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PECKVILLE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A house fire in Lackawanna County over the weekend was caused by a cigarette butt that was not fully extinguished, according to a state police fire marshal.
Crews were dispatched to the 500 block of Keystone Avenue, Peckville, just before noon for a reported house fire.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Unit, the fire originated on the side of the home and was caused by a cigarette butt being thrown on the ground near where garbage and cardboard boxes were stored.
Fire investigators say the cigarette butt was not fully extinguished and caught the cardboard on fire which extended up to the outside of the home.
Chief Leri stated the fire department was able to save a lot of the family’s belongings thanks to their quick action in getting the bulk of the fire knocked down. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/discarded-cigarette-butt-causes-fire-in-lackawanna-county/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:02 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/discarded-cigarette-butt-causes-fire-in-lackawanna-county/ |
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A 22-year-old man was bitten Monday morning by a shark off New Smyrna Beach, according to fire officials.
The attack happened near the 2100 block of Ocean Blvd.
According to New Smyrna Beach fire officials, the Oviedo was bitten in his left foot and taken to the hospital, where he is in stable condition.
No other details have been released.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as we receive it.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/07/31/22-year-old-bitten-by-shark-off-new-smyrna-beach/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:02 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/07/31/22-year-old-bitten-by-shark-off-new-smyrna-beach/ |
TODAY SPORTS ON TV
Monday, July 31
MLB BASEBALL
7 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Tampa Bay at NY Yankees OR Baltimore at Toronto
11 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Boston at Seattle OR Arizona at San Francisco (Joined in Progress)
SOCCER (MEN’S)
10 p.m.
FS1 — Leagues Cup Group Stage: Chivas Guadalajara at Sporting Kansas City, Group F
SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
3 a.m.
FOX — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Japan vs. Spain, Group C, Wellington, New Zealand
FS1 — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Costa Rica vs. Zambia, Group C, Hamilton, New Zealand
6 a.m.
FOX — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Canada vs. Australia, Group B, Melbourne, Australia
FS1 — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Ireland vs. Nigeria, Group B, Brisbane, New Zealand
3 a.m. (Tuesday)
FOX — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Portugal vs. U.S., Group E, Auckland, New Zealand
FS1 — FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Vietnam vs. Netherlands, Group E, Dunedin, New Zealand
TBT BASKETBALL
7 p.m.
ESPN — TBT Tournament: TBD, Quarterfinal, Dayton, Ohio
9 p.m.
ESPN2 — TBT Tournament: TBD, Quarterfinal, Louisville, Ky.
TENNIS
5 a.m.
TENNIS — Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds
6 a.m.
TENNIS — Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds
12 p.m.
TENNIS — Washington-ATP/WTA Early Rounds
11 p.m.
TENNIS — Los Cabos-ATP Early Rounds
5 a.m. (Tuesday)
TENNIS — Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds
6 a.m. (Tuesday)
TENNIS — Kitzbuhel-ATP, Prague-WTA Early Rounds
YOUTH HOCKEY (BOY’S)
1 p.m.
NHLN — Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18: Czech Republic vs. U.S., Preliminary Round, Breclav, Czechia
LOCAL SPORTS
NORTHWOODS LEAGUE — Traverse City at Kokomo, 7:05p | https://www.record-eagle.com/sports/today-in-sports-07-31-2023/article_7015220c-2ef1-11ee-b46d-d32accee95e9.html | 2023-07-31T15:50:02 | 0 | https://www.record-eagle.com/sports/today-in-sports-07-31-2023/article_7015220c-2ef1-11ee-b46d-d32accee95e9.html |
(The Hill) — The Department of Education released a beta website on Monday for the Biden administration’s new income-driven student loan repayment plan, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
“A beta version of the updated [Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)] application is now available and includes the option to enroll in the new SAVE Plan – the most affordable repayment plan yet,” the department said on the site.
Previously, the administration had numerous IDR options for borrowers, which advocates have said led to a confusing system for borrowers.
The new SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan, one of the most widely used out of the four IDR options available to borrowers. The other three IDR plans will be phased out by the department or limited in the future.
The SAVE plan will make three significant changes this year compared to the REPAYE option. The first raises the income exemption from 150 percent above the poverty line to 225 percent, meaning a single person earning less than $32,800 would have $0 monthly payments under the plan.
The plan also won’t allow unpaid interest to grow if a person is making their monthly student loan payments. Lastly, spousal income for borrowers who are married and file separately will not be included.
The website – first reported by CNN — shows a demo of the application process, where some information such as tax returns can be automatically inserted due to information the government has on file for a borrower.
“We will be able to show borrowers their exact monthly payment amount and give them the ability to choose the most affordable repayment plan for them,” one official told CNN.
Officials told the network the full website launch will happen in August after the department has time to assess the site’s performance during the beta launch. Those who apply for SAVE during the beta period will not have to reapply after the full launch.
Those on the previous REPAYE IDR plan will be automatically enrolled in the new plan and do not need to use the launched application.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Education for comment on the beta launch.
Other aspects of the SAVE program will be implemented next year such as payments getting reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent of income above 225 percent of the poverty line for undergraduate loans.
The SAVE plan, touted as the most generous IDR plan by the administration, is expected to cost between $150 billion to $350 billion a year, according to varying estimates.
The launch of the SAVE plan comes two months before borrowers end their three-year-long pause on student loan payments and begin President Joe Biden’s “on-ramp” repayment system.
Under the system, interest will still accrue, but borrowers will not be penalized in other ways such as credit score ratings for not paying their student loan payments up until Sept. 2024. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:03 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ |
PALM BAY, Fla. – Palm Bay police shot and killed a man who fired at officers after an hourslong standoff, according to the department.
Officers responded Sunday around 8 p.m. to the 700 block of Scotia Ave. after receiving reports a man was threatening to shoot and kill his family members.
Police said SWAT and crisis negotiators were at the scene working to get the man out of the home.
“After several hours, the subject refused to comply with Negotiators on scene. The subject fired at officers at which time the officers returned fire ultimately hitting the subject an undetermined number of times,” the department said in a release.
The man was pronounced dead on the scene. His name or age has not been released.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave per procedure.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as we receive it
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/07/31/palm-bay-police-shoot-kill-man-who-fired-at-officers-after-hourslong-standoff-officials-say/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:03 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/07/31/palm-bay-police-shoot-kill-man-who-fired-at-officers-after-hourslong-standoff-officials-say/ |
EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — A PA Lottery retailer in NEPA sold a winning Powerball ticket worth $150,000 Saturday.
According to Pennsylvania Lottery, the ticket matched four of the five white balls drawn, 10-25-27-34-38, and the red Powerball® 2 to win $150,000.
Central Highway Oil Company, on Altamont Boulevard, in Frackville, earns a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Winners are not known until prizes are claimed and tickets are validated. Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball® winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.
Winning tickets purchased at a Lottery retailer should immediately be signed on the back. Players may visit the PA lottery site for more information about how to file a claim. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/powerball-ticket-worth-150k-sold-in-nepa/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:16 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/powerball-ticket-worth-150k-sold-in-nepa/ |
ROCHESTER, N.H. – In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is taking aim at China with a “Declaration of Economic Independence” that also targets taxes, regulations, spending and education.
Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to boost the economy and fight for the middle class.
“We will take back control of our destiny — and ensure that our future is as proud, independent and free as our past,” he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.
DeSantis said he would wrest economic control from China by ending the nation’s preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China.
The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled in recent weeks. Although long seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
On Monday, he focused on the federal government's reckless spending, however. His plan describes him as a “new sheriff in town” who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.
On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing “useless degrees” by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue. His plan also would promote vocational and apprenticeship programs that educate “artisans and engineers” instead of “politicized administrators and bureaucrats.” | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/desantis-unveils-new-economic-policy-that-targets-china-taxes-and-regulations/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:16 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/desantis-unveils-new-economic-policy-that-targets-china-taxes-and-regulations/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.
Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.
A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000.
Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents in 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Demand for apartments exploded during the pandemic as people who could work remotely sought more space or decided to relocate to another part of the country.
The steep rent increases have left tenants like Melissa Lombana, a high school teacher who lives in the South Florida city of Miramar, with progressively less income to spend on other needs.
The rent on her one-bedroom apartment jumped 13% last year to $1,700. It climbed another 6% to $1,800 this month when she renewed her lease.
“Even the $1,700 was a stretch for me,” said Lombana, 43, who supplements her teaching income with a side job doing educational testing. “In a year, I will not be able to afford living here at all.”
Lombana’s rent is now gobbling up nearly half her monthly income. That puts her in a category referred to as “cost-burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, denoting households that pay 30% or more of their income toward rent. Last year, the average rent-to-income ratio per household rose to 30%. This March, it was 29.6%.
Lombana hasn’t had any luck finding a more affordable apartment. While South Florida is one of the metropolitan areas seeing a rise in apartment construction, the units are mostly high-end and not a viable option.
That scenario is playing out across the nation. Developers are rushing to complete projects that were green-lit during the pandemic-era surge in demand for rentals or left in limbo by delays in supplies of fixtures and building materials. Nearly 1.1 million apartments are currently under construction, according to the commercial real estate tracker CoStar, a pace not seen since the 1970s.
Increasing the supply of apartments tends to moderate rent increases over time and can give tenants more options on where to live. But more than 40% of the new rentals to be completed this year will be concentrated in about 10 high job growth metropolitan areas, including Austin, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta and New York, according to Marcus & Millichap. In many areas, the boost to overall inventory will be barely noticeable.
Even within metros where there’ll be a notable increase in available apartments, such as Nashville, most of it will be in the luxury category, where rents average $2,270, nationally. Some 70% of the new rental inventory will be the luxury class, said Jay Lybik, national director of multifamily analytics at CoStar.
That will leave most tenants unlikely to see a big enough reduction in rent to make a difference, industry experts and economists say.
“I think we’re in a period of rent flattening for 12 or 18 months, but it’s certainly not a big rent decline,” said Hessam Nadji, CEO of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
“We’re building a multi-decade record number of units,” Nadji said. “It’s going to cause some softening and some pockets of overbuilding, but it’s not going to fundamentally resolve the housing shortage or the affordability problem for renters across the U.S.”
The surge in rents has made it difficult for workers to keep up with inflation despite solid wage gains the past few years and exacerbated a long-term trend. Between 1999 and 2022, U.S. rents soared 135%, while income grew 77%, according to data from Moody’s Analytics.
Realtor.com is forecasting that rents will drop an average of 0.9% this year. But while down nationally, rents are still rising in many markets around the country, especially those where hiring remains robust.
In the New York metro area, the median rent climbed 4.7% in June from a year earlier to $2,899, according to Realtor.com. In the Midwest, rents surged 5.6% in the Cincinnati metro area to $1,188, and 6.9% to $1,350 in the Indianapolis metro area.
The current spike in apartment construction alone isn’t going to be enough to address how costly renting has become for many Americans.
“For the rest of the 2020s rents will continue to grow because millennials are such a big generation and we’re very much in the hole in terms of building housing for that generation,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. “It will take many good years of new construction to build adequate housing for millennials.”
The bigger challenge is building more work force housing, because the cost of land, labor and navigating the government approval process incentivize developers to put up luxury apartments buildings.
Expanding the supply of modestly priced rentals would help alleviate the strain from so many new apartments targeting renters with high incomes, “although additional subsidies will be needed to make housing affordable to households with the lowest incomes,” researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote in a recent report.
Despite the overall pullback in U.S. rents, Joey Di Girolamo, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, worries that he’ll face more sharp rent increases in coming years.
Last year, the web designer left a two-bedroom, two-bath townhome he rented for $2,200 a month to avoid a $600 a month increase. This year, his rent went up by $200, a nearly 10% jump.
“That blew me away,” said Di Girolamo, 50. “I’m just kind of dreading what it’s going to be like next year, but especially 3 or 4 years from now.” | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:22 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/renters-get-relief-from-rising-prices-except-in-certain-us-cities/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney's free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.
The group on Friday asked a judge for permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the claims brought by Disney against DeSantis, his appointees to a special district board governing Disney World and a state economic development agency. The lawsuit claims the Florida governor violated the company's free speech rights by taking control over the district in retaliation for Disney's public opposition to the so-called “Don't Say Gay” bill.
The committee said that the impact of a DeSantis win would be felt beyond the 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) of the Disney World property governed by the new appointees picked by the Florida governor to the governing district's board.
“If Defendants prevail in this case, those on whose behalf the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press advocates will be first in the line of fire given the nature of reporting and the press’s role in our constitutional system,” the committee said in its request to file the supporting brief in federal court in Tallahassee. “As such, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s proposed brief provides a voice to those not directly involved, but undoubtedly impacted by this case.”
DeSantis and Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity have argued that Disney's case should be dismissed because of sovereign immunity protection against being sued for conducting government business, and that Disney hasn't shown how it has been hurt so it lacks standing to sue the state government defendants.
DeSantis has used the fight with Disney to burnish his “anti-woke” credentials and demonstrate his ability to push a conservative agenda during his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels.
If the retaliatory actions by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are left unchecked, it poses a threat to watchdog journalism and press coverage of public issues “to the detriment to the free flow of information on matters of public concern that has long been the hallmark of our democratic system of government,” the committee said.
Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district's takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.
Disney had asked for the case be dismissed or delayed pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit. However, Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber in Orlando on Friday refused to toss or postpone the case, saying among other reasons that to do so would have created “an undue delay” for the district, which still must continue governing. ___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/group-desantis-win-in-disney-lawsuit-could-embolden-actions-against-journalists/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:23 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/group-desantis-win-in-disney-lawsuit-could-embolden-actions-against-journalists/ |
The Cubs return to Wrigley Field riding high.
Although a 3-0 loss Sunday at Busch Stadium snapped an eight-game winning streak, the Cubs put themselves in a position to buy ahead of Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT trade deadline.
The White Sox have been in selling mode.
Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López are Los Angeles Angels. Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly are Los Angeles Dodgers. Kendall Graveman is with the Houston Astros.
How will the roster look after Tuesday’s trade deadline?
Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.
Nick Madrigal producing plus-defense at third base
It didn’t take long into his first game off the injured list Saturday to show why Madrigal statistically rates as one of the better defensive third basemen in the majors this year.
Madrigal made two great plays in Saturday’s win against the Cardinals. One required a diving stop into foul territory before popping up to deliver an on-target one-hop throw to get the runner at first. In the other, he got to a ball glove-side toward the hole that manager David Ross thought was an even tougher play.
“For him to solidify that left side and the defense he’s played, it’s definitely above what anybody expected,” Ross said Sunday.
It’s a testament to Madrigal’s commitment to his position change, starting with the work he put in the offseason which included time with bench coach Andy Green in Arizona before spring training.
“You see how much more comfortable he’s gotten throughout the season,” Ross said. “… Part of our identity is good team defense and we pitching and defense, those things go hand-in-hand. The more we can solidify those types of guys around the field, the better off we’re going to be.”
Advanced metrics have backed up the eye test on Madrigal’s defensive work. His 8 Outs Above Average (OAA) are tied for eighth-best among the 39 qualified third baseman in the big leagues this season while his success rate is the highest. Conversely, Patrick Wisdom’s minus-6 OAA is tied for second-worst at the position.
With the focus on the future, what’s next for Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet?
As the recent trades have indicated, the Sox are looking ahead.
They have some openings in their rotation. And pitcher Garrett Crochet would like to be considered for a starting role in the future.
“That will be a conversation I need to have with (general manager) Rick (Hahn) and (manager) Pedro (Grifol) as well,” Crochet said Saturday. “I was hoping to get a little bit of an innings base under my belt this year. So then I could do that a little bit easier.
“At the end of the day, I feel like that sort of routine is a better routine for me based on the bumps and bruises that have been happening to me. I feel like I have the stuff to fulfill that role. I just want the opportunity to do it.”
The team’s first-round pick in 2020, Crochet has made 69 relief appearances in three seasons. He missed 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Crochet has appeared in 10 games in 2023. He is currently on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
There was a pause in his recent rehab assignment because of what Crochet said was a “little muscle strain in my shoulder.”
“I’m just going to take a few weeks off throwing,” he said. “I just want to take this comeback slow and don’t want to rush anything. I still plan to pitch at some point at the end of the year.”
Pitching coach Ethan Katz said Crochet has the stuff, but the first goal is to make sure he’s healthy.
“He has a very nice pitch mix,” Katz said Sunday. “There’s some things that we want to be more efficient with the pitches. If that’s the route we’re looking to go, he’s going to have to be a little more efficient.
“But the stuff is there. The ability to get guys out in the big leagues is there. But there’s still some stuff we need to do to make sure he’s able to go out there and go five, six, seven innings, whatever the case may be starting and help develop him that way.”
Week ahead: Cubs
The last year has brought “a lot of growing pains” for right-hander Hayden Wesneski as he approaches the one-year mark of coming into the organization.
“It’s been a long year, I will say — I forgot it’d been a year,” Wesneski said Sunday of his trade to the Cubs. “Man, I’ve learned a lot being in the big leagues, just learning from older guys.”
Wesneski was recalled to start Friday in a piggyback role with Drew Smyly. He made the most of three starts at Triple-A Iowa where he specifically focused on tinkering with his sinker and throwing it to his glove side. He specifically looked at better utilizing his pitch versus lefties by throwing a sinker to their front hip or seeing what happens when he throws one away. He said he didn’t throw his changeup as much as he wanted, but felt he made progress on finding things that can help him better navigate lefties who have hit him too often this year.
“I was just trying different things that I can’t necessarily test out here and fail,” Wesneski said. “It’s OK to fail in Iowa and try, ‘OK, that didn’t work or hey that did work, it didn’t work out in my favor.’ … I had at-bats I could try it on.”
Ross said Sunday that Wesneski will be in the bullpen and his role will be defined as they move forward.
- Monday: vs. Reds, 7:05 p.m. Marquee
- Tuesday: vs. Reds, 7:05 p.m. Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. Reds, 7:05 p.m. Marquee
- Thursday: vs. Reds, 7:05 p.m. Marquee
- Friday: vs. Braves, 1:20 p.m. Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Braves, 1:20 p.m. Marquee
- Sunday: vs. Braves, 1:20 p.m. Marquee
Week ahead: White Sox
All eyes are on Tuesday’s trade deadline.
The Sox have been active already.
“I’m certainly not going to lie, the idea where we’re at this point where guys like (Lucas) Giolito and (Renaldo) López who we acquired back in ’16 when we kicked off the rebuild in earnest are logically the guys that make sense to move, given their contract status, there’s an element of real deep disappointment that we’re at this point right now, that there wasn’t more postseason victories along the way as part of their tenure with the White Sox,” Hahn said Wednesday.
“But in terms of that, frankly, we have a job to do right now. I’ll have time come Aug. 2 to have a drink and a cigar if I want to wallow in disappointment, do it then. But now is not the time. Now is the time to continue to improve the future of this organization.”
Hahn said after Friday’s moves that while it was tough to predict if there would be any more activity, the Sox would continue talking to teams, “and if there’s something that makes sense, we’ll pull the trigger.”
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: at Rangers, 7:05 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: at Rangers, 7:05 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: at Rangers, 1:05 p.m., NBCSCH
- Friday: at Guardians, 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: at Guardians, 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: at Guardians, 11:05 a.m., Peacock
What we’re reading this morning
- Column: Context is crucial in roster construction and relationships. But that doesn’t soften the blow.
- Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech searching for consistency after Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians
- Column: Pressure mounts as Chicago Cubs inch closer to a playoff spot — now 3 1/2 games out of 1st — before the trade deadline
- 2 catchers, 3 pitchers and a veteran OF: A closer look at who the Chicago White Sox acquired in 3 trades this week
- How a season in the KBO positioned Mike Tauchman to make the most of his opportunity with the Chicago Cubs
- Chicago White Sox trade 3 more pitchers: Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman: ‘Makes sense to improve our future at the cost of the current club’
- Ian Happ accidentally hits Willson Contreras in the head on a swing, setting off fireworks in the Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game
This week in Chicago baseball
Aug. 2, 1990: Frank Thomas makes his White Sox — and MLB — debut
“I was shocked,” said Thomas, the Sox’s No. 1 pick in 1989 of the call-up from Double-A Birmingham. “They said, ‘Clean out your locker. You’re going to Milwaukee.’“
He started the first game of a doubleheader against the Brewers in County Stadium — and drove in the winning run with an 85-foot grounder in the ninth.
His debut game in a game in which the Sox started their last three No. 1 draft picks: Thomas, pitcher Alex Fernandez and third baseman Robin Ventura.
Aug. 2, 1906: The “Hitless Wonder” White Sox began their AL record 19-game winning streak with a 3-0 win over Boston.
The record would be tied by the 1947 New York Yankees.
Aug. 3, 1921: 8 members of the Black Sox are banned for life
The front page headline of the Aug. 3, 1921, Chicago Daily Tribune blared: “Jury Frees Baseball Men.”
Eight White Sox players charged with throwing the 1919 World Series were acquitted by a 12-man jury on Aug. 2 that deliberated just 2 hours, 47 minutes.
Several hundred people who jammed into the Cook County courthouse shouted: “Hooray for the clean Sox!” as they flung their hats in the air and whistled.
White Sox pitcher Ed Cicotte leaped to his feet and pounded teammate “Shoeless” Joe Jackson on the back, according to the Tribune article. Cicotte then headed over to the jury box and shook the hand of the jury foreman. “Thanks, I knew you’d do it,” Cicotte said.
But the acquittal served only as a reprieve from legal ramifications for the players associated with the “Black Sox Scandal.”
A day after their acquittal, Kenesaw Mountain Landis — a Chicago federal judge who was newly installed as MLB’s first commissioner — ruled the players allegedly involved would be banned for life from organized baseball.
“Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game, no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball,” Landis said.
Aug. 3, 1959: The second game of All-Star play this year was won by the AL 5-3 at Los Angeles’ Memorial Stadium
Nellie Fox of the White Sox singled in the deciding run in the seventh inning.
Aug. 3, 2006: Matt Murton tied a major-league record with four doubles and drove in five runs for the Cubs
Murton became the fourth Cub to hit four doubles in a game and the first since Billy Williams did it against the Phillies on April 9, 1969, at Wrigley Field. The major-league record has been accomplished numerous times, but Murton is appreciative that his name will be in the record book.
“It’s a great honor,” Murton said. “But you have to remember, as good a game as you can have, you have to forget those the way you forget the bad ones”
The doubles helped the Cubs salvage a split of a doubleheader with the Diamondbacks 7-3.
Aug. 4, 1993: White Sox’s Robin Ventura charges the mound and fights Nolan Ryan
The Sox and Rangers took time out from a perfectly mundane game to square off in one of the nastiest and dirtiest brawls.
Ryan started the free-for-all by drilling Ventura on the right elbow with a fastball in the third inning. Ventura took a couple of steps toward first base, then thought better of it. Instead, he took a sharp left turn, threw his helmet to the ground and charged Ryan.
Ryan locked Ventura in the kind of armlock usually reserved for branding steers and started flailing away with punches. Five roundhouse shots in a row landed on top of Ventura’s head.
“He gave me a couple of noogies on my head and that’s about all,” said Ventura.
Ryan was still swinging when both benches descended upon him.
Rangers coach Mickey Hatcher left the field with blood streaming down his face. Usually mild-mannered Sox manager Gene Lamont had a trick knee go out on him when someone clipped him from the side.
To add insult to injury, Lamont was ejected from the game. So was Ventura.
“Robin thought he was throwing at him and he did exactly what he should do,” said Lamont. “It’s strange that that was the only pitch that got away from him all night.”
Quotable
“Man, we’re playing really good baseball. Just a great series for us, still even there (Sunday) we’re in the game, we’ve got a chance. That’s what we’ve got to keep doing to be in every game. Play the fundamental baseball like we’ve been doing and keep this momentum rolling back home.” — Kyle Hendricks after the Cubs took three of four games in St. Louis
() | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/chicago-baseball-report-what-will-tuesdays-trade-deadline-bring-for-the-white-sox-and-cubs/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:26 | 1 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/chicago-baseball-report-what-will-tuesdays-trade-deadline-bring-for-the-white-sox-and-cubs/ |
By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER (Associated Press)
MIAMI (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.
Carlos De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former president’s valet, Walt Nauta, in the federal case alleging a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them.
The judge read De Oliveira the charges against him and ordered him to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesn’t appear in court. The judge scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.
De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trump’s lawyers met with Smith’s team last week.
An attorney for De Oliveira declined last week to comment on the allegations. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.
Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it’s unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case’s timeline.
The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.
Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of notional defense information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsel’s case and deepen the former president’s legal jeopardy.
Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say De Oliveira asked a information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee “the boss” wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didn’t believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the “boss” wanted it done, asking, “What are we going to do?”
Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trump’s office, prosecutors say Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of, “someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good.” The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldn’t do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That same day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.
Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn’t even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
____
Richer reported from Boston. | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/mar-a-lago-worker-de-oliveira-makes-his-first-court-appearance-in-trumps-classified-documents-case/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:27 | 1 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/mar-a-lago-worker-de-oliveira-makes-his-first-court-appearance-in-trumps-classified-documents-case/ |
HIALEAH, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge in Florida has thrown out a multi-million dollar lawsuit involving microwavable mac and cheese.
The $5 million lawsuit claimed the Kraft Heinz Food Company misled the public about the time it takes to prepare Velveeta microwavable mac and cheese cups.
According to court records, a West Palm Beach-based law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of a woman from Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 18.
The lawsuit alleged that the Kraft Heinz Food Company violated federal law by saying the mac and cheese cups take 3½ minutes to prepare, arguing that the time limit does not include the time it takes to remove the lid, add water and stir in the cheese sauce.
The lawsuit had claimed Amanda Ramirez bought the product for a “premium price” of $10.99 “between October and November 2022, among other times.” However, it did not say how long it actually took Ramirez to prepare the mac and cheese.
The suit described Ramirez as someone who “looks to bold statements of value when quickly selecting groceries”, and “like many consumers who seek to stretch their money as far as possible when buying groceries.”
Despite the arguments, a Miami district judge threw out the lawsuit. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:28 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ |
Tyler Wells’ demotion would’ve been unfathomable three weeks ago. Sunday, it was barely a surprise.
Wells, the Orioles’ best starting pitcher in the season’s first half, was optioned to Double-A after his third straight poor start Saturday. Since the All-Star break, the 6-foot-8 right-hander has been almost unrecognizable to the reliable starting pitcher who was leading the majors in WHIP.
The increasing workload for Wells, who pitched just 163 total frames from 2019 to 2022, has been a question facing the club since he solidified his spot in the rotation and quickly approached his single-season innings high. The Orioles gave their answer Sunday, with manager Brandon Hyde explaining the demotion as a way to give Wells a “breather,” manage his workload and get him back to the consistent starter who was integral to Baltimore’s success in the first half.
There’s not much argument over the validity of the Orioles’ decision to option Wells, who suddenly lost his command during his past three starts to issue nine walks and 11 runs in just nine innings. But the same bill that came due for Wells could also for Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez, two other young members of the rotation who have either surpassed their single-season innings marks or are about to.
How Baltimore handles those trains barreling down the tracks might determine whether it can maintain its standing as the American League’s best team — on pace to win 98 games — or contend for a World Series.
“When you have starters that are doing things that they’ve never done before, you’re obviously paying closer attention,” Hyde said.
Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Friday before Wells’ start that the organization is monitoring the workloads of its starting pitchers and will be “mindful of indicators” that could provide a “reason to pull back.”
“There’s really not a ton of science, or any science, there,” Elias said about innings limits. “We try to use common sense. We try to use our expertise. I don’t know that a single member of our rotation right now wants to go leave the rotation in some way shape or form. There’s that, too. They’re having the season of their lives, they’re competing, the team’s in first, they’ve got their whole careers ahead of them.”
Kremer, who was pulled with no outs in the fifth in Sunday’s win over the New York Yankees, is 14 2/3 innings away from matching his single-season high set last year. The 27-year-old right-hander leads the team with 10 wins, but he’s allowed four or more runs in eight of his 22 starts and owns a 4.66 ERA.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has already surpassed his high-water mark of 103 frames from 2021 with 103 2/3 — nearly two-thirds of which in the majors. The 23-year-old spent six weeks in Triple-A after struggling in his first 10 starts, but he’s been sharp since returning to the rotation to begin the second half.
For Kremer, Rodriguez and, to a lesser extent, Kyle Bradish (who is 40 innings away from his single-season high), Hyde said they’ll be evaluated on a “case-by-case” basis. He’s also said in the past that evaluating the stress level of innings and pitches can be just as important as the total number of innings.
“It’s challenging,” Hyde said about managing workloads. “I’m so proud of all these guys. Tyler, he’s in uncharted waters right now. He’s not had experience of pitching like a normal starter in a full season since the minor leagues years ago. And all these guys are going to go through things for the first time, honestly, and that’s part of development and it’s part why they’re going to be really good down the road, too.
“We’re trying to win right now, and we’re going to try to win down the road and these guys have [taken] huge steps in their career this year. So we’re going to monitor things and we’ll see what happens, but we need all of them to go where we want to go.”
The workload conundrum doesn’t just apply to the rotation; it’s perhaps just as perilous for the Orioles’ two best relievers. Closer Félix Bautista and setup man Yennier Cano are both on pace to throw more innings than they did last season as Hyde has often tasked the two right-handers to finish games. Bautista has pitched in 43.8% of the Orioles’ games this season, while Cano, who was called up in mid-April, has appeared in 50.5% of contests for which he was on the roster.
Bautista, in his first full season as a closer, is at 50 innings and on pace for roughly 77 — more than the 65 2/3 he totaled last year. Cano, a rookie, is on pace for 84 innings — more than the 58 1/3 he covered last year and barely short of the 86 2/3 he managed in Cuba nearly a decade ago.
Unlike Wells and the starting pitchers, every pitch and inning Bautista and Cano throw are stressful. But similar to the starters, they could all be asked to pitch well into October.
“Bautista’s never closed for a full season before. Look at Cano’s last year, he’s never pitched in anything close to these sort of situations he’s being put in before,” Hyde said. “So all these guys are going to be better in the upcoming years for going through this year we’ve had up to this point, and hopefully we continue to keep it going. I’m incredibly impressed with how everybody’s handled it so far.”
It’s possible Wells returns to the rotation in August or September, although Hyde didn’t rule out using him in a relief role down the stretch. But at least for the short term, his demotion opens a spot in the rotation. The Orioles seemingly have two options: Move left-hander Cole Irvin back into the rotation or trade for a starting pitcher.
Baltimore is operating as a buyer at the trade deadline for the first time during Elias’ tenure, and he said it’s likely any additions would be for pitchers rather than position players. But Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline is approaching, and a few of the top starting pitchers on the market were dealt over the weekend.
“There’s a couple really interesting teams right now that still haven’t declared what they’re doing,” Elias said about the ever-evolving trade market. “We’re talking to a lot of them and kind of have some eyes on some stuff. We’ll see what they end up doing. We may end up having waited and they don’t sell.”
What’s to come?
The trade deadline, a pivotal AL East series and a reunion.
The last opportunity for Elias to bolster this roster via traditional trades this season is Tuesday, which comes in the middle of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. While the top of the AL East has been occupied solely by Tampa Bay and Baltimore this season, the Blue Jays enter the series 5 1/2 games back of the Orioles. The last time the Orioles went to Rogers Centre, they swept the Blue Jays in Toronto for the first time since 2005.
When they return home, they’ll welcome Buck Showalter back to Camden Yards for the first time since the former Orioles skipper was fired after the 2018 season. Showalter, 67, is in his second season managing the New York Mets, who have disappointed this season with a 50-55 record.
What was good?
The fans.
The weekend series against the Yankees was the most-attended three-game set at Camden Yards in seven years. The announced attendance for the three games was a combined 114,816, including a sellout crowd Saturday. The average attendance this weekend was 38,272. The last time that many fans flocked to Oriole Park for a three-game series was July 2016 against the Los Angeles Angels (120,567). While a considerable amount of fans this weekend were wearing Yankee pinstripes, the last time a three-game Yankees series drew more fans than this weekend was in September 2014.
“The crowds have been unbelievable this weekend,” Hyde said. “We really appreciate the energy in the ballpark and how much our fans have showed up this weekend to support us and drowned out the Yankees fans, so that’s been great to see the energy in the ballpark.”
What wasn’t?
In the first half, All-Star Austin Hays slashed .314/.355/.498 — good for an .853 OPS. In the second half, he’s performed half as well, hitting .155 with three doubles and no home runs.
His struggles continued this week as the 28-year-old went 3-for-21 with one double and two walks. Hays’ batting average and OPS have fallen to .287 and .777, respectively.
On the farm
Luis Vicioso, a 20-year-old catching prospect, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Dominican Summer League All-Star Game on Sunday.
Vicioso, the younger brother of Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo, hit a two-run single in the first to propel the AL to a 4-3 win over the NL. Vicioso, who Baltimore signed out of the Dominican Republic in January, is slashing .355/.412/.505 — good for a .917 OPS — in 31 DSL games this year.
() | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/orioles-reset-tyler-wells-demotion-might-be-just-the-beginning-of-baltimores-workload-management-analysis/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:28 | 0 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/orioles-reset-tyler-wells-demotion-might-be-just-the-beginning-of-baltimores-workload-management-analysis/ |
By ANWARULLAH KHAN and RIAZ KHAN (Associated Press)
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in Pakistan on Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, carrying caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. It targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people, according to police, were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police said their initial investigation suggested that the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, a rival of the Taliban, could be responsible, while a Pakistan security analyst pointed to breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban as possible suspects.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, which police identified as a suspect in the attack, is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah said some TTP members have been known to disobey their top leadership to carry out attacks, as have breakaway factions of the group.
Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause “confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections.”
On Monday, female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz 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.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 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.
___
Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad. | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/pakistan-buries-the-dead-after-54-killed-in-a-bombing-at-an-election-rally-for-a-pro-taliban-cleric/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:29 | 1 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/pakistan-buries-the-dead-after-54-killed-in-a-bombing-at-an-election-rally-for-a-pro-taliban-cleric/ |
WASHINGTON – Hunter Biden's former business partner appeared Monday for closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, with Republicans planning to question him about claims that President Joe Biden was directly involved in his younger son's financial dealings.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee was conducting a transcribed interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their so-far fruitless search to directly connect the president to his son's various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine." He said Archer's testimony would be critical to the committee's investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. GOP lawmakers and staff present at Monday's interview were also expected to question Archer about several business meetings and conversations Hunter Biden had during which he is said to have invoked his father's name.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but then the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer's appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer's surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-for-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:29 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-for-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ |
FOXBORO — Patriots outside linebacker Matt Judon and running back Rhamondre Stevenson were again limited at Monday’s practice, the team’s first padded session of training camp.
Starting left tackle Trent Brown joined Judon and Stevenson on a separate field for conditioning work after initial stretching. Monday marked Brown’s first practice with limited participation.
Elsewhere, sixth-round rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte returned after missing Sunday’s practice, and six other players were absent.
The team’s complete practice report is below.
Returned: WR Kayshon Boutte
Absent: RB/WR Ty Montgomery, OL Jake Andrews, LB Terez Hall
Limited: LB Matt Judon, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, OT Trent Brown
Non-contact jersey: LB/S Marte Mapu
PUP: OL Mike Onwenu, S Cody Davis
Non-Football Illness: OT Calvin Anderson | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/patriots-rookie-wr-returns-matt-judon-limited-again-at-monday-practice/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:29 | 0 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/patriots-rookie-wr-returns-matt-judon-limited-again-at-monday-practice/ |
(Our Auto Expert) – The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is here to redefine the legacy of the world’s best-selling sports car. As the latest addition to the Mustang family, this remarkable vehicle marks a new chapter in its 59-year history. With its powerful engine, cutting-edge technology, and captivating design, the Mustang Dark Horse is set to wow both existing fans and a new generation of sports car enthusiasts.
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The Mustang Dark Horse exudes a menacing presence with its bold shadow graphic surrounding the darkened LED headlamps, lower side skirts, rear fixed rear wing, new race-inspired diffuser, and darkened quad exhaust tips. Its design is a testament to the Mustang’s storied motorsports history, combining aggression and elegance in one stunning package.
This powerhouse of a car comes equipped with a full suite of next-gen technology specifically designed to enhance performance. The standard MagneRide shocks, capable of monitoring wheel and tire movement 1,000 times per second, ensure an unparalleled driving experience. The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a pretty face; it’s a technologically advanced beast.
For those who prefer manual control, the Mustang Dark Horse comes standard with a unique six-speed TREMEC manual transmission and a special Mustang Dark Horse transmission oil cooler to keep the stallion cool under pressure. Alternatively, there is the option to choose Ford’s advanced 10-speed automatic transmission for seamless gear changes.
The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a car; it’s a symbol of Mustang’s storied motorsports history. With its unique design, powerful engine, and advanced technology, it is set to make history itself. This street and track performance Mustang is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come.
Conclusion:
If you’re in search of a car that combines style, performance, and innovation, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the ultimate choice. Its powerful engine, track-ready capabilities, and advanced technology are a testament to the Mustang’s legacy. Whether you’re an existing fan or a new sports car lover, the Mustang Dark Horse is sure to ignite your excitement. Get ready to experience the thrill of the road like never before. | https://www.kron4.com/automotive/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:32 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/automotive/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ |
HAZLET, N.J. (WPIX) – A New Jersey family is suing a movie theater chain after the mother and her son, who has autism, were thrown out.
Their offense? The mother took her son into the women’s restroom when he needed to go to the bathroom.
“All this time, it was humiliating and scary for my son,” Christine Gallinaro, of Holmdel, told WPIX.
It was supposed to be a fun trip to the movies for Gallinaro and her 15-year-old son, John.
Gallinaro‘s husband wasn’t with them, so when John, who is nonverbal, had to go to the bathroom, she took him into the ladies’ room at Cinemark‘s Hazlet 12. There was no family restroom.
Gallinaro said no one in the ladies’ room complained. She said many understood that her son has special needs and needed an adult to help him. But the theater manager let her and her son know she disapproved.
“I asked her if there was a problem. I explained that he was disabled, and she said a grown man should not be in this bathroom,” Gallinaro said.
Gallinaro said the manager called security and then the police to eject them from the movie theater. On the cellphone video, Gallinaro said it was clear to her that the security and police were sympathetic to her plight.
The Gallinaros filed a lawsuit last week against the movie theater chain.
“What happened that day was unlawful, wrong, and bizarre,” said Austin Tobin, the Gallinaro family’s lawyer.
“Since this happened and has been made public, there has been an overwhelming response of support, particularly from mothers of disabled children,” Gallinaro said.
A few days after the June 16 incident, Gallinaro said the movie theater regional manager reached out to offer a refund, but the mother said the humiliation was too great.
WPIX contacted the movie theater for comment on the allegations but did not receive a response. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:34 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ |
WASHINGTON – The FBI should stop using a U.S. spy database of foreigners' emails and other communications for investigating crimes that aren't related to national security, a group of White House intelligence advisers recommended in a report released Monday.
The President's Intelligence Advisory Board's findings come as the White House pushes Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its expiration at the end of this year. U.S. intelligence officials say Section 702 enables investigations of Chinese and Russian espionage, potential terrorist plots, and other threats.
But spy agencies also end up capturing the communications of U.S. citizens and businesses, and a series of intelligence mistakes at the FBI has fanned bipartisan criticism of the bureau that has shaped the debate over renewing the law. Some lawmakers in both parties and civil liberties groups have called for stronger curbs on how the FBI uses foreign surveillance to search for Americans' data.
While the White House did not commit to accepting the recommended changes, administration officials on Monday praised the board's work and again called on Congress to reauthorize the surveillance program. The board argues in its report that Section 702 is critical to U.S. national security and suggests that allowing the program to lapse would be an “intelligence failure” and a step backward from changes made after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The board says the FBI made “inappropriate use” at times of Section 702 information. Those include queries for a U.S. senator and state senator's names without properly limiting the search, looking for someone believed to have been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and doing large queries of names of protesters following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
“Unfortunately, complacency, a lack of proper procedures, and the sheer volume of Section 702 activity led to FBI’s inappropriate use of Section 702 authorities, specifically U.S. person queries,” the board said in its report. “U.S. person queries” generally mean searches for U.S. citizens and businesses.
The board recommends the FBI no longer search the data when it is seeking evidence of a crime not related to national security. Currently, the FBI conducts fewer than two dozen such searches a year, a senior administration official told reporters Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
The White House has not decided whether it will accept the recommendation but is studying the board's work and report, the official said.
The board's report largely lines up with the White House's positions on other changes being debated in Congress. The board opposed requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant before it searches Section 702 data, saying that change would be impractical. It also says the FBI needs to maintain access to foreign spy collection because unlike other intelligence agencies, it has law enforcement authorities inside the U.S. and can warn Americans that they are being targeted by foreign spies or criminals.
Already, both Republicans and Democrats have called for broader changes affecting the FBI, including a handful of lawmakers in both parties who want to require warrants for any search.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., sharply questioned Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen in June about how it searches Section 702 data and signaled he would push for new protections.
“I don't think you've effectively made the case that there shouldn't be a warrant requirement, whether or not it is constitutionally required, for a U.S. person search that is crime only,” he said.
Many in the GOP, meanwhile, are furious about the FBI's investigations of former President Donald Trump and mistakes found by the Justice Department inspector general and other reviewers.
In a statement, the FBI said the report highlighted “how crucial” foreign intelligence was to the bureau's mission.
“We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules,” the bureau's statement said. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/the-fbi-should-face-new-limits-on-its-use-of-us-foreign-spy-data-a-key-intelligence-board-says/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:35 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2023/07/31/the-fbi-should-face-new-limits-on-its-use-of-us-foreign-spy-data-a-key-intelligence-board-says/ |
It’s almost back to school time, and that means 11 Cares and our partners will be hosting our annual 11 Cares Pack the Bus event with the Education Partnership.
This year’s summer school tools drive will take place on Saturday, August 26th from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Pittsburgh area Staples locations.
Participating Staples locations:
- 4801 McKnight Road (North Hills Village Mall)
- 6521 Steubenville Pike
- 2515 Banksville Road
- 999 Freeport Road (The Waterworks)
- 6375 Penn Ave in Pittsburgh (Suite B)
Most needed supplies include pencils, notebooks, markers (8-pack), crayons (24-pack), dry erase markers and scissors. Other high-need items include copy paper (8.5x11″, white), headphones, colored pencils and desk chairs.
Thanks for considering helping Pittsburgh area students and schools.
11 Cares is sponsored by 84 Lumber, Clearview Federal Credit Union, Duquesne Light Company and Highmark Wholecare.
©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wpxi.com/community/11-cares/11-cares-pack-bus-event-aug-26-staples-locations/ZC4TATUSBVCGJGPNDMFLZPZXJI/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:38 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/community/11-cares/11-cares-pack-bus-event-aug-26-staples-locations/ZC4TATUSBVCGJGPNDMFLZPZXJI/ |
President Biden will tout his administration’s work to combat climate change in a trip out West, which has faced scorching — and in some cases, record-breaking — temperatures this month.
In a trip next week to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Biden is expected to discuss Democrats’ climate, tax and health care bill and the ways in which it bolstered climate-friendly energy and U.S. manufacturing.
Later, on Aug. 16, Biden will host a White House event to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act.
The southwestern U.S. has faced a sweltering heat wave over the past several weeks, with Phoenix seeing 31 days in a row of temperatures above 110 degrees.
Last week, Biden gave a speech about climate change, which exacerbates heat waves and other extreme weather events, and said he would take actions aimed at protecting workers from the hazardous heat.
The upcoming White House moves are part of broader efforts to promote that bill and other legislation the administration has passed.
This week, Vice President Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit Wisconsin to talk about broadband investments that were part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Oregon to discuss grants aimed at addressing wildfires and to Washington state to talk about climate-related investments in Agriculture. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi will visit Puerto Rico to engage on issues related to grid resilience. And Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will go to California to talk about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for water recycling.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit Illinois to talk about clean energy investments and Houston for a ribbon cutting for a port. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will visit Las Vegas, Nevada and Oregon to talk about efforts to lower health care costs. | https://www.kron4.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:38 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ |
At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.
Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.
And there’s no relief in sight.
Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.
“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what's causing heat waves is “boring” in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters “because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.”
“This story, these impacts, are going to continue,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year" with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Here’s a rundown of the summer of Earth's discontent.
RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT
Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record — and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it’s individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.
Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn’t go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.
El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).
Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.
Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it’s all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).
Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.
Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.
In Argentina, where it's mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn’t get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).
TOO MUCH RAIN
More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.
Australia’s Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.
In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.
WILDFIRES AND SMOKE
Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.
Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.
But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world’s dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.
As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn’t near done. That’s an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.
WATER TEMPERATURES
Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that’s in dispute.
The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world’s oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.
Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn’t look good for the rest of the summer, he said.
A HOT FORECAST
“We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months,” said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.
The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.
The peak of hurricane season in September hasn’t even started.
When going through the litany of this summer's weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”
___
Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
___
Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/31/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:41 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/07/31/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the second annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Founded by the singer in 1989, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children aims to empower youth, by providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.” | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:40 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ |
A super PAC that works to help Democrats get elected to the House is calling on them to promote the economy and the party’s successes as Congress goes on recess for the next month.
House Majority PAC said in a memo to congressional Democrats on Monday that the party must emphasize its accomplishments at the national and local level heading into the 2024 election. The memo said the PAC conducted research showing Democrats “dramatically” improve their position when they are proactive in speaking about the economy.
“Go on offense, and build the contrast with the MAGA House Republicans immediately,” it states.
The memo, which was first reported by Politico, references several key legislative accomplishments of the Biden administration, including the bipartisan infrastructure package, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The chips legislation provided billions of dollars in incentives for manufacturers to build domestic semiconductor plants, while the Inflation Reduction Act made significant investments in climate programs, allowed Medicare to negotiate on some drug prices and raised taxes on large corporations, among other initiatives.
The memo also states that “month after month” has shown President Biden’s “Bidenomics” economic policy is working.
The push to highlight economic issues comes as Biden’s approval rating, especially on the economy, remains underwater. A CNBC All-America Economic Survey earlier this month found that 37 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, compared to 58 percent who disapproved.
The PAC said Democrats need to point to continued job growth that dropped the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent last month and declining inflation as evidence of the party’s success.
The memo also urges Democrats to target Republicans as “extremist” and threatening economic progress. It said they should note the battle over raising the debt ceiling in the spring and the potential government shutdown in September if Congress does not pass the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government.
The PAC also called on Democrats to go on offense over abortion, pointing to the annual defense bill the Republican-controlled House passed that would prohibit the Department of Defense from reimbursing service members who travel to receive an abortion. | https://www.kron4.com/hill-politics/top-house-democratic-pac-urging-members-to-lean-into-economy/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:44 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/hill-politics/top-house-democratic-pac-urging-members-to-lean-into-economy/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. — (AP) — A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney's free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.
The group on Friday asked a judge for permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the claims brought by Disney against DeSantis, his appointees to a special district board governing Disney World and a state economic development agency. The lawsuit claims the Florida governor violated the company's free speech rights by taking control over the district in retaliation for Disney's public opposition to the so-called “Don't Say Gay” bill.
The committee said that the impact of a DeSantis win would be felt beyond the 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) of the Disney World property governed by the new appointees picked by the Florida governor to the governing district's board.
“If Defendants prevail in this case, those on whose behalf the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press advocates will be first in the line of fire given the nature of reporting and the press’s role in our constitutional system,” the committee said in its request to file the supporting brief in federal court in Tallahassee. “As such, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s proposed brief provides a voice to those not directly involved, but undoubtedly impacted by this case.”
DeSantis and Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity have argued that Disney's case should be dismissed because of sovereign immunity protection against being sued for conducting government business, and that Disney hasn't shown how it has been hurt so it lacks standing to sue the state government defendants.
DeSantis has used the fight with Disney to burnish his "anti-woke" credentials and demonstrate his ability to push a conservative agenda during his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The DeSantis appointees took over the Disney World governing board earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call "Don't Say Gay."
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels.
If the retaliatory actions by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are left unchecked, it poses a threat to watchdog journalism and press coverage of public issues “to the detriment to the free flow of information on matters of public concern that has long been the hallmark of our democratic system of government,” the committee said.
Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district's takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.
Disney had asked for the case be dismissed or delayed pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit. However, Circuit Judge Margaret Schreiber in Orlando on Friday refused to toss or postpone the case, saying among other reasons that to do so would have created “an undue delay” for the district, which still must continue governing. ___
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/group-desantis-win/RCSY6OT2X3U2ZQMFESO6E6DKEU/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:44 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/group-desantis-win/RCSY6OT2X3U2ZQMFESO6E6DKEU/ |
By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the then-president’s 2020 election loss.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia’s secretary of state.
Willis has strongly hinted that any indictment would come between Monday and Aug. 18. One of two grand juries seated July 11 is expected to hear the case.
If Trump is indicted by a Georgia grand jury, it would add to a growing list of legal troubles as he campaigns for president. Trump is set to go to trial in New York in March to face state charges related to hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. And he has another trial scheduled for May on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases.
The Justice Department is also investigating Trump’s role in trying to halt the certification of 2020 election results in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said he’s been told he’s a target of that investigation, which likely has some overlap with the one in Georgia.
An attempt by Trump to derail the Georgia case suffered a setback on Monday when a judge rejected his request to bar Willis from prosecuting him and to toss out the final report of an investigative special grand jury that had been seated to aid the investigation. A similar motion to be heard by a different judge is set for a hearing next week.
Details of the Georgia investigation that have become public have fed speculation that Willis, a Democrat, is building a case under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would allow her to charge numerous people in a potentially wide-ranging scheme.
Here are six investigative threads Willis and her team have explored:
The Georgia investigation was prompted by the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican. Trump suggested the state’s top elections official could help “find” the votes needed to put him ahead of Democrat Joe Biden in the state.
“All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump is heard saying on a recording of the call, which was leaked to news outlets. “Because we won the state.”
Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said the call was “perfect.”
Trump also called other top state officials in his quest to overturn his 2020 election loss, including Gov. Brian Kemp, then-House Speaker David Ralston, Attorney General Chris Carr and the top investigator in the secretary of state’s office.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, also called Raffensperger shortly after the November election. Raffensperger said at the time that Graham asked whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger has said he interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.
Graham has denied wrongdoing, saying he just wanted to learn about the signature verification process.
Biden won Georgia by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Just over a month after the election, on Dec. 14, 2020, a group 16 Georgia Democratic electors met in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol to cast the state’s Electoral College votes for him. They each marked paper ballots that were counted and confirmed by a voice roll call.
That day, in a committee meeting room at the Capitol, 16 prominent Georgia Republicans — a lawmaker, activists and party officials — met to sign a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. They sent that certificate to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate.
Georgia was one of seven battleground states that Trump lost where Republican fake electors signed and submitted similar certificates. Trump allies in the U.S. House and Senate used those certificates to argue for delaying or blocking the certification of the election during a joint session of Congress.
Prosecutors in Fulton County have said in court filings that they believe Trump associates worked with state Republicans to coordinate and execute the plan.
The multi-state effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Despite public pressure from Trump and his supporters, then-Vice President Mike Pence refused on Jan. 6, 2021, to introduce the unofficial pro-Trump electors. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol put a violent halt to the certification process, lawmakers certified Biden’s win in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021.
At least eight of the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with Willis’ team. And a judge last summer barred Willis from prosecuting another one, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, because of a conflict of interest.
Republican state lawmakers held several hearings at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020 to examine alleged problems with the November election. During those meetings, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies made unproven claims of widespread election fraud.
They alleged that election workers tallying absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta had told outside observers to leave and then pulled out “suitcases” of unlawful ballots and began scanning them. The Trump allies played clips of surveillance video from the arena to support their allegations. State and federal officials investigated and said there was no evidence of election fraud at the site.
Some Trump allies also said thousands of people who were ineligible — including people convicted of felonies, people under the age of 18, people who had voted in another state — had cast votes in Georgia. The secretary of state’s office has debunked those claims.
Two of the election workers seen in the State Farm Arena surveillance video, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, said they faced relentless harassment online and in person as a result of the allegations made by Trump and his allies.
Giuliani last week conceded that statements he made about the two election workers were false.
In a bizarre episode detailed by prosecutors in court filings, a woman traveled from Chicago to Georgia and met with Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021. The woman initially said she wanted to help Freeman but then warned that Freeman could go to prison and tried to pressure her into falsely confessing to committing election fraud, prosecutors wrote in court filings last year.
Trump-allied lawyer Sidney Powell and others hired a computer forensics team to copy data and software on election equipment in Coffee County, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, according to invoices, emails, security video and deposition testimony produced in response to subpoenas in a long-running lawsuit.
The county Republican Party chair at the time — who also served as a fake elector — greeted them when they arrived at the local elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, and some county elections officials were also on hand during the daylong visit. The secretary of state’s office has said this amounted to “alleged unauthorized access” of election equipment and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into it at the secretary of state’s request.
Two other men who have been active in efforts to question the 2020 election results also visited Coffee County later that month and spent hours inside.
U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta, abruptly resigned two days after Trump called Raffensperger and a day after a recording of that call was made public. During that conversation, Trump called Pak a “never-Trumper,” implying that he didn’t support the president.
In December 2020, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr asked Pak to investigate allegations by Giuliani and other Trump allies of widespread election fraud. Pak, who had been appointed by Trump in 2017, reported back that he had found no evidence of such fraud.
In August 2021, Pak told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which was investigating Trump’s post-election actions, that he resigned on Jan. 4, 2021, after learning from Department of Justice officials that Trump did not believe enough was being done to investigate allegations of election fraud and wanted him gone as U.S. attorney. | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/trump-could-be-indicted-soon-in-georgia-heres-a-look-at-that-investigation/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:46 | 0 | https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/31/trump-could-be-indicted-soon-in-georgia-heres-a-look-at-that-investigation/ |
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Los Angeles Angels reacquired slugger C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, bolstering their injury-plagued roster with more veteran depth as they fight for a playoff spot.
Los Angeles sent minor league pitchers Mason Albright and Jake Madden to the Rockies in the deal that brought two former Angels first-round draft picks back to the team. Colorado also is sending $3,701,613 along with Cron and Grichuk, who are in the final years of their contracts before free agency. Cron is owed $2,540,323 in remaining salary and Grichuk $3,161,290, leaving the Angels in effect responsible for $2 million.
The Angels (55-51) are desperate to end their MLB-worst streaks of seven consecutive losing seasons and eight consecutive non-playoff seasons, but their efforts have been endangered by injuries that have seriously compromised their big league depth.
Los Angeles has a major league-leading 17 players on its injured lists after outfielder Taylor Ward joined the group Sunday before an extra-inning victory in Toronto. Ward was moved to the 60-day injured list later in the day, effectively ending his regular season, with facial fractures after Toronto's Alek Manoah hit him in the face with a fastball on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Cron spent his first four major league seasons with Los Angeles, hitting 59 of his 186 career homers before getting traded to Tampa Bay in early 2018 for prospect Luis Rengifo, who is still a valuable contributor to the Angels. Cron is batting .260 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs this season for the Rockies as their power-hitting first baseman.
Grichuk was selected by the Angels one pick before Mike Trout in the 2009 draft. Los Angeles traded him to St. Louis before he reached the majors and began a 10-year career with the Cardinals, Toronto and Colorado.
Grichuk is batting .308 with an .861 OPS in 64 games this season for the Rockies. His positional flexibility in the outfield will be valuable for the Angels in the injury absences of Trout, Ward and Jo Adell, leaving Mickey Moniak and Hunter Renfroe as the only healthy outfielders on Los Angeles' 40-man roster.
Grichuk is making just over $10.3 million this season, while Cron is earning $7.25 million. The moves continue the Rockies' teardown for the final two months of what's almost certain to be their fifth consecutive losing season.
The 20-year-old Albright is 11-8 with a 5.36 ERA in three seasons in the low minors. The 21-year-old Madden, a fourth-round pick in 2022, is 2-6 with a 5.46 ERA in 14 starts for Low-A Inland Empire this season.
The Angels have traded a significant amount of minor league talent in recent weeks in their determined effort to make the playoffs during the final season of Shohei Ohtani's contract.
Los Angeles has acquired six veteran major leaguers — slugger Mike Moustakas, right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, reliever Reynaldo López and infielder Eduardo Escobar along with Cron and Grichuk — in four separate trades since late June.
Trout has been out since July 3 with a broken hand, and third baseman Anthony Rendon was sidelined one day later with a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his shin. Trout and Rendon are making roughly $75 million combined this season.
Ward and veteran infielder Gio Urshela are likely out for the season, while infielder Brandon Drury, rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe and rookie shortstop Zach Neto have all missed significant time.
Los Angeles is in third place in the AL West, five games behind Texas. The Angels are four games behind Toronto for the final AL wild card, but the Red Sox and Yankees are also between them.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/31/angels-acquire-cj-cron-randal-grichuk-in-trade-with-colorado-for-2-minor-leaguers/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:47 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2023/07/31/angels-acquire-cj-cron-randal-grichuk-in-trade-with-colorado-for-2-minor-leaguers/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW?
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE?
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE?
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/yellow-trucking-shutdown-bankruptcy-heres-what-to-know/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:49 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/yellow-trucking-shutdown-bankruptcy-heres-what-to-know/ |
LOS ANGELES — (AP) — If you believe Janelle Monae 's hyper-sexual expression is a front, think again.
These days, Monae is unapologetically living her truth in a bold manner while trying to avoid negativity. The star, once known for sporting custom-made suits, has shed that attire (at least for now) to nearly bare all, like on the cover of her latest studio album, “The Age of Pleasure,” where she’s seen swimming topless in a pool. It’s her first release since 2018’s “Dirty Computer,” which was nominated for album of the year at the Grammys.
In recent months, Monae hasn't been afraid of risque looks and nudity. She revealed herself during an event celebrating the release of her single “Lipstick Lover” and again onstage at an Essence Music Festival set — which drew some social media criticism including from singer India Arie and rapper Uncle Luke. She also attended the 2023 Met Gala in a barely-there outfit.
For Monae, this is her time to be free.
Monae spoke recently with The Associated Press about her supportive mother, side-stepping criticism and teasing her upcoming North American tour, which kicks off Aug. 30 in Seattle. Other tour stops include New York and Nashville and she'll wrap in Los Angeles in mid-October.
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AP: Since you haven’t toured since 2019, was your recent Essence Festival performance a tune up for your upcoming tour?
MONAE: Yeah, we’re testing out the songs. You‘re getting them in your body. Right now, we don’t have a lot of muscle memory with the new songs. We haven’t toured them. I know if you come into the show, you'll love the songs. But hearing them live is a different experience, especially when you’re putting them with songs from previous work. We’re basically just putting a show together based on what we feel is good. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get on stage.
AP: What do you want people to take away from your show?
MONAE: Tap into your free (expletive) energy. That’s rooted in self-love — not arrogance. Tap into that space and then take care of each other. That’s what I hope. With the shows that I do, and when I look out, it’s an experience. It’s like our own church. You want to take care of each other.
Even if your freedom doesn’t look like that person’s freedom, you understand that we’re fighting against something much bigger than us. We’re systemically fighting against something much bigger than us, so we got to band together, we got to stick together. We have to make sure that we’re showing up for each other. If we have privilege in certain areas, making sure that we’re lending a hand, lending a voice, amplifying a message.
AP: How has it been to walk in your truth while facing criticism about your racy performances from people like Arie and Uncle Luke?
MONAE: That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I love everybody. I’m in the age of pleasure.
AP: When did you feel comfortable with living life the way you want without caring about others’ opinions?
MONAE: It’s not like I don’t care what people think. I care what some people think. I don’t care what everybody thinks. That’s the same when it comes to music. When you make a new song, I can’t go soliciting everybody’s opinions about the song. By the time I get back to the second pass of it, it’s all over the place. Everybody’s going to have an opinion. For me, it’s like, whose voice do I trust? Who do I know that loves me, cares about me, whose taste do I like, who actually is evolved enough to even understand what it is that I’m doing? Who understands nuance?
You shouldn’t care what anybody has to say. You just care what the right people have to say and everything else is muted.
AP: Who are those right people for you?
MONAE: Family. Close friends.
AP: In your journey, your mother has been a huge supporter. Whenever you have fallen under certain criticisms, how has she helped you navigate the critics?
MONAE: My mom is like ride or die. I have to tell her like “Mom, you don’t need to defend me. You don’t need to defend my life or my decisions.” For her, I’m her baby. Like any mama bear, you might get punched in the eye if you say something. You might. But I’ve calmed her down over the years. For the most part, we mostly respond to love. It’s a lot of people that love where I am and who I am and what I’m doing, and they feel really empowered and inspired by it, and that makes my mom proud, and it makes me happy.
AP: How do you avoid the naysayers?
MONAE: I’m too busy living life to be distracted. The positive things are always amazing too, but I also don’t go fishing for that. One of the things about being in the age of pleasure is being present and making sure that I’m dipping in on social media, saying what I need to say, showing love, saying “thank you,” putting up my art and leaving, going to go create more things and make more memories and more experiences.
I’m in the middle of putting together a tour for North America. We haven’t been on tour since 2019. For me, I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practicing guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy. Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy and to center joy and to stay surrounded by the people that bring me joy and that I can bring joy too.
AP: How did “Age of Pleasure” define where you are in life?
MONAE: I wanted to create a soundtrack to our lifestyle. I think this album like all my albums reflect exactly where I am at that time. Each album will let you know where I was in my evolution process, what things I had to unlearn, what things I learned. I love that. I love that you can always look at an artist working, sort of see what they were on at that time.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/qa-janelle-monae/3YER2HCKOVME4CXSBKLFUV23EY/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:51 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/qa-janelle-monae/3YER2HCKOVME4CXSBKLFUV23EY/ |
City of Lufkin announces new assistant city manager
From Press Release
LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - The City of Lufkin is excited to announce Brian W. Bray as its new assistant city manager.
Bray will report to City Manager Kevin Gee and serve as the assistant city manager of general services alongside Gerald Williamson who is the assistant city manager of public service. Bray was selected following an extensive search and interview process that occurred over the past several months.
He has a strong municipal background, having spent the past 20 years in various roles with the City of Nacogdoches – most recently as the Community Services Director and Historic Preservation Officer.
“Change can be both invigorating and challenging, but I am confident that with the talented staff at the City of Lufkin and its passionate citizens, we will achieve great things together,” he said.
Gee said he believes Bray will be able to “hit the ground running” and quickly assimilate into City of Lufkin culture.
“I am confident that he will be a great addition to our leadership team,” Gee said.
Monday is Bray’s first day in the office
Copyright 2023 KTRE. All rights reserved. | https://www.ktre.com/2023/07/31/city-lufkin-announces-new-assistant-city-manager/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:53 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/2023/07/31/city-lufkin-announces-new-assistant-city-manager/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Do you have what it takes to become the next super villain?
Get ready to enter Villain-Con and put those evil skills to the test starting next week at Universal Orlando’s all-new interactive experience, “Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast.”
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The attraction, which is currently scheduled to officially on Aug. 11, has been conducting technical rehearsals for the last couple weeks.
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is just one piece of Universal Orlando’s plans for an all-new Minion Land. When guests step onto the newly created “Illuminations Avenue” at Universal Studios Florida, they will not only find the immersive new experience, but also the unique Minion Café, various eateries, shopping and entertainment offerings inspired by some of Illumination’s hit films and character meet-and-greets at the new Illuminations Theater.
The “Minion Blast” queue snakes through areas that the former Shrek 4D attraction had. Instead of finding swampy fairytale creatures, guests will find “Villain-Con” banners and logos throughout, along with some comedic posters featuring some of the villains from the “Despicable Me” films including, of course, the notorious Vicious 6.
Following a short stint outside in the queue, guests will make their way into a large room that Universal is calling the convention trade show floor. The room is stocked with the latest villain gadgets, malicious vehicles, corrupt companions (pets) and their food, wickedly good fashion and so much more.
The room is packed with small details that guests are sure to uncover each time they visit.
Guests will then move up into a small area where a slow-moving conveyor system holds “E-Liminator X” blasters.
Here are the “E-Liminator X” blasters. Each one lights up and says if they’re fully charged or not. #AtUniversal pic.twitter.com/UbIbrRSOdo
— Landon McReynolds (@LandonProducer) July 15, 2023
From this point, guests will step onto a moving pathway and use their blaster, which is equipped with Freeze Rays, Banana Bombs, Explosive Nunchucks and more to cause as much mayhem and destruction as possible to earn points. The experience moves through a series of rooms with large screens and set pieces. During the experience, guests will encounter each member of the Vicious 6, voiced by the original cast from the films including Belle Bottom, Stronghold, Nun-Chuck, Jean Clawed and Svengeance.
Universal said Minion Blast will be the first attraction with connected gameplay that will sync up to the Official Universal Orlando Resort App.
By syncing their blaster to the app with just a tap, Universal said guests can track their scores, embark on special missions within the attraction, unlock evil perks and extra powerful blasts to help them gain more points and earn digital collectibles. Universal said the digital experience will unlock a deeper guest connection that enhances in-park experiences and sets the stage for even more digital-to-physical world benefits.
Universal Orlando worked hand-in-hand with their partners at Illumination Entertainment to bring this experience to life.
Click here for more information about Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast.
Use the form below to sign up for the ClickOrlando.com In the Loop: Theme Park Scoops newsletter, sent every Friday morning. | https://www.clickorlando.com/theme-parks/2023/07/31/universal-orlando-gives-opening-date-for-illuminations-villain-con-minion-blast/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:53 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/theme-parks/2023/07/31/universal-orlando-gives-opening-date-for-illuminations-villain-con-minion-blast/ |
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AP) — The dogs bark and stare as Kim Jong-kil approaches the rusty cages housing the large, short-haired animals he sells for their meat. Kim opens a door and pets one dog’s neck and chest.
Kim says he’s proud of the dog meat farm that has supported his family for 27 years but is upset over growing attempts by politicians and activists to outlaw the business, which he is turning over to his children.
“It’s more than just feeling bad. I absolutely oppose these moves, and we’ll mobilize all our means to resist it,” Kim, 57, said in an interview at his farm in Pyeongtaek city, just south of Seoul.
Dog meat consumption is a centuries-old practice on the Korean Peninsula and has long been viewed as a source of stamina on hot summer days. It’s neither explicitly banned nor legalized in South Korea, but more and more people want it prohibited. There’s increasing public awareness of animal rights and worries about South Korea’s international image.
The anti-dog meat campaign recently received a big boost when the country’s first lady expressed her support for a ban and two lawmakers submitted bills to eliminate the dog meat trade.
“Foreigners think South Korea is a cultural powerhouse. But the more K-culture increases its international standing, the bigger shock foreigners experience over our dog meat consumption,” said Han Jeoungae, an opposition lawmaker who submitted legislation to outlaw the dog meat industry last month.
Prospects for passage of an anti-dog meat law are unclear because of protests by farmers, restaurant owners and others involved in the dog meat industry. Surveys suggest that one in three South Koreans opposes such a ban, though most people don’t eat dog meat anymore.
Dogs are also eaten in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, North Korea and some African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria.
Earlier this month, Indonesian authorities announced the end of dog and cat slaughter at an animal market on the island of Sulawesi following a yearslong campaign by local activists and world celebrities. The Tomohon Extreme Market will become the first such market in Indonesia to go dog and cat meat-free, according to the anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International.
South Korea’s dog meat industry receives more international attention because of its reputation as a wealthy, ultra-modern democracy. It is also the only nation with industrial-scale farms. Most farms in South Korea have more than 500 dogs, according to a dog farmers’ association.
During a recent visit, Kim’s farm, one of the country’s largest with 7,000 dogs, appeared relatively clean but there was a strong stench in some areas. All dogs are kept in elevated cages and are fed with food waste and ground chicken. They are rarely released for exercise and typically are sold for meat one year after they are born.
Kim said two of his children, age 29 and 31, are running the farm with him, and that business has been going pretty well. He said the dogs bred for their meat are different from pets, an idea opposed by activists.
It’s difficult now to find dog meat restaurants in Seoul’s bustling downtown, though many still exit in the countryside.
“I only earn one-third of the money I used to make. Young people don’t come here. Only ailing old people come for lunch,” said Yoon Chu-wol, 77, the owner of a dog meat restaurant in Seoul’s Kyungdong traditional market. “I tell my elderly customers to come and eat my food more frequently before it’s banned.”
Farmers also face growing scrutiny from officials and increasingly negative public opinion. They complain that officials visit them repeatedly in response to complaints filed by activists and citizens over alleged animal abuse and other wrongdoing. Kim said more than 90 such petitions were filed against his farm during a recent four-month span.
Son Won Hak, general secretary of the dog farmers’ association, said many farms have collapsed in recent years because of falling dog meat prices and weaker demand. He thinks that’s a result of activist campaigns and unfair media reports focusing on farms with inferior conditions. Some observers, however, say consumption of dog meat was already declining, with younger people staying away from it.
“Quite honestly, I’d like to quit my job (as a farmer) tomorrow. We can’t confidently tell our children that we’re raising dogs,” Son said. “When my friends called me, they said ‘Hey, are you still running a dog meat farm? Isn’t it illegal?’”
The number of farms across South Korea has dropped by half from a few years ago to about 3,000 to 4,000, and about 700,000 to 1 million dogs are slaughtered each year, a decline from several million 10 to 20 years ago, according to the dog farmers’ association. Some activists argue that the farmers’ estimates are an exaggeration meant to show their industry is too big to destroy.
In late 2021, South Korea launched a government-civilian task force to consider outlawing dog meat at the suggestion of then-President Moon Jae-in, a pet lover. The committee, whose members include farmers and animal rights activists, has met more than 20 times but hasn’t reached any agreement, apparently because of disputes over compensation issues.
Agriculture officials refused to disclose the discussions in the closed-door meetings. They said the government wants to end dog meat consumption based on a public consensus.
In April, first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of current President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in a meeting with activists that she hopes for an end to dog meat consumption. Famers responded with rallies and formal complaints against Kim for allegedly hurting their livelihoods.
Han, the lawmaker, said she “highly positively appraises” influential figures speaking out against dog meat consumption.
Han said her bill offers support programs for farmers who agree to close their farms. They would be entitled to money to dismantle their facilities, vocational training, employment assistance and other benefits, she said.
Ju Yeongbong, an official of the farmers’ association, said farmers want to continue for about 20 more years until older people, their main customers, die, allowing the industry to naturally disappear. Observers say most farmers are also in their 60s to 70s.
Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International, said she opposes the continued killing of millions of dogs for such a prolonged period. “Letting this silent cruelty to (dogs) be committed in South Korea doesn’t make sense,” Seo said.
“(Dog meat consumption) is too anachronistic, has elements of cruelty to animals and hinders our national growth,” said Cheon JinKyung, head of Korea Animal Rights Advocates in Seoul. | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/eat-my-food-dog-meat-farmers-in-s-korea-resist-push-to-ban-industry/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:56 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/eat-my-food-dog-meat-farmers-in-s-korea-resist-push-to-ban-industry/ |
ORLANDO, Fla. – Across the Central Atlantic, north of the Caribbean and east of Bermuda, an area of disturbed weather known as Invest 96L continues to produce thunderstorms.
Environmental conditions are expected to be favorable for additional development and a tropical depression or storm is likely. This storm will stay out over the open waters of the Atlantic.
Development chances are at 70% and 80% over the next two and seven days, respectively.
Northwest of Bermuda, Invest 97L is merging with a frontal system moving off of the U.S. As a result, the disturbance is taking on non-tropical characteristics, reducing its chances of becoming a tropical system.
Development chances have fallen to 20% over the next seven days.
The next named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is Emily.
The Atlantic hurricane season is transitioning to the Cabo Verde season where tropical waves roll off of Africa and develop in the Central Atlantic.
These long-track storms become much more common through August and the first half of September. About 80% of the season’s tropical activity occurs from late August through the end of the season.
With the Atlantic ocean remaining record hot across parts of the basin, it is a good reminder to make sure you are prepared if a storm were to come your way.
Colorado State University will have an update to their seasonal forecast Aug. 3 and NOAA will have their update later in August.
Hurricane season runs through November.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: | https://www.clickorlando.com/weather/2023/07/31/tropics-watch-tropical-storm-likely-to-form-over-atlantic/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:57 | 1 | https://www.clickorlando.com/weather/2023/07/31/tropics-watch-tropical-storm-likely-to-form-over-atlantic/ |
HIALEAH, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge in Florida has thrown out a multi-million dollar lawsuit involving microwavable mac and cheese.
The $5 million lawsuit claimed the Kraft Heinz Food Company misled the public about the time it takes to prepare Velveeta microwavable mac and cheese cups.
According to court records, a West Palm Beach-based law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of a woman from Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 18.
The lawsuit alleged that the Kraft Heinz Food Company violated federal law by saying the mac and cheese cups take 3½ minutes to prepare, arguing that the time limit does not include the time it takes to remove the lid, add water and stir in the cheese sauce.
The lawsuit had claimed Amanda Ramirez bought the product for a “premium price” of $10.99 “between October and November 2022, among other times.” However, it did not say how long it actually took Ramirez to prepare the mac and cheese.
The suit described Ramirez as someone who “looks to bold statements of value when quickly selecting groceries”, and “like many consumers who seek to stretch their money as far as possible when buying groceries.”
Despite the arguments, a Miami district judge threw out the lawsuit. | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:58 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ |
NEW YORK — (AP) — When actor Casey Likes watched "Back to the Future" growing up, his mom would always say he reminded her a lot of the film's star, Michael J. Fox. Something in the universe agrees: He's taken on Fox's classic movie role on Broadway.
The rising stage star plays Marty McFly for a musical adaptation of the beloved 1985 sci-fi comedy about a time-traveling duo who go back to the 1950s in a souped-up, gull-winged DeLorean.
“I remember growing up and just really, really loving the film. It kind of sat in that realm of like ‘E.T.’ and ‘Close Encounters’ — movies that came at a time when film was magical,” says Likes, 21. “I hope we accomplish something kind of similar with Broadway.”
The show, which won the Olivier Award for best new musical last year in London, arrives at the Winter Garden Theatre this summer with a story by Bob Gale, who previously co-created and co-wrote the movie with Robert Zemeckis. It hews very closely to the original, including having a DeLorean onstage and the shout "Great Scott!"
Broadway veteran and Tony Award-winner Roger Bart takes on Christopher Lloyd’s role of Doc Brown, the oddball scientist with a knack for inventions. Bart recalls seeing “Back to the Future” in his early 20s when it first appeared in movie theaters. He watched with three friends from theater school and they were all secretly jealous of Fox.
“None of my friends — even knowing each other as well as we did — none of them, including my mother, ever nudged me and said, ‘No, no, kid. You’re Doc Brown. Just be patient,’” the Tony-winner says laughing.
Like the film, the musical centers on Marty McFly traveling back to his hometown in 1955. Once there, he gets caught up in the soap opera lives of his own teenage parents, including his mom, who develops a crush on her future son. He must reconnect mom and dad or he risks disappearing from history.
“We feel like it’s very important – I’m sure Casey would agree — for the public to come to the show and recognize that they are seeing that story in a different form but with all of its charms very deeply intact,” says Bart, whose Broadway credits include “The Producers,” “Disaster!” and “Young Frankenstein.”
New songs have been crafted by the film's composer Alan Silvestri and songwriter and producer Glen Ballard. Some Huey Lewis and the News songs from the movie also have been included, like the theme tune "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time," as well as Marty McFly's futuristic rendition of "Johnny B. Goode."
“We go back to the ‘50s, you get some songs that sound like ’Grease,' like ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ And then we have some ‘80s moments in there that are very ’Footloose,'” says Likes. “It feels kind of like the greatest hits of not only rock ‘n’ roll, but of musical theater.”
While both men are fans of the films — and both got to meet the original stars at a gala last week — neither Bart nor Likes want to straightjacket themselves into the way Fox and Lloyd performed their roles.
"I don't want to impersonate the movie. I want to remind you of the movie," says Likes, who made his Broadway debut last year as the Cameron Crowe-inspired lead character of the musical "Almost Famous."
“There’s a lot of things that Roger is doing that are similar, and there’s a lot of things that I’m doing that hopefully are similar to Michael. But we’re really just reminding you of their brilliance. Hopefully, at the same time, you’re able to kind of go along the journey with our Marty and Doc.”
In addition to being a cultural touchstone, "Back to the Future" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry and the American Film Institute listed it as the No. 10 best science-fiction film. Bart thinks the movie's staying power is because it manages to straddle many worlds.
There's a time travel story and one about getting to know your parents as peers. There's a love story between Marty's parents and there's also a buddy movie — Marty and Doc putting their friendship on the line.
“Between all of these elements, it answers so many of the things that we love about that era of moviemaking and storytelling,” says Bart. “I think that’s one of the reasons why it is has sort of stuck around so long.”
Not to mention the fact that audiences can appreciate the story at different parts of their lives. Kids can enjoy the thrills and special effects; adults can be moved by the notion of meeting their own moms and dads. “Part of its sustaining power is the fact that it can mean one thing at one age and another at another,” says Bart.
Likes also adds another reason: Marty initially only wants to get back to his own time period to reconnect with his girlfriend. But his reasons start to change — save Doc, save his family, save the world.
"As the show goes on, there’s more stacked up reasons as to why he has to get back. And I think that’s a really interesting thing to think about in our own life," he says. “What would be our reasons to to get back to our current life?”
___
Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/stars-broadways-back/CX7KKAU6N6RYD3FQZ7C2PFA7J4/ | 2023-07-31T15:50:57 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/entertainment/stars-broadways-back/CX7KKAU6N6RYD3FQZ7C2PFA7J4/ |
ATLANTA — (AP) — A new reactor at a nuclear power plant in Georgia has entered commercial operation, becoming the first new American reactor built from scratch in decades.
Georgia Power Co. announced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now sending power to the grid reliably.
At its full output of 1,100 megawatts of electricity, Unit 3 can power 500,000 homes and businesses. Utilities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama are receiving the electricity.
Nuclear power now makes up about 25% of the generation of Georgia Power, the largest unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co.
A fourth reactor is also nearing completion at the site, where two earlier reactors have been generating electricity for decades. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday said radioactive fuel could be loaded into Unit 4, a step expected to take place before the end of September. Unit 4 is scheduled to enter commercial operation by March.
The third and fourth reactors were originally supposed to cost $14 billion, but are now on track to cost their owners $31 billion. That doesn’t include $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the owners to walk away from the project. That brings total spending to almost $35 billion.
The third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016 when construction began in 2009.
Vogtle is important because government officials and some utilities are again looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change by generating electricity without burning natural gas, coal and oil.
“This project shows just how new nuclear can and will play a critical role in achieving a clean energy future for the United States,” Southern Co. CEO Chris Womack said in a statement. “Bringing this unit safely into service is a credit to the hard work and dedication of our teams at Southern Company and the thousands of additional workers who have helped build that future at this site.”
In Georgia, almost every electric customer will pay for Vogtle. Georgia Power currently owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which provides electricity to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Oglethorpe and MEAG plan to sell power to cooperatives and municipal utilities across Georgia, as well in Jacksonville, Florida, and parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Georgia Power's 2.7 million customers are already paying part of the financing cost and elected public service commissioners have approved a monthly rate increase of $3.78 a month for residential customers as soon as the third unit begins generating power. That could hit bills in August, two months after residential customers saw a $16-a-month increase to pay for higher fuel costs.
Commissioners will decide later who pays for the remainder of the costs of Vogtle, including the fourth reactor.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/first-us-nuclear/4YCDJK7AT7N7SAPA34GGKHI2LQ/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:00 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/first-us-nuclear/4YCDJK7AT7N7SAPA34GGKHI2LQ/ |
HAZLET, N.J. (WPIX) – A New Jersey family is suing a movie theater chain after the mother and her son, who has autism, were thrown out.
Their offense? The mother took her son into the women’s restroom when he needed to go to the bathroom.
“All this time, it was humiliating and scary for my son,” Christine Gallinaro, of Holmdel, told WPIX.
It was supposed to be a fun trip to the movies for Gallinaro and her 15-year-old son, John.
Gallinaro‘s husband wasn’t with them, so when John, who is nonverbal, had to go to the bathroom, she took him into the ladies’ room at Cinemark‘s Hazlet 12. There was no family restroom.
Gallinaro said no one in the ladies’ room complained. She said many understood that her son has special needs and needed an adult to help him. But the theater manager let her and her son know she disapproved.
“I asked her if there was a problem. I explained that he was disabled, and she said a grown man should not be in this bathroom,” Gallinaro said.
Gallinaro said the manager called security and then the police to eject them from the movie theater. On the cellphone video, Gallinaro said it was clear to her that the security and police were sympathetic to her plight.
The Gallinaros filed a lawsuit last week against the movie theater chain.
“What happened that day was unlawful, wrong, and bizarre,” said Austin Tobin, the Gallinaro family’s lawyer.
“Since this happened and has been made public, there has been an overwhelming response of support, particularly from mothers of disabled children,” Gallinaro said.
A few days after the June 16 incident, Gallinaro said the movie theater regional manager reached out to offer a refund, but the mother said the humiliation was too great.
WPIX contacted the movie theater for comment on the allegations but did not receive a response. | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:15 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ |
PITTSBURGH — A man is in custody after a fight in Brookline where two people suffered head injuries.
Pittsburgh police say the fight happened on Berkshire Avenue around 12:30 a.m.
Police say two men were hurt in the fight, both from head injuries that were “consistent with being hit with a hammer or blunt object.” Both were taken to the hospital, one in stable condition and the other in critical condition.
After learning the fight began at a home on the road, police did a search and found a suspect. After questioning, they arrested Brayan Salvador, 21, for criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He was transported to the Allegheny County Jail.
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(The Hill) — The Department of Education released a beta website on Monday for the Biden administration’s new income-driven student loan repayment plan, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
“A beta version of the updated [Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)] application is now available and includes the option to enroll in the new SAVE Plan – the most affordable repayment plan yet,” the department said on the site.
Previously, the administration had numerous IDR options for borrowers, which advocates have said led to a confusing system for borrowers.
The new SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan, one of the most widely used out of the four IDR options available to borrowers. The other three IDR plans will be phased out by the department or limited in the future.
The SAVE plan will make three significant changes this year compared to the REPAYE option. The first raises the income exemption from 150 percent above the poverty line to 225 percent, meaning a single person earning less than $32,800 would have $0 monthly payments under the plan.
The plan also won’t allow unpaid interest to grow if a person is making their monthly student loan payments. Lastly, spousal income for borrowers who are married and file separately will not be included.
The website – first reported by CNN — shows a demo of the application process, where some information such as tax returns can be automatically inserted due to information the government has on file for a borrower.
“We will be able to show borrowers their exact monthly payment amount and give them the ability to choose the most affordable repayment plan for them,” one official told CNN.
Officials told the network the full website launch will happen in August after the department has time to assess the site’s performance during the beta launch. Those who apply for SAVE during the beta period will not have to reapply after the full launch.
Those on the previous REPAYE IDR plan will be automatically enrolled in the new plan and do not need to use the launched application.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Education for comment on the beta launch.
Other aspects of the SAVE program will be implemented next year such as payments getting reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent of income above 225 percent of the poverty line for undergraduate loans.
The SAVE plan, touted as the most generous IDR plan by the administration, is expected to cost between $150 billion to $350 billion a year, according to varying estimates.
The launch of the SAVE plan comes two months before borrowers end their three-year-long pause on student loan payments and begin President Joe Biden’s “on-ramp” repayment system.
Under the system, interest will still accrue, but borrowers will not be penalized in other ways such as credit score ratings for not paying their student loan payments up until Sept. 2024. | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:21 | 0 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ |
PITTSBURGH — The defense and prosecution have rested their cases in the final phase of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.
The prosecution does not have any rebuttal witnesses. The next step in this phase will be closing arguments.
The judge said he will go late into the night if needed to finish closings today.
On Friday, Dr. George Corvin, a psychiatrist who examined Bowers on multiple occasions and diagnosed him with schizophrenia, returned to the stand.
Corvin said that Bowers’ delusional thinking made him believe that Jews were possessed by Satan, which led to the shooting.
Corvin said a history of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, led to this distorted thinking.
Bowers’ uncle and aunt also testified Friday, with his aunt continuing testimony today.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the second annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Founded by the singer in 1989, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children aims to empower youth, by providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.” | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:35 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ |
PITTSBURGH — How much of an impact the events of March 2023 had on the banking sector may not have completely played out. Uncertainty around the economy, despite a July surge in the stock market, continues.
But second-quarter earnings reports are yielding some clues, particularly when it comes to the ability to lend.
There’s good news locally, at least for now. A look at nonperforming loans, charge-offs, delinquencies and provision for credit losses at the four largest publicly traded banks headquartered in the Pittsburgh region indicates some minor slippage compared with the start of the year, but certainly nothing significant or worrisome.
Read more on the Pittsburgh Business Times
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©2023 Cox Media Group | https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/pittsburgh-based-banks-had-solid-q2-factors-around-economy-remain-unsettled/FNQOERCMRVAHTLHYW2CEGX5BOU/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:40 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/pittsburgh-based-banks-had-solid-q2-factors-around-economy-remain-unsettled/FNQOERCMRVAHTLHYW2CEGX5BOU/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW?
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE?
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE?
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/yellow-trucking-shutdown-bankruptcy-heres-what-to-know/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:41 | 1 | https://www.kron4.com/news/national/yellow-trucking-shutdown-bankruptcy-heres-what-to-know/ |
FRANKLIN PARK, Pa. — A 19th-century farmhouse situated on a 38-acre property is currently for sale in Franklin Park for $3.1 million.
The home, which has four bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half bathroom, is located at 2265 McAleer Rd. and has been fully refurbished. It is listed for sale with Mary Sue May of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
In addition to the home, the property includes a three-car garage and carriage house, a screened spring house and a koi pond with a dock.
See more photos of the home at the Pittsburgh Business Times.
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WASHINGTON — (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk's leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X's attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform's rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X's reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X's competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform's former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center's founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center's criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It's not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk's private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn't illegal. "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means," Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X's recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/musk-threatens-sue/ZTNB4P7KUUUSNGXQN5HKVT6JGE/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:52 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/musk-threatens-sue/ZTNB4P7KUUUSNGXQN5HKVT6JGE/ |
Philadelphia Eagles fans lined up for hours outside Lincoln Financial Field on Monday morning to be the first to get the team's new kelly green throwback alternate jerseys. And whenever Eagles fans gather in a group, they can't help but answer nature's primal call: throw a tailgate. So that's what they did. They turned a checkout line into "basically a tailgate."
If you needed another example of how much @eagles fans love their team. This is the line finally allowed in outside the doors of the Eagles Pro Shop at the stadium in South Philadelphia to buy the first new kelly green jerseys for sale starting at 9am. pic.twitter.com/umTg8E4uOQ
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) July 31, 2023
GATES. ARE. OPEN.#KellyGreenIsBack pic.twitter.com/TqqCGGKFYX
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 31, 2023
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, pair of shorts, nine ..." 🤣
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 31, 2023
Eagles fans are one of a kind 💚 🎥 pic.twitter.com/mjdBkyoZ1W
Eagles fans have been waiting for years and years for the return of these classic 1990s uniforms. They've been saving their money for this occasion as well, since it looked like Black Friday inside the Eagles Pro Shop.
A frenzy inside the Eagles Pro Shop @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/EV90dIbLsW
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) July 31, 2023
So are these jerseys worth all the hype? Or are Eagles fans simply acting out of sleep deprivation (they began lining up before 4 a.m.) and football withdrawal? Let's take a look.
Eagles are going back to their classic Kelly Greens from the early ‘90s as their alternate uniforms this season. They’re on sale today and fans have been tailgating for them since 3:30 this morning. pic.twitter.com/p1npbWBTIY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 31, 2023
The details 🤩#KellyGreenIsBack pic.twitter.com/0TToZVyNYV
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 30, 2023
A look at the $175 stitched and $130 replica versions of Kelly Green #Eagles jerseys: pic.twitter.com/nFT5CbAuOg
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 31, 2023
They also released a hype video, which has no business being so good considering it's a hype video for a jersey.
Thank goodness this wasn't leaked 🔥#KellyGreenIsBack pic.twitter.com/5UQj920LGC
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 31, 2023
When you get DJ Jazzy Jeff to narrate your jersey release video, it's no wonder that fans would choose to miss a vital medical procedure so they can get first crack at buying one of those babies.
skipping an mri for the kelly green jersey drop
— Jeff McDevitt (@JeffMcDev) July 31, 2023
it just means more in philly pic.twitter.com/wfobBULYYq
You can see the uniforms in action during two games in the upcoming season: Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins, and Week 12 against the Buffalo Bills. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/national/eagles-fans-turn/4CBA6BAFTMU4DALIR2AUJNGQIU/ | 2023-07-31T15:51:58 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/national/eagles-fans-turn/4CBA6BAFTMU4DALIR2AUJNGQIU/ |
ROCHESTER, N.H. — (AP) — In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is taking aim at China with a "Declaration of Economic Independence" that also targets taxes, regulations, spending and education.
Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to boost the economy and fight for the middle class.
“We will take back control of our destiny — and ensure that our future is as proud, independent and free as our past,” he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.
DeSantis said he would wrest economic control from China by ending the nation’s preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China.
The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled in recent weeks. Although long seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
On Monday, he focused on the federal government's reckless spending, however. His plan describes him as a “new sheriff in town” who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.
On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing “useless degrees” by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue. His plan also would promote vocational and apprenticeship programs that educate “artisans and engineers” instead of “politicized administrators and bureaucrats.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/desantis-unveils-new/ZWOTJZUBW2FR3QDRKDNQZEIKEQ/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:04 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/desantis-unveils-new/ZWOTJZUBW2FR3QDRKDNQZEIKEQ/ |
WASHINGTON — (AP) — The FBI should stop using a U.S. spy database of foreigners' emails and other communications for investigating crimes that aren't related to national security, a group of White House intelligence advisers recommended in a report released Monday.
The President's Intelligence Advisory Board's findings come as the White House pushes Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its expiration at the end of this year. U.S. intelligence officials say Section 702 enables investigations of Chinese and Russian espionage, potential terrorist plots, and other threats.
But spy agencies also end up capturing the communications of U.S. citizens and businesses, and a series of intelligence mistakes at the FBI has fanned bipartisan criticism of the bureau that has shaped the debate over renewing the law. Some lawmakers in both parties and civil liberties groups have called for stronger curbs on how the FBI uses foreign surveillance to search for Americans' data.
While the White House did not commit to accepting the recommended changes, administration officials on Monday praised the board's work and again called on Congress to reauthorize the surveillance program. The board argues in its report that Section 702 is critical to U.S. national security and suggests that allowing the program to lapse would be an “intelligence failure” and a step backward from changes made after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The board says the FBI made "inappropriate use" at times of Section 702 information. Those include queries for a U.S. senator and state senator's names without properly limiting the search, looking for someone believed to have been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and doing large queries of names of protesters following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
“Unfortunately, complacency, a lack of proper procedures, and the sheer volume of Section 702 activity led to FBI’s inappropriate use of Section 702 authorities, specifically U.S. person queries,” the board said in its report. “U.S. person queries” generally mean searches for U.S. citizens and businesses.
The board recommends the FBI no longer search the data when it is seeking evidence of a crime not related to national security. Currently, the FBI conducts fewer than two dozen such searches a year, a senior administration official told reporters Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
The White House has not decided whether it will accept the recommendation but is studying the board's work and report, the official said.
The board's report largely lines up with the White House's positions on other changes being debated in Congress. The board opposed requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant before it searches Section 702 data, saying that change would be impractical. It also says the FBI needs to maintain access to foreign spy collection because unlike other intelligence agencies, it has law enforcement authorities inside the U.S. and can warn Americans that they are being targeted by foreign spies or criminals.
Already, both Republicans and Democrats have called for broader changes affecting the FBI, including a handful of lawmakers in both parties who want to require warrants for any search.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., sharply questioned Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen in June about how it searches Section 702 data and signaled he would push for new protections.
“I don't think you've effectively made the case that there shouldn't be a warrant requirement, whether or not it is constitutionally required, for a U.S. person search that is crime only,” he said.
Many in the GOP, meanwhile, are furious about the FBI's investigations of former President Donald Trump and mistakes found by the Justice Department inspector general and other reviewers.
In a statement, the FBI said the report highlighted “how crucial” foreign intelligence was to the bureau's mission.
“We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules,” the bureau's statement said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/fbi-should-face-new/YPAYZRPUEAGXHDT3GEQERQKXME/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:11 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/fbi-should-face-new/YPAYZRPUEAGXHDT3GEQERQKXME/ |
WASHINGTON — (AP) —
Hunter Biden's former business partner appeared Monday for closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, with Republicans planning to question him about claims that President Joe Biden was directly involved in his younger son's financial dealings.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee was conducting a transcribed interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their so-far fruitless search to directly connect the president to his son's various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine." He said Archer's testimony would be critical to the committee's investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. GOP lawmakers and staff present at Monday's interview were also expected to question Archer about several business meetings and conversations Hunter Biden had during which he is said to have invoked his father's name.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding "insufficient evidence" that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma's co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but then the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer's appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer's surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/hunter-bidens-former/BUJCC3W57NAYNUOFZY3KR3Y6AM/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:18 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/hunter-bidens-former/BUJCC3W57NAYNUOFZY3KR3Y6AM/ |
As the hour creeps past three in the afternoon, New Orleans' streets are devoid of tourists and locals alike. The heat index is over 105 degrees.
At the city's ambulance depot, the concrete parking lot seems to magnify the sweltering heat, circulating the air like a convection oven.
New Orleans Emergency Medical Services has been busy this summer, responding to heat-related emergency calls and rushing patients to nearby hospitals.
Capt. Janick Lewis and Lt. Titus Carriere demonstrate how they can load a stretcher into an ambulance using an automated loading system.
Lewis wipes sweat from his brow as the loading arm whirs and hums, raising the stretcher into the ambulance — "unit" in official terminology.
But the mechanical assistance isn't the best thing about the new vehicle. "The nicest thing about being assigned a brand new unit, is it's a brand-new air conditioning system," Lewis says.
The new AC is much more than just a luxury for the hard-working crews. These days they need the extra cooling power to help save lives.
"The number one thing you do take care of somebody is get them out of the heat, get them somewhere cool," Lewis says. "So the number one thing we spend our time worrying about in the summertime is keeping the truck cool."
Like much of the country, New Orleans has been embroiled in an almost relentless heat wave for weeks. As a result, more people are falling ill with heat-related conditions than ever before. Just last week, EMS responded to 29 heat-related calls — more than triple compared to the same period last year.
As the city's emergency medical systems deal with the influx of patients, scientists say these dangerous heat levels — and the increasing stress they put on human bodies and medical systems — may be the new norm.
At the same time, New Orleans EMS has struggled with funding and staffing challenges. It's currently operating with only 60% of its needed staff. The city's chief of EMS has called for increased funding for higher wages to attract more workers.
Lewis says they're making do with the resources they have, and prioritizing one-time expenses like new ambulances to help them meet the challenges they're facing.
"We're going to provide the care everybody needs, regardless of how hot it gets," Lewis says. "We'd love to have all the help in the world, but we're getting the job done with what we have right now."
Health dangers above 100℉
When a human being is exposed to high levels of heat for too long, it starts to raise the core body temperature. Once that exceeds 100 degrees, hyperthermia can develop. That can prompt an escalating cascade of health problems if it isn't quickly addressed.
The first stage is heat exhaustion, Lt. Carriere explains: "That means you're hot, you may have an elevated temp, but you also have what's called diaphoresis, which means your body is sweating, is still trying to compensate and cool yourself off." You'll also likely have other symptoms like weakness, dizziness, and headache.
Carriere says that if you can quickly get out of the heat and into some AC, generally you'll recover from heat exhaustion on your own. But if you don't, your core temperature will continue to rise.
Near 104° the dangers escalate
If internal body temperature approaches 104 degrees, you could succumb to the next stage — heat stroke.
"Once you move to heat stroke, your body stops compensating," Carriere says. "You stop sweating. You're hot. You're dry, and your organs are basically like frying themselves from the inside out."
When you stop sweating, it becomes even harder for your body to cool itself down. During heat stroke, you may also experience other severe symptoms like an altered state of mind, confusion, and a rapid, erratic pulse. You may even lose consciousness.
Heat illness can develop after unrelieved exposure to incessant heat, but high humidity compounds the problem by making it harder for the body to cool itself by sweating.
Working outdoors, dehydration, alcohol or drug use, and sunburn all increase the risk. The very old, children under 4, and those who are obese or have certain medical conditions are particularly vulnerable.
Without medical intervention, heat stroke can be deadly. EMS starts treatment immediately after they arrive on the scene.
"We'll get them on a gurney, get them into the unit, start removing their clothing and put ice packs wherever applicable to try to cool them down," says Carriere.
Saving lives in the ER with ice, fluids, and medical support
Once you're loaded into the ambulance, they'll race you to a nearby hospital, Carriere says. At University Medical Center (UMC), the city's largest hospital, doctors and nurses will continue efforts to quickly lower body temperature, and replace fluids by IV if necessary..
"When the patient ends up at the hospital, we're going to continue that cooling process," Elder says. "We're going to put them in an ice water bath," says Dr. Jeffrey Elder, the Medical Director for Emergency Management at UMC. "We may use some misting fans and some cold fluids to get their body temperature down to a reasonable temperature while we're supporting all the other bodily functions."
Getting your core temperature down as quickly as possible is the highest priority, Elder explains, and is what will ultimately save your life. One way they can speed that along is by burying you in ice. In other parts of the country, doctors actually place patients inside body bags pre-packed with pounds of ice. Body bags are useful in these cases because they're waterproof and are designed to closely fit the human form.
They don't use body bags at UMC's emergency room, but during the summer, staffers do keep bags of ice ready to go at all times.
"On the stretcher, we'll use some of the sheets as kind of a barrier," Elder says. "And while they're on the stretcher, we'll just put the ice on them right then and there."
Hospital staff will continue to work to cool you down until your temperature gets back below 100. That's when you're considered to be in the medical safe zone.
Elder admits that while it always gets hot in New Orleans during the summer, his emergency room has been treating more heat-related illness in 2023 than ever before. A few patients have died from the heat.
Like many other hospital systems, UMC is struggling with staffing challenges since the pandemic. But UMC has prioritized staffing of the emergency department in order to handle things like an influx of patients from heat-related illness, Elder says.
Burden on health infrastructure heats up
Across the country, meteorological events like heat waves and heat domes will become more frequent and intense in the future, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Extreme summer heat is increasing in the United States," says Claudia Brown, a health scientist with the CDC's Climate and Health Program. "And climate projections are indicating that extreme heat events will be more frequent and intense in the coming decades."
Health infrastructure will be challenged to keep up in order to treat patients suffering from extreme heat exposure. In New Orleans, both first responders and doctors say they expect to see more patients with heat-related illness. July is merely the halfway point of a Louisiana summer.
"We haven't even gotten to the hottest part yet, which is typically August to September," says EMS Lt. Titus Carriere. "So I'm expecting it to get pretty bad."
This story comes from NPR's health reporting partnership with the Gulf States Newsroom and KFF Health News.
Copyright 2023 Gulf States Newsroom. To see more, visit . | https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-30/in-broiling-cities-like-new-orleans-the-health-system-faces-off-against-heat-stroke | 2023-07-31T15:52:21 | 1 | https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-30/in-broiling-cities-like-new-orleans-the-health-system-faces-off-against-heat-stroke |
MIAMI — (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.
Carlos De Oliveira is accused of scheming with Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former president's hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, club.
De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the ex-president's valet, Walt Nauta, and faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.
A magistrate judge in Miami's federal court read De Oliveira the charges against him and ordered him to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesn’t appear in court. The judge scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.
The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trump's lawyers met with Smith's team last week.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty in June, Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He post on his Truth Social platform last week that the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators and that he was told the tapes were not "deleted in any way, shape or form."
Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.
Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it's unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case's timeline.
The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.
Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of national defense information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsel's case and deepen the former president's legal jeopardy.
Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but also from Trump’s own lawyers.
Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say, De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee “the boss” wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didn’t believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the “boss” wanted it done, asking, “What are we going to do?”
Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trump’s office, prosecutors say, Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of “someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good.” The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldn’t do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.
Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn’t even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
___
Richer reported from Boston.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/mar-a-lago-worker-de/S3O3PYEMTCJVHDVLUYOGRNXQJU/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:24 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/mar-a-lago-worker-de/S3O3PYEMTCJVHDVLUYOGRNXQJU/ |
Updated July 31, 2023 at 11:18 AM ET
The sentencing hearing for Lori Vallow Daybell began in Idaho at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) Monday, as she faces punishment for murdering two of her children and conspiring to murder a romantic rival — crimes of which she was found guilty in May.
Vallow Daybell, 50, faces a punishment ranging up to life in prison without parole. The sentencing hearing will be livestreamed from the Fremont County Courthouse — you can watch video of the hearing below.
The lengthy trial was full of strange and shocking moments, Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell was motivated by arcane religious beliefs about "dark energy" and the "end times," and by her desire to pursue a life with her new husband, Chad Daybell — including conspiring to kill his late wife.
Judge Steven Boyce will hand down his sentence after the court hears victim impact statements from loved ones of Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow, Vallow Daybell's children whose bodies were found in 2020; and Tammy Daybell, the previous wife of Chad Daybell, who also faces charges in all three deaths.
The children's bodies were found in 2020
A jury found Vallow Daybell guilty of killing her two youngest children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow. Tylee was nearly 17 when she and JJ, 7, were last seen alive in September 2019. The children's bodies were found in June 2020, buried on property in Rexburg, Idaho, owned by Chad Daybell.
Even before the remains were found, Vallow Daybell was charged with felony desertion of a child and obstruction. Prosecutors said she didn't report her children missing so she could keep collecting benefit payments.
Vallow Daybell was also found guilty of conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, Chad's then-wife, who was found dead in her home in October 2019 — less than one month before he and Vallow got married in Hawaii. He is Vallow Daybell's fifth husband.
'Zombie' beliefs arose during trial
In court documents, Vallow Daybell's close friend Melanie Gibb described hearing her say that Tylee had become a zombie — a concept Vallow Daybell had picked up from Daybell.
Gibb said she heard Vallow Daybell call Tylee a zombie after Tylee had refused to babysit JJ — to which Tylee replied, "Not me, mom," according to a police affidavit. Gibb said Vallow Daybell later concluded that JJ had also become a zombie.
Prosecutors also said Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell portrayed themselves as religious figures called "James and Elaina." And they purported to be able to "rate" people, detecting whether they might be under the thrall of an evil spirit's dark energy.
The case depicted a love affair that turned deadly
Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell's relationship was entwined in a deadly criminal conspiracy they sought to justify with fantastical beliefs. Rather than simply starting a new life together after they met in October 2018, the prosecution said, the couple plotted to kill their closest relatives and benefit from their deaths through insurance payouts and Social Security benefits.
Vallow Daybell's defense attorney, James Archibald, has said his client was in the thrall of a man she sees as a messiah and her eternal soulmate. He has also argued that the prosecution has produced little direct evidence to tie Vallow Daybell to her children's deaths.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/watch-lori-vallow-daybell-is-sentenced-for-killing-her-children-in-zombie-murders | 2023-07-31T15:52:29 | 0 | https://www.ctpublic.org/2023-07-31/watch-lori-vallow-daybell-is-sentenced-for-killing-her-children-in-zombie-murders |
The woman convicted earlier this year of killing two of her children and conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife is set to be sentenced Monday.
A jury found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of murdering her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, in 2019. She was also convicted of conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, who was previously married to her husband, Chad Daybell.
Vallow Daybell faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Four people are expected to speak in court ahead of the 50-year-old’s sentencing, including her only surviving child, 27-year-old Colby Ryan, KTVB reported. Also expected to speak are her sister, Summer Shiflet; JJ’s grandmother, Kay Woodcock; and Tammy Daybell’s aunt, Vicki Hoban; according to the news station.
Earlier this year, jurors heard more than four weeks of testimony from 60 witnesses before finding Vallow Daybell guilty of all six charges filed against her, KSL-TV reported.
Authorities said Tylee and JJ were found buried on property owned by Chad Daybell one year after they were last seen in 2019. Tammy Daybell died in the same year the children vanished.
Chad Daybell is expected to face a jury next year, according to Court TV. He has been charged with murder in the deaths of Tylee and JJ and conspiracy in the death of Tammy Daybell, the news station reported.
Vallow Daybell is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the 2019 death of her previous husband, Charles Vallow. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/lori-vallow-daybell-be-sentenced-deaths-her-2-children-husbands-former-wife/LS3JAMKXWRAQTBMWM4UXKWMYGQ/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:31 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/lori-vallow-daybell-be-sentenced-deaths-her-2-children-husbands-former-wife/LS3JAMKXWRAQTBMWM4UXKWMYGQ/ |
Connecticut public health officials are warning about the potential dangers of saltwater and eating raw or undercooked seafood following a series of bacterial infections that left one person dead.
Three cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections have been reported to the state Department of Public Health since July 1, the agency says. All patients were hospitalized and one died.
One patient reported eating raw oysters at an out-of-state establishment. Two others reported exposure to saltwater in Long Island Sound and said they had open wounds, which likely led to the infections.
“People should consider the potential risk of consuming raw oysters and exposure to salt or brackish water and take appropriate precautions,” DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani said in a statement. “Particularly during the hottest months of the summer, bacteria are more likely to overgrow and contaminate raw shellfish.”
Vibrio vulnificus can cause life-threatening infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with these infections often need intensive care or limb amputations and can suffer from bloodstream infections.
About one in five people with this infection die, the CDC says.
While the infections are exceedingly rare – the DPH says that five cases were reported in 2020 in Connecticut, and none in 2021 and 2022 – officials are urging people to be cautious with what they eat and when they go in the water.
Avoid eating raw or undercooked oysters and other shellfish. If you have a wound, including from a recent surgery, piercing, or tattoo, avoid saltwater or brackish water (a mix of salt and freshwater), state health officials said. This includes wading at the beach.
If a wound or a cut does come into contact with saltwater or raw seafood or its juices, wash it thoroughly with soap and water. | https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/after-1-death-ct-officials-warn-of-dangers-of-bacterial-infections-from-saltwater-and-raw-shellfish | 2023-07-31T15:52:36 | 1 | https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/after-1-death-ct-officials-warn-of-dangers-of-bacterial-infections-from-saltwater-and-raw-shellfish |
BOISE, Idaho — Jurors on Friday found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of murdering her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, and conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife, Tammy Daybell, in 2019.
Prosecutors ‘very pleased with the jury’s verdict’
Update 4:15 p.m. EDT May 12: In a statement obtained by CNN, prosecutors Rob Wood and Lindsey Black said they were “very pleased with the jury’s verdict.”
“We want to assure each of you that we remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell,” Prosecutors Rob Wood and Lindsey Blake said in a joint statement Friday.
“We also want to express sincere appreciation to the many members of law enforcement and the community who tirelessly worked together to hold Lori Vallow Daybell accountable.”
Chad Daybell is expected to face a jury next year after he pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Tylee, JJ and Tammy Daybell, according to Court TV and KSL-TV.
Jury finds Vallow Daybell guilty of all charges
Update 3:10 p.m. EDT May 12: The jury found Vallow Daybell guilty on all six counts she faced, including two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and three counts of grand theft by deception.
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours before handing down their verdict on Friday. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Original report: Jurors reached a verdict Friday in the trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the Idaho woman accused of killing her two children and conspiring to kill her husband’s former wife in 2019.
Jurors reached their verdict after hearing more than four weeks of testimony from 60 witnesses, according to KSL-TV. Vallow Daybell’s defense attorneys did not call any witnesses to the stand, the news station reported.
The jury got the case Thursday afternoon and deliberated for about seven hours before handing down a verdict, according to EastIdahoNews.com.
Vallow Daybell is charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, and her husband’s late wife, Tammy Daybell, KTVB reported. Tylee and JJ were found buried on property owned by Chad Daybell, Vallow Daybell’s husband, one year after they were last seen in 2019. Tammy Daybell died in the same year the children vanished.
In opening statements, prosecutors said that Vallow Daybell and her husband believed that God had tasked them with gathering his chosen 144,000 for the end times, and that Vallow Daybell told a friend that she wanted to focus her attention on that mission, according to KBOI and EastIdahoNews.com. Vallow Daybell’s attorney argued that his client had an alibi for the deaths of her children and her husband’s former wife.
Prosecutors told jurors that the case was about “sex, power and money.” They described Vallow Daybell as a money-hungry woman who was tired of parenting Tylee and JJ and wanted to live her life with Chad Daybell without any other “obstacles,” KBOI reported. They framed her as the person who plotted the killings, KSL-TV reported.
“She wants her children gone,” prosecutor Rob Wood said, according to KSL. “There is no doubt, she wants these children gone. She is encouraging their murder.”
Defense attorney R. James “Jim” Archibald argued in closing arguments that Vallow Daybell fell under the influence of Chad Daybell and that she was previously a good mother to JJ and Tylee, KSL-TV reported.
“No one here thinks Lori actually killed anyone. That’s why she’s charged with conspiracy, because they think someone else did the killing,” Archibald said, according to KSL. “If you find her not guilty, will that bring the kids back? Nope. What you need to be concerned of is following the law, and the lack of evidence.”
Vallow Daybell is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the 2019 death of her previous husband, Charles Vallow. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/lori-vallow-daybell-trial-jury-reaches-verdict/7VN67DQ2HFEHFCMKUFGAIPTVSQ/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:37 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/lori-vallow-daybell-trial-jury-reaches-verdict/7VN67DQ2HFEHFCMKUFGAIPTVSQ/ |
Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 1, crews will start the dangerous process of removing a rock ledge along Interstate 95 so a section of the highway in East Lyme, Connecticut can be widened.
When to expect disruptions
For the next six to eight weeks, closures will happen weekdays (with the exception of Fridays) from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The closures will be twice a day for 15 minutes.
It will impact the north and southbound sides of I-95 between exits 74 to 75.
Why does I-95 need to be widened?
Roughly 800 linear feet of a rock ledge need to be removed using explosives so an auxiliary lane and 12 foot shoulder can be constructed.
Josh Morgan, state Department of Transportation spokesperson, said the auxiliary lane will allow drivers “to get on exit 74 and get off at exit 75 without having to merge” with I-95 highway traffic. The DOT says the added lane will help alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety.
Why aren’t the closures pre-planned at night?
Morgan said state law requires a dangerous job, such as this project, be done during daylight hours.
Blasts cannot be pre-scheduled.
“This operation is so technical and it's going to be incredibly dependent on conditions in that moment,” Morgan said.
Drivers who sign up at I-95eastlyme.com will be sent a text message 30 minutes before a shutdown happens.
The CTDOT has posted a map suggesting drivers use Boston Poad Road and Route 161 as a detour when a closure does happen. | https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/what-to-know-about-construction-along-i-95-in-east-lyme | 2023-07-31T15:52:37 | 1 | https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-07-31/what-to-know-about-construction-along-i-95-in-east-lyme |
MIAMI — The property manager for former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate appeared in court Monday morning after he was indicted last week on charges related to classified documents found at the estate.
Carlos De Oliveira faces four charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to the FBI. He has not yet entered a plea.
De Oliveira appears in court
Update 11:05 a.m. EDT July 31: De Oliveira made his first court appearance in a federal courthouse in Miami on Monday morning, according to CNN and Reuters.
He did not enter a plea as he had yet to find a local lawyer to represent him, Reuters reported. He is set to next appear in court for his arraignment on Aug. 10.
Original report: In an indictment, authorities said that, alongside Trump aide Waltine “Walt” Nauta, De Oliveira moved dozens of boxes at Mar-a-Lago that were used to store documents and items that Trump brought with him from the White House. In June 2022, after a grand jury issued a subpoena for security cameras at Trump’s Florida estate, De Oliveira told another employee “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted,” officials said.
De Oliveira later told the FBI that he didn’t know how Trump’s boxes got to Mar-a-Lago, claiming in an interview in January 2023 that he “never saw nothing,” court records show.
De Oliveira is the third person to face charges in connection with the more than 100 classified records found last year during an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. Authorities have also charged Nauta and Trump with conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, corruptly concealing a document or record and more. Trump is also facing 32 counts of willful retention of national defense information.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, characterizing investigations into his conduct as politically motivated attacks.
“They knowingly accuse you of a fake crime, a crime that they actually make up, you fight these charges hard, and they try to get you on ‘obstruction,’” Trump wrote Sunday in a social media post. “We are dealing with sick and evil people!”
The former president pleaded not guilty to charges at an initial appearance in June. Nauta pleaded not guilty earlier this month after his arraignment was delayed by a lack of local counsel, among other issues.
As of Monday morning, court records did not list an attorney for De Oliveira.
The indictment issued last week shows De Oliveira began working as a property manager at Mar-a-Lago in January 2022. He previously worked as a valet at the club.
Authorities continue to investigate. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/trump-employee-indicted-classified-documents-case-appear-court/R4SPHTQU3RG5NMHNOUANUY3ZXY/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:43 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/trump-employee-indicted-classified-documents-case-appear-court/R4SPHTQU3RG5NMHNOUANUY3ZXY/ |
If you are a long-time Verizon customer, be prepared to pay more for your wireless service if you haven’t upgraded your plan.
The company announced that it would be increasing some older unlimited cell phone plans by either $3 or $5 a month per phone line.
The Plan Rate Adjustment increase kicks in on Aug. 29 and only affects phones.
“Lines with tablets, smart watches and other devices won’t be impacted,” according to the company.
Current Unlimited plans will also not be impacted.
To find out if your phone plan will increase, you can visit Verizon’s website.
This isn’t the first increase for older plans to hit customers this year. In April, the company instituted a $2 a month Plan Rate Adjustment for “previously-available” plans.
The fees were trying to get more customers on 5G plans, CNN reported earlier this year.
Verizon also raised the price of shared data plans, increasing bills by $6 a month for single lines, CNET reported. Multiple-line accounts saw a $12 increase per account, not per phone line.
AT&T also increased prices earlier this year on older plans in an effort to get users to change to unlimited plans, Bloomberg reported in May. Single-line customers saw a $6 increase, while multi-line accounts saw a $12 increase. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/verizon-increase-older-unlimited-wireless-plans/PCFEI3EIGVASXGXQVALXJZHH2I/ | 2023-07-31T15:52:49 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/verizon-increase-older-unlimited-wireless-plans/PCFEI3EIGVASXGXQVALXJZHH2I/ |
HONG KONG — (AP) — The discovery of a whale carcass in Hong Kong waters on Monday has sparked an outpouring of grief on social media, with many comments blaming the mammal's death on sightseers.
Many residents thought the dead mammal was the whale that has attracted groups of sightseers since it was first spotted in the city’s waters in mid-July.
Compass Chan, scientific officer of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, didn't confirm whether it was the same whale. But he said an initial check on the dead whale found a new wound on its back, in addition to two old wounds.
“It's a pity," Chan said at a media briefing. “If it really died, I think it's a good chance to let everyone to think seriously how we should get along with other species in the nature.”
Its cause of death would have to be confirmed by a necropsy, he said.
After the carcass was found in the waters in Sai Kung — a district known for its hiking trails, beaches and islands — many residents have taken issue with the whale-watching activities seen over the past two weeks.
They accused the sightseers of causing the death of the whale because of their ignorance. Some reposted a Canto-pop song whose title translated as “Whale Eater” on their social media.
The foundation said in its previous statement that a crowd of people was spotted approaching the animal, believed to be a Bryde’s whale and to be around seven metres (23 feet) long. It warned that human activities can cause stress and lead to life-threatening consequences, saying the whale already had propeller wounds.
The government said Friday night that the necropsy might take several days and the results would serve as a reference for it to handle the emergence of whales in Hong Kong in the future.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/discovery-whale/YUO4YC6RAHDGL5MEMWA3Y2FKYA/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:00 | 0 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/discovery-whale/YUO4YC6RAHDGL5MEMWA3Y2FKYA/ |
At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.
Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.
And there’s no relief in sight.
Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.
“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what's causing heat waves is “boring” in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters “because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.”
"This story, these impacts, are going to continue," Schmidt said. "We're going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year" with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Here’s a rundown of the summer of Earth's discontent.
RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT
Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record — and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it's individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.
Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn't go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.
El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).
Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.
Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it's all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).
Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.
Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.
In Argentina, where it's mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn’t get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).
TOO MUCH RAIN
More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.
Australia’s Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.
In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.
WILDFIRES AND SMOKE
Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.
Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.
But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world's dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.
As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn’t near done. That’s an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.
WATER TEMPERATURES
Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that's in dispute.
The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world's oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.
Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn’t look good for the rest of the summer, he said.
A HOT FORECAST
“We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months,” said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.
The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.
The peak of hurricane season in September hasn’t even started.
When going through the litany of this summer's weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”
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Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___
Follow AP's climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/heres-how-hot/CANX3M6VIT4TVILLEXFSKZ4H64/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:06 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/heres-how-hot/CANX3M6VIT4TVILLEXFSKZ4H64/ |
NIAMEY, Niger — (AP) — West African nations have announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger and have threatened to use force if the leaders of a coup don't reinstate the democratically elected president within one week.
The sanctions announced after the regional bloc known as ECOWAS convened to respond to last week's military takeover add to a growing list of penalties against the country, one of the least developed in the world, according to the latest U.N. Human Development Index. Niger relies heavily on foreign aid: analysts fear sanctions could further impoverish its 25 million people.
"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," the ECOWAS bloc said in a statement after its meeting on Sunday. One of its demands is the immediate release and reinstatement of Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, who remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.
Niger, a former French colony, had been regarded by the West as one of the last democratic partners in the Sahel region in its battle against Islamic extremists. The European Union and the United States have poured millions of dollars in military aid and assistance into the country. The French and the US provide training to Niger’s forces and the French military does joint operations in the north.
ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks. Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens: 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, the country's 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 the country, 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 between 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.
Lyammouri also said he does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended Sunday the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
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 evening it arrested four government officials, including Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, the minister of petroleum and son of former President Mahamadou Issoufou; Kassoum Moctar, minister of education; Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, the minister of mines, and Foumakoye Gado, the president of the ruling party. That's according to someone close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
The same night, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars must 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.
Bazoum has yet to resign. He is still being detained and believed to be in his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad's President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing 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.wpxi.com/news/world/niger-faces/PNJPVAGKJR4VGWUSTE4I6ANEQM/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:13 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/niger-faces/PNJPVAGKJR4VGWUSTE4I6ANEQM/ |
KYIV, Ukraine — (AP) — Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Monday, killing five people and wounding 64 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.
One of the two missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.
The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who comes from Kryvyi Rih. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.
The morning attack also destroyed part of the four-story university building.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.
A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.
Neither side's claims could be independently verified.
A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyiv's Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin.
Russia has tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an “act of desperation.”
“The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation,” Peskov said, “as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.”
“It’s obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently,” Peskov said.
“This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, analysts say, is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and its cost mounts.
Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.
Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow’s military strategy during the war, an approach that has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.
Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks provide evidence of war crimes.
“In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing,” Zelenskyy said. “But this terror will not frighten us or break us.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.
It wasn’t immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russia's recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.
In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.
Russian shelling Monday also killed a 70-year-old woman in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, as well as a civilian in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local authorities said.
In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were injured after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Ukrainian officials didn’t acknowledge Sunday's drone attacks in the Moscow region. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said: “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”
China introduced restrictions Monday on the export of long-range civilian drones. Authorities cited the war in Ukraine and concern that drones could be converted for military purposes.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow, but says it's neutral in the war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.
In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently “no shortage of personnel.”
Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city Bakhmut.
Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russia's regular army.
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Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/russian-ballistic/UAN3SRIW33CWD42EBFI6PYAGUU/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:19 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/news/world/russian-ballistic/UAN3SRIW33CWD42EBFI6PYAGUU/ |
ANAHEIM, Calif. — (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels reacquired slugger C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, bolstering their injury-plagued roster with more veteran depth as they fight for a playoff spot.
Los Angeles sent minor league pitchers Mason Albright and Jake Madden to the Rockies in the deal that brought two former Angels first-round draft picks back to the team. Colorado also is sending $3,701,613 along with Cron and Grichuk, who are in the final years of their contracts before free agency. Cron is owed $2,540,323 in remaining salary and Grichuk $3,161,290, leaving the Angels in effect responsible for $2 million.
The Angels (55-51) are desperate to end their MLB-worst streaks of seven consecutive losing seasons and eight consecutive non-playoff seasons, but their efforts have been endangered by injuries that have seriously compromised their big league depth.
Los Angeles has a major league-leading 17 players on its injured lists after outfielder Taylor Ward joined the group Sunday before an extra-inning victory in Toronto. Ward was moved to the 60-day injured list later in the day, effectively ending his regular season, with facial fractures after Toronto's Alek Manoah hit him in the face with a fastball on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Cron spent his first four major league seasons with Los Angeles, hitting 59 of his 186 career homers before getting traded to Tampa Bay in early 2018 for prospect Luis Rengifo, who is still a valuable contributor to the Angels. Cron is batting .260 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs this season for the Rockies as their power-hitting first baseman.
Grichuk was selected by the Angels one pick before Mike Trout in the 2009 draft. Los Angeles traded him to St. Louis before he reached the majors and began a 10-year career with the Cardinals, Toronto and Colorado.
Grichuk is batting .308 with an .861 OPS in 64 games this season for the Rockies. His positional flexibility in the outfield will be valuable for the Angels in the injury absences of Trout, Ward and Jo Adell, leaving Mickey Moniak and Hunter Renfroe as the only healthy outfielders on Los Angeles' 40-man roster.
Grichuk is making just over $10.3 million this season, while Cron is earning $7.25 million. The moves continue the Rockies' teardown for the final two months of what's almost certain to be their fifth consecutive losing season.
The 20-year-old Albright is 11-8 with a 5.36 ERA in three seasons in the low minors. The 21-year-old Madden, a fourth-round pick in 2022, is 2-6 with a 5.46 ERA in 14 starts for Low-A Inland Empire this season.
The Angels have traded a significant amount of minor league talent in recent weeks in their determined effort to make the playoffs during the final season of Shohei Ohtani's contract.
Los Angeles has acquired six veteran major leaguers — slugger Mike Moustakas, right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, reliever Reynaldo López and infielder Eduardo Escobar along with Cron and Grichuk — in four separate trades since late June.
Trout has been out since July 3 with a broken hand, and third baseman Anthony Rendon was sidelined one day later with a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his shin. Trout and Rendon are making roughly $75 million combined this season.
Ward and veteran infielder Gio Urshela are likely out for the season, while infielder Brandon Drury, rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe and rookie shortstop Zach Neto have all missed significant time.
Los Angeles is in third place in the AL West, five games behind Texas. The Angels are four games behind Toronto for the final AL wild card, but the Red Sox and Yankees are also between them.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.wpxi.com/sports/angels-acquire-cj/XQNRTRUJMLCLNY3KI3EMQCYZDY/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:25 | 1 | https://www.wpxi.com/sports/angels-acquire-cj/XQNRTRUJMLCLNY3KI3EMQCYZDY/ |
R&B Songstress and DMV native Ari Lennox has the warmed the hearts of many with her real and raw lyrics on love and heartbreak. Her opening up and being so related has drawn many closer to her not only as an artist but as a person. Tuesday, Lennox opened up to her supporters via Ingram about her 7 months of sobriety.
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She writes in IG caption:
7 months sober. That’s a lot of sober flights. A lot of sober conversations. A lot of facing things raw and head on. Honestly I don’t know what will happen when I reach a year sober. Don’t know if sobriety is forever or not but I can’t imagine going back to how things were. Passing out in the airport or having my emotions more heightened than needed smh shit was bad. I feel more in control of my emotions. More stable. More happy. More alert. More safe. More accepting of things I can’t control and more responsible with things I can. I have less anxiety socially and when I’m ready to go, I go. I recognize my threshold with things and implement boundaries. I don’t find interest in partying anymore :/ maybe I’m changing and that’s deeper than alcohol. I like doing chill sweet things. I’m a chill bitch I realized. Accepting help and realizing I’m not the best traveler on my own has been a game changer. So now I have help and that helps. Having help is ok. I like waking up with no hangover or embarrassment. I like waking up with no night terrors and panic attacks from liquor. I’m so raw feeling everything in this world and my coping mechanisms are only healthier now. It’s nice to remember events as they are happening. It’s nice to be present. Sobriety is a very present experience. Also I ain’t have no ass in long over a year. Just casually communicating this to the universe. But yea sure there’s the fantasy of wanting to escape all the intense stress of the world with alcohol cause boy does it work temporarily. But there’s the moment the liquor stops numbing and you’re chasing that feeling to no avail and you wake to see the problems of life still there so anyway anybody out there also sober? What have you learned on your journey? Love you all so much.
The artist’s comments flooded with love from fans and celebrities like Chance The Rapper, Queen Naija, Michelle Williams,Tasha Smith, NiVEA and many more! Lennox shares that she doesn’t “know if sobriety is forever or not but I can’t imagine going back to how things were.” We are so proud of Ari for making this positive step in her life and sharing it with all of us! We support you and hope nothing but the best for what’s to come in your future!
If you or someone you know needs assistance ending alcohol addiction visit: www.aa.org
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Ari Lennox Celebrates 7 Months Of Sobriety was originally published on kysdc.com | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588429/ari-lennox-celebrates-7-months-of-sobriety/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:27 | 0 | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588429/ari-lennox-celebrates-7-months-of-sobriety/ |
President Biden will tout his administration’s work to combat climate change in a trip out West, which has faced scorching — and in some cases, record-breaking — temperatures this month.
In a trip next week to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Biden is expected to discuss Democrats’ climate, tax and health care bill and the ways in which it bolstered climate-friendly energy and U.S. manufacturing.
Later, on Aug. 16, Biden will host a White House event to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act.
The southwestern U.S. has faced a sweltering heat wave over the past several weeks, with Phoenix seeing 31 days in a row of temperatures above 110 degrees.
Last week, Biden gave a speech about climate change, which exacerbates heat waves and other extreme weather events, and said he would take actions aimed at protecting workers from the hazardous heat.
The upcoming White House moves are part of broader efforts to promote that bill and other legislation the administration has passed.
This week, Vice President Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit Wisconsin to talk about broadband investments that were part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Oregon to discuss grants aimed at addressing wildfires and to Washington state to talk about climate-related investments in Agriculture. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi will visit Puerto Rico to engage on issues related to grid resilience. And Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will go to California to talk about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for water recycling.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit Illinois to talk about clean energy investments and Houston for a ribbon cutting for a port. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will visit Las Vegas, Nevada and Oregon to talk about efforts to lower health care costs. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:27 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ |
Kevin Spacey named has been finally been cleared after years of claims that potentially ruined his career. Oscar-winning actor has been cleared of all charges after a four-week trial in London on claims of sexual assault. The 64 year-old Hollywood star had tears in his eyes as he was acquitted by a Southwark Crown court. Spacey was found not guilty of several counts of sexual assault and other related sexual offenses.
Social media users were shocked to learn of the news and immediately were in awe.
“I have to say, that is quite shocking to hear.” Victory Reviews tweeted.
“I’m too shocked to hear it!!! He deserves to be in prison!!!” another social media user tweeted.
Spacey’s sexual assault allegations span from 2004 to 2013. During this time, Spacey served as artistic director at the Old Vic theater in the British capital. A number of complaints were filed against Spacey prior to legal action being taken. One complainant alleged that Spacey sat in the front of a car next to him while the complainant was driving. Spacey allegedly grabbed the complainant’s hand to put it on his crotch. The complainant said that one time, Spacey acted so forcefully it “took his breath away.”
The second complainant alleged that Spacey assaulted him during a charity event. The complainant recalled Spacey putting his hand on his leg, and grabbing his crotch with “such force it was painful.” Spacey has denied all allegations.
The third accusers claims Spacey “approached him and gave him a hug,” kissed his neck, grabbed his crotch and “squeezed,” telling the complainant to “be cool, be cool.” The complainant said he pushed Stacey away and left quickly, calling his father to recall the events to him.
The fourth complainant said he woke up to Spacey performing a sexual act on him. The complainant,an aspiring actor, said he contacted Spacey after meeting him at a theater production, reaching out to Spacey for career advice. Spacey invited him to his apartment about two weeks later where he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by Spacey.
Spacey has denied all allegations. He was acquitted on seven counts of sexual assault and two other related sexual offenses. Last year, Spacey was found not liable by a New York jury for battery on allegations he picked up actor Anthony Rapp and laid on top of him after a party in 1986.
Actor Kevin Spacey Cleared of All Sexual Assault Charges was originally published on rnbphilly.com | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588854/actor-kevin-spacey-cleared-of-all-sexual-assault-charges/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:33 | 1 | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588854/actor-kevin-spacey-cleared-of-all-sexual-assault-charges/ |
A super PAC that works to help Democrats get elected to the House is calling on them to promote the economy and the party’s successes as Congress goes on recess for the next month.
House Majority PAC said in a memo to congressional Democrats on Monday that the party must emphasize its accomplishments at the national and local level heading into the 2024 election. The memo said the PAC conducted research showing Democrats “dramatically” improve their position when they are proactive in speaking about the economy.
“Go on offense, and build the contrast with the MAGA House Republicans immediately,” it states.
The memo, which was first reported by Politico, references several key legislative accomplishments of the Biden administration, including the bipartisan infrastructure package, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The chips legislation provided billions of dollars in incentives for manufacturers to build domestic semiconductor plants, while the Inflation Reduction Act made significant investments in climate programs, allowed Medicare to negotiate on some drug prices and raised taxes on large corporations, among other initiatives.
The memo also states that “month after month” has shown President Biden’s “Bidenomics” economic policy is working.
The push to highlight economic issues comes as Biden’s approval rating, especially on the economy, remains underwater. A CNBC All-America Economic Survey earlier this month found that 37 percent of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, compared to 58 percent who disapproved.
The PAC said Democrats need to point to continued job growth that dropped the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent last month and declining inflation as evidence of the party’s success.
The memo also urges Democrats to target Republicans as “extremist” and threatening economic progress. It said they should note the battle over raising the debt ceiling in the spring and the potential government shutdown in September if Congress does not pass the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government.
The PAC also called on Democrats to go on offense over abortion, pointing to the annual defense bill the Republican-controlled House passed that would prohibit the Department of Defense from reimbursing service members who travel to receive an abortion. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/hill-politics/top-house-democratic-pac-urging-members-to-lean-into-economy/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:33 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/hill-politics/top-house-democratic-pac-urging-members-to-lean-into-economy/ |
Erica Campbell has been getting us up for years under the Reach Media network. Her delightful voice and soulful sound sets the tone for us every morning, broadcasting to over 40 markets across the country. Campbell has been named one of the finalist for the 2023 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalist for Syndicated Personality of the Year Award.
RELATED: Erica Campbell, Patti LaBelle Among New Honorary Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha:
NAB’s history of awarding excellence in radio dates all the way back to 1989, named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi. For over three decades we have been recognizing broadcasting excellence in its essence, honoring radio stations and individuals for their excellence and performance in radio across the country..
Erica Campbell was nominated last year for the 2022 Syndicated Personality of the Year Award, and Campbell will be recognized again on this honorable platform for all that she brings to the air everyday with a nomination at the 2023 Marconi Radio Awards.
Here is the full list of Nominations for the 2023 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalist for Syndicated Personality of the Year Award
Katie Neal, Audacy, Nashville, Tenn.
Enrique Santos, WZTU-FM Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
George Noory, Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Rich Eisen, Westwood One, Los Angeles, Calif.
Congratulations! Erica Campbell 2023 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalist for “Network/Syndicated Personality Of The Year” was originally published on rnbphilly.com | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588855/congratulations-erica-campbell-2023-nab-marconi-radio-award-finalist-for-network-syndicated-personality-of-the-year/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:39 | 0 | https://wzakcleveland.com/4588855/congratulations-erica-campbell-2023-nab-marconi-radio-award-finalist-for-network-syndicated-personality-of-the-year/ |
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (WIVB) — Bills fans (and players) got an encouraging sight Monday morning at training camp — Damar Hamlin in pads.
This is the first time the safety, who’s entering his third year with the NFL, was spotted in pads since the late-season Cincinnati game this past January where the then-24-year-old collapsed on the field as a result of cardiac arrest.
Miraculously, that frightening night was not the end of Hamlin’s career. In fact, he was fully cleared to return to football just months later, following the end of the 2022 season.
Hamlin was intent on returning to the sport all along. Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in April that he was taking part in the team’s offseason workout program, which is voluntary. Back at practice in May, sans helmet, Hamlin took part in individual drills and stretching.
Hamlin had a combined 91 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the 2022 season.
Buffalo Bills
- Mystery group buying land near Air Force base is suing farmers, congressman says
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- Taylor Swift fans warned to avoid ‘Cruel Summer’ with ticket scam in California | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/damar-hamlin-practicing-in-pads-for-first-time-since-collapse/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:39 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/damar-hamlin-practicing-in-pads-for-first-time-since-collapse/ |
HIALEAH, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge in Florida has thrown out a multi-million dollar lawsuit involving microwavable mac and cheese.
The $5 million lawsuit claimed the Kraft Heinz Food Company misled the public about the time it takes to prepare Velveeta microwavable mac and cheese cups.
According to court records, a West Palm Beach-based law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of a woman from Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 18.
The lawsuit alleged that the Kraft Heinz Food Company violated federal law by saying the mac and cheese cups take 3½ minutes to prepare, arguing that the time limit does not include the time it takes to remove the lid, add water and stir in the cheese sauce.
The lawsuit had claimed Amanda Ramirez bought the product for a “premium price” of $10.99 “between October and November 2022, among other times.” However, it did not say how long it actually took Ramirez to prepare the mac and cheese.
The suit described Ramirez as someone who “looks to bold statements of value when quickly selecting groceries”, and “like many consumers who seek to stretch their money as far as possible when buying groceries.”
Despite the arguments, a Miami district judge threw out the lawsuit. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:45 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/florida-judge-tosses-5-million-lawsuit-over-microwavable-mac-and-cheese/ |
HAZLET, N.J. (WPIX) – A New Jersey family is suing a movie theater chain after the mother and her son, who has autism, were thrown out.
Their offense? The mother took her son into the women’s restroom when he needed to go to the bathroom.
“All this time, it was humiliating and scary for my son,” Christine Gallinaro, of Holmdel, told WPIX.
It was supposed to be a fun trip to the movies for Gallinaro and her 15-year-old son, John.
Gallinaro‘s husband wasn’t with them, so when John, who is nonverbal, had to go to the bathroom, she took him into the ladies’ room at Cinemark‘s Hazlet 12. There was no family restroom.
Gallinaro said no one in the ladies’ room complained. She said many understood that her son has special needs and needed an adult to help him. But the theater manager let her and her son know she disapproved.
“I asked her if there was a problem. I explained that he was disabled, and she said a grown man should not be in this bathroom,” Gallinaro said.
Gallinaro said the manager called security and then the police to eject them from the movie theater. On the cellphone video, Gallinaro said it was clear to her that the security and police were sympathetic to her plight.
The Gallinaros filed a lawsuit last week against the movie theater chain.
“What happened that day was unlawful, wrong, and bizarre,” said Austin Tobin, the Gallinaro family’s lawyer.
“Since this happened and has been made public, there has been an overwhelming response of support, particularly from mothers of disabled children,” Gallinaro said.
A few days after the June 16 incident, Gallinaro said the movie theater regional manager reached out to offer a refund, but the mother said the humiliation was too great.
WPIX contacted the movie theater for comment on the allegations but did not receive a response. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:51 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/humiliating-mom-son-with-autism-thrown-out-of-nj-theater-for-using-ladies-room/ |
(The Hill) — The Department of Education released a beta website on Monday for the Biden administration’s new income-driven student loan repayment plan, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
“A beta version of the updated [Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)] application is now available and includes the option to enroll in the new SAVE Plan – the most affordable repayment plan yet,” the department said on the site.
Previously, the administration had numerous IDR options for borrowers, which advocates have said led to a confusing system for borrowers.
The new SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan, one of the most widely used out of the four IDR options available to borrowers. The other three IDR plans will be phased out by the department or limited in the future.
The SAVE plan will make three significant changes this year compared to the REPAYE option. The first raises the income exemption from 150 percent above the poverty line to 225 percent, meaning a single person earning less than $32,800 would have $0 monthly payments under the plan.
The plan also won’t allow unpaid interest to grow if a person is making their monthly student loan payments. Lastly, spousal income for borrowers who are married and file separately will not be included.
The website – first reported by CNN — shows a demo of the application process, where some information such as tax returns can be automatically inserted due to information the government has on file for a borrower.
“We will be able to show borrowers their exact monthly payment amount and give them the ability to choose the most affordable repayment plan for them,” one official told CNN.
Officials told the network the full website launch will happen in August after the department has time to assess the site’s performance during the beta launch. Those who apply for SAVE during the beta period will not have to reapply after the full launch.
Those on the previous REPAYE IDR plan will be automatically enrolled in the new plan and do not need to use the launched application.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Education for comment on the beta launch.
Other aspects of the SAVE program will be implemented next year such as payments getting reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent of income above 225 percent of the poverty line for undergraduate loans.
The SAVE plan, touted as the most generous IDR plan by the administration, is expected to cost between $150 billion to $350 billion a year, according to varying estimates.
The launch of the SAVE plan comes two months before borrowers end their three-year-long pause on student loan payments and begin President Joe Biden’s “on-ramp” repayment system.
Under the system, interest will still accrue, but borrowers will not be penalized in other ways such as credit score ratings for not paying their student loan payments up until Sept. 2024. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ | 2023-07-31T15:53:57 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/new-income-driven-student-loan-repayment-plan-available-to-borrowers/ |
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.
***
DEAR ANNIE: I just read a letter from “Sad Mama,” who says her son wanted nine people to stay in a four-person vacation home. I can say that her concern about the septic system is valid. I work as an inspector who checks these systems daily. Overuse of these systems can cause expensive repairs, or even replacement of the entire unit, depending upon state codes.
Her son should be thankful the family has any kind of vacation home. One of the problems of our world is everyone wants more. Be happy with what you’ve got! -- The Septic Lady
DEAR SEPTIC LADY: I always love hearing from experts in their field. Thank you for your insight.
***
MORE FROM DEAR ANNIE:
Dear Annie: How can we get our daughter to move out without having our grandson taken away from us?
Dear Annie: Most would want to end their marriage after finding their partner cheated ... not me
Dear Annie: Most would want to end their marriage after finding their partner cheated ... not me
Dear Annie: Thoughts on elderly folks behind the wheel
Dear Annie: Nurse tells patient’s relative she doesn’t want a ‘sugar daddy’
***
“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology -- featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation -- is available as a paperback and ebook. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information.
Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM | https://www.nj.com/advice/2023/07/dear-annie-my-daughter-in-law-constantly-belittles-my-son-and-its-unbearable-for-me.html | 2023-07-31T15:53:57 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/advice/2023/07/dear-annie-my-daughter-in-law-constantly-belittles-my-son-and-its-unbearable-for-me.html |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the second annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Founded by the singer in 1989, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children aims to empower youth, by providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.” | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:03 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/whitney-at-60-houston-estate-announces-2nd-annual-gala/ |
A child who rode with her family on a rollercoaster at American Dream’s Nickelodeon Universe theme park last year ended up in the hospital after she smashed her face into the seat in front of her and broke her front teeth, according to a lawsuit.
In court papers, the girl’s parents, of New York City, say on June 25, 2022, they boarded the Slime Streak, a 5-car roller coaster that has no padding and reaches speeds of up to 35 mph as it courses through the indoor amusement park.
“The cars suddenly and unexpectedly jerked with great force. (The child) was violently thrown forward, striking her face on the hard plastic of the car in which she was riding,” states the suit, filed July 20 in Superior Court of Bergen County.
When the ride came to a full stop, the girl realized her top front teeth had broken off and she had injuries to her lips, bottom teeth and gums, alleges the lawsuit.
“Her siblings were extremely distressed to see their younger sister injured and dismayed at seeing the two broken teeth in Chloe’s hand after the accident,” the lawsuit says.
A spokesperson for American Dream declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying on Monday the company does not discuss pending litigation.
The complaint does not contain the child’s age but the attorney who filed the lawsuit said she is under age 15.
The attorney, Robert J. Kinney of Far Hills, said the parents have asked the child’s name and exact age be withheld from publication.
The girl was tended to by emergency personnel at American Dream before being placed in a neck brace and transported in a wheelchair to a waiting ambulance, according to the suit.
The girl was taken to a local hospital and has since undergone orthodontia and other medical procedures “to repair her teeth and to address the additional damages to her face,” the lawsuit says.
In addition to American Dream, the family is suing the manufacturer of the ride, and several unnamed workers at the park, claiming the negligence and a failure to warn the public about alleged risks associated with the ride.
The lawsuit is the latest alleged mishap at the massive retail and entertainment mall complex, which began opening in stages beginning in 2019.
Xavier Velez, 30, of Elmwood Park, says he slid down the Zany & Zanier Zigzag slide in the waterpark on July 2, 2021, but the pool at the end of the slide wasn’t filled properly, causing him to fracture his leg, according to the suit his attorneys filed on June 22.
Velez’s negligence suit was filed a few months after four people were hurt in a separate incident when a large decorative helicopter fell from the rafters and landed in a pool at the water park.
In addition, the family of construction worker Eric S. Papenfuhs, 37, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the mall and several businesses after Papenfuhs was killed on Oct. 9, 2019, when the Bobcat vehicle he was driving collided with the rear of a flatbed truck.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. | https://www.nj.com/bergen/2023/07/child-broke-front-teeth-on-jerking-roller-coaster-at-american-dream-mall-lawsuit-says.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:04 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/bergen/2023/07/child-broke-front-teeth-on-jerking-roller-coaster-at-american-dream-mall-lawsuit-says.html |
(Our Auto Expert) – The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is here to redefine the legacy of the world’s best-selling sports car. As the latest addition to the Mustang family, this remarkable vehicle marks a new chapter in its 59-year history. With its powerful engine, cutting-edge technology, and captivating design, the Mustang Dark Horse is set to wow both existing fans and a new generation of sports car enthusiasts.
The Mustang Dark Horse boasts the first new Mustang performance series title in 21 years. It is also the most powerful non-Shelby edition ever created, thanks to its unique 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine that churns out an impressive 500 horsepower. However, the Dark Horse is not just about raw horsepower; it is a vehicle designed for both street and track use.
Equipped with available carbon fiber wheels from Carbon Revolution and the Handling Package, the Mustang Dark Horse is the most track-capable 5.0-liter V8 street-legal Mustang ever produced. Its performance is further enhanced by the specially designed blue ember metallic paint, adding exclusivity to this exceptional vehicle.
The Mustang Dark Horse exudes a menacing presence with its bold shadow graphic surrounding the darkened LED headlamps, lower side skirts, rear fixed rear wing, new race-inspired diffuser, and darkened quad exhaust tips. Its design is a testament to the Mustang’s storied motorsports history, combining aggression and elegance in one stunning package.
This powerhouse of a car comes equipped with a full suite of next-gen technology specifically designed to enhance performance. The standard MagneRide shocks, capable of monitoring wheel and tire movement 1,000 times per second, ensure an unparalleled driving experience. The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a pretty face; it’s a technologically advanced beast.
For those who prefer manual control, the Mustang Dark Horse comes standard with a unique six-speed TREMEC manual transmission and a special Mustang Dark Horse transmission oil cooler to keep the stallion cool under pressure. Alternatively, there is the option to choose Ford’s advanced 10-speed automatic transmission for seamless gear changes.
The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a car; it’s a symbol of Mustang’s storied motorsports history. With its unique design, powerful engine, and advanced technology, it is set to make history itself. This street and track performance Mustang is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come.
Conclusion:
If you’re in search of a car that combines style, performance, and innovation, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the ultimate choice. Its powerful engine, track-ready capabilities, and advanced technology are a testament to the Mustang’s legacy. Whether you’re an existing fan or a new sports car lover, the Mustang Dark Horse is sure to ignite your excitement. Get ready to experience the thrill of the road like never before. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/reviews/br/automotive-br/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:07 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/reviews/br/automotive-br/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ |
A woman who was found unconscious Saturday afternoon at Rutgers University in Newark and later died in a hospital had been previously diagnosed with numerous medical issues, authorities said Monday.
Jaleila Wilson, 42, of Newark, died at about 4:30 p.m. after suffering cardiac arrest at University Hospital in Newark.
Rutgers-Newark police officers found Wilson at about 12:40 p.m. after responding to a call about an unresponsive woman in the 100 block of Bleeker Street outside a university building, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The street is close to several Rutgers-Newark buildings, including the campus library, student center and residence halls.
Wilson was taken to the nearby hospital, where she died, according to the prosecutor’s office.
On Monday, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told NJ Advance Media the woman was dehydrated on a day when temperatures in Newark reached in the 90s. She also had a high fever and had been diagnosed with chronic health issues.
However, foul play has not been ruled out, said the source, who asked not to be identified while the case remains under investigation.
Wilson worked for the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy, which is part of the state’s Division of Consumer Affairs.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. | https://www.nj.com/essex/2023/07/woman-found-unresponsive-on-rutgers-campus-may-have-died-from-medical-episode.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:10 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/essex/2023/07/woman-found-unresponsive-on-rutgers-campus-may-have-died-from-medical-episode.html |
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New Jersey was well-represented on a global scale. All eyes turned to the Garden State as four men’s swimmers glided to medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Jack Alexy, Matt Fallon, Nic Fink and Dare Rose each collected at least one podium to help USA Swimming earn Team of the Meet honors following 38 total medals and 1,082 points registered, the most among all countries. | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/07/nj-swimmers-shine-for-usa-at-2023-world-aquatics-championships-in-japan.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:16 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/07/nj-swimmers-shine-for-usa-at-2023-world-aquatics-championships-in-japan.html |
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How to protect your home from harsh weather One of the biggest tasks you face as a homeowner is your never-ending battle with Mother Nature. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/weather/ksee24-weather/mountains-national-parks-forecast-937/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:19 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/weather/ksee24-weather/mountains-national-parks-forecast-937/ |
The body of a swimmer who went missing Saturday in a reservoir in a park in Monmouth County was recovered Sunday morning.
The swimmer, described only as a male, vanished while in Swimming River Reservoir at Thompson Park Point within Thompson Park in Middletown, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office said.
Several county and state emergency responders searched for the swimmer by air and in the water until 11:30 p.m. Saturday before resuming the next morning, officials said.
The person’s identity was not immediately disclosed.
Built in 1901, the reservoir is on the border of Colts Neck, Holmdel and the Lincroft section of Middletown.
“We are deeply saddened over the tragic loss of this swimmer and thoughts remain with his family,” Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said in a statement. “While the outcome is not what we had hoped for, the brave rescue efforts of all involved in their attempts to rescue and then recover the victim is commended.”
“It’s extremely important to always take the proper precautions in the water and adhere to posted regulations,” he added.
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. | https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2023/07/body-of-missing-swimmer-recovered-in-reservoir-at-nj-park-officials-say.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:22 | 0 | https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2023/07/body-of-missing-swimmer-recovered-in-reservoir-at-nj-park-officials-say.html |
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Every smart thermostat essential you need to learn A smart thermostat could be the answer to several problems. Read on to learn what makes them a brilliant addition to your home. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/weather/ksee24-weather/south-valley-forecast-1804/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:27 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/weather/ksee24-weather/south-valley-forecast-1804/ |
A Newark-bound Delta Airline flight returned to Boston shortly after takeoff Sunday after an anonymous caller tipped off police in New Jersey about an alleged threat made by a passenger, authorities said.
Massachusetts State Police troopers removed the man from the plane after it touched down at Logan International Airport before his two carry-on bags were searched by a K9 dogs from the State Police’s bomb squad, the agency said in a statement.
Nothing out of the ordinary was found in his bags, officials said. He had no checked luggage, Massachusetts State Police added. No one has been charged as of Monday morning and the investigation is ongoing.
The caller reported the threat to an unspecified “New Jersey police agency,” Massachusetts State Police said.
Originally scheduled to take off from Boston Logan International Airport at 5:29 p.m., Delta flight 5770 departed at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, according to FlightAware.com.
After learning of the alleged threat, the plane was back on the ground in Boston at 6:40 p.m.
The flight — operated by Republic Airlines — took off a second time at 9:43 p.m. and finally touched down in New Jersey at 10:30 p.m.
Delta Airlines didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information on Monday.
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. | https://www.nj.com/news/2023/07/flight-headed-for-nj-turns-back-to-boston-after-alleged-threat.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:28 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/news/2023/07/flight-headed-for-nj-turns-back-to-boston-after-alleged-threat.html |
17-month-old girl dies, mom arrested in sexual assault case, police say
BELL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT/Gray news) - A 17-month-old child has died following a sexual assault case, police said.
The incident started Friday night when the girl was taken to Middlesboro ARH Hospital with severe injuries.
Because of the extent of her injuries, she was flown out to Children’s Hospital in Knoxville.
Police said the medical staff tried to stabilize the toddler, but the child died Sunday night.
Following her death, Middlesboro Police started investigating who was responsible for the incident that caused the death of the little girl.
That same night, police interviewed the mother, Erica Lawson, 21, of Mount Vernon, who police said was eventually arrested in connection with the case.
She is charged with manslaughter, failure to report child abuse, criminal abuse and wanton endangerment.
Police said they expect to make another arrest in this case soon.
Lawson was taken to the Bell County Detention Center.
Copyright 2023 WYMT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/17-month-old-girl-dies-mom-arrested-sexual-assault-case-police-say/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:29 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/17-month-old-girl-dies-mom-arrested-sexual-assault-case-police-say/ |
Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:30 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ |
The FBI should face new limits on its use of US foreign spy data, a key intelligence board says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should stop using a U.S. spy database of foreigners’ emails and other communications for investigating crimes that aren’t related to national security, a group of White House intelligence advisers recommended in a report released Monday.
The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board’s findings come as the White House pushes Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its expiration at the end of this year. U.S. intelligence officials say Section 702 enables investigations of Chinese and Russian espionage, potential terrorist plots, and other threats.
But spy agencies also end up capturing the communications of U.S. citizens and businesses, and a series of intelligence mistakes at the FBI has fanned bipartisan criticism of the bureau that has shaped the debate over renewing the law. Some lawmakers in both parties and civil liberties groups have called for stronger curbs on how the FBI uses foreign surveillance to search for Americans’ data.
While the White House did not commit to accepting the recommended changes, administration officials on Monday praised the board’s work and again called on Congress to reauthorize the surveillance program. The board argues in its report that Section 702 is critical to U.S. national security and suggests that allowing the program to lapse would be an “intelligence failure” and a step backward from changes made after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The board says the FBI made “inappropriate use” at times of Section 702 information. Those include queries for a U.S. senator and state senator’s names without properly limiting the search, looking for someone believed to have been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and doing large queries of names of protesters following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
“Unfortunately, complacency, a lack of proper procedures, and the sheer volume of Section 702 activity led to FBI’s inappropriate use of Section 702 authorities, specifically U.S. person queries,” the board said in its report. “U.S. person queries” generally mean searches for U.S. citizens and businesses.
The board recommends the FBI no longer search the data when it is seeking evidence of a crime not related to national security. Currently, the FBI conducts fewer than two dozen such searches a year, a senior administration official told reporters Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
The White House has not decided whether it will accept the recommendation but is studying the board’s work and report, the official said.
The board’s report largely lines up with the White House’s positions on other changes being debated in Congress. The board opposed requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant before it searches Section 702 data, saying that change would be impractical. It also says the FBI needs to maintain access to foreign spy collection because unlike other intelligence agencies, it has law enforcement authorities inside the U.S. and can warn Americans that they are being targeted by foreign spies or criminals.
Already, both Republicans and Democrats have called for broader changes affecting the FBI, including a handful of lawmakers in both parties who want to require warrants for any search.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., sharply questioned Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen in June about how it searches Section 702 data and signaled he would push for new protections.
“I don’t think you’ve effectively made the case that there shouldn’t be a warrant requirement, whether or not it is constitutionally required, for a U.S. person search that is crime only,” he said.
Many in the GOP, meanwhile, are furious about the FBI’s investigations of former President Donald Trump and mistakes found by the Justice Department inspector general and other reviewers.
In a statement, the FBI said the report highlighted “how crucial” foreign intelligence was to the bureau’s mission.
“We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules,” the bureau’s statement said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/fbi-should-face-new-limits-its-use-us-foreign-spy-data-key-intelligence-board-says/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:32 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/fbi-should-face-new-limits-its-use-us-foreign-spy-data-key-intelligence-board-says/ |
The following is a listing of all home transfers in Cumberland County reported from July 24 to July 30. There were 16 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 1,736-square-foot home on East Broad Street in Millville that sold for $201,000.
Bridgeton
120 York Street, Bridgeton, $80,000, 1,378 square feet, $58 per square-foot. | https://www.nj.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-cumberland-county-july-24-to-july-30.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:34 | 0 | https://www.nj.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-cumberland-county-july-24-to-july-30.html |
The following is a listing of all home transfers in Ocean County reported from July 24 to July 30. There were 194 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 1,814-square-foot home on Meadow Lake Drive in Toms River that sold for $405,000.
Barnegat
84 Pine Oak Blvd., Barnegat, $274,900, 1,172 square feet, $235 per square-foot, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. | https://www.nj.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-ocean-county-july-24-to-july-30.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:38 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/realestate-news/2023/07/see-all-homes-sold-in-ocean-county-july-24-to-july-30.html |
Hunter Biden’s former business partner appears for closed-door interview with GOP-led committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s former business partner appeared Monday for closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, with Republicans planning to question him about claims that President Joe Biden was directly involved in his younger son’s financial dealings.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee was conducting a transcribed interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their so-far fruitless search to directly connect the president to his son’s various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine.” He said Archer’s testimony would be critical to the committee’s investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. GOP lawmakers and staff present at Monday’s interview were also expected to question Archer about several business meetings and conversations Hunter Biden had during which he is said to have invoked his father’s name.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but then the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer’s appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer’s surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:39 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ |
Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin is holding out of training camp before his 10th season with the team.
Martin, an eight-time All-Pro, developed into one of the best offensive lineman of his era. His career is going to end with a stop in Canton— but putting together a Hall of Fame career might not be enough to earn a new contract with the Cowboys.
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Modern NFL teams do not always hand out large contract extensions to 32-year-old guards — which hurts Martin’s chances of getting a new deal. NFL teams prioritize contract extensions with young stars at premium positions; not older veterans.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made this abundantly clear with reporters.
“It’s not about precedent. It’s about facts,” Jones said on Saturday. “We need the money to pay [Micah] Parsons. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. It’s a fact. It’s not even a philosophy. It’s just a fact.”
The Cowboys made a step in this direction when they signed Trevon Diggs to a five-year, $97 million extension last week.
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Martin has two years remaining on his contract, making an annual salary of $14 million per year, placing him as the eighth-highest-paid guard in the NFL. He is arguably the best guard in the NFL and deserves a new contract based off his play.
However, the odds of him landing an extension are slim at this point.
“He’ll come to camp when he comes to camp,” Jones said. “There’s no resolution. There are a lot of consequences if he doesn’t. … He’s been at the top of the money all the way through, drafted high and got a lot of money, got a lot of money over the years. It’s just hard to get it all. The bottom line is, nothing needs to happen.”
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Cayden Steele may be reached at CSteele@njadvancemedia.com | https://www.nj.com/sports/2023/07/cowboys-owner-has-direct-message-to-all-time-great-who-is-holding-out.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:44 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/sports/2023/07/cowboys-owner-has-direct-message-to-all-time-great-who-is-holding-out.html |
Mother of 8 found dead in plastic storage box
CLEVELAND (WOIO/Gray News) - An Ohio woman’s remains were found in a plastic storage box nearly a year after she disappeared, WOIO reports.
The remains of 41-year-old Tyresha Little, a mother of eight, were discovered behind an abandoned home in Cleveland.
A tip to police led them to the backyard of the home on July 20.
Family and friends, including five of Little’s children, gathered outside of the abandoned home to pay tribute to her life.
“My daughter, she was a very, very loving heart. She would give you the shirt off of her back. She did have a drug background, but she had been clean for two years,” her mother said.
Little’s oldest daughter said her mother was her best friend.
“If anything, she loved her kids. There was nothing else that came before her kids,” she said.
Little’s daughter said she was hurt by what she said a Cleveland police detective told her when her mother was first reported missing.
“The very first thing they told me is, ‘She’s probably just off somewhere getting high, on a binge’ and kept asking if it was normal. I kept repeating, ‘No, no,’” she said.
Little’s family is determined to find out what happened to her since her disappearance on Aug. 30, 2022.
A group of at least 30 people released balloons into the sky chanting, “We love you, We’ll see you on the other side. Justice for Tyresha.”
WOIO reached out to the City of Cleveland regarding the family’s concerns suggesting that not every missing person’s case is treated equally. The detective on the case said it was special to him and that he has worked on it for nearly a year. He also said every missing person’s case is important, and he will continue to work tirelessly to get answers for Little’s family, including how and when the Cleveland mother died.
A $2,500 reward is still available through Crime Stoppers for anyone who provides a tip that could help determine how Little died by calling 1-800-25-CRIME. Callers can remain anonymous.
Copyright 2023 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/mother-8-found-dead-plastic-storage-box/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:46 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/mother-8-found-dead-plastic-storage-box/ |
17-month-old girl dies, mom arrested in sexual assault case, police say
BELL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT/Gray news) - A 17-month-old child has died following a sexual assault case, police said.
The incident started Friday night when the girl was taken to Middlesboro ARH Hospital with severe injuries.
Because of the extent of her injuries, she was flown out to Children’s Hospital in Knoxville.
Police said the medical staff tried to stabilize the toddler, but the child died Sunday night.
Following her death, Middlesboro Police started investigating who was responsible for the incident that caused the death of the little girl.
That same night, police interviewed the mother, Erica Lawson, 21, of Mount Vernon, who police said was eventually arrested in connection with the case.
She is charged with manslaughter, failure to report child abuse, criminal abuse and wanton endangerment.
Police said they expect to make another arrest in this case soon.
Lawson was taken to the Bell County Detention Center.
Copyright 2023 WYMT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/31/17-month-old-girl-dies-mom-arrested-sexual-assault-case-police-say/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:47 | 0 | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/31/17-month-old-girl-dies-mom-arrested-sexual-assault-case-police-say/ |
‘Our hero’: Police K-9 dies unexpectedly during surgery for sudden illness
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (Gray News) – A police K-9 in Georgia died while undergoing surgery for a sudden illness earlier this month.
According to the Lawrenceville Police Department, K-9 Hyro died unexpectedly on July 20 during surgery at UGA Veterinary Hospital in Athens.
The police department said K-9 Hyro began showing signs of illness in the days before the surgery. Officials didn’t give further details about the illness.
The day after his death, K-9 Hyro was taken to his final resting place at Oakrest Pet Gardens Funeral Home and Crematory in Bethlehem.
Police said K-9 Hyro received a farewell from hundreds of police officers across several departments.
On Monday morning, Lawrenceville police held K-9 Hyro’s funeral, including a procession route.
Police said K-9 Hyro was a “very active” police dog with an “impressive career” with Lawrenceville police. He was deployed hundreds of times during his career and assisted dozens of agencies.
“K-9 Hyro will be greatly missed. Hyro, our hero,” police wrote in a Facebook post.
Lawrenceville is located about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/our-hero-police-k-9-dies-unexpectedly-during-surgery-sudden-illness/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:49 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/our-hero-police-k-9-dies-unexpectedly-during-surgery-sudden-illness/ |
Padres fans overwhelmingly agree that Dave Winfield should be immortalized at Petco Park.
The San Diego Union-Tribune put out a poll asking readers if the Hall of Famer should get a statue at the Padres’ home field.
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92 percent of participants voted “Yes.”
A first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2001, Winfield was the first player to enter the hall wearing a Padres cap.
The outfielder was picked by San Diego fourth overall in the 1973 MLB draft and was promoted directly to the majors, making his debut against the Houston Astros on June 19, 1973, at San Diego Stadium. He scratched out an infield hit — the first of 3,110 career hits. He was safe with a head-first slide.
The Yankees signed Winfield to a record $23 million, 10-year free-agent contract after the 1980 season. He retired with a .283 batting average over 22 seasons, with 465 home runs, 1,833 RBIs and 223 stolen bases. A 12-time All-Star, he won seven Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers.
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He serves as a special assistant to Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark.
Per the Union-Tribune, these are the three statues at Petco Park:
• Outfielder Tony Gwynn, unveiled in July 2007, a week before he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
• Closer Trevor Hoffman, unveiled in August 2018, three weeks after his induction at Cooperstown.
• Jerry Coleman, unveiled in September 2012, who went into the Hall of Fame in 2005 for his broadcasting work.
Winfield had a 22-year MLB career and spent time with six clubs. While at the University of Minnesota, he had every major pro sport hounding him. A starting forward on the Minnesota basketball team, Winfield was drafted by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the ABA’s Utah Stars. He had never played college football, but the Minnesota Vikings drafted him as a tight end. He had options, and chose baseball.
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Bridget Hyland may be reached at bhyland@njadvancemedia.com | https://www.nj.com/sports/2023/07/padres-fans-say-yankees-great-should-have-statue.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:50 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/sports/2023/07/padres-fans-say-yankees-great-should-have-statue.html |
Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:54 | 0 | https://www.kalb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ |
Sanchez and Snell lead the Padres to a 5-3 win over the Rangers for a 3-game sweep
Gary Sanchez homered twice, Juan Soto doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr. from first base and left-hander Blake Snell had another strong start for the San Diego Padres, who beat the struggling Texas Rangers 5-3 for a three-game sweep
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Gary Sánchez homered twice, Juan Soto doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr. from first base and left-hander Blake Snell had another strong start for the San Diego Padres, who beat the struggling Texas Rangers 5-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.
Hours earlier, Texas announced the acquisition of Max Scherzer from the New York Mets and obtained left-hander Jordan Montgomery from the St. Louis Cardinals. The AL West leaders then lost for the seventh time in nine games while keeping a one-game lead over the Houston Astros, who lost 8-2 to Tampa Bay.
“It's behind us already,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We're off tomorrow, regroup, see if we can get back on track and and play our brand of ball. It was a tough series. We faced some really good pitching.”
Bochy said the Rangers' batters expanded the strike zone “more than what we had been doing. Just shows you that we were maybe a little anxious, a little amped up. We've got to get back to who we are.”
Josh Hader retired Josh Jung with the bases loaded in the ninth inning for his 25th save in 29 chances.
Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim exited with a jammed right shoulder after sliding headfirst into home plate on Xander Bogaerts' sacrifice fly in the third.
The disappointing Padres, who reached the NL Championship Series last season and then bulked up their payroll to about $250 million, must decide by Tuesday's trade deadline whether they'll be buyers or sellers. They came into Sunday buried in fourth place in the NL West, nine games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and 5 1/2 games out of the third wild-card spot.
The Padres' three-game winning streak matches their season best. It came after two dismal losses to Pittsburgh, which at the time was last in the NL Central. It was just their second three-game sweep of the season.
After the Pittsburgh series, Tatis said the Padres' play had been “terrible.” That all changed in three games.
“It’s huge. I feel like we needed this a long time ago,” Tatis said Sunday. “It was really good baseball this series — offense backing up pitching, pitching backing up offense — and hopefully we can keep this going.”
Snell (8-8), who has been mentioned as a trade possibility, along with Hader, lowered his big league-leading ERA to 2.50 by holding the Rangers to an unearned run and four hits in five innings. He struck out nine and walked four. The only run he allowed came on his throwing error in the fourth.
“It feels good,” Snell said. “Texas is a really, really good team. Great offense. We knew that coming into it and knew we had to make our pitches this series and it went our way.”
As for the looming trade deadline, “I don't want to go anywhere,” Snell said.
Sánchez homered leading off the fourth against Jose Leclerc (0-2) for a 2-1 lead and connected again with two outs in the fifth off Brock Burke for a 4-1 lead. He has 12 this season.
Tatis reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth and scored on Soto's opposite-field double into the corner in left.
The Rangers pulled to 4-3 on Marcus Semien's two-run single off Nick Martinez in the sixth.
Tatis hit an RBI single in the eighth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: Placed RHP Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with a right forearm strain and recalled right-hander Grant Anderson from Triple-A Round Rock.
Padres: Manager Bob Melvin said it's his guess Kim won't play Monday night “but hopefully it's not too long.”
UP NEXT
Rangers: Hadn't announced their starter for Tuesday night's opener of a three-game home series against the Chicago White Sox.
Padres: RHP Seth Lugo (4-5, 3.62 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night in the opener of a series at Colorado, which will counter with LHP Austin Gomber (8-8, 5.83).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/sanchez-snell-lead-padres-5-3-win-over-rangers-3-game-sweep/ | 2023-07-31T15:54:56 | 1 | https://www.kbtx.com/2023/07/31/sanchez-snell-lead-padres-5-3-win-over-rangers-3-game-sweep/ |
With a little help from his friends, San Diego Padres catcher Gary Sánchez has unlocked steady production that has eluded him in recent seasons.
A two-time All-Star with the New York Yankees, Sánchez’s future in the major leagues grew dicey as he couldn’t hit and was a liability on defense.
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But the Padres, who signed Sánchez after a stint with the New York Mets, have found a solution and it features a tandem with Luis Campusano that has afforded Sanchez more time off from catching.
“He got off to such a hot start offensively and he was catching every single game, day games after night games,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said, per The San Diego Union-Tribune. “It has helped him some that he’s been able to DH and not catch every day.”
While Sánchez is only batting .214/.295/.487 with 12 home runs and 31 RBI with the Padres, it has been worth a 115 OPS+, making it his most productive stint since his 2019 All-Star season with the Yankees. But after six home runs in his first 13 games with San Diego, Sánchez slumped. The All-Star break and more time off have fueled a .263/.356/.711 line with five home runs in 12 second-half games.
“I think it’s natural for your legs to maybe feel a little stronger when you’re not catching every day,” Sanchez said through interpreter Danny Sanchez. “But at the end of the day, I’m a catcher, so if the manager has me in the lineup catching every single day, I’m going to be ready.”
Since starting his career as a 22-year-old with the Yankees in 2015 and spending seven seasons in New York, Sánchez has tried to resurrect his career amid a downfall. He ended his Yankees tenure with a .230/.318/.487 slash line -- and two consecutive down seasons -- then was traded in March 2022 with Gio Urshela to the Minnesota Twins for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.
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San Francisco grabbed him as a free agent in April 2023, but he was released a month later after not getting into a major league game. The Mets then signed him and used him in Triple-A before a three-game stint with the big league club and subsequent release.
Now, Sánchez hopes he’s found a home in San Diego.
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Jimmy Hascup may be reached at jhascup@njadvancemedia.com. | https://www.nj.com/yankees/2023/07/has-ex-yankees-bust-gary-sanchez-found-secret-to-consistent-bat.html | 2023-07-31T15:54:56 | 0 | https://www.nj.com/yankees/2023/07/has-ex-yankees-bust-gary-sanchez-found-secret-to-consistent-bat.html |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing "harmful" materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court's ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
"The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties," Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be "reviewing the judge's opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law."
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge's 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
"As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!" he said in an email.
"I'm relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS' librarians has lifted," he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is "thrilled" about the decision. She said enforcing this law "is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can."
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state's 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library's decision to move children's books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas' restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.knkx.org/2023-07-30/an-arkansas-judge-has-blocked-a-law-targeting-librarians-over-harmful-books | 2023-07-31T15:55:00 | 0 | https://www.knkx.org/2023-07-30/an-arkansas-judge-has-blocked-a-law-targeting-librarians-over-harmful-books |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The 83rd Arkansas State Fair is returning to Little Rock Friday, October 13, through Sunday, October 22!
To kick off this year, fair officials have announced an exclusive Fair Frenzy promotion and the main stage concert lineup.
The Fair Frenzy promotion will offer customers huge discounts on gate admissions and ride bands from August 1 and ends August 14.
The fair continues to offer free concerts with gate admission. Advance premium concert seating will also be available for $20.
“This year’s Fair will be one for the ages,” said Tiffany Wilkerson, State Fair General Manager. “Our entertainment line-up, free attractions, and carnival midway are shaping up to be better than ever.”
This year's headline music acts will include:
- Oct. 13: Phil Vassar with special guest Mat Stell
- Oct. 14: Morris Day and the Time
- Oct. 15: Hispanic Concert Series presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka / La Cultura Nortena with Enigmatico
- Oct. 16: Jettway Music School with Zac Dunlap Bank
- Oct. 17: Amplify presents Faith and Family Night / Featuring Crowder and Nick Hall
- Oct. 18: Artist to be revealed soon!
- Oct. 19: All-4-One
- Oct. 20: Uncle Kracker
- Oct. 21: Night Ranger
- Oct. 22: Hispanic Concert Series presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka / La Fuerza Del Rio Conchos with La Tropa Del Norte
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the Arkansas State Fair's website. | https://www.thv11.com/article/entertainment/events/arkansas-state-fair-2023-october/91-4c025c0c-1b40-4351-91ef-52fb7dd0ee25 | 2023-07-31T15:55:00 | 0 | https://www.thv11.com/article/entertainment/events/arkansas-state-fair-2023-october/91-4c025c0c-1b40-4351-91ef-52fb7dd0ee25 |