudow. Register for free at fishtalkmag.com/chesapeake-perspective.
Send calendar listings, news and photos to cdollarchesapeake@gmail.com | https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ac-cs-chris-dollar-outdoors-column-bluefish-spanish-mackerel-20230731-2in3lqkl2rccpe32xcyvumfxgu-story.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:24 | 0 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ac-cs-chris-dollar-outdoors-column-bluefish-spanish-mackerel-20230731-2in3lqkl2rccpe32xcyvumfxgu-story.html |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:13:28 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
The first goal of any team in its first week of training camp is to avoid major injuries. In that regard, the Ravens were successful.
But the first gathering of the entire team for what is in earnest the start of the new season was also revealing. There was quarterback Lamar Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Monken working on a new scheme. There was the defense wreaking havoc as usual. And, of course, there was the on-field introduction of new star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who practiced in front of fans for the first time as a Raven in Owings Mills and at M&T Bank Stadium.
The next step in the process will include players practicing in pads for the first time beginning Monday.
But here’s a look at nine takeaways from the Ravens’ first week of training camp practices.
Beckham has been ramping up slowly
The Ravens’ first regular-season game is still 41 days away. In other words, don’t expect Beckham to rush things.
The 30-year-old receiver is entering his ninth season in the NFL and is participating in his first training camp since 2021 — a feeling he called “strange” — after missing last year as he continued to work his way back from his second career ACL tear, suffered during Super Bowl 56 in February 2022. While he had his best performance of camp during Saturday’s session at M&T Bank Stadium, where he had a couple of catches, including a diving grab on the sideline, he’s still early in the process of getting back to full speed.
What kind of impact he’ll have remains to be seen, though Harbaugh isn’t too worried about it — for now.
“I think Odell’s got a really good plan,” Harbaugh said. “He looks a little better every day. … I expect nothing but classic Odell Beckham Jr. He’s a hard worker. He’s very conscientious about what he does. So I have no concerns about that at all.”
The Ravens perhaps also benefit from the familiarity Beckham has with Monken, as the two worked together in Cleveland in 2019, which is also the last time Beckham topped 1,000 yards in receiving in a season.
“What helps is knowing Odell’s personality — knowing his skillset, [too],” Monken said. “We’re also talking [about] four years ago, but I do think it helps [knowing] what Odell does well, how to communicate with him, how he likes to be coached and included, which he does [like to be]. … He wants to be a part of a winning team and be a part of that – a huge part of that – [by] touching the football and helping our team win.”
No wristband for Jackson
Much has been made about Jackson operating in a new system under Monken, specifically Jackson having more control over play calling at the line of scrimmage and more input on the scheme.
One very visible difference is the quarterback operating without a wristband to call plays.
“He wants to call it and haul it,” Jackson said of Monken. “So that’s what it’s been so far.”
Why the change?
“He has to hear what I say. He has to process the call. He has to regurgitate to the players. He has to get the cadence,” Monken said. “We can always go to wristbands. Wristbands are easy — you just read it. Hard is learning the offense, being able to process and make the calls.”
What’s Jackson’s assessment after the first week, sans wristband?
“I feel like we’re moving along in the right direction,” he said Saturday. “I’m processing everything fast, and our guys. … I feel like our guys are ready. They’re going to have something to prove.”
After signing a five-year extension worth a reported $260 million that makes him the second-highest paid quarterback in the league, so will Jackson.
A lot to like about Likely
Mark Andrews rightfully gets all the attention at tight end, but Isaiah Likely has been impressive through the early stages of camp.
The Ravens have talked about using him more frequently and that has played out through the first week.
Saturday, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley connected with Likely on a deep crossing route after the tight end got behind linebacker Kristian Welch. On another play, Likely scooted by linebacker Roquan Smith for a touchdown. Earlier in the week, he made a spectacular diving one-handed catch down the seam.
He should benefit as well from the fact that Monken used a lot of two-tight end sets at Georgia with Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington, with Bowers many times splitting out wide.
Last season, Likely had 36 catches for 373 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games, though most of that came when Andrews was injured or didn’t play. Whether the 6-foot-4, 241-pound 2022 fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina can match or surpass those totals this year remains to be seen, but he’s at least been getting a good amount of looks so far and has mostly delivered.
“High expectations for Isaiah Likely. Nothing but the highest,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a talented guy, works super hard. He had his best day today [Saturday]. He just works to get better every day. It should be a big year for him.”
Andrews still Jackson’s safety blanket
For all the offensive weapons the Ravens have added, Jackson still likes throwing to Andrews, especially when all else fails.
It happened again Saturday. With Jackson scrambling to his right, the quarterback directed Andrews back toward the middle of the end zone and hit him for the score.
“Mark and I have had that connection, like we always do, ever since our rookie season,” Jackson said. “Going back to the Chargers game [in 2018], it’s always been the same thing — that’s my boy. We’re going to make things happen on the field that people have never seen.”
As for how the tight end will handle having his numbers potentially cut into, Andrews says it won’t bother him.
That will be worth watching, as Jackson and Andrews often freelanced in years past. But it’s also possible that Monken, a grizzled veteran, won’t acquiesce.
“You do things the right way, you play the right way, the balls will come to you,” Andrews said. “But at the same time, it’s important to spread the ball out. I know that the guys that we have on this roster are able to get open, make the big-time catches and do all of those different things. So again, just being a team guy, I just want to win games. That’s all that matters to me.”
Defense has been disruptive
Unsurprisingly, the defense has performed stoutly so far, especially up front.
On Saturday, defensive tackle Michael Pierce beat rookie Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu on a play-action pass and got his hands on the throw. One play later, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh was there when Jackson ran a play-action bootleg. Two plays later, defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and outside linebacker David Ojabo chased down Jackson on the outside.
With players only in guardian helmets and pads and the priority on safety, second-year coordinator Mike Macdonald could only get so much of a read on his defense, but was pleased with what he saw.
“You look at it right now, we’re looking for technique, effort, execution, [and] that sort of thing,” he said, adding that the pass rush will be easier to evaluate once the full pads come on this week.
In the secondary, meanwhile, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety Kyle Hamilton have stood out with their usual shutdown abilities.
Cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin, Jalyn Arnour-Davis, Kevon Seymour and Brandon Stephens have also made some nice plays, but have been inconsistent on occasion.
“We’ve got some stalwart pieces in there, but there’s a lot of opportunity as well for the guys that we just brought along,” Macdonald said. “That’s all we’re asking them to do is just embrace it and get after it when they get out there. I think you’re seeing the unit come together over time.”
Honorable mention
Tyler Huntley has looked better than veteran Josh Johnson in the battle for the backup quarterback job. That was especially true Saturday, with Huntley completing all five of his passes during an 11-on-11 period, which included a pretty back shoulder throw down the sideline to Tarik Black.
“He looked really good,” Harbaugh said. “All the quarterbacks looked really good, but Tyler Huntley had another really big day. I think he’s been locked in every single day.”
Zay Flowers has been featured prominently throughout training camp and has been used in a variety of roles, including both catching and running the ball. He sat out practice Friday and Saturday with a stomach illness but is expected back on the field Monday.
When will running back J.K. Dobbins and receiver Rashod Bateman be back? Both are on the physically unable to perform list, albeit for very different reasons. Bateman is still dealing with the long lingering effects of last year’s season-ending Linsfranc surgery, a notoriously nagging injury. Still, he could be on the field in about a week. Dobbins’ situation, as Harbaugh noted, is more complex given his unhappiness over his contract situation. He has been around the facility, in meetings and made regular appearances on the sideline, but if he’s not back practicing by mid-August, that could be more worrisome.
New long snapper Tyler Ott has fit right in, a blessing for the Ravens after Nick Moore suffered a season-ending Achilles tear just before the start of camp. The 31-year-old Harvard alum missed last season because of shoulder surgery, but his 85 games of experience appears to have made for an easy transition for a special teams unit that is one of the best in the NFL.
Last year, punter Jordan Stout regularly boomed kicks during training camp. Then, he fizzled a bit once the season began, with his average of 45.93 yards ranking 24th in the NFL. This year, he’s back to pounding the ball. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-training-camp-takeaways-20230731-ejra6gorr5eyjphidhzcv465yi-story.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:30 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-training-camp-takeaways-20230731-ejra6gorr5eyjphidhzcv465yi-story.html |
Dear Amy: I am married to my awesome husband, and I’m incredibly blessed to have wonderful in-laws who live in a different state.
For holidays we send gifts and cards.
I usually purchase the gifts and cards, it’s my wheelhouse – I love gift-giving.
My issue is that my husband hates writing cards.
He says he has a hard time finding words.
I give him ideas, but sometimes the card sits for a week before he decides to write on it.
It drives me a little batty since that means the cards are late.
Is it OK if I write the cards?
I feel like since they are his parents, especially Mother’s and Father’s Day cards should be written by him (I do sign them).
What do you think?
– Generous Giver
Dear Generous: If your “love language” is giving gifts (it obviously is), then go ahead and do it, take responsibility for it, and write the cards in your own voice: “Thank you for being such a great dad! We hope you have a wonderful day. Much love always …” (and you and he can sign).
If your husband feels so uncomfortable writing a sentence or two on a card, then he should make sure to call his folks on these occasions.
You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.
©2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/ask-amy-husband-has-hard-time-finding-the-right-words.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:30 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/ask-amy-husband-has-hard-time-finding-the-right-words.html |
The United States vs. Portugal: Live Stream, TV Channel & Game Info - August 1
Published: Jul. 31, 2023 at 2:45 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
A Group E matchup between the United States and Portugal, their third and final contest in the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage, begins at 3:00 AM ET on August 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The game is on FOX US,Fox Sports 1, if you're looking for how to watch.
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How to Watch the United States vs. Portugal
- Game Day: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
- Game Time: 3:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: FOX US,Fox Sports 1
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Venue: Eden Park
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The United States Group Stage Schedule
United States' Recent Performance
- The United States' last game was a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, taking 10 shots and outshooting by seven.
- The United States was led by Lindsey Horan, who scored her team's only goal versus .
- The United States' Sophia Smith two goals and one assist in two Women's World Cup games.
- So far in two Women's World Cup games, Horan has tallied two goals.
- Rose Lavelle has not scored but has one assist during Women's World Cup matches.
Get your 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup gear at Fanatics!
United States' 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Alyssa Naeher #1
- Ashley Sanchez #2
- Sofia Huerta #3
- Naomi Girma #4
- Kelley O'Hara #5
- Lynn Williams #6
- Alyssa Thompson #7
- Julie Ertz #8
- Savannah DeMelo #9
- Lindsey Horan #10
- Sophia Smith #11
- Alana Cook #12
- Alex Morgan #13
- Emily Sonnett #14
- Megan Rapinoe #15
- Rose Lavelle #16
- Andi Sullivan #17
- Casey Murphy #18
- Crystal Dunn #19
- Trinity Rodman #20
- Aubrey Kingsbury #21
- Kristie Mewis #22
- Emily Fox #23
Portugal Group Stage Schedule
Portugal's Recent Performance
- In its most recent action on July 27, Portugal claimed a 2-0 win against Vietnam. Portugal outshot Vietnam 28 to five.
- For Portugal, Francisca Nazareth and Telma Encarnacao each scored a goal.
- In Women's World Cup, Encarnacao has collected one goal (in two matches) and one assist for Portugal.
- Lucia Alves has not scored, but does have one assist for Portugal in Women's World Cup.
- In two Women's World Cup matches, Nazareth has one goal.
Portugal's 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Ines Pereira #1
- Catarina Amado #2
- Lucia Alves #3
- Silvia Rebelo #4
- Joana Marchao #5
- Andreia Jacinto #6
- Ana Rute #7
- Andreia Norton #8
- Ana Borges #9
- Jessica Silva #10
- Tatiana Pinto #11
- Patricia Morais #12
- Fatima Pinto #13
- Dolores Silva #14
- Carole Costa #15
- Diana Silva #16
- Ana Seica #17
- Carolina Mendes #18
- Diana Gomes #19
- Francisca Nazareth #20
- Ana Capeta #21
- Rute Costa #22
- Telma Encarnacao #23
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-31T09:13:34 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ |
Dear Amy: My partner of four years has a group of college friends.
With every reunion, I have done my best to be kind, to participate, to be funny and inquire about their lives.
It’s hard for me to engage with many of the members of his friend group.
They don’t understand my humor, I am rarely asked questions about how I am doing or what I am up to, and I find that the majority of their conversations are satirical put-downs of other people from college.
I’m a realistic person; I don’t need to be liked by everyone, simply because I, myself, do not like everyone.
That being said, I love my partner.
He makes a notable effort with my numerous friends and family, winning approvals and gaining acceptance with each encounter.
I don’t understand why I haven’t had the same experience with his friends and family members.
The people in his life don’t seem to reflect the man that I know, and it is upsetting to me that I may never fit into some parts of his life as well as he fits into mine.
I’ve talked to him about this many times. He seems to want to be supportive, but completely lacks the ability to understand how I feel.
I feel lonely and worthless in my efforts to make things better.
The more effort I put into trying to make these people like me, the more it feels like I’m not myself.
I’m using so much energy to gain the acceptance of people I would never choose to be around. It’s exhausting and has ignited deep-seated insecurities.
Of course, I have considered just not going to any of his gatherings, but I want to support my partner just as he supports me.
I feel I am losing no matter what decision I make, and I am asking for some guidance on how to handle this.
– Unsure
Dear Unsure: There is one sure way not to “lose” in this dynamic, and that is not to care quite so much and not to try so very hard to befriend people who are not your primary connections, and who might also be jerks.
If you don’t enjoy these friend reunions, then you could either skip them altogether, or show up to say hello and make your exit when you’re ready to leave.
Your boyfriend can’t necessarily change the way you feel.
Changing how you feel is within your power, and this power is accessed by changing your behavior.
Ease up. Liberate yourself from the need to impress, amuse, or befriend these people. Conserve your energy. You may see that if you spend less energy, others will spend more.
There are ways your boyfriend could be more generous toward you by drawing you in, but when he is with his obnoxious friends, some of their attitudes may rub off on him.
You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.
©2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/ask-amy-partner-wonders-how-to-befriend-jerks.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:37 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/ask-amy-partner-wonders-how-to-befriend-jerks.html |
DEAR ABBY: I’m 26, and I have never been in a long-term relationship. I have used dating apps and have dated several times, but nothing seems to stick after the third one. This year, I have put myself out there more by going to Meetup groups and to religious services.
When I browse Instagram or Facebook, I see content that makes me feel guilty and disappointed. It’s depressing to see people I know getting engaged or married. When I was in high school, most of my classmates went to prom, while I stayed at home.
I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll never find a good quality life partner or if I’m meant to be single forever. I’m afraid there may be something wrong with me. What can I do to move forward? -- UNCOUPLED IN MINNESOTA
DEAR UNCOUPLED: You may be focusing too much on your goal and not enough on enjoying the experience. Dating is a sifting process. It can be tedious and depressing, and it doesn’t always result in meeting Prince Charming. Because you haven’t yet met The One doesn’t mean the alternative is winding up in a convent.
Move forward by teaching yourself to enjoy the present, and you may find you have better luck.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-abby-finding-quality-partner-seems-impossible.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:43 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-abby-finding-quality-partner-seems-impossible.html |
DEAR ABBY: I am 49 and have been divorced for 20 years. When we first separated, my ex moved in with my parents while I struggled to raise my four kids. He stayed there for seven years. He moved out until a year and a half ago. Again, my parents have allowed him back in!
While I understand that they shouldn’t have had to cease contact because of the divorce, I don’t feel it’s right for him to be living there. This has caused an ongoing rift between my family and me because I have let them know that it hurts me.
My parents pretty much told me my feelings don’t matter. I was homeless living in my car for a few weeks while it was bitter cold and snowing. But I’m not supposed to be upset that he’s nice and warm, eating prepared meals, showering and using their vehicles for next to nothing? He has had a full-time job for 10 years.
I feel my parents are disrespectful, hurtful and rude toward me. What are your thoughts about what I should do or how to handle this? -- PERTURBED IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR PERTURBED: My thought is that when you and your ex-husband divorced, your parents sided with him, and you have every right to your feelings. Being told that your feelings do not matter had to have been devastating.
The way to handle this would be to stay as far from your parents as possible and figure out how to have a rewarding life on your own. Take that path -- and spend as little time as possible looking backward because you really have no other choice. Success would be the best revenge.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-abby-parents-make-surprising-choice-following-divorce.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:49 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-abby-parents-make-surprising-choice-following-divorce.html |
(NEXSTAR) — For five days this year, all national parks will be offering free admission to all visitors. One of those special days is nearly upon us.
The National Park Service announced the 2023 free days late last year. There are more than 400 parks, monuments, seashores and other NPS lands, the majority of which do not require an entrance fee. For the roughly 100 that do, these free admission days open the gates to everyone.
We’ve already had two free days this year: Jan. 16, which is Martin Luther King Day, and April 22, which was the first day of National Park Week.
Now, on Friday, Aug. 4, we’ll have another, which marks the anniversary of the Great Americans Outdoors Act.
The act, GAOA, was signed in 2020 and brought bipartisan investments to “improve visitor experiences, bolster climate resilience, and invest in the economy by creating good-paying jobs” at the parks, the Department of the Interior explains.
In honor of the bill signing anniversary, you won’t need to pay entrance fees at parks that usually require them. Fees will, however, still be necessary for overnight camping, cabin rentals, transportation, group day use and use of special areas.
The next two free admission days are Sept. 23, National Public Lands Day, and Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
Last year, there were roughly 312 million recreational visits to 395 national parks that track attendance, a 15 million increase over 2021. The most visited park was Blue Ridge Parkway, which received 15.7 million visits last year, edging out the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by slightly more than 72,000 visits. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ | 2023-07-31T09:13:51 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/you-can-get-into-the-national-parks-for-free-this-week-heres-when/ |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:13:51 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Dear Annie: I am struggling with how to handle my relationship with my daughter-in-law. Married for five years, with two children, we spend time with them every few weeks, usually to babysit the kids.
My problem involves the verbal abuse my son suffers at her hands, and to witness it and keep quiet about it is becoming unbearable for me. His wife berates and belittles him in front of anyone and everyone. She makes comments to me about him almost constantly. To give you an example, she blamed my son on her CAVITIES she had at her last dental appointment! It would be almost comical, except for the fact that this is our son she is abusing.
Do I have any right as a parent of an adult child to say anything? And if so, to who? We love our grandchildren and spending time with them and don’t want to jeopardize that relationship. -- Concerned Mother
Dear Concerned Mother: I’m not sure what you mean by the “right” to say something. But yes, you should say something. Tell your daughter-in-law at the time of an insult that she should stop.
But more importantly, you should talk to your son about his overall mental health. Is he happy in his relationship? Does he seem depressed? Being with an emotionally abusive partner can be exhausting and isolating. So just keep checking in on him and making sure that he is OK. The fact that you said her behavior would be comical except that it’s your son, leads me to question if you might also find a little bit of meanness in humor.
Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-annie-daughter-in-law-constantly-belittles-my-son.html | 2023-07-31T09:13:55 | 1 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-annie-daughter-in-law-constantly-belittles-my-son.html |
Highly experienced Corporate Financier and Business Builder Will Partner with René Obermann to Further Accelerate the Growth and Momentum of the Firm's European Business
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, today announced the appointment of Andrew Sibbald as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Europe. Mr. Sibbald will work alongside veteran investor and current Co-Head of Europe, René Obermann, based in Berlin. Mr. Sibbald will succeed Adarsh Sarma, who will remain a Managing Director and Partner with the Firm, focusing on his existing portfolio. Jim Neary, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, will work closely with Andrew, René and the European team to support the firm's global strategy, portfolio management and new investments.
Based in London, Mr. Sibbald joins Warburg Pincus from Evercore, where he most recently served as Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Evercore's European investment banking business. He was previously the Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Lexicon Partners which was acquired by Evercore in 2011. With over 35 years of financial services experience, Mr. Sibbald has advised on many notable M&A and corporate finance transactions including recently: Arcmont on its sale to Nuveen; Global Risk Partners on its sale to Brown & Brown; and AA on its sale to Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook Capital.
"Andrew's impressive expertise and deep-rooted experience, particularly in Europe, advising leading companies on a variety of sophisticated transactions will serve our portfolio and investing teams well as we continue to navigate complex market dynamics," said Chip Kaye, CEO, Warburg Pincus. "We look forward to welcoming Andrew to Warburg Pincus and want to thank Adarsh for his 18+ years of service in the US and Europe," continued Jim Neary, Managing Director, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, Warburg Pincus.
"I have long admired the success and culture of Warburg Pincus and I'm thrilled to be joining the firm. I have enormous respect for René and look forward to working closely with him and the team in Europe to drive further positive momentum in the business here. Warburg Pincus has an incredibly strong reputation for creating effective partnerships with management teams all over the world to deliver sustainable value and growth, as well as attractive returns for its investors. I strongly believe that the firm's long established global platform together with its local networks and insights provide real advantages to the management teams and businesses that partner with us," said Andrew Sibbald.
Warburg Pincus is one of the leading private equity investors in Europe. Since the firm's first European transaction in 1983, the firm has invested more than $15B in over 130 companies in 23 European countries. The firm has one of the largest pools of available private equity capital in Europe and seeks to partner with management teams that are building, transforming or acquiring businesses with the potential to be market leaders with enduring value.
Prior to founding Lexicon Partners in 2000, Mr. Sibbald was a Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he led a team specializing in M&A in the financial institutions sector. He was previously a Partner in The Phoenix Partnership.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact
Kerrie Cohen | Managing Director, Head of Communications
T: +1 212 878 9207
E: kerrie.cohen@warburgpincus.com
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SOURCE Warburg Pincus | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ | 2023-07-31T09:13:58 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ |
The following is a listing of all home transfers in Portage and Vicksburg reported from July 24 to July 30. There were 26 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 1,333-square-foot home on Marco Drive in Portage that sold for $265,000.
Kalamazoo
606 Lynn Ave., Kalamazoo, $77,000, 657 square feet, $117 per square-foot, one bedroom and one bathroom.
711 Garland Circle, Kalamazoo, $105,000, 892 square feet, $118 per square-foot, two bedrooms and one bathroom.
4040 Greenleaf Circle, Kalamazoo, $345,000, 2,023 square feet, $171 per square-foot, two bedrooms and one bathroom.
2225 Aberdeen Drive, Kalamazoo, $423,500, 2,028 square feet, $209 per square-foot, one bedroom and two bathrooms.
Portage
2016 Ramona Ave., Portage, $165,000, 1,120 square feet, $147 per square-foot, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
7439 Rockford Street, Portage, $165,000, 1,020 square feet, $162 per square-foot, one bathroom.
6845 Bratcher Street, Portage, $220,000, 912 square feet, $241 per square-foot, one bathroom.
2209 Woodbine Ave., Portage, $226,000, 1,040 square feet, $217 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
4304 Branch Ave., Portage, $249,900, 888 square feet, $281 per square-foot, one bathroom.
4438 Briarhill Drive, Portage, $255,000, 1,290 square feet, $198 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
11257 Oakland Drive, Portage, $263,500, 1,768 square feet, $149 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
9530 Marco Drive, Portage, $265,000, 1,333 square feet, $199 per square-foot, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
7748 Harvest Lane, Portage, $266,000, 1,128 square feet, $236 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
2129 Choral Ave., Portage, $300,000, 1,836 square feet, $163 per square-foot, three bathrooms.
2622 Bay Side Ave., Portage, $420,000, 1,926 square feet, $218 per square-foot, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
3651 Fleetwood Drive, Portage, $445,000, 2,852 square feet, $156 per square-foot, three bathrooms.
2451 Avalon Woods Drive, Portage, $500,000, 2,644 square feet, $189 per square-foot, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
5228 Ridgebrook Drive, Portage, $720,000, 4,106 square feet, $175 per square-foot, three bathrooms.
10230 E. Shore Drive, Portage, $1,379,000, 2,553 square feet, $540 per square-foot, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Schoolcraft
5115 W. R Ave., Schoolcraft, $216,500, 1,144 square feet, $189 per square-foot, one bathroom.
9218 S. 10th Street, Schoolcraft, $336,500, 1,428 square feet, $236 per square-foot, three bathrooms.
Vicksburg
7816 South Street, Vicksburg, $150,000, 1,104 square feet, $136 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
5303 E. Y Ave., Vicksburg, $187,000, 1,162 square feet, $161 per square-foot, one bathroom.
1205 Odell Farm Lane, Vicksburg, $250,000, 1,872 square feet, $134 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
3938 E. V Ave., Vicksburg, $335,000, 1,649 square feet, $203 per square-foot, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
1167 Rawson Lane, Vicksburg, $532,000, 1,207 square feet, $441 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.. | https://www.mlive.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-portage-and-vicksburg-july-24-to-july-30.html | 2023-07-31T09:14:01 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-portage-and-vicksburg-july-24-to-july-30.html |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "Empowerment" is the core competence of PE/VC institutions after investment. Asia Green Fund (AGF) has always adhered to the investment strategy of "pursuing both financial returns and environmental benefits", focused on the logic of "technology empowerment", grasped the development trend of SRDI industries, and promoted technological innovation to empower industrial convergence and innovative development. AGF continues to practice the "sustainable investment strategy" and has now formed an industrial ecosystem with deep linkage among the capital side (LPs), investment side (AGF), and industry side (science and technology enterprises), which realized the bidirectional empowerment between capital and industry.
AGF adheres to the principle of "30% investment and 70% management" and provides all-round services for portfolios in accordance with the investment and post-investment management mechanism of international head PE funds. AGF emphasizes proactive and personalized post-investment management, builds a unique team of customized services and post-investment supporting experts, provides "adaptive" solutions to various problems and demands of portfolios, and passes them the management methodology.
AGF has appended a professional marketing consultant department in the post-investment side, which is under the responsibility of Nison Yao, the new Operating Director. Mr. Yao has been deeply involved in the manufacturing industry since his employment. He has been in important positions in Marketing of local and multinational companies and delivered great results. He has rich practical experience in strategic positioning, marketing, and operation of enterprises. AGF helps portfolios to build specific clear business paths and market expansion plans, integrate green ecosystem resources for precise docking, and create sustainable value.
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SOURCE Asia Green Fund | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:04 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ |
The following is a listing of all home transfers in the Flint area reported from July 24 to July 30. There were 26 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 2,172-square-foot home on Westover pass. in Grand Blanc that sold for $300,000.
Fenton
722 N. East Street, Fenton, $135,000, 976 square feet, $138 per square-foot, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
322 W. Caroline Street, Fenton, $195,000, 822 square feet, $237 per square-foot, two bedrooms and one bathroom.
9392 Faussett Road, Fenton, $305,000, 1,872 square feet, $163 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
16062 Pavilion Drive, Fenton, $540,000, 2,440 square feet, $221 per square-foot, four bathrooms.
13325 Pomona Drive, Fenton, $590,000, 1,900 square feet, $311 per square-foot, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
12183 Margaret Drive, Fenton, $1,100,000, 2,946 square feet, $373 per square-foot, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Flushing
1071 Nichols Road, Flushing, $101,000, 700 square feet, $144 per square-foot, one bedroom and one bathroom.
315 Chamberlain Street, Flushing, $135,000, 962 square feet, $140 per square-foot, one bathroom.
5407 N. Seymour Road, Flushing, $165,000, 1,320 square feet, $125 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
10124 Frances Road, Flushing, $189,900, 1,294 square feet, $147 per square-foot, three bedrooms and one bathroom.
6454 Royal Club Drive, Flushing, $219,900, 1,414 square feet, $156 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
8187 N. Elms Road, Flushing, $425,000, 2,168 square feet, $196 per square-foot, two bathrooms.
Grand Blanc
5480 Independence Colony Road, Grand Blanc, $105,000, 1,000 square feet, $105 per square-foot, three bedrooms and one bathroom.
5443 Ole Banner Trail, Grand Blanc, $200,000, 1,180 square feet, $169 per square-foot, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
1171 Hollyhock Drive, Grand Blanc, $230,000, 1,696 square feet, $136 per square-foot, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
630 Perry Creek Drive, Grand Blanc, $255,000, 1,352 square feet, $189 per square-foot, two bedrooms and three bathrooms.
604 Westover pass., Grand Blanc, $300,000, 2,172 square feet, $138 per square-foot, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
6374 Prairie Dunes Drive, Grand Blanc, $342,000, 1,804 square feet, $190 per square-foot, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
5521 Chatham Lane, Grand Blanc, $362,000, 1,892 square feet, $191 per square-foot, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Linden
5024 Lahring Road, Linden, $269,900, 1,480 square feet, $182 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
310 Pine Valley Court, Linden, $300,000, 2,134 square feet, $141 per square-foot, three bedrooms and four bathrooms.
6389 Oak Leaf Trail, Linden, $329,000, 1,406 square feet, $234 per square-foot, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
16065 Silver Bend Drive, Linden, $357,000, 1,550 square feet, $230 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
1421 Ripley Road, Linden, $495,000, 2,521 square feet, $196 per square-foot, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
11180 Woodhaven, Linden, $615,000, 3,074 square feet, $200 per square-foot, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
8047 Kovacs Drive, Linden, $640,000, 1,833 square feet, $349 per square-foot, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.. | https://www.mlive.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-homes-sold-in-the-flint-area-july-24-to-july-30.html | 2023-07-31T09:14:07 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-homes-sold-in-the-flint-area-july-24-to-july-30.html |
LOGAN, Utah, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyrusher, the professional e-bike producer, will launch pre-sales of the Nitro, the company's first mid-motor model, in late-July. This is an ebike with great comfort and speed for your 2023 riding adventure. Riders will enjoy a pleasant and effortless ride on the Nitro, as well as greater power, speed and control compared to a hub motor electric bike.
The Nitro, appearing as the first mid-motor model, integrates design aesthetics, technological innovation and a variety of other factors to ensure riders have a pleasant and smooth riding experience that exceeds expectations.
An attractive aesthetic design style - three color options
The Nitro follows the color-rich design style of the Cyrusher models while incorporating its own design aesthetics, making it a colorful option for many riders. The Nitro has a color-blocking design that keeps the black color of the rear frame while varying the fork gradient colorways to create a unique frame style. The Nitro is available in three color options, black red, and blue, to suit different rider preferences.
The ultimate speed experience - the mid-motor configuration
There is no doubt that this mid-motor Nitro was developed to meet the needs of the rider. The highly effective mid-mounted motor, which has been improved to provide an unprecedented level of power, is the most significant addition to the updated Nitro. The utterly improved 1000W Bafang mid-drive motor makes the e-bike's ride feel more dynamic responding readily to the rider even at maximum speed. To optimise the bike's balance, the mid-mounted motor is incorporated directly into the pedals and cranks. This also results in more efficient power transmission from the motor and higher climbing ability and weight lifting capability.
In addition, unlike other hub motor categories, the Nitro delivers 160 Nm of torque power, offering more flexibility for speed variation and a genuinely powerful speed sensation.
Powerful energy supply - 48V 20Ah Samsung Li-battery
The battery that powers the mid-mounted engine on the Nitro is still as secure, water-resistant and durable as the usual model. In combination with the mid-motor's more efficient power transmission, the 48V 20Ah battery allows the bike to cover up to 85 miles with its reliable capacity. Along with extending the vehicle's lifespan and durability, it can efficiently charge up to 800 cycles, making it an extremely cost-effective option.
Safe braking capability - hydraulic brakes
To improve braking power, Nitro chose twin-piston calipers. The twin-piston calipers allow for a larger surface area of contact with the brake rotors which increases the friction when the brakes are applied. Hydraulic brakes enable quicker braking reactions and improved traffic safety. The extra engine cut-off feature ensures that the brakes can be applied quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency, providing an extra layer of safety and security. The Nitro helps the rider cycle freely on the road and stop easier, achieving a better balance between thrill and safety.
Solid road pioneering - puncture-resistant fat tires
Nitro, with a 26*4 fat tire, is developed to be a powerful means of transportation. Fat tires offer much better traction and cushioning than regular tires, allowing you to easily navigate through difficult terrains like sand and mud. Therefore, Nitro is a great tool for exploring the city and the outdoors, with the ability to twist and turn through crowded streets, climb steep slopes and ride along soft beaches. Besides providing stability on slippery surfaces, Nitro can handle higher speeds with less chance of blowouts.
The top comfort escort - front and rear air shock absorption
The powerful Nitro is a full suspension electric bike with front and rear air suspension, guaranteeing maximum comfort. It offers better cushioning than previous generations. The adjustable front and rear air suspension features the highest configuration, allowing it to take on more challenging terrain without sacrificing comfort. It offers 135mm of thread that can be adjusted separately for terrain variations, boosting the damping effect for an enjoyable riding experience.
Reliable load capacity - upgraded to 200kg load capacity
The Nitro was designed with a mid-motor that reduces the bike's center of gravity, giving it outstanding balance. This allows the bike to carry up to 200kg of cargo. Additionally, its high load capacity ensures that the bike's weight doesn't negatively impact its performance.
Smooth gear transport - Shimano 10-speed transmission
The drive system's reliability is essential in order to ensure that the Nitro will be able to take full advantage of its improved high torque capabilities. The Shimano transmission helps to reduce wear and tear on the chain, making it more durable and efficient. The 10-speed pedal assist mode option gives riders the flexibility to choose the speed setting that perfectly suits their needs, ensuring that the bike can be tailored to meet the requirements of any type of rider.
All the details are there - the accessories
The Nitro comes with its own Led front and rear tail lights which provide excellent illumination and make sure that the rider is able to ride in dimly lit conditions. And, the Nitro has an updated Bafang back-lit display that allows the rider to more clearly track data such as speed, battery life, range and pedal assist levels.
Reliable after-sales service
The Cyrusher team consistently prioritizes the customer's needs and provides them with outstanding service. The team is available for customer inquiries and feedback 24/7 and offers fast and efficient response times. A long-term guarantee with a two-year product warranty backs the Nitro. The reliable customer service demonstrates Cyrusher's commitment to customer satisfaction, giving Cyrusher a distinct competitive edge.
Price tag
Priced at $4499, the powerful Nitro opens up even more riding possibilities for riders. The Nitro is equipped with a powerful engine and advanced features such as an adjustable suspension and quick brakes. This makes it a great choice for riders looking for a performance-oriented ride. If you are interested in the powerful Nitro, you can find more details on the official website.
What is the significance of the development of a Nitro?
Sustainable energy solution for a greener planet
Cyrusher has always been committed to green and sustainable development, exporting green travel vehicles worldwide and launching high-quality electric mobility tools to support sustainable development. By developing Nitro, Cyrusher demonstrates its commitment to its original goal. Nitro is an innovative and powerful electric bike that offers riders the ultimate convenience, comfort and performance. The company is helping to reduce carbon footprints and support a green earth by encouraging more people to cycle.
Leading the industry to new heights
A healthy competitive relationship provides a favourable opportunity for the industry to upgrade and change. The Cyrusher e-bike has been designed to maintain its own unique characteristics while responding to the changing market trends and offering more competitive value-for-money models to meet the needs of cyclists of all ages and performance levels. The launch of the Nitro is Cyrusher's newest work in the mid-motor field. With high quality range, powerful running ability and ultimate comfort, it is undoubtedly the most competitive product of its kind. Cyrusher will keep improving its technology and services in the future to offer better value to more riders and set a new benchmark for the sector.
A constant insight into customer needs
The Nitro is based on the company's insights into user needs and changing industry standards. Cyrusher insists on being user-centred, with high-quality components that have been repeatedly researched, tested and polished over a long period of time. The Nitro integrates comfort, safety and stability to bring riders the ultimate rewarding experience beyond expectations. The Nitro can be used freely on any road and with the wind blowing gently in your face, you'll have a more comfortable and enjoyable riding experience. Cyrusher is always moving forward and making great strides.
About Cyrusher
Cyrusher is a reputable producer of electric bicycles for professionals that have been successfully marketed in more than 10 nations worldwide. The brand's electric bicycles pass rigorous international quality tests and meet CE, UL, Rhos and FCC requirements. Additionally, Australia, China, the EU, Japan, Korea and the USA have registered and approved the brand. An offline store test-ride service has also been introduced in a number of nations, including the USA, UK and France. Cyrusher will keep expanding its range of vehicles to satisfy the needs of more riders, offering a solution for zero-carbon, fast and convenient urban commuting.
Cyrusher Contact:
UK official website: www.cyrusher.co.uk
US official website: www.cyrusher.com
French official website: www.cyrusher.fr
German official website: www.cyrusher.de
Phone: 01134900889
Email: support@cyrusher.com
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SOURCE cyrusher | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:11 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ |
Dear Annie: I’m in my late 30s. Is it rude to ignore a much older boomer friend who constantly texts me asking dumb, ridiculous questions? This person has always been out of touch, but lately they’ve been extra annoying for some reason. Every time I answer, it just extends the conversation, so when can I cut them off? And how? -- A Ghost
Dear Ghost: If you don’t want to hear from your friend, then simply stop replying to his questions.
Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-annie-so-many-ridiculous-questions-so-little-time.html | 2023-07-31T09:14:13 | 0 | https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/07/dear-annie-so-many-ridiculous-questions-so-little-time.html |
SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 China Digital Entertainment Congress commenced on Thursday alongside ChinaJoy, the country's largest gaming event. Lu Xiaoyin, Co-CEO and President of Perfect World Co., Ltd, as well as the CEO of Perfect World Games, was among the esteemed guests in attendance.
During his keynote speech, Lu emphasized the rapid development of the Chinese gaming industry, which has greatly benefited from the country's "digitalization" strategies. He highlighted the industry plays a crucial role in promoting digitalization across various sectors, including empowering the real economy, driving technological innovation, and preserving cultural heritage.
Lu lauded Chinese games for their exceptional ability to embody the essence of Chinese culture, offering a wealth of inspiration for game development. In line with this approach, Perfect World integrates elements of China's cultural heritage into its games. For instance, the company has artfully incorporated China's intangible cultural heritage, Suzhou embroidery, into its mobile game "Tower of Fantasy", and showcased the beauty of Chinese traditional opera Huangmei Opera in another mobile game "Zhuxian".
Lu highlighted the inseparable connection between technology and the gaming industry. Specifically, he emphasized the pivotal role of digital intelligence technologies like generative AI in optimizing game content creation and production methods.
Perfect World recognized the potential of AI technology several years ago and took significant steps by establishing an AI center. This center serves as a hub for applying AI across different production chains, including NPC creation, modeling, painting, and story development.
The gaming industry is driven by technologies like VR, AR, and AI, which inject vitality into the broader economy. Perfect World has collaborated with local governments and scenic spots to incorporate digital scenes into tourism to offer tourists a captivating experience.
Lu emphasized Perfect World is a R&D-oriented enterprise, with high-quality products serving as the cornerstone of the company's growth. The company focuses on two main categories: "MMO+" and "card+". On one hand, it upgrades classic MMORPG genres, introducing mobile games like "New Swordsman", "World of Jade Dynasty", "Fantasy New Jade Dynasty", and "Perfect New World". On the other hand, it creates games of different genres, such as "One Punch Man: World", "Persona 5: The Phantom X" and "Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur: Ring".
Additionally, Perfect World actively pursues the distribution of its games overseas, with "Tower of Fantasy" achieving remarkable success since its release in August 2022, and soon to be launched on PlayStation.
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SOURCE Perfect World | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:17 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ |
BEIJING, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Culture and art can bring minds and the world together. With this in mind, the second episode of season three of the China Daily series Youth Power, "Unlocking the power of art: How cultural exchanges can connect the world," was broadcast online on July 30.
Gen Zers from China, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Thailand gathered at the Dalian campus of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and discussed how artistic beauty can bring the world together and how to face the challenges that artificial intelligence present to art.
What is the essence of beauty? What unique influence does Chinese art have on Gen Zers? What spiritual pursuits are reflected in Chinese art and aesthetics?
In this episode of Youth Power, each Gen Z guest brought an art piece that they believed would best represent the Chinese concept of art and beauty. In doing so they gained a deeper understanding of Chinese aesthetics, philosophy and culture.
Giacomo Bruni, an Italian studying at the China Academy of Art in Beijing, said brushes are the most important tools in expressing Chinese culture because they are central to calligraphy, writing poetry and painting.
"Like the hardness of the handle and the softness of the hair, the brush encapsulates the idea of yin and Yang," Bruni said. The brush not only encapsulates the creativity of the world, but also epitomizes the profound ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, he said.
Song De'ao, a Chinese Gen Zer, chose the official mascots for Chinese winter sports designed by a team at the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts as his ideal representation of Chinese aesthetics.
Song, a member of the design team, recalled the inspiration for the mascot Xue Wa, which wears tiger-head hats, tiger-head shoes, and cloud patterns and longevity locks on the clothing. "The mascots reflect the lively and cheerful aesthetics in modern China," Song said.
Jiratchaya Phinyoworakul, a Thai studying at Fudan University in Shanghai, highlighted two features that distinguish Chinese artworks from those of other countries and cultures: cultural extensiveness and profoundness as well as a philosophy centering on harmony between humankind and nature.
The program host, Zhong Yutong, said it is through exchanges that Chinese arts increase in vibrancy and vitality.
"Chinese arts have so much to offer. And we've had wonderful exchanges with different arts and civilizations across the world."
Bruni said art Chinese art is all-encompassing, perfectly merging all types of art. He cited Chinese literati paintings, a kind of painting that expresses feelings and aspirations through natural scenery, as an example, illustrating that "they unify the intellectual world and the practical art world, which is something that is missing in Western countries".
Program guests said there is no absolute definition of art and no universally recognized standard of beauty. Lian Liia, a student from Russia, said "the standard of art is changing in the art history, but there is one thing that has never changed, namely people's pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty".
Phinyoworakul said art is tantamount to comfort. "Even little things can be art. A smile on your face, a flower, sunshine, everything can be art. Art is in our everyday life."
Concerning the combination and contradiction of traditional art and fast-developing AI art creation, Bruni said artists screen information like filters of society. They find beauty and create art, but do not mechanically record and present everything around them. However, this is not true of AI, because it cannot grasp the concept of beauty.
Sun Yuxin of China said AI could positively influence the development of art. "AI saves a lot of time for artists, and it helps them with a lot of basic work."
Gen Zers have also contributed their wisdom in helping the world appreciate the beauty of Chinese art. Promoting Chinese aesthetics through social media could help people understand it more directly, Phinyoworakul said.
Lian Liia, a student at the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University in Beijing, said, "We can promote Chinese culture as a lifestyle. For example, doing calligraphy or drinking tea to experience Chinese culture in our daily life."
Youth Power, organized by China Daily and first broadcast in June 2021, aims to build a global platform of communication and exchange, focusing on the interests and ideas of Generation Z. The program comes in the form of interviews, forums and speeches, with topics related to anything of current interest in the world.
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SOURCE China Daily | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:23 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:26 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
- Back to Hogwarts returns on 1st September, inviting Harry Potter fans from all over the world to mark the moment the Hogwarts Express departs from King's Cross for the start of term
- Fans can join themed events, watch parties, digital and real-life celebrations that promise to be bigger and better than ever
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on Harry Potter's birthday, Wizarding World announces the return of its Back to Hogwarts celebrations, alongside a search for the UK's most enthusiastic Harry Potter fan to lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
The Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling have had a huge impact on fans around the globe, having sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into over 85 languages since they were first published by Bloomsbury and Scholastic 25 years ago.
Beginning as a fan celebration, Back to Hogwarts is recognised as one of the biggest days in any Harry Potter fan's calendar – marking the moment when students would board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dressed in their finest cosplay, thousands of fans make the trip to London's King's Cross station each year and more come together online to raise their wands for the countdown and share their love of the stories.
Bringing Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs together, this year celebrations are bigger than ever with the launch of a UK competition for one lucky fan between age five and seventeen years old to get the chance to travel to King's Cross and help host the countdown on 1st September. The competition is live and young wizards and witches wishing to enter can submit a video of their best countdown online (via a parent or guardian) by 11.59pm on 7th August.
The magic doesn't stop there! This lucky winner (plus a parent or guardian) will get the chance to pack their trunks once again to come back to the capital with a complete package of Harry Potter experiences. The ultimate Harry Potter London Breaks Experience gives this fan the opportunity to discover the filmmaking magic of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter and see the critically acclaimed stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. To top it off, the winner will receive an incredible merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop. Full details on prize entry can be found here.
Until 3rd September an array of magical experiences awaits at King's Cross as fans get the chance to sip on Butterbeer, play Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation®5 courtesy of Warner Bros. Games, and enjoy LEGO® Harry Potter giveaways and photo opportunities. Additionally, in celebration of the publication of The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, fans will also be able to spin Bloomsbury's giant wand spinner and find out whose wand they are best suited to, with free gifts up for grabs for those taking part.
Festivities aren't contained to the station… why not relive the movie magic on the big screen? Theatres around the world will be putting on special Harry Potter screenings for Back to Hogwarts. In the UK, Everyman will screen all eight films at Everyman Kings Cross and select Harry Potter movies at their cinemas nationwide. ODEON will present Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets nationwide over the course of the weekend. US fans can get their fix at Cinemark where more than 250 theatres will be showing an exclusive re-release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1&2. Down Under? Join in the fun at 15 locations of Village Cinemas across Victoria, Australia as they host screenings of the final two Deathly Hallows films in the iconic series. Further theatres and locations will be announced soon, including screenings in Barcelona and Madrid.
Pam Lifford, President, Global Brands, Franchises and Experiences, at Warner Bros. Discovery, said: "Back to Hogwarts is a day cherished by Harry Potter fans of all ages, from all over the world. Just like their passion for the magic of the stories, their celebrations grow every year! 2023 is set to be a year like no other – we will see fan world record attempts in Germany, high octane quiz competitions in France and of course, the UK's search to find the perfect person to join that amazing countdown. We are so proud to offer new and exciting ways to bring fans together and give them new ways to celebrate the Harry Potter magic – there's nothing quite like Back To Hogwarts!"
Check out Wizarding World Digital at www.wizardingworld.com for all the Back to Hogwarts updates, including the latest UK activity and info on what's happening in Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China and more. Look out for news too on how to get involved with Harry Potter Watch Parties (MAX US subscribers will be able to join and watch-along on 1st September) and when to tune into the Back to Hogwarts Digital Showcase.
Join the global community of millions of members following the fun on social and don't forget to sign up to the Harry Potter Fan Club!
Website: www.wizardingworld.com/harry-potter-fan-club.
Instagram: @wizardingworld https://www.instagram.com/wizardingworld/?hl=en
Hashtag: #BacktoHogwarts
About The Wizarding World
In the years since Harry Potter was whisked from King's Cross station onto Platform nine and three quarters, his incredible adventures have left a unique and lasting mark on popular culture. Eight blockbuster Harry Potter films based on the original stories by J.K. Rowling have brought the magical stories to life and today, the Wizarding World is recognised as one of the world's best-loved brands.
Representing a vast interconnected universe, it also includes three epic Fantastic Beasts films, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child – the multi-award-winning stage-play, state-of-the-art video and mobile games from Portkey Games, innovative consumer products, thrilling live entertainment (including four theme park lands) and insightful exhibitions, as well as a forthcoming Harry Potter TV series.
This expanding portfolio of Warner Bros. Discovery owned Wizarding World experiences also includes Harry Potter New York – the iconic flagship store, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, and the Harry Potter Shop online and retail shops.
The Wizarding World continues to evolve to provide Harry Potter fans with fresh and exciting ways to engage. For the worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, it welcomes everyone in to explore and discover the magic for themselves.
About Back to Hogwarts
On 1st September, fans from all generations and corners of the globe come together to celebrate a very special day in the wizarding world calendar: Back to Hogwarts. Having started as an organic fan celebration many years ago, today Back to Hogwarts is an annual tradition recognised as one of the biggest moments in the Harry Potter fan's calendar when wizards and witches board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for a year of magical adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a unique celebration, each year fans come together online and in real life to celebrate the magic of these beloved stories and unite with their community.
UK Activity - About The Competition
Parents and guardians can enter their child by 7th August to help lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown at 11.00am on 1st September 2023 at King's Cross station and win a bundle of Harry Potter prizes.
The Wizarding World is searching for an enthusiastic, confident young fan to lead all the young wizards, witches and Muggles in the countdown moment. For the opportunity to lead the countdown, the parent or guardian of the applicant must send a video lasting no longer than 20 seconds, counting down from ten, showing how they would lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
Entrants must be based in the UK and Northern Ireland, aged between 5 and 17 years old, and details for entering the competition are detailed at https://www.wizardingworld.com/terms/back-to-hogwarts-2023-uk-countdown-competition-terms
Entries must be sent via email to BackToHogwarts@premiercomms.com and must be sent via a file sharing platform such as WeTransfer or DropBox.
The opportunity to enter opened at 12.00am on 31st July and will close at 11.59pm on 7th August. The successful applicant will be informed by 18th August.
The Competition Prize
- Lead the fans in a countdown at 11.00am BST to launch the Hogwarts Express announcement on 1st September 2023
- First to enter Back to Hogwarts fan zone at King's Cross station
- Wizarding World London Breaks - Ultimate Experience: 1 nights' accommodation, 2x tickets to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, 2x tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for winner and one parent/guardian – to be redeemed at a later date
- A Wizarding World merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop
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SOURCE Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:30 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rhythmic hum of spinning blades slicing through the salty sea breeze, rows of white giants stick out of the Yellow Sea like something out of a science fiction novel. This is the world's first crop of offshore wind turbines in an intertidal zone - the Longyuan Rudong Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm - in East China's Jiangsu Province, an area characterized by rapid industrialization and urbanization.
For senior engineer Ji Xiaoqiang, this crop of windmills is not only a technological marvel, but a childhood dream come true. Today, a total of 150 turbines generate 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 223,000 households. Such results bring comfort to Ji, whose childhood memories are filled with occasional large-scale blackouts.
Each turbine is a testament to China's unwavering commitment to stably harnessing the power of nature while serving industrialization needs, and China's wise solutions to a cleaner future for many developing countries in the world.
China has accelerated its pace in implementing clean energy solutions, building the world's largest clean power generation system, exporting successful lessons, becoming an important force in promoting global clean energy development, and committing to making green, affordable electricity truly accessible to millions of households.
Huge potential to be tapped
Visiting the Longyuan Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm, Global Times reporters were impressed by the colossal turbines fitted to each windmill, as well as the size of the blades, each of which is half the size of the Eiffel Tower.
How did Chinese engineers manage to transport these giants from land to sea using domestically innovated technologies?
Ji Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the offshore engineering department at the Jiangsu Longyuan Offshore Wind Power Co, Ltd (Longyuan Power), affiliated with the China Energy Investment Corporation, explained that the turbines are partially assembled on shore, and then shipped out to sea where each blade is attached with surgical precision to the top of a turbine. Every angle must be accurate to generate maximum power.
On a narrow 90-meter-high operating platform hanging over the Yellow Sea, Ji makes his rounds at the wind farm, carefully inspecting and servicing the turbines - a job not for the faint of heart.
"Sticking chopsticks in tofu" is the most vivid metaphor for the intertidal wind power foundation construction.
China has abundant offshore wind energy storage. According to China's National Meteorological Bureau's estimates, the sea area within the 5 to 25-meter water depth line, or intertidal zone, has a potential generating capacity of about 200 million kilowatts. That means one hour of electricity generation could power at least 92 million homes for a year, according to calculation.
Take Jiangsu as an example. Its coastal area has abundant, peaceful wind resources, and strong grid structures, making it a great choice for the development of a wind power industry, Ji told the Global Times. But offshore exploration is far more difficult than onshore.
China's offshore wind power development lagged in the early stages. Ji and his fellow engineers have long been trying to figure out how to change the game.
It wasn't until 2011 that Ji and his team finally found the answer which marked the start of the era of large-scale Chinese offshore wind power generation.
A difficult conquest
Initially, Ji and his colleagues attempted to choose concrete-poured foundations as they typically would for onshore windfarms. However, experience on land is hard to transfer. Even a millimeter-level deviation in verticality could pose a risk of hundreds of tons of generator towers collapsing into the sea, Ji said.
"We learned that the mainstream foreign solution was to put a sleeve at the connection between the foundation and the tower, fill it with the grouting material, and use the sleeve to balance the inclination. This sleeve acts as a key piece of equipment, like a 'waist,' for balancing the entire body of the generator. However, high-strength grouting material for the sleeve was not available domestically at that time, and relying on imports was too expensive and not wise for commercial use," Ji explained.
Against this backdrop, Ji and his team deliberated with experts, brainstormed multiple solutions, and finally created an innovative pile driver, which is like a giant hand that can grip a single pile and keeps it vertical when it is hammered into the seabed, maintaining the verticality error rate at below 0.2 percent.
This eliminates the need for a transition sleeve and grouting material, dramatically reduces overall costs, and increases construction speed, fully meeting the needs of large-scale construction.
"It's a historic moment for our offshore wind power in China, and this innovative solution is now widely used in the domestic market. This can be learned by many countries that are eager to develop clean energy at a high speed," Ji said.
Such innovative attempts are never smooth sailing. This plan encountered failures in its first two attempts. It nearly cost the project all early investment, and Ji was also dogged by doubts expressed at home and abroad.
But it did not deter this young engineer. He quickly made adjustments to the solution, and polished the details with his team. It wasn't until days later, when cheers erupted after a successful third pile drive, that Ji set off firecrackers that he'd been saving for that very moment.
Ji looked at the wind turbines, which his team nicknamed "white dolphins," emerging from the seaside in front of him and sighed with relief that people would not experience power outages caused by unstable voltage and industrial power overloads as he did as a child.
Ji told the Global Times that the marginal cost of wind power is relatively low, and China's solution is a good reference for coastal countries.
Harmony with nature
Along the coast of Rudong, flying birds and sea windmills decorate the distant skyline. Bird watching enthusiasts from across the country gather here as the sun sets, to observe rare birds such as the spoon-billed Snipe, armed with state-of-the-art cameras, a beautiful and impressive scene.
Harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is a basic principle in China's ecological civilization construction and a distinct feature of China's vivid and effective practice along its path to modernization.
Moreover, ecological civilization is a new requirement in the realization of harmonious development between humanity and nature. Such a principle is also upheld by China's offshore wind power development.
In 2012, Longyuan Power, for example, signed China's earliest marine ecological restoration agreement with local governments for offshore wind farms. At present, it has made an investment of about 56 million yuan in ecological conservation in Jiangsu Province, for Yellow Sea breeding and release efforts, wetland environmental improvement, bird protection facility construction, and marine environment tracking and monitoring.
Technology export
On June 28, with the completion of the final blade's mounting, the world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine was successfully installed in East China's Fujian Province on the offshore wind farm owned by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).
China's approach to offshore wind from scratch offers a solution to many countries, especially with regard to coastal regions, on how they can personalize their own energy development with innovative technologies, to achieve harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, which are part of a global community of shared future.
In 2022, China's wind power installed capacity reached 365 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for the 13th consecutive year. The figure was about 1.4 times that of the EU at the end of 2020 and 2.6 times that of the US, according to data released by China's National Energy Administration.
China's cost-effective offshore wind power technology marks a historic leap in the country's wind power from following others to be a world leader. China has also exported some homemade wind turbines to countries including Thailand, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.
China's efforts to promote sustainable development and energy security for all nations demonstrate a commitment to global well-being.
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SOURCE Global Times | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:36 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ |
HANZHONG, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanzhong in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on his way back to Beijing on Saturday. During his visit to the municipal museum, Xi emphasized making good use of museums. He also called for efforts to expand the influence of Chinese culture.
"I was in Hanzhong in 2008 after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake to oversee the relief work. Hanzhong has always been in my heart over the years," Xi told local residents. Xi said he was delighted to see huge changes of the city since then.
With an exhibition area of nearly 2,000 square meters, the Hanzhong Museum in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province is not the grandest museum in China, but it is a historical telescope allowing visitors to have a retrospective view of Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) history dating back to as far as 2,000 years ago.
Unlike many other museums across the country built to house more recent historical relics, the Hanzhong Museum itself embodies the history that encompasses three heritage sites with the ancient Hantai (Lit: Han palace), once the royal residence of the founder of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, at its core.
Heritage sites-turned museum
Including the ruin of ancient Hantai, a notable feature of the Hanzhong Museum was it built in 1985 consisting of two other Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) heritage sites, the Baijiang altar and the "Yin Ma Chi," a pool facility common in ancient times for accommodating horses.
Visitors are first greeted by the ancient Hantai once they enter the museum, which is seven meters high. The millennium-old architecture was constructed using typical man-made rammed earth and its design characters show architectural aesthetics prominent in China's Qin (221BC-206BC), Han and Southern Song (1127-1279) dynasties.
Liao Shuguang, an architectural expert of ancient Chinese buildings, told the Global Times that the ancient Hantai's functions would change "according to history's change." It was once home to Liu Bang, but was later renovated in the Southern Song Dynasty to become a backyard garden with a gazebo on the building's roof.
Although the ancient Hantai changed roles, its historical importance remained unchanged as it witnessed Liu's founding of the Han Dynasty, one of the powerful dynasties in the Chinese history to have "unified yet diverse" cultural and political beliefs, historian Tao Zhongjun, told the Global Times.
"Including the belief of a 'unified country,' the Han Dynasty left behind a diverse legacy including the governing Confucius mindset and Silk Road exchanges with the western region of Asia and the world. They continue to inspire us today," Tao noted.
Aside from the ancient Hantai, the Baijiang altar, another major element of the museum, was built in 206BC. It was where the then governor Liu Bang would praise the talent and wisdom of his loyal officer Han Xin.
Museum expert Li Zhiming told the Global Times that such heritage sites turned cultural spaces are "living proof of Chinese history," and a good way of making use of the museum is to "properly maintain it while enriching its collection that possesses local cultural characters."
The art of Shudao
Hanzhong was a major stop along the ancient road system Shudao that connected China's Guanzhong Plain with the Chengdu Plain.
The Baoxie plank road, an ancient mountain road that traversed the Qinling Mountain, was also located in Hanzhong and brought an abundant supply of Shudao cultural artifacts.
Inside the Hanzhong Museum, there is a gallery dedicated to the ancient plank road. Shi Men Shi San Pin, also known as the 13 cliff stone carvings of the Shi Men, are a part of the museum's collection.
As an important section of the Shudao, Shi Men was a tunnel at the southern end of the Baoxie plank road. The walls of the tunnel as well as the cliffs of the Baoxie river, were carved with numerous historical inscriptions among which the 13 pieces collected by the museum were the "rarest of the rare," relic expert Xiang Zhengming told the Global Times.
Amongst the 13 carving pieces, the Shi Men Song (Lit: the Eulogy of Shi Men) is a highlight. It embodies the aesthetic essence of Han Dynasty's clerical script calligraphic style. In 1936, China's large-scale encyclopedia Cihai (lit: the sea of the words) took the two Chinese characters for "sea" and "word" discovered from the carving stones to be used on the cover.
"The collection at the Hanzhong Museum holds value in which one can look into China's calligraphic art and can be useful to historians in understanding the then social and cultural scenes," Xiang told the Global Times.
Some other carved pieces have also revealed the secrets of Han Dynasty's water project construction.
Including the 13 treasures, the Hanzhong Museum holds over 5,000 pieces of cultural artifacts that tell the changing cultural history of the city and the nation.
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SOURCE Global Times | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:43 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ |
BlackBerry QNX and BlackBerry IVY to serve as the software foundation for alliance's EV projects
WATERLOO, ON and TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced that the Mobility in Harmony (MIH) Consortium, a Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd, (Foxconn)-initiated group, that seeks to create an open ecosystem to transform and accelerate innovation within the electric vehicle industry, has selected BlackBerry to provide the foundation for its next-generation platform.
MIH will use a range of BlackBerry software and services to serve as the safe and secure software foundation for the consortium's open and agnostic electric vehicle platform with a unique modular design approach. Project X, one of the MIH EV projects, will be a single-row three-seater geared towards Asian consumers, and is set to be unveiled in Japan in late 2023. MIH will also release six-seater and nine-seater vehicle platforms in the coming years to provide more vehicle segment choices, and to enable greater innovation.
As part of the agreement, MIH will utilize the company's trusted, safety-certified BlackBerry® QNX® product portfolio and award-winning cloud-connected, automotive AI platform, BlackBerry IVY™, including QNX Software Development Platform (SDP 7.1) licenses, QNX middleware technologies, as well as engineering professional services for system-level integration, performance optimization, and solution validation.
"MIH is committed to driving an open and agnostic ecosystem, with a focus that goes beyond just electric vehicles. Our ambition lies in crafting intelligent user experiences that enhance smart living and redefine the future of mobility and green logistics. BlackBerry's alignment with MIH's vision makes them the perfect partner for our goals. We anticipate deeper collaboration to realize our shared vision to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and we're thrilled about our partnership with BlackBerry," said Jack Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at MIH Consortium.
Mattias Eriksson, President, BlackBerry IoT commented: "The Foxconn-led MIH Consortium has articulated an ambitious and compelling vision focused on accelerating innovation in the EV ecosystem. As the leading foundational software for the intelligent edge, BlackBerry QNX helps our customers and partners turbocharge their software development efforts. Companies all over the world, deploy BlackBerry's high-performance, safe and secure foundational software to allow their own internal resources to focus on layers higher up in the software stack. They trust us for the 'plumbing,' so they can confidently dedicate their work to software directly impacting their customers' experiences. This accelerates development, improves safety and security, while reducing overall costs. We are excited to join the MIH consortium and look forward to helping them execute on their vision of transforming the overall EV industry."
For more information about the MIH Consortium please visit: MIH | Mobility in Harmony (mih-ev.org).
For more information on how BlackBerry QNX can help with building the safe and secure vehicles of tomorrow, please visit: BlackBerry.QNX.com.
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint management, endpoint security, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.
For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.
Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.
About MIH Consortium
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), a global leader in smart manufacturing, introduced MIH, its software and hardware open platform for EVs, in 2020 and initiated the formation of the MIH Consortium in 2021. Foxconn aims to position MIH as the "Android system of the EV industry." Foxconn is inviting automakers, manufacturers, and supply chain partners to join the MIH to collaborate. MIH's mission is to lower barriers to entry into the EV industry, accelerate innovation, and shorten development cycles by realizing key technologies and developing reference designs and standards. Currently, the MIH has more than 2,600 members.
For More: https://www.mih-ev.org/
Media Contacts:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com
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SOURCE BlackBerry Limited | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:49 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ |
The Vehicle, Merchandise and Accessories Collaboration is part of Gogoro and MUJI's Joint "Recycling for Good" Sustainability Initiative that Enables the Public to Recycle Polypropylene Plastic (PP) Waste for use in the new Gogoro MUJI Smartscooters.
TAIPEI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, today announced a collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and MUJI, the Tokyo-based consumer goods and lifestyle company. The newly designed Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME along with a range of merchandise and accessories were launched today at a press event in Taipei.
Created by Gogoro and MUJI, the Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME offer simplified Smartscooter designs that utilize recycled polypropylene (PP) body elements. Personally curated by Fukasawa, the Smartscooters adopt the classic MUJI design elements, unique rustic color palette and simple color tone philosophy to create a new urban mobility experience that is simple and comfortable yet unique.
"The most important thing in design is that it must always uphold the spirit of integrity towards people, the environment and life," said Naoto Fukasawa, world-renowned designer, author, educator and MUJI's advisory board member. "Both Gogoro and MUJI are quite popular brands, and it is very natural for them to cooperate in this way. It's not just one plus one equals two. Instead, let one plus one see a greater value."
Gogoro pioneered the mass market manufacturing of recyclable polypropylene plastics for vehicle body panels in 2019 with the Gogoro 3 Smartscooter and then across its full range of Gogoro Viva Smartscooters including Gogoro VIVA, Gogoro VIVA MIX and Gogoro VIVA XL. This innovative manufacturing process led to Gogoro's collaboration with MUJI.
"Naoto Fukasawa offers such a fresh and unique approach to simplicity, functionality and beauty in everything he creates, so it was an honor to work with him on our new Smartscooter designs and accessories," said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. "This collaboration between Gogoro, MUJI and Naoto Fukasawa establishes a strong unified voice in promoting sustainable lifestyles in Taiwan and across the region, not just for transportation but across all aspects of life. Our joint 'Recycling for Good' initiative promotes the reduction of urban pollution through encouraging the public to recycle plastics at Gogoro and MUJI stores and their reuse in our new Smartscooters."
Recycling for Good - A Joint Sustainability Initiative
Gogoro and MUJI share a vision for sustainability and a core philosophy of giving back to the Earth. In response to this year's World Environment Day theme #BeatPlasticPollution, the companies joined together on June 5, 2023 to launch the "Recycling for Good" initiative in Taiwan. "Recycling for Good" encourages people in Taiwan to participate in recycling PP (polypropylene) plastic waste at Gogoro and MUJI stores and empower them to take small actions toward building a more sustainable future.
Polypropylene objects recovered during the Recycling for Good initiative are screened, cut, granulated, reshaped and regenerated into the body panels of the newly unveiled Gogoro Smartscooters. The polypropylene body material is also made of the same material as MUJI's PP storage series.
"MUJI and Gogoro are continuing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle and together have created this new series of Gogoro Smartscooters that are optimized for life and the environment. Gogoro's commitment to being a sustainable business is aligned with MUJI's business philosophy," said Akihiro Yoshida, general manager of MUJI Taiwan. "MUJI is not just a store that sells goods, but it creates a simple and pleasant life through comprehensive sustainable thinking and takes practical action for sustainability of society and the earth."
Gogoro Sustainability
Today, more than 2.5 million Gogoro users have reduced carbon emissions by more than 680 million kilograms, and 100% recyclable polypropylene PP (Polypropylene) is used as the Smartscooter shell material to promote resource regeneration and friendly recycling. In addition, Gogoro has introduced 40% renewable energy in factories since 2022, and 100% use of green electricity in designated Gogoro stores, gradually moving towards the goal of fully using renewable energy by 2050.
Naoto Fukasawa / Product Designer
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University's Product Design Department in 1980. In the same year, he joined Seiko Epson, where he was responsible for advanced development design. In 1989, he moved to the United States, where he joined ID Two (now IDEO San Francisco). Having honed his craft for seven years, focusing mainly on Silicon Valley industries, he returned to Japan in 1996. Fukasawa established and headed up IDEO's Tokyo office, creating a Japanese design consultant base for the company. He went independent in 2003 and founded NAOTO FUKASAWA DESIGN. For more information on Naoto Fukasawa, visit https://naotofukasawa.com.
About MUJI
Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI in Japanese, translates as "no-brand quality goods." MUJI was founded in Japan in 1980 and now has more than 800 stores around the world, carrying more than 7,000 items. With the goal of making people's daily life pleasant, MUJI is globally recognized for its high-quality products that are functional, well designed and reasonably priced. Find us online at www.MUJI.com or Instagram: @muji_global and Twitter: @muji_net.
About MUJI Taiwan
MUJI Taiwan has been operating in Taiwan since 2004, and it has been nearly 20 years. MUJI Taiwan has always been committed to connecting with Taiwan and producing local products in Taiwan, hoping to provide customers with a good life. Find us online at www.muji.com/tw/zh_tw/store, Instagram: @muji_taiwan or Facebook: www.facebook.com/muji.tw.
About Gogoro
Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the "2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping for electric two-wheel vehicles", Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit https://www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.
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SOURCE Gogoro | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ | 2023-07-31T09:14:56 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ |
The United States vs. Portugal: Live Stream, TV Channel & Game Info - August 1
Published: Jul. 31, 2023 at 3:45 AM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
A Group E matchup between the United States and Portugal, their third and final contest in the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage, begins at 3:00 AM ET on August 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The game is on FOX US,Fox Sports 1, if you're looking for how to watch.
Watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Fubo! Sign up for a free trial and start watching live sports without cable today!
How to Watch the United States vs. Portugal
- Game Day: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
- Game Time: 3:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: FOX US,Fox Sports 1
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Venue: Eden Park
Sign up for a Fubo free trial now to watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and more live sports!
The United States Group Stage Schedule
United States' Recent Performance
- The United States' last game was a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, taking 10 shots and outshooting by seven.
- The United States was led by Lindsey Horan, who scored her team's only goal versus .
- The United States' Sophia Smith two goals and one assist in two Women's World Cup games.
- So far in two Women's World Cup games, Horan has tallied two goals.
- Rose Lavelle has not scored but has one assist during Women's World Cup matches.
Get your 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup gear at Fanatics!
United States' 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Alyssa Naeher #1
- Ashley Sanchez #2
- Sofia Huerta #3
- Naomi Girma #4
- Kelley O'Hara #5
- Lynn Williams #6
- Alyssa Thompson #7
- Julie Ertz #8
- Savannah DeMelo #9
- Lindsey Horan #10
- Sophia Smith #11
- Alana Cook #12
- Alex Morgan #13
- Emily Sonnett #14
- Megan Rapinoe #15
- Rose Lavelle #16
- Andi Sullivan #17
- Casey Murphy #18
- Crystal Dunn #19
- Trinity Rodman #20
- Aubrey Kingsbury #21
- Kristie Mewis #22
- Emily Fox #23
Portugal Group Stage Schedule
Portugal's Recent Performance
- In its most recent action on July 27, Portugal claimed a 2-0 win against Vietnam. Portugal outshot Vietnam 28 to five.
- For Portugal, Francisca Nazareth and Telma Encarnacao each scored a goal.
- In Women's World Cup, Encarnacao has collected one goal (in two matches) and one assist for Portugal.
- Lucia Alves has not scored, but does have one assist for Portugal in Women's World Cup.
- In two Women's World Cup matches, Nazareth has one goal.
Portugal's 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Ines Pereira #1
- Catarina Amado #2
- Lucia Alves #3
- Silvia Rebelo #4
- Joana Marchao #5
- Andreia Jacinto #6
- Ana Rute #7
- Andreia Norton #8
- Ana Borges #9
- Jessica Silva #10
- Tatiana Pinto #11
- Patricia Morais #12
- Fatima Pinto #13
- Dolores Silva #14
- Carole Costa #15
- Diana Silva #16
- Ana Seica #17
- Carolina Mendes #18
- Diana Gomes #19
- Francisca Nazareth #20
- Ana Capeta #21
- Rute Costa #22
- Telma Encarnacao #23
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-31T09:15:03 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:13 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Warming Up More Today with Storm Chance
Warmer and Humid with Storms Mid-Week
TODAY: Temperatures will fall into the 50s for most, upper 40s for a few folks north and west to kick-start the work week. A refreshing morning to open the windows and let some fresh air in!
Our next chance of storms will be this afternoon. There is going to be small round of showers pushing through the Valley throughout the morning in eastern ND. This is the same area we will be watching for redevelopment of thunderstorms - isolated strong/severe is possible with large hail to the size of ping pong balls and damaging wind gusts to 60 mph being the hazards with any severe storms that form.
Some smoke lingers in the valley in Northern Minnesota including Lake of the Woods through Bemidji.
Temperatures this afternoon will be warming up into the 80s. Near 80 north and mid-to-upper 80s south.
EXTENDED FORECAST
TUESDAY: A bit warmer still by Tuesday. Morning lows will be about 10 degrees warmer, in the 60s to near 70. High temperatures peak in the 80s to low 90s. The airmass will be quite warm and unstable. Strong to severe storms will develop north and trek south in the afternoon through evening. Wind and hail are again looking to the be the primary threats, though there will be a little spin in the atmosphere that may support a brief tornado.
WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY: The peak of the heat for the week comes on Wednesday as highs warm into the 80s and low 90s. A cold front arriving will bring another chance of storms. High pressure returns after Wednesday’s cold front, and temperatures for Thursday and Friday dip back into the 80s. It also looks drier to wrap up the week.
NEXT WEEKEND: We will continue to have the temperatures maintain in the mid 80s n the afternoon and 60s in the mornings. Seasonable as we continue to start off our first weekend of August.
Copyright 2021 KVLY. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/peaks-sunshine-your-week/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:19 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/peaks-sunshine-your-week/ |
Highly experienced Corporate Financier and Business Builder Will Partner with René Obermann to Further Accelerate the Growth and Momentum of the Firm's European Business
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, today announced the appointment of Andrew Sibbald as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Europe. Mr. Sibbald will work alongside veteran investor and current Co-Head of Europe, René Obermann, based in Berlin. Mr. Sibbald will succeed Adarsh Sarma, who will remain a Managing Director and Partner with the Firm, focusing on his existing portfolio. Jim Neary, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, will work closely with Andrew, René and the European team to support the firm's global strategy, portfolio management and new investments.
Based in London, Mr. Sibbald joins Warburg Pincus from Evercore, where he most recently served as Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Evercore's European investment banking business. He was previously the Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Lexicon Partners which was acquired by Evercore in 2011. With over 35 years of financial services experience, Mr. Sibbald has advised on many notable M&A and corporate finance transactions including recently: Arcmont on its sale to Nuveen; Global Risk Partners on its sale to Brown & Brown; and AA on its sale to Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook Capital.
"Andrew's impressive expertise and deep-rooted experience, particularly in Europe, advising leading companies on a variety of sophisticated transactions will serve our portfolio and investing teams well as we continue to navigate complex market dynamics," said Chip Kaye, CEO, Warburg Pincus. "We look forward to welcoming Andrew to Warburg Pincus and want to thank Adarsh for his 18+ years of service in the US and Europe," continued Jim Neary, Managing Director, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, Warburg Pincus.
"I have long admired the success and culture of Warburg Pincus and I'm thrilled to be joining the firm. I have enormous respect for René and look forward to working closely with him and the team in Europe to drive further positive momentum in the business here. Warburg Pincus has an incredibly strong reputation for creating effective partnerships with management teams all over the world to deliver sustainable value and growth, as well as attractive returns for its investors. I strongly believe that the firm's long established global platform together with its local networks and insights provide real advantages to the management teams and businesses that partner with us," said Andrew Sibbald.
Warburg Pincus is one of the leading private equity investors in Europe. Since the firm's first European transaction in 1983, the firm has invested more than $15B in over 130 companies in 23 European countries. The firm has one of the largest pools of available private equity capital in Europe and seeks to partner with management teams that are building, transforming or acquiring businesses with the potential to be market leaders with enduring value.
Prior to founding Lexicon Partners in 2000, Mr. Sibbald was a Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he led a team specializing in M&A in the financial institutions sector. He was previously a Partner in The Phoenix Partnership.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact
Kerrie Cohen | Managing Director, Head of Communications
T: +1 212 878 9207
E: kerrie.cohen@warburgpincus.com
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SOURCE Warburg Pincus | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:26 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ |
BALTIMORE — Today will be mostly rain-free with highs in the mid-80s and low humidity! Plenty of sunshine through mid-week with low humidity and temperatures in the mid-80s. Our next best chance for showers and storms will be later this week. Warming up this weekend with temperatures near 90° and mostly dry conditions.
Have a sunny day!
7 Day Forecast:
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Northwest wind around 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 86.
Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64.
Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 84.
Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Thursday A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
Thursday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Friday A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86.
Friday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
Saturday A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Saturday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. | https://www.wmar2news.com/weather/feeling-comfy-today | 2023-07-31T09:16:31 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/weather/feeling-comfy-today |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "Empowerment" is the core competence of PE/VC institutions after investment. Asia Green Fund (AGF) has always adhered to the investment strategy of "pursuing both financial returns and environmental benefits", focused on the logic of "technology empowerment", grasped the development trend of SRDI industries, and promoted technological innovation to empower industrial convergence and innovative development. AGF continues to practice the "sustainable investment strategy" and has now formed an industrial ecosystem with deep linkage among the capital side (LPs), investment side (AGF), and industry side (science and technology enterprises), which realized the bidirectional empowerment between capital and industry.
AGF adheres to the principle of "30% investment and 70% management" and provides all-round services for portfolios in accordance with the investment and post-investment management mechanism of international head PE funds. AGF emphasizes proactive and personalized post-investment management, builds a unique team of customized services and post-investment supporting experts, provides "adaptive" solutions to various problems and demands of portfolios, and passes them the management methodology.
AGF has appended a professional marketing consultant department in the post-investment side, which is under the responsibility of Nison Yao, the new Operating Director. Mr. Yao has been deeply involved in the manufacturing industry since his employment. He has been in important positions in Marketing of local and multinational companies and delivered great results. He has rich practical experience in strategic positioning, marketing, and operation of enterprises. AGF helps portfolios to build specific clear business paths and market expansion plans, integrate green ecosystem resources for precise docking, and create sustainable value.
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SOURCE Asia Green Fund | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:32 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ |
LOGAN, Utah, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyrusher, the professional e-bike producer, will launch pre-sales of the Nitro, the company's first mid-motor model, in late-July. This is an ebike with great comfort and speed for your 2023 riding adventure. Riders will enjoy a pleasant and effortless ride on the Nitro, as well as greater power, speed and control compared to a hub motor electric bike.
The Nitro, appearing as the first mid-motor model, integrates design aesthetics, technological innovation and a variety of other factors to ensure riders have a pleasant and smooth riding experience that exceeds expectations.
An attractive aesthetic design style - three color options
The Nitro follows the color-rich design style of the Cyrusher models while incorporating its own design aesthetics, making it a colorful option for many riders. The Nitro has a color-blocking design that keeps the black color of the rear frame while varying the fork gradient colorways to create a unique frame style. The Nitro is available in three color options, black red, and blue, to suit different rider preferences.
The ultimate speed experience - the mid-motor configuration
There is no doubt that this mid-motor Nitro was developed to meet the needs of the rider. The highly effective mid-mounted motor, which has been improved to provide an unprecedented level of power, is the most significant addition to the updated Nitro. The utterly improved 1000W Bafang mid-drive motor makes the e-bike's ride feel more dynamic responding readily to the rider even at maximum speed. To optimise the bike's balance, the mid-mounted motor is incorporated directly into the pedals and cranks. This also results in more efficient power transmission from the motor and higher climbing ability and weight lifting capability.
In addition, unlike other hub motor categories, the Nitro delivers 160 Nm of torque power, offering more flexibility for speed variation and a genuinely powerful speed sensation.
Powerful energy supply - 48V 20Ah Samsung Li-battery
The battery that powers the mid-mounted engine on the Nitro is still as secure, water-resistant and durable as the usual model. In combination with the mid-motor's more efficient power transmission, the 48V 20Ah battery allows the bike to cover up to 85 miles with its reliable capacity. Along with extending the vehicle's lifespan and durability, it can efficiently charge up to 800 cycles, making it an extremely cost-effective option.
Safe braking capability - hydraulic brakes
To improve braking power, Nitro chose twin-piston calipers. The twin-piston calipers allow for a larger surface area of contact with the brake rotors which increases the friction when the brakes are applied. Hydraulic brakes enable quicker braking reactions and improved traffic safety. The extra engine cut-off feature ensures that the brakes can be applied quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency, providing an extra layer of safety and security. The Nitro helps the rider cycle freely on the road and stop easier, achieving a better balance between thrill and safety.
Solid road pioneering - puncture-resistant fat tires
Nitro, with a 26*4 fat tire, is developed to be a powerful means of transportation. Fat tires offer much better traction and cushioning than regular tires, allowing you to easily navigate through difficult terrains like sand and mud. Therefore, Nitro is a great tool for exploring the city and the outdoors, with the ability to twist and turn through crowded streets, climb steep slopes and ride along soft beaches. Besides providing stability on slippery surfaces, Nitro can handle higher speeds with less chance of blowouts.
The top comfort escort - front and rear air shock absorption
The powerful Nitro is a full suspension electric bike with front and rear air suspension, guaranteeing maximum comfort. It offers better cushioning than previous generations. The adjustable front and rear air suspension features the highest configuration, allowing it to take on more challenging terrain without sacrificing comfort. It offers 135mm of thread that can be adjusted separately for terrain variations, boosting the damping effect for an enjoyable riding experience.
Reliable load capacity - upgraded to 200kg load capacity
The Nitro was designed with a mid-motor that reduces the bike's center of gravity, giving it outstanding balance. This allows the bike to carry up to 200kg of cargo. Additionally, its high load capacity ensures that the bike's weight doesn't negatively impact its performance.
Smooth gear transport - Shimano 10-speed transmission
The drive system's reliability is essential in order to ensure that the Nitro will be able to take full advantage of its improved high torque capabilities. The Shimano transmission helps to reduce wear and tear on the chain, making it more durable and efficient. The 10-speed pedal assist mode option gives riders the flexibility to choose the speed setting that perfectly suits their needs, ensuring that the bike can be tailored to meet the requirements of any type of rider.
All the details are there - the accessories
The Nitro comes with its own Led front and rear tail lights which provide excellent illumination and make sure that the rider is able to ride in dimly lit conditions. And, the Nitro has an updated Bafang back-lit display that allows the rider to more clearly track data such as speed, battery life, range and pedal assist levels.
Reliable after-sales service
The Cyrusher team consistently prioritizes the customer's needs and provides them with outstanding service. The team is available for customer inquiries and feedback 24/7 and offers fast and efficient response times. A long-term guarantee with a two-year product warranty backs the Nitro. The reliable customer service demonstrates Cyrusher's commitment to customer satisfaction, giving Cyrusher a distinct competitive edge.
Price tag
Priced at $4499, the powerful Nitro opens up even more riding possibilities for riders. The Nitro is equipped with a powerful engine and advanced features such as an adjustable suspension and quick brakes. This makes it a great choice for riders looking for a performance-oriented ride. If you are interested in the powerful Nitro, you can find more details on the official website.
What is the significance of the development of a Nitro?
Sustainable energy solution for a greener planet
Cyrusher has always been committed to green and sustainable development, exporting green travel vehicles worldwide and launching high-quality electric mobility tools to support sustainable development. By developing Nitro, Cyrusher demonstrates its commitment to its original goal. Nitro is an innovative and powerful electric bike that offers riders the ultimate convenience, comfort and performance. The company is helping to reduce carbon footprints and support a green earth by encouraging more people to cycle.
Leading the industry to new heights
A healthy competitive relationship provides a favourable opportunity for the industry to upgrade and change. The Cyrusher e-bike has been designed to maintain its own unique characteristics while responding to the changing market trends and offering more competitive value-for-money models to meet the needs of cyclists of all ages and performance levels. The launch of the Nitro is Cyrusher's newest work in the mid-motor field. With high quality range, powerful running ability and ultimate comfort, it is undoubtedly the most competitive product of its kind. Cyrusher will keep improving its technology and services in the future to offer better value to more riders and set a new benchmark for the sector.
A constant insight into customer needs
The Nitro is based on the company's insights into user needs and changing industry standards. Cyrusher insists on being user-centred, with high-quality components that have been repeatedly researched, tested and polished over a long period of time. The Nitro integrates comfort, safety and stability to bring riders the ultimate rewarding experience beyond expectations. The Nitro can be used freely on any road and with the wind blowing gently in your face, you'll have a more comfortable and enjoyable riding experience. Cyrusher is always moving forward and making great strides.
About Cyrusher
Cyrusher is a reputable producer of electric bicycles for professionals that have been successfully marketed in more than 10 nations worldwide. The brand's electric bicycles pass rigorous international quality tests and meet CE, UL, Rhos and FCC requirements. Additionally, Australia, China, the EU, Japan, Korea and the USA have registered and approved the brand. An offline store test-ride service has also been introduced in a number of nations, including the USA, UK and France. Cyrusher will keep expanding its range of vehicles to satisfy the needs of more riders, offering a solution for zero-carbon, fast and convenient urban commuting.
Cyrusher Contact:
UK official website: www.cyrusher.co.uk
US official website: www.cyrusher.com
French official website: www.cyrusher.fr
German official website: www.cyrusher.de
Phone: 01134900889
Email: support@cyrusher.com
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SOURCE cyrusher | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:38 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ |
SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 China Digital Entertainment Congress commenced on Thursday alongside ChinaJoy, the country's largest gaming event. Lu Xiaoyin, Co-CEO and President of Perfect World Co., Ltd, as well as the CEO of Perfect World Games, was among the esteemed guests in attendance.
During his keynote speech, Lu emphasized the rapid development of the Chinese gaming industry, which has greatly benefited from the country's "digitalization" strategies. He highlighted the industry plays a crucial role in promoting digitalization across various sectors, including empowering the real economy, driving technological innovation, and preserving cultural heritage.
Lu lauded Chinese games for their exceptional ability to embody the essence of Chinese culture, offering a wealth of inspiration for game development. In line with this approach, Perfect World integrates elements of China's cultural heritage into its games. For instance, the company has artfully incorporated China's intangible cultural heritage, Suzhou embroidery, into its mobile game "Tower of Fantasy", and showcased the beauty of Chinese traditional opera Huangmei Opera in another mobile game "Zhuxian".
Lu highlighted the inseparable connection between technology and the gaming industry. Specifically, he emphasized the pivotal role of digital intelligence technologies like generative AI in optimizing game content creation and production methods.
Perfect World recognized the potential of AI technology several years ago and took significant steps by establishing an AI center. This center serves as a hub for applying AI across different production chains, including NPC creation, modeling, painting, and story development.
The gaming industry is driven by technologies like VR, AR, and AI, which inject vitality into the broader economy. Perfect World has collaborated with local governments and scenic spots to incorporate digital scenes into tourism to offer tourists a captivating experience.
Lu emphasized Perfect World is a R&D-oriented enterprise, with high-quality products serving as the cornerstone of the company's growth. The company focuses on two main categories: "MMO+" and "card+". On one hand, it upgrades classic MMORPG genres, introducing mobile games like "New Swordsman", "World of Jade Dynasty", "Fantasy New Jade Dynasty", and "Perfect New World". On the other hand, it creates games of different genres, such as "One Punch Man: World", "Persona 5: The Phantom X" and "Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur: Ring".
Additionally, Perfect World actively pursues the distribution of its games overseas, with "Tower of Fantasy" achieving remarkable success since its release in August 2022, and soon to be launched on PlayStation.
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SOURCE Perfect World | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:44 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ |
BEIJING, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Culture and art can bring minds and the world together. With this in mind, the second episode of season three of the China Daily series Youth Power, "Unlocking the power of art: How cultural exchanges can connect the world," was broadcast online on July 30.
Gen Zers from China, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Thailand gathered at the Dalian campus of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and discussed how artistic beauty can bring the world together and how to face the challenges that artificial intelligence present to art.
What is the essence of beauty? What unique influence does Chinese art have on Gen Zers? What spiritual pursuits are reflected in Chinese art and aesthetics?
In this episode of Youth Power, each Gen Z guest brought an art piece that they believed would best represent the Chinese concept of art and beauty. In doing so they gained a deeper understanding of Chinese aesthetics, philosophy and culture.
Giacomo Bruni, an Italian studying at the China Academy of Art in Beijing, said brushes are the most important tools in expressing Chinese culture because they are central to calligraphy, writing poetry and painting.
"Like the hardness of the handle and the softness of the hair, the brush encapsulates the idea of yin and Yang," Bruni said. The brush not only encapsulates the creativity of the world, but also epitomizes the profound ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, he said.
Song De'ao, a Chinese Gen Zer, chose the official mascots for Chinese winter sports designed by a team at the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts as his ideal representation of Chinese aesthetics.
Song, a member of the design team, recalled the inspiration for the mascot Xue Wa, which wears tiger-head hats, tiger-head shoes, and cloud patterns and longevity locks on the clothing. "The mascots reflect the lively and cheerful aesthetics in modern China," Song said.
Jiratchaya Phinyoworakul, a Thai studying at Fudan University in Shanghai, highlighted two features that distinguish Chinese artworks from those of other countries and cultures: cultural extensiveness and profoundness as well as a philosophy centering on harmony between humankind and nature.
The program host, Zhong Yutong, said it is through exchanges that Chinese arts increase in vibrancy and vitality.
"Chinese arts have so much to offer. And we've had wonderful exchanges with different arts and civilizations across the world."
Bruni said art Chinese art is all-encompassing, perfectly merging all types of art. He cited Chinese literati paintings, a kind of painting that expresses feelings and aspirations through natural scenery, as an example, illustrating that "they unify the intellectual world and the practical art world, which is something that is missing in Western countries".
Program guests said there is no absolute definition of art and no universally recognized standard of beauty. Lian Liia, a student from Russia, said "the standard of art is changing in the art history, but there is one thing that has never changed, namely people's pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty".
Phinyoworakul said art is tantamount to comfort. "Even little things can be art. A smile on your face, a flower, sunshine, everything can be art. Art is in our everyday life."
Concerning the combination and contradiction of traditional art and fast-developing AI art creation, Bruni said artists screen information like filters of society. They find beauty and create art, but do not mechanically record and present everything around them. However, this is not true of AI, because it cannot grasp the concept of beauty.
Sun Yuxin of China said AI could positively influence the development of art. "AI saves a lot of time for artists, and it helps them with a lot of basic work."
Gen Zers have also contributed their wisdom in helping the world appreciate the beauty of Chinese art. Promoting Chinese aesthetics through social media could help people understand it more directly, Phinyoworakul said.
Lian Liia, a student at the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University in Beijing, said, "We can promote Chinese culture as a lifestyle. For example, doing calligraphy or drinking tea to experience Chinese culture in our daily life."
Youth Power, organized by China Daily and first broadcast in June 2021, aims to build a global platform of communication and exchange, focusing on the interests and ideas of Generation Z. The program comes in the form of interviews, forums and speeches, with topics related to anything of current interest in the world.
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SOURCE China Daily | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:50 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ |
- Back to Hogwarts returns on 1st September, inviting Harry Potter fans from all over the world to mark the moment the Hogwarts Express departs from King's Cross for the start of term
- Fans can join themed events, watch parties, digital and real-life celebrations that promise to be bigger and better than ever
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on Harry Potter's birthday, Wizarding World announces the return of its Back to Hogwarts celebrations, alongside a search for the UK's most enthusiastic Harry Potter fan to lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
The Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling have had a huge impact on fans around the globe, having sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into over 85 languages since they were first published by Bloomsbury and Scholastic 25 years ago.
Beginning as a fan celebration, Back to Hogwarts is recognised as one of the biggest days in any Harry Potter fan's calendar – marking the moment when students would board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dressed in their finest cosplay, thousands of fans make the trip to London's King's Cross station each year and more come together online to raise their wands for the countdown and share their love of the stories.
Bringing Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs together, this year celebrations are bigger than ever with the launch of a UK competition for one lucky fan between age five and seventeen years old to get the chance to travel to King's Cross and help host the countdown on 1st September. The competition is live and young wizards and witches wishing to enter can submit a video of their best countdown online (via a parent or guardian) by 11.59pm on 7th August.
The magic doesn't stop there! This lucky winner (plus a parent or guardian) will get the chance to pack their trunks once again to come back to the capital with a complete package of Harry Potter experiences. The ultimate Harry Potter London Breaks Experience gives this fan the opportunity to discover the filmmaking magic of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter and see the critically acclaimed stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. To top it off, the winner will receive an incredible merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop. Full details on prize entry can be found here.
Until 3rd September an array of magical experiences awaits at King's Cross as fans get the chance to sip on Butterbeer, play Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation®5 courtesy of Warner Bros. Games, and enjoy LEGO® Harry Potter giveaways and photo opportunities. Additionally, in celebration of the publication of The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, fans will also be able to spin Bloomsbury's giant wand spinner and find out whose wand they are best suited to, with free gifts up for grabs for those taking part.
Festivities aren't contained to the station… why not relive the movie magic on the big screen? Theatres around the world will be putting on special Harry Potter screenings for Back to Hogwarts. In the UK, Everyman will screen all eight films at Everyman Kings Cross and select Harry Potter movies at their cinemas nationwide. ODEON will present Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets nationwide over the course of the weekend. US fans can get their fix at Cinemark where more than 250 theatres will be showing an exclusive re-release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1&2. Down Under? Join in the fun at 15 locations of Village Cinemas across Victoria, Australia as they host screenings of the final two Deathly Hallows films in the iconic series. Further theatres and locations will be announced soon, including screenings in Barcelona and Madrid.
Pam Lifford, President, Global Brands, Franchises and Experiences, at Warner Bros. Discovery, said: "Back to Hogwarts is a day cherished by Harry Potter fans of all ages, from all over the world. Just like their passion for the magic of the stories, their celebrations grow every year! 2023 is set to be a year like no other – we will see fan world record attempts in Germany, high octane quiz competitions in France and of course, the UK's search to find the perfect person to join that amazing countdown. We are so proud to offer new and exciting ways to bring fans together and give them new ways to celebrate the Harry Potter magic – there's nothing quite like Back To Hogwarts!"
Check out Wizarding World Digital at www.wizardingworld.com for all the Back to Hogwarts updates, including the latest UK activity and info on what's happening in Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China and more. Look out for news too on how to get involved with Harry Potter Watch Parties (MAX US subscribers will be able to join and watch-along on 1st September) and when to tune into the Back to Hogwarts Digital Showcase.
Join the global community of millions of members following the fun on social and don't forget to sign up to the Harry Potter Fan Club!
Website: www.wizardingworld.com/harry-potter-fan-club.
Instagram: @wizardingworld https://www.instagram.com/wizardingworld/?hl=en
Hashtag: #BacktoHogwarts
About The Wizarding World
In the years since Harry Potter was whisked from King's Cross station onto Platform nine and three quarters, his incredible adventures have left a unique and lasting mark on popular culture. Eight blockbuster Harry Potter films based on the original stories by J.K. Rowling have brought the magical stories to life and today, the Wizarding World is recognised as one of the world's best-loved brands.
Representing a vast interconnected universe, it also includes three epic Fantastic Beasts films, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child – the multi-award-winning stage-play, state-of-the-art video and mobile games from Portkey Games, innovative consumer products, thrilling live entertainment (including four theme park lands) and insightful exhibitions, as well as a forthcoming Harry Potter TV series.
This expanding portfolio of Warner Bros. Discovery owned Wizarding World experiences also includes Harry Potter New York – the iconic flagship store, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, and the Harry Potter Shop online and retail shops.
The Wizarding World continues to evolve to provide Harry Potter fans with fresh and exciting ways to engage. For the worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, it welcomes everyone in to explore and discover the magic for themselves.
About Back to Hogwarts
On 1st September, fans from all generations and corners of the globe come together to celebrate a very special day in the wizarding world calendar: Back to Hogwarts. Having started as an organic fan celebration many years ago, today Back to Hogwarts is an annual tradition recognised as one of the biggest moments in the Harry Potter fan's calendar when wizards and witches board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for a year of magical adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a unique celebration, each year fans come together online and in real life to celebrate the magic of these beloved stories and unite with their community.
UK Activity - About The Competition
Parents and guardians can enter their child by 7th August to help lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown at 11.00am on 1st September 2023 at King's Cross station and win a bundle of Harry Potter prizes.
The Wizarding World is searching for an enthusiastic, confident young fan to lead all the young wizards, witches and Muggles in the countdown moment. For the opportunity to lead the countdown, the parent or guardian of the applicant must send a video lasting no longer than 20 seconds, counting down from ten, showing how they would lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
Entrants must be based in the UK and Northern Ireland, aged between 5 and 17 years old, and details for entering the competition are detailed at https://www.wizardingworld.com/terms/back-to-hogwarts-2023-uk-countdown-competition-terms
Entries must be sent via email to BackToHogwarts@premiercomms.com and must be sent via a file sharing platform such as WeTransfer or DropBox.
The opportunity to enter opened at 12.00am on 31st July and will close at 11.59pm on 7th August. The successful applicant will be informed by 18th August.
The Competition Prize
- Lead the fans in a countdown at 11.00am BST to launch the Hogwarts Express announcement on 1st September 2023
- First to enter Back to Hogwarts fan zone at King's Cross station
- Wizarding World London Breaks - Ultimate Experience: 1 nights' accommodation, 2x tickets to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, 2x tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for winner and one parent/guardian – to be redeemed at a later date
- A Wizarding World merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop
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SOURCE Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ | 2023-07-31T09:16:56 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rhythmic hum of spinning blades slicing through the salty sea breeze, rows of white giants stick out of the Yellow Sea like something out of a science fiction novel. This is the world's first crop of offshore wind turbines in an intertidal zone - the Longyuan Rudong Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm - in East China's Jiangsu Province, an area characterized by rapid industrialization and urbanization.
For senior engineer Ji Xiaoqiang, this crop of windmills is not only a technological marvel, but a childhood dream come true. Today, a total of 150 turbines generate 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 223,000 households. Such results bring comfort to Ji, whose childhood memories are filled with occasional large-scale blackouts.
Each turbine is a testament to China's unwavering commitment to stably harnessing the power of nature while serving industrialization needs, and China's wise solutions to a cleaner future for many developing countries in the world.
China has accelerated its pace in implementing clean energy solutions, building the world's largest clean power generation system, exporting successful lessons, becoming an important force in promoting global clean energy development, and committing to making green, affordable electricity truly accessible to millions of households.
Huge potential to be tapped
Visiting the Longyuan Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm, Global Times reporters were impressed by the colossal turbines fitted to each windmill, as well as the size of the blades, each of which is half the size of the Eiffel Tower.
How did Chinese engineers manage to transport these giants from land to sea using domestically innovated technologies?
Ji Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the offshore engineering department at the Jiangsu Longyuan Offshore Wind Power Co, Ltd (Longyuan Power), affiliated with the China Energy Investment Corporation, explained that the turbines are partially assembled on shore, and then shipped out to sea where each blade is attached with surgical precision to the top of a turbine. Every angle must be accurate to generate maximum power.
On a narrow 90-meter-high operating platform hanging over the Yellow Sea, Ji makes his rounds at the wind farm, carefully inspecting and servicing the turbines - a job not for the faint of heart.
"Sticking chopsticks in tofu" is the most vivid metaphor for the intertidal wind power foundation construction.
China has abundant offshore wind energy storage. According to China's National Meteorological Bureau's estimates, the sea area within the 5 to 25-meter water depth line, or intertidal zone, has a potential generating capacity of about 200 million kilowatts. That means one hour of electricity generation could power at least 92 million homes for a year, according to calculation.
Take Jiangsu as an example. Its coastal area has abundant, peaceful wind resources, and strong grid structures, making it a great choice for the development of a wind power industry, Ji told the Global Times. But offshore exploration is far more difficult than onshore.
China's offshore wind power development lagged in the early stages. Ji and his fellow engineers have long been trying to figure out how to change the game.
It wasn't until 2011 that Ji and his team finally found the answer which marked the start of the era of large-scale Chinese offshore wind power generation.
A difficult conquest
Initially, Ji and his colleagues attempted to choose concrete-poured foundations as they typically would for onshore windfarms. However, experience on land is hard to transfer. Even a millimeter-level deviation in verticality could pose a risk of hundreds of tons of generator towers collapsing into the sea, Ji said.
"We learned that the mainstream foreign solution was to put a sleeve at the connection between the foundation and the tower, fill it with the grouting material, and use the sleeve to balance the inclination. This sleeve acts as a key piece of equipment, like a 'waist,' for balancing the entire body of the generator. However, high-strength grouting material for the sleeve was not available domestically at that time, and relying on imports was too expensive and not wise for commercial use," Ji explained.
Against this backdrop, Ji and his team deliberated with experts, brainstormed multiple solutions, and finally created an innovative pile driver, which is like a giant hand that can grip a single pile and keeps it vertical when it is hammered into the seabed, maintaining the verticality error rate at below 0.2 percent.
This eliminates the need for a transition sleeve and grouting material, dramatically reduces overall costs, and increases construction speed, fully meeting the needs of large-scale construction.
"It's a historic moment for our offshore wind power in China, and this innovative solution is now widely used in the domestic market. This can be learned by many countries that are eager to develop clean energy at a high speed," Ji said.
Such innovative attempts are never smooth sailing. This plan encountered failures in its first two attempts. It nearly cost the project all early investment, and Ji was also dogged by doubts expressed at home and abroad.
But it did not deter this young engineer. He quickly made adjustments to the solution, and polished the details with his team. It wasn't until days later, when cheers erupted after a successful third pile drive, that Ji set off firecrackers that he'd been saving for that very moment.
Ji looked at the wind turbines, which his team nicknamed "white dolphins," emerging from the seaside in front of him and sighed with relief that people would not experience power outages caused by unstable voltage and industrial power overloads as he did as a child.
Ji told the Global Times that the marginal cost of wind power is relatively low, and China's solution is a good reference for coastal countries.
Harmony with nature
Along the coast of Rudong, flying birds and sea windmills decorate the distant skyline. Bird watching enthusiasts from across the country gather here as the sun sets, to observe rare birds such as the spoon-billed Snipe, armed with state-of-the-art cameras, a beautiful and impressive scene.
Harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is a basic principle in China's ecological civilization construction and a distinct feature of China's vivid and effective practice along its path to modernization.
Moreover, ecological civilization is a new requirement in the realization of harmonious development between humanity and nature. Such a principle is also upheld by China's offshore wind power development.
In 2012, Longyuan Power, for example, signed China's earliest marine ecological restoration agreement with local governments for offshore wind farms. At present, it has made an investment of about 56 million yuan in ecological conservation in Jiangsu Province, for Yellow Sea breeding and release efforts, wetland environmental improvement, bird protection facility construction, and marine environment tracking and monitoring.
Technology export
On June 28, with the completion of the final blade's mounting, the world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine was successfully installed in East China's Fujian Province on the offshore wind farm owned by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).
China's approach to offshore wind from scratch offers a solution to many countries, especially with regard to coastal regions, on how they can personalize their own energy development with innovative technologies, to achieve harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, which are part of a global community of shared future.
In 2022, China's wind power installed capacity reached 365 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for the 13th consecutive year. The figure was about 1.4 times that of the EU at the end of 2020 and 2.6 times that of the US, according to data released by China's National Energy Administration.
China's cost-effective offshore wind power technology marks a historic leap in the country's wind power from following others to be a world leader. China has also exported some homemade wind turbines to countries including Thailand, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.
China's efforts to promote sustainable development and energy security for all nations demonstrate a commitment to global well-being.
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SOURCE Global Times | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ | 2023-07-31T09:17:03 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ |
HANZHONG, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanzhong in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on his way back to Beijing on Saturday. During his visit to the municipal museum, Xi emphasized making good use of museums. He also called for efforts to expand the influence of Chinese culture.
"I was in Hanzhong in 2008 after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake to oversee the relief work. Hanzhong has always been in my heart over the years," Xi told local residents. Xi said he was delighted to see huge changes of the city since then.
With an exhibition area of nearly 2,000 square meters, the Hanzhong Museum in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province is not the grandest museum in China, but it is a historical telescope allowing visitors to have a retrospective view of Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) history dating back to as far as 2,000 years ago.
Unlike many other museums across the country built to house more recent historical relics, the Hanzhong Museum itself embodies the history that encompasses three heritage sites with the ancient Hantai (Lit: Han palace), once the royal residence of the founder of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, at its core.
Heritage sites-turned museum
Including the ruin of ancient Hantai, a notable feature of the Hanzhong Museum was it built in 1985 consisting of two other Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) heritage sites, the Baijiang altar and the "Yin Ma Chi," a pool facility common in ancient times for accommodating horses.
Visitors are first greeted by the ancient Hantai once they enter the museum, which is seven meters high. The millennium-old architecture was constructed using typical man-made rammed earth and its design characters show architectural aesthetics prominent in China's Qin (221BC-206BC), Han and Southern Song (1127-1279) dynasties.
Liao Shuguang, an architectural expert of ancient Chinese buildings, told the Global Times that the ancient Hantai's functions would change "according to history's change." It was once home to Liu Bang, but was later renovated in the Southern Song Dynasty to become a backyard garden with a gazebo on the building's roof.
Although the ancient Hantai changed roles, its historical importance remained unchanged as it witnessed Liu's founding of the Han Dynasty, one of the powerful dynasties in the Chinese history to have "unified yet diverse" cultural and political beliefs, historian Tao Zhongjun, told the Global Times.
"Including the belief of a 'unified country,' the Han Dynasty left behind a diverse legacy including the governing Confucius mindset and Silk Road exchanges with the western region of Asia and the world. They continue to inspire us today," Tao noted.
Aside from the ancient Hantai, the Baijiang altar, another major element of the museum, was built in 206BC. It was where the then governor Liu Bang would praise the talent and wisdom of his loyal officer Han Xin.
Museum expert Li Zhiming told the Global Times that such heritage sites turned cultural spaces are "living proof of Chinese history," and a good way of making use of the museum is to "properly maintain it while enriching its collection that possesses local cultural characters."
The art of Shudao
Hanzhong was a major stop along the ancient road system Shudao that connected China's Guanzhong Plain with the Chengdu Plain.
The Baoxie plank road, an ancient mountain road that traversed the Qinling Mountain, was also located in Hanzhong and brought an abundant supply of Shudao cultural artifacts.
Inside the Hanzhong Museum, there is a gallery dedicated to the ancient plank road. Shi Men Shi San Pin, also known as the 13 cliff stone carvings of the Shi Men, are a part of the museum's collection.
As an important section of the Shudao, Shi Men was a tunnel at the southern end of the Baoxie plank road. The walls of the tunnel as well as the cliffs of the Baoxie river, were carved with numerous historical inscriptions among which the 13 pieces collected by the museum were the "rarest of the rare," relic expert Xiang Zhengming told the Global Times.
Amongst the 13 carving pieces, the Shi Men Song (Lit: the Eulogy of Shi Men) is a highlight. It embodies the aesthetic essence of Han Dynasty's clerical script calligraphic style. In 1936, China's large-scale encyclopedia Cihai (lit: the sea of the words) took the two Chinese characters for "sea" and "word" discovered from the carving stones to be used on the cover.
"The collection at the Hanzhong Museum holds value in which one can look into China's calligraphic art and can be useful to historians in understanding the then social and cultural scenes," Xiang told the Global Times.
Some other carved pieces have also revealed the secrets of Han Dynasty's water project construction.
Including the 13 treasures, the Hanzhong Museum holds over 5,000 pieces of cultural artifacts that tell the changing cultural history of the city and the nation.
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SOURCE Global Times | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ | 2023-07-31T09:17:09 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ |
BlackBerry QNX and BlackBerry IVY to serve as the software foundation for alliance's EV projects
WATERLOO, ON and TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced that the Mobility in Harmony (MIH) Consortium, a Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd, (Foxconn)-initiated group, that seeks to create an open ecosystem to transform and accelerate innovation within the electric vehicle industry, has selected BlackBerry to provide the foundation for its next-generation platform.
MIH will use a range of BlackBerry software and services to serve as the safe and secure software foundation for the consortium's open and agnostic electric vehicle platform with a unique modular design approach. Project X, one of the MIH EV projects, will be a single-row three-seater geared towards Asian consumers, and is set to be unveiled in Japan in late 2023. MIH will also release six-seater and nine-seater vehicle platforms in the coming years to provide more vehicle segment choices, and to enable greater innovation.
As part of the agreement, MIH will utilize the company's trusted, safety-certified BlackBerry® QNX® product portfolio and award-winning cloud-connected, automotive AI platform, BlackBerry IVY™, including QNX Software Development Platform (SDP 7.1) licenses, QNX middleware technologies, as well as engineering professional services for system-level integration, performance optimization, and solution validation.
"MIH is committed to driving an open and agnostic ecosystem, with a focus that goes beyond just electric vehicles. Our ambition lies in crafting intelligent user experiences that enhance smart living and redefine the future of mobility and green logistics. BlackBerry's alignment with MIH's vision makes them the perfect partner for our goals. We anticipate deeper collaboration to realize our shared vision to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and we're thrilled about our partnership with BlackBerry," said Jack Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at MIH Consortium.
Mattias Eriksson, President, BlackBerry IoT commented: "The Foxconn-led MIH Consortium has articulated an ambitious and compelling vision focused on accelerating innovation in the EV ecosystem. As the leading foundational software for the intelligent edge, BlackBerry QNX helps our customers and partners turbocharge their software development efforts. Companies all over the world, deploy BlackBerry's high-performance, safe and secure foundational software to allow their own internal resources to focus on layers higher up in the software stack. They trust us for the 'plumbing,' so they can confidently dedicate their work to software directly impacting their customers' experiences. This accelerates development, improves safety and security, while reducing overall costs. We are excited to join the MIH consortium and look forward to helping them execute on their vision of transforming the overall EV industry."
For more information about the MIH Consortium please visit: MIH | Mobility in Harmony (mih-ev.org).
For more information on how BlackBerry QNX can help with building the safe and secure vehicles of tomorrow, please visit: BlackBerry.QNX.com.
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint management, endpoint security, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.
For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.
Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.
About MIH Consortium
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), a global leader in smart manufacturing, introduced MIH, its software and hardware open platform for EVs, in 2020 and initiated the formation of the MIH Consortium in 2021. Foxconn aims to position MIH as the "Android system of the EV industry." Foxconn is inviting automakers, manufacturers, and supply chain partners to join the MIH to collaborate. MIH's mission is to lower barriers to entry into the EV industry, accelerate innovation, and shorten development cycles by realizing key technologies and developing reference designs and standards. Currently, the MIH has more than 2,600 members.
For More: https://www.mih-ev.org/
Media Contacts:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com
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SOURCE BlackBerry Limited | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ | 2023-07-31T09:17:15 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ |
The Vehicle, Merchandise and Accessories Collaboration is part of Gogoro and MUJI's Joint "Recycling for Good" Sustainability Initiative that Enables the Public to Recycle Polypropylene Plastic (PP) Waste for use in the new Gogoro MUJI Smartscooters.
TAIPEI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, today announced a collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and MUJI, the Tokyo-based consumer goods and lifestyle company. The newly designed Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME along with a range of merchandise and accessories were launched today at a press event in Taipei.
Created by Gogoro and MUJI, the Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME offer simplified Smartscooter designs that utilize recycled polypropylene (PP) body elements. Personally curated by Fukasawa, the Smartscooters adopt the classic MUJI design elements, unique rustic color palette and simple color tone philosophy to create a new urban mobility experience that is simple and comfortable yet unique.
"The most important thing in design is that it must always uphold the spirit of integrity towards people, the environment and life," said Naoto Fukasawa, world-renowned designer, author, educator and MUJI's advisory board member. "Both Gogoro and MUJI are quite popular brands, and it is very natural for them to cooperate in this way. It's not just one plus one equals two. Instead, let one plus one see a greater value."
Gogoro pioneered the mass market manufacturing of recyclable polypropylene plastics for vehicle body panels in 2019 with the Gogoro 3 Smartscooter and then across its full range of Gogoro Viva Smartscooters including Gogoro VIVA, Gogoro VIVA MIX and Gogoro VIVA XL. This innovative manufacturing process led to Gogoro's collaboration with MUJI.
"Naoto Fukasawa offers such a fresh and unique approach to simplicity, functionality and beauty in everything he creates, so it was an honor to work with him on our new Smartscooter designs and accessories," said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. "This collaboration between Gogoro, MUJI and Naoto Fukasawa establishes a strong unified voice in promoting sustainable lifestyles in Taiwan and across the region, not just for transportation but across all aspects of life. Our joint 'Recycling for Good' initiative promotes the reduction of urban pollution through encouraging the public to recycle plastics at Gogoro and MUJI stores and their reuse in our new Smartscooters."
Recycling for Good - A Joint Sustainability Initiative
Gogoro and MUJI share a vision for sustainability and a core philosophy of giving back to the Earth. In response to this year's World Environment Day theme #BeatPlasticPollution, the companies joined together on June 5, 2023 to launch the "Recycling for Good" initiative in Taiwan. "Recycling for Good" encourages people in Taiwan to participate in recycling PP (polypropylene) plastic waste at Gogoro and MUJI stores and empower them to take small actions toward building a more sustainable future.
Polypropylene objects recovered during the Recycling for Good initiative are screened, cut, granulated, reshaped and regenerated into the body panels of the newly unveiled Gogoro Smartscooters. The polypropylene body material is also made of the same material as MUJI's PP storage series.
"MUJI and Gogoro are continuing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle and together have created this new series of Gogoro Smartscooters that are optimized for life and the environment. Gogoro's commitment to being a sustainable business is aligned with MUJI's business philosophy," said Akihiro Yoshida, general manager of MUJI Taiwan. "MUJI is not just a store that sells goods, but it creates a simple and pleasant life through comprehensive sustainable thinking and takes practical action for sustainability of society and the earth."
Gogoro Sustainability
Today, more than 2.5 million Gogoro users have reduced carbon emissions by more than 680 million kilograms, and 100% recyclable polypropylene PP (Polypropylene) is used as the Smartscooter shell material to promote resource regeneration and friendly recycling. In addition, Gogoro has introduced 40% renewable energy in factories since 2022, and 100% use of green electricity in designated Gogoro stores, gradually moving towards the goal of fully using renewable energy by 2050.
Naoto Fukasawa / Product Designer
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University's Product Design Department in 1980. In the same year, he joined Seiko Epson, where he was responsible for advanced development design. In 1989, he moved to the United States, where he joined ID Two (now IDEO San Francisco). Having honed his craft for seven years, focusing mainly on Silicon Valley industries, he returned to Japan in 1996. Fukasawa established and headed up IDEO's Tokyo office, creating a Japanese design consultant base for the company. He went independent in 2003 and founded NAOTO FUKASAWA DESIGN. For more information on Naoto Fukasawa, visit https://naotofukasawa.com.
About MUJI
Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI in Japanese, translates as "no-brand quality goods." MUJI was founded in Japan in 1980 and now has more than 800 stores around the world, carrying more than 7,000 items. With the goal of making people's daily life pleasant, MUJI is globally recognized for its high-quality products that are functional, well designed and reasonably priced. Find us online at www.MUJI.com or Instagram: @muji_global and Twitter: @muji_net.
About MUJI Taiwan
MUJI Taiwan has been operating in Taiwan since 2004, and it has been nearly 20 years. MUJI Taiwan has always been committed to connecting with Taiwan and producing local products in Taiwan, hoping to provide customers with a good life. Find us online at www.muji.com/tw/zh_tw/store, Instagram: @muji_taiwan or Facebook: www.facebook.com/muji.tw.
About Gogoro
Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the "2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping for electric two-wheel vehicles", Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit https://www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.
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SOURCE Gogoro | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ | 2023-07-31T09:17:22 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ |
The United States vs. Portugal: Live Stream, TV Channel & Game Info - August 1
Published: Jul. 31, 2023 at 2:45 AM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
A Group E matchup between the United States and Portugal, their third and final contest in the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage, begins at 3:00 AM ET on August 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The game is on FOX US,Fox Sports 1, if you're looking for how to watch.
Watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Fubo! Sign up for a free trial and start watching live sports without cable today!
How to Watch the United States vs. Portugal
- Game Day: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
- Game Time: 3:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: FOX US,Fox Sports 1
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Venue: Eden Park
Sign up for a Fubo free trial now to watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and more live sports!
The United States Group Stage Schedule
United States' Recent Performance
- The United States' last game was a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, taking 10 shots and outshooting by seven.
- The United States was led by Lindsey Horan, who scored her team's only goal versus .
- The United States' Sophia Smith two goals and one assist in two Women's World Cup games.
- So far in two Women's World Cup games, Horan has tallied two goals.
- Rose Lavelle has not scored but has one assist during Women's World Cup matches.
Get your 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup gear at Fanatics!
United States' 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Alyssa Naeher #1
- Ashley Sanchez #2
- Sofia Huerta #3
- Naomi Girma #4
- Kelley O'Hara #5
- Lynn Williams #6
- Alyssa Thompson #7
- Julie Ertz #8
- Savannah DeMelo #9
- Lindsey Horan #10
- Sophia Smith #11
- Alana Cook #12
- Alex Morgan #13
- Emily Sonnett #14
- Megan Rapinoe #15
- Rose Lavelle #16
- Andi Sullivan #17
- Casey Murphy #18
- Crystal Dunn #19
- Trinity Rodman #20
- Aubrey Kingsbury #21
- Kristie Mewis #22
- Emily Fox #23
Portugal Group Stage Schedule
Portugal's Recent Performance
- In its most recent action on July 27, Portugal claimed a 2-0 win against Vietnam. Portugal outshot Vietnam 28 to five.
- For Portugal, Francisca Nazareth and Telma Encarnacao each scored a goal.
- In Women's World Cup, Encarnacao has collected one goal (in two matches) and one assist for Portugal.
- Lucia Alves has not scored, but does have one assist for Portugal in Women's World Cup.
- In two Women's World Cup matches, Nazareth has one goal.
Portugal's 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Ines Pereira #1
- Catarina Amado #2
- Lucia Alves #3
- Silvia Rebelo #4
- Joana Marchao #5
- Andreia Jacinto #6
- Ana Rute #7
- Andreia Norton #8
- Ana Borges #9
- Jessica Silva #10
- Tatiana Pinto #11
- Patricia Morais #12
- Fatima Pinto #13
- Dolores Silva #14
- Carole Costa #15
- Diana Silva #16
- Ana Seica #17
- Carolina Mendes #18
- Diana Gomes #19
- Francisca Nazareth #20
- Ana Capeta #21
- Rute Costa #22
- Telma Encarnacao #23
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-31T09:17:28 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ |
HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, were gathering with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
The evening services were expected to be attended by her family, friends and supporters. Lee died July 5 at age 48.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
In a video for her memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
In Coco Lee’s recent social media posts, she kept spreading positivity. In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
___
Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report. | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T09:17:29 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
A British court ruled Friday against London suburbs that tried to block a pollution tax on older cars as green policies become a hot political issue in the U.K. amid increasingly dramatic impacts of global climate change.
The High Court ruled that Mayor Sadiq Khan had the authority to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, which charges drivers of older gas and diesel vehicles 12.50 pounds ($16) a day they operate, to the city's outskirts next month.
Five conservative councils challenged Khan's right to impose the measure. They criticized the expansion to an area where there are fewer public transport options and people are more reliant on cars, and because of a disproportionate impact on lower-income drivers who can't afford newer, cleaner cars.
Khan said the ruling would allow the expanded zone to take effect Aug. 29 and help reduce air pollution. He said he would also expand a program that provides financial assistance to some families and small businesses to scrap older cars.
“The ULEZ has already reduced toxic nitrogen dioxide air pollution by nearly half in central London and a fifth in inner London," said Khan, a member of the Labour Party. “The coming expansion will see 5 million more Londoners being able to breathe cleaner air.”
The five councils that challenged the zone issued a joint statement saying they were “hugely disappointed”. While they accepted that Khan may have the legal right to implement the measure, they questioned whether it was morally right.
“It is evident that the mayor of London and (Transport for London) do not realize the damage the extension will have to the lives of residents and businesses in outer London as well as those outside of its borders,” the group said.
The city's transportation agency said most gas vehicles under 16 years old and diesel vehicles less than 6 years old comply with the standard.
In April, a study from London City Hall found levels of nitrogen dioxide exceeded the legal limit in 14 of the city's 32 boroughs. Khan argued he had a statutory responsibility to take measures to improve air quality.
Nine out of 10 cars on the road in outer London on an average day comply with standards, Transport for London said. The Royal Automobile Club said nearly 700,000 licensed cars in London are unlikely to comply.
Fury over the the ULEZ expansion was credited last week with helping Tories hold one of three seats in Parliament in a special election. Conservatives had been expected to lose all three but they retained their seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Interestingly, the emissions charge was first imposed in 2015 by then-Mayor Boris Johnson, the Conservative who went on to become prime minister before resigning last year amid several scandals and quitting Parliament last month. It was his House of Commons seat Tories retained in the by-election.
The issue has now caused a crisis for the Labour Party, which is seen as likely to return to power next year after being ousted by Conservatives in 2010.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said there was no doubt ULEZ cost them the Uxbridge election and said Khan should “reflect” on the policy.
Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair was widely quoted this week in a New Statesman magazine interview in which he cautioned: “Don’t ask us to do a huge amount when frankly whatever we do in Britain is not really going to impact climate change." The interview was conducted before the special elections.
The dust-up over how to control emissions comes as July is on target to be the hottest month in recorded human history and the effects of a warming planet can be seen in catastrophic wildfires, flooding and alarming ocean temperatures. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres this week declared: "The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
While the by-election has caused consternation for Labour over how best to stick to a green agenda, it is also sparking a rethink for Conservatives who have been accused recently of backing away from pledges to combat climate change.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signaled this week he was open to revisiting net-zero policies, saying he'd take a pragmatic approach that didn't add more hassles or costs to people's lives. He caused confusion by not recommitting to a ban on gas and diesel cars by 2030, though cabinet minister Michael Gove later insisted that deadline was firm.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/28/a-pollution-tax-on-older-cars-can-be-extended-to-londons-suburbs-after-a-british-court-ruling | 2023-07-31T09:17:34 | 0 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/28/a-pollution-tax-on-older-cars-can-be-extended-to-londons-suburbs-after-a-british-court-ruling |
BEIJING (AP) — A zoo in eastern China is denying suggestions some of its bears might be people in costumes after photos of the animals standing like humans circulated online.
The sun bears from Malaysia are smaller than other bears and look different but are the real thing, the Hangzhou Zoo said Monday on its social media account.
“Some people think I stand like a person,” said the posting, written from the bear’s point of view. “It seems you don’t understand me very well.”
An employee who answered the phone at the zoo declined to talk about the bears but said visits were being arranged for reporters Monday to see them.
Internet users questioned whether the zoo’s bears were real after photos circulated showing one standing upright on slender hind legs.
“Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise,’” the newspaper Hangzhou Daily said.
Sun bears are the size of large dogs, standing at most 1.3 meters (50 inches) tall on their hind legs, compared with up to 2.8 meters (9 feet) for grizzlies and other species, according to the zoo.
Other Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats, and donkeys painted to look like zebras. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/our-bears-are-real-a-chinese-zoo-says-denying-they-are-humans-in-disguise/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T09:17:35 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/our-bears-are-real-a-chinese-zoo-says-denying-they-are-humans-in-disguise/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan held funerals on Monday for victims of a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric the previous day as the death toll climbed to at least 45 and the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing, which also wounded nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate could be behind the attack.
The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.
The IS regional affiliate — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban. Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government — before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.
The cleric’s supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their party’s preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected sometime in October or November after the current parliament’s five-year term ends.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote. Rehman’s party is part of Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Khan later on Sunday also condemned the bombing, as condolences continued to pour in from across the country. Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll on Sunday was reported to be 44 but rose to 45 on Monday as a critically wounded person died at a hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.
Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Rehman’s party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, 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. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were “investigating this attack in all aspects.”
Sunday’s bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan 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. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T09:17:41 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Private equity for the masses? Philly investment firm is giving it a try.
FS Investments is targeting middle-class investors to put their money in mid-sized private companies, 'the bread and butter of the economy.'
FS Investments, the 500-staffer private-investment firm based mostly at its sleek Navy Yard campus, was founded by Philly lawyer David Forman, Campus Apartments boss David Adelman and partners to be “like a Vanguard Group for private investments” in 2007. This summer, it has doubled in size by merging with pension adviser-turned-money manager Portfolio Advisors in Darien, Conn.
The combined firms now invest $75 billion in other people’s money, mostly from rich people and institutions, given longstanding federal limits on who may invest in private firms and funds, which typically disclose less information than companies with publicly traded stocks.
But FS wants to also target a population of increasingly affluent middle class investors. For its FS MVP Private Markets Fund, the newly combined group has raised $600 million from initial investors and hopes to collect billions more. FS has set up the fund so it can solicit a minimum $50,000, from those who earn as little as $200,000 a year, and already have at least $1.1 million invested with the firm (or $2.2 million elsewhere).
What are the private-investment managers buying in this year of high interest rates, biotech hangover, and slowing construction?
As of March 31, according to its annual filing, one-quarter of the fund is invested in private shares of small companies — medical specialists, a lawn service, machinery makers — and in other funds that make similar investments. About half as much financed loans to similar-sized companies — another medical practice, a construction company, a small-plane service.
More than half the fund was invested in large private-equity funds managed by some of the same high-fee firms that invest for pension funds in Pennsylvania and other states: Accel, Insight, KKR, New Mountain, Platinum, Silver Lake, Thoma Bravo.
Most of the rest was invested in Vanguard Federal Money Market funds, which returned 4.76% as interest rates on federal bonds rose over the previous year — very close to FS MVP’s overall return of 4.74%. The FS MVP returns were reported before discounting fees, which total up to 3.5% in upfront “loads” for those who invest at least the minimum $50,000 but less than $1 million.
Since inception in July 2021, the fund is up 23.5%, far ahead of the S&P 500.
Portfolio manager Brooks Lindberg, one of two veteran Portfolio Advisors managing directors to join Forman and two of his FS colleagues on the combined firms’ top management team, agreed to take The Inquirer’s questions during a recent visit to the home office. Some answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What is the opportunity here? What do you sell that we can’t buy from Vanguard or Schwab?
This fund is really about investing in mid-sized private companies, the bread and butter of the economy. That’s in contrast to publicly traded investments or to the large private equity firms — they may be investing in very large, often global enterprises. We target middle companies that are not as easily investable. The economy has evolved in a way that many companies may never sell shares and go public. The opportunities to go public have diminished. We are looking to capitalize on special opportunities.
For example?
There are many. Look at Mellott Co. That’s an industrial rock-crushing business, headquartered in Warfordsburg, Lancaster County. It’s a hundred-year-old, family-controlled company that we and others [including an arm of PNC] backed to support their growth, and it’s been a terrific investment for the fund. We were able to co-invest in the company [funding its purchase of other companies, while also cutting costs], and in less than two years’ time, they have doubled their earnings.
Another interesting one: Wood Technologies, [an Indiana woodworking firm] sponsored by One Equity Partners, a private equity manager specializing in midsized companies. They are combining paper products, sawmill automation, and related companies, looking to create a ton of growth.
A lot of these middle-sized companies have lower valuations than public companies — yet also less [borrowing]. Rising rates makes a hard environment for companies that have borrowed a lot of money; the companies we are interested in use a lot less debt. Combined with the relationships we built with private equity firms over 30 years, it creates opportunities. We have access, and when we see [investments] that fit the strategy, we can move quickly.
A lot of your fund is invested in other funds, rather than directly in private companies. Does that make it a ‘fund-of-funds’ with layers of fees?
This is decidedly not a fund of funds. We make direct investments in the securities of midsized companies, as an equity or credit investor, [later selling] to larger private equity firms or strategic buyers.
Historically, this type of middle-market strategy, [which includes improvements such as] investing in new equipment, has delivered meaningfully better performance than ... investing in larger companies.
And that does include interests in “secondaries,” funds that were previously invested, then sold again [for example, by a state pension fund]. But we are not buying at the initial price. We look at what an owner of those funds is willing to sell, we look at the securities in that portfolio, and we compare to what it would be worth to buy them individually.
That way, we can purchase assets at a discount to current value. Because we are in a point in the market cycle where [some earlier investors in those other private funds] become slightly overextended and need to rebalance. If you can buy assets at a discount, that’s a good situation to build value.
As you get bigger, will it get harder to make money from small investments in midsized companies?
There are so many good private companies. If we raised billions and billions, we would still be a drop in the ocean. That can happen to public-stock investors, size [becomes] limiting as to what they can buy [and still make a profit.]
A lot of these deals, we are coming in alongside other firms, some of which are also our clients. And as we grow, we will be able to make larger investments in those companies.
The idea is, let’s take what we would do for a very large public pension fund and make it accessible in its fully institutional form to the individual investor.
So we are bringing this solution to a broader audience. It’s not for every single person. But a lot more people qualify now. | https://www.inquirer.com/business/private-equity-fs-investments-navy-yard-philadelphia-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:25 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/business/private-equity-fs-investments-navy-yard-philadelphia-20230731.html |
Kevin Costner's divorce battle amid 'ironclad' prenup: Why celeb premarital agreements are contested
Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner's estranged wife, was ordered by the court to move out of the actor's residence by July 31
Kevin Costner and his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner are locked in a legal battle despite having an "ironclad" prenup.
Baumgartner, who first filed for divorce on May 1, is taking Costner to trial over the validity and enforceability of the premarital agreement the pair signed before their marriage in 2004. The two have also battled it out over custody and living arrangements with Baumgartner being forced to move out of the family home by July 31.
Celebrity divorce attorney Christopher C. Melcher explained to Fox News Digital the requests he's seen when it comes to prenups and which "clauses" can "threaten" the validity of the agreement.
"I have seen people ask for anti-cheating clauses to penalize a spouse for having an affair. There have also been requests that a spouse have sex on demand or maintain a certain weight to remain in compliance with the agreement," Melcher said. "None of these provisions are enforceable and should not be placed in an agreement because it violates public policy. Some have bragged about having these types of clauses in their agreement, but it threatens the validity of the entire agreement. It would be foolish to do so."
"More sensible requests center around where their children will live or who will get custody in the event of a breakup," he added. "These are important considerations, but parties cannot agree on child custody in a premarital agreement."
There are things you can do to make sure your premarital agreement is enforceable, according to Marilyn Chinitz, a high-profile divorce attorney and partner in the matrimonial and family law practice at Blank Rome.
"In order to ensure that the prenuptial agreement is not at risk of being set aside, you must make sure that the agreement is fully negotiated, that both parties have counsel, and that full disclosure is provided as part of the agreement," she told Fox News Digital.
The most unusual provision Chinitz has seen in a prenup required "a spouse to give the other spouse a foot massage once weekly. At first, I thought it was just injection of humor, but then found out it was not."
Despite legal advice not to put an anti-cheating clause in the prenup, a handful of celebrities have allegedly used this, including reality star Teresa Giudice. "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star, who is now divorced from Joe Giudice, confirmed she had a premarital agreement with her ex during an episode of the show.
"A week before we were getting married, Joe asked me to sign a prenup and I just felt when you love someone, you don’t do that," she revealed in 2020. "I didn’t even read it. I just said, ‘I want you to put one thing in there. If you ever cheat, the prenup is void.'"
JUDGE RULES KEVIN COSTNER'S WIFE CAN'T TAKE PROPERTY FROM $145 MILLION ESTATE
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel also allegedly have an infidelity clause. The agreement, which will divide up the couple's property if they ever divorce, holds Timberlake financially liable if he is unfaithful, the New York Daily News reported.
Melcher explained that there are cons to signing a premarital agreement, especially if resentment builds. "A one-sided agreement can make a spouse resentful," he explained. "I often hear, ‘I want our home to be our home, not yours.’ It doesn’t feel good to be told that you will get nothing in the event of a divorce."
However, celebrities such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Khloé Kardashian and Jessica Simpson agree that the premarital agreement is important.
Zeta-Jones, who married Michael Douglas in 2000, fielded rumors about the couple's prenup for years. It was once reported that Douglas had offered to pay Zeta-Jones $1.4 million for every year the couple was married, in the event they got divorced, but that they settled on $2.8 million.
"There was a load of rubbish written about it, but there was no arguing, no malicious feud," Zeta-Jones told Vanity Fair in 2001, brushing off the prenup rumors. "If I was marrying someone of lesser fortune who was 25 years younger, I’d be doing exactly the same thing. I think prenups are brilliant, because it’s all sorted out."
"Why should Michael be in a position where half of his fortune, which he’s worked bloody hard for, should land in someone else’s lap? It wasn’t a nasty experience for me; it was like, ‘Thank God that’s done – let’s get on with it!’ It was signed and put in the bottom of a drawer, hopefully never to be seen again. I get taken care of very well."
Melcher emphasized the money aspect of a premarital agreement while speaking to Fox News Digital.
"[A prenup] forces romantic partners to talk about money before they start their marriage. It is difficult to have conversations about ‘what if’ we break up or one of us dies during marriage, so they tend to ignore those important questions. Only after they are married do spouses learn each other’s financial expectations. A prenup negotiation gets all that into the open."
The divorce attorney added that some people might not marry after understanding their partner's financial expectations – like sharing property owned before the marriage equally, and more.
Kardashian, who was previously married to Lamar Odom from 2009 until 2016, also strongly backed the idea of a premarital agreement.
"Everybody needs a prenup!" the reality TV star told E! News in June 2011. "I mean, I don't care if you make $5 or $5 million, in this day and age... people are crazy, you never know. And when you have businesses together, like we do, you have to protect yourself. It doesn't mean you don't love them."
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Even Jessica Simpson, who did not sign a premarital agreement when marrying Nick Lachey, later regretted her decision.
"I wish I would have signed a prenup," she told Dr. Oz in 2020. "And that's the funny thing is that Nick wanted me to sign a prenup, but I was, like, so offended."
"I was like, ‘We're going to be together for the rest of our lives. We're saying our vows to God and in front of all of our family and friends. Like, this never gonna end.' And, we didn't sign a prenup."
Premarital agreements can be "tricky," but are a "major advantage" when it comes to keeping lives in order in the event of divorce, Chinitz explained to Fox News Digital.
Reasons for a premarital agreement "vary," according to Melcher, who says they can range from "a strong distrust that marriage can truly last a lifetime, to the need to control a partner, or simply good planning for the protection of both spouses."
"When someone has experienced divorce, whether as a child who witnessed a family breakup or from their own failed relationships, the fear of that happening again can motivate the person to want a premarital agreement. It is like making a new partner pay for the sins of someone else." | https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/kevin-costners-divorce-battle-amid-ironclad-prenup-why-celeb-premarital-agreements-contested | 2023-07-31T09:19:25 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/kevin-costners-divorce-battle-amid-ironclad-prenup-why-celeb-premarital-agreements-contested |
TBT co-founder Jonathan Mugar is bringing his $1 million hoop dream back to Philly this week
Ahead of the two-day million-dollar winner-takes-all basketball tournament finale at Drexel, Mugar sat down with The Inquirer to reflect on 10 years of a vision brought to life here in Philly.
This week is going to be especially surreal for Jonathan Mugar.
It was 10 years ago that Mugar alongside his friend, Dan Friel, launched The Basketball Tournament, a $1 million winner-takes-all basketball contest inside the gymnasium of what then was known as Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University).
The inaugural tournament, a concept four years in the making, finally tipped off in front of 17 people, according to TBT’s website — but to ask Mugar, the 47-year-old Boston native who resides in Los Angeles, it was more like 13 people.
Now, a decade later, and with over $10 million in prize money given to the former college standouts from all over the country who field a team representing their school or philanthropic endeavor, TBT returns to Philly on Wednesday and Thursday for its semifinal and championship rounds, the culmination of a month-long effort from 64 teams, including two squads representing Philly’s Big 5 and Temple alumni.
The two-day TBT championship at Drexel’s Daskalaskis Athletic Complex will come complete with a slam dunk contest on Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m. before semifinal matchups at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday’s championship game will tipoff at 7 p.m. All three games will air on ESPN.
Ahead of all of that, Mugar sat down with The Inquirer to talk about the success of TBT, the spawning of the $1 million soccer free-for-all aptly named, The Soccer Tournament, the importance of bringing TBT back to Philly 10 years later — and just how exhausting keeping track of all of this truly is.
Looking at the concept of TBT, are you surprised at just how big it’s gotten?
Jonathan Mugar: We’re really happy with where this has come since we started in 2014. I don’t think we really projected 10 years later where we would want it to be, but just experiencing it this year, over these past few weeks, it’s been really amazing for our team. Just been tremendous attendance growth over the past few years. And this year is shaping up to be a record attendance year, by a lot.
» READ MORE: What to know about TBT, the $1 million, winner-takes-all hoops tournament that will be decided at Drexel
What makes TBT so intriguing? Beyond the chance for $1 million, obviously.
JM: We just put on a very exciting version of basketball, one that gets introduced to more and more fan bases every year over the past 10 years. More and more people are finding out about it, and we feel unbelievably good about the product that’s on the court. It’s great to see new fans see it up close and personal for the first time and find it really resonating with them.
OK, so how exhausting is it to get TBT going and then to see it through over the course of the month?
JM: It’s really exhausting, and this year, for the first time, we added another sport, launching The Soccer Tournament in early June. And that in addition to basketball, it’s been a lot for our team. We’re only 13 full-time [staffers] year-round, and we all do a little bit of everything. So we don’t actually have a marketing department, for example. We all kind of chip in. But I also believe that’s why we’ve been able to succeed so long is because we’re all very nimble and proficient in a lot of areas. But at this point, we’re all dragging.
TBT gives former college players a chance to have the spotlight one more time. What does that aspect of this tournament do for you?
JM: This is literally their Field of Dreams. We were in Louisville for the first time, and we brought together [names like] Russ Smith, Peyton Siva, and others. These are guys that haven’t been on the court since they won a national championship. To see them back on the court, not only back out there playing, but playing at an even higher level than when they graduated is shocking, exhilarating, and, I think, even jarring for fans.
Yeah, the only analogy I can think of is just like in the movie Field of Dreams, when you see these players come back out through the cornfields and start playing and they’re in their prime all over again.
When you think about it, $1 million is a big purse for a summer basketball tournament. How do you do it every year?
JM: Look, we’ve paid out over $10 million at this point. Doing that over 10 years has added quite a bit of credibility to the product. It’s a big driver of interest in why we get so many high-quality players and teams. But just as important is this idea that [these players] can play in front of American fan bases and their beloved former fan bases once again. For the first time, they choose the team they want to go to war with. For competitive players, there’s nothing like that.
What’s it going to mean to be back here in Philly with this tournament, this concept turned competition, in the city where it all tipped off?
JM: I’ll be back with our co-founder Dan Friel. We’ve been friends since we were 13 years old, and we both started this together at Philly U, 10 years ago. So to come back 10 years later with a product that has grown substantially since we started it, just down the road, is going to be very meaningful. And I think for any fans that were in attendance that first year, it will be a great moment for them as well to see just how far the concept has grown and how high the level of play has gotten.
» READ MORE: Khalif Wyatt, the coach, leads Team Big 5 in the 2023 edition of the TBT | https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/tbt-final-philly-basketball-tournament-bracket-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:26 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/tbt-final-philly-basketball-tournament-bracket-20230731.html |
Lady Gaga shares heartfelt tribute to Tony Bennett: 'I will miss my friend forever'
Tony Bennett's publicist announced on July 21 that he had died at the age of 96
Singer Lady Gaga shared a tribute on Instagram early Monday morning to her longtime collaborator Tony Bennett, who died earlier this month. He was 96.
In the post, Gaga said she will "miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together."
"With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp," Gaga wrote. "Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn't an act. Our relationship was very real. Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight. 'Straight ahead,' he'd say."
She continued: "He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude...Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world. I've been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye."
LEGENDARY SINGER TONY BENNETT DEAD AT 96
Bennett's publicist announced on July 21 that the legendary singer had died. And although a cause of death was not given, Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. Still, Bennett continued performing in the recording studio and on tour.
Among the performances in his later years, he headlined two shows with Lady Gaga at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in August 2021.
The late singer has received 20 Grammy Awards throughout his career, as well as a lifetime achievement honor in 2001. He earned his final Grammy in April 2022 for his work with Gaga on the album "Love for Sale," which was his second acclaimed collaboration with her. Gaga performed the album's title track "Love for Sale" solo as a tribute to Bennett during the 2022 ceremony after Bennett introduced her over video.
Gaga and Bennett performed their duet title track "Cheek to Cheek" at the 2015 Grammys. The performance concluded with Gaga kissing Bennett on the cheek. The two took home the award for best traditional pop vocal album that year.
The two performers first collaborated on "The Lady Is a Tramp" from Bennett’s 2011 "Duets II."
"Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend," Gaga wrote. "Our age difference didn’t matter-- in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely--inspired. Losing Tony to Alzheimer's has been painful but it was also really beautiful. An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a person's life. There's such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity."
"All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life," Gaga said. "But, as that faded slowly I knew deep down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could--being willing to sing with me when his nature was changing so deeply. I'll never forget this experience. I'll never forget Tony Bennett."
TONY BENNETT AND LADY GAGA: THE MUSIC DUO'S LEGENDARY COLLABORATION
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Bennett has sold around 60 million records and has charted albums every decade since the 1950s.
"If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change," Gaga concluded. "Don't flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence—some of my musical partner and I's most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all." | https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lady-gaga-shares-heartfelt-tribute-tony-bennett-i-will-miss-my-friend-forever | 2023-07-31T09:19:26 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/lady-gaga-shares-heartfelt-tribute-tony-bennett-i-will-miss-my-friend-forever |
Canadian principal's suicide after alleged bullying for his 'whiteness' in CRT training sparks investigation
'You in your whiteness think that you can tell me what’s really going on for Black people,' the equity trainer allegedly said
A Toronto school board and an education minister announced they are launching investigations Thursday into a professional development training after a former principal died by suicide following a lawsuit in which he alleged emotional distress from antiracist trainings and the fallout that followed. The sessions included concepts from critical race theory.
Before his death, Richard Bilkszto, a 60-year-old former principal, sued the Toronto District School Board for emotional distress after he attended a training where he was accused of being a racist.
Bilkszto alleged in his lawsuit that Kike Ojo-Thompson – who runs an equity firm called the KOJO Institute – said that Canada was racist and has "never reckoned with its anti-Black history." When Bilkszto disagreed with the instructor and challenged her comments, he was condemned for appearing to undermine a Black woman, the lawsuit said.
"We are here to talk about anti-Black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can tell me what’s really going on for Black people" Ojo-Thompson said, according to the lawsuit filed by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.
Ojo-Thompson was not directly sued by Bilkszto - it was directed at the district. She has denied the allegations in FAIR's lawsuit and did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
The principal also alleged he was called a "White supremacist" for sharing his beliefs. The fallout from the training catapulted into further issues relating to the matter, and the family believes it was a hostile environment that took a serious toll on Bilkszto's mental health.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the allegations raised by Bilkszto "serious and disturbing" Thursday. A spokesperson told Fox News Digital that his staff will launch a review and present action items to ensure "this never happens again."
"I offer my heartfelt condolences to Richard’s family and friends, as we remember an educator that truly went above and beyond for his students," he added. "No staff member should ever be subject to harassment while in their place of work."
The family released a statement following his death, listing the district's KOJO training as part of the principal's emotional distress.
KOJO, who ran the training in question, is an equity consultant which promulgates critical race theory. CRT holds that society is rigged against certain groups on the basis of skin color. It decries the idea of succeeding by merit as a "myth," and ranks races into privilege categories, with White people considered unfairly privileged.
Using this lens, its original theorists believed that only present-day discrimination can combat the deeply embedded systemic oppression they believe were intentionally built into every societal structure and system.
"We know that anti-Black racism is operating within education because of the outcomes we see for Black students," Ojo-Thompson said. She further claimed that racism is embedded within all systems, and offers consulting to corporations, governments, etc.
During a follow-up session a week later, Ojo-Thompson allegedly recalled their disagreement from the first session and used Bilkszto's efforts to challenge her claims as a "real-life" example of someone supporting White supremacy.
"[N]avigating the whiteness of the education system is a daily hardship," Ojo Thomson has said. "The dominance of whiteness is not natural but the result of the legacies. Equally, the subordination of Blackness is also not natural."
As other examples of KOJO's CRT, the company's slide deck on instituting an equity agenda criticizes "Eurocentric/Anglocentric curriculum," "assimilationist culture," and "school disciplinary policies." The slide deck suggests that institutions – such as the educational system – can be wielded to influence society and the district's community.
It asked, "How are institutions leveraging their power and proximity to inform the community’s narrative?" KOJO also calls for the elimination of disparities through "[w]ork that is focused on the systemic and structural context."
Ojo-Thompson also believes in another idea central to critical theory, which is that individuals can belong to multiple categories of oppressed groups. The term for the concept is called "intersectionality."
"With every identity that is subordinated due to the legacies, we face discrimination and oppression in a way that is interlocking. Each form of oppression impacts the others," Ojo-Thompson said.
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The Toronto district was contacted for comment, and referred to a previous statement, in which they announced the "investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic passing of Richard Bilkszto."
The district will be using an outside agency, King International Advisory Group, to conduct its investigation.
"Our intention is for this investigation to be conducted in a professional, sensitive and respectful manner," the district said.
The KOJO Institute previously released a statement, which said, "The death of Richard Bilkszto is a tragedy and all of us at KOJO Institute offer our condolences to his loved ones."
It denied all allegations and added, "This incident is being weaponized to discredit and suppress the work of everyone committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
"KOJO Institute welcomes Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s review of this matter and will cooperate fully with Ministry officials. We believe the Ministry of Education is best positioned to investigate this matter to get to the bottom of what transpired at the Toronto District School Board after our workshop concluded over two years ago."
The anti-Black racism workshop at the center of Mr. Bilkszto’s false claims took place in the spring of 2021. It was only in June of 2023, through media inquiries seeking our comment, we learned Mr. Bilkszto filed a lawsuit without serving it against the Toronto District School Board."
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report. | https://www.foxnews.com/media/canadian-principals-suicide-alleged-bullying-whiteness-crt-training-sparks-investigation | 2023-07-31T09:19:28 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/media/canadian-principals-suicide-alleged-bullying-whiteness-crt-training-sparks-investigation |
A Philly-area woman was severely burned after a Main Line Fertility doctor mistakenly injected acid into her body
After `unthinkable' medical error, Montgomery County couple wonders, 'How do we make ourselves happy and pretend everything's fine?'
Lying on a medical exam table, Christine braced for the slight cramping that her doctor at Main Line Fertility said to expect during a routine procedure to check her fallopian tubes for blockages.
But almost immediately after the doctor injected a fluid-filled syringe into her uterine cavity on Dec. 19, 2022, Christine said, she felt searing pain.
“I felt burning,” said Christine, 33, a Montessori preschool teacher from the Philadelphia suburbs, who had come to the fertility practice’s Havertown office while she and her husband, Jason, were trying to conceive.
“I kept saying, ‘Something is off. Something is wrong. Is it supposed to burn?’ ” Christine said.
The Inquirer is identifying the couple by first names only at their request because of the intimate medical details involved.
Christine recalled that the doctor, Allison Bloom, ignored her complaints, saying, “No, it’s just saline.” As Christine writhed, Bloom watched the ultrasound monitor to see whether the liquid flowed through Christine’s right fallopian tube.
Soon after Bloom finished the procedure and left the room, angry red welts started spreading along Christine’s inner thighs and legs.
Only then did the ultrasound technician check the solution bottle — and realize a horrific error: Trichloroacetic acid, at an 85% concentration, rather than saline, had somehow gotten drawn up into the syringe. Bloom then injected the acid into Christine, medical records show.
Trichloroacetic acid, or TCA, is so caustic that the fumes alone can sting the nose and throat. The bottle reads: Danger! Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. Suspected of causing cancer.
“All hands on deck! Get everybody in here!” Christine heard Bloom yell, as the doctor ran back into the room.
A medical error as egregious as mistaking flesh-burning acid for harmless saline is called a “never event” because it’s preventable and should never happen. The fiery pain that Christine felt inside her abdomen and lower torso would later be diagnosed as first- and second-degree internal and external chemical burns.
Seven months later, her reproductive organs are marred with scar tissue, resembling “leather,” she said. The couple do not know whether they can realize their dream of filling their farm-style, pale yellow Montgomery County house with their offspring.
Main Line Fertility, which is not affiliated with Main Line Health, has never explained how it botched her procedure, nor apologized for its error, according to Christine and Jason. The couple are seeking answers and monetary damages through a lawsuit filed in March in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas. It alleges the error resulted from negligence, recklessness, and failure to follow best practices.
The practice, which serves thousands of hopeful, would-be parents annually at eight offices across Pennsylvania, has denied reckless conduct or other failings in recent court filings.
Bloom acknowledged the error in Christine’s medical records, but a spokesperson for Main Line Fertility said that the doctor was not responsible for the acid being in the room, and that she did not fill the syringe.
The practice has since removed trichloroacetic acid from all offices and has stopped using it to treat patients, spokesperson Mia Humphreys said in response to follow-up questions from The Inquirer.
“Main Line Fertility also takes training of safety protocols and operations very seriously,” Humphreys said in a statement. “Our dedicated staff are comprehensively and regularly trained to strictly adhere to all operational protocols.”
During a tearful, two-hour interview, Christine and Jason said they decided to speak with The Inquirer to advocate for patient safety and reforms at Main Line Fertility.
“If it wasn’t Christine who was in the room, it would have been another woman,” Jason said.
Burning inside
Christine expected to be at the fertility clinic for no more than an hour on the Monday before Christmas last year. She took an early lunch break after the clinic moved her afternoon appointment to 11 a.m. She planned to return to work after grabbing Chick-fil-A at a drive-through.
The 15-minute procedure, called a saline infusion sonogram, was supposed to be so routine that she told her husband not to come. It involves filling a syringe with saline and injecting it into the uterus. The doctor then sees whether the saline flows through the fallopian tubes, or whether a blockage is causing infertility.
Seconds after the injection, Christine was in agony. She couldn’t concentrate as Bloom explained next steps in her fertility treatment.
After Bloom left the room, a nurse looked at Christine and said, “You don’t look good. Maybe you should lie back down,” Christine recounted.
“I gotta get up,” she told the nurse. She went to the bathroom and fluid gushed down her legs. It looked like boiling water had been poured on her.
“Is this normal?” Christine asked.
Bloom rushed back into the room. She immediately used saline to wash out Christine’s uterus, tubes and abdomen. In her medical notes, Bloom later wrote that she could see “white plaques consistent with burns from the acid” in Christine’s vagina and on her legs.
The staff laid cold, wet paper towels over her scalded legs and thighs. “That hurt even worse,” Christine said.
“I don’t know what labor feels like, unfortunately, but I felt like,” she paused, crying, “this is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.”
A nurse brushed her sweaty, blonde bangs aside, and acid residue on the nurse’s fingertips stung Christine’s face.
“Did someone call Jason?” Christine repeatedly asked.
Don’t pass out, she told herself. She feared that her husband wouldn’t know her whereabouts.
After an ambulance arrived, 911 paramedics thrust Christine onto a gurney. She was still naked from the waist down. They rushed her through the waiting area as staffers and patients looked on, down three building flights and out to the curb.
She felt on display. Even worse, she had no idea what was wrong.
Jason, 30, who works in finance, was working from home on back-to-back business calls. A Main Line Fertility staffer contacted him and said he needed to get to the burn unit at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, an hour away in Delaware County.
“There was an incident,” the staffer told him, offering little else. He felt raw panic during the drive.
Christine’s terror escalated on her 35-mile ambulance ride. A paramedic gave her fentanyl for the pain, but it didn’t help much.
Narberth Ambulance paramedics bypassed two closer hospitals to take her to Crozer’s specialized burn center. She was confused why they brought her there, because she thought she had suffered an allergic reaction to saline.
She learned what happened from a paramedic. “Oh, honey, they didn’t put saline solution through you, that was acid,” she recalled being told.
“I didn’t believe him. I didn’t understand,” Christine said.
A highly caustic chemical
Saline and acid are clear liquids, indistinguishable to the eye once poured.
At a fertility clinic, saline is used frequently during sonograms to help visualize and diagnose abnormalities, such as uterine fibroids, polyps, or a misshaped uterus that may cause infertility. Saline is harmless to the body.
Trichloroacetic acid is used sparingly, with a “tiny, tiny dot” of it on a cotton swab, to treat genital warts, said David Barad, an ob/gyn and reproductive endocrinologist at the Center for Human Reproduction in New York City. It’s highly caustic.
“Once the stuff hits the tissue, you can’t fix it,” Barad said. “When you brush it onto tissue, it turns white because it’s basically cooking it.”
Up until the late 1980s and early 1990s, trichloroacetic acid was primarily used as an herbicide to kill certain grasses and weeds harmful to crops. It also has been utilized to etch the surface of metal and remove tattoos, but diluted to 30%.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as “a possible human carcinogen,” based on animal experiments.
New Jersey has placed trichloroacetic acid on the state’s “special health hazard substance list.” The state has flagged the corrosive chemical as a possible reproductive hazard, potentially impacting fetal development and increasing risk of miscarriage.
There is little research on its carcinogenicity in humans.
Saline and trichloroacetic acid should never be stored together, said Barad, who performs the saline-based procedure that Christine went in for about three or four times a week.
He opts to draw the saline into the syringe himself, rather than leaving the task to a technician. If the lining of the uterus is damaged by acid, it would be difficult to implant an embryo, even if the ovaries can still produce eggs, he noted.
“It’s like having a garden replaced with cement. There’s nowhere to plant the flower,” Barad said.
‘Just all burned’
When Christine arrived at Crozer’s burn treatment center, doctors were unsure what to do because they had never seen such an injury.
“There were at least five doctors who came in and said, ‘Can I see it? Can I see it?’” she said. “They kept saying, ‘We don’t know what the next step is, but I have to see it.’”
Inside her reproductive tract, they saw “white blotches” against fire-red inflammation. They told her the lining of her uterus was “just all burned.”
Doctors worried that the acid had eaten through her fallopian tubes to her colon.
Initially, doctors proposed diagnostic surgery. They’d make an incision, insert a tiny camera, and examine her organs for possible signs of acid spread.
After deliberating, doctors instead decided to do a CT scan to see whether the acid had “eaten through” her uterus and seeped into her digestive system, Jason recalled.
Christine drank dye to help doctors examine her organs and tissue for any acid breach. Doctors didn’t see anything that warranted next-step exploratory surgery or emergency removal of her colon, Jason said.
They spent two days at the hospital. The only treatment doctors could offer: pain medication and estrogen cream.
About a month after she left Crozer, a doctor called Christine and asked whether she’d participate in a research paper to help other burn specialists learn from the case. She agreed. They’d also like to study any long-term health effects.
Christine said she’s still in pain. She has a permanent trail of white scars down the back of her legs. She can’t lift the preschoolers she teaches. Just sitting hurts.
Many of the couple’s friends are either expecting babies or just became parents, and that’s been hard. She’s in therapy, but she feels depressed.
“How do we make ourselves happy and pretend everything’s fine?” Christine said.
A ‘never event’
Although relatively rare, devastating medical errors like what happened during Christine’s fertility treatment are so serious — and avoidable — that the profession has vowed that they should never happen.
Last year, Pennsylvania recorded 9,741 “serious events” — instances in which medical care resulted in death or unanticipated, grave injury. This represents an increase of 7.7% statewide from the year prior, according to the state’s Patient Safety Reporting System, the largest repository in the nation. Of the 9,741 serious events, 32 involved electrical, thermal, or chemical burns, state data show.
A state law, enacted in 2002, requires reporting of many errors, but such reports are confidential, said Mark O’Neill, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, who could not confirm whether Main Line Fertility made a report.
Although state health officials do not license Main Line Fertility’s Havertown office, the practice is required by law to report lawsuits against a doctor to a state licensing board within 60 days.
The 2002 law also requires a facility to investigate errors and make recommendations to eliminate future ones.
Main Line Fertility declined to answer specific questions about how the error happened, what safety protocols were in place at the time, and whether employees were disciplined.
The practice also would not say whether it had reported its error to the state, but noted that Main Line Fertility complies with all regulations.
At the end of the doctor’s Dec. 19, 2022, patient note about the mistake in Christine’s case, Bloom wrote that an “incident report and root-cause analysis will be initiated.”
Given that the circumstances involved two look-alike clear fluids stored in bottles, a medical worker could easily confuse the two, especially if moving quickly between patients in multiple procedure rooms, said Zane Robinson Wolf, dean emerita at La Salle University’s School of Nursing and Health Science, who has lectured and written extensively on patient safety.
Even so, that does not excuse an egregious error, she said.
“The infusion of a scarifying, burn-inducing fluid is definitely a ‘never event,’” Robinson Wolf said. “The pain of it — to be burned internally and externally — is very traumatic.”
The doctor who performed the procedure, Allison Bloom, runs Main Line Fertility’s egg donor and freezing programs. Bloom joined the practice in 2017 as a fellow before becoming an attending physician in 2020. She did not respond to a phone call or a note left at her Havertown office by an Inquirer reporter.
Although Bloom is named in the couple’s lawsuit, Main Line Fertility’s statement noted that she was not at fault.
“We can share that Dr. Bloom was not responsible for the acid being in the procedure room. She also was not involved in prefilling the syringe,” Main Line Fertility spokesperson Humphreys wrote in a statement.
Main Line Fertility is not a subsidiary of Main Line Health, a hospital system, though the couple are suing both entities. Bloom, as an independent physician, is a member of the Main Line Health medical staff, according to the hospital system, which said in a statement that “Main Line Health is not a proper defendant in the lawsuit and will vigorously defend the case and seek dismissal.”
A lawyer for the couple, Robert S. Miller, said Christine and Jason are disappointed by Main Line Fertility’s efforts to discount Bloom’s role in what happened.
“We intend to hold Dr. Bloom and other Main Line Fertility defendants accountable for the grossly irresponsible actions that led to this unthinkable scenario unfolding in the first place,” said Miller, of the Center City firm Wapner Newman.
Julianna Merback Burdo, another lawyer for Christine and Jason, said the couple hope to get answers through the lawsuit. On July 12, Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel Anders issued an order giving Main Line Fertility 20 days to provide responses.
Insult to injury
Christine, through tears, said she feels forgotten by Main Line Fertility.
And the long-term effects of the acid on Christine’s health aren’t yet known; the chemical gets absorbed by the body, Jason said.
“There’s not a day that goes by that you’re not reminded, ‘Oh, yeah, this happened to me,’” Christine said. “It doesn’t stop, and I feel like they just put it behind them, that it was just a blip in their day, ‘Oops a mistake was made. Carry on. Forget it ever happened.’”
Main Line Fertility said in its statement that it “repeatedly followed up with the patient following the incident to check on her condition.” In the days after the procedure, Bloom was in contact with Crozer doctors, medical records and interviews show. A staffer at Main Line Fertility also tried to contact Christine and Jason, but the couple said they were too distraught to talk to Bloom or anyone else at the practice at the time.
Main Line Fertility says it informed the couple they would not have to pay for the procedure, yet Christine gets a bill from it every month for $538.14. The practice is now threatening to send her to a collection agency if she doesn’t pay by mid-August.
The most recent invoice, dated July 13, lists a charge for “saline infusion sonohysterography.” | https://www.inquirer.com/health/havertown-fertility-clinic-woman-suffered-severe-injuries-acid-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:28 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/health/havertown-fertility-clinic-woman-suffered-severe-injuries-acid-20230731.html |
WaPo editor downplays Hillary Clinton's email scandal: Mostly 'cooking recipes and appointments'
The State Department found more than 2,000 emails with classified information on Clinton's private server
There is "no similarity" between Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and Donald Trump’s classified document scandal, according to Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart.
Capehart addressed the comparison on Friday’s "PBS Newshour" in a panel with fellow Washington Post contributor Gary Abernathy discussing Trump’s ongoing legal issues. Host Geoff Bennett brought up the former secretary of state as both she and Trump have been accused of concealing classified information, but Capehart suggested that there was no "symmetry."
"[I]f we have learned anything from the four years of Donald Trump's presidency and his campaign leading up to it and the campaign to try to get reelected, he's the master of projection. Anything that he accuses someone else of doing, whether it's Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, you name them, he has either done it himself for real or would really like to do it," Capehart said.
He continued, "And what we're discovering now is that he has done all of the things he has accused Hillary Clinton of doing, actually done. The e-mails that they found on Secretary Clinton's server, a lot of them had to do with cooking recipes and appointments. None had to do with nuclear secrets and secrets about our allies. And you just can't — there's no parallel. There is no symmetry. There is no similarity at all."
Abernathy pointed out that former FBI Director James Comey revealed that there were several classified emails found on Clinton’s private server.
"Well, actually, Director Comey pointed out that a lot of her things that they found on her server were classified and probably were accessed by foreign agents," Abernathy said. "I mean, this is something they said probably happened. So we don't know if they were nuclear secrets. Of course, we don't know about all the ones that were deleted before anyone ever got to see them."
"If they were nuclear secrets, Gary, we would have known. Donald Trump's DOJ? Come on," Capehart insisted.
In 2016, the State Department found more than 2,000 emails containing classified information on Clinton’s private server. The State Department also found that Clinton had deleted more than 30,000 emails prior to their investigation.
Though Capehart dismissed the scandal surrounding Clinton’s emails, Abernathy acknowledged that there were many people who thought that Clinton was treated more favorable than Trump.
He added, "And that's the problem that a lot of the country has with what they see. That's why they bring up Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, very similar situation…no charges. No reasonable prosecutor would bring charges was the famous quote from FBI Director James Comey. A lot of people just have never bought that."
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Trump is currently accused of 37 felony counts including the willful retention of classified information. By contrast, while Comey called Clinton "extremely careless" regarding classified information, the FBI did not recommend criminal charges be brought against her.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion, and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media | https://www.foxnews.com/media/wapo-editor-downplays-hillary-clintons-email-scandal-mostly-cooking-recipes-appointments | 2023-07-31T09:19:29 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/media/wapo-editor-downplays-hillary-clintons-email-scandal-mostly-cooking-recipes-appointments |
These fathers are giving away thousands of free books to Philly kids to encourage early literacy
FathersRead365, founded by two Philadelphia men, want to inspire other Black fathers and father-figures to read daily to their children.
Faced with a group of excited preschoolers gathered at their feet for story time, Akeiff Staples and Brent Johnstone made a promise that had the youngsters screaming: free books.
The men are founders of FathersRead365 and are giving out free books and reading out loud to preschoolers to spark a love of reading. They also want to inspire other Black fathers and father figures to read daily to the children in their lives.
“We believe that what we are doing as Black men in education is changing the narrative,” said Johnstone. “I want us to know our power.”
They are focusing on day care centers and schools in high-poverty areas in Philadelphia, and want to give every child at least 13 books to take home. They also donate free books to the centers and make return visits to replenish their inventory.
“We want early literacy to become an everyday topic,” said Johnstone, a father of two. “We want to make sure we put books in kids’ hands.”
» READ MORE: This father wants to encourage other Black men to take their children to the Philadelphia Ballet
After dropping off 13 boxes containing about 1,300 books at the Acelero Learning Center on Germantown Avenue in North Philadelphia on Thursday, Johnstone and Staples put on a show for two classes in the all-purpose room. Referring to themselves as “Mr. A.” and “Mr. B,” the fathers talked about more than literacy: They promoted self-esteem, listening skills, and healthy eating.
The new and gently used books the kids were receiving included topics on Black explorers and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They handed out books for English learners and picture books with positive images.
“I get to keep all of these books?” asked Zoraida Romero, the center’s assistant director, as the boxes were carried inside. “It’s a big deal for us. A lot of our families don’t have books.”
The men began their presentation by dividing the preschoolers into two teams that competed in a “screaming ABC contest.” They had the children run in place, first in slow motion, and then at a faster speed to demonstrate the impact of eating sugary foods compared with fruits and vegetables.
The men took turns reading excerpts from I’m Beautiful. I’m Proud, and Mr. Healthy Snacks, which they co-wrote. Staples, 44, shared his story about his quest for a healthier lifestyle after he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2008. He encouraged the children to yell out the name of their favorite fruit or vegetable. Johnstone, 46, shared his battle with dyslexia that went undiagnosed for years and told the children not to be afraid to ask for help.
Johnstone called one student, Hafstu, to the front after learning from a teacher that the 5-year-old could read and write. She boldly accepted the book Llama Llama Red Pajama from him and flawlessly read a passage about an impatient llama waiting for his mother.
“Who reads to you?” Johnstone asked her.
“I can read by myself,” the girl responded proudly.
Said Johnstone: “She was amazing.”
The center enrolls about 100 children, from infants to preschoolers, Romero said. By kindergarten, most should be able read their first and last names and read sight words, she said. The center encourages parents to read to their children for at least 15 minutes a day.
Johnstone and Staples initially considered starting a program to help young incarcerated men become better fathers when they were released. They strongly believed that illiteracy and a lack of positive role models contributed to their delinquency.
The two men met while playing football at Temple University in 1997. They eventually became social workers and youth advocates and wanted to do more to help their communities.
They shifted gears in 2017 to focus on youth in their community and started reading to children at day care centers and schools. They were surprised that they usually were the only male volunteers. They were intrigued by a Harvard University study that found that fathers who read to their children at age 3 had a major impact on their language development.
» READ MORE: Camden educators are on a mission, going door-to-door to register kids for free, full-day preschool
The men turned the program into a nonprofit and began securing funding. Eventually, the program grew, and FathersRead365 became a full-time mission for both. They have a white van wrapped with their logo and motto to transport boxes of books for their visits, about five a month during the school year. They hope to add a book bus to travel to locations and distribute books and recruit other men to join them.
They even made a YouTube video to teach parents how to read aloud.
FathersRead365 is now operating in about 100 day care centers, having distributed about 170,000 free books to Philadelphia children. Most of the books come from organizations First Book or Book Smiles, which has donated at least 10,000 books a month.
“There’s a screaming need for books,” said Book Smiles founder Larry Abrams. “It’s a match made in heaven.”
When Johnstone and Staples wrapped up story time, some children gave them high-fives and hugs. The men promised to come back with more books.
“They really seemed to have enjoyed it,” said Romero.
“We did, too,” Johnstone said with a smile. | https://www.inquirer.com/news/fathers-read-free-books-philadelphia-daycare-centers-literacy-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:29 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/news/fathers-read-free-books-philadelphia-daycare-centers-literacy-20230731.html |
Supreme Court Justice Jackson's second error reveals another industry gone woke
Jackson's error exposes left's woke corruption of the field of medicine
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's defense of racial discrimination is falling apart.
It’s now well known that Jackson repeated an embarrassing falsehood while defending affirmative action in college admissions. In her Students for Fair Admissions dissent, she asserted that matching Black physicians with Black patients doubles survival rates for newborns, a claim that’s equally unbelievable and factually unsupported.
But this is not the only mistake Jackson made. Her second error shows the diversity-industrial complex’s deep corruption of medicine – and its threat to Americans’ health.
RESEARCHERS HORRIFIED, DECRY RISE OF 'FASCISM' AS STUDENTS SEND MOCKING RESPONSES TO WOKE SURVEY
Jackson wrote, "research shows that Black physicians are more likely to accurately assess Black patients’ pain tolerance and treat them accordingly," for instance, "prescribing them appropriate amounts of pain medication." A footnote refers to an amicus brief from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the same source that led to Jackson’s first mistake.
The AAMC brief refers to four studies in support of this claim.
Yet none of them examine whether Black doctors are better at treating the pain of Black patients. All four document Black patients’ problems with pain management, but crucially, not one examines the efficacy of doctors of different races. The AAMC either failed to read the research or deliberately created this claim out of whole cloth.
It's unfortunate that Jackson and her elite-trained clerks were led astray by yet another falsehood. But it’s unconscionable that the Association of American Medical Colleges got the facts so wrong in such a high-stakes case. Most concerning of all, it’s unsurprising for this once prestigious yet still powerful organization.
The AAMC, which represents every accredited medical school in the U.S. and Canada, has elevated diversity to an absurd level. It holds, as an article of faith, that medical schools must recruit more Black students, even if that means discriminating against students of other races and lowering standards for admission.
Not only does the AAMC brook no arguments to the contrary, but it also misreads research and perhaps manufactures evidence to support its position.
These are the actions of a radicalized organization – one that puts political demands above its stated goal of improving medical education. The AAMC’s faulty justification of race-based admissions, seen in its amicus brief, is bad enough. Yet the association’s extremist turn doesn’t end there.
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The AAMC has quietly graded its member schools’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Through freedom of information reports, we have found reports from 34 medical schools, detailing their implementation of 89 AAMC-approved DEI initiatives.
The list includes hiring and promoting professors based on DEI metrics, creating a permanent DEI bureaucracy, lobbying for DEI policies at every level of government and making DEI a "key learning outcome." The average medical school has complied with 85% of the AAMC’s wishes.
It's unfortunate that Jackson and her elite-trained clerks were led astray by yet another falsehood. But it’s unconscionable that the Association of American Medical Colleges got the facts so wrong in such a high-stakes case. Most concerning of all, it’s unsurprising for this once prestigious yet still powerful organization.
The corruption of curriculum is especially concerning. Last summer, the AAMC released new "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Competencies," which effectively dictate what medical schools teach. Future physicians must now master "intersectionality," describing "how each identity may result in varied and multiple forms of oppression or privilege related to clinical decisions and practice."
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Other mandatory topics include "colonization, white supremacy, acculturation, [and] assimilation." The AAMC sponsors medical schools’ accrediting body, so institutions that don’t teach these medical divisive concepts risk losing their ability to issue degrees.
The AAMC’s actions are lowering, not raising, the quality of medical education, which in turn lowers the quality of future medical care. By repeating the organization’s false claims about racial preferences in college admissions, Justice Jackson has shined a light on the deeper danger that DEI poses to Americans’ health and well-being.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JAY P. GREENE | https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/supreme-court-justice-jacksons-second-error-reveals-another-industry-gone-woke | 2023-07-31T09:19:29 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/supreme-court-justice-jacksons-second-error-reveals-another-industry-gone-woke |
Dean of it | Sports Daily Newsletter
He’s no longer a rookie.
People who go about their business in a professional, no-fuss fashion, completing all needed tasks, are often described as being “on it.”
It’s far different than being “on one,” and other people know they can trust whatever problem arises to these individuals who simply take care of it.
Nakobe Dean may be young to take on the role of commanding the defense, but he has buckled down to the task and already earned praise from head coach Nick Sirianni, as well as new defensive coordinator Sean Desai.
It’s no small thing to be the main communicator for the defense, and it’s a big jump for a player who was a rookie last season. Josh Tolentino has more information about the new transition for Dean.
—Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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❓Will Dean be successful this season commanding the defense? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.
Remember this guy? Quez Watkins might have seen his role decreased last season and also had a crucial drop in the Super Bowl. But in the early part of training camp, Watkins has been a standout.
Newly acquired running back D’Andre Swift has shown his versatility with his pass-catching ability. Could he become a reliable option to help the Eagles offense?
Next: Eagles Pro Shop locations at Lincoln Financial Field, Cherry Hill, and Lancaster open at 9 a.m. with kelly green merchandise. There will fan entertainment on Pepsi Plaza at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jalen Hurts: Rare Bird
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The biggest thing to fear at the trade deadline: a false sense of security with the Phillies pitching staff. The second biggest thing to fear: their only option might be hope. Both of these things were true even before this weekend, when the Phillies allowed 12 runs in two days to a Pirates lineup that had been among the worst in the sport. The bottom-line numbers have looked pretty good for the last couple of months. But this is one of those situations where the whole exceeds the sum of the parts. Reality is, the Phillies have two fewer top-line arms than they did at this time last year. David Murphy writes that could easily become three, depending on where Craig Kimbrel goes from here.
The Phillies took a 6-4 punch to the gut in 10 innings on Josh Palacios’ two-run homer and dropped two of three games to the Pirates.
A day after being dropped down to seventh in the lineup, Turner hit fifth on Sunday. His struggles continued as did his frustration with what is shaping up to be the worst season of his career.
Next: The Phillies open a four-game series in Miami at 6:40 p.m. Monday (NBCSP). Taijuan Walker (11-4, 4.06) is scheduled to start against Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera (5-6, 4.74).
It’s simple. Megan Rapinoe understands how tournament soccer works. She’s lifted the World Cup trophy numerous times, after all, and that doesn’t happen without skill and tenacity. Athletic dominance is not timeless, however. Rapinoe may have lost a step to the ravages of age, but she’s more soccer-savvy than ever. She knows the U.S. women’s team can do and must do better if the squad is to have the most likely path to the final.
Although she’s a newer addition to the team, midfielder Andi Sullivan also understands the team’s improvement is imperative.
Worth a look
Just for Kixx: Before he guided the USWNT, even before the Union existed, Vlatko Andonovski kicked it around in Philly.
Cutter didn’t cut camp: Burnout is real, and a certain young hockey player decided to avoid it by pulling back on development camp with the Flyers.
The dream grind: Games, games, more games — yes, it’s a wish fulfilled to cover a World Cup tournament, but as Jonathan Tannenwald reveals, it’s also a lot of exhausting work.
On this date
In 1994, Steve Carlton, who, among his many exploits, won 27 games in the 1972 season for the Phillies, was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Olivia Reiner, Giana Han, Matt Breen, Isabella DiAmore, Scott Lauber, Josh Tolentino, David Murphy, and Jeff McLane. | https://www.inquirer.com/newsletters/sports/phillies-union-flyers-eagles-sixers-nakobe-dean-philadelphia-sports-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:29 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/newsletters/sports/phillies-union-flyers-eagles-sixers-nakobe-dean-philadelphia-sports-20230731.html |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:19:31 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Highly experienced Corporate Financier and Business Builder Will Partner with René Obermann to Further Accelerate the Growth and Momentum of the Firm's European Business
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, today announced the appointment of Andrew Sibbald as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Europe. Mr. Sibbald will work alongside veteran investor and current Co-Head of Europe, René Obermann, based in Berlin. Mr. Sibbald will succeed Adarsh Sarma, who will remain a Managing Director and Partner with the Firm, focusing on his existing portfolio. Jim Neary, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, will work closely with Andrew, René and the European team to support the firm's global strategy, portfolio management and new investments.
Based in London, Mr. Sibbald joins Warburg Pincus from Evercore, where he most recently served as Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Evercore's European investment banking business. He was previously the Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Lexicon Partners which was acquired by Evercore in 2011. With over 35 years of financial services experience, Mr. Sibbald has advised on many notable M&A and corporate finance transactions including recently: Arcmont on its sale to Nuveen; Global Risk Partners on its sale to Brown & Brown; and AA on its sale to Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook Capital.
"Andrew's impressive expertise and deep-rooted experience, particularly in Europe, advising leading companies on a variety of sophisticated transactions will serve our portfolio and investing teams well as we continue to navigate complex market dynamics," said Chip Kaye, CEO, Warburg Pincus. "We look forward to welcoming Andrew to Warburg Pincus and want to thank Adarsh for his 18+ years of service in the US and Europe," continued Jim Neary, Managing Director, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, Warburg Pincus.
"I have long admired the success and culture of Warburg Pincus and I'm thrilled to be joining the firm. I have enormous respect for René and look forward to working closely with him and the team in Europe to drive further positive momentum in the business here. Warburg Pincus has an incredibly strong reputation for creating effective partnerships with management teams all over the world to deliver sustainable value and growth, as well as attractive returns for its investors. I strongly believe that the firm's long established global platform together with its local networks and insights provide real advantages to the management teams and businesses that partner with us," said Andrew Sibbald.
Warburg Pincus is one of the leading private equity investors in Europe. Since the firm's first European transaction in 1983, the firm has invested more than $15B in over 130 companies in 23 European countries. The firm has one of the largest pools of available private equity capital in Europe and seeks to partner with management teams that are building, transforming or acquiring businesses with the potential to be market leaders with enduring value.
Prior to founding Lexicon Partners in 2000, Mr. Sibbald was a Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he led a team specializing in M&A in the financial institutions sector. He was previously a Partner in The Phoenix Partnership.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact
Kerrie Cohen | Managing Director, Head of Communications
T: +1 212 878 9207
E: kerrie.cohen@warburgpincus.com
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SOURCE Warburg Pincus | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ | 2023-07-31T09:19:37 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ |
Forget I-95, Gov. Shapiro should slash the bureaucracy for everybody
While Shapiro focuses on optics, Pennsylvanians are in need of an effective leader — one who will remove bureaucratic hurdles and red tape.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s PR people clearly have a new strategy. After the barrage of negative headlines questioning his effectiveness as a politician — after threatening to veto his own priority on Lifeline Scholarships and causing the current budget impasse — they are refocusing attention firmly on his triumphs, namely reopening I-95.
Shapiro did a fine job on I-95. We know because he won’t stop telling us. His most recent victory lap came via a Washington Post op-ed seeking to burnish his reputation as a strong leader and claiming he “slashed bureaucracy.”
But the PR strategy backfired when the executive director of Shapiro’s Advisory Commission for Next Generation Engagement made a cringe-worthy video of herself putting on makeup while extolling the virtues and accomplishments of her boss.
So here’s my advice for the governor: Instead of having staff post Trump-esque vanity videos of your accomplishments, why not apply the principles you’re bragging about and slash bureaucracy for everybody?
And it shouldn’t just be for road building, but across all departments — especially health care.
A few weeks ago, my friend April rang me with awful news. Her cancer is back worse than before.
I’ve written in these pages before about April Hynes. During COVID-19, she was diagnosed with stage 4, triple-negative metastatic breast cancer. To get the treatment she needed in 2020, April required and received a state waiver for a telemedicine appointment at the esteemed Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York that gave her a second opinion on her treatment options, allowing her to stay alive for the last three years — even going for months with “no evidence of disease,” the precursor to being in remission.
Thank goodness so many restrictions were waived, and we were able to get her an emergency exemption. But neither former Gov. Tom Wolf nor Shapiro has made telemedicine waivers permanent. Most of the waivers expired at the end of October 2022.
At the height of the pandemic, lawmakers and Shapiro’s predecessor extended active waivers on hundreds of health-care regulations, including loosening restrictions on telehealth. Telehealth exploded during the pandemic. In Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine hosted more than a million telemedicine visits during the first year of the pandemic — a 9,000% increase from the year prior.
April is still having to fight her way through Pennsylvania’s red tape simply to access the medical care that she desperately needs. Once again, she needs a second opinion at Sloan Kettering and is too sick to travel there in person.
This time, there are no waivers for her to get the second opinion. I called the office of her state representative, Perry Warren, to ask if they could help her. No, I was told. They didn’t even know what I was talking about.
And so, April has still not started chemo. She still is desperate for that second opinion at Sloan Kettering. If she starts chemo before getting one, she could be barred from accessing any clinical trials that might provide better treatment.
If Shapiro recognizes that bureaucracy is a problem for roads, then he should refocus on alleviating the burdensome rules and regulations that slow down everything necessary for the health, safety, and well-being of all Pennsylvanians. We don’t need excessive rules and regulations on our roads or for our health care.
While Shapiro focuses on optics, Pennsylvanians need an effective leader — one who will remove the bureaucratic hurdles and red tape preventing them from protecting their lives and livelihoods.
If he can do it for a highway bridge, why not for the rest of us?
During his campaign, Shapiro promised he would “expand telehealth services.” Cutting the red tape for April won’t garner the press coverage the I-95 reopening did — but it could save a life. | https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/shapiro-i95-telemedicine-wavers-cancer-treatment-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:45 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/shapiro-i95-telemedicine-wavers-cancer-treatment-20230731.html |
Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer to testify at House Oversight hearing
Archer is reportedly preparing to testify that President Biden met with Hunter’s business associates
Hunter Biden’s longtime friend and business associate Devon Archer is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee Monday as part of the panel’s investigation into the Biden family ventures and whether President Biden was involved.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed Archer last month for testimony as part of his months-long investigation, which has yielded much evidence related to the Biden family's alleged foreign business schemes. At least three previously planned depositions were canceled by Archer for personal reasons.
DOJ REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN STILL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL FARA VIOLATIONS
Archer is reportedly preparing to testify that President Biden met with dozens of Hunter’s business associates while he was serving as vice president between 2009 and 2017– information that, if true, puts into question the White House’s repeated assertions that Biden was "never in business with his son," never spoke with his son about his business dealings, and never had any knowledge of them.
Archer is expected to detail the meetings he witnessed in which both Bidens – Joe and Hunter – attended. Those meetings either took place in person or via telephone. Archer is also reportedly expected to testify that Hunter would introduce his father to foreign business partners or to prospective investors.
Archer’s intimate knowledge of the business arrangements and Joe Biden's alleged involvement come after years of working alongside Hunter Biden.
DOOR MAY BE OPEN TO IMPEACHING BIDEN FOR MISDEEDS COMMITTED PRIOR TO PRESIDENCY: LEGAL EXPERTS
Archer served on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings with Hunter beginning in 2014. He also co-founded investment firm Rosemont Seneca alongside the president’s son and Climate Envoy John Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Heinz. Archer served as managing director.
Archer also co-founded BHR Partners in 2013 – a joint-venture between Rosemont Seneca and Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital. BHR Partners is a Beijing-backed private equity firm controlled by Bank of China Limited.
Archer was forced to resign from BHR Partners in May 2016 after he came under federal investigation.
Archer in February 2022 was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through "fraudulent and deceptive means," according to the Justice Department.
Archer’s testimony comes as part of Comer’s investigation, which has revealed that the Biden family and its business associates created more than 20 companies and received more than $10 million from foreign nationals while Joe Biden served as vice president and tried to conceal the source of those funds.
Comer said some of these payments could indicate attempts by the Biden family to "peddle influence" and said the family appeared to take steps to "conceal the source and total amount received from the foreign companies."
The committee has also zeroed in on a key FBI document – an FD-1023 form – containing allegations that Joe Biden, while serving as vice president, and Hunter Biden "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars to help get the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm fired.
At the time, Joe Biden was in charge of U.S.-Ukraine policy for the Obama administration. Biden has publicly boasted about his success in having that prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, fired, though supporters say removing Shokin was U.S. policy at the time.
The committee is likely to press Archer on whether he had any knowledge of any alleged payments to the Bidens, as he also sat on the Burisma board.
Sources told Fox News Digital that FD-1023 document is part of an ongoing federal investigation.
"Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he knew nothing about his son’s business dealings. Evidence continues to be revealed that Joe Biden was very much involved in his family’s corrupt influence peddling schemes and he likely benefited financially," Comer said in a statement ahead of Archer’s deposition. "This includes deals with a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch and a CCP-linked energy company that generated millions for the Bidens and undermined American interests."
Comer added: "It certainly appears that Joe Biden and his family put themselves first and Americans last, but corporate media and the Justice Department continue to cover up for the Bidens."
Comer vowed that the Oversight Committee "will continue to follow the facts to provide the transparency and accountability that the American people demand and deserve."
"We look forward to speaking soon with Devon Archer about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business affairs," Comer said.
As for Archer, his attorney said there have been "many leaks and much speculation" about Archer’s potential statements to the committee, but said Monday, "Mr. Archer will get to speak for himself." | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-business-associate-devon-archer-to-testify-at-house-oversight | 2023-07-31T09:19:45 | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-business-associate-devon-archer-to-testify-at-house-oversight |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "Empowerment" is the core competence of PE/VC institutions after investment. Asia Green Fund (AGF) has always adhered to the investment strategy of "pursuing both financial returns and environmental benefits", focused on the logic of "technology empowerment", grasped the development trend of SRDI industries, and promoted technological innovation to empower industrial convergence and innovative development. AGF continues to practice the "sustainable investment strategy" and has now formed an industrial ecosystem with deep linkage among the capital side (LPs), investment side (AGF), and industry side (science and technology enterprises), which realized the bidirectional empowerment between capital and industry.
AGF adheres to the principle of "30% investment and 70% management" and provides all-round services for portfolios in accordance with the investment and post-investment management mechanism of international head PE funds. AGF emphasizes proactive and personalized post-investment management, builds a unique team of customized services and post-investment supporting experts, provides "adaptive" solutions to various problems and demands of portfolios, and passes them the management methodology.
AGF has appended a professional marketing consultant department in the post-investment side, which is under the responsibility of Nison Yao, the new Operating Director. Mr. Yao has been deeply involved in the manufacturing industry since his employment. He has been in important positions in Marketing of local and multinational companies and delivered great results. He has rich practical experience in strategic positioning, marketing, and operation of enterprises. AGF helps portfolios to build specific clear business paths and market expansion plans, integrate green ecosystem resources for precise docking, and create sustainable value.
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SOURCE Asia Green Fund | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ | 2023-07-31T09:19:45 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asia-green-fund-post-investment-management-method-nurtured-service-help-portfolios-with-high-quality-development/ |
Ex-NFL star Le’Veon Bell reveals the 'simple fact' behind joining OnlyFans
Bell has turned into boxing and music
Le'Veon Bell has never been afraid to put himself out there, but he is doing it more so now even after his NFL career.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers running back has joined OnlyFans as a way to get "intimate" with his fans - but not the intimacy that the site is normally used for.
The website is mostly used by sex workers to post X-rated content, and users subscribe to those who post on the platform.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
However, Bell, while being "intimate" with his fans, has another route for the site - he is using OnlyFans as more of his own personal vlog and streaming service for video games, primarily Super Smash Brothers (his go-to character is Mega Man).
Bell, the running back turned boxer - all while rapping - wants fans to see the behind-the-scenes of his day-to-day.
"I decided to do OnlyFans as a platform for the simple fact to get more intimate with my fans. There’s times where – people know I make music, people know I box, play football, so I use that platform for times to get intimate with my fans," Bell told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Bell has three boxing matches under his belt since his last NFL game (he is still technically a free agent). He beat former running back Adrian Peterson in an exhibition match last September, and is 1-1 in his professional bouts. His music, though, dates back to his playing days.
Just a few months after his second Pro Bowl appearance and a Second-team All-Pro nod, he released a 16-song album on SoundCloud. He released a four-song project in 2018 before putting out another album the same day he signed with the New York Jets.
"When I’m boxing, people want to see how I look when I spar, or how did I cut so much weight in a week or two, or what I’m eating during the week of the fight, whatever it may be," Bell said. "That’s my chance to really get intimate with my fans and show them exactly what I’m doing, exactly how I’m going about my week or my day or how I train or how I record in the studio and give that opportunity for my fans more intimately."
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Bell's latest single, "Make It Boom," was released on Friday. | https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nfl-star-leveon-bell-reveals-simple-fact-joining-onlyfans | 2023-07-31T09:19:51 | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nfl-star-leveon-bell-reveals-simple-fact-joining-onlyfans |
Phillies trade deadline: Pitching is a need, not a reality after Max Scherzer/David Robertson deals
The Mets landed an impressive return while trading away Max Scherzer and David Robertson. The Phillies probably just have to live with an increasingly dicey pitching situation.
The biggest thing to fear at the trade deadline: a false sense of security with the Phillies pitching staff.
The second biggest thing to fear: their only option might be hope.
Both of these things were true even before this weekend, when the Phillies allowed 12 runs in two days to a Pirates lineup that had been among the worst in the sport. The bottom-line numbers have looked pretty good for the last couple of months. But this is one of those situations where the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.
Reality is, the Phillies have two fewer top-line arms than they did at this time last year. That could easily become three, depending on where Craig Kimbrel goes from here.
» READ MORE: Summary judgments: thoughts on Ohtani/Harden price points, Juan Soto alternates, and an Eagles prediction
Think back to the playoffs. Remember the formula. Two aces in the front of the rotation and two aces in the back of the bullpen. In their nine wins leading up to the World Series, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez combined to pitch 47⅓ of 81 innings while allowing just seven runs. Of that group, only Wheeler looks like a decent bet to give them a repeat.
Alvarado and Domínguez have combined to throw just 30⅔ innings since the end of April. Alvarado is on the injured list for the second time. Domínguez has failed to hold a lead in each of his first two outings back from a month-and-a-half absence of his own. That includes Sunday’s performance in which he faced five batters, recorded one out, and allowed a two-run homer to Bryan Reynolds. Meanwhile, Nola is coming off another abysmal outing. And has now allowed four-plus runs in half of his 22 starts.
Kimbrel’s resurgence has offset some of the regression from the incumbents. For the most part, he’s been as dominant as Alvarado and Domínguez were for most of last year’s stretch run. But he’s also been a lot more human lately.
In the two months leading up to the All-Star Break, Kimbrel allowed just three runs, five walks and 17 baserunners while striking out 40 in 25 innings. During that stretch, he was a perfect 11-for-11 in save opportunities. In eight innings since the break, he’s allowed two runs, four walks, and nine baserunners while striking out eight.
A quick look under the hood raises some more questions. His fastball is down a tick, averaging 95.3 mph post-All-Star break compared with 96.4 mph in the two months before. He’s also throwing it less: 60.6% of occasions, down from 72.5%. Meanwhile, his swing-and-miss rate has dropped from 34.5% to 19%.
» READ MORE: The trade deadline won’t save the Phillies. Trea Turner and the rest must do it themselves.
That’s a small sample size. The command is still there, as we saw on Sunday during his ninth-inning strikeout of Pirates rookie Henry Davis with men on first and second, nobody out and the score tied. But we’re approaching the time of year where things went sideways for Kimbrel in 2022 (23 SO/14 BB in his last 26 innings vs. 49/14 in his first 34). When it comes to older players, past performance is not always the strongest indicator of future results. Will Kimbrel be more like ‘22 Alvarado or ‘22 David Robertson over the last couple of months? That’s a big question.
An even bigger question is whether the Phillies can do anything except give Kimbrel and Nola the benefit of the doubt. There’s a reason for Dave Dombrowski’s approach during his first few Phillies trade deadlines. Top-line arms are incredibly expensive. They’re also incredibly contingent.
We saw both of those things in the Texas Rangers’ acquisition of Max Scherzer over the weekend. The Mets walked away with one of the better position prospects in the game in Luisangel Acuña. The younger (and smaller) brother of Braves dynamo Ronald Acuña, Luisangel is a Top 50-ish national prospect who FanGraphs estimates is now the No. 2 prospect in the Mets system. That’s a lot to give up for a year-and-a-half of a 38-year-old pitcher in the midst of his worst season in a decade.
Keep in mind, Scherzer has pretty much been Nola in terms of results this year. Since his 10-game sticky stuff suspension, he has a 4.08 ERA and 4.54 FIP while averaging less than six innings per start. He’s a fly-ball pitcher heading to a park where the fly balls land on the dark side of the fence far more often than they do at Citi Field.
» READ MORE: A year later, trading for Brandon Marsh is still paying off for the Phillies
The Mets also landed a legitimate prospect in a separate deal for Robertson, who is only under contract through the end of this season and whose performance could easily turn the way it did last season. According to FanGraphs, infielder Marco Vargas was the Marlins ninth-best prospect and is now the Mets’ sixth-best.
That’s a pretty good indication of how cost-prohibitive the pitching market is going to be at this year’s trade deadline. If that’s the case, then their only choice is to look for a hitter who offers better value. | https://www.inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-trade-deadline-pitching-options-max-scherzer-david-robertson-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:51 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-trade-deadline-pitching-options-max-scherzer-david-robertson-20230731.html |
LOGAN, Utah, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyrusher, the professional e-bike producer, will launch pre-sales of the Nitro, the company's first mid-motor model, in late-July. This is an ebike with great comfort and speed for your 2023 riding adventure. Riders will enjoy a pleasant and effortless ride on the Nitro, as well as greater power, speed and control compared to a hub motor electric bike.
The Nitro, appearing as the first mid-motor model, integrates design aesthetics, technological innovation and a variety of other factors to ensure riders have a pleasant and smooth riding experience that exceeds expectations.
An attractive aesthetic design style - three color options
The Nitro follows the color-rich design style of the Cyrusher models while incorporating its own design aesthetics, making it a colorful option for many riders. The Nitro has a color-blocking design that keeps the black color of the rear frame while varying the fork gradient colorways to create a unique frame style. The Nitro is available in three color options, black red, and blue, to suit different rider preferences.
The ultimate speed experience - the mid-motor configuration
There is no doubt that this mid-motor Nitro was developed to meet the needs of the rider. The highly effective mid-mounted motor, which has been improved to provide an unprecedented level of power, is the most significant addition to the updated Nitro. The utterly improved 1000W Bafang mid-drive motor makes the e-bike's ride feel more dynamic responding readily to the rider even at maximum speed. To optimise the bike's balance, the mid-mounted motor is incorporated directly into the pedals and cranks. This also results in more efficient power transmission from the motor and higher climbing ability and weight lifting capability.
In addition, unlike other hub motor categories, the Nitro delivers 160 Nm of torque power, offering more flexibility for speed variation and a genuinely powerful speed sensation.
Powerful energy supply - 48V 20Ah Samsung Li-battery
The battery that powers the mid-mounted engine on the Nitro is still as secure, water-resistant and durable as the usual model. In combination with the mid-motor's more efficient power transmission, the 48V 20Ah battery allows the bike to cover up to 85 miles with its reliable capacity. Along with extending the vehicle's lifespan and durability, it can efficiently charge up to 800 cycles, making it an extremely cost-effective option.
Safe braking capability - hydraulic brakes
To improve braking power, Nitro chose twin-piston calipers. The twin-piston calipers allow for a larger surface area of contact with the brake rotors which increases the friction when the brakes are applied. Hydraulic brakes enable quicker braking reactions and improved traffic safety. The extra engine cut-off feature ensures that the brakes can be applied quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency, providing an extra layer of safety and security. The Nitro helps the rider cycle freely on the road and stop easier, achieving a better balance between thrill and safety.
Solid road pioneering - puncture-resistant fat tires
Nitro, with a 26*4 fat tire, is developed to be a powerful means of transportation. Fat tires offer much better traction and cushioning than regular tires, allowing you to easily navigate through difficult terrains like sand and mud. Therefore, Nitro is a great tool for exploring the city and the outdoors, with the ability to twist and turn through crowded streets, climb steep slopes and ride along soft beaches. Besides providing stability on slippery surfaces, Nitro can handle higher speeds with less chance of blowouts.
The top comfort escort - front and rear air shock absorption
The powerful Nitro is a full suspension electric bike with front and rear air suspension, guaranteeing maximum comfort. It offers better cushioning than previous generations. The adjustable front and rear air suspension features the highest configuration, allowing it to take on more challenging terrain without sacrificing comfort. It offers 135mm of thread that can be adjusted separately for terrain variations, boosting the damping effect for an enjoyable riding experience.
Reliable load capacity - upgraded to 200kg load capacity
The Nitro was designed with a mid-motor that reduces the bike's center of gravity, giving it outstanding balance. This allows the bike to carry up to 200kg of cargo. Additionally, its high load capacity ensures that the bike's weight doesn't negatively impact its performance.
Smooth gear transport - Shimano 10-speed transmission
The drive system's reliability is essential in order to ensure that the Nitro will be able to take full advantage of its improved high torque capabilities. The Shimano transmission helps to reduce wear and tear on the chain, making it more durable and efficient. The 10-speed pedal assist mode option gives riders the flexibility to choose the speed setting that perfectly suits their needs, ensuring that the bike can be tailored to meet the requirements of any type of rider.
All the details are there - the accessories
The Nitro comes with its own Led front and rear tail lights which provide excellent illumination and make sure that the rider is able to ride in dimly lit conditions. And, the Nitro has an updated Bafang back-lit display that allows the rider to more clearly track data such as speed, battery life, range and pedal assist levels.
Reliable after-sales service
The Cyrusher team consistently prioritizes the customer's needs and provides them with outstanding service. The team is available for customer inquiries and feedback 24/7 and offers fast and efficient response times. A long-term guarantee with a two-year product warranty backs the Nitro. The reliable customer service demonstrates Cyrusher's commitment to customer satisfaction, giving Cyrusher a distinct competitive edge.
Price tag
Priced at $4499, the powerful Nitro opens up even more riding possibilities for riders. The Nitro is equipped with a powerful engine and advanced features such as an adjustable suspension and quick brakes. This makes it a great choice for riders looking for a performance-oriented ride. If you are interested in the powerful Nitro, you can find more details on the official website.
What is the significance of the development of a Nitro?
Sustainable energy solution for a greener planet
Cyrusher has always been committed to green and sustainable development, exporting green travel vehicles worldwide and launching high-quality electric mobility tools to support sustainable development. By developing Nitro, Cyrusher demonstrates its commitment to its original goal. Nitro is an innovative and powerful electric bike that offers riders the ultimate convenience, comfort and performance. The company is helping to reduce carbon footprints and support a green earth by encouraging more people to cycle.
Leading the industry to new heights
A healthy competitive relationship provides a favourable opportunity for the industry to upgrade and change. The Cyrusher e-bike has been designed to maintain its own unique characteristics while responding to the changing market trends and offering more competitive value-for-money models to meet the needs of cyclists of all ages and performance levels. The launch of the Nitro is Cyrusher's newest work in the mid-motor field. With high quality range, powerful running ability and ultimate comfort, it is undoubtedly the most competitive product of its kind. Cyrusher will keep improving its technology and services in the future to offer better value to more riders and set a new benchmark for the sector.
A constant insight into customer needs
The Nitro is based on the company's insights into user needs and changing industry standards. Cyrusher insists on being user-centred, with high-quality components that have been repeatedly researched, tested and polished over a long period of time. The Nitro integrates comfort, safety and stability to bring riders the ultimate rewarding experience beyond expectations. The Nitro can be used freely on any road and with the wind blowing gently in your face, you'll have a more comfortable and enjoyable riding experience. Cyrusher is always moving forward and making great strides.
About Cyrusher
Cyrusher is a reputable producer of electric bicycles for professionals that have been successfully marketed in more than 10 nations worldwide. The brand's electric bicycles pass rigorous international quality tests and meet CE, UL, Rhos and FCC requirements. Additionally, Australia, China, the EU, Japan, Korea and the USA have registered and approved the brand. An offline store test-ride service has also been introduced in a number of nations, including the USA, UK and France. Cyrusher will keep expanding its range of vehicles to satisfy the needs of more riders, offering a solution for zero-carbon, fast and convenient urban commuting.
Cyrusher Contact:
UK official website: www.cyrusher.co.uk
US official website: www.cyrusher.com
French official website: www.cyrusher.fr
German official website: www.cyrusher.de
Phone: 01134900889
Email: support@cyrusher.com
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SOURCE cyrusher | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ | 2023-07-31T09:19:51 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cyrusher-first-mid-drive-e-bike-nitro-comes-out-redefining-speed-riding/ |
Here’s what Cherelle Parker has been up to since winning the Democratic nomination for mayor
Since winning the Democratic primary for mayor two months ago, Cherelle Parker has largely stayed out of the public spotlight. She is heavily favored to defeat Republican David Oh in November.
Since winning the Democratic primary for mayor two months ago, Cherelle Parker has largely stayed out of the public spotlight.
Instead, she has taken care of the dental issues that caused her to miss her victory party on the night of the primary, thanked key supporters of her campaign, gone on vacation, and spent time with her 10-year-old son, Langston.
Parker, a former City Council majority leader, is all but guaranteed to defeat Republican David Oh in November’s general election thanks to Philadelphia’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, and in January will likely become Philadelphia’s 100th mayor, and the first woman to lead the city.
» READ MORE: A guide to Cherelle Parker: What to know about the person Philly Democrats picked for mayor
In contrast to the months leading up to the Democratic primary, Parker has made few public appearances this summer and has avoided discussing public policy issues in detail.
But she has insisted she isn’t taking the general election for granted and plans to ramp up campaign activities after Labor Day. In the meantime, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration has begun preparing transition materials to help the next mayor that will be shared with both Parker and Oh.
Here’s what to know about what Parker is doing this summer and what’s next in the mayoral transition process:
What has Cherelle Parker been up to?
Parker said resolving the dental issues that kept her from attending her own victory party became her top priority after the May 16 primary. She still has additional dental work that needs to be done, but said the issue is no longer affecting her ability to work.
“The first thing I did was take care of the dental issues that prevented me from celebrating with my family, friends, and supporters on election night,” she said in written responses to questions from The Inquirer. “Then, I took some time to do what a working mom needs to do. I got my own house in order — yes, my own house — cooking, cleaning, and catching up on a lot of laundry while enjoying some much-needed family time.”
Parker said she has since taken a series of meetings with “stakeholders across the city who share our vision.”
» READ MORE: Cherelle Parker spent 10 years in Harrisburg. That could pay off for Philly.
Her first public appearance after the primary followed a meeting with Gov. Josh Shapiro in Center City. She also met with lawmakers in Harrisburg, where she served as a state representative for a decade before running for Council.
Parker has declined to comment on current issues facing the city, such as the budget negotiations that concluded in June and the mass shooting in Kingsessing earlier this month.
“The city has one mayor at a time,” she said, referring to Kenney, whose term ends in January.
Will Parker campaign in the general election?
Parker has insisted she is taking the November election seriously and plans to campaign this fall.
“I remind people daily, I am not the mayor-elect. I am the Democratic nominee for the mayor of Philadelphia and still have to win a general election in November,” Parker said. “That is why we are continuing to run a campaign to earn the support of Philadelphians in every neighborhood and ZIP code.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that she will be taking her opponent terribly seriously. Philadelphia’s last competitive general election for mayor was Republican Sam Katz’s unsuccessful 2003 campaign to unseat Democratic Mayor John F. Street.
Oh, a fellow former Council member, has raised very little money and isn’t showing signs of building the kind of campaign that would be necessary to compete with Parker. But he has made appearances at community events and called for a series of debates.
Asked if she will agree to a debate with Oh, Parker said, “Our focus will be on earning the support of the voters of the city.”
What will the transition process be like for the next mayor?
Transitions between mayors tend to go smoother when the outgoing and incoming bosses get along, and it looks like there will be a harmonious changing of the guard leading up to January because Parker and Kenney have a good relationship.
Shortly before the primary, Kenney signed an executive order laying out the administration’s transition plans and revealed in a news conference that he had voted for Parker.
Kenney tapped deputy chief of staff Lyana Cuadrado to serve as transition director. City agencies will write transition memos this summer, and those will be shared with Parker and Oh, she said. The nominees will also receive in-person briefings about city operations.
The winner of the general election will then gain access to more sensitive information and will also receive assistance with onboarding tasks such as ethics trainings.
Cuadrado said the city in the past has not formalized or recorded a transition process that can be used by future administrations, and she plans to change that this time around.
“We decided that as we formulate our process, we would document everything that we did,” she said, “so that the next person who has this job will have a starting point.”
Is Parker working on hiring people for her administration?
Throughout the campaign, Parker has declined to comment on who may serve in key roles, such as police commissioner and managing director, in her administration.
“We will have a process for selecting the best and the brightest locally and nationally to help us make the transformational change that the voters in our city elected me to enact,” she said.
Nonetheless, it’s widely assumed that Parker’s two top aides during the campaign, senior adviser Aren Platt and campaign manager Sinceré Harris, would hold leading roles in the next administration.
One former Parker staffer has already transitioned into the executive branch. Rachel Meadows, who was Parker’s director of policy and legislation on Council, recently became Kenney’s director of legislative affairs.
Kenney’s chief of staff, Christina M. Hernandez, said Meadows was brought on primarily to fill a vacancy in the current administration, rather than to begin the transition process. But she is expected to fill a similar role come January.
During the primary, Parker, like several other candidates, declined to say whether she would retain Danielle Outlaw as police commissioner, but it would be an unusual decision if she did. New mayors typically select new people for that role, which is perhaps the most visible unelected position in city government.
But Parker said she has other priorities before deciding who would serve in her administration.
“I’m hoping to get just a little quality mommy-Langston time before the summer is out and he’s back at school and the demands of the campaign really kick into high gear,” she said. | https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/cherelle-parker-mayor-race-philly-david-oh-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:19:57 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/cherelle-parker-mayor-race-philly-david-oh-20230731.html |
SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 China Digital Entertainment Congress commenced on Thursday alongside ChinaJoy, the country's largest gaming event. Lu Xiaoyin, Co-CEO and President of Perfect World Co., Ltd, as well as the CEO of Perfect World Games, was among the esteemed guests in attendance.
During his keynote speech, Lu emphasized the rapid development of the Chinese gaming industry, which has greatly benefited from the country's "digitalization" strategies. He highlighted the industry plays a crucial role in promoting digitalization across various sectors, including empowering the real economy, driving technological innovation, and preserving cultural heritage.
Lu lauded Chinese games for their exceptional ability to embody the essence of Chinese culture, offering a wealth of inspiration for game development. In line with this approach, Perfect World integrates elements of China's cultural heritage into its games. For instance, the company has artfully incorporated China's intangible cultural heritage, Suzhou embroidery, into its mobile game "Tower of Fantasy", and showcased the beauty of Chinese traditional opera Huangmei Opera in another mobile game "Zhuxian".
Lu highlighted the inseparable connection between technology and the gaming industry. Specifically, he emphasized the pivotal role of digital intelligence technologies like generative AI in optimizing game content creation and production methods.
Perfect World recognized the potential of AI technology several years ago and took significant steps by establishing an AI center. This center serves as a hub for applying AI across different production chains, including NPC creation, modeling, painting, and story development.
The gaming industry is driven by technologies like VR, AR, and AI, which inject vitality into the broader economy. Perfect World has collaborated with local governments and scenic spots to incorporate digital scenes into tourism to offer tourists a captivating experience.
Lu emphasized Perfect World is a R&D-oriented enterprise, with high-quality products serving as the cornerstone of the company's growth. The company focuses on two main categories: "MMO+" and "card+". On one hand, it upgrades classic MMORPG genres, introducing mobile games like "New Swordsman", "World of Jade Dynasty", "Fantasy New Jade Dynasty", and "Perfect New World". On the other hand, it creates games of different genres, such as "One Punch Man: World", "Persona 5: The Phantom X" and "Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur: Ring".
Additionally, Perfect World actively pursues the distribution of its games overseas, with "Tower of Fantasy" achieving remarkable success since its release in August 2022, and soon to be launched on PlayStation.
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SOURCE Perfect World | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ | 2023-07-31T09:19:58 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/digital-intelligence-technology-fuelling-value-creation-reshaping-gaming-industry/ |
More Philadelphians are keeping their family homes thanks to increased support for untangling titles and estate planning
Philadelphia organizations are helping residents with estate planning and writing wills to try to prevent tangled titles, which affect thousands and threaten $1.1 billion in generational wealth.
Leslie Davis thought of her nana’s North Philadelphia house as her own.
Davis, 56, had grown up there. More than two decades ago, she moved from an apartment back to the house to take care of her grandmother in her last years. Davis continued living in the home after her grandmother died, paying the bills and saving up to repair the roof.
But the house wasn’t legally hers. The deed was still in Davis’ nana’s name, and the family matriarch didn’t have a will. Because Davis didn’t own the house, she couldn’t apply for programs to help make repairs or pay bills. She couldn’t get homeowners insurance.
She had a tangled title — a term that describes unclear legal ownership of a property. Now, thanks to the free services of the legal aid organization Philadelphia VIP and one of its volunteer attorneys, she is the legal owner of her home and has a will, which will make inheriting the property easier for her niece.
“She won’t have to go through all this,” Davis said.
» READ MORE: Tangled titles in Philly threaten more than $1.1 billion in generational wealth
Organizations such as Philadelphia VIP across the city have been focusing more attention — and funds — to prevent tangled titles from happening as well as helping residents fix the ones that exist.
More than 10,400 homes in Philadelphia have unclear legal ownership, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Residents in these properties — and more, since that is a conservative estimate — are vulnerable to scammers who steal deeds, and they can’t use their home’s equity, sell their homes, or take advantage of a host of homeowner assistance programs.
Philadelphians risk losing more than $1.1 billion in generational wealth because of tangled titles. And the loss of homes threatens the stability of both families and neighborhoods.
Most tangled titles occur when a homeowner dies and the deed for a property does not transfer to a new owner. If the person died without a will that says who should inherit the property, fixing the problem is more complicated.
Kenneth Bigos, executive director of the Philadelphia-based housing counseling agency Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania, said if perceptions that estate planning is a taboo subject don’t change, “we’re not gonna be able to put a dent in that record amount of tangled titles.”
More help with tangled titles is available
Kelly J. Gastley, managing attorney at Philadelphia VIP, which administers the city-financed Tangled Title Fund, said that five years ago, estate planning didn’t seem to be on the radar of many housing counselors. But now she hears them talking to clients about it, which “gives me a lot of encouragement that we’re really moving in the right direction on this issue.”
The work that nonprofits and the city are doing, she said, will “empower a lot of our families in this city to hold onto their homes and pass them on.”
» READ MORE: Philly is giving $7.6M to legal aid agencies to clear residents’ tangled titles
The Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania received a $150,000, two-year grant from Wells Fargo last August to launch an estate planning program in partnership with the legal aid nonprofit Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
Since last September, they’ve held about two dozen free wills clinics, virtually and in person, and offer free follow up appointments with legal advocates so residents who meet certain income requirements can create wills. A virtual wills workshop happens every third Wednesday of the month.
A comprehensive home preservation resource event is scheduled for Oct. 14 at East Mount Airy’s Dare to Imagine Church at 6610 Anderson St. Homeowners can talk to experts and get connected to resources about tangled titles, estate planning, real estate taxes, and more.
Most residents don’t know they don’t have legal ownership of the home they live in until a problem pops up. Register of Wills Tracey Gordon has made spreading the word about tangled titles a priority for her office. And City Council passed legislation in late 2021 requiring funeral service providers to share information with clients about how to prevent getting trapped by a tangled title.
An announcement last summer that the city would give $7.6 million to legal aid agencies to fix tangled titles built on existing momentum. Agencies have been able to hire more people and help more residents fix or prevent tangled titles.
‘Clients are coming in in droves’
The outreach is working, said Rachel Gallegos, staff attorney in the home ownership and consumer rights unit at Community Legal Services.
“We have clients coming in in droves,” Gallegos said.
Gastley said Philadelphia VIP has seen more people saying, “Hey, I have this tangled title and I heard it’s a problem I should be addressing now and not waiting.”
» READ MORE: Unclear ownership impedes upkeep and sale of houses in Philly. The city is working on a solution.
The longer that properties sit with muddled ownership without going through required legal processes, the more complicated cases become. Heirs multiply and scatter and can claim more pieces of properties.
And tangled titles take time to resolve. Davis’ took almost a year, but more complicated cases can take much longer.
Last fiscal year, the Tangled Title Fund, which helps pay costs associated with clearing titles, received 202 new applications, Gastley said. That’s double the volume of applications received the previous year. The money spent fixing tangled titles more than doubled to $359,000. And it’s not that costs have gone up, she said, “it’s that so many more folks are actually being assisted now.”
» READ MORE: Philadelphia funeral homes will begin educating survivors about tangled property titles
“We are chipping away at what I’ll call a backlog of all those tangled title issues that have been sitting out there unresolved for years,” Gastley said. “We are meaningfully putting a dent in the problem.”
Tangled titles are one of the biggest issues older Philadelphians face, said Leah Finlayson, legal director at Philadelphia-based SeniorLAW Center, which was able to hire another attorney to help with tangled title work because of increased city funding.
The organization is grateful for the money, she said, but, “if I had a lot more staff, we could certainly handle more cases.” Preventing foreclosures is another priority for SeniorLAW Center, and the same team works on tangled titles.
» READ MORE: Stealing from the dead: Thieves and forgers are taking houses from the deceased in 'hot' neighborhoods
Both are about protecting many families’ largest asset.
Bigos said that when Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania holds home buyer classes, he asks about people’s primary motivation for purchasing.
“Overwhelmingly,” he said, “they say, ‘I want to leave something behind for my children.’” | https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/housing/homeowner-died-deed-will-property-philadelphia-legal-ownership-tangled-title-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:20:03 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/housing/homeowner-died-deed-will-property-philadelphia-legal-ownership-tangled-title-20230731.html |
BEIJING, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Culture and art can bring minds and the world together. With this in mind, the second episode of season three of the China Daily series Youth Power, "Unlocking the power of art: How cultural exchanges can connect the world," was broadcast online on July 30.
Gen Zers from China, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Thailand gathered at the Dalian campus of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and discussed how artistic beauty can bring the world together and how to face the challenges that artificial intelligence present to art.
What is the essence of beauty? What unique influence does Chinese art have on Gen Zers? What spiritual pursuits are reflected in Chinese art and aesthetics?
In this episode of Youth Power, each Gen Z guest brought an art piece that they believed would best represent the Chinese concept of art and beauty. In doing so they gained a deeper understanding of Chinese aesthetics, philosophy and culture.
Giacomo Bruni, an Italian studying at the China Academy of Art in Beijing, said brushes are the most important tools in expressing Chinese culture because they are central to calligraphy, writing poetry and painting.
"Like the hardness of the handle and the softness of the hair, the brush encapsulates the idea of yin and Yang," Bruni said. The brush not only encapsulates the creativity of the world, but also epitomizes the profound ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, he said.
Song De'ao, a Chinese Gen Zer, chose the official mascots for Chinese winter sports designed by a team at the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts as his ideal representation of Chinese aesthetics.
Song, a member of the design team, recalled the inspiration for the mascot Xue Wa, which wears tiger-head hats, tiger-head shoes, and cloud patterns and longevity locks on the clothing. "The mascots reflect the lively and cheerful aesthetics in modern China," Song said.
Jiratchaya Phinyoworakul, a Thai studying at Fudan University in Shanghai, highlighted two features that distinguish Chinese artworks from those of other countries and cultures: cultural extensiveness and profoundness as well as a philosophy centering on harmony between humankind and nature.
The program host, Zhong Yutong, said it is through exchanges that Chinese arts increase in vibrancy and vitality.
"Chinese arts have so much to offer. And we've had wonderful exchanges with different arts and civilizations across the world."
Bruni said art Chinese art is all-encompassing, perfectly merging all types of art. He cited Chinese literati paintings, a kind of painting that expresses feelings and aspirations through natural scenery, as an example, illustrating that "they unify the intellectual world and the practical art world, which is something that is missing in Western countries".
Program guests said there is no absolute definition of art and no universally recognized standard of beauty. Lian Liia, a student from Russia, said "the standard of art is changing in the art history, but there is one thing that has never changed, namely people's pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty".
Phinyoworakul said art is tantamount to comfort. "Even little things can be art. A smile on your face, a flower, sunshine, everything can be art. Art is in our everyday life."
Concerning the combination and contradiction of traditional art and fast-developing AI art creation, Bruni said artists screen information like filters of society. They find beauty and create art, but do not mechanically record and present everything around them. However, this is not true of AI, because it cannot grasp the concept of beauty.
Sun Yuxin of China said AI could positively influence the development of art. "AI saves a lot of time for artists, and it helps them with a lot of basic work."
Gen Zers have also contributed their wisdom in helping the world appreciate the beauty of Chinese art. Promoting Chinese aesthetics through social media could help people understand it more directly, Phinyoworakul said.
Lian Liia, a student at the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University in Beijing, said, "We can promote Chinese culture as a lifestyle. For example, doing calligraphy or drinking tea to experience Chinese culture in our daily life."
Youth Power, organized by China Daily and first broadcast in June 2021, aims to build a global platform of communication and exchange, focusing on the interests and ideas of Generation Z. The program comes in the form of interviews, forums and speeches, with topics related to anything of current interest in the world.
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SOURCE China Daily | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:05 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/gen-zers-see-power-art-connecting-world/ |
Can someone be too old to hold office?
That age-old question was front and center last week after awkward episodes from two of the oldest members of the U.S. Senate.
On Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell, 81, abruptly froze for over 30 seconds during his weekly news conference. A day later, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, had to be reminded by a colleague to "Just say, 'Aye' " while casting her vote for the military budget.
Both incidents were brief, but chances are they won't be the last. The median age of U.S. senators is 65 — a record high — while the median age of representatives in the House is 58. In the White House, President Biden, 80, is the oldest president elected in U.S. history, and he hopes to remain in office until 86.
People age at different rates, but concerns over life expectancy and mental fitness will likely keep resurfacing as Congress gets older and there are few legal options to address gerontocracy.
Why do we have an age minimum but not an age maximum to hold office?
Maximum age limits are considered unconstitutional. Part of the reason that's true dates back to 1995. At the time, Arkansas attempted to deny ballot access to prospective U.S. representatives who had already served three terms and prospective U.S. senators who had already served two terms.
That case was argued in front of the Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton. The court ruled that the Framers could have created term limits for lawmakers in Congress but chose not to, suggesting that they did not intend for term limits to be part of the Constitution.
The same could be argued against maximum age limits, according to Jeremy Paul, who teaches at Northeastern University School of Law.
"Whether you're talking about adding term limits or whether you're talking about a maximum age, you're still changing the qualifications that are set out in the Constitution," Paul said.
Could there be age limits in the future for politicians in Washington?
The military, commercial pilots and, in some states, judges all follow a mandatory age for retirement. But imposing an age limit for the president or lawmakers serving in Congress would be a much harder lift.
Essentially, it would require Congress to add a new amendment to the Constitution. Doing so generally requires the support of two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, as well as three-quarters of the state legislatures. The last time Congress added an amendment was over 30 years ago.
Even if there was widespread support for setting a retirement age, Paul said it would be a complicated feat to settle on what age that should be.
"Whatever age you pick, there will be arbitrariness to it," he said.
Why do we keep electing older adults?
In elections, age does not tend to play a big, decisive role, according to Damon Roberts, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder who has researched whether voters prefer older or younger candidates.
In an online survey with 1,000 respondents, Roberts found that both young and older people were equally supportive of a 23-year-old candidate, a 50-year-old candidate and a 77-year-old candidate — even if they believed stereotypes that old age is associated with forgetfulness and closed-mindedness.
Instead, a candidate's political party, race, gender and where they stood on specific issues held more sway.
"We have other things that are really salient in American politics that people use quite strongly to base their voting decisions off," Roberts said.
The case for and against term limits
For some, being a senator or representative in Congress is a full-time career. That can be a good or bad thing, according to Northeastern University's Paul.
Some argue that term limits are the best way to address gerontocracy. With more turnover comes new ideas and a chance to challenge the status quo in Washington.
But critics say multiple terms help elected officials gain institutional knowledge and build relationships needed to become more effective in passing legislation. Paul said that seniority also plays a major role on Capitol Hill and that longtime lawmakers in Congress tend to be more influential in their party, as well as lead important committees.
"There's really no substitute for experience," Paul said.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/after-mcconnells-and-feinsteins-episodes-should-age-limits-be-on-the-table | 2023-07-31T09:20:08 | 0 | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/after-mcconnells-and-feinsteins-episodes-should-age-limits-be-on-the-table |
For Brewerytown soccer lifestyle brand Live Breathe Futbol, patience paid off via deal with MLS and Dick’s Sporting Goods
It took 10 years, but in July, founder Ebun Olaloye and LBF announced a limited deal with Dick’s Sporting Goods but at long last, a licensing agreement to create MLS apparel.
Ebun Olaloye originally had the vision in 2013.
That vision was to make Live Breathe Futbol, the Brewerytown-based soccer lifestyle brand he co-founded, more accessible to casual soccer fans — and frankly to people looking to wear apparel that wasn’t strictly athletic wear.
He took this idea to Major League Soccer — more specifically to the Union. In both instances, it was shot down, mainly over fear of ruffling feathers with Adidas, the official, and, at that time, the only apparel supplier for MLS.
It took 10 years, but this month, Olaloye and LBF announced not only a limited deal with Dick’s Sporting Goods, but, at long last, a licensing deal to create MLS apparel.
“Yeah, man, it’s been a long process, but I think the industry had to evolve,” Olaloye told The Inquirer on the eve of his MLS deal in July. “When we started, you know, there weren’t many soccer lifestyle brands, but now I think consumers want that, and there’s a demand for more than the typical stuff you get from the team and league sites. So yeah, it has been a struggle, but I think it was obvious that the industry finally realized that soccer fans want more options than what’s currently out there.”
Earlier this season, when Philly signature supplier Lapstone and Hammer collaborated with the Union to produce a limited edition line for the club, its owner, Brian Nadav, also described the process has having what he felt were unnecessary hurdles.
» READ MORE: All of our 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in one place, from how to watch to who to watch
“I don’t want to talk bad about anybody because I appreciate and really am honored at this opportunity,” Nadav said in October. “But the league should learn from this as they continue to bubble up into the space of being considered a major sports entity. We pitched them this whole concept back in February. They had it on their desk. I was like, ‘I need four months for production,’ which means we need to be in gear by June-July, starting to move. Believe it or not, we didn’t get final approval from the MLS until September.”
Nevertheless, the removal of MLS’ reluctance to open the door to other creators has been exactly what a shop like LBF patiently waited for, creating a line of Union shirts, hoodies, and hats that will be sold at select Dick’s Sporting Goods locations — and, according to Olaloye, inside the Union’s official team store at Subaru Park.
Also, the team will make its second series of signature apparel for Sporting Kansas City, the MLS club for which LBF was able to get its first taste of creating a line in 2017. Like the Union collection, the creation for Kansas City also is sold exclusively at select Dick’s Sporting Goods retailers in that market. LBF’s licensing with MLS is just those two teams for now, but, according to Olaloye, it could grow across even more of MLS’ 29 teams in the future.
» READ MORE: How Jim Curtin developed a culture of success and style for the Union
“Major League Soccer just makes sense for us,” said Olaloye, 32. “We’ve worked with Sporting [Kansas City] in the past, and it’s a fun opportunity to create for them, but we’ve always wanted to work with the Union. The desire to work with them as our local team was always there, but we never quite had the right situation. But now with the MLS license starting as a local license, and there’s still the opportunity to expand to more teams in the future … it just kind of feels like the right time and the right step to take the evolution of our brand.”
It’s also an ideal time for this Philly creator to stake its claim on the soccer lifestyle market, given the wave of attention soccer in North America will have in just three years’ time with the FIFA World Cup headed to the States, including matches set to take place at Lincoln Financial Field. LBF has had its hands in the overseas market with a distribution hub in London, but a deep dive domestically at the right time admittedly could be a game changer.
“That’s the reason why we’re making these moves right now because I think three years is the right amount of time to build up these relationships,” Olaloye said. “We’ve been telling our story for 10 years now, and what better way to gain exposure than to have the world’s biggest sporting event here? I just think more and more people are embracing soccer, and I think they’re going to want they’re going to want a brand that speaks directly to them and for them. And LBF has that track record in a way that I don’t think many other brands are able to say that they do.”
The bulk of what LBF has done, from ideation to conceptualizing has happened inside the same Brewerytown loft — one that Olaloye doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon. Having his company based in the same town where he first learned graphic design at Temple and one he’s called home since emigrating from Lagos, Nigeria, is important to him.
“Philly has so much character and history, I think that a lot of great stories come out of Philadelphia, including ours,” Olaloye saod. “We could have easily moved to New York or [Los Angeles], but like it’s like you just become one of many. A bunch of other brands have told that story. But being from Philadelphia, it’s like, yeah, we’re born in Philadelphia, we’ve grown in Philadelphia. I’d love to see us thrive in Philadelphia as a global brand.” | https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/soccer-lifestyle-mls-lbf-ebun-dick-sporting-goods-world-cup-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:20:09 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/soccer-lifestyle-mls-lbf-ebun-dick-sporting-goods-world-cup-20230731.html |
- Back to Hogwarts returns on 1st September, inviting Harry Potter fans from all over the world to mark the moment the Hogwarts Express departs from King's Cross for the start of term
- Fans can join themed events, watch parties, digital and real-life celebrations that promise to be bigger and better than ever
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on Harry Potter's birthday, Wizarding World announces the return of its Back to Hogwarts celebrations, alongside a search for the UK's most enthusiastic Harry Potter fan to lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
The Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling have had a huge impact on fans around the globe, having sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into over 85 languages since they were first published by Bloomsbury and Scholastic 25 years ago.
Beginning as a fan celebration, Back to Hogwarts is recognised as one of the biggest days in any Harry Potter fan's calendar – marking the moment when students would board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dressed in their finest cosplay, thousands of fans make the trip to London's King's Cross station each year and more come together online to raise their wands for the countdown and share their love of the stories.
Bringing Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs together, this year celebrations are bigger than ever with the launch of a UK competition for one lucky fan between age five and seventeen years old to get the chance to travel to King's Cross and help host the countdown on 1st September. The competition is live and young wizards and witches wishing to enter can submit a video of their best countdown online (via a parent or guardian) by 11.59pm on 7th August.
The magic doesn't stop there! This lucky winner (plus a parent or guardian) will get the chance to pack their trunks once again to come back to the capital with a complete package of Harry Potter experiences. The ultimate Harry Potter London Breaks Experience gives this fan the opportunity to discover the filmmaking magic of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter and see the critically acclaimed stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. To top it off, the winner will receive an incredible merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop. Full details on prize entry can be found here.
Until 3rd September an array of magical experiences awaits at King's Cross as fans get the chance to sip on Butterbeer, play Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation®5 courtesy of Warner Bros. Games, and enjoy LEGO® Harry Potter giveaways and photo opportunities. Additionally, in celebration of the publication of The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac, fans will also be able to spin Bloomsbury's giant wand spinner and find out whose wand they are best suited to, with free gifts up for grabs for those taking part.
Festivities aren't contained to the station… why not relive the movie magic on the big screen? Theatres around the world will be putting on special Harry Potter screenings for Back to Hogwarts. In the UK, Everyman will screen all eight films at Everyman Kings Cross and select Harry Potter movies at their cinemas nationwide. ODEON will present Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets nationwide over the course of the weekend. US fans can get their fix at Cinemark where more than 250 theatres will be showing an exclusive re-release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1&2. Down Under? Join in the fun at 15 locations of Village Cinemas across Victoria, Australia as they host screenings of the final two Deathly Hallows films in the iconic series. Further theatres and locations will be announced soon, including screenings in Barcelona and Madrid.
Pam Lifford, President, Global Brands, Franchises and Experiences, at Warner Bros. Discovery, said: "Back to Hogwarts is a day cherished by Harry Potter fans of all ages, from all over the world. Just like their passion for the magic of the stories, their celebrations grow every year! 2023 is set to be a year like no other – we will see fan world record attempts in Germany, high octane quiz competitions in France and of course, the UK's search to find the perfect person to join that amazing countdown. We are so proud to offer new and exciting ways to bring fans together and give them new ways to celebrate the Harry Potter magic – there's nothing quite like Back To Hogwarts!"
Check out Wizarding World Digital at www.wizardingworld.com for all the Back to Hogwarts updates, including the latest UK activity and info on what's happening in Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China and more. Look out for news too on how to get involved with Harry Potter Watch Parties (MAX US subscribers will be able to join and watch-along on 1st September) and when to tune into the Back to Hogwarts Digital Showcase.
Join the global community of millions of members following the fun on social and don't forget to sign up to the Harry Potter Fan Club!
Website: www.wizardingworld.com/harry-potter-fan-club.
Instagram: @wizardingworld https://www.instagram.com/wizardingworld/?hl=en
Hashtag: #BacktoHogwarts
About The Wizarding World
In the years since Harry Potter was whisked from King's Cross station onto Platform nine and three quarters, his incredible adventures have left a unique and lasting mark on popular culture. Eight blockbuster Harry Potter films based on the original stories by J.K. Rowling have brought the magical stories to life and today, the Wizarding World is recognised as one of the world's best-loved brands.
Representing a vast interconnected universe, it also includes three epic Fantastic Beasts films, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child – the multi-award-winning stage-play, state-of-the-art video and mobile games from Portkey Games, innovative consumer products, thrilling live entertainment (including four theme park lands) and insightful exhibitions, as well as a forthcoming Harry Potter TV series.
This expanding portfolio of Warner Bros. Discovery owned Wizarding World experiences also includes Harry Potter New York – the iconic flagship store, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, and the Harry Potter Shop online and retail shops.
The Wizarding World continues to evolve to provide Harry Potter fans with fresh and exciting ways to engage. For the worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, it welcomes everyone in to explore and discover the magic for themselves.
About Back to Hogwarts
On 1st September, fans from all generations and corners of the globe come together to celebrate a very special day in the wizarding world calendar: Back to Hogwarts. Having started as an organic fan celebration many years ago, today Back to Hogwarts is an annual tradition recognised as one of the biggest moments in the Harry Potter fan's calendar when wizards and witches board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ for a year of magical adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a unique celebration, each year fans come together online and in real life to celebrate the magic of these beloved stories and unite with their community.
UK Activity - About The Competition
Parents and guardians can enter their child by 7th August to help lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown at 11.00am on 1st September 2023 at King's Cross station and win a bundle of Harry Potter prizes.
The Wizarding World is searching for an enthusiastic, confident young fan to lead all the young wizards, witches and Muggles in the countdown moment. For the opportunity to lead the countdown, the parent or guardian of the applicant must send a video lasting no longer than 20 seconds, counting down from ten, showing how they would lead the Hogwarts Express' departure countdown.
Entrants must be based in the UK and Northern Ireland, aged between 5 and 17 years old, and details for entering the competition are detailed at https://www.wizardingworld.com/terms/back-to-hogwarts-2023-uk-countdown-competition-terms
Entries must be sent via email to BackToHogwarts@premiercomms.com and must be sent via a file sharing platform such as WeTransfer or DropBox.
The opportunity to enter opened at 12.00am on 31st July and will close at 11.59pm on 7th August. The successful applicant will be informed by 18th August.
The Competition Prize
- Lead the fans in a countdown at 11.00am BST to launch the Hogwarts Express announcement on 1st September 2023
- First to enter Back to Hogwarts fan zone at King's Cross station
- Wizarding World London Breaks - Ultimate Experience: 1 nights' accommodation, 2x tickets to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, 2x tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for winner and one parent/guardian – to be redeemed at a later date
- A Wizarding World merchandise bundle from the Harry Potter Shop
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:11 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-celebrations-begin-back-hogwarts/ |
With the 2023 Women's World Cup taking place on the other side of the world in Australia and New Zealand, it's not easy to sort out what time the teams are playing.
The U.S. has a crucial game against Portugal on Tuesday and it's particularly challenging to determine when the teams take the field. Why? The U.S. broadcaster Fox Sports touts its coverage begins at 1 a.m. ET — two hours earlier than the kickoff — but doesn't explicitly tell viewers what time the game actually begins.
Fox Sports paid a lot of money for the rights to broadcast the tournament and obviously wants as many people watching for as long as possible.
The first two U.S. World Cup games started at 9 p.m. ET — and the Fox Sports coverage started much earlier. With an evening kickoff, that's no problem. You probably were already awake.
But everything changes with a middle-of-the-night game. You need a plan. Stay up late? Get up early? There's a big circadian difference staying up for what you think is a 1 a.m. kickoff when the opening whistle happens hours later.
Just so we're clear — the final U.S. match in group play kicks off at 3 a.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports and Telemundo.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/what-time-is-the-u-s-playing-portugal-in-the-womens-world-cup-not-when-you-think | 2023-07-31T09:20:14 | 0 | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/what-time-is-the-u-s-playing-portugal-in-the-womens-world-cup-not-when-you-think |
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Looking for love down the Shore? Here are 11 unique date ideas
Here are 11 date ideas down the Shore.
Advertisement | https://www.inquirer.com/things-to-do/jersey-shore/date-ideas-cape-may-wildwood-avalon-20230731.html | 2023-07-31T09:20:15 | 1 | https://www.inquirer.com/things-to-do/jersey-shore/date-ideas-cape-may-wildwood-avalon-20230731.html |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rhythmic hum of spinning blades slicing through the salty sea breeze, rows of white giants stick out of the Yellow Sea like something out of a science fiction novel. This is the world's first crop of offshore wind turbines in an intertidal zone - the Longyuan Rudong Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm - in East China's Jiangsu Province, an area characterized by rapid industrialization and urbanization.
For senior engineer Ji Xiaoqiang, this crop of windmills is not only a technological marvel, but a childhood dream come true. Today, a total of 150 turbines generate 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 223,000 households. Such results bring comfort to Ji, whose childhood memories are filled with occasional large-scale blackouts.
Each turbine is a testament to China's unwavering commitment to stably harnessing the power of nature while serving industrialization needs, and China's wise solutions to a cleaner future for many developing countries in the world.
China has accelerated its pace in implementing clean energy solutions, building the world's largest clean power generation system, exporting successful lessons, becoming an important force in promoting global clean energy development, and committing to making green, affordable electricity truly accessible to millions of households.
Huge potential to be tapped
Visiting the Longyuan Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm, Global Times reporters were impressed by the colossal turbines fitted to each windmill, as well as the size of the blades, each of which is half the size of the Eiffel Tower.
How did Chinese engineers manage to transport these giants from land to sea using domestically innovated technologies?
Ji Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the offshore engineering department at the Jiangsu Longyuan Offshore Wind Power Co, Ltd (Longyuan Power), affiliated with the China Energy Investment Corporation, explained that the turbines are partially assembled on shore, and then shipped out to sea where each blade is attached with surgical precision to the top of a turbine. Every angle must be accurate to generate maximum power.
On a narrow 90-meter-high operating platform hanging over the Yellow Sea, Ji makes his rounds at the wind farm, carefully inspecting and servicing the turbines - a job not for the faint of heart.
"Sticking chopsticks in tofu" is the most vivid metaphor for the intertidal wind power foundation construction.
China has abundant offshore wind energy storage. According to China's National Meteorological Bureau's estimates, the sea area within the 5 to 25-meter water depth line, or intertidal zone, has a potential generating capacity of about 200 million kilowatts. That means one hour of electricity generation could power at least 92 million homes for a year, according to calculation.
Take Jiangsu as an example. Its coastal area has abundant, peaceful wind resources, and strong grid structures, making it a great choice for the development of a wind power industry, Ji told the Global Times. But offshore exploration is far more difficult than onshore.
China's offshore wind power development lagged in the early stages. Ji and his fellow engineers have long been trying to figure out how to change the game.
It wasn't until 2011 that Ji and his team finally found the answer which marked the start of the era of large-scale Chinese offshore wind power generation.
A difficult conquest
Initially, Ji and his colleagues attempted to choose concrete-poured foundations as they typically would for onshore windfarms. However, experience on land is hard to transfer. Even a millimeter-level deviation in verticality could pose a risk of hundreds of tons of generator towers collapsing into the sea, Ji said.
"We learned that the mainstream foreign solution was to put a sleeve at the connection between the foundation and the tower, fill it with the grouting material, and use the sleeve to balance the inclination. This sleeve acts as a key piece of equipment, like a 'waist,' for balancing the entire body of the generator. However, high-strength grouting material for the sleeve was not available domestically at that time, and relying on imports was too expensive and not wise for commercial use," Ji explained.
Against this backdrop, Ji and his team deliberated with experts, brainstormed multiple solutions, and finally created an innovative pile driver, which is like a giant hand that can grip a single pile and keeps it vertical when it is hammered into the seabed, maintaining the verticality error rate at below 0.2 percent.
This eliminates the need for a transition sleeve and grouting material, dramatically reduces overall costs, and increases construction speed, fully meeting the needs of large-scale construction.
"It's a historic moment for our offshore wind power in China, and this innovative solution is now widely used in the domestic market. This can be learned by many countries that are eager to develop clean energy at a high speed," Ji said.
Such innovative attempts are never smooth sailing. This plan encountered failures in its first two attempts. It nearly cost the project all early investment, and Ji was also dogged by doubts expressed at home and abroad.
But it did not deter this young engineer. He quickly made adjustments to the solution, and polished the details with his team. It wasn't until days later, when cheers erupted after a successful third pile drive, that Ji set off firecrackers that he'd been saving for that very moment.
Ji looked at the wind turbines, which his team nicknamed "white dolphins," emerging from the seaside in front of him and sighed with relief that people would not experience power outages caused by unstable voltage and industrial power overloads as he did as a child.
Ji told the Global Times that the marginal cost of wind power is relatively low, and China's solution is a good reference for coastal countries.
Harmony with nature
Along the coast of Rudong, flying birds and sea windmills decorate the distant skyline. Bird watching enthusiasts from across the country gather here as the sun sets, to observe rare birds such as the spoon-billed Snipe, armed with state-of-the-art cameras, a beautiful and impressive scene.
Harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is a basic principle in China's ecological civilization construction and a distinct feature of China's vivid and effective practice along its path to modernization.
Moreover, ecological civilization is a new requirement in the realization of harmonious development between humanity and nature. Such a principle is also upheld by China's offshore wind power development.
In 2012, Longyuan Power, for example, signed China's earliest marine ecological restoration agreement with local governments for offshore wind farms. At present, it has made an investment of about 56 million yuan in ecological conservation in Jiangsu Province, for Yellow Sea breeding and release efforts, wetland environmental improvement, bird protection facility construction, and marine environment tracking and monitoring.
Technology export
On June 28, with the completion of the final blade's mounting, the world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine was successfully installed in East China's Fujian Province on the offshore wind farm owned by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).
China's approach to offshore wind from scratch offers a solution to many countries, especially with regard to coastal regions, on how they can personalize their own energy development with innovative technologies, to achieve harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, which are part of a global community of shared future.
In 2022, China's wind power installed capacity reached 365 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for the 13th consecutive year. The figure was about 1.4 times that of the EU at the end of 2020 and 2.6 times that of the US, according to data released by China's National Energy Administration.
China's cost-effective offshore wind power technology marks a historic leap in the country's wind power from following others to be a world leader. China has also exported some homemade wind turbines to countries including Thailand, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.
China's efforts to promote sustainable development and energy security for all nations demonstrate a commitment to global well-being.
View original content:
SOURCE Global Times | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:17 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-chinas-offshore-wind-power-facilitates-harmonious-human-nature-coexistence-contributes-wisdom-worlds-carbon-reduction-goals/ |
If you're feeling a bit brain-fogged these days, you might not be wrong to blame it on the heat.
Several summers back, researchers in Boston studied young adults living in college dorm rooms during a heat wave. Some had central AC, and slept at a cool 71 degrees Fahrenheit. But others slept in rooms without air-conditioning, where the temperature hovered around 80 degrees.
Each morning for nearly two weeks the students took a few tests, administered on their cell phones. The people who slept in the hotter dorm rooms performed measurably worse on the tests.
The tests included a math test requiring simple addiction and subtraction and a second test, the Stroop test, that jumbles colors and words. "So, if I show the word 'red' in the color blue, participants have to respond 'blue'," says study author Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
It's easy to get tripped up if your attention or reaction time is slowed, he says, and that's exactly what heat appears to be doing. "The magnitude of the effect was really striking," Cedeño Laurent says. "We saw reductions in the order of 10% in their response times and also their accuracy."
Part of this effect may be explained by interrupted sleep. It can be hard to get a good night's rest if you're not accustomed to the heat, and a lack of sleep could certainly impair reaction time and focus. But there's a body of evidence suggesting it may be something about the heat itself that interferes with cognition.
A similar study published in 2021 also documented a dip in cognitive performance at air temps of 79 degrees. Researchers found that as the temperature rose, activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, the anti-stress system that can help us stay calm and relaxed, was lowered. Plus oxygen saturation levels in the blood were lower at the elevated temperatures as well, which the researchers said could be expected to result in reduced cognitive performance.
Other studies have found an effect from heat on office workers and on standardized test score performance, says Caleb Dresser, an emergency medicine physician who also serves as the director of health care solutions at the Harvard Chan Center for Climate, Health and Global Environment.
One of these studies showed that productivity in the workplace is highest when the air temperature is about 72 degrees, and productivity starts to drop off in the mid-70s. And another shows that for high school students, taking a standardized test on a hot day is linked to poorer performance.
Dresser says the evidence suggests that heat can influence us in sometimes indiscernible ways. "All of these [studies] seem to point to a reduced ability to think clearly and quickly and efficiently when the body is too hot," he says.
There's also research to suggest that heat can make you moodier or irritated, in part, perhaps, by raising cortisol levels, and inducing a stress response.
Of course, you can acclimate to heat after several days of exposure, and our bodies have several built-in coping mechanisms that help us cool down. For instance, you'll begin to sweat sooner and blood flow to the skin increases, which can carry heat away from the body's core.
But, given the extreme heat waves that are becoming more common, there's increasing interest in better understanding the mechanisms by which heat may exacerbate or set off mood and anxiety-related problems. Dresser points to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2022 that found hospital ER visits, for mental health conditions, rise during extremely hot days.
"I think this is consistent with what a lot of physicians will tell you if they have worked during hot conditions," Dresser says. Mental health is a concern all of the time, "but it can become a bigger concern during really hot conditions," he says.
Multiple factors likely explain how heat exacerbates the risks, beyond changes in stress hormones and sleep disturbances. Dresser points out that there's an overlap between populations who are vulnerable to mental health issues and populations that are unhoused or have intermittent access to housing.
And, clearly, if someone is living outside during a heat wave, there's a greater likelihood of significant impact. "There may be complicated social issues going on," he says.
A better understanding of all of these factors could help inform strategies to prevent or manage the challenges. "As we learn to live in a warming world where the summers are getting hotter, we need to be extra alert to recognize when conditions are dangerous and take steps to stay safe," Dresser says.
One of the key strategies is to stay well hydrated. This may sound obvious, but dehydration is common in the summer, and many people underestimate how much fluid they need to replace when they're sweating a lot or spending time outdoors.
In fact, the participants in the college dorm study benefited from staying well-hydrated. During the study, the researchers sent text messages asking all the participants how much liquid they'd consumed, and it turned out that the participants who slept in the hot dorm rooms, and drank less than 6 glasses of liquid per day, performed worse on the tests. And prior research has shown that being even a little dehydrated can impair cognitive performance.
It's a reminder that a simple step – remembering to drink plenty of water – can help protect not just our physical health, but our mental wellbeing, too.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/yes-heat-can-affect-your-brain-and-mood-heres-why | 2023-07-31T09:20:20 | 1 | https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2023-07-31/yes-heat-can-affect-your-brain-and-mood-heres-why |
HANZHONG, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanzhong in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on his way back to Beijing on Saturday. During his visit to the municipal museum, Xi emphasized making good use of museums. He also called for efforts to expand the influence of Chinese culture.
"I was in Hanzhong in 2008 after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake to oversee the relief work. Hanzhong has always been in my heart over the years," Xi told local residents. Xi said he was delighted to see huge changes of the city since then.
With an exhibition area of nearly 2,000 square meters, the Hanzhong Museum in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province is not the grandest museum in China, but it is a historical telescope allowing visitors to have a retrospective view of Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) history dating back to as far as 2,000 years ago.
Unlike many other museums across the country built to house more recent historical relics, the Hanzhong Museum itself embodies the history that encompasses three heritage sites with the ancient Hantai (Lit: Han palace), once the royal residence of the founder of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, at its core.
Heritage sites-turned museum
Including the ruin of ancient Hantai, a notable feature of the Hanzhong Museum was it built in 1985 consisting of two other Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) heritage sites, the Baijiang altar and the "Yin Ma Chi," a pool facility common in ancient times for accommodating horses.
Visitors are first greeted by the ancient Hantai once they enter the museum, which is seven meters high. The millennium-old architecture was constructed using typical man-made rammed earth and its design characters show architectural aesthetics prominent in China's Qin (221BC-206BC), Han and Southern Song (1127-1279) dynasties.
Liao Shuguang, an architectural expert of ancient Chinese buildings, told the Global Times that the ancient Hantai's functions would change "according to history's change." It was once home to Liu Bang, but was later renovated in the Southern Song Dynasty to become a backyard garden with a gazebo on the building's roof.
Although the ancient Hantai changed roles, its historical importance remained unchanged as it witnessed Liu's founding of the Han Dynasty, one of the powerful dynasties in the Chinese history to have "unified yet diverse" cultural and political beliefs, historian Tao Zhongjun, told the Global Times.
"Including the belief of a 'unified country,' the Han Dynasty left behind a diverse legacy including the governing Confucius mindset and Silk Road exchanges with the western region of Asia and the world. They continue to inspire us today," Tao noted.
Aside from the ancient Hantai, the Baijiang altar, another major element of the museum, was built in 206BC. It was where the then governor Liu Bang would praise the talent and wisdom of his loyal officer Han Xin.
Museum expert Li Zhiming told the Global Times that such heritage sites turned cultural spaces are "living proof of Chinese history," and a good way of making use of the museum is to "properly maintain it while enriching its collection that possesses local cultural characters."
The art of Shudao
Hanzhong was a major stop along the ancient road system Shudao that connected China's Guanzhong Plain with the Chengdu Plain.
The Baoxie plank road, an ancient mountain road that traversed the Qinling Mountain, was also located in Hanzhong and brought an abundant supply of Shudao cultural artifacts.
Inside the Hanzhong Museum, there is a gallery dedicated to the ancient plank road. Shi Men Shi San Pin, also known as the 13 cliff stone carvings of the Shi Men, are a part of the museum's collection.
As an important section of the Shudao, Shi Men was a tunnel at the southern end of the Baoxie plank road. The walls of the tunnel as well as the cliffs of the Baoxie river, were carved with numerous historical inscriptions among which the 13 pieces collected by the museum were the "rarest of the rare," relic expert Xiang Zhengming told the Global Times.
Amongst the 13 carving pieces, the Shi Men Song (Lit: the Eulogy of Shi Men) is a highlight. It embodies the aesthetic essence of Han Dynasty's clerical script calligraphic style. In 1936, China's large-scale encyclopedia Cihai (lit: the sea of the words) took the two Chinese characters for "sea" and "word" discovered from the carving stones to be used on the cover.
"The collection at the Hanzhong Museum holds value in which one can look into China's calligraphic art and can be useful to historians in understanding the then social and cultural scenes," Xiang told the Global Times.
Some other carved pieces have also revealed the secrets of Han Dynasty's water project construction.
Including the 13 treasures, the Hanzhong Museum holds over 5,000 pieces of cultural artifacts that tell the changing cultural history of the city and the nation.
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SOURCE Global Times | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:24 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/global-times-heritage-sites-turned-hanzhong-museum-enrich-han-dynastys-cultural-abundance/ |
BlackBerry QNX and BlackBerry IVY to serve as the software foundation for alliance's EV projects
WATERLOO, ON and TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today announced that the Mobility in Harmony (MIH) Consortium, a Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd, (Foxconn)-initiated group, that seeks to create an open ecosystem to transform and accelerate innovation within the electric vehicle industry, has selected BlackBerry to provide the foundation for its next-generation platform.
MIH will use a range of BlackBerry software and services to serve as the safe and secure software foundation for the consortium's open and agnostic electric vehicle platform with a unique modular design approach. Project X, one of the MIH EV projects, will be a single-row three-seater geared towards Asian consumers, and is set to be unveiled in Japan in late 2023. MIH will also release six-seater and nine-seater vehicle platforms in the coming years to provide more vehicle segment choices, and to enable greater innovation.
As part of the agreement, MIH will utilize the company's trusted, safety-certified BlackBerry® QNX® product portfolio and award-winning cloud-connected, automotive AI platform, BlackBerry IVY™, including QNX Software Development Platform (SDP 7.1) licenses, QNX middleware technologies, as well as engineering professional services for system-level integration, performance optimization, and solution validation.
"MIH is committed to driving an open and agnostic ecosystem, with a focus that goes beyond just electric vehicles. Our ambition lies in crafting intelligent user experiences that enhance smart living and redefine the future of mobility and green logistics. BlackBerry's alignment with MIH's vision makes them the perfect partner for our goals. We anticipate deeper collaboration to realize our shared vision to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and we're thrilled about our partnership with BlackBerry," said Jack Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at MIH Consortium.
Mattias Eriksson, President, BlackBerry IoT commented: "The Foxconn-led MIH Consortium has articulated an ambitious and compelling vision focused on accelerating innovation in the EV ecosystem. As the leading foundational software for the intelligent edge, BlackBerry QNX helps our customers and partners turbocharge their software development efforts. Companies all over the world, deploy BlackBerry's high-performance, safe and secure foundational software to allow their own internal resources to focus on layers higher up in the software stack. They trust us for the 'plumbing,' so they can confidently dedicate their work to software directly impacting their customers' experiences. This accelerates development, improves safety and security, while reducing overall costs. We are excited to join the MIH consortium and look forward to helping them execute on their vision of transforming the overall EV industry."
For more information about the MIH Consortium please visit: MIH | Mobility in Harmony (mih-ev.org).
For more information on how BlackBerry QNX can help with building the safe and secure vehicles of tomorrow, please visit: BlackBerry.QNX.com.
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint management, endpoint security, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.
For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.
Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.
About MIH Consortium
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), a global leader in smart manufacturing, introduced MIH, its software and hardware open platform for EVs, in 2020 and initiated the formation of the MIH Consortium in 2021. Foxconn aims to position MIH as the "Android system of the EV industry." Foxconn is inviting automakers, manufacturers, and supply chain partners to join the MIH to collaborate. MIH's mission is to lower barriers to entry into the EV industry, accelerate innovation, and shorten development cycles by realizing key technologies and developing reference designs and standards. Currently, the MIH has more than 2,600 members.
For More: https://www.mih-ev.org/
Media Contacts:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com
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SOURCE BlackBerry Limited | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:30 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/mobility-harmony-mih-consortium-selects-blackberry-advance-its-next-generation-electric-vehicle-development-efforts/ |
The Vehicle, Merchandise and Accessories Collaboration is part of Gogoro and MUJI's Joint "Recycling for Good" Sustainability Initiative that Enables the Public to Recycle Polypropylene Plastic (PP) Waste for use in the new Gogoro MUJI Smartscooters.
TAIPEI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, today announced a collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and MUJI, the Tokyo-based consumer goods and lifestyle company. The newly designed Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME along with a range of merchandise and accessories were launched today at a press event in Taipei.
Created by Gogoro and MUJI, the Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME offer simplified Smartscooter designs that utilize recycled polypropylene (PP) body elements. Personally curated by Fukasawa, the Smartscooters adopt the classic MUJI design elements, unique rustic color palette and simple color tone philosophy to create a new urban mobility experience that is simple and comfortable yet unique.
"The most important thing in design is that it must always uphold the spirit of integrity towards people, the environment and life," said Naoto Fukasawa, world-renowned designer, author, educator and MUJI's advisory board member. "Both Gogoro and MUJI are quite popular brands, and it is very natural for them to cooperate in this way. It's not just one plus one equals two. Instead, let one plus one see a greater value."
Gogoro pioneered the mass market manufacturing of recyclable polypropylene plastics for vehicle body panels in 2019 with the Gogoro 3 Smartscooter and then across its full range of Gogoro Viva Smartscooters including Gogoro VIVA, Gogoro VIVA MIX and Gogoro VIVA XL. This innovative manufacturing process led to Gogoro's collaboration with MUJI.
"Naoto Fukasawa offers such a fresh and unique approach to simplicity, functionality and beauty in everything he creates, so it was an honor to work with him on our new Smartscooter designs and accessories," said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. "This collaboration between Gogoro, MUJI and Naoto Fukasawa establishes a strong unified voice in promoting sustainable lifestyles in Taiwan and across the region, not just for transportation but across all aspects of life. Our joint 'Recycling for Good' initiative promotes the reduction of urban pollution through encouraging the public to recycle plastics at Gogoro and MUJI stores and their reuse in our new Smartscooters."
Recycling for Good - A Joint Sustainability Initiative
Gogoro and MUJI share a vision for sustainability and a core philosophy of giving back to the Earth. In response to this year's World Environment Day theme #BeatPlasticPollution, the companies joined together on June 5, 2023 to launch the "Recycling for Good" initiative in Taiwan. "Recycling for Good" encourages people in Taiwan to participate in recycling PP (polypropylene) plastic waste at Gogoro and MUJI stores and empower them to take small actions toward building a more sustainable future.
Polypropylene objects recovered during the Recycling for Good initiative are screened, cut, granulated, reshaped and regenerated into the body panels of the newly unveiled Gogoro Smartscooters. The polypropylene body material is also made of the same material as MUJI's PP storage series.
"MUJI and Gogoro are continuing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle and together have created this new series of Gogoro Smartscooters that are optimized for life and the environment. Gogoro's commitment to being a sustainable business is aligned with MUJI's business philosophy," said Akihiro Yoshida, general manager of MUJI Taiwan. "MUJI is not just a store that sells goods, but it creates a simple and pleasant life through comprehensive sustainable thinking and takes practical action for sustainability of society and the earth."
Gogoro Sustainability
Today, more than 2.5 million Gogoro users have reduced carbon emissions by more than 680 million kilograms, and 100% recyclable polypropylene PP (Polypropylene) is used as the Smartscooter shell material to promote resource regeneration and friendly recycling. In addition, Gogoro has introduced 40% renewable energy in factories since 2022, and 100% use of green electricity in designated Gogoro stores, gradually moving towards the goal of fully using renewable energy by 2050.
Naoto Fukasawa / Product Designer
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University's Product Design Department in 1980. In the same year, he joined Seiko Epson, where he was responsible for advanced development design. In 1989, he moved to the United States, where he joined ID Two (now IDEO San Francisco). Having honed his craft for seven years, focusing mainly on Silicon Valley industries, he returned to Japan in 1996. Fukasawa established and headed up IDEO's Tokyo office, creating a Japanese design consultant base for the company. He went independent in 2003 and founded NAOTO FUKASAWA DESIGN. For more information on Naoto Fukasawa, visit https://naotofukasawa.com.
About MUJI
Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI in Japanese, translates as "no-brand quality goods." MUJI was founded in Japan in 1980 and now has more than 800 stores around the world, carrying more than 7,000 items. With the goal of making people's daily life pleasant, MUJI is globally recognized for its high-quality products that are functional, well designed and reasonably priced. Find us online at www.MUJI.com or Instagram: @muji_global and Twitter: @muji_net.
About MUJI Taiwan
MUJI Taiwan has been operating in Taiwan since 2004, and it has been nearly 20 years. MUJI Taiwan has always been committed to connecting with Taiwan and producing local products in Taiwan, hoping to provide customers with a good life. Find us online at www.muji.com/tw/zh_tw/store, Instagram: @muji_taiwan or Facebook: www.facebook.com/muji.tw.
About Gogoro
Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the "2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping for electric two-wheel vehicles", Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit https://www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.
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SOURCE Gogoro | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:36 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/muji-gogoro-naoto-fukasawa-collaborate-new-gogoro-smartscooters-new-range-merchandise-accessories/ |
The United States vs. Portugal: Live Stream, TV Channel & Game Info - August 1
Published: Jul. 31, 2023 at 2:45 AM CDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
A Group E matchup between the United States and Portugal, their third and final contest in the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage, begins at 3:00 AM ET on August 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The game is on FOX US,Fox Sports 1, if you're looking for how to watch.
Watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Fubo! Sign up for a free trial and start watching live sports without cable today!
How to Watch the United States vs. Portugal
- Game Day: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
- Game Time: 3:00 AM ET
- TV Channel: FOX US,Fox Sports 1
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Venue: Eden Park
Sign up for a Fubo free trial now to watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and more live sports!
The United States Group Stage Schedule
United States' Recent Performance
- The United States' last game was a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, taking 10 shots and outshooting by seven.
- The United States was led by Lindsey Horan, who scored her team's only goal versus .
- The United States' Sophia Smith two goals and one assist in two Women's World Cup games.
- So far in two Women's World Cup games, Horan has tallied two goals.
- Rose Lavelle has not scored but has one assist during Women's World Cup matches.
Get your 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup gear at Fanatics!
United States' 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Alyssa Naeher #1
- Ashley Sanchez #2
- Sofia Huerta #3
- Naomi Girma #4
- Kelley O'Hara #5
- Lynn Williams #6
- Alyssa Thompson #7
- Julie Ertz #8
- Savannah DeMelo #9
- Lindsey Horan #10
- Sophia Smith #11
- Alana Cook #12
- Alex Morgan #13
- Emily Sonnett #14
- Megan Rapinoe #15
- Rose Lavelle #16
- Andi Sullivan #17
- Casey Murphy #18
- Crystal Dunn #19
- Trinity Rodman #20
- Aubrey Kingsbury #21
- Kristie Mewis #22
- Emily Fox #23
Portugal Group Stage Schedule
Portugal's Recent Performance
- In its most recent action on July 27, Portugal claimed a 2-0 win against Vietnam. Portugal outshot Vietnam 28 to five.
- For Portugal, Francisca Nazareth and Telma Encarnacao each scored a goal.
- In Women's World Cup, Encarnacao has collected one goal (in two matches) and one assist for Portugal.
- Lucia Alves has not scored, but does have one assist for Portugal in Women's World Cup.
- In two Women's World Cup matches, Nazareth has one goal.
Portugal's 2023 Women's World Cup Roster
- Ines Pereira #1
- Catarina Amado #2
- Lucia Alves #3
- Silvia Rebelo #4
- Joana Marchao #5
- Andreia Jacinto #6
- Ana Rute #7
- Andreia Norton #8
- Ana Borges #9
- Jessica Silva #10
- Tatiana Pinto #11
- Patricia Morais #12
- Fatima Pinto #13
- Dolores Silva #14
- Carole Costa #15
- Diana Silva #16
- Ana Seica #17
- Carolina Mendes #18
- Diana Gomes #19
- Francisca Nazareth #20
- Ana Capeta #21
- Rute Costa #22
- Telma Encarnacao #23
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wlbt.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ | 2023-07-31T09:20:43 | 0 | https://www.wlbt.com/sports/betting/2023/08/01/2023-womens-world-cup-united-states-portugal-live-stream-tv/ |
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 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
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_c753d656-2f7f-11ee-8fd5-af156e8954ff.html | 2023-07-31T09:21:00 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/weather/refreshingly-low-humidity-with-plenty-of-sunshine-through-wednesday/article_c753d656-2f7f-11ee-8fd5-af156e8954ff.html |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wsaz.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:21:50 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
KHAR, Pakistan — Pakistan held funerals on Monday for victims of a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric the previous day as the death toll climbed to at least 45 and the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, which also wounded nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group's regional affiliate could be behind the attack.
The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.
The IS regional affiliate — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is based in neighboring Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban. Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan's Taliban government — before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.
The cleric's supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their party's preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected sometime in October or November after the current parliament's five-year term ends.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote. Rehman's party is part of Sharif's coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Khan later on Sunday also condemned the bombing, as condolences continued to pour in from across the country. Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll on Sunday was reported to be 44 but rose to 45 on Monday as a critically wounded person died at a hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.
Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Rehman's party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that "such attacks cannot deter our resolve."
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that "such crimes cannot be justified in any way."
The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, 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. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were "investigating this attack in all aspects."
Sunday's bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan 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. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wunc.org/2023-07-31/pakistan-holds-funerals-as-the-government-vows-to-find-those-behind-a-deadly-bombing | 2023-07-31T09:21:50 | 0 | https://www.wunc.org/2023-07-31/pakistan-holds-funerals-as-the-government-vows-to-find-those-behind-a-deadly-bombing |
School wasn’t always a comfortable place for Andrea Jeronimo Leco.
She had moved with her family from a small town in Mexico to Reading when she was 5 years old. And attending Reading schools, she frequently found herself learning from teachers who didn’t look like her.
Though the district has spent years working to diversify its teaching staff, qualified Latino educators are hard to come by.
That means most of Jeronimo Leco’s teachers didn’t speak her native language or share her cultural touchstones and life experiences. The situation left Jeronimo Leco feeling a bit out of place.
The result was that she ended up mostly staying quiet in class.
“I was very shy,” she said. “My teachers would always tell my parents that I don’t talk in class.”
In the few cases where Jeronimo Leco did have Latino teachers, things were much, much different.
“In their classrooms I wasn’t shy,” she said. “It just made me feel very comfortable, it made learning a lot easier.
“It’s sad to see students not be able to show who they are just because they’re afraid. They have so much potential and creativity. They’re amazing.”
Jeronimo Leco wants to make sure other kids with backgrounds like hers don’t face the same challenges she did. She wants to make sure they attend classrooms where they are comfortable, feel free to express themselves and are able to flourish.
That’s why she decided to study education at Kutztown University.
“I fell in love with it,” she said of training to become a teacher. “I love that I get to be creative and I get to inspire kids with diverse backgrounds like me.”
Jeronimo Leco is nearly done with her education. This fall she will begin a year of student teaching, and then in the spring she’ll graduate from KU with a degree in elementary education.
But that doesn’t mean her dreams of leading a local classroom will come true soon. That’s because she’s not allowed to teach in Pennsylvania.
Jeronimo Leco is not a U.S. citizen, and the state doesn’t allow noncitizens to get certified to teach.
“No matter what I did, it wasn’t good enough,” said Jeronimo Leco, who said she learned of the issue her freshman year. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to be a teacher right out of college. But in life you have to take chances, and I didn’t want to be held back from my dream of teaching.”
A pair of local lawmakers are working to make that dream possible.
State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz authored a bill that would change the school code to allow noncitizens to teach in Pennsylvania schools if they have a valid immigrant visa, work visa or employment authorization document. The bill has passed the House and is in the Senate Education Committee.
“It would expand opportunities for people with immigrant visas, with a green card, who already have degrees by making them eligible to teach in our schools,” the Reading Democrat said. “It’s about removing a barrier.”
Current state law only allows noncitizens to teach in Pennsylvania schools if they are exchange teachers who are not permanently employed or if they are employed to teach a foreign language.
The issue of noncitizen teachers appears to be somewhat partisan. Cepeda-Freytiz’s bill cleared the Democratic-led House by just a 110-93 vote, with just nine Republicans voting yes.
One of those voting against the bill was Robeson Township Republican Rep. Mark Gillen.
He said he supports the general concept of allowing qualified noncitizens to get their certifications — saying he is the grandson of immigrants from Italy, Hungary and Ireland — but found fault with a specific aspect of Cepeda-Freytiz’s bill.
“The devil is always in the details,” he said.
In particular, Gillen said he opposed the deletion of an existing part of the state’s current law that requires noncitizens seeking provisional certifications to declare in writing their intention to become a U.S. citizen.
“The deletion was concerning to me. I thought it should be left in,” he said. “I’d like to know that they’d like to stay here and make this their home.”
The fate of the bill in Republican-led Senate is unclear.
Education Committee Chairman Sen. David Argall, a Schuylkill County Republican, has not indicated his stance on the issue. In response to a request for comment on the bill, an official from his office said the bill was just recently received by the committee and the committee will be evaluating it.
Cepeda-Freytiz will have some support for her bill in the Senate thanks to another local legislator.
State Sen. Judy Schwank has been pushing for the change in state law for several years and is supporting her colleague’s legislation.
“It definitely would make sense,” the Ruscombmanor Township Democrat said. “I believe in human potential, and I know that in our community we need young people to stay here and begin working and contributing to our economy and to our society.”
Schwank said that in the past the main obstacle to changing the law has been the overall debate about immigration in the U.S., which tends to elicit strong, emotional responses.
“There’s this sentiment that these are illegal immigrants that are taking advantage of our system,” she said. “It’s a huge misunderstanding.”
Schwank stressed that the idea is to allow legal immigrants to teach in Pennsylvania. And, she added, that’s an especially good idea now as schools across the state face an ongoing teacher shortage.
For the past few years the pool of qualified teachers has been shrinking, a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many school districts, including some locally, have struggled to fill a variety of open positions.
“We have a shortage of teachers overall, and particularly a shortage of people of color in teaching,” she said. “These are eager young people who really want to contribute, who could be really excellent teachers.”
Cepeda-Freytiz said much the same, pointing out that the teacher shortage has been hitting urban districts particularly hard.
“The Reading School District has well over 100 teacher vacancies, and the clock is ticking,” she said. “We’re going to be back in school soon — if we don’t find a way to rectify this, what will it mean for our children?”
Cepeda-Freytiz and Schwank said that not allowing noncitizens to teach in Pennsylvania leads to those educators leaving the state. Nearby states such as New Jersey, New York and West Virginia do allow non-citizens to get their certification.
“This is important for our economy,” Schwank said. “We are an aging state, we are a state where the workforce numbers are actually decreasing. We need to continually reinforce this workforce — it just doesn’t make sense to me to ignore this potential that we have here.”
Potential like that possessed by Jackie Rocha.
Rocha was brought to the U.S. from Brazil by her parents when she was 6. Her family settled in Wilkes-Barre, where her dad worked in the construction industry.
Moving to Pennsylvania at such an early age, she has very few memories of her life in Brazil.
“In a sense I don’t even consider it my home country anymore because I grew up in the U.S.,” she said. “This is my home.”
Rocha earned a bachelor’s degree from King’s College and started a career as a behavioral health worker. But the world of education soon called out to her.
“I decided to pursue a master’s degree, and I wanted to do something that involved counseling and helping kids in situations like I was in,” she said.
Rocha pursued her master’s at Bloomsburg University, graduating this spring. But in October, just before finishing, she found out she wouldn’t be allowed to get certified as a school counselor like she had hoped.
A beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, she’s legally allowed to work in the U.S. But Pennsylvania law forbids noncitizens from working as school counselors.
Rocha, now 26, said she doesn’t know what she’s going to do.
“As much as I want to give up sometimes, I was always taught that you fight for what you believe, for what you want,” she said. “But at this moment there’s not really much I can do.”
She has looked into working in a nearby state, but she said she really doesn’t want to go that route. She has roots, family and friends here, she said.
“This is the state I came to,” she said. “This is my home. I love Pennsylvania, I love Wilkes-Barre.”
Jeronimo Leco feels the same way.
“I really want to stay in Pennsylvania because it’s the home I’ve known my whole life,” she said.
Jeronimo Leco said she often feels sad about her situation but not just because of how it impacts her. She said there are lots of other people out there in the same situation who would be great teachers if given the chance.
“They are losing out on great individuals,” she said. “And the ones that are suffering are the students. It’s really an easier option to just let us teach.” | https://www.mcall.com/2023/07/31/berks-lawmakers-at-the-center-of-an-effort-to-allow-noncitizens-with-education-degrees-teach-in-pa-schools/ | 2023-07-31T09:22:34 | 1 | https://www.mcall.com/2023/07/31/berks-lawmakers-at-the-center-of-an-effort-to-allow-noncitizens-with-education-degrees-teach-in-pa-schools/ |
No Major Ups or Downs This Week
We are starting out the new week quiet with morning temperatures on either side of 60°, under a quiet & mostly clear sky. Highs are warming to the lower 80s this afternoon. A few clouds will be possible, but the rain chances for today look to miss just south of our area.
We are tracking a quiet-looking forecast, with plenty of sunny days & highs in the middle 80s ahead. The clear sky Monday night will make for optimal viewing of the nearly full “Sturgeon Moon”, which is at its peak fullest at 1:31 PM local time Tuesday. If you miss the full moon Monday night, you should be able to catch a glimpse of it Tuesday night, with partly cloudy conditions expected. The next full moon is August 30, the “Blue Moon”, another “super moon”, at its peak fullest at 8:36 PM (8/30).
As far as rain chances go for the rest of the week, we are trending dry once again. An early-morning shower is possible with a few clouds Wednesday, however the better rain chances are looking to hold off until the weekend. | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/no-major-ups-or-downs-this-week/ | 2023-07-31T09:26:41 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/kaal-weather/no-major-ups-or-downs-this-week/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy grows after months of stagnation or contraction, but higher interest rates cast shadow on prospects.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/europes-economy-grows-after-months-of-stagnation-or-contraction-but-higher-interest-rates-cast-shadow-on-prospects/ | 2023-07-31T09:26:47 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/europes-economy-grows-after-months-of-stagnation-or-contraction-but-higher-interest-rates-cast-shadow-on-prospects/ |
Europe’s economy shows modest growth after months of stagnation as rate hikes weigh on businesses
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy grew modestly in the most recent quarter, breaking out of a months of stagnation or contraction as higher interest rates designed to fight inflation make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, invest and spend.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday. That’s an improvement over zero growth in the first quarter of this year and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year, but not by much.
A revision raised figures for the first quarter from a decline of 0.1%, wiping out two straight quarters of declining output. Inflation in the eurozone, meanwhile, continued its gradual decline, falling to 5.3% in July from 5.5% in June.
Europe’s economic growth got a boost by 0.5% growth in France and 0.4% in Spain, where lower inflation has helped lift consumer spending power.
The French figure, however, was increased by a one-off: the delivery of one very large manufactured item, a cruise ship. That statistical quirk flattered the French growth figure but does little to disguise weak demand for goods in the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
The most growth was posted by Ireland at 3.3%. The country’s growth figures often show large swings due to major international companies locating their headquarters there.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, struggled in the second quarter, recording zero growth after two straight quarters of falling output as it grappled with high energy costs tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Europe is still struggling with the aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow cutting off most of its natural gas to the continent, sharply raising prices for the fuel and the electricity it generates. In Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck has proposed capping energy prices for industry with government help.
The worst of the price spike is over, but costs are still higher than before the war began. Energy has faded as a main driver of inflation, but price rises are hitting Europeans when they shop for groceries, clothes and more, and the rebound for services companies such as hotels and restaurants that suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic has mostly run its course.
Rebounding travel, especially in the Mediterranean countries that heavily rely on tourism, is expected to support growth in the third quarter as people flock to the beach for their summer holidays in Greece, Spain and Italy, despite recent heat waves and wildfires.
Other than that, prospects for the rest of the year are muted. Another drag on the economy is the rapid series of interest rate increases that the European Central Bank has unleashed to knock down inflation.
The ECB made its ninth straight hike Thursday, bringing its key deposit rate from minus 0.5% to 3.75% in just one year, a record pace since the creation of the euro in 1999. The result has been higher mortgage rates and canceled construction plans due to expensive or unavailable credit.
The central bank’s lending survey shows the lowest level of business loans and credit lines since the statistics started in 2003. Bank President Christine Lagarde left open whether the bank will keep hiking rates at its next meeting on Sept. 14, saying the decision will depend on incoming inflation data at the time.
Since the rate hikes began, inflation has steadily fallen from a peak of 10.6% in October to 5.5% in June, still well above the ECB’s 2% target. Bank officials say tough action now will spare even more painful restriction of credit later if inflation gets completely out of control.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ | 2023-07-31T09:26:53 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ |
Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell faces sentencing in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T09:26:59 | 0 | https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/31/idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-deaths-2-children-her-romantic-rival/ |
Stock market today: European shares open mixed after Asia rallies on hopes for Chinese stimulus
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Europe after most Asian markets logged gains Monday on hopes for more stimulus from Beijing for the sluggish Chinese economy.
Worries over China’s slowdown have tempered optimism recently over the possibility that inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates.
Adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown, Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed,
A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting.
“The PMI surveys suggest that China’s economic recovery continued to lose momentum in July,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary. “Looking forward, policy support is needed to prevent China’s economy from slipping into a recession, not least because external headwinds look set to persist for a while longer.”
Germany’s DAX was up 0.1% at 16,481.74, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,492.95. Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.1% to 7,683.50. The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were nearly unchanged.
In Asian trading, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.8% to 20,078.94, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.5% to 3,291.04.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.3% higher at 33,172.22. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.9% to 2,632.58.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher, to 7,410.40 and the SET in Bangkok was up 0.8%. The Sensex in India rose 0.4% to 66,419.66.
Wall Street closed out another winning week on Friday, as the S&P 500 rose 1%. The Dow added 0.5% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.
If inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates, that might allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession.
Though critics say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally.
A report on Friday showed the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Data also showed total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means Wednesday’s hike to interest rates by the Federal Reserve will be the final one of this cycle. The federal funds rate has leaped to a level between 5.25% and 5.50%, up from virtually zero early last year. High interest rates work to lower inflation by slowing the entire economy and hurting prices for stocks and other investments.
In other trading Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gave up 5 cents to $80.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 49 cents to $80.58 on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, shed 6 cents to $84.35 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.43 Japanese yen from Friday’s 141.01 yen. The euro was at $1.1021, up from $1.1019.
___
AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/stock-market-today-european-shares-open-mixed-after-asia-rallies-on-hopes-for-chinese-stimulus/ | 2023-07-31T09:26:59 | 0 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/stock-market-today-european-shares-open-mixed-after-asia-rallies-on-hopes-for-chinese-stimulus/ |
Highly experienced Corporate Financier and Business Builder Will Partner with René Obermann to Further Accelerate the Growth and Momentum of the Firm's European Business
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, today announced the appointment of Andrew Sibbald as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Europe. Mr. Sibbald will work alongside veteran investor and current Co-Head of Europe, René Obermann, based in Berlin. Mr. Sibbald will succeed Adarsh Sarma, who will remain a Managing Director and Partner with the Firm, focusing on his existing portfolio. Jim Neary, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, will work closely with Andrew, René and the European team to support the firm's global strategy, portfolio management and new investments.
Based in London, Mr. Sibbald joins Warburg Pincus from Evercore, where he most recently served as Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Evercore's European investment banking business. He was previously the Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Lexicon Partners which was acquired by Evercore in 2011. With over 35 years of financial services experience, Mr. Sibbald has advised on many notable M&A and corporate finance transactions including recently: Arcmont on its sale to Nuveen; Global Risk Partners on its sale to Brown & Brown; and AA on its sale to Warburg Pincus and TowerBrook Capital.
"Andrew's impressive expertise and deep-rooted experience, particularly in Europe, advising leading companies on a variety of sophisticated transactions will serve our portfolio and investing teams well as we continue to navigate complex market dynamics," said Chip Kaye, CEO, Warburg Pincus. "We look forward to welcoming Andrew to Warburg Pincus and want to thank Adarsh for his 18+ years of service in the US and Europe," continued Jim Neary, Managing Director, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity, Warburg Pincus.
"I have long admired the success and culture of Warburg Pincus and I'm thrilled to be joining the firm. I have enormous respect for René and look forward to working closely with him and the team in Europe to drive further positive momentum in the business here. Warburg Pincus has an incredibly strong reputation for creating effective partnerships with management teams all over the world to deliver sustainable value and growth, as well as attractive returns for its investors. I strongly believe that the firm's long established global platform together with its local networks and insights provide real advantages to the management teams and businesses that partner with us," said Andrew Sibbald.
Warburg Pincus is one of the leading private equity investors in Europe. Since the firm's first European transaction in 1983, the firm has invested more than $15B in over 130 companies in 23 European countries. The firm has one of the largest pools of available private equity capital in Europe and seeks to partner with management teams that are building, transforming or acquiring businesses with the potential to be market leaders with enduring value.
Prior to founding Lexicon Partners in 2000, Mr. Sibbald was a Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he led a team specializing in M&A in the financial institutions sector. He was previously a Partner in The Phoenix Partnership.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Contact
Kerrie Cohen | Managing Director, Head of Communications
T: +1 212 878 9207
E: kerrie.cohen@warburgpincus.com
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SOURCE Warburg Pincus | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ | 2023-07-31T09:27:05 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/andrew-sibbald-joins-warburg-pincus-co-head-europe/ |
West African nations threaten to use force if Niger’s president isn’t reinstated within a week
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — West African nations have given Niger’s coup leaders one week to reinstate the country’s democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands aren’t met.
The announcement came at the end of an emergency meeting of West African countries Sunday in Nigeria, where the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, convened to respond to last week’s military takeover. President Mohamed Bazoum remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.
“In the event the authority’s demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” said the statement.
The bloc also imposted strict sanctions, including suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger and freezing of assets in regional central banks.
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 could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.
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 governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
“While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
“I believe economic sanctions are the ones to be imposed, but don’t see a military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger,” he said.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.
On Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars need to be returned by midday Monday and banned the use of social media to diffuse messages against state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum. The Associated Press can’t verify his allegations.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in the capital, Niamey, denouncing its former colonial ruler, France, waving Russian flags and telling the international community to stay away.
Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Moscow’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 situation of this country is not good … It’s time for change, and change has arrived,” said Moussa Seydou, a protester. “What we want from the putschists — all they have to do is improve social conditions so that Nigeriens can live better in this country and bring peace,” he said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ | 2023-07-31T09:27:05 | 1 | https://www.kaaltv.com/news/business-news/west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ |