text string | url string | crawl_date timestamp[ms] | label int64 | id string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was extending the order, which was set to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.
“In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
When the Transportation Security Administration, which enforces the rule for planes, buses, trains and transit hubs, extended the requirement last month, it said the CDC had been hoping to roll out a more flexible masking strategy that would have replaced the nationwide requirement.
The mask mandate is the most visible vestige of government restrictions to control the pandemic, and possibly the most controversial. A surge of abusive and sometimes violent incidents on airplanes has been attributed mostly to disputes over mask-wearing.
Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.
There has been a slight increase in cases in recent weeks, driven by the BA.2 strain, with daily confirmed cases nationwide rising from about 25,000 per day to more than 30,000. Those figures are an undercount since many people now test positive on at-home tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
Severe illnesses and deaths tend to lag infections by several weeks. The CDC is awaiting indications of whether the increase in cases correlates to a rise in adverse outcomes before announcing a less restrictive mask policy for travel. | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-source-cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks/ | 2022-04-13T17:13:26 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/ap-source-cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks/ |
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Joe Biden has now said Russia’s war in Ukraine amounts to “genocide,” accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.”
“Yes, I called it genocide,” he told reporters in Iowa on Tuesday shortly before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. “It’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.”
Last week, Biden stopped short of saying Russia’s actions amounted to genocide.
At an earlier event Tuesday in Menlo, Iowa, addressing spiking energy prices caused by the war, Biden had implied that he thought Putin was carrying out genocide against Ukraine, but offered no details. Neither he nor his administration announced new consequences for Russia or assistance to Ukraine following Biden’s public assessment.
Biden’s comments drew praise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had encouraged Western leaders to use the term to describe Russia’s invasion of his country. French President Emmanuel Macron declined to take his rhetoric that far in comments Wednesday.
“I am prudent with terms today,” Macron said. “Genocide has a meaning. The Ukrainian people and Russian people are brotherly people. It’s madness what’s happening today. It’s unbelievable brutality and a return to war in Europe. But at the same time I look at the facts, and I want to continue to try the utmost to be able to stop the war and restore peace. I’m not sure if the escalation of words serves our cause.”
Macron said it’s been established that the Russian army has committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy praised with Biden’s assessment.
“True words of a true leader @POTUS,” he tweeted Tuesday. “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil. We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities.”
A United Nations treaty, to which the U.S. is a party, defines genocide as actions taken with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that “there are official processes around determinations of genocide” but added of Biden’s using the term, “I think it’s absolutely right that more people … (are) talking and using the word genocide in terms of what Russia is doing and Vladimir Putin has done.”
“The way they are targeting Ukrainian identity and culture, these are all things that are war crimes that Putin that is responsible for,” Trudeau said. “These are things that are crimes against humanity.”
Past American leaders often have dodged formally declaring bloody campaigns such as Russia’s in Ukraine as genocide, hesitating to trigger an obligation that under international convention requires signing countries to intervene once genocide is formally identified. That obligation was seen as blocking President Bill Clinton from declaring Rwandan Hutus’ killing of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis in 1994 as genocide, for example.
Biden said it would be up to lawyers to decide if Russia’s conduct met the international standard for genocide, as Ukrainian officials have claimed, but said “it sure seems that way to me.”
“More evidence is coming out literally of the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine, and we’re only going to learn more and more about the devastation and let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies,” he said.
Just last week Biden said he did not believe Russia’s actions amounted to genocide, just that they constituted “war crimes.”
During a trip to Europe last month, Biden faced controversy for a nine-word statement seemingly supporting regime change in Moscow, which would have represented a dramatic shift toward direct confrontation with another nuclear-armed country. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Putin.
He clarified the comments days later, saying: “I was expressing the moral outrage that I felt toward this man. I wasn’t articulating a policy change.”
___
Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report. | https://www.wivb.com/news/biden-russia-war-a-genocide-trying-to-wipe-out-ukraine-2/ | 2022-04-13T17:13:33 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/biden-russia-war-a-genocide-trying-to-wipe-out-ukraine-2/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mentions of Donald Trump have been rare at the first few trials for people charged with storming the U.S. Capitol, but that has changed: The latest Capitol riot defendant to go on trial is blaming his actions on the former president and his false claims about a stolen election.
Dustin Byron Thompson, an Ohio man charged with stealing a coat rack from the Capitol, doesn’t deny that he joined the mob on Jan. 6, 2021. But his lawyer vowed Tuesday to show that Trump abused his power to “authorize” the attack.
Describing Trump as a man without scruples or integrity, defense attorney Samuel Shamansky said the former president engaged in a “sinister” plot to encourage Thompson and other supporters to “do his dirty work.”
“It’s Donald Trump himself spewing the lies and using his position to authorize this assault,” Shamansky told jurors Tuesday during the trial’s opening statements.
Justice Department prosecutor Jennifer Rozzoni said Thompson knew he was breaking the law that day.
“He chose to be a part of the mayhem and chaos,” she said.
Thompson’s lawyer sought subpoenas to call Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as witnesses at his trial this week. A judge rejected that request but ruled that jurors can hear recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered at a rally before the riot.
Thompson’s jury trial is the third among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. The first two ended with jurors convicting both defendants on all counts with which they were charged.
In a February court filing, Shamansky said he wanted to argue at trial that Thompson was acting at the direction of Trump and “his various conspirators.” The lawyer asked to subpoena others from Trump’s inner circle, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon, former White House senior adviser Stephen Millerand former Trump lawyers John Eastman and Sidney Powell.
Prosecutors said Thompson can’t show that Trump or Giuliani had the authority to “empower” him to break the law. They also noted that video of the rally speeches “perfectly captures” the tone, delivery and context of the statements to the extent they are “marginally relevant” to proof of Thompson’s intent on Jan. 6.
Thompson’s lawyer argued that Trump would testify that he and others “ orchestrated a carefully crafted plot to call into question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.” Shamansky claimed that Giuliani incited rioters by encouraging them to engage in “trial by combat” and that Trump provoked the mob by saying that “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Shamansky said Thompson, who lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, became an avid consumer of the conspiracy theories and lies about a stolen election.
“This is the garbage that Dustin Thompson is listening to day after day after day,” Shamansky said. “He goes down this rabbit hole. He listens to this echo chamber. And he acts accordingly.”
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled in Marchthat any in-person testimony by Trump or Giuliani could confuse and mislead jurors.
More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes arising from Jan. 6. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Thompson is the fifth person to be tried on riot-related charges.
On Monday, a jury convicted a former Virginia police officer, Thomas Robertson, of storming the Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Last month, a jury convicted a Texas man, Guy Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun.
A judge hearing testimony without a jury decided cases against two other Capitol riot defendants at separate bench trials. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden acquitted one of them of all charges and partially acquitted the other.
Thompson has a co-defendant, Robert Lyon, who pleaded guilty to riot-related charges in March.
Thompson, then 36, and Lyon, then 27, drove from Columbus, Ohio, to Silver Spring, Maryland, stayed overnight at a hotel and then took an Uber ride into Washington, D.C., on the morning of Jan. 6. After then-President Donald Trump’s speech, Thompson and Lyon headed over to the Capitol.
Thompson was wearing a “Trump 2020” winter hat and a bulletproof vest when he entered the Capitol and went to the Senate Parliamentarian’s Office, where he stole two bottles of liquor and a coat rack worth up to $500, according to prosecutors.
Thompson and Lyon traded text messages during the riot.
“Some girl died already,” Lyon said in one text, an apparent reference to a law enforcement officer’s fatal shooting of a rioter, Ashli Babbitt
“Was it Pelosi?” Thompson replied.
“I’m taking our country back,” Thompson later texted Lyon.
Around 6 p.m. on Jan. 6, Thompson and Lyon were sitting on a sidewalk and waiting for an Uber driver to pick them up when Capitol police officers approached and warned them that they were in a restricted area. As they started to leave, Thompson picked up a coat rack that appeared to be from the Capitol, the FBI said. Thompson ran away when the officers told him to put down the rack, dropping it as he fled. Lyon stayed behind and identified himself and Thompson to police.
That night, Thompson received a text from his wife that said, “I will not post bail.”
The FBI said agents later searched Lyon’s cellphone and found a video that showed a ransacked office and Thompson yelling: “Wooooo! ’Merica Hey! This is our house!” A surveillance video also captured Thompson leaving a Capitol office with a bottle of bourbon, the FBI said.
Thompson is charged with six counts: obstructing Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote, theft of government property, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Lyon pleaded guilty to theft of government property and disorderly conduct. Both counts are misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of 1 year imprisonment. Walton is scheduled to sentence Lyon on June 3. | https://www.wivb.com/news/blame-trump-jury-hears-that-defense-at-capitol-riot-trial-2/ | 2022-04-13T17:13:40 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/blame-trump-jury-hears-that-defense-at-capitol-riot-trial-2/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday as investors reviewed the latest round of corporate earnings and an upbeat report from Delta Air Lines that bodes well for the broader travel industry.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 12:08 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points, or 0.5%, to 34,371 and the Nasdaq rose 1.5%.
Travel-related companies were among the biggest gainers after Delta reported strong revenueduring its first quarter and solid bookings. The update is encouraging for the broader travel sector as airlines, cruise lines and hotels prepare for the summer vacation season.
Delta rose 4.2% and rival American Airlines jumped 8.8%. Southwest and United Airlines rose more than 4%. Cruise line operators Carnival and Royal Caribbean also had solid gains, along with Expedia Group.
Technology stocks also did much of the heavy lifting for the broader market. Pricey valuations for many of the bigger technology companies lend more weight to directing the broader market higher or lower.
Banks slipped following a disappointing earnings report from JPMorgan, which fell 2.9% after revealing a sharp drop in profits as it wrote down nearly $1.5 billion in assets due to higher inflation and the Russian-Ukrainian War.
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.66% from 2.72%.
The gains for stocks follow three straight losses for the benchmark S&P 500 index brought on by persistent worries about inflation and the tough medicine the Federal Reserve is planning to use against it, higher interest rates.
The Labor Department reported that the surging cost of energy pushed wholesale prices up a record 11.2% last month from a year earlier — another sign that inflationary pressure is widespread in the U.S. economy. That report comes a day after the department reported that consumer prices remain at their highest levels in generations.
The persistently rising inflation has prompted the Federal Reserve to tighten its monetary policy in order to temper the impact of inflation on businesses and consumers. The central bank has already announced a quarter-percentage point rate hike and is expected to continue raising rates through the year.
The Fed revealed in the minutes from its latest meeting that it’s prepared to hike short-term rates by half a percentage point, double the usual amount, at some upcoming meetings, something it hasn’t done since 2000.
Lingering concerns about inflation and rising interest rates have been worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has made for volatile energy prices as oil supplies already remain tight amid rising demand. U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.6% and are up nearly 40% for the year. That has driven up gasoline prices and added to inflation’s hit on people’s wallets. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/asian-shares-mostly-rise-on-interest-rate-inflation-hopes/ | 2022-04-13T17:13:47 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/asian-shares-mostly-rise-on-interest-rate-inflation-hopes/ |
Bed Bath & Beyond was unable to overcome supply issues during the final quarter of the year that have tripped up the home goods chain for months and it warned Wednesday that those problems are carrying over into the new year.
It also reported a surprise loss in a quarter when many other retailers booked surging profits.
The retailer has been unable to secure popular merchandise and it’s dragging down sales. For the three months ended Feb. 26, sales fell 22% to $2.05 billion.
Shortages led to an estimated negative impact of about $175 million in sales during the quarter, CEO Mark Tritton said.
Comparable store sales, which includes online sales, slumped 12%.
“The lack of available inventory to sell proved to be a continuing impediment to sales through the remainder of the fourth quarter and into the early part of fiscal 2022,” Tritton said in prepared statement. “Specifically, despite our overall inventory levels, product in transit, not available for sale or held at port remained abnormally high, particularly in key items.”
Some industry analysts were skeptical. Global supply disruptions have been well documented as nations emerge from the worst economic shocks of the pandemic. But Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said supply issues at Bed Bath & Beyond, “have been occurring for a long time and are deep seated.”
“Perhaps the most worrying thing is that if Bed Bath & Beyond is delivering such rotten numbers during a period of extremely elevated demand when consumer confidence was riding high, how will it fare now that the retail economy is turning sour?” Saunders asked. “In a more constrained economic environment, we are concerned that the company’s fortunes may well deteriorate further.”
Economists have grown concerned over the resiliency of consumer demand as inflation soars. On Tuesday, the U.S. reported that inflation in the past year rose at its fastest pace in more than four decades.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, down 40% over the past year, slipped another 2% Wednesday.
Tritton said the Union, New Jersey, company is investing in supply chain and technological infrastructure to rectify its supply issues.
During the fourth quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond lost $159 million, or $1.79 per share. Stripping out nonrecurring benefits, it lost 92 cents per share. That caught industry analysts, who had been expecting a 2 cent per-share profit according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research, by surprise.
During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9 million, or 8 cents per share. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/bed-bath-beyond-snared-by-ongoing-supply-issues/ | 2022-04-13T17:13:54 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/bed-bath-beyond-snared-by-ongoing-supply-issues/ |
BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports rose 15.7% over a year ago in March while imports were flat amid disruptions due to coronavirus outbreaks as the ruling Communist Party enforces a “zero-COVID” strategy to isolate every case.
Exports rose to $276.1 billion despite anti-virus controls in Shanghai and other industrial hubs that are causing factories to reduce production, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports rose less than 1% to $228.7 billion.
China’s infection numbers are relatively low, but the “zero-COVID” strategy has confined most of Shanghai’s 25 million people to their homes since late March and suspended access to other manufacturing regions.
The anti-virus curbs are adding to concerns over global trade disruptions that persist from the pandemic. Chinese officials say they are taking steps to keep ports functioning, but automakers and other factories have cut production due to problems with supplies.
Local outbreaks have “caused great pressure on production and operation of some enterprises and the stability of the supply chain,” said a customs official, Li Kuiwen, at a news conference. Li said the customs agency “makes every effort to coordinate ports well.”
An economic slowdown triggered by an official campaign to cut debt in China’s vast real estate industry, meanwhile, has sapped consumer demand. Economic growth slid to 4% over a year earlier in the final quarter of 2021, down from the full year’s 8.1%.
Exports to the United States rose 22.4% over a year earlier to $47.3 billion in March despite lingering tariff hikes in a feud over Beijing’s technology ambitions. Imports of American goods rose 11.5% to $15.2 billion.
That meant the politically volatile trade surplus with the United States widened by half over a year earlier to $32.1 billion. That imbalance was one of the factors that prompted then-President Donald Trump to hike tariffs on Chinese goods in 2019.
With almost no growth in imports, China’s global trade surplus more than doubled to $47.4 billion.
Imports from Russia, a major gas supplier, fell 26.4% from a year earlier to $7.8 billion. Exports to Russia edged down 7.7% to $3.8 billion.
Beijing has criticized trade and financial sanctions imposed on Moscow by the United States, Europe and Japan over its invasion of Ukraine. But Chinese companies appear to be abiding by them while trying to guard against possible losses in dealings with Russia.
Trade and manufacturing appear likely to suffer a bigger impact this month due to the shutdown of most businesses in Shanghai and suspension of access to Guangzhou, a manufacturing and trade center in the south, and to industrial centers of Changchun and Jilin in the northeast.
Managers of the port of Shanghai, the world’s busiest, say its operations are normal. But the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China has said its member companies estimate the volume of cargo handled by the port every day is down 40%.
Exports to the 27-nation European Union fell 9.1% from a year ago to $44.4 billion while imports tumbled 41.6% to $24.3 billion. China’s surplus with Europe jumped 179.3% to $20.1 billion. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/chinas-march-exports-grow-despite-virus-imports-flat/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:01 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/chinas-march-exports-grow-despite-virus-imports-flat/ |
Delta Air Lines lost $940 million in the first quarter, hurt by a rise in fuel prices, but bookings surged in recent weeks, setting up a breakout summer as Americans try to put the pandemic behind them.
Wall Street had expected the loss in a quarter marred by the omicron variant of COVID-19. Investors focused Wednesday on Delta’s upbeat outlook for the rest of the year.
Shares of the Atlanta-based airline jumped more than 4% in morning trading, and American, United and Southwest all gained between 5% and 9%.
Delta still faces stiff headwinds, including the rise in fuel and labor costs. And it is not clear whether spiking inflation will cause consumers to pull back on travel spending.
On Tuesday, the U.S. reported that in the past year inflation rose at its fastest pace since 1981, led by soaring energy prices. Jet fuel is Delta’s second-largest cost after labor.
Delta’s jet fuel costs rose 33% from just the last quarter. Total adjusted operating expense reached $9 billion in the first three months of the year, up 11% sequentially due to fuel prices and the cost of ramping up operations from the pandemic.
So far, though, neither inflation, the ongoing pandemic nor Russia’s war against Ukraine seem to be having any impact on ticket sales. Delta officials say that bookings started to rise in late February and have kept going.
“The last five weeks have been the highest bookings in our history,” CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview. “I think that’s an indication that people are through with the virus. They feel they have all the tools and the technology to manage it.”
Bastian said he expects travel demand to remain strong for two to three months — about as far into the future as airlines care to venture.
“Then, when we get to the fall, that will be the next inflection point as to consumer health, what impact inflation has had on them, higher fuel prices, what impact there is from the virus,” he said.
Delta forecast second-quarter revenue of about 95% of pre-pandemic levels, up from 89% in the first quarter. The trend will be driven by more spending on premium seats and more charging with Delta-branded credit cards.
At the same time, Delta is bracing for much higher costs. It forecast that spending on labor and everything else other than fuel will rise about 17% on a per-seat basis, compared with the same quarter in 2019.
And jet fuel, which cost Delta an average of $2.79 a gallon in the first quarter, is expected to jump to between $3.20 and $3.35. If Delta had paid the higher price in the first quarter, it would have spent an extra $364 million fueling up.
Bastian said travel demand is strong enough to let Delta cover higher fuel costs.
From under 90,000 on some days in April 2020, now more than 2 million people a day on average board planes in the United States. So far in April, airport crowds are down only 9% from April 2019, according to government figures.
Business travel, and in particular international corporate travel, have not recovered yet, however.
Airlines are lobbying the Biden administration to drop a requirement that flyers test negative for COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the U.S., which they think is holding back people — particularly business travelers — who are afraid of being stranded far from home if they contract the virus.
“We are getting a strong indication that the predeparture testing will be phased out in the near future, which of course is quite encouraging,” said Peter Carter, Delta’s chief legal officer. He based that view on discussions between airline representatives and officials “throughout the administration,” whom he did not name.
A requirement to wear face masks on planes, in airports and on public transportation is due to expire next Monday but will be extended by two weeks, a source familiar with the matter told the AP. Airlines were hoping it would end sooner.
Bastian favors eliminating the mask mandate. He said some people might start flying if they don’t have to wear a mask, and others might stop flying if other passengers are unmasked. He called both groups “fringe.”
If masks are no longer required, “I think you’ll see a surprising number of people continue to wear masks, and certainly some of our employees will wear masks,” he said. “I may choose to wear a mask once in a while.”
In the first quarter, Delta said its loss, excluding special items, worked out to $1.23 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of $1.27 per share, but they predict profits in each of the next three quarters and the full year.
Revenue was $9.35 billion. Delta is getting nearly the same amount of money per passenger that it got in 2019, but there are more empty seats — the average flight was 75% full, compared with 83% in early 2019. Delta officials indicated they are willing to limit capacity to keep planes full this summer.
“Delta is delivering a confident message ahead of the busy summer travel season, which is expected to be the busiest in three years, and the company should return to full profitability,” said Peter McNally, an analyst for business researcher Third Bridge.
Like other airlines, Delta has added debt during the pandemic by borrowing from the federal government and private sources. At the end of March, Delta had total debt and finance lease obligations of $25.6 billion. It aims to trim about $6 billion in debt by the end of 2024.
___
Follow David Koenig on Twitter | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/delta-loses-940-million-in-q1-but-bookings-strengthen/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:08 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/delta-loses-940-million-in-q1-but-bookings-strengthen/ |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch bank ABN AMRO apologized Wednesday for historic links to the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the involvement of one of the bank’s predecessor institutions in “day-to-day business” of plantations.
The bank is the latest institution to apologize for historic ties to slavery, following the Bank of England in 2020 and the municipality of Amsterdam last year amid a global Black Lives Matter reckoning over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
ABN AMRO said in a statement that research it commissioned into its history and that of other banks that were its direct predecessors uncovered a dark side.
The bank said the research revealed that “ABN AMRO’s predecessor Hope & Co. played a pivotal role in the international slave economy of the 18th century. Not only were slavery-related operations a source of much of Hope & Co.’s profits, the firm was also actively involved in the day-to-day business of plantations.”
The plantations were in the Caribbean on Dutch colonies and other islands.
Another bank that went on to become part of ABN AMRO, Mees en Zoonen, “brokered insurance for slave ships and shipments of goods harvested by enslaved persons,” the bank said.
ABN AMRO CEO Robert Swaak said the bank has a proud history, but “we must also recognize that it has a darker side as well.”
He said ABN AMRO “apologizes for the past actions and activities of these predecessors and for the pain and suffering that they caused.”
Lead researcher Pepijn Brandon of the International Institute of Social History that documented the history said it revealed “slavery-related operations formed a core part” off the business of Hope & Co., which was the largest financial and commercial company in the Netherlands at the end of the 18th century.
ABN AMRO said it had discussed the findings with representatives of the descendants of enslaved people, who said they want to see “concrete measures to help improve the structural social disadvantages facing descendants of enslaved persons.” | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/dutch-abn-amro-bank-apologizes-for-historic-links-to-slavery/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:16 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/dutch-abn-amro-bank-apologizes-for-historic-links-to-slavery/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — One of the busiest trade ports on the U.S.-Mexico border remained effectively closed Wednesday as frustration and traffic snarls mounted over new orders by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requiring extra inspections of commercial trucks as part of the Republican’s sprawling border security operation.
Since Monday, Mexican truckers have blocked the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in protest after Abbott last week directed state troopers to stop and inspect trucks coming into Texas. Unusually long backups — some lasting 12 hours or longer — have stacked up elsewhere along Texas’ roughly 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) border.
Not even a week into the inspections, the Mexican government said that Abbott’s order was causing “serious damage” to trade, and that cross-border traffic had plummeted to a third of normal levels. On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.”
The gridlock is the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. But critics question how the inspections are meeting that objective, while business owners and experts complain of financial losses and warn U.S. grocery shoppers could notice shortages as soon as this week.
Frustration is also spreading within members of Abbott’s own party: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, called the inspections a “catastrophic policy” that is forcing some trucks to reroute hundreds of miles to Arizona.
“I do describe it as a crisis, because this is not the normal way of doing business,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez, whose county includes the bridge in Pharr. “You’re talking about billions of dollars. When you stop that process, I mean, there are many, many, many, many people that are affected.”
The shutdowns and slowdowns have set off some of widest backlash to date of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border operation, which the two-term governor has made the cornerstone of his administration. Texas already has thousands of state troopers and National Guard members on the border and has converted prisons into jails for migrants arrested on state trespassing charges.
Abbott warned last week that inspections would “dramatically slow” border traffic, but he hasn’t addressed the backups or port shutdowns since then. His office didn’t reply to a message seeking comment left Tuesday, but the governor planned a press conference for Wednesday afternoon in Laredo.
The disruptions at some of the world’s busiest international trade ports could pose economic and political threats to Abbott, who is seeking a third term in November. Democrat Beto O’Rourke, the former presidential candidate who is running against Abbott for governor, said during a stop in Pharr on Tuesday that the inspections were doing nothing to halt the flow of migrants and were worsening supply chain issues.
He was joined by Joe Arevalo, owner of Keystone Cold, a cold-storage warehouse on the border. He said that although Texas state troopers have always inspected some trucks crossing the border “they’ve never, ever, ever held up a complete system or a complete supply chain.”
An estimated 3,000 trucks cross the Pharr bridge on a normal day, according to the National Freight Transportation Chamber. The Pharr bridge is the largest land port for produce, such as leafy green vegetables, entering the U.S.
Mexico supplies about two-thirds of the produce sold in Texas.
“We’re living through a nightmare, and we’re already suffering through a very delicate supply chain from the pandemic and to try to regrow the business,” Arevalo said.
The additional inspections are conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which said that as of Monday, it had inspected more than 3,400 commercial vehicles and placed more than 800 “out of service” for violations that included defective brakes, tires and lighting. It made no mention of whether the truck inspections had turned up migrants or drugs.
The order’s impact quickly spread beyond Texas: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials confirmed Tuesday that there was another blockade at the Mexican customs facility at the Santa Teresa port of entry in southern New Mexico, not far from El Paso. Those protests are misguided since New Mexico has nothing to do with Texas’ inspection policies, said Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the International Business Accelerator and president of the Border Industrial Association.
He said the protests were costing businesses millions of dollars a day.
“Everybody down here is on a just-in-time inventory system,” Pancheo said. “It’s going to affect all of us, all of us in the United States. Your car parts are going to be delivered late, your computer — if you ordered a Dell or HP tablet, those are going to be disrupted.”
Ed Anderson, a professor at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, compared the disruptions to those caused by February’s trucker blockade in Canada that forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production. During that protest, trucks looking for other entries to cross into the U.S. wound up causing congestion at other bridges, a scenario that Anderson said might now be repeated on the southern border.
Anderson said consumers would likely begin noticing the effects by the end of this week, if not sooner.
“Either prices are going to spike or shelves are going to be low,” he said.
____
Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/frustration-grows-over-truck-backlogs-at-texas-mexico-border-2/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:22 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/frustration-grows-over-truck-backlogs-at-texas-mexico-border-2/ |
BERLIN (AP) — A group of leading economic think tanks slashed its forecast for growth in Germany this year, predicting Wednesday that Europe’s biggest economy will expand by 2.7% as Russia’s war in Ukraine weighs on prospects.
The five institutes’ revised outlook compared with a forecast of 4.8% they made last fall. They forecast an even worse performance if Russian gas supplies are cut off suddenly.
They blamed the war and the “worse than expected course” of the coronavirus pandemic over the winter for Wednesday’s outook revision.
It is the latest in a string of downgrades for Germany’s economic outlook, but is still more optimistic than a recent prediction of 1.8% growth in gross domestic product by the government’s panel of independent economic advisers.
For 2023, the think tanks forecast moderately better growth of 3.1%. The baseline predictions for this year and next assume continuing gas deliveries and “no further economic escalation from the war in Ukraine,” they said.
If energy deliveries are cut off, they forecast growth of 1.9% this year and a contraction of 2.2% in 2023. They said “the cumulative loss of GDP in 2022 and 2023 in the event of a supply freeze is likely to be around 220 billion euros,” or $239 billion.
Germany relies on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas deliveries. The government is working to reduce that dependency, but says it needs time to exit Russian gas altogether and has opposed an immediate stop to supplies.
Last year, Germany’s GDP grew by 2.9%. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/german-economists-lower-growth-outlook-see-worse-if-gas-cut/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:29 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/german-economists-lower-growth-outlook-see-worse-if-gas-cut/ |
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday criticized a diplomatic snub by Ukraine for his country’s president and defended Berlin’s record on delivering weapons to Kyiv amid tensions that have flared at a delicate moment in German policymaking on the war.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s largely ceremonial head of state, had hoped to travel to Ukraine on Wednesday with his Polish and Baltic counterparts. But he said Tuesday that his presence “apparently … wasn’t wanted in Kyiv.” The German newspaper Bild quoted an unidentified Ukrainian diplomat as saying that Steinmeier was not welcome at the moment, pointing to his close relations with Russia in the past.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany later said the government would be glad to welcome Scholz — who, unlike Steinmeier, sets government policy. But the snub to Steinmeier may make that more difficult.
“The president would have liked to go to Ukraine,” Scholz told rbb24 Inforadio, noting that Steinmeier is Germany’s head of state and was recently reelected with broad support. “So it would have been good to receive him.”
“It is, in any case, somewhat irritating, to put it politely,” Scholz added, noting that Steinmeier has strongly criticized Russia’s war and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.
The flap comes amid a discussion within Scholz’s governing coalition about whether Germany should authorize sending heavy weapons such as tanks to Ukraine as that nation prepares to face a stepped-up Russian offensive in the east. Germany broke with tradition after Russia’s invasion to supply arms to Ukraine but has faced criticism from Kyiv for perceived hesitancy and slowness in providing material.
A Ukrainian presidential advisor, Oleksiy Arestovych, told Germany’s ARD television that he didn’t know the reasons for the decision to reject a Steinmeier visit but also signaled that Kyiv would like to see Scholz so that “practical decisions” could be made on matters such as weapons.
A senior lawmaker with one of Germany’s three governing parties, Wolfgang Kubicki, said he didn’t think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “well advised” to reject a visit by Steinmeier.
“I cannot imagine that the chancellor … will travel to a country that designates our country’s head of state as an unwanted person,” he told the German news agency dpa. Another governing party lawmaker, Juergen Trittin, told the RND newspaper group that the move was “a big propaganda success for Vladimir Putin.”
Steinmeier, who became president in 2017, served twice as ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s foreign minister and before that as ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s chief of staff. During that time, Germany pursued a dialogue with Putin and cultivated close energy ties.
Last week, Steinmeier admitted mistakes in Germany’s policies toward Russia, saying that “we failed on many points.”
Asked when would go to Ukraine, Scholz said only that he had visited Kyiv shortly before the war and regularly speaks to Zelenskyy.
Scholz said “the weapons we are delivering have made a very substantial contribution” to Ukraine foiling Russia’s plans for a quick conquest. He was tight-lipped on the possibilities of a bigger German contribution, but insisted that “we are delivering, we have delivered and we will deliver.”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green party said “Ukraine needs further military material, above all heavy weapons, and now is not the time for excuses — now is the time for creativity and pragmatism.”
The message appeared directed at more hesitant German politicians, particularly among Scholz’s Social Democrats.
Scholz said “we are delivering the weapons that all the others are also delivering.” He also said Germany won’t make unilateral decisions and stressed the need to prevent NATO countries from becoming a party to the war.
Germany, which has Europe’s biggest economy, also has faced criticism for opposing a quick halt to deliveries of natural gas from Russia, which accounts for about 40% of its gas supplies.
___
Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/germany-irritated-by-ukraines-snub-of-a-presidential-visit/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:36 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/germany-irritated-by-ukraines-snub-of-a-presidential-visit/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shortly after moving to South Florida for a new job with the U.S. military, Shannon Kaufman and his wife, Wendy, signed up for a whole other mission: buying a home.
For months, they scoured listings, strategizing late into the night on which homes to target and working out how much they could afford, even if it meant using some of their retirement savings.
After visiting 200 listings and making offers on 15 homes that ultimately didn’t pan out, the Kaufmans finally found a home that fits at least some of their needs. They’ll be renting it, however.
“We found a place that’s smaller than we want, but it’ll work until we have something built or until the market cools off,” said Shannon Kaufman, 47.
America’s housing market has grown increasingly frenzied, and prices are out of reach for many buyers, especially first-timers. This spring, traditionally the busiest season for home sales, is more likely to deliver frustration and disappointment for aspiring homebuyers than it is homeownership.
The number of homes for sale nationally remains near record lows, fueling fierce competition among buyers vying for fewer homes. From Los Angeles to Raleigh, North Carolina, when a house does hit the market, it typically sells within days.
Bidding wars are common, often driving the sale price well above what the owner was asking. And would-be buyers planning to finance their purchase with a home loan are often losing out to investors and others able to buy a home with cash. A quarter of all homes sold in February were purchased with cash, up from 22% a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Real estate investors accounted for 19% of transactions in February, up from 17% a year ago.
Nichol Khan, a project manager, and her husband Ed moved to Mesa, Arizona, from Phoenix two years ago to shorten their commute to work. Home prices in the Phoenix area have jumped 20% from a year ago to $500,000, according to Realtor.com.
“The prices just keep going up and up,” Khan said.
The couple has lost out on more than a dozen homes they bid on. Some of the homes ended up selling for less in cash than the couple had offered.
“We don’t have $500,000 in cash,” said Khan, 42. “We just could not be competitive with that.”
Fewer homes on the market and high prices have been the hallmark of the housing market for the past 10 years or so. Now, rising mortgage rates further complicate the homebuying equation. Higher rates could limit the pool of buyers and cool the rate of home price growth — good news for buyers. But higher rates also weaken their buying power.
The average rate on a 30-year home loan has climbed to around 4.7%. A year ago, average rates hovered just above 3%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The increase follows a sharp move up in 10-year Treasury yields, reflecting expectations of higher interest rates overall as the Federal Reserve moves to hike short-term rates in order to combat surging inflation.
Would-be buyers who applied for a home loan in February faced a median monthly mortgage payment of $1,653, including principal and interest, an increase of 8.3% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“It’s hard to believe, but I do think it’s going to be tougher this year, in some respects, than it was in previous years,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “So far, at least, we have seen the number of homes for sale continue to decline and prices continue to rise. Those two factors combined suggest that the competitive market is going to keep buyers on their toes.”
Buyers should set their sights on homes that are listed well within what they can afford, experts say.
“You should be looking 15%-20% below their limit; that gives them room for appraisal gaps, it gives them room for negotiating,” said Tracy Hutton, a broker with Century 21 in Indianapolis.
Being well prepared sometimes isn’t enough when a homeowner prefers to accept an all-cash offer, rather than sell to a buyer with financing.
Wendy Kaufman in South Florida couldn’t even get into an open house for a property on the market after she revealed the couple had a mortgage backed by the Veterans Administration.
“When they saw I had a VA preapproval they said, ‘Sorry we don’t want to work with you.’” she said.
Sometimes, buyers don’t have a chance to make an offer before a home is snapped up, sight unseen.
In the Miami area, so-called “blind offers” have become common as a way to get around other buyers, said Rafael Corrales, a Redfin agent.
One reason is the ultra-low level of homes for sale, which for the greater Miami metropolitan area, was down 55% in February from a year ago, according to Realtor.com.
While every market is unique, there is one common hurdle across the U.S.: affordability. The median U.S. home price jumped 15% in February from a year earlier to $357,300, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The San Jose, California, metro area had 40% fewer homes for sale in February than a year ago, according to Realtor.com. Buyers there have to navigate some of the most expensive home prices in the nation. The median home listing price climbed 13.3% to about $1.36 million in February from a year earlier.
The market trends are a bit more welcoming for buyers in the Midwest, including the Indianapolis metropolitan area, where the number of homes for sale was down about 23% from a year ago. The median home price there stood at $287,000 in February, up 8.5% from a year earlier.
In Raleigh, home listings were down a whopping 55% in February from a year earlier. Competition for fewer homes helped push the median home price to $430,000, a 9% increase from February 2021.
Those trends made for a more competitive market for first-time buyers like Lisa Piercey and her husband, Alex Berardo. First-time buyers made up 29% of all homes sold nationally last month. That share has averaged 31% annually over the past 10 years.
The couple began looking in December for homes at $350,000 or below. They offered $5,000 over the asking price on two properties but lost out to rival bidders.
“That was all we could afford,” said Lisa Piercey, a 32-year old project manager. “It’s really defeating, really disappointing.”
In the end, the couple bought a townhome in a new construction community, though they see it as a stepping stone to a more spacious house with a big yard.
“Its big enough that we can still start our family and then move when the market hopefully dies down in a couple of years,” she said. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/homebuyers-stymied-by-fewer-homes-high-prices-rising-rates/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:43 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/homebuyers-stymied-by-fewer-homes-high-prices-rising-rates/ |
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Japanese electric vehicle battery technology company will build a factory in Kentucky, creating 2,000 jobs in a $2 billion investment that reinforces the state’s leadership in battery production, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.
The Envision AESC plant at Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky will produce battery cells and modules to power the next generation of electric vehicles, the Democratic governor said.
The gigafactory’s products will be made for multiple auto manufacturers globally.
The announcement represents Kentucky’s second-largest economic development investment, the governor said, following an even larger battery production plant announcement last year.
“With today’s announcement, we solidify that the commonwealth of Kentucky is the undisputed electric battery production capital of the United States of America,” Beshear said as he gathered with other state leaders to celebrate the new project.
The Envision AESC announcement comes months after Bowling Green was among several Kentucky cities hard hit by tornadoes last December. Parts of Bowling Green were devastated by the storm.
Envision AESC Group CEO Shoichi Matsumoto said the Kentucky investment is part of the company’s next phase of battery strategy to power electric vehicles in the U.S.
“This major investment builds on our commitment to the U.S. market, supports growth of the electrification supply chain and secures high value jobs for future generations in the region,” he said.
“This commitment takes us one step further toward our ambition to make high-performance, longer-range batteries for a diverse range of automotive manufacturers worldwide to support the EV transition,” he added.
Plans for the Kentucky plant follow the company’s announcements last year to build gigafactories in France and the United Kingdom. Envision AESC has 4,000 employees and 10 production plants in Japan, the U.S., the United Kingdom, China and France.
Automakers are trying to outdo each other with electric vehicle announcements and proclamations that they plan to sell nothing but zero emissions vehicles in the next decade or so. At present, there are 38 fully electric models now on sale in the U.S., with more than 120 expected by 2025.
Automakers sold nearly 4.6 million electric vehicles worldwide last year. LMC Automotive, an industry consulting firm, expects that to rise to nearly 7 million this year and to more than 15 million by 2025. Still, that will be only about 15% of global vehicle sales.
In the U.S., LMC says just over 400,000 EVs were sold last year. The company expects that to rise to more than 2.2 million by 2025. Still, that’s only about 13% of new vehicle sales.
In Kentucky, the Envision AESC project follows last year’s announcement that Ford and its battery partner will build twin battery plants outside Glendale in central Kentucky. That mega-project will create 5,000 jobs to produce batteries for the automaker’s next generation of electric vehicles.
“So once again a company that is redefining the automobile industry is betting their future on Kentucky and our workforce,” Beshear said Wednesday of the Envision AESC project.
The Democratic governor thanked the state’s Republican-dominated legislature for its role in luring the new company. Republican Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne said the new plant announcement shows “great things can happen when we all pull in the same direction.” Soon after the plant celebration, Republican lawmakers started overriding the governor’s many vetoes.
The state’s new partnership provides the company up to $116.8 million from state incentive programs and up to $5 million in grant-in-aid for skills training, the governor’s office said.
Envision AESC picked a fast-growing college town with its plans to build the approximately 3 million-square-foot factory at the Kentucky Transpark in Bowling Green.
“The scale of this project is like nothing our community has ever seen before,” Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott said.
Bowling Green is also home to General Motors’ Corvette assembly plant.
___
Associated Press auto writer Tom Krisher in Detroit and Associated Press writer Piper Hudspeth Blackburn in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/japanese-e-vehicle-battery-company-to-build-kentucky-plant/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:50 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/japanese-e-vehicle-battery-company-to-build-kentucky-plant/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase said its first quarter profits dropped by 42% from last year, partly because the bank wrote down nearly $1.5 billion in assets due to higher inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The nation’s largest bank by assets said it earned a profit of $8.3 billion, or $2.63 per share, down from a profit of $14.3 billion, or $4.50 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results missed the forecasts of Wall Street analysts, who were looking for JPMorgan to earn $2.72 a share, according to FactSet.
JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement that the bank sees “significant geopolitical and economic challenges ahead due to high inflation, supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.”
A year ago, JPMorgan boosted first-quarter profit by releasing more than $4 billion in credit reserves tied to the improving economy and waning COVID-19 pandemic. For more than a year, JPMorgan and other banks had been releasing the funds they had socked away to cover potentially bad loans. Those releases had boosted the banks’ profits significantly, but investors knew these one-time bumps in profits were temporary.
Now JPMorgan is going in reverse. The bank set aside $1.46 billion to write off its assets tied to Russia as well as assets that have been negatively exposed to persistently higher inflation. The bank said most of the Russian exposure was in its investment banking division as well as its asset management business.
In a call with reporters, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said most of the Russian write downs were “name specific” Russian companies and assets, as well as some Russian-related derivatives.
JPMorgan is the first of Wall Street big banks to report their results for the first quarter. Analysts expect Wall Street will report a modest, but noticeable, hit to its profits as banks individually report their exposure to Russia. JPMorgan had a modest business in Russia. Citigroup, which had both an investment bank and a consumer banking business, will report its results on Thursday.
Dimon said JPMorgan is optimistic in the short-term about the U.S. economy and consumer spending.
Dimon has said publicly that he believes the U.S. consumer is in the best shape he’s seen in his career. Delinquencies are low and wages are rising, which should make it easier for consumers to pay their debts. JPMorgan’s consumer banking division saw credit card users spend more on their cards, and noticed a jump in travel and entertainment spending as well.
The volatility in markets the first three months of the year due to Russia’s invasion as well as inflation also negatively impacted the bank’s trading desks. JPMorgan’s corporate and investment bank posted a 26% decline in profits from a year earlier. Investment banking revenue and fees dropped sharply, as companies put deals on hold. Stock and bond trading revenues also declined.
JPMorgan shares were down more than 3% in early trading. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/jpmorgan-profits-drop-42-bank-writes-off-russian-assets/ | 2022-04-13T17:14:57 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/jpmorgan-profits-drop-42-bank-writes-off-russian-assets/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The surging cost of energy pushed wholesale prices up a record 11.2% last month from a year earlier — another sign that inflationary pressure is widespread in the U.S. economy.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — climbed at the fastest year-over-year pace in records going back to 2010 and rose 1.4% from February. Energy prices, which soared after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, were up 36.7% from March 2021.
The wholesale inflation report came out a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices last month jumped 8.5% from a year earlier — fastest annual clip since December 1981.
Under pressure to combat rising prices, the Federal Reserve raised ts benchmark short-term rate by a quarter-point last month and has signaled that it plans several more hikes this year.
An unexpectedly quick economic recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020 caught businesses by surprise. Their scramble to meet surging customer demand overwhelmed factories, ports and freight yards. The Ukraine war and draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in China have further disrupted supply chains over the past month.
“With a new wave of lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine raging on … risks to the inflation outlook remain firmly to the upside,” economists Mahir Rasheed and Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics wrote in a research report. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/producer-prices-surge-11-2-in-march-on-higher-energy-costs/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:04 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/producer-prices-surge-11-2-in-march-on-higher-energy-costs/ |
LONDON (AP) — British consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 30 years last month, fueled by soaring costs for household energy and motor fuels — the latest grim figures as inflation surges around the world.
Inflation in the United Kingdom accelerated to 7% in the 12 months through March, the highest annual rate since March 1992, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.
The U.K. faces what economists say will be the biggest drop in living standards since the mid-1950s as rocketing energy costs, rising food prices and tax increases overshadow higher wages.
People around the world are feeling the squeeze of inflation as demand rapidly bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine further drove up energy costs and squeezed supply chains.
In the United States, consumer prices last month jumped 8.5% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than 40 years, the Labor Department said Tuesday. In the 19 European countries using the euro, inflation surged to 7.5% last month, the fifth consecutive month that it has hit a record high.
In the U.K., the toll of rising rising means disposable household incomes, adjusted for inflation, are expected to drop by 2.2% this year, according to the government’s independent budget adviser.
Household natural gas prices jumped 28.3% over the last year, and electricity prices rose 19.2% as the global economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing worldwide demand for energy.
Prices will continue to rise after Britain’s energy regulator authorized a 54% increase in gas and electricity bills for millions of households that took effect in April.
Transportation costs are also rising, with the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel rising by an average of 30.7% over the past year, the biggest increase since current records began in January 1989, the Office for National Statistics said.
Countries are moving to ease the pain from rising food, fuel and other costs by raising interest rates. The Bank of England has raised raised its key interest rate three times since December, and the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark short-term rate last month and is expected to keep raising it, possibly aggressively.
The European Central Bank, meanwhile, has sped up its exit from economic stimulus efforts to combat inflation but has not taken more drastic steps. It meets again Thursday. | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/uk-inflation-rises-at-fastest-pace-in-30-years/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:11 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/uk-inflation-rises-at-fastest-pace-in-30-years/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday urged China to use its “special relationship with Russia” to persuade Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Beijing “cannot expect the global community to respect its appeals to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity in the future if it does not respect these principles now,” Yellen said at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank.
Yellen’s speech at the Atlantic Council comes a week before the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors convene in Washington for the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group Spring Meetings. Her direct appeal to China underscores an increasing frustration that the United States and its allies have with a country that has only deepened its ties with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.
“The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia,” she said.
The U.S. and its allies have used sanctions to weaponize the global economy against Russia over its war in Ukraine. There aren’t any countries yet subverting the sanctions, but there are fears among the allies that China, which has criticized the Western sanctions, could potentially do so. Also of concern is India, which has taken a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and recently made a major purchase of Russian oil, a source of tension with the U.S. as it tries to cut off Moscow’s energy income.
Yellen said that countries that undermine the sanctions the U.S. and its allies have imposed on Russia will face consequences for their actions.
“The unified coalition of sanctioning countries will not be indifferent to actions that undermine the sanctions we’ve put in place,” Yellen said.
Yellen, leaving open the question of what the consequences for flouting the sanctions could be, said Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has “redrawn the contours” of the global economy, which includes “our conception of international cooperation going forward.”
The IMF and the World Bank hold an annual conference that addresses issues affecting the global economy. This year, the meetings will take place April 18-24 in Washington both virtually and in person. The Russian invasion of Ukraine — and how world powers should manage the spillover to economies — will take center stage.
Yellen, answering a question about how the prospect of worldwide food shortages and rising inflation could affect political unrest globally, said “this will be an urgent concern for us next week, to try to think about how we can stave off starvation around the world.”
Roughly 155 million people in 55 countries faced acute hunger in 2020, an increase of 20 million people from the year before, according to the World Food Program.
Last week, Yellen told a U.S. House panel that Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe will have “enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond,” adding that the rising prices of energy, metal, wheat and corn that Russia and Ukraine produce are “going to escalate inflationary pressures as well.”
The U.S. is currently facing historic inflation rates not seen since December 1981. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that prices in March climbed 8.5% from a year ago.
While inflation began to increase before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the war has strained supplies of oil and gasoline. Half of the past month’s increase in consumer prices came from gas.
Yellen said that she hopes cooperating countries can tackle the world’s biggest problems, despite the war.
“I see this,” she says, “as the right time to work to address the gaps in our international financial system that we are witnessing in real time.” | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/yellen-nations-flouting-russia-sanctions-face-consequences/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:17 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/business/yellen-nations-flouting-russia-sanctions-face-consequences/ |
BEIRUT (AP) — The chilling scenes from Syria of victims twitching and gasping for air after chlorine cylinders were dropped from helicopters in towns and villages were broadcast over and over in the course of country’s civil war.
Legal and moral taboos were shattered. Hundreds were killed, including many children, in dozens of poison gas attacks widely blamed on President Bashar Assad’s forces under the protection of his chief ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Several years later, concerns are growing that such weapons could be used in Ukraine, where Russian forces have been waging a devastating war for weeks.
As the conflict drags on, Western officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have warned that Putin could deploy chemical agents.
“The world must react now,” Zelenskyy said.
Officials say they are investigatingan unconfirmed claim by a far-right Ukrainian regiment that a poisonous substance was dropped in the besieged city of Mariupol this week. The claim could not be confirmed by independent sources, and Ukrainian officials say it could have been phosphorus munitions – which cause horrendous burns but are not classed as chemical weapons.
LOWERING THE THRESHOLD
Putin has threatened to broaden the Ukraine war into a nuclear conflict, but it is unclear if chemical agents will be used to support his military operations. Analysts say the Syria war set a horrific precedent in terms of deploying chlorine, sulfur and the nerve agent sarin, completely disregarding international norms and with no accountability.
“From what we’re seeing now, it seems that Russia has drawn the conclusion that it’s safe to continue this modus operandi from Syria in the Ukrainian context as well,” said Aida Samani, legal adviser with Civil Rights Defenders, a Sweden-based group.
“Of course, that undermines the international regulations that we have in place and lowers the threshold for the use of such weapons,” Samani added.
She has joined with other nongovernmental organizations to file a criminal complaint on behalf of a group of Syrians living in Sweden against the Syrian government for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to its use of chemical weapons.
Western officials say Russia may be looking to borrow from the Syria playbook, where Assad’s forces tested the international community’s resolve by gradually ramping up the brutality of attacks and methods.
Part of the equation in Syria was the difficulty of proving anything in the aftermath of such attacks, largely due to the lack of immediate access. Assad, with Russia’s backing, consistently cast a cloud of confusion, accusing the opposition of fabricating evidence or deploying poison gas themselves to try to frame him.
An investigative mechanism set up by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons blamed Syrian government forces for multiple chemical attacks in Syria, including the use of chlorine and sarin in an attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017 that killed about 100 people. At least one mustard gas attack was blamed on the Islamic State group, which held territory in Syria and Iraq for several years during the war that killed half a million people.
In comments reminiscent of Syria, Russia accused Ukraine of running chemical and biological labswith U.S. support, leading to accusations Moscow was seeking to stage a false-flag incident. Ukraine does have a network of biological labs that have gotten funding and research support from the U.S. — but they are part of a program seeking to reduce the likelihood of deadly outbreaks by pathogens, whether natural or manmade. The U.S. efforts date to the 1990s to dismantle the former Soviet Union’s program for weapons of mass destruction.
RED LINES
The assault early on the morning of Aug. 21, 2013, on the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus known as Ghouta shocked a world that had grown largely numb to the carnage of Syria’s civil war.
Fueling the international outrage were dozens of online videos showing victims in spasms, gasping for breath and foaming at the mouth. The attack crossed what then-U.S. President Barack Obama had called a “red line” for possible military intervention in the Arab country.
Obama came close to ordering U.S.-led military strikes but abruptly backed down after failing to secure the necessary support from the U.S. Congress and instead struck a deal with Moscow to eliminate Syria’s chemical arsenal.
By August 2014, Assad’s government declared that the destruction of its chemical weapons was completed. But Syria’s initial declaration to the OPCW has remained in dispute, and the attacks continued.
In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump launched several dozen cruise missiles at a Syrian air base in retaliation for a suspected nerve gas attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib province that killed about 100 people. Experts from the U.N. and the chemical weapons watchdog blamed the Syrian government for the attack.
As Moscow pushes its offensive in Ukraine, world leaders and policymakers are grappling with how the West should respond to a Russian battlefield use of chemical or biological weapons. Members of Congress said the Biden administration and its allies will not stand by if that happens.
Unlike Syria, however, Russia is a nuclear power. Any reaction risks triggering a nuclear confrontation, which Putin has already alluded to.
ACHIEVING JUSTICE
Samani, of Civil Rights Defenders, faults the international community for not making a real effort to seek accountability for the chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
“There hasn’t really been any political appetite to explore how, for example, a special tribunal could be set up for Syria,” she said.
Last week, she and a group of NGOs presented new information relevant to the sarin gas attacks on Khan Sheikhun in 2017 and Ghouta in 2013 to investigative authorities in Germany, France and Sweden.
But justice appears to be a long way off.
“Holding the perpetrators of these crimes accountable for the use of illegal weapons is the first deterrent to ensure that they do not recur,” said Haneen Haddad, project leader for the Syrian Archive, a Syrian-led project that documents human rights violations and other crimes committed in Syria.
“Without meaningful accountability, cruel actors and their enablers think that they can do terrible things without real consequence from the international community.”
—-
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wivb.com/news/chemical-weapons-use-from-syrian-war-stokes-ukraines-fears/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:25 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/chemical-weapons-use-from-syrian-war-stokes-ukraines-fears/ |
HELSINKI (AP) — European Union nations Finland and Sweden reached important stages Wednesday on their way to possible NATO membership as the Finnish government issued a security report to lawmakers and Sweden’s ruling party initiated a review of security policy options.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 triggered a surge in support for joining NATO in the two traditionally militarily non-aligned Nordic countries, with polls showing a majority of respondents willing to join the alliance in Finland and supporters of NATO in Sweden clearly outnumbering those against the idea.
Finland, a country of 5.5 million, shares the EU’s longest border with Russia, a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) frontier. Sweden has no border with Russia.
Russia, for its part, has warned Sweden and Finland against joining NATO, with officials saying it would not contribute to stability in Europe. Officials said Russia would respond to such a move with retaliatory measures that would cause “military and political consequences” for Helsinki and Stockholm. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reasons for invading Ukraine was that the country refused to promise that it would not join NATO.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, speaking Wednesday in Stockholm in a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson, said Finland is ready to make a decision on NATO “within weeks” rather than months following an extensive debate in the 200-seat Eduskunta legislature.
Marin stressed that Finland and Sweden, two neighboring Nordic countries which have close economic, political and military ties, will make independent decisions regarding their security policy arrangements, including whether to join NATO.
“But we do that with a clear understanding that our choices will affect not only ourselves but our neighbors as well,” Marin said, adding that she would prefer seeing both Finland and Sweden becoming NATO members.
Andersson said Sweden and Finland would maintain “a very close dialogue and have a very straightforward and honest discussions” in the coming weeks over their countries respective choices on NATO.
The only real option to NATO membership could be an enhanced bilateral military cooperation added with the United States and Nordic NATO member Norway, Finnish experts have said.
Marin and Andersson lead the ruling Social Democratic Parties in their respective countries. The parties are expected to announce their NATO views in early and late May, respectively. Parliaments in both countries are ready to finally decide the matter — something that could happen in Finland in late May and a bit later in Sweden.
Complicating things in Sweden is the general election in September, which is likely to be dominated by the NATO issue.
In Finland, President Sauli Niinisto said he was convinced that his country’s decision on NATO will be ready well ahead of NATO’s June 29-30 summit in Madrid, Spain.
On Wednesday, the Finnish government issued a much-awaited report on changes in Finland’s security environment that lawmakers will start debating after the Easter break. The report addresses the pros and cons of Finland’s possible membership in NATO, focusing on supply threats, economic effects, cybersecurity and hydrid threats.
“The war started by Russia endangers security and stability in entire Europe,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said as he presented the report. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine will have a long-lasting impact on our own security environment. Trust in Russia has plummeted.”
Andersson said Wednesday that the Swedish government is working on a security environment analysis together with all parties in the 349-seat Riksdag legislature. She said the report is due May 31 but could be finished earlier. In addition, Andersson’s Social Democratic Party has initiated its own separate review of Sweden’s security environment.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wivb.com/news/finland-sweden-move-ahead-toward-possible-nato-membership/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:32 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/finland-sweden-move-ahead-toward-possible-nato-membership/ |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alyssa Nakken was hard at work in the batting cage, just a few steps from the dugout, when suddenly the call came: The San Francisco Giants needed her to coach at first base.
She quickly pulled off her sweatshirt, grabbed her No. 92 jersey and found a bright orange batting helmet.
A few minutes later, Nakken made major league history as the first female coach on the field in a regular-season game when she took her spot Tuesday night in a 13-2 win over San Diego.
“I think we’re all inspirations doing everything that we do on a day-to-day basis and I think, yes, this carries a little bit more weight because of the visibility, obviously there’s a historical nature to it,” she said. “But again, this is my job.”
Nakken came in to coach first base for the Giants in the third inning after Antoan Richardson was ejected.
When she was announced as Richardson’s replacement, Nakken received a warm ovation from the crowd at Oracle Park, and a congratulatory handshake from Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer.
“Right now in this moment as I reflect back, I reflect back to somebody needed to go out, we needed a coach to coach first base, our first base coach got thrown out, I’ve been in training as a first base coach for the last few years and work alongside Antoan, so I stepped in to what I’ve been hired to do, is support this staff and this team,” Nakken said.
The baseball Hall of Fame was ready, too. Her helmet is already on its way to the shrine in Cooperstown, New York.
San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said Nakken had “prepared for this moment” while working with Richardson and others.
“So it’s not a foreign spot on the field for her. She does so many other things well that aren’t seen,” he said. “So it’s nice to see her kind of be right there in the spotlight and do it on the field.”
Nakken is an assistant coach who works heavily with baserunning and outfield defense. She watches games from an indoor batting cage near the steps to the dugout — and keeps a Giants jersey nearby, just in case she needs it.
And in an instant Tuesday night, she needed it.
The 31-year-old Nakken jogged onto the field four days after Rachel Balkovec became the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of an Major League Baseball team. She guided the New York Yankees’ Class A Tampa club to a win in her first game.
Nakken had previously coached the position in spring training and during part of a July 2020 exhibition game at Oakland against now-Padres manager Bob Melvin when he was skipper of the Athletics. She started at first again a night later against the A’s in San Francisco as the teams prepared for the pandemic-delayed season.
“You feel a sense of pride to be out there,” Nakken said at the time. “Me personally, it’s the best place to watch a game, that’s for sure.”
The former Sacramento State softball star, whose blonde braid hung out from her orange protective helmet Tuesday, became the first female coach in the big leagues when she was hired for Kapler’s staff in January 2020.
At Sacramento State from 2009-2012, Nakken was a three-time all-conference player at first base and four-time Academic All American. She went on to earn a master’s degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco in 2015 after interning with the Giants’ baseball operations department a year earlier.
From Day One with the Giants, Nakken embraced her role as an example for girls and women that they can do anything.
“It’s a big deal,” she said. “I feel a great sense of responsibility and I feel it’s my job to honor those who have helped me to where I am.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wivb.com/news/giants-alyssa-nakken-becomes-1st-mlb-female-coach-on-field/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:39 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/giants-alyssa-nakken-becomes-1st-mlb-female-coach-on-field/ |
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official John Lee said Wednesday he had formally registered his candidacy in the election for the top job after securing 786 nominations to enter the race.
Lee, who resigned as chief secretary last week before declaring he would run for chief executive, is the only candidate formally entered so far for the May 8 vote. He is considered Beijing’s favored candidate and a sign of the central government further tightening its control over the territory.
Lee’s 786 nominations are well over 50% of the 1,454-member Election Committee that will select the next chief executive. The nomination period ends Saturday and the committee will elect the winner by absolute majority.
“It is not easy, as I have been working very hard to explain to various members what my election platform will be like,” Lee told reporters.
He reiterated that he will focus on a results-oriented approach to solve problems, keeping Hong Kong competitive and setting a firm foundation for the development of Hong Kong.
Current Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is not seeking a second term, following a rocky five years in power that spanned the COVID-19 pandemic, a crackdown on political freedoms and Beijing’s rapid and growing influence over the territory.
Hong Kong’s leader is chosen every five years, although the selection process is carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Beijing. The four chief executives selected since Hong Kong’s handover have all been candidates seen as favored by Beijing.
Lee told reporters Tuesday that enacting Article 23 of the Basic Law — which stipulates that Hong Kong enacts its own security law — will be a “priority.” Enacting such a law was temporarily shelved after mass protests against the government in 2003.
Hong Kong’s own security law should prohibit acts of treason and the theft of state secrets, as well as other offences including secession, sedition and subversion.
Beijing in 2020 imposed its own national security law in Hong Kong. Lee is a staunch advocate of the national security law, which has been used against pro-democracy activists, supporters and media, diminishing freedoms promised to Hong Kong during Britain’s handover to China in 1997.
Lee, 64, rose in the civil service ranks after years in the police force. He previously said he was running for the No. 1 position out of his loyalty and love for Hong Kong, as well as a “sense of duty to the Hong Kong people.”
He also said loyalty was the “basic requirement” to run as a leader of the city — comments made after Hong Kong’s electoral laws were amended last year to ensure that only “patriots” loyal to Beijing can hold office.
The new Hong Kong leader will take office on July 1. | https://www.wivb.com/news/john-lee-secures-nominations-for-hong-kong-leadership-race/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:45 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/john-lee-secures-nominations-for-hong-kong-leadership-race/ |
DEPEW, N.Y. (WIVB) — Someone who bought a Take 5 ticket in Depew recently is going to be a lot richer.
The ticket for the Tuesday evening drawing was sold at the Sunoco gas station at the corner of Dick Road and George Urban Boulevard. It’s worth $39,321.
For those looking to find the winning numbers, they were 2-10-11-27-29.
Winning tickets can be claimed within one year of the date they were drawn.
Latest Posts
Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/depew/take-5-ticket-worth-almost-40k-sold-in-depew/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:51 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/depew/take-5-ticket-worth-almost-40k-sold-in-depew/ |
WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Glen Park Art Festival is coming back after a two-year hiatus.
Taking place on the last weekend of July, the event is expected to have around 120 artists, food and activities for kids. One of the new things happening this year is the interactive Chalk Walk underneath Noll Nature Pavilion.
Located on Glen Avenue between N. Cayuga Road and Mill Street, the festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday (July 30-31).
Any artists who want to participate in the festival can get an application by emailing glenparkartfestival@gmail.com. The deadline to apply is May 31.
Latest Posts
Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/williamsville/glen-park-art-festival-returning-after-two-year-absence/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:52 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/erie-county/williamsville/glen-park-art-festival-returning-after-two-year-absence/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was extending the order, which was set to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.
“In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
When the Transportation Security Administration, which enforces the rule for planes, buses, trains and transit hubs, extended the requirement last month, it said the CDC had been hoping to roll out a more flexible masking strategy that would have replaced the nationwide requirement.
The mask mandate is the most visible vestige of government restrictions to control the pandemic, and possibly the most controversial. A surge of abusive and sometimes violent incidents on airplanes has been attributed mostly to disputes over mask-wearing.
Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.
There has been a slight increase in cases in recent weeks, driven by the BA.2 strain, with daily confirmed cases nationwide rising from about 25,000 per day to more than 30,000. Those figures are an undercount since many people now test positive on at-home tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
Severe illnesses and deaths tend to lag infections by several weeks. The CDC is awaiting indications of whether the increase in cases correlates to a rise in adverse outcomes before announcing a less restrictive mask policy for travel. | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks-ap-source-says/ | 2022-04-13T17:15:58 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks-ap-source-says/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- The collective voice of New York voters is not being heard as much as it is in 43 other states. The findings were part of a report published by FairVote.
New York ranked 44 in the country for “Voter Voice,” according to the report which took five metrics into account for the ranking. FairVote said the report, which used Congressional voting statistics, indicates a lack of competition which ultimately erodes democratic values.
“For three decades now, we’ve shown that elections for the ‘people’s house’ are deeply flawed,” said President and CEO of FairVote, Rob Richie. “In our dubious democracy, more voters than ever are trapped in one-party districts where their voices aren’t heard, and their votes don’t make a difference.”
By calculating the margin of victory, landslide victories, voter turnout, voter consensus, and partisan skew from the latest U.S. House of Representatives elections, FairVote scored states (A-F) for voter’s voice. New York received an F, the lowest grade, along with nine other states: Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
Top and bottom 10 states for voter’s voice
New York ranked the most poorly for voter turnout and voter consensus, last out of all 50 states. Voter turnout was 44.93%, while voter consensus was 26.23%. See how New York scored in all five metrics below:
FairVote said states can work on their ranking because they are responsible for drawing their own congressional maps and voter eligibility requirements. However, New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission, a bi-partisan group of individuals tasked with redrawing voting district maps failed to agree on a single map earlier in 2021, with democrats and republican members submitting two different maps.
The New York Legislature then came up with its own state Assembly and Senate maps as well as Congressional maps. The map was passed by the Assembly and Senate, only to be rejected by a state supreme court judge in Steuben County, after the constitutionality of the maps was challenged in a lawsuit brought by 14 Steuben County residents. The legislature was ordered to make new maps.
At that time, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said they planned to appeal the judge’s decision. Last week an appellate court judge said the old maps would remain in play throughout the appeal process. | https://www.wivb.com/news/new-york/are-voters-in-new-york-being-heard/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:04 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/new-york/are-voters-in-new-york-being-heard/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — A man sought in connection with an attack on a subway train in Brooklyn that left 10 people shot — and once again interrupted New York City’s long journey to post-pandemic normalcy — is now considered a suspect, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.
Investigators had initially been searching for Frank R. James as a person of interest. Police said Tuesday that James rented a van possibly connected to Tuesday’s violence, but that they weren’t sure whether he was responsible for the shooting itself. Adams, speaking to NPR on Wednesday morning, did not offer details on why officials were now seeking James as a suspect beyond citing “new information that became available to the team.”
Authorities were examining social media videos in which the 62-year-old decried the United States as a racist place awash in violence and sometimes railed against Adams.
“This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that,” James said in one video.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the posts “concerning” and officials tightened security for Adams, who was already isolating following a positive COVID-19 test Sunday.
Adams said Wednesday that investigators were zeroed in on finding James.
“We are going to continue to close the loop around him and bring him in, and continue the investigation into this horrific act against innocent New Yorkers,” the Democrat said on MSNBC.
The gunman sent off smoke grenades in a crowded subway car and then fired at least 33 shots with a 9 mm handgun, police said. Five gunshot victims were in critical condition but all 10 wounded in the shooting were expected to survive. At least a dozen others who escaped gunshot wounds were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries.
One passenger, Jordan Javier, thought the first popping sound he heard was a book dropping. Then there was another pop. People started moving toward the front of the car, he said, and he realized there was smoke.
When the train pulled into the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood, people ran out and were directed to another train across the platform. Passengers wept and prayed as they rode away from the scene, Javier said.
“I’m just grateful to be alive,” he said.
The station was open as usual Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after the violence. Commuter Jude Jacques, who takes the D train to his job as a fire safety director some two blocks from the shooting scene, said he prays every morning but had a special request on Wednesday.
“I said, ‘God, everything is in your hands,’” Jacques said. “I was antsy, and you can imagine why. Everybody is scared because it just happened.”
The subway system as a whole was operating normally on Wednesday, with police checking backpacks at some stations, including the Atlantic Avenue/Barclay’s Center hub.
Tuesday’s shooter fled in the chaos, leaving behind the gun, extended magazines, a hatchet, detonated and undetonated smoke grenades, a black garbage can, a rolling cart, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.
That key led investigators to James, who has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said. The van was later found, unoccupied, near a station where investigators determined the gunman had entered the subway system, Essig said.
Federal investigators determined the gun used in the shooting was purchased by James at a pawn shop — a licensed firearms dealer — in the Columbus, Ohio, area in 2011, said a law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rambling, profanity-filled YouTube videos apparently posted by James, who is Black, are replete with violent language and bigoted comments, some against other Black people.
In one video, posted a day before the attack, he criticizes crime against Black people and says drastic action is needed.
“You got kids going in here now taking machine guns and mowing down innocent people,” James says. “It’s not going to get better until we make it better,” he said, adding that he thought things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Several videos mention New York’s subways.
A Feb. 20 video says the mayor and governor’s plan to address homelessness and safetyin the subway system “is doomed for failure” and refers to himself as a “victim” of the city’s mental health programs. A Jan. 25 video criticizes Adams’ plan to end gun violence.
Adams said in a video statement that the city “will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorized, even by a single individual.”
___
Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jim Mustian, Beatrice Dupuy, Karen Matthews, Julie Walker, Deepti Hajela, Michelle L. Price and David Porter in New York contributed to this report, and Michael Kunzelman contributed from College Park, Maryland. | https://www.wivb.com/news/police-hunt-gunman-who-wounded-10-in-brooklyn-subway-attack/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:10 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/police-hunt-gunman-who-wounded-10-in-brooklyn-subway-attack/ |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The presidents of four countries on Russia’s doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday in a show of support for the embattled country, after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue his bloody offensive until its “full completion.”
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — all NATO countries that worry they may face Russian attack in the future if Ukraine falls — traveled by train to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In one of the most crucial battles of the war, Russia said more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops had surrendered in the besieged port of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces have been holding out in pockets of the city. The claim could not be verified.
Russia invaded on Feb. 24 with the goal, according to Western officials, of taking Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly one. In the seven weeks since, the ground advance stalled, Russia has lost potentially thousands of fighters — and the war has forced millions of Ukrainians to flee. The war has also rattled the world economy, threatened global food suppliesand shattered Europe’s post-Cold War balance.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Russia’s actions in Ukraine “a genocide” for the first time, saying “Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.”
Zelenskyy commended Biden’s use of the word, saying “calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil.”
“We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities,” he added in a tweet.
The European leaders visiting Ukraine planned to deliver “a strong message of political support and military assistance,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.
Nauseda, Estonian President Alar Karis, Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Egils Levits of Latvia also planned to discuss investigations into alleged Russian war crimes, including the massacre of civilians. Nauseda said the leaders visited Borodyanka, one of the towns near Kyiv where evidence of atrocities has been found.
“This is where the dark side of humankind has shown its face,” he wrote on Twitter. “Brutal war crimes committed by the Russian army will not stay unpunished.”
An expert report commissioned by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found “clear patterns of (international humanitarian law) violations by the Russian forces in their conduct of hostilities.” The report was written by experts selected by Ukraine and published Wednesday by the Vienna-based organization that promotes security and human rights.
The report said that there were also violations by Ukraine, but concluded those committed by Russia “are by far larger in scale and nature.”
Ukraine has previously acknowledged that there could be “isolated incidents” of violations and has said it would investigate.
Putin, however, has denied his troops committed atrocities, and on Tuesday insisted Russia “had no other choice” but to invade, saying the offensive aimed to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine and to “ensure Russia’s own security.” He vowed it would “continue until its full completion and the fulfillment of the tasks that have been set.”
He insisted Russia’s campaign was going as planned despite a major withdrawal after its forces failed to take the capitaland suffered significant losses.
Following those setbacks, Russian troops are now gearing up for a major offensive in the eastern Donbas region, where Moscow-allied separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting since 2014, and where Russia has recognized the separatists’ claims of independence. Military strategists say Moscow believes local support, logistics and the terrain in the region favor its larger, better-armed military, potentially allowing Russia to finally turn the tide in its favor.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that “an inability to cohere and coordinate military activity has hampered Russia’s invasion to date.” Western officials say Russia recently appointed a new top general for the war, Alexander Dvornikov, to try to get a grip on its campaign.
A key piece to that campaign is Mariupol, which lies in the Donbas and which the Russians have besieged and pummeled since nearly the start of the war. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted that the city’s defenders were short of supplies but were “fighting under the bombs for each meter of the city.”
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said 1,026 troops from the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade had surrendered at a metals factory in the city. It was unclear when the surrender occurred or how many forces were still defending Mariupol.
According to the BBC, Aiden Aslin, a British man fighting in the Ukrainian military in Mariupol, called his mother and a friend to say he and his comrades were out of food, ammunition and other supplies and would surrender.
Russian state television on Wednesday broadcast footage that it said was from the port city showing dozens of men in camouflage outfits walking with their hands up and carrying others on stretchers or in chair holds. One man held a white flag on a staff in one hand and the handle of a stretcher in another. In the background was a tall industrial building with its windows shattered and its roof missing, identified by the broadcaster as the Iliich metalworks.
Another Zelenskyy adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, did not comment on the surrender claim, but said in a post on Twitter that elements of the same brigade managed to link up with other Ukrainian forces in the city as a result of a “risky maneuver.”
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said the country is investigating a claim that a drone dropped a poisonous substance on the city. She said it was possible phosphorus munitions had been used in Mariupol.
Phosphorus munitions are not formally classed as chemical weapons, but they cause horrendous burn, and deliberately firing them into an enclosed space could breach the Chemical Weapons Convention, said Marc-Michael Blum, a former laboratory head at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
In Washington, a senior U.S. defense official said the Biden administration was preparing another package of military aid for Ukraine to be announced in the coming days, possibly totaling $750 million.
While Biden used the word “genocide” about Russia’s actions, he said it would be up to lawyers to decide if the country’s conduct met the international standard for genocide.
French President Emmanuel Macron declined to use the word but said “it has been established that war crimes have been committed by the Russian army.”
“We must find those responsible and bring them to justice,” he told France-2 television.
An International Criminal Court investigation into war crimes is underway in Ukraine, including into atrocities revealed afterMoscow’s retreat from the Kyiv area, where Ukrainian authorities say more than 720 people were killed, with 403 bodies found in the town of Bucha alone.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who visited Bucha, said in a tweet Wednesday that Ukraine “is a crime scene” and the court must “pierce the fog of war” to determine what has occurred.
Residents in Yahidne, a village near the northern city of Chernihiv, said Russian troops forced them to stay for almost a month in the basement of a school, only allowing them outside to go to the toilet, cook on open fires — and bury those who died in a mass grave.
In one of the rooms, the residents wrote the names of those who perished during the ordeal. The list counted 18 people.
“An old man died near me and then his wife died next,” said resident Valentyna Saroyan. “Then a man died who was lying there, then a woman sitting next to me. … She died as well. Another old man looked so healthy, he was doing exercises, but then he was sitting and fell. That was it.”
___
Stashevskyi reported from Yahidne, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Robert Burns in Washington, and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wivb.com/news/putin-vows-war-will-continue-as-russian-troops-mount-in-east/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:12 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/putin-vows-war-will-continue-as-russian-troops-mount-in-east/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Western weaponry pouring into Ukraine helped blunt Russia’s initial offensive and seems certain to play a central role in the approaching, potentially decisive, battle for Ukraine’s contested Donbas region. Yet the Russian military is making little headway halting what has become a historic arms express.
The U.S. numbers alone are mounting: more than 12,000 weapons designed to defeat armored vehicles, some 1,400 shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft and more than 50 million rounds of ammunition, among many other things. Dozens of other nations are adding to the totals.
The Biden administration is preparing yet another, more diverse, package of military support possibly totaling $750 million to be announced in the coming days, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet publicly announced. The additional aid is a sign that the administration intends to continue expanding its support for Ukraine’s war effort.
These armaments have helped an under-gunned Ukrainian military defy predictions that it would be quickly overrun by Russia. They explain in part why Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army gave up, at least for now, its attempt to capture Kyiv, the capital, and has narrowed its focus to battling for eastern and southern Ukraine.
U.S. officials and analysts offer numerous explanations for why the Russians have had so little success interdicting Western arms moving overland from neighboring countries, including Poland. Among the likely reasons: Russia’s failure to win full control of Ukraine’s skies has limited its use of air power. Also, the Russians have struggled to deliver weapons and supplies to their own troops in Ukraine.
Some say Moscow’s problem begins at home.
“The short answer to the question is that they are an epically incompetent army badly led from the very top,” said James Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who was the top NATO commander in Europe from 2009 to 2013.
The Russians also face practical obstacles. Robert G. Bell, a longtime NATO official and now a professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech University, said the shipments lend themselves to being hidden or disguised in ways that can make them elusive to the Russians — “short of having a network of espionage on the scene” to pinpoint the convoys’ movements.
“It’s not as easy to stop this assistance flow as it might seem,” said Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. “Things like ammunition and shoulder-fired missiles can be transported in trucks that look just like any other commercial truck. And the trucks carrying the munitions the Russians want to interdict are just a small part of a much larger flow of goods and commerce moving around in Poland and Ukraine and across the border.
“So the Russians have to find the needle in this very big haystack to destroy the weapons and ammo they’re after and not waste scarce munitions on trucks full of printer paper or baby diapers or who knows what.”
Even with this Western assistance it’s uncertain whether Ukraine will ultimately prevail against a bigger Russian force. The Biden administration has drawn the line at committing U.S. troops to the fight. It has opted instead to orchestrate international condemnation and economic sanctions, provide intelligence information, bolster NATO’s eastern flank to deter a wider war with Russia and donate weapons.
In mid-March, a Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said arms shipments would be targeted.
“We warned the United States that pumping weapons into Ukraine from a number of countries as it has orchestrated isn’t just a dangerous move but an action that turns the respective convoys into legitimate targets,” he said in televised remarks.
But thus far the Russians appear not to have put a high priority on arms interdiction, perhaps because their air force is leery of flying into Ukraine’s air defenses to search out and attack supply convoys on the move. They have struck fixed sites like arms depots and fuel storage locations, but to limited effect.
On Monday, the Russians said they destroyed four S-300 surface-to-air missile launchers that had been given to Ukraine by an unspecified European country. Slovakia, a NATO member that shares a border with Ukraine, donated just such a system last week but denied it had been destroyed. On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said long-range missiles were used to hit two Ukrainian ammo depots.
As the fighting intensifies in the Donbas and perhaps along the coastal corridor to the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, Putin may feel compelled to strike harder at the arms pipeline, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called vital to his nation’s survival.
In the meantime, a staggering volume and range of war materiel is arriving almost daily.
“The scope and speed of our support to meeting Ukraine’s defense needs are unprecedented in modern times,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. He said the approximately $2.5 billion in weapons and other material that has been offered to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration is equivalent to more than half of Ukraine’s normal defense budget.
One example: The Pentagon says it has provided more than 5,000 Javelin missiles, which are among the world’s most effective weapons against tanks and other armored vehicles — and can even take down a low-flying helicopter. The missile, shaped like a clunky dumb bell and weighing 50 pounds (23 kilograms), is fired by an individual soldier; from its launch tube it flies up at a steep angle and descends directly onto its target in what its known as a curveball shot — hitting the top of a tank where its armor is weakest.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that an unspecified number of additional Javelins are to be delivered by Thursday, and the U.S. will complete the delivery of 100 armed Switchblade “kamikaze” drones this week.
The specific routes used to move the U.S. and other Western materials into Ukraine are secret for security reasons, but the basic process is not. Just this week, two U.S. military cargo planes arrived in Eastern Europe with items ranging from machine guns and small arms ammunition to body armor and grenades, the Pentagon said.
A similar load is due later this week to complete delivery of $800 million in assistance approved by President Joe Biden just one month ago. The weapons and equipment are offloaded, moved onto trucks and driven into Ukraine by Ukrainian soldiers for delivery.
Kirby said the material sometimes reaches troops in the field within 48 hours of entering Ukraine. | https://www.wivb.com/news/russia-has-yet-to-slow-a-western-arms-express-into-ukraine/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:19 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/russia-has-yet-to-slow-a-western-arms-express-into-ukraine/ |
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — As search and rescue efforts increased with the arrival of equipment, the death toll has risen to at least 56, with 28 others missing, after a summer tropical depression that unleashed days of pounding rain caused landslides and floods in the central and southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.
Nearly 200 villagers were injured mostly in the landslides in the hard-hit city of Baybay in central Leyte province over the weekend and early Monday, officials said. Army, police and other rescuers were struggling with mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find the missing villagers.
More rescuers and heavy equipment, including backhoes, arrived in the landslide-hit villages in Baybay. Its mayor, Jose Carlos Cari, said the weather cleared Wednesday, allowing the search and rescue work to go full force.
“We’re looking for so many more missing people,” Cari said and added that authorities would do a recount to determine how many villagers were really missing and believed buried in the landslides.
Forty-seven of the dead were recovered from the landslides that hit six Baybay villages, military and local officials said. Nine other people drowned elsewhere in floodwaters in four central and southern provinces, they said.
“We are saddened by this dreadful incident that caused an unfortunate loss of lives and destruction of properties,” said army brigade commander Col. Noel Vestuir, who was helping oversee the search and rescue.
Coast guard, police and firefighters rescued some villagers Monday in flooded central communities, including some who were trapped on their roofs. In central Cebu city, schools and work were suspended Monday and Mayor Michael Rama declared a state of calamity to allow the rapid release of emergency funds.
At least 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year, mostly during the rainy season that begins around June. Some storms have hit even during the scorching summer months in recent years.
The disaster-prone Southeast Asian nation also lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where many of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. | https://www.wivb.com/news/search-and-rescue-efforts-bolstered-in-philippine-disaster/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:26 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/search-and-rescue-efforts-bolstered-in-philippine-disaster/ |
SALADO, Texas (AP) — Nearly two dozen people were injured when tornadoes swept through central Texas as part of a storm system that was expected to spawn more twisters and damaging winds Wednesday.
The storms caused widespread damage Tuesday in Salado, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Austin. Bell County Judge David Blackburn said 23 people were injured, one of them critically. Twelve of the injured were taken to hospitals, Blackburn said.
“There’s not much left,” said Blackburn, the county’s top elected official. “Large trees are uprooted and overturned and stripped. Buildings really reduced to rubble. … Power lines, power poles, are scattered all over the place. It’s pretty devastating.”
Photos on social media showed grapefruit-size hail associated with that storm.
Tornadoes were also spotted Tuesday in Iowa, but there were no reports of serious injuries. In Lincoln, Nebraska, powerful wind gusts knocked down tree limbs and caused some roof damage. A possible tornado also caused damage in the small southern Minnesota town of Taopi near the state’s border with Iowa.
Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik said dispatchers began getting calls from residents trapped in their damaged homes not long after a tornado warning siren sounded at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. There were no reports of serious injuries. Weather service crews were assessing damage in the area Wednesday.
More tornadoes were in the forecast Wednesday for parts of the mid-South and in the Mississippi River Valley, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Hurricane-force winds, intense tornadoes and large hail were possible in Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Alabama, forecasters said. Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, were among the cities that could see the worst weather Wednesday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Elsewhere, the North Dakota Capitol, schools, government offices and interstates remained closed Wednesday as a blizzard continued to bear down on the state.
A blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service remained in effect through Thursday for most of western and central North Dakota where up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow was expected. | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/23-injured-in-texas-storms-more-tornadoes-forecast-in-us/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:34 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/23-injured-in-texas-storms-more-tornadoes-forecast-in-us/ |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s first-in-the-nation reparations task force meets in person Wednesday, the first time members have gathered face-to-face since their inaugural meeting nearly a year ago and mere weeks after the group voted to limit restitution to descendants of enslaved Black people.
The two-day event will be held at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco’s historic Fillmore district, a neighborhood once thriving with African American night clubs and shops until government redevelopment forced out residents. Its pastor is Rev. Amos Brown, task force vice chair and president of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation creating the two-year reparations task force in 2020, making California the only state to move ahead with a mission to study the institution of slavery, educate the public about its findings and develop remedies. Reparations at the federal level has not gone anywhere, but cities and universities across the country are taking up the issue.
In a dramatic vote last month, California’s task force voted 5-4 to limit reparations to descendants of people who can show they are descended from enslaved or free Black people in the U.S. as of the 19th century. Those who favor broader eligibility says lineage-based reparations unfairly shuts out Black people who have also suffered systemic discrimination.
Since its inaugural meeting in June, the nine-member panel has dedicated much of its time to hearing from experts in weighty areas such as housing and homelessness, racism in banking and discrimination in technology.
Wednesday’s agenda includes testimony from experts in education, while on Thursday, the committee is scheduled to discuss a report to be made public in June that shows how the institution of slavery continues to reverberate throughout California, including in the form of disparities in household income, health, employment and incarceration.
Task force members were appointed by the governor and the leaders of the two legislative chambers. A plan for reparations is due to the Legislature in 2023. | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/california-reparations-panel-to-meet-in-san-francisco/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:41 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/california-reparations-panel-to-meet-in-san-francisco/ |
MIAMI (AP) — Police in Miami arrested a 41-year-old woman in the deaths of her two children, aged 3 and 5, after officers responded to repeated hang-up 911 calls from her apartment where they found their tied-up bodies.
“Come get them, I don’t want them anymore,” Odette Lysse Joassaint told officers who responded to the scene on Tuesday night, according to the arrest report. Police said she appeared to be irrational.
The officers entered the apartment and found a 3-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. The children were lying in a prone position on the bed with their arms, legs and neck tied, a police report said.
They tried to resuscitate the children until a Miami Fire Rescue crew arrived and pronounced them dead. The woman has been charged with two counts of murder.
Police have not said how many calls were made to 911 or whether she spoke to a dispatcher.
No other details were immediately released. | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/police-find-2-dead-kids-in-miami-apartment-mother-arrested/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:48 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/police-find-2-dead-kids-in-miami-apartment-mother-arrested/ |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.djournal.com/monroe/living/icc-schedules-auditions-for-choir-centerstage/article_1451867d-8731-5533-a677-9320f56d4ed5.html | 2022-04-13T17:16:51 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/monroe/living/icc-schedules-auditions-for-choir-centerstage/article_1451867d-8731-5533-a677-9320f56d4ed5.html |
If nations do all that they’ve promised to fight climate change, the world can still meet one of two internationally agreed upon goals for limiting warming. But the planet is blowing past the other threshold that scientists say will protect Earth more, a new study finds.
The world is potentially on track to keep global warming at, or a shade below, 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than pre-industrial times, a goal that once seemed out of reach, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
That will only happen if countries not only fulfill their specific pledged national targets for curbing carbon emissions by 2030, but also come through on more distant promises of reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, the study says.
This 2 degree warmer world still represents what scientists characterize as a profoundly disrupted climate with fiercer storms, higher seas, animal and plant extinctions, disappearing coral, melting ice and more people dying from heat, smog and infectious disease. It’s not the goal that world leaders say they really want: 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The world will blast past that more prominent and promoted goal unless dramatic new emission cuts are promised and achieved this decade and probably within the next three years, study authors said.
Both goals of 1.5-degrees and 2-degrees are part of the 2015 Paris climate pact and the 2021 Glasgow follow-up agreement. The 2-degree goal goes back years earlier.
“For the first time we can possibly keep warming below the symbolic 2-degree mark with the promises on the table. That assumes of course that the countries follow through on the promises,” said study lead author Malte Meinshausen, a University of Melbourne climate scientist.
That’s a big if, outside climate scientists and the authors, say. It means political leaders actually doing what they promise
The study “examines only this optimistic scenario. It does not check whether governments are making efforts to implement their long-term targets and whether they are credible,” said Niklas Hohne of Germany, a New Climate Institute scientist who analyzes pledges for Climate Action Tracker and wasn’t part of this study. “We know that governments are far from implementing their long-term targets.”
Hohne’s team and others who track pledges have similarly found that limiting warming to 2 degrees is still possible, as Meinshausen’s team has. The difference is that Meinshausen’s study is the first to be peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal.
Sure, the 2-degree world requires countries to do what they promise. But cheaper wind and solar have shown carbon emissions cuts can come faster than thought and some countries will exceed their promised cuts, Meinshausen said. He also said the way climate action works is starting with promises and then policies, so it’s not unreasonable to take countries at their word.
Mostly, he said, limiting warming to 2 degrees is still a big improvement compared to just five or ten years ago, when “everybody laughed like ‘ha we’ll never see targets on the table that bring us closer to 2 degrees’,” Meinshausen said. “Targets and implemented policies actually can turn the needle on future temperatures. I think that optimism is important for countries to see. Yes, there is hope.”
About 20% to 30% of that hope is due to the Paris climate agreement, but the rest is due to earlier investments by countries that made green energy technologies cheaper than dirty fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, Meinshausen said.
Yet, even if that’s good news, it’s not all good, he said.
“Neither do we have a margin of error (on barely limiting to 2 degrees) nor do the pledges put us on a path close to 1.5 degrees,” Meinshausen said.
In 2018 the United Nations’ scientific expert team studied the differences between the 1.5- and 2-degree thresholds and found considerably worse and more extensive damages to Earth at 2 degrees of warming. So the world has recently tried to make the 1.5 degrees goal possible.
Earth has already warmed at least 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, often considered the late 1800s, so 2 degrees of warming really means another 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than now.
Meinshausen’s analysis “looks good and solid, but there are always assumptions that could be important,” said Glen Peters, a climate scientist who tracks emissions with Global Carbon Project.
The biggest assumption is that nations somehow get to promised net zero carbon emissions, most of them by 2050 but a decade or two later for China and India, said Peters, research director of the Cicero Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, Norway.
“Making pledges for 2050 is cheap, backing them up with necessary short-term action is hard,” he said, noting that for most countries, there will be five or six elections between now and 2050.
___
Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
___
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.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/study-keeping-climate-pledges-limits-warming-to-2-degrees/ | 2022-04-13T17:16:55 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/study-keeping-climate-pledges-limits-warming-to-2-degrees/ |
Greetings to all our readers today and I hope you have had a great week in the Lord and are acknowledging His goodness in your life every day.
Now with Easter on the horizon I want to say something about this great event because Easter has made its mark in the fabric of American society has it not.
Do you find it strange that an event that took place just over 2000 years ago in the land of Israel in the city of Jerusalem has such a wide sweep of appreciation and involvement in America today? And on top of all that it is a religious event. We are celebrating the resurrection, the raising from the dead of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Of course those of us who know Christ know that he was more than just a man from Nazareth or Jerusalem. He was the Son of God incarnate on this earth, come to die for the sins of the world. John 3:16 says that he was God’s only begotten Son.
It’s difficult somewhat to say what is the most significant day in the history of the Christian church. Is it the birth of Christ? Without which there could have been no incarnation, or the death of Christ, without which there could be no redemption or some other special event in the life of Christ. One thing is for sure, had Christ lived and died and not risen from the dead all would be in vain. See 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
So when it is all said and done maybe this is the day that should mark and distinguish Christianity from all other religions, knowing this that Christianity is more than just a religion it is life. Because of Christs’ resurrection from the dead it is his life in yours if you have repented of your sins and received him as your Lord and Savior.
I hope you have a Happy and blessed Easter! And by the way, I was just over there in Israel and Jerusalem and at The Garden Tomb a couple years ago and it's just as the angels said, "He is not here, He is risen." Praise God.
Partly cloudy early then heavy thunderstorms this afternoon. High 82F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Tonight
Showers with the chance of some thunder this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 48F. SSW winds shifting to NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. | https://www.djournal.com/sentinel/living/religious-viewpoint-4-13/article_0ee8f336-ca1b-583f-bba6-54225166858f.html | 2022-04-13T17:16:57 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/sentinel/living/religious-viewpoint-4-13/article_0ee8f336-ca1b-583f-bba6-54225166858f.html |
BUTNER, NC. (KFOR) — Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, says he will marry a former fellow inmate pending his divorce from current husband, Dillon Passage.
TMZ reported in March that the pair had filed for divorce, but fans have been aware of their love troubles for quite some time after Maldonado-Passage announced their plan for divorce a year earlier.
In July 2021, Maldonado-Passage announced plans for a “Bachelor King” contest to search for a new husband.
This month, Maldonado-Passage announced his engagement to John Robert Graham, a former fellow inmate Exotic met in federal prison.
“We were together over one year in prison, and he is home now with our son,” said Maldonado-Passage on his social media.
According to court documents, Graham was in prison for burglary of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to more than 12 years in 2012 but was released early in March 2022.
“John is such an amazing man, I can’t wait to get home and share our lives together and with our son,” said Maldonado-Passage in another post.
In 2018, Maldonado-Passage, the former owner of the Greater Wynnewood Animal Park, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of murder-for-hire for trying to have activist Carole Baskin killed.
He was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in prison. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver determined the trial court wrongly treated two murder-for-hire convictions separately in calculating his prison term.
Maldonado-Passage was resentenced to 21 years in federal prison in January 2022 for his 2020 conviction on 19 counts, including murder for hire.
In November 2021, Maldonado-Passage announced his “aggressive” diagnosis of prostate cancer and was transferred from Ft. Worth Federal Medical Center to the Butner Federal Medical Center.
Now, he says he has 25 more radiation treatments at the Butner medical center to treat his recent diagnosis. | https://www.wivb.com/news/whats-trending/tiger-king-joseph-maldonado-passage-announces-engagement-to-former-fellow-inmate/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:02 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/whats-trending/tiger-king-joseph-maldonado-passage-announces-engagement-to-former-fellow-inmate/ |
OXFORD — Tuesday afternoon was a moment more than a year in the making for Ole Miss senior pitcher Max Cioffi. And, just like every other time he has taken the mound, he was nervous. This time was a little different, though.
Cioffi tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow last year. Between that and the torn meniscus he suffered early last season, the righty played in just two games in 2021, the most recent coming on April 5, 2021.
Join the conversation in our exclusive Facebook group for Rebel fans
The last year of rehabbing his elbow has been a grind. But when he awoke on April 12, a return date that had been circled on the calendar for two weeks, Cioffi admits he was up especially early, like a child on Christmas morning.
It was all finally going to be worth it.
“I was nervous the whole day. Nervous, thankfully turned into adrenaline. But to be honest, I’m nervous every time I pitch,” Cioffi said. “It fuels me, though. It gives me adrenaline and helps me go.”
Cioffi made his 2022 debut against Murray State, entering the game in the seventh inning of an eventual 8-2 Rebels (20-12, 4-8 SEC) win. He pitched one inning, surrendered one hit and struck out two batters.
Cioffi said he has felt more like a coach than player for the better part of a year, unable to help his teammates accomplish their lofty goals. Now back in the fold, the Chicago native will try and help Ole Miss get back on track in SEC play. The Rebels have lost their last three conference games.
Ole Miss travels to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks in a three-game series starting Thursday. First pitch for the opener is 6 p.m.
“(Rehabbing is) mundane. It’s a grind. He’s done this with just us for the last couple months,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “But to see him do it in a real game with people in the stands against another team’s really a cool moment.”
Cioffi admits there were times when he second guessed himself through the process, whether he should even come back for his final year of college baseball. But at the end of the day, it’s what he needed to do.
“You have to be patient. You have to trust that you’re doing the right thing. Sometimes you can have thoughts back and forth, did I make the right decision? Should I be starting my life?” Cioffi said. “But this is what I wanted to do, and you just kind of have to stay true to your roots and stay true to yourself.”
MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/ole-miss/after-more-than-a-year-max-cioffi-makes-his-return-to-the-mound/article_a46116cc-3931-5e4c-93e4-2888e98e91e2.html | 2022-04-13T17:17:03 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/ole-miss/after-more-than-a-year-max-cioffi-makes-his-return-to-the-mound/article_a46116cc-3931-5e4c-93e4-2888e98e91e2.html |
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Skeptical Wisconsin Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether state law allows for voters to give their absentee ballot to someone else to return or whether drop boxes can be placed outside municipal clerk offices.
The court’s ruling later this spring or summer is expected to establish rules for the upcoming midterm election where the battleground state’s Democratic governor and Republican U.S. senator are on the ballot.
The court in February barred the use of drop boxesoutside election clerk offices for the April spring election where local offices such as mayor, city council and school board were decided. But the larger question the court has yet to address is whether to allow the secure ballot boxes going forward in places such as libraries and grocery stores.
The fight is being closely watched as Republicans push to limit access to absentee ballots following President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Wisconsin, beating Donald Trump by just under 21,000 votes. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot in November.
State law is silent on drop boxes, but the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission has told local election officials they can be placed at multiple locations and that ballots can be returned by people other than the voter.
Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative who sometimes sides with the court’s liberal minority, zeroed in Wednesday on what it means to deliver a ballot and whether wording in the law means someone other than the voter can return it.
“If I’m mailing an absentee ballot and my wife takes the three steps to put it in the mailbox, have I violated the law?” Hagedorn asked. “Do we need to decide that question?”
Attorney Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty that brought the lawsuit, said that question did need to be addressed. In response to questions, Esenberg said he did not think it would be legal for someone to hand their ballot to a family member within feet of a mailbox and have that person drop it in.
“I’m sure you can appreciate how absurd that result is,” liberal Justice Jill Karofsky said.
Hagedorn also asked whether a ballot would be delivered “in person” if the voter had it dropped off by a representative of a political party. Charles Curtis, attorney for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said he thought that it would be legal as long as the ballot wasn’t tampered with.
Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley appeared to doubt that the law would allow for anyone other than the voter to return an absentee ballot.
Advocates for people with disabilities and others argue that not allowing someone other than the voter to return a ballot makes it more difficult for voters who have limited mobility or other physical impairments.
Hagedorn also questioned exactly where an absentee ballot drop box could be placed and still be considered legal.
“I think its really important that we define this carefully and not generically,” he said.
In January, Hagedorn sided with liberals and put on hold a lower court’s ruling barring drop boxes outside clerk offices for the February primary. But in February, Hagedorn reversed and sided with the conservative majority in reinstating the lower court’s ruling that put the ban in effect for the April election and beyond pending the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The elections commission rescinded its guidance pending the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Wisconsin’s top elections official testified last year that at least 528 drop boxes were used by more than 430 communities in the presidential election. The popularity of absentee voting exploded during the pandemic in 2020, with more than 40% of all voters casting mail ballots, a record high.
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have also tried to enact laws limiting the use of absentee ballots, but Evers has vetoed them.
Republicans have made similar moves since Trump’s defeat to tighten access to ballots in other battleground states. The restrictions especially target voting methods that have been rising in popularity and erecting hurdles to mail balloting and early voting that saw explosive growth earlier in the pandemic.
In addition to Democrats, other opponents to the lawsuit are the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Wisconsin Faith Voice For Justice and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. | https://www.wivb.com/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-on-ballot-boxes/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:09 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-on-ballot-boxes/ |
YAHIDNE, Ukraine (AP) — The Russian soldiers forced more than 300 villagers into a school basement. Then, during weeks of stress and deprivation, some began to die.
Residents of Yahidne, a village 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Kyiv, told The Associated Press about being ordered into the basement at gunpoint after the Russians took control of the area around the northern city of Chernihiv in early March.
In one room, those who survived wrote the names of the 18 who didn’t.
“An old man died near me and then his wife died next,” Valentyna Saroyan, a weary survivor, recalled Tuesday as she toured the darkened basement. “Then a man died who was lying there, then a woman sitting next to me. She was a heavy woman, and it was very difficult for her.”
Village by village, town by town, Ukrainians in areas where Russians have withdrawn continue to unearth new horrors. More are feared.
The residents of Yahidne, which is on the outskirts of Chernihiv, said they were made to remain in the basement day and night except for the rare times when they they were allowed outside to cook on open fires or to use the toilet.
The health of the captives suffered.
“Here’s a chair, and that’s how we were sitting for a month,” Saroyan said, recalling her aching legs.
As people died one by one in the basement, neighbors were allowed from time to time to place the bodies in a mass grave in a nearby cemetery.
Each time, they passed through a doorway marked in dripping red paint with the plaintive words “Attention. Children.” The glare of a flashlight shows bright drawings on the walls.
The Russians could be cruel, surviving villages said.
Svitlana Baguta said a Russian soldier who was “either drunk or high” made her drink from a flask at gunpoint.
“He pointed the gun at the throat, put the flask and said, ‘Drink,’” Baguta said.
Julia Surypak said the soldiers allowed some people to make a short trip to their homes if they sang the Russian state anthem. “But they didn’t allow us to walk much,” she said.
The Russian forces left the village at the beginning of April, part of a regional withdrawal from northern Ukraine Russia’s military ordered in anticipation of after a large offensive in the east.
A message scrawled on a wall of the Yahidne school marked April 1 as “the last day” of their presence.
The soldiers left behind unexploded artillery shells, destroyed Russian vehicles and rubble.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/forced-into-a-basement-in-ukraine-residents-began-to-die/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:16 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/forced-into-a-basement-in-ukraine-residents-began-to-die/ |
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday it has authorized raising the rainbow flag at federal government buildings on some occasions, a move meant to end discussions about unclear rules and signal acceptance of diversity.
The ministry said that flying the rainbow flag “must be related to a concrete date,” such as Pride marches or the June 28 anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprisings in New York that helped propel a global LGBTQ movement. There are some national holidays and other days when it won’t be allowed.
The ministry said that, until now, there had been no rule formally allowing the flag, “which in the past has frequently led to discussions.”
“We are a modern and diverse country,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. “It is high time that we as state institutions also show that more clearly.”
“We want discrimination against people because of their sexual identity to end in all areas of society,” she added. “We want to show solidarity with all those who still experience exclusion.”
Faeser’s decision comes as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition of three socially liberal parties, which took office in December, pursues an agenda of social reforms.
The government has launched a drive to remove from the country’s criminal code aban on doctors “advertising” abortion services. Among other things, it also wants to legalize the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes, ease the path to German citizenship and lift restrictions on dual citizenship.
The government also wants to scrap 40-year-old legislation that requires transsexual people to get a psychological assessment and a court decision before officially changing gender, a process that often involves intimate questions. It is to be replaced with a new “self-determination law.” | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/germany-oks-raising-rainbow-flag-at-government-buildings/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:22 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/germany-oks-raising-rainbow-flag-at-government-buildings/ |
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Patients at the flagship hospital in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region are dying amid shortages of life-saving drugs and oxygen, according to health officials.
At least 60 patients with kidney disease have died since July, the result of a lack of supplies needed for regular dialysis, a doctor at Ayder Hospital in Mekele, Tigray’s capital, told the Associated Press.
Another 81 patients have died “directly because of a lack of oxygen” since the conflict between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, erupted in Nov. 2020, the doctor said.
The doctor spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, has been cut off from the rest of the country since the TPLF recaptured most of the region in late June. Its road networks, banking services and phone lines are all severed, a situation the United Nations has described as a “de facto blockade” imposed by Ethiopia’s federal government.
Ethiopian authorities didn’t respond to a request for comment on dwindling supplies at Mekele’s Ayder Hospital. The institution is a federal teaching hospital, meaning the education ministry in Addis Ababa, the federal capital is responsible for allocating its budget.
The hospital’s 3,600 staff have not been paid for months and many do not have enough money to buy food, hospital officials said, highlighting challenges that reflect a wider humanitarian crisis in the region.
More than 90% of Tigray’s 6 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 115,000 children who are severely malnourished, according to U.N. figures.
Some shortages have been alleviated by aid flights operated by the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which have flown in 438 metric tonnes (482 tons) of medical and nutrition supplies since late January.
But these supplies represent just 4% of what’s required, according to experts.
As a result, staff at Ayder Hospital say they have resorted to washing and reusing surgical gloves and treating patients with expired medicines. They are also recycling plastic breathing tubes and items used for dialysis.
“This is really risky for the patients; they can die of infections and other complications,” said the doctor. “Doctors elsewhere in the world would be shocked to hear we are doing this.”
The hospital also has been forced to cancel surgeries because of power cuts and a lack of supplies. Some services have been forced to close altogether, including the cancer center, which has treated 1,769 patients since Nov. 2020 but has now run out of drugs for chemotherapy.
“Since July we received no chemotherapy drugs at all,” he said. “We just tell the cancer patients to go back home and they die. There is nothing we can do for them.”
A surgeon at the hospital, who also asked not to be named for safety reasons, said the stock of intravenous fluids has run so low that colleagues have resorted to making their own using “different chemicals” from the hospital’s store.
“It is not ideal,” the surgeon said. “It means when patients go into shock, you can’t resuscitate them. It is so frustrating. You need to insert an IV line and give fluids, but there are no fluids.”
He said shortages are so dire that some patients’ relatives must personally buy medicines from private pharmacies at inflated prices and bring them to the hospital before their family members can be treated.
Patients with kidney disease are currently receiving dialysis once a week, down from three times a week before the war, while the hospital is unable to admit new patients with kidney disease due to a lack of supplies, the doctor said.
Ethiopian authorities declared an immediate humanitarian truce on March 24, a move they said would allow aid to enter Tigray. But since then just one convoy of 20 aid trucks and one fuel tanker have entered Tigray, far short of the 100 trucks the U.N. says must enter every day to meet the region’s needs.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war, according to estimates by international aid groups.
But there is little hope for peace talks as Ethiopian authorities have outlawed the TPLF, effectively making its leaders fugitives on the run. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/hospital-in-ethiopias-tigray-struggles-to-treat-patients/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:28 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/hospital-in-ethiopias-tigray-struggles-to-treat-patients/ |
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO member states before crashing in the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatian crash investigators said Wednesday.
The 6-ton Soviet-era aircraft apparently drifted uncontrolled out of Ukraine, crossed into Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia, slamming into a field near a student dormitory early morning on March 10 in Zagreb. About 40 parked cars were damaged in the large explosion, but no one was injured.
Members of the Croatian investigative team told reporters Wednesday that fragments of the drone found at the crash site showed that the device carried an “improvised aircraft bomb” that was filled with unknown type of explosives.
“It was unequivocally established that these were fragments of the OFAB 100-120 air bomb,” said Maj. Mile Tomic. “Both the bomb and its trigger were made in the former USSR.”
The investigators said that they have not yet conclusively determined which side in the war in Ukraine launched the TU-141 drone that was originally used in surveillance missions. But they indicated that the Ukrainians are more like to be behind the launch as “fresh” paint traces of their blue and yellow flag were found on the pieces of the wreckage that also included a red star, the Russian air force marking.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied launching it.
NATO officials have refused to comment on the incident until an investigation is completed, but the alliance had increased its surveillance flights over countries near the war zone and a pair of US Air Force F-16s were deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Croatia on March 16, taking part in exercises and bolstering NATO’s southeastern flank.
Croatian officials had criticized NATO for what they called a slow reaction to a very serious incident and called into question the readiness of the military alliance’s member states to respond to a possible attack.
NATO said the alliance’s integrated air and missile defense had tracked the object’s flight path. But Croatian officials said the country’s authorities weren’t informed and that NATO reacted only after questions were posed by journalists.
___
AP writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/investigators-drone-that-crashed-in-croatia-carried-a-bomb/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:34 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/investigators-drone-that-crashed-in-croatia-carried-a-bomb/ |
LONDON (AP) — An Islamic State supporter was given a whole-life sentence Wednesday for stabbing a British lawmaker to death in revenge for his voting in support for airstrikes on Syria.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, was convicted Monday of murdering Conservative lawmaker David Amess and preparing terrorist acts. A jury deliberated for just 18 minutes before finding him guilty.
“The defendant has no remorse or shame for what he has done — quite the reverse,” Justice Nigel Sweeney told the court. “This is a murder that struck at the heart of democracy.”
Ali stabbed Amess with a carving knife multiple times on Oct.15 while he was meeting with voters at a church hall in the town of Leigh-on-Sea in eastern England. Ali, a London man with Somali heritage, said he targeted Amess because he backed voting for airstrikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.
The whole-life sentence means Ali will never be eligible for parole, and will likely spend the rest of his days in prison.
Amess’s family said “there is no elation” following the sentencing and described the crime as “beyond evil.”
“We will wake each day and immediately feel our loss. We will struggle through each day for the rest of our lives,” the family said in a statement. “It breaks our heart to know that our husband and father would have greeted the murderer with a smile of friendship and would have been anxious to help.”
Prosecutors described Ali as a committed, fanatical terrorist and said he spent years plotting an attack on British politicians. Counter-terrorism officers at the Metropolitan Police said they had evidence that he carried out reconnaissance around the Parliament building in London weeks before the murder.
During the trial, Ali told the court he took action in the U.K. to help Muslims in Syria because he couldn’t travel to join the Islamic State group. He also said he did not think he did anything wrong.
He added he had expected to be shot and die at the scene, but decided to drop his knife after seeing that the first police to arrive were not armed with guns.
Amess, 69, had been a member of Parliament since 1983. He was pronounced dead at the scene after the stabbing.
The slaying of Amess shook the nation and prompted questions about security protection for lawmakers because they often meet directly with the public. It came five years after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death by a far-right extremist. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/is-supporter-given-life-sentence-for-murdering-uk-lawmaker/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:41 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/is-supporter-given-life-sentence-for-murdering-uk-lawmaker/ |
IRPIN, Ukraine (AP) — Pounding sounds came from a sixth-floor window, along with the risk of falling glass. For once, it was not destruction in the Ukrainian town of Irpin, but rebuilding. Heartened by Russia’s withdrawal from the capital region, residents have begun coming home, at least to what’s left.
Irpin just weeks ago saw desperate scenes of flight. Terrified residents picked their way across slippery planks of a makeshift bridge after a concrete span was destroyed by Ukrainian forces to slow the Russian advance. But on Monday, a long line of cars waited to cross a recently improvised bridge allowing access between the town and the capital, Kyiv.
The early returnees are among the 7 million Ukrainians displaced inside their country by the war. They are crossing paths with the elderly and others who waited out Russia’s assault in cold, damp basements, numbed by the sounds of shelling, and who have emerged into a landscape of ruined tanks and splintered homes.
In colorful Irpin apartment blocks where cafes and salons are still silent, the first signs of life stir amid the shattered glass and scorched walls. It feels like a turning point, even as police officers with flashlights continue to walk through near-empty buildings, looking for bodies and mines.
The Russians left messages in some apartments, according to photos posted in one building’s social media group and shared with The Associated Press. “Hello from the Russians,” read one taunting note written on a piece of paper. “We didn’t want to, you started the war yourself. Sorry if something is wrong :)”
Another message, left in a child’s bedroom, said, “I fed your fish, princess.” The fish are still alive.
Tenant chat groups now full of questions for Irpin’s returnees about the state of their homes.
Upstairs and down a darkened hallway, Olexiy Planida, 34, worked to place a sheet of plastic over a large window facing a damaged playground. This was his first time home since he fled with his wife, two small children and their dog.
The remains of breakfast, including a half-eaten bowl on a high chair, were where they left them. Nearby, pots of flowers had wilted. A stuffed toy lay amid broken glass.
“It hurts,” Planida said. The Russians broke open all the apartment doors and took a laptop, iPad and jewelry, he said. He’s sure it was the Russians because local thieves pick the locks instead.
“I think for a couple of years it can’t be fixed,” Planida said of Irpin’s homes, many of which have suffered similar damage or worse.
He hopes his children, ages 2 and 4, will never see their home the way it is now. He hopes they’ll never remember the war itself, which he and his wife have tried to explain in the gentlest of terms.
“We’re just talking to them like, ‘Hey, some bad guys came to us,’” he said. “They shouldn’t see such things.” Even he was shocked by the ruins in parts of Irpin and in Bucha nearby.
Down the hallway, Oksana Lyul’ka cleared the broken glass from her living room floor, using work gloves to carry pieces as large as dinner plates.
Just months ago the 28-year-old had returned to Ukraine from Cyprus to start a new life closer to home, and she renovated the apartment. Now the structural damage alone is a concern, along with her missing jewelry.
She had arrived at the apartment an hour earlier. Downstairs, she cried.
She fled Irpin on the second day of the war and moved in with her parents. Now she is based in Kyiv, not so far away.
“We can’t make plans for now,” she said. “Our plan is to win the war, and then we will decide what to do with the apartment. It’s not that important now.”
Because the Russians remain in Ukraine they complicate any real recovery, she said. “We all feel pain and it’s hard and it’s terrible, but people are suffering, people are dying, and this is the main problem.”
Near the slowly reviving bridge linking Irpin to the capital, dozens of cars abandoned by fleeing residents were being placed in rows. Some were burned. Some were smashed.
Some vehicles had the remnants of their owners’ last seconds before giving up and going on foot: a coffee thermos. Face masks. Glove compartments left open, documents scattered.
People have started showing up at the lot to look for what they left behind.
Not all find it. One man sat on the curb, holding two photographs, and wept. His brother was gone.
___
David Keyton in Stockholm, Sweden contributed.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/it-cant-be-fixed-in-shattered-irpin-signs-of-homecoming/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:49 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/it-cant-be-fixed-in-shattered-irpin-signs-of-homecoming/ |
TOKYO (AP) — U.S. and Japanese warships, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, are conducting their joint naval exercise in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula for the first time in five years, in a show of their close military alliance amid growing speculation of North Korea’s missile or nuclear testing later this week.
The U.S. 7th Fleet and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force said Wednesday they conducted a joint naval exercise at the Sea of Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was the first time the U.S. aircraft carrier held the exercise in the area since 2017 and is seen as an apparent attempt to deter North Korea’s provocation.
Defense experts have warned that North Korea may launch another missile or even conduct a nuclear test as early as this week when Pyongyang marks the birth anniversary of its founding leader Kim Il Sung. Tension is rising in the region ahead of an annual joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea.
Japan has also stepped up joint military exercises with its closest ally, the United States, as well as regional partners in recent years amid rising concern over China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the regional seas.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the ongoing joint exercise is “aimed at strengthening military cooperation between Japan and the United States, and is not keeping in mind a specific country. … We will continue to strengthen deterrence and response capability of the Japan-U.S. alliance and to do utmost for the defense of our country.”
Details of the exercise will be released by the Japanese Defense Ministry “when the situation allows a disclosure.”
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force said its destroyer JS Kongo and JS Inazuma, as well as Japanese F-2 fighters joined USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group “in order to strengthen the capability of Japan-US alliance for effective deterrence and response.”
“Our works contribute to the regional peace and stability,” the Japanese navy tweeted.
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense official said they cannot provide specific dates and locations of the ongoing joint exercise until it’s finished.
Tension has risen in the area over North Korea’s spate of missile tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in more than four years.
Some experts say the North’s recent missile tests were meant to perfect its weapons technology, boost its leverage in future negotiations with the U.S. and secure stronger internal loyalty. They say North Korea could soon conduct another ICBM launch, a launch of a satellite-carrying rocket or a test of a nuclear device in coming weeks. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/japan-us-hold-navy-drills-off-koreas-amid-nuke-test-worry/ | 2022-04-13T17:17:56 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/japan-us-hold-navy-drills-off-koreas-amid-nuke-test-worry/ |
GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization slammed the global community Wednesday for its almost singular focus on the war in Ukraine, arguing that crises elsewhere, including his home country of Ethiopia, don’t receive equal consideration, possibly because those suffering aren’t white.
In a press briefing, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he didn’t know “if the world really gives equal attention to black and white lives,” given that the ongoing emergencies in Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria have garnered only a “fraction” of the global concern for Ukraine.
Tedros said the siege of the Tigray region of Ethiopia by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces was one of the longest in modern history and noted that a recent truce had still not allowed in significant amounts of humanitarian aid. Tedros acknowledged that the situation in Ukraine was globally significant, but questioned if other crises were being accorded enough attention.
“I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way,” he said. “Some are more equal than others.”
Tedros noted that there are about 6,000 people living in Tigray with HIV, but authorities have lost track of where they are and that “many of them, we assume they have already died.” Tedros described the situation in Tigray as “tragic” and said he “hopes the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally.” He also critiqued the press for its failure to document the ongoing atrocities in Ethiopia, noting that people had been burned alive in the region.
“I don’t even know if that was taken seriously by the media,” he said
___
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Polish, Baltic presidents visit Ukraine in show of support
— Biden: Russia war a ‘ genocide,’ trying to ‘wipe out’ Ukraine
— Russia has yet to slow a Western arms express into Ukraine
— Forced into a basementin Ukraine, residents began to die
— Finland, Sweden move ahead toward possible NATO membership
— Russian war worsens fertilizer crunch, risking food supplies
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage
___
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
GENEVA — Switzerland is joining a raft of new sanctions targeting people and companies in Russia over President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine, including his two adult daughters.
The Federal Council on Wednesday adopted new measures against Russia and Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, that mirror similar measures adopted last week by the European Union. Switzerland, which has long prided itself on its neutrality, is not among the EU’s 27 member states.
Switzerland had already lined up with previous EU sanctions. The fifth and latest package of measures focuses on finance, transport, and trade — notably bans on imports of coal, wood, cement, seafood, and vodka that “serve as important sources of revenue for Russia,” the government said.
An extra 200 people or entities were also sanctioned including Russian oligarchs and their families, as well as Putin’s adult daughters Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova.
____
MILAN — Italian energy company ENI said it has a deal to import up to 3 billion cubic meters of liquid natural gas from Egypt this year as Europe seeks to wean itself from Russian natural gas over its invasion of Ukraine.
ENI signed the deal Wednesday with EGAS (Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company), just days after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi secured a deal to increase gas imports from Algeria to help replace the 29 billion cubic meters Italy imports annually from Russia.
The Algeria deal will add up to 9 billion cubic meters of gas by 2023-24 to the 21 billion cubic meters it already receives, with the increased flows starting in the fall. Russia is Italy’s top supplier of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity, heat and cool homes and power industry.
____
LONDON — The Channel Island of Jersey says it is freezing assets connected to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich estimated to be worth over $7 billion.
The Law Offices Department of Jersey, a tax haven long known for drawing large amounts of foreign direct investment, said Wednesday that the assets being targeted were either located in Jersey, or owned by Jersey-incorporated entities.
It said that police also executed a search warrant Tuesday at addresses suspected to be connected to Abramovich’s business activities. It didn’t provide details.
Abramovich, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been sanctioned by the U.K. government and the European Union. The 55-year-old tycoon has assumed an unofficial role in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia aimed at ending the war.
____
KYIV, Ukraine — The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia traveled by train to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The presidents of the four NATO countries on Russia’s doorstep planned to deliver “a strong message of political support and military assistance,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.
Nauseda, Estonian President Alar Karis, Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Egils Levits of Latvia also planned to discuss investigations into alleged Russian war crimes, including the massacre of civilians. Nauseda said the leaders had visited Borodyanka, one of the towns near Kyiv where evidence of atrocities has been found.
“This is where the dark side of humankind has shown its face,” he wrote on Twitter. “Brutal war crimes committed by the Russian army will not stay unpunished.”
____
PRAGUE — The Czech Republic has reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital that was closed after Russian troops invaded the country.
The Foreign Ministry said the diplomats have returned to Kyiv and the Czech flag is flying again at the embassy.
It said Wednesday’s move is “one of the steps to show our support for Ukraine.”
____
BERLIN — Experts commissioned by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe say they found “clear patterns” of violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine.
OSCE member countries authorized a study in early March, and the three professors chosen to conduct it — Wolfgang Benedek, Veronika Bílková and Marco Sassòli — were selected by Ukraine.
Their report, issued Wednesday, said that if the Russian forces had respected their obligations “in terms of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack and concerning specially protected objects such as hospitals, the number of civilians killed or injured would have remained much lower.”
The experts found “some violations and problems” in Ukrainian practices, voicing concern about the treatment of prisoners of war.
The report said Russia responded by saying it considered the mechanism under which the experts were appointed “largely outdated and redundant” and declined to appoint a liaison person, referring them to official government statements and briefings.
____
LONDON — Britain has announced a new round of sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, targeting 178 individuals who have helped prop up Kremlin-backed breakaway regions in the eastern part of the country.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Wednesday that the sanctions were coordinated with the European Union. The move comes after rocket attacks that targeted civilians in eastern Ukraine.
Those sanctioned include Alexander Ananchenko, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and Sergey Kozlov, the chair of government in the Luhansk People’s Republic. Also targeted are Pavel Ezubov, cousin of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, and Nigina Zairova, executive assistant to Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman.
Truss says Britain is sanctioning “those who prop up the illegal breakaway regions and are complicit in atrocities against the Ukrainian people. We will continue to target all those who aid and abet Putin’s war.’’
____
BERLIN — The German government is defending the country’s president after a diplomatic snub by Ukraine.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the largely ceremonial head of state, said Tuesday that his presence apparently “wasn’t wanted in Kyiv.” He said his Polish counterpart had suggested that they both travel to Ukraine along with the presidents of the three Baltic countries.
German newspaper Bild quoted an unidentified Ukrainian diplomat as saying that Steinmeier is not welcome in Kyiv at the moment because he had close relations with Russia in the past. Steinmeier was previously Germany’s foreign minister and recently admitted mistakes in policy toward Russia.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday she regrets that Steinmeier was unable to visit.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany said Chancellor Olaf Scholz would be welcome, but some German lawmakers said the snub to Steinmeier would complicate that.
Government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner defended Steinmeier, saying that he “has clearly taken a stand on Ukraine’s side.”
____
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sweden said Wednesday that the Scandinavian country’s customs will donate 8,000 respiratory protection, 263 chemical and gas protection suits and 88 protective suits to Ukrainian colleagues as well as vests and helmets.
The Swedish government said that Swedish Customs has asked for consent to send the equipment to Ukraine.
___
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Latvia says it will train Ukrainian troops to handle drones.
“At the moment, we must do everything we can to promote Ukraine’s victory and to defend its principles of self-determination and sovereignty,” Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said.
He added that two Latvian companies had delivered unmanned aerial vehicles.
Latvia already has provided, among other supplies, Stinger anti-air systems to Ukraine but also weapons, personal equipment, dry food supplies, ammunition, anti-tank weapons, worth more than 200 million euros ($222 million), the defense minister said.
___
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ government spokesman says the country is moving to revoke citizenship for four Russians and 17 of their family members, who are included among those sanctioned by the European Union after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Marios Pelekanos confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that procedures are underway to strip citizenship from 21 persons. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades had said earlier that the government had authorized the Interior Ministry to begin revocation procedures for the four Russians, who have not been named.
The four received Cypriot passports under the country’s once lucrative citizenship-by-investment program that was scrapped in 2020.
The program’s end came in the wake of an undercover TV report that allegedly showed the parliamentary speaker and a powerful lawmaker claiming that they could skirt rules to issue a passport to a fictitious Chinese investor who had supposedly been convicted of fraud at home.
A 2021 report found that more than half of a total 6,779 passports were issued unlawfully to relatives of wealthy investors over the program’s 13-year run that generated over 8 billion euros.
___
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has steered clear of calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine genocide.
Asked on France-2 television Wednesday about U.S. President Joe Biden’s use of the term, Macron said:
“I would say that Russia has unleashed an excessively brutal war in a unilateral way. It has been established that war crimes have been committed by the Russian army,” Macron said. “We must find those responsible and bring them to justice.”
“I am prudent with terms today….Genocide has a meaning. The Ukrainian people and Russian people are brotherly people. It’s madness what’s happening today. It’s unbelievable brutality and a return to war in Europe,” the French president said.
“But at the same time I look at the facts, and I want to continue to try the utmost to be able to stop the war and restore peace. I’m not sure if the escalation of words serves our cause.”
___
BUCHAREST, Romania __ Visiting a Black Sea air base in Romania, Belgian’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine and said that “Europe has changed forever.”
De Croo was joined by Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday at the southeast Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, where NATO troops are positioned.
The Belgian leader said that “armed aggression and war crimes were unleashed upon innocent people, innocent people of Ukraine.” The aggression, he said, was ”aimed at denying the fact the the population has a right to choose freedom.”
He called Russia’s actions “a turning point for Europe — for it is a brutal attack on the core values of Europe,” he said.
President Iohannis said that NATO will continue its “robust response.”
“The fact that we are together in this military base is further proof of the unity, cohesion and solidarity that exists at NATO level,” Iohannis said. He told the troops they are the “concrete expression of our determination to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense posture in the Black Sea region.”
___
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase has written down $1.5 billion of assets when the bank reported its quarterly results, most of it tied to the bank’s exposure to Russian and Ukrainian assets.
The write offs on Wednesday partially drove JPMorgan to report a noticeable decline in profits in the first quarter, and to miss Wall Street estimates.
JPMorgan is the first of Wall Street’s big giant banks to report its results. Analysts expect the big banks to have to write off billions of assets that are tied to Russia .
___
Russia says more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops have surrendered in the besieged southeastern port of Mariupol.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said 1,026 troops from the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade surrendered at a metals plant in the city.
Russian forces moved on Mariupol in late February and units in the city have been running low on supplies.
Konashenkov said that the 1,026 Ukrainian marines included 162 officers and 47 female personnel, and that 151 wounded received medical treatment.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych did not comment on the alleged mass surrender, but said in a post on Twitter that elements of the 36th Marine Brigade had managed to link up with other Ukrainian forces in the city as a result of a “risky maneuver.”
___
ROME — Pope Francis says his contention shortly after he became pontiff in 2013 that a third world war “in pieces” was afflicting the globe is ever more actual. Francis writes in an essay published on Wednesday in Italian daily Corriere della Sera that he would never a thought a year ago, while on a pilgrimage in Iraq, that war would be raging in Europe.
After decrying the aggression against Ukraine, Francis called war “a cancer that feeds itself by engulfing everything.” He lamented that women, children and older adults are “forced to live in the belly of the earth to escape bombs.”
The way to rip out “hate from the heart,” the pope said, is through “dialogue, negotiations, listening, diplomatic ability and creativity, long-ranged policies capable of constructing a new system of co-existence that isn’t any longer based on weapons, on deterrence.” | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/live-updates-allied-leaders-going-to-meet-with-zelenskyy/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:02 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/live-updates-allied-leaders-going-to-meet-with-zelenskyy/ |
BEIJING (AP) — Shanghai released 6,000 more people from the central facilities where they were under medical observation to guard against the coronavirus, the government said Wednesday, though the lockdown of most of China’s largest city was continuing in its third week.
About 6.6 million people in the city of 25 million were allowed to leave their homes Tuesday, but some were restricted to their own neighborhoods. Some housing compounds also appeared to still be keeping residents locked inside, and no further lifting of restrictions was apparent Wednesday.
Officials warn that Shanghai still doesn’t have its latest surge in cases of the omicron variant under control, despite its “zero-tolerance” approach that has seen some residents confined to their homes for three weeks or longer.
China also requires anyone who tests positive or is a close contact of such a person to spend at least a week in centralized observation centers in pre-fabricated buildings or gymnasiums and exhibition halls to limit the spread of the virus.
The city’s health bureau said Wednesday that 6,044 people had been allowed the day before to leave observation centers and return home, although health monitoring will continue.
The number of newly detected daily cases in the city edged upward to 26,338, all but 1,189 of them in people showing no symptoms. With more than 200,000 total cases, the ongoing outbreak is China’s biggest of the pandemic. But the mass testing has caught many asymptomatic cases, and no deaths have been reported in Shanghai.
The lockdown has led to frustration among residents in Shanghai about running out of food and being unable to get deliveries. Censors have diligently scrubbed such material from social media, while state-controlled outlets describe a successful campaign to provide food and other supplies and counseled residents that “persistence is victory.”
Shanghai is also home to China’s busiest port and main stock market, and concerns have been rising about the lockdown’s economic impact.
Figures released Wednesday showed China’s exports rose 15.7% in March over a year earlier while imports were flat due to disruptions from coronavirus outbreaks.
Customs data show exports rose to $276.1 billion despite anti-virus controls in Shanghai and other industrial centers that caused factories to reduce output. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/shanghai-releases-more-from-virus-observation-amid-lockdown/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:10 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/shanghai-releases-more-from-virus-observation-amid-lockdown/ |
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The deployment of South Africa’s military in northern Mozambique has been extended while its role has shifted from aggressively fighting Islamic extremist rebels to a peacekeeping effort, a top general said Wednesday.
About 600 members of the South African National Defence Force have been in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province since October last year and have captured and destroyed several of the extremists’ bases, the chief of the South African mission to Mozambique, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya said Wednesday.
The South African troops are part of a joint regional force of about 1,000 troops sent by the 16-nation Southern African Development Community to support Mozambique in its battle against the rebels. Other countries contributing troops include Angola, Botswana, Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.
Rwanda has also deployed about 2,000 troops as part of a bilateral agreement with Mozambique.
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Wednesday, Gen. Maphwanya said the offensive by the regional force inflicted “massive losses” against the insurgents. The operation destroyed several bases and recovered weapons including grenade launchers, machine guns, AK-47 rifles, vehicles and technological devices, he said.
“During this operation, the SAMIM (SADC Mission in Mozambique) forces faced a strong resistance from the terrorists but were able to inflict fatal casualties and disrupt as well as continue to dominate and pursue the terrorists in the operational area,” said Maphwanya.
Many of the rebels have been forced out of their bases, according to South African National Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Lindile Yam.
“A lot has been done to dislodge them,” said Yam, adding that the insurgents are trying to get local residents to join their effort to establish Islamic Shariah law in northern Mozambique. “They are even recruiting children as young as five years old,” he said.
Since 2017, the insurgency in Mozambique has been blamed for more than 3,000 deaths, with more than 800,000 people displaced and more than 1 million in need of food aid, according to the U.N. World Food Program.
A summit of leaders of southern African countries on Tuesday approved the transition of the regional force to a more stabilization role, after its more combative offensive against the rebels. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/south-african-army-extends-mission-against-mozambique-rebels/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:17 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/south-african-army-extends-mission-against-mozambique-rebels/ |
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss prosecutors are concluding without any charges a decade-long investigation into alleged money laundering and organized crime linked to late former President Hosni Mubarak’s circles in Egypt, and will release some 400 million Swiss francs ($430 million) frozen in Swiss banks.
The office of the Swiss attorney general said Wednesday that information received as part of cooperation with Egyptian authorities wasn’t sufficient to back up the claims that emerged in the wake of Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 that felled Mubarak’s three-decade rule.
A Swiss investigation into claims that banks in Switzerland were used to squirrel away ill-gotten funds had originally targeted 14 people, including Mubarak’s two sons, as well as dozens of other individuals and entities that had assets totaling some 600 million francs frozen.
More than 210 million francs were already released in an earlier phase of the case, which also could not substantiate the allegations, and Wednesday’s announcement means about 400 million more will be “released and returned to their beneficial owners,” the attorney-general’s office said.
The final part of the Swiss investigation centered on five people, it said, without identifying them.
Swiss prosecutors say they didn’t receive a response to a request for information from “commissions” created in Egypt to analyze financial transfers connected to people under investigation in Egypt — notably the Mubarak family, the office said. Mubarak died in 2020, aged 91.
“As a result, in the absence of evidence relating to potential offenses committed in particular in Egypt, it is not possible to show that the funds located in Switzerland could be of illegal origin,” it said. “The suspicion of money laundering cannot therefore be substantiated based on the information available.”
Swiss banks, reputed for their discretion, have been a favored repository over the years for many wealthy foreigners — including Western industrial tycoons, Russian oligarchs, and autocrats and other leaders and their families and cronies in places as diverse as Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Swiss authorities have touted a recent crackdown against money laundering through Swiss banks, but advocacy groups and watchdogs say the effort has not succeeded in completely ending such activities. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/swiss-to-unfreeze-430m-as-egypt-money-laundering-probe-ends/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:23 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/swiss-to-unfreeze-430m-as-egypt-money-laundering-probe-ends/ |
LONDON (AP) — Scientists are investigating a puzzling spike in liver disease in children across the United Kingdom, including the cause and whether there are any links between the affected youngsters.
The U.K. Health Security Agency said this week that public health personnel are looking into 74 cases of hepatitis, or liver inflammation, detected in children since January.
The usual viruses that cause infectious hepatitis were not found in the cases, and scientists and doctors are considering other possible causes, including COVID-19, other viruses and environmental factors.
While some types of hepatitis are mild and don’t require treatment, other forms of the disease can become chronic and be fatal.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said doctors in other countries should also report potential infections in case the outbreak is not limited to Britain. It said doctors should be on the lookout for children with jaundice and symptoms including vomiting and stomach problems.
The European agency said most cases involved children ages 2 to 5. It said some children had suffered acute liver failure and a “small number have required liver transplantation.” It said there were no travel links between the affected children.
British officials said none of the affected children were vaccinated against the coronavirus, and they ruled out any links to COVID-19 vaccines.
“One of the possible causes that we are investigating is that this is linked to adenovirus infection,” said Dr. Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging Infections at the U.K. Health Security Agency.
Adenoviruses are common viruses that cause problems like pink eye, a sore throat or diarrhea. They are often spread between people and by touching contaminated surfaces.
“The current crop of cases of hepatitis in children under the age of 10 years is very unusual,” Will Irving, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, said in a statement.
Adults are much more prone to suffer severe disease from hepatitis, and children are not usually affected, he said.
The public health investigation will likely focus on studying patient samples and trying to find potential toxins or viruses that might be responsible, Irving said. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/uk-investigating-puzzling-spike-in-liver-disease-in-children/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:30 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/uk-investigating-puzzling-spike-in-liver-disease-in-children/ |
ROME (AP) — A close associate of Pope Francis on Wednesday defended the Vatican’s decision to have a Russian woman and a Ukrainian woman carry the cross together during a Good Friday procession that will be presided over by the pontiff.
On Tuesday, both the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See and the archbishop of Kyiv blasted the choice given Russia’s invasion and war in Ukraine. The women are both nurses who work together at a Rome hospital.
Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Yurash tweeted that he “understands and shares general concern in Ukraine and many other communities about idea to bring together Ukrainian and Russian women” to carry the cross during part of the procession on Friday.
“Now we are working on the issue trying to explain difficulties of its realization and possible consequences,” the ambassador said.
The torchlit procession at at Rome’s Colosseum is a traditional part of the Vatican’s Holy Week observances.
The Vatican didn’t immediately comment.
Responding to the criticism, the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest in Rome who is close to Francis, defended the pairing of the Russian and Ukrainian women for the solemn procession.
“You have to understand one thing” about the pope, Spadaro told Italian state radio network RAI on Wednesday. “He’s a pastor, not a politician.”
Spadaro ventured that the image of the two women carrying the cross together was upsetting “because they represent something that can’t be obtained” now — “peace.”
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who is based in Kyiv and heads the Greek-Catholic church in Ukraine, also denounced the pairing.
“I consider this idea inopportune and ambiguous,” Shevchuk said, adding that it “doesn’t take into consideration the context of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.”
Shevchuk also decried the wording of a meditation that the Vatican had said would be read aloud as the nurses clutch the tall, lightweight cross. It reads, “We want our life back as before. Why all of this? What wrong did we do? Why have you forsaken us? Why have you forsaken our peoples?”
The words, combined with the cross-carrying gesture, “are incomprehensible and even offensive,” the Greek-Catholic prelate said. .
The meditation was scripted based on the experiences of the families of the Russian and Ukrainian women, whose families also plan to participate in the procession, the Vatican has said.
The women, interviewed on Italian state TV earlier in the week, have expressed satisfaction with their role in the procession and stressed their friendship.
The pope did not mention the controversy during his public audience on Wednesday. But he denounced “the armed aggression of these days” as “an outrage against God.”
Francis has pressed for an Easter cease-fire in Ukraine. Easter falls on April 17 for many Christians this year. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/ukraine-upset-by-vatican-inviting-russian-to-carry-cross/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:36 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/ukraine-upset-by-vatican-inviting-russian-to-carry-cross/ |
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to resign after being fined for breaking his government’s pandemic lockdown rules, saying he would instead redouble efforts to strengthen the economy and combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.
London police fined Johnson and other people Tuesday for attending a birthday party thrown for the prime minister at his Downing Street offices on June 19, 2020. The penalty made Johnson the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.
Gatherings of more than two people were banned in Britain at the time of the birthday party to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public, and I accept in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better,” Johnson said late Tuesday. “And now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people.”
The fine followed a police investigation and months of questions about lockdown-breaking parties at government offices, which Johnson had tried to bat away by saying there were no parties and that he believed no rules were broken.
Opposition lawmakers demanded Johnson’s resignation, arguing the fines given to him and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were evidence of “criminality” at the heart of government. The opposition argued that the Downing Street gathering demonstrated that Johnson and his supporters believe the rules don’t apply to them.
While the “partygate” scandal ooses a threat to Johnson’s government, the world has changed tremendously since the first reports of the parties surfaced late last year.
Johnson has been a leading figure in marshaling international opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Britain is facing its worst cost-of-living crisis since the 1950s.
His supporters are already arguing that whatever the prime minister may have done wrong, now is not time for a leadership contest.
That his Treasury chief also received an undermining fine helps Johnson since Sunak had been seen as the leading candidate to succeed Johnson.
But Johnson still faces the possibility of additional fines; he is reported to have attended three other gatherings that the Metropolitan Police Service is still investigating.
He will also have to answer questions about whether he knowingly misled Parliament with his previous statements about the parties, Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government in London, said.
“Governments have to realize that they can’t just make laws and then skirt around them and rationalize themselves that it’s all OK because they’re very important people working at the center of government,” Rutter said. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/uks-johnson-rejects-calls-to-resign-amid-partygate-fine/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:43 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/uks-johnson-rejects-calls-to-resign-amid-partygate-fine/ |
CANBERRA, Australia: (AP) — Australia and the United States are stepping up diplomatic outreach to the Solomon Islands after China signed a security deal with the South Pacific island nation that could lead to Beijing establishing a military presence there.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that his minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, had flown to the Solomon Islands the day before for talks with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on the April 1 security pact the country agreed to with China.
Seselja said he had asked Sogavare to abandon the Chinese agreement.
“We have asked Solomon Islands respectfully to consider not signing the agreement and to consult the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, consistent with our region’s security frameworks,” Seselja said in a statement.
The trip came the same day that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele about Washington’s plan to reopen an embassy in the capital, Honiara.
The announcement of reopening the embassy, which has been closed since 1993, came in February before the security pact came to light, but amid already growing concerns about Chinese influence in the strategically important country.
A Chinese military presence in the Solomon Islands would put it not only on the doorstep of Australia and New Zealand but also in close proximity to Guam, with its massive U.S. military bases.
At the time he announced the embassy’s reopening, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was seeking to increase its influence in the Solomon Islands before China becomes “strongly embedded.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the call between Sherman and Manele touched on “our joint efforts to broaden and deepen engagement between our countries,” in addition to the embassy plans, but gave no further details.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended Beijing’s cooperation with the Solomons as being based on “the principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit” and in line with international law and international practice.
“It is conducive to the social stability and lasting peace and safety of Solomon Islands and will help promote peace, stability and development of Solomon Islands and the rest of South Pacific region,” Zhao told reporters Wednesday at a daily briefing.
“The security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands does not target any third party or work in opposition to the Solomon Islands’ cooperation with other countries, but will complement the exiting regional cooperation mechanism in a positive way,” he said.
He added that other countries “should view this in an objective and reasonable manner, respect the sovereignty and independent decision of China and the Solomon Islands, avoid provoking confrontation and creating division in the region, and do something conducive to regional stability and development.”
According to a draft of the agreement, which was leaked online, Chinese warships could stop in the Solomons for “logistical replenishment” and China could send police, military personnel and other armed forces to the Solomons “to assist in maintaining social order.”
The draft agreement specifies China must approve what information is disclosed about joint security arrangements, including at media briefings.
The Solomon Islands government have said a draft was initialed two weeks ago and that it would be “cleaned up” and finalized soon.
The Solomon Islands government has said it won’t allow China to build a military base there and China has denied seeking a military foothold in the South Pacific, but the pact set off alarm bells among many Western nations.
Since it was signed, two top Australian intelligence officials — Australian Secret Intelligence Service boss Paul Symon and Office of National Intelligence Director-General Andrew Shearer — have met Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Australia already has a bilateral security pact with the Solomon Islands and Australian police peacekeepers have been in the capital, Honiara, since riots in November.
Morrison said Australia was respectfully and directly communicating with the Solomon Islands on the Chinese security deal.
“The suggestion that somehow, some seem to be making, that the Solomon Islands is somehow under the control of Australia I think is offensive to the Solomon Islands,” Morrison said.
“They are a sovereign nation. I respect their independence and they will make their own decisions about their own sovereignty,” he said.
“What we have been doing is ensuring that they are fully aware of the risks and the security matters that are not only of concern to Australia but islands, Pacific nations across the Pacific,” he added.
Seselja said Australia also welcomed statements from Sogavare that it remains the Solomon Islands’ “security partner of choice, and his commitment that Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other military institutions of foreign powers.”
Morrison announced on Sunday that an election will be held in Australia on May 21. He now leads a caretaker government and must consult the opposition on any policy decisions.
Opposition spokeswoman on foreign affairs Penny Wong said the Australian government had failed on the Solomon Islands.
“This is happening on Mr. Morrison’s watch – the warnings have been there for months, the draft agreement public for weeks – but he has failed to front up and explain how Australia is responding,” Wong said in a statement.
“We need to work with the Pacific family and allies to build a region where sovereignty is respected – and where Australia is the partner of choice,” she added. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/western-pressure-mounts-on-solomons-to-quash-pact-with-china/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:49 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/western-pressure-mounts-on-solomons-to-quash-pact-with-china/ |
LONDON (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization has slammed the global community for its focus on the war in Ukraine, arguing that crises elsewhere, including in his home country of Ethiopia, are not being given equal consideration, possibly because those suffering are not white.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned “if the world really gives equal attention to Black and white lives,” given that the ongoing emergencies in Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria have garnered only a “fraction” of the global concern for Ukraine. He was speaking in a virtual press briefing from Geneva on Wednesday.
Last month, Tedros said there is ”nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat” than Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Since a truce was declared in Tigray three weeks ago, about 2,000 trucks should have been able to bring food, medicines and other essentials to the conflict-ridden area, he said. Instead, only about 20 trucks have arrived, said Tedros, a former minister of health in Ethiopia and an ethnic Tigrayan.
“As we speak, people are dying of starvation,” he said. “This is one of the longest and worst sieges by both Eritrean and Ethiopian forces in modern history.”
Tedros acknowledged that the war in Ukraine is globally significant, but asked if other crises are being accorded enough attention.
“I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way,” he said. “Some are more equal than others.”
Tedros described the situation in Tigray as “tragic” and said he “hopes the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally.” He also critiqued the press for its failure to document the ongoing atrocities in Ethiopia, noting that people had been burned alive in the region. “I don’t even know if that was taken seriously by the media.”
Earlier this year, the government of Ethiopia sent a letterto the World Health Organization, accusing Tedros of “misconduct” after his sharp criticism of the war and humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Ethiopian government said Tedros was using his office “to advance his political interest at the expense of Ethiopia” and said he continues to be an active member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front; Tedros was Ethiopia’s foreign minister and health minister when the TPLF dominated the country’s ruling coalition. | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/who-chief-focus-on-ukraine-shows-bias-against-black-lives/ | 2022-04-13T17:18:56 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/who-chief-focus-on-ukraine-shows-bias-against-black-lives/ |
GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported to the World Health Organization fell for a third consecutive week, a trend likely helped by the dismantling of testing and surveillance programs.
In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, issued late Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said the more than 7 million new cases reported represented a 24% decline from a week earlier. The weekly worldwide number of COVID-19 deaths, was down 18%, at over 22,000.
WHO said the decreases “should be interpreted with caution” as numerous countries where the virus is starting to subside have changed their testing strategies, meaning far fewer cases are being identified.
New cases and deaths are falling in every region of the world, including the Western Pacific, where a surge of infections has triggered severe lockdown measures in China.
WHO said it was monitoring several mutants of the virus descended from the omicron variant, including some recombined forms of existing omicron subvariants.
In a separate statement, the health organization said scientists in Botswana and South Africa have detected new forms of the omicron variant, labeled as BA.4 and BA.5, but aren’t sure yet if they might be more transmissible or dangerous.
To date, the new versions of omicron have been detected in four people in Botswana and 23 people in South Africa. Beyond Africa, scientists have confirmed cases in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom.
WHO said there was so far no evidence the new sub-variants spread any differently than the original omicron variant.
“There is no cause for alarm with the emergence of the new sub-variants,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa director, said in a statement. “We are not yet observing a major spike in cases, hospitalizations or deaths.”
The agency called on all countries to sequence at least 5% of their COVID-19 samples; many countries, including Britain, Sweden and the United States, recently scrapped their widespread testing programs as the number of severe cases dramatically declined.
Still, the U.S. will soon mark 1 million COVID-19 deaths, and the virus is continuing to cause concern in China.
Officials warn Shanghaistill doesn’t have its latest surge in omicron-involved cases under control despite a “zero-tolerance” approach that has seen some residents confined to their homes for three weeks or longer.
The lockdown has led to frustration among Shanghai residents about running out of food and unable to get deliveries. Censors have diligently scrubbed complaints from social media.
State-controlled outlets describe a successful campaign to provide food and other supplies and counseled residents that “persistence is victory.”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/who-covid-cases-and-deaths-fall-for-3rd-consecutive-week/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:02 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/world/who-covid-cases-and-deaths-fall-for-3rd-consecutive-week/ |
Which ‘Star Wars’ model kit is best?
“Star Wars” is among the most loved film franchises, spanning 12 feature-length productions across 45 years. Including several television show additions and spin-offs, the trademark is worth an estimated $70 billion.
With such an illustrious history, there is plenty of merchandise for fans to collect. Action figures and memorabilia might top the most-wanted list, but for those who want to get their hands dirty, there are model kits to build. For a real challenge, the amazing Lego “Star Wars” Ultimate Millennium Falcon is sure to keep you busy for hours.
What to know before you buy a ‘Star Wars’ model kit
Different kinds of model kits
“Star Wars” model kits are no different from others, like airplanes, ships or submarines. They are available in different kinds of builds, giving you the option of working in your preferred medium. Lego fans might opt to put together an officially licensed “Star Wars” Lego set, while there are paper-based kits for easier builds and 3D wood puzzles that can be painted when you are done.
The skill level will determine the complexity
Just as the models are available in different build types, so too are the skill level needed for completing them. Generally, the skill level will be indicated on the model’s packaging and should give you a rough indication of how difficult or easy it will be. But the skill level shouldn’t be seen as a deterrent. You might find it more enjoyable to tackle something complex than a build that only consists of a few pieces.
Consider the scale of the model
Inexperienced model builders often don’t realize how large model kits can be. The regular scale measurement won’t mean much to you if it’s based on a fictional object. Since there is no real-world reference point, the kits often indicate the measurements of the completed object. Keep this in mind if you want to display the model or if you have limited space where you live.
What to look for in a quality ‘Star Wars’ model kit
Highly detailed and accurate
Any model kit, no matter if it is “Star Wars” or World War II airplanes, must be highly-detailed to get the full enjoyment from finalizing the construction. The overall shape might be accurate, but it’s the smaller details that will bring a smile to your face. Look for a good-quality model kit that includes finer elements like trimmings, customizable parts and accurate color schemes.
Robust construction materials
It would be terribly unfortunate if you spent countless hours putting the model together, just for it to crumble to the floor from a slight breeze. A good-quality model kit will be made from robust construction materials which won’t fall apart easily. Most sturdy models are made from wood or plastic. Builds made out of paper are relatively stable, but extra needs to be taken to protect them from damage.
Officially licensed product
To ensure that you get the most accurate and high-quality model kits, you must look for kits that are officially licensed by Disney — which owns the “Star Wars” brand. If you buy a product that isn’t officially part of the merchandise, there would be no guarantee as to the authenticity of the detail or quality. Knockoff kits can be much cheaper than licensed items, but it isn’t worth the risk.
How much you can expect to spend on a ‘Star Wars’ model kit
The average price of a “Star Wars” model kit will depend on the medium and the intricacy of the build. An entry-level kit that consists of wood or paper can retail for $20-$40. Highly detailed, larger kits with thousands of pieces can retail for $800-$1,300.
‘Star Wars’ model kit FAQ
Do you need special tools to put the kit together?
A. While there might be some kits that require tools, the majority of model kits these days don’t. That is because the technology behind model kits has evolved to feature click-in or snap-together designs. For Lego builds, the pieces easily stay together.
How long does it take to build a ‘Star Wars’ model kit?
A. That will depend on the complexity of the build and how nimble your fingers are. Larger builds can take around 10-12 hours to complete, while smaller kits should only take a few hours.
What’s the best ‘Star Wars’ model kit to buy?
Top ‘Star Wars’ model kit
Lego “Star Wars” Ultimate Millennium Falcon
What you need to know: It’s going to take more than a few hours and a bunch of friends to complete this massive 7,541-piece kit. With intricate details and seven classic “Star Wars” minifigures, this Millennium Falcon will be the star attraction in any house.
What you’ll love: Any “Star Wars” fan will grab at the chance to tackle this enormous build, that measures 8 inches high, 33 inches long and 22 inches wide. It includes the smallest details to accurately replicate the famous Millennium Falcon, and it comes with minifigures of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C-3PO, an older Han Solo, Rey and Finn. On the inside of the ship, you can put together the seating area, the Dejarik holographic game and the engine room with hyperdrive and console.
What you should consider: This kit is best suited for adults with lots of patience or expert builders.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top ‘Star Wars’ model kit for the money
“Star Wars” Tie Fighter 3D Wood Puzzle and Model Figure Kit
What you need to know: Made from sturdy wood, this iconic Tie Fighter kit can be painted with any colors that you want.
What you’ll love: The puzzle is made from 63 interlocking pieces to create a free-standing model. It comes with step-by-step instructions for assembly and the accompanying booklet delves deep into the history of Tie Fighters, the different variants and notable battles.
What you should consider: The assembled build is relatively small, standing 4.5 inches tall and 3.3 inches wide.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
“Star Wars” Imperial Star Destroyer Paper Model Kit
What you need to know: You’re going to need a delicate touch and steady hands to complete this paper-based model of the infamous Imperial Star Destroyer. It comprises 342 pieces, all held together with the included craft glue.
What you’ll love: Included in the build are step-by-step instructions and a display stand. But the set doesn’t just feature the Star Destroyer, as it also comes with smaller paper models of two Tie Fighters and an Imperial Shuttle.
What you should consider: You’ll need some extra room to display this build, as the Star Destroyer measures 30 inches long, 15.1 inches high and 16.5 inches wide.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Charlie Fripp writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-star-wars-model-kit/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:09 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-star-wars-model-kit/ |
Which steering wheel lock is best?
People tend to feel a close bond to their cars. If your car is damaged or destroyed in an accident, you may feel a great deal of frustration or loss. However, if someone steals your car, it’s far worse. It can feel like a violation, and people who have their car stolen tend to notice they don’t feel as safe or comfortable as before. Luckily, there are ways to deter thieves from targeting your car.
One popular theft deterrent is a steering wheel lock. One of the top steering wheel locks is The Club 1103 LX Series Steering Wheel Lock. It has a universal fit for most steering wheels and is safe against sawing, prying and hammering.
What to know before you buy a steering wheel lock
How a steering wheel lock works
There are a few different steering wheel lock designs available, but they all keep your steering wheel in place and deter thieves from trying to steal your car. Some use telescoping rods, while others lock the entire wheel in place completely. A few designs cover up the wheel entirely or press down on the clutch or brake for extra security.
Locks and keys
Steering wheel locks don’t use a normal lock and key, which experienced thieves can pick open easily. Instead, they use a variety of specialty locks and keys that are difficult or impossible to pick and equally challenging to copy. Most locks include two or three keys. If you need more, you can order them from the manufacturer.
Construction
Most steering wheel locks are made of some kind of steel, though you can also find ones with titanium elements. Many locks have a plastic coating too, which has a few uses. The plastic keeps your steering wheel scratch-free, and the bright color stands out to discourage thieves.
What to look for in a quality steering wheel lock
Size
The size of a steering wheel lock will determine how big of a steering wheel it can fit. It will also dictate how easy it is to store the lock when not in use. Telescoping rod locks are a great choice since they can lock all sizes of steering wheels while still being compact and storable.
Design
Manufacturers typically design steering wheel locks to look intimidating to thieves. The bare steel or bright colors will catch the attention of a potential thief and hopefully stop them from breaking through the door or window.
Hardened points
Some steering wheel locks have a hardened tip on one end, which functions as a window breaker in case of emergencies. Some may include a cap to prevent this tip from breaking or tearing something on accident. If this is a feature you’d like to have, be sure to check the product description for more information.
How much you can expect to spend on a steering wheel lock
Most steering wheel locks cost roughly $30-$50. Some cost as little as $20. The best and most intricate locks usually cost around $60 and can exceed $100.
Steering wheel lock FAQ
Can I make extra keys for my steering wheel lock?
A. Generally speaking, no. Most steering wheel locks use specialty-shaped keys that are either difficult or impossible to copy, even by the best locksmiths. Most manufacturers can send you extras if you request them, but you’ll need to provide information that confirms you are the owner. You’ll likely need to at least pay for the shipping and handling of extra keys.
How secure is a steering wheel lock?
A. It depends on the lock, but they’re usually incredibly secure. Most locks resist common workarounds, such as sawing, hammering or prying with a crowbar. Check reviews to see how others feel about their experience, and check the brand of the product to learn more about their reputation.
What’s the best steering wheel lock to buy?
Top steering wheel lock
The Club 1103 LX Series Steering Wheel Lock
What you need to know: This is an effective steering wheel lock at an affordable price.
What you’ll love: You can secure the lock with one tug. It comes with three laser encrypted keys that locksmiths can’t duplicate. It adjusts easily to fit any wheel and resists common breaking methods, including hammering and Freon combinations. It weighs 4.2 pounds and comes in three colors.
What you should consider: Some consumers complained of a sticky substance coating the lock. Others received units where the lock would not completely lock.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top steering wheel lock for the money
What you need to know: This budget theft deterrent is ideal for light security.
What you’ll love: The steel construction is thick enough to prevent sawing, and installation only takes seconds. It uses a crescent lock cylinder and includes two computer-coded keys. The black and yellow design stands out to thieves, and it only weighs 1.72 pounds.
What you should consider: The design doesn’t prevent airbag theft. It may not fit depending on your car’s combination of wheel size and dashboard height.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Tevlaphee Steering Wheel Lock for Cars
What you need to know: This steering wheel lock resists most breaking methods, including freon and hammer attacks.
What you’ll love: It fits steering wheel inner diameters between 6.6 and 12.5 inches. The inner hook is padded to prevent damage to the wheel. It includes a hardened window-breaking tip and comes in three colors.
What you should consider: Some consumers had issues with the key becoming stuck in the lock. There are rare reports of the keys failing to unlock the device.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-steering-wheel-lock/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:16 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-steering-wheel-lock/ |
Which online web design class is best?
In today’s world, web design is a highly useful skill that can lead to professional growth. If you’re interested in applying your creative skills in a way that’s lucrative and versatile, an online web design course is for you. Many of these courses teach certain aspects of web development as well, which is also profitable.
Udemy’s Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS course is great for anyone starting out.
What to know before you buy an online web design class
Front-end development
Many online courses teach both web development and web design, since they often go hand in hand. Even if you choose to go with a beginner-friendly class, most still include basic development.
Web design is the overall setup and appearance of a website across any device, including mobile phones, tablets and computers. It includes the layout, interface design, graphics or other visuals and overall content of the site. When combined, these elements add to a comprehensive, user-friendly look and feel.
Many online web design classes teach both web design and front-end development, which is ideal for freelancers or anyone else looking to grow professionally. Even though front-end development doesn’t focus on the design aspect as much, it does affect how well the site runs. That’s why it’s a good idea to learn at least the basics, specifically coding and programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
Coding
In the past, if you wanted to learn how to design a website, you also had to understand web development; even the artwork and positioning of the text required some knowledge of coding. Today, most popular content management sites, including WordPress, handle the development aspect.
Although it’s possible to design websites without knowing coding or programming, many online web design courses still touch on the basics. For example, one course could teach CSS, which is useful for WordPress since it affects how content is displayed on the site. If the online course only covers the basics, you can also take a supplemental online course, such as JavaScript, to learn more.
Website builders
Many website builders, including Wix and Squarespace, use a drag and drop function that makes it much easier to design a website, even if you don’t have a background in the field. More complex builders, such as WordPress, boast features that offer much more customization and let you use certain coding knowledge.
Certain web design classes teach you how to use specific website builders, while others focus mostly on concepts such as layout or coding. Typically, the ones that focus on website builders don’t cover coding.
What to look for in a quality online web design class
Topics covered
Online web design courses usually focus on the following topics:
- Search engine optimization
- Typography
- Composition
- Graphic design software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
- Responsive design
- CSS3 and HTML
Courses that also emphasize web development go more in-depth into coding, programming and front-end and back-end development.
Level
Web design courses are multilayered, so choose a level suited to your current skill level. For instance, if you’re new to the subject, select a beginner class that teaches the basics such as layout and color theory. Just remember that one course might consider a topic introductory, while another could view it as intermediate.
Some online courses build upon each other, especially when taught by the same instructor. In this case, it’s a good idea to start with the first class and follow along in order unless you already have a solid understanding of the previous topics.
Course breakdown
Online classes usually come with a syllabus that outlines the course breakdown, including overarching modules and smaller lessons that reinforce key concepts.
For example, a beginner class could have a module on the general structure of websites with related subsections on how to code and use images. Meanwhile, a course made for WordPress design could cover everything from setting up pages and customizing post templates to installing and using plugins.
Many courses also feature assignments, quizzes and other supplemental materials you can download or complete as you learn.
Duration
Udemy, Coursera and similar online education sites list how long it will take to complete a class. The total duration usually includes the readings and videos, but not any assignments that are done outside of class. Most online web design classes are nine to 22 hours.
Certificate
Some courses offer a certificate you can display on LinkedIn, your resume or your new website. To receive a certificate, you might need to purchase the full course or have an active subscription to the platform it’s on.
How much you can expect to spend on an online web design class
A subscription to Coursera costs $59 a month, but you can also get a free seven-day trial. As for Udemy, web design and development courses usually cost $90-$140. Udemy also offers a free seven-day trial followed by a subscription service that costs $29.99 a month. Once you purchase the course, you receive lifetime access to it.
Online web design classes FAQ
Is web design difficult to learn?
A. Web design is a complex subject, but it can be easy to learn if you follow a class that’s laid out well. However, many classes teach you about the different technologies and methods that go along with website design and development. If you’re not technologically savvy, it can be challenging to learn some of the more complex components such as coding and back-end development.
What other skills should I know to be a web designer?
A. Enhance your skills by learning Adobe design software and studying user experience. Also, continue building upon your front-end and back-end development expertise.
What’s the best online web design class to buy?
Top web design class for you to take online
Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS
What you need to know: This is an introductory course that teaches you the basics of design and development.
What you’ll love: It covers the essentials of web design, including HTML and CSS coding, responsive design and SaaS. Plus, it teaches you how to add media to web pages.
What you should consider: The course focuses a lot on back-end development, which can be overwhelming for complete beginners.
Where to buy: Sold by Udemy
Top web design class for you to take online for the money
Introduction to Web Development
What you need to know: Available for free on a trial basis or with a monthly subscription, this course teaches everything from the basics of web design to development.
What you’ll love: This course features 22 hours of content spread across six weeks. It includes several readings, videos and quizzes. It teaches you how to design a site from beginning to end using HTML.
What you should consider: There’s a lot of focus on web development.
Where to buy: Sold by Coursera
Worth checking out
WordPress for Beginners — Master WordPress Quickly
What you need to know: This course is great for anyone who wants to create a website using WordPress.
What you’ll love: It teaches you how to configure a WordPress site to create pages and posts. It is comprised of 107 lectures and has nine hours of content. There’s no coding experience necessary.
What you should consider: WordPress is a robust system, so the course might take longer to complete than listed.
Where to buy: Sold by Udemy
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Angela Watson writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/education-br/programming-design-br/best-online-web-design-class/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:22 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/education-br/programming-design-br/best-online-web-design-class/ |
Which Wonder Woman jewelry is best?
Looking to channel your inner Wonder Woman? Maybe you want a pair of earrings that show off the heroine’s signature “W” logo or a bracelet that channels her iconic gauntlets? There are great options when it comes to choosing the jewelry for celebrating Diana, Princess of the Amazons, a.k.a. Wonder Woman.
For a ring that can’t be beat, check out the Alari Design Wonder Woman Crown Ring, which has a timeless design that honors the spirit of Wonder Woman.
What to know before you buy Wonder Woman jewelry
Choosing a style era
While some Wonder Woman jewelry universally represents the superhero, it’s helpful to know which incarnation you’re looking to channel. There are stylistic differences between vintage and contemporary designs, particularly when it comes to comparing the original logo from the 1940s DC comic books to popular Wonder Woman toys and the Gal Gadot films of 2017 and 2020.
The first version of Wonder Woman’s logo was a yellow eagle against a red backdrop, though over the years the eagle has evolved into a golden W against several backdrops, including a red one and a gray one.
Replicas and costume-inspired jewelry
Are you looking for jewelry that celebrates Wonder Woman or emulates her? Jewelry that celebrates Wonder Woman features her logo, color scheme or other recognizable flourishes. Jewelry that emulates Wonder Woman is designed to look like jewelry or armor she wear in the comics or films. Such pieces include Wonder Woman’s golden tiara and extra-strong “gauntlets” that serve as matching bracelets on her wrists or forearms.
Fashion jewelry vs. fine jewelry
Fashion jewelry is not made from precious metals and is less expensive, while fine jewelry uses precious metals like gold, silver or platinum. Fine jewelry costs more and is designed to last longer. There’s lot of both kind of Wonder Woman jewelry, so consider which style and price best suits your needs.
What to look for in quality Wonder Woman jewelry
Signature color scheme
An excellent piece of Wonder Woman jewelry pays close attention to detail, and that means working the superhero’s signature colors into the design. Gold, red and blue are the original colors, though silver is sometimes added.
Recognizable symbols
There are several symbols closely associated with the hero, from the logo on her costume to the star in her tiara. When you look at these symbols, you recognize them immediately.
- Eagle: If you’re going for a more vintage look, the original 1941 Wonder Woman logo was an eagle. Since that logo has evolved over the years, however, this is probably the type of design only a die-hard Wonder Woman fan will notice.
- W: The contemporary W logo, based on the eagle design, is the most easily recognized symbol associated with Wonder Woman. You can still see traces of that eagle in the emblem’s wing-like edges.
- Star: A number of Wonder Woman designs feature a red star in the center of her tiara, and the symbol has been incorporated into a lot of jewelry designed to honor her.
- Tiara point: The triangular point of Wonder Woman’s tiara has become popular in ring designs based on the character and is usually accompanied by a star.
Strong materials
Most Wonder Woman jewelry involves metal, and since she is one of the most indestructible comic characters, you’ll want jewelry that lives up to that standard. Quality metals won’t chip or turn green over time. Gold, silver and stainless steel are especially known for their durability. Silver does tarnish, but can be polished. If metal isn’t the primary material, then the cord is made from something reliable like leather, wax or nylon.
How much you can expect to spend on Wonder Woman jewelry
Wonder Woman fashion jewelry costs $10-$40, while fine jewelry with the same theme costs $50-$1,000.
Wonder Woman jewelry FAQ
Which metals tarnish?
A. Brass, copper, aluminum and silver are more likely to tarnish. Gold can tarnish but does so less noticeably. Cobalt and platinum do not tarnish.
What is an alloy metal?
A. An alloy metal is a material that combines at least one metallic base other non-metallic elements. Alloy metals tend to be strong, affordable and resistant to corrosion. Most fine jewelry is made of alloys rather than pure metal, because pure gold and silver are too soft to stand alone.
What’s the best Wonder Woman jewelry to buy?
Top Wonder Woman jewelry
Alari Design Wonder Woman Crown Ring
What you need to know: This tiara-shaped ring is handmade in sterling silver with a deeply cut star engraved at the top.
What you’ll love: It’s well-crafted with a simple but elegant design. It comes in a wide variety of sizes. It can be engraved on the inside or outside for an additional fee and can be made in other metals, such as gold or bronze, upon request.
What you should consider: The thickest portion of the band is a little under half an inch.
Where to buy: Sold by Etsy
Top Wonder Woman jewelry for the money
Fandom Emporium Design Wonder Woman Charm Necklace Or Anklet
What you need to know: This necklace or ankle bracelet features a dozen colorful charms with iconic Wonder Woman imagery.
What you’ll love: The charms include Wonder Woman’s shield, sword, lasso, gauntlets and more. There are a wide array of necklace and anklet lengths. It’s made of alloy metals that are nickel-free.
What you should consider: It cannot be returned.
Where to buy: Sold by Etsy
Worth checking out
Alex and Ani Wonder Woman Expandable Bangle Bracelet
What you need to know: This gold-toned bangle bracelet is 2.4 inches in diameter and a little under an inch in width, with the Wonder Woman “W” logo etched across the surface.
What you’ll love: The details are beautiful and pair well with the metal’s golden shine. The cuff style is a fun callback to Diana’s gauntlets and the size is adjustable.
What you should consider: It might be too big for thinner wrists.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Emily Verona writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/fashion-accessories-br/jewelry-br/best-wonder-woman-jewelry/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:29 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/fashion-accessories-br/jewelry-br/best-wonder-woman-jewelry/ |
Which back massager for knots is best?
Muscle knots always seem to appear in the most difficult locations to reach, with the back being one of the worst. Massaging them away is usually the best solution, but you can’t reach the knots with just your hands. There are a huge variety of tools you can use instead, including guns, chairs and simple balls.
The best back massager for knots is TheraGun Pro Massage Gun. It includes several massage heads for targeting your back and everywhere else, but can be a challenge to use alone.
What to know before you buy a back massager for knots
Back massager types
There are four types of back massagers that can target knots.
- Manual massagers are good for traveling as they require no power source and are usually small to medium in size. They commonly take the form of balls or tubes but can be nearly any shape. For targeting knots, you need to place the massager on the ground or against a wall and press yourself into it in order to feel the benefits.
- Handheld massagers also take a few forms. Many look like showerheads or guns. These models usually have the widest range of features, such as heating and variable vibration strength. Some are easy to target knots on your own, though others may require another pair of hands to target the knot for you.
- Pillow massagers aren’t the best at targeting specific knots — instead, they target a small area of the back and soothe that area.
- Seat massagers come in a wide range of qualities. Some cheap models just vibrate the whole back, while better ones use multiple rolling balls to target your back area of choice, including a specific knot. Many also massage your neck while they’re at it.
Power source
Back massagers are either battery-powered or plug into an outlet.
- Battery-powered massagers are the easiest to operate since they have no cord to deal with. However, the quality of the battery varies greatly. Some can take hours to charge and only operate for 15 minutes, while others chew through disposable batteries. The best use rechargeable batteries that last for at least 30 minutes.
- Outlet-powered massagers don’t ever die in the middle of a session, but if the cord is short or oddly placed, it can be difficult to wield.
What to look for in a quality back massager for knots
Heat
Better back massagers have heat settings to soothe knots away while they’re targeted, with some including variable heat settings.
Timer
Over-massaging a knot is just as bad for it as ignoring it, so some back massagers have programmable timers to prevent such a thing from happening.
Variable vibration
Quality back massagers are able to decrease or increase their vibration power to treat knots of varying sizes and intensities.
How much you can expect to spend on a back massager for knots
Back massagers for knots can cost anywhere from $10-$1,000, and sometimes more. Basic manual massagers typically cost $50 or less, while the average powered massager usually costs $50-$150. The best massagers cost $150-plus.
Back massager for knots FAQ
Should I use a back massager on bare skin or over my clothes?
A. Most back massagers can be used on either bare skin or clothing with minimal changes in effect and operation. That said, it’s always best to wear thin clothing or none at all when using a back massager so your muscles can be better targeted. Some consumers have issues with their clothing causing chafing if they use a back massager. Others find skin-to-massager contact uncomfortable. Experiment to see which is most comfortable for you.
Can I use a back massager after back surgery?
A. Yes, but you need to give your doctor precise details of your back massager and how you intend to use it so they can tell you whether it’s safe. Without your doctor’s approval, never use a back massager after surgery.
Which type of back massager is easiest to aim?
A. Most back massagers are more than capable of targeting any stretch of your back. However, manual massagers can be tricky to properly place, and gun massagers can require someone else to aim it to hit certain spots. Seat massagers are the easiest to use solo, but most cover the whole back or a small zone rather than pinpointing one knot.
What’s the best back massager for knots to buy?
Top back massager for knots
What you need to know: This massager is powerful and treats any knot, not just those in your back.
What you’ll love: It’s among the most powerful massage guns, and it includes six swappable heads designed to target specific areas all over the body. The arm can rotate 90 degrees to more easily target specific areas, and it uses rechargeable batteries that can last for up to five hours.
What you should consider: It’s expensive. Some settings and head combinations are powerful enough to cause damage if used incorrectly. You may need help to treat your back.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Therabody
Top back massager for knots for the money
4Kor Fitness Ultimate Massage Ball
What you need to know: This manual massager is good for working out the occasional knot.
What you’ll love: It’s among the largest massage balls, with a 4.75-inch diameter. It’s made of thermoplastic rubber for durability and has a unique tread pattern to better grip your skin and clothing for increased control, and provide increased deep tissue massage performance.
What you should consider: A few consumers thought the ball was too hard and caused more pain rather than relieving it. It takes some effort to press it into your back.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Snailax Shiatsu Neck & Back Massager with Heat
What you need to know: This seat covers your entire back and neck at once.
What you’ll love: It can be placed into almost any chair to turn it into a massage chair, and it can also be used on couches. It can be set to target either the upper or lower back, entire back or a specific target area.
What you should consider: It’s a little pricey. Shorter people will need to add cushions in order to be positioned properly for full coverage.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/massage-relaxation-br/best-back-massager-for-knots/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:36 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/massage-relaxation-br/best-back-massager-for-knots/ |
Which blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff is best?
If you need to monitor your blood pressure, it’s imperative to have the proper equipment to measure accurately. Not having a cuff that fits appropriately will lead to inaccurate results, which can be life-threatening. Some blood pressure monitors can use extra-large cuffs purchased after the fact, but buying the monitor and cuff together is simpler and more cost-effective.
The best combination is the Life Source Upper-Arm Blood Pressure Monitor With Extra-Large Cuff. It fits biceps up to 23.6 inches in circumference.
What to know before you buy a blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff
Automatic vs. manual
Most blood pressure monitors outside of a doctor’s office are automatic, constricting and taking readings at the touch of a button. This is because it’s surprisingly complex to get an accurate reading using a manual monitor. They take more accurate readings, but it takes significant training and practice for medical staff to be able to use them correctly. Unless you have the training, always choose an automatic monitor.
Cuff size
Most cuffs included with a blood pressure monitor are one-size-fits-all, which is typically too small for those with extra-large arms. Most product descriptions state the circumferences the included cuff is sized for — simply measure your bicep and compare.
Extra-large cuffs usually fit biceps up to 17-18 inches in circumference, though some go as large as 24 inches. If your arm is larger than this , you may need to search harder for specialty medical gear.
What to look for in a quality blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff
Speed
Taking a blood pressure reading can be uncomfortable, which is why searching for one that requires less time is preferred. The best typically need 20 seconds or less to get a reading while the worst can take more than a minute.
Alerts
It can be difficult to understand what all the numbers mean on a blood pressure monitor. That’s why some include alert systems that explicitly tell you if your blood pressure is too high or low. More advanced monitors also check your heartbeat and alert you if they detect an irregular beat. Don’t rely solely on your monitor, though — if it gives you an alert, always double-check with your doctor as soon as possible.
Multi-user
Some blood pressure monitors can save and track the results of more than one user at once.
How much you can expect to spend on a blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff
Basic blood pressure monitors with extra-large cuffs can cost as little as $20-$40, though most cost $50-$80. More feature-rich models can cost $100 or more.
Blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff FAQ
What are the best practices for getting accurate readings?
A. Here’s what to do:
- Read and carefully follow your monitor’s instructions.
- Sit in a backed chair with your feet firmly on the ground and your arms by your side.
- Don’t exercise or consume cigarettes or coffee within 30 minutes of your planned reading.
- Take your readings as close to the same time as possible each day.
- Take three readings one minute apart from the others for an average.
Are at-home blood pressure monitors less reliable than those found in doctors’ offices?
A. It’s difficult to generalize as there are so many blood pressure monitors. The best way to gauge reliability is by comparing a reading from your at-home monitor to a reading taken by your doctor. At-home and doctors’ office monitors both need to be calibrated every few years to ensure they’re still giving accurate results, meaning both have the opportunity to be unreliable.
What’s the best blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff to buy?
Top blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff
Life Source Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor With Extra-Large Cuff
What you need to know: This has one of the largest included cuffs.
What you’ll love: Its cuff fits bicep circumferences of 16.5-23.6 inches and its accuracy has been clinically validated. It can store up to 60 readings and has a five-year warranty on the monitor and a two-year warranty on the cuff.
What you should consider: It doesn’t read and display as many data points as other monitors. Amazon doesn’t allow returns of this monitor, so make sure your arm and the cuff sizes line up.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Staples
Top blood pressure monitor with extra-large cuff for the money
Yuwell Blood Pressure Monitor With Extra-Large Upper Arm Cuff
What you need to know: This is good for those who need to keep a more casual eye on their blood pressure.
What you’ll love: The included cuff fits bicep circumferences of 8.8-17.7 inches. It takes a huge variety of readings and reads them out with an American-accent voice. It can store up to 99 readings and is certified by the Food and Drug Administration.
What you should consider: A few consumers had issues with readings that were higher than they should be, with follow-up readings showing a more accurate result.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
What you need to know: This is easy to use and packed with data points.
What you’ll love: The included cuff fits bicep circumferences of 8-17 inches. The large LCD screen is backlit for easy reading in any light and it only takes 30 seconds for a reading to be taken. It can also store separate readings for two people.
What you should consider: A few consumers reported readings that were slightly higher than what was accurate. Others had issues with the buttons not responding on occasion.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/medical-supplies-equipment-br/best-blood-pressure-monitor-with-extra-large-cuff/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:43 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/medical-supplies-equipment-br/best-blood-pressure-monitor-with-extra-large-cuff/ |
Which squat rack is best?
A squat rack is the single-most effective piece of fitness equipment for building strength and muscle. Whether you’re new to lifting weights or looking to take your workouts to the next level, a squat rack can dramatically alter your routine by enabling a huge variety of exercises.
This bedrock piece of equipment is a big commitment. So choosing the right one for your home or gym depends on available space and your fitness goals. In general, the best squat rack for home-gym users is the Fitness Gear Pro Half Rack.
What to know before you buy a squat rack
What a squat rack is
Squat racks are metal stands designed to support the weight of a fully loaded barbell. They’re used to perform a number of Olympic weightlifting exercises, from squats to presses. While bare-bones models feature a single two-pronged stand on which you rest a barbell, more elaborate squat racks include safety pins, weight-storage pins and pull-up bars.
Exercises you can perform using a squat rack
Primarily used to perform their namesake compound movement, a squat rack’s simplicity can be used for numerous Olympic lifts and isolation exercises. With a rack alone, you can perform overhead presses, bent-over rows, front and back squats, lunges, curls and shoulder shrugs.
With the addition of an adjustable bench, users can bench press in the neutral, incline or decline position. And if you have the right floor or pads, a squat rack can be used for deadlifts, Pendlay rows and other floor-based exercises.
Olympic vs. standard weights
Squat racks are designed to hold Olympic barbells and weights. An Olympic barbell is about 45 pounds, 7.2 feet in length and 1 inch in diameter with 2-inch diameter end sleeves. Olympic weights are divided into 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 35 and 45 pounds. Each plate has a 2-inch diameter hole.
Contrary to their name, standard weights and barbells are not standardized. Barbells can vary dramatically in length and diameter and are usually not compatible with Olympic racks. Likewise, the weights’ increments, materials and sizes depend on the manufacturer. The only consistent factor is that they usually have a 1-inch diameter hole, which makes them too small for Olympic barbell sleeves.
Squat rack vs. power rack
These days, squat racks have dramatically improved upon the simple two-pronged stand. This makes them similar to power racks, which are metal cages used to perform the same lifts. Because of this, the only real advantage of a power rack is enhanced safety thanks to their structural rigidity.
What to look for in a quality squat rack
Design
- Squat stand: This is the simplest design. It has two vertical bars supported by horizontal bracing so you can rest a loaded barbell. They might not come with safety pins to catch the bar if you fail a lift. These take up the least space.
- Half rack: These are half of a power rack, so they’re a little sturdier than a stand, and bigger. They also usually come with safety pins and weight-storage pins, and their height allows for a built-in pull-up bar.
- Standard squat rack: These take up the most space. They have two static safety bars at about hip height that connect to an angled, triangular cage with numerous fixed barbell holders. These racks are the least likely to tip, and usually come with plenty of weight storage capacity. Their only downside is their lack of adjustability.
- Combo rack: Often sold by brands with standard-weight sets, these are designed to maximize exercise potential. In addition to vertical bars, they can feature safety bars, benches, pull-down and leg supports. If you’re a purist, combo racks can prove unwieldy and obstructive when trying to perfect form.
Size
Squat racks take up a lot of room. If you’re outfitting your home gym, you need to take the rack’s entire footprint into account. A squat stand is the safest bet, but depending floor space and ceiling height, you might be able to get away with a standard squat rack or half rack.
In addition to space, commercial and brick-and-mortar gyms should focus on the fitness ecosystem. Half racks and squat racks are the best choices, as each type has significant weight-storage capacity to support other pieces of equipment throughout the gym.
Weight limit
Verify its loaded capacity before purchasing a squat rack. Most can hold 400-600 pounds, including the barbell. For novice and intermediate home gym users, this should be more than enough for years of incremental progress. Advanced lifters and gym owners should look to half racks, or even power racks, which hold more weight (often up to 1,000 pounds).
How much you can expect to spend on a squat rack
Squat racks represent a significant investment. Simple stands cost between $150-$250, and a standard rack or half rack can cost as much as $300-$1,000.
Squat rack FAQ
What fitness routines use a squat rack?
A. Squat racks fit into just about any fitness regimen. They’re especially popular among power lifters who use them for hypertrophy or strength-training exercises. A squat rack can also be used for CrossFit, bodybuilding or high-intensity interval training.
Do squat racks come with barbells and weights?
A. Most racks require you to purchase the barbell and weights separately.
What’s the best squat rack to buy?
Top squat rack
What you need to know: With its small footprint, this sturdy half rack is great for home gyms without a lot of space.
What you’ll love: Weightlifters of all levels can get a lot of use out of this rack’s 600-pound capacity. Its safety pin and barbell holders are adjustable, and the top cross bar features separate grips for chin- and pull-ups. You also have ample weight plate storage potential with three posts on either side that can hold 180 pounds each.
What you should consider: Its feet don’t have any knobs for resistance bands.
Where to buy: Sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods
Top squat rack for the money
What you need to know: This squat stand covers all of the basics for home users on a budget.
What you’ll love: The rack has a condensed design, so it’s easy to tuck into a cramped room. You get an angled multi-grip pull-up bar at the top, anchor points for resistance bands and two storage posts for weights.
What you should consider: This isn’t the best rack for heavy lifters, as it can only hold 300 pounds and the safety pins are on the shorter side.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Sunny Health and Fitness Power Zone Half Rack Heavy-Duty Performance Power Cage
What you need to know: This fully loaded half rack has something to target every muscle group.
What you’ll love: With a whopping 1,000-pound weight limit, it’s tough to max this rack out. Not only does it come with three adjustable pull-up bars, but also resistance-band knobs at the bottom for warmups and isometric exercises. Both the barbell holder and safety pins are fully adjustable, and this rack can be paired with a number of accessories to maximize your workout options.
What you should consider: It’s bulky and poorly suited for low ceilings.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Karl Daum writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/sports-fitness-br/fitness-equipment-br/best-squat-rack/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:49 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/sports-fitness-br/fitness-equipment-br/best-squat-rack/ |
Which Kevin Minion toy is best?
“Despicable Me” was a hit when it came out, due partially to the adorable Minion characters, and the Minions are still popular, thanks to the movie’s sequels and spinoffs. Kevin is the tall Minion with two eyes and many people’s favorite character.
If you or your kid want a Kevin Minion toy, you can’t go wrong with the Just Play 15-Inch Plush Kung Fu Kevin, which is decked out in goggles, gloves and a yellow jumpsuit.
What to know before you buy a Kevin Minion toy
Types of Kevin Minion toys
- Plush: These are popular display items, and their smooth material makes them fun to squeeze and cuddle. Sometimes, they play sounds or music when you press them. Although they’re soft, Minion plush toys often feature plastic goggles.
- Action figure: These may have movable arms and legs. Most feature one of the many wacky props they use in the movies, such as the fart gun, freeze ray or a banana.
- Collectible: These are used as display pieces and don’t have movable arms and legs. Funko Pops are the most popular Minion collectibles.
Age recommendations
The recommended age range for Minion plush toys is 3 and up, as they don’t contain small pieces or sharp edges. Although the plastic goggles may eventually fall off, they don’t pose a choking hazard. Small action figures are best suited for children 5 and older.
Batteries
Most Minion toys don’t require batteries, though they may be included with those that require them for operation. Many interactive toys require AA batteries and eventually require replacements. Small action figures require LR44 batteries.
Kevin’s personality
In the “Minions” spinoff movie, Kevin is the leader of the trio. He loves to tease other Minions and is frequently seen in golf attire. He isn’t known for being particularly smart. Like all Minions, Kevin lives to find a master to serve.
Kevin Minion toy size
Kevin toys come in a variety of sizes. Many Kevin plush toys are 7-12 inches tall, while some are up to 20 inches tall. Kevin action figures are 4-6 inches tall. Some toy sets include numerous tiny Minions less than 1 inch tall.
Ease of cleaning
Kids get their toys dirty if they play with them daily. You can clean action figures and collectibles with a damp washcloth or moist towelette. You can use the washer and dryer for many plush toys, but you should use the cold and light settings. Still, it’s usually best to use a damp washcloth and spot clean plush toys.
What to look for in a quality Kevin Minion toy
Accurate design
The Minions have a specific style. Officially licensed toys are usually the best designed. Still, several third-party manufacturers produce great toys. Quality Minion toys capture the personality of the character.
Features
The Minions have numerous gadgets they use, many of which come with the toys. Toys with gadgets that light up, make sound effects and fire projectiles are ideal. Some Minion toys include interactive expressions or remote-controlled roller skates. Several Minion toys, such as the Action Assortment figures, interact with each other.
Outfits
Although Kevin’s classic overalls are great, he’s known for wearing numerous costumes in the movies. Kevin’s yellow kung fu outfit is a popular choice. Many Kevin toys show him wearing pilot’s outfits, golfer outfits and more.
Durability
Durability is essential when buying plush toys. Cheaply made plush toys can rip, and the material they’re stuffed with may pose a choking hazard. Children are rough on action figures, so you’ll want a sturdy toy with arms and legs that won’t break off easily.
How much you can expect to spend on a Kevin Minion toy
Most Kevin Minion toys cost $10-$20.
Kevin Minion toy FAQ
Is Kevin the most popular Minion?
A. Kevin, Stuart and Bob are the three most recognizable Minions. Kevin’s leadership role in the spinoff movie made him quite popular.
What language do the Minions speak?
A. The Minions’ language is a mixture of English, Spanish, French, gibberish and food references.
How do you know if a Minion toy is durable?
A. In many cases, the materials aren’t listed in the product description. The best way to determine a toy’s durability is by reading product reviews.
What’s the best Kevin Minion toy to buy?
Top Kevin Minion toy
Just Play 15-Inch Plush Kung Fu Kevin
What you need to know: This plush showcases Kevin in one of his most popular costumes.
What you’ll love: It stands nearly 16 inches tall and is soft but durable. The arms are posable. The hard plastic goggles are securely attached to the plush material.
What you should consider: The goggles make it top-heavy.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top Kevin Minion toy for the money
Minions: Rise of Gru Kevin Action Figure
What you need to know: This action figure features a flamethrower that fires pretend flames at the press of a button.
What you’ll love: It’s compatible with numerous other figures, including the Wild Rider RC vehicle. The welding mask is removable. It features posable arms.
What you should consider: The legs don’t move.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Just Play Minions: The Rise of Gru Small Plush Pilot Kevin
What you need to know: This plush dresses Kevin in his captain’s jacket and cap.
What you’ll love: The plush stands 9 inches tall. The embroidered eyes and mouth look excellent. It’s soft and durable.
What you should consider: The uniform isn’t as cuddly as the rest of the toy.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Cody Stewart writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/toys-games-br/theme-toys-br/best-kevin-minion-toy/ | 2022-04-13T17:19:56 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/br/toys-games-br/theme-toys-br/best-kevin-minion-toy/ |
Best kids kneepads for skating
Skating is a rough-and-tumble activity. And beginners are prone to lots of spills. One way to ensure your child is safe tearing it up on the asphalt is with the proper protective gear. This means pads — especially kneepads. Not only do they protect sensitive bones and joints, but they also inspire the confidence necessary to improve as a skater.
Which kneepads you choose depends on your child’s age and ability. There are plenty of cool designs to excite all ages to skate safely.
Skating with kneepads
Purpose of kneepads
Kneepads are pieces of safety equipment designed to slide over or strap around each knee. Used for a number of extreme sports, they protect the vulnerable ligaments and bones in your knees from strain and impact.
Types of skating that require kneepads
Wheeled action sports involve lots of falls, especially if you’re learning tricks. Skateboarding is one of the world’s most popular action sports, but if your child instead loves roller skating or blading, they should also wear pads. Likewise, any kid who enjoys longboarding or just cruising around should have them, too. Impacts while falling are a given, but longboarding and cruising can lead to wicked road rash that kneepads can prevent.
Other protective gear
While kneepads are crucial, a safe skater should also have the following:
- Elbow pads: These work like kneepads, protecting your arm’s major ligaments and bones from strain and impact.
- Wrist pads: When falling our instincts tell us to catch ourselves with our hands. But by stiffening our wrists, we risk breaking a number of bones. Wrist pads provide a protective, supportive barrier to this sensitive area by covering the palms and preventing flexion. They not only protect against broken hand bones and wrists, but also nasty scrapes.
- Helmet: A helmet is the number-one piece of safety equipment to protect against head trauma. Look for a helmet with a multi-directional impact protection system. These are some of the safest helmets out there.
Choosing the right kneepads
A good pair of kneepads fits comfortably without restraining your child’s range of motion. To get the sizing right, it should account for their weight and leg size.
Overall size
Kneepads use alpha sizing, which corresponds to the wearer’s weight.
- Small: Under 125 pounds.
- Medium: 125-150 pounds
- Large: 150-180 pounds
- Extra-large: Over 180 pounds
You’ll also find pads sized according to the “child, youth and adult” spectrum. Child sizes typically fit age 5 and under, youth 5-10 and adult 10 and up.
Center circumference
This measures the diameter of your child’s leg from the center of their kneecap. To get the center circumference accurately, try using a soft tape measure or a piece of string you can mark and measure when laid flat.
- Junior: Universal sizing for under 12 inches
- Small: 12-14 inches
- Medium: 14-16 inches
- Large: 15-17 inches
- Extra-large: 17-20 inches
Hard vs. soft shell
Choosing between a hard- and soft-shell kneepad depends on the level of protection you’re after. While soft-shell pads are more comfortable, they won’t provide enough protection in case of a big fall.
For kid skaters, hard-shell pads are your best bet. These are reinforced with foam padding to provide superior protection against big impacts and abrasion. They can be a little bulky, so make sure you size right. Opt for straps so you can adjust them easily and wear them over clothing.
Best kneepads for kid skaters
Best kneepads for young kids
BoneShieldz Youth Cruiser 3000 Multi-Sport Protective Set
This complete set of pads has your little skater covered from wrists to elbows to knees. With black sleeves, metallic gray hard shells and red accents, your kid will feel like a superhero rocking their matching set. The adjustable straps and lightweight design help with comfort and breathability. These are also available in pink for toddlers with discerning taste.
Where to buy: Sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods
Available in a fun array of colors, this complete set of pads is sized for little ones but is cool enough for big kids who love to shred. These plastic hard-shell pads are padded with airy foam and secured with comfortable elastic straps, making them great for long rides.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Best kneepads for youth
Bosoner Kids/Youth Protective Gear Set
Bosoner upgrades their kids pads for youth users who take bigger and harder falls. This full set of heavy-duty hard-shell pads provide ample coverage over sensitive areas with a shock-absorbing design that distributes impact forces away from the center cap. You have your choice of seven colors.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
DBX Youth Inline Protective Set
This full set of pads is designed to cover your kid’s knees and elbows above and below the olecranon and patella. They come in a sleek black design with foam padding and a mesh layer to wick moisture. They’re great for older youth skaters who want to upgrade to more serious, adult-like pads.
Where to buy: Sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods
Best kneepads for teens
Gonex Skateboard Protective Gear Set
This full set of pads should fit most teens. You have your choice between all-black and pink-and-black pads. The studded hard-shell design is particularly adept at absorbing big falls when skating vert ramps. You can wear them as a sleeve for extra support, or strapped over clothing for maximum comfort.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
JBM Adult/Child Kneepads Elbow Pads Wrist Guards 3 In 1 Protective Gear Set
This set comes in five mature yet trendy colorways for older skaters who want the protection of an adult set but don’t want to settle for plain old black. Though they only come in two sizes, they’re adjustable for comfort, and the large shell bubbles not only provide ample room to grow, but can also take a beating. Most teens and tweens fit in the adult size.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Karl Daum writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/which-kneepads-are-best-for-kid-skaters/ | 2022-04-13T17:20:02 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/which-kneepads-are-best-for-kid-skaters/ |
VICTORY, Vt. (AP) — For the 70-or-so people who live in the remote Vermont community of Victory, Town Clerk Tracey Martel says she’s regularly frustrated watching a spinning circle on her computer while she tries to complete even the most basic municipal chores online.
“Fast internet would be really good,” said Martel, whose community was one of the last in Vermont to receive electricity almost 60 years ago. The DSL service she has now works for basic internet, but it can be spotty and it doesn’t allow users to access all the benefits of the interconnected world.
About 5 miles (8 kilometers) away as the bird flies in the neighboring community along Miles Pond in the town of Concord, a new fiber optic line is beginning to bring truly high-speed internet to residents of the remote area known as the Northeast Kingdom.
“I’m looking forward to high-speed internet, streaming TV,” said Concord resident John Gilchrist, as a crew ran fiber optic cable to his home earlier this year.
The fiber optic cable that is beginning to serve the remote part of Concord and will one day serve Victory is being provided through NEK Broadband, a utility of nearly 50 Vermont towns working to bring high speed internet service to the most remote parts of the state.
NEK Broadband Executive Director Christa Shute said the group’s business plan calls for offering services to all potential customers within five years, but given current supply constraints and the shortage of trained technicians, she’s beginning to think that goal isn’t achievable.
“I think our build will take seven to 10 years,” she said.
Congress has appropriated tens of billions of dollars for a variety of programs to help fill the digital gap exposed by the pandemic when millions of people were locked down in their homes with no way to study, work or get online medical care.
The first of those funds are reaching municipalities, businesses and other groups involved in the effort, but some say supply chain issues, labor shortages and geographic constraints will slow the rollout.
The demand for fiber optic cable goes beyond wired broadband to homes and businesses. The cable will help provide the 5G technology now being rolled out by wireless communications providers.
But there’s a bottleneck in the supply. Michael Bell, senior vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Communications based in Charlotte, North Carolina, says the issue lies with supply of the protective jacket that surrounds the hair-thin strands of glass that carry information on beams of light.
Currently, some working to expand broadband say delays in getting the fiber optic cable they need can exceed a year.
“Based on the capacity we’re adding, and the capacity we see our competitors adding, wait times will start going down dramatically as the year progresses and into next year,” Bell said. “And I think as we get into next year, the lead time for most customers is going to be well under a year.”
Meanwhile, there’s a labor shortage for installing the cable. Many in the industry are setting up educational programs to train people to work with the fiber, said Jim Hayes, the president of the Santa Monica, California-based Fiber Optic Association.
“It needs to be done now,” said Hayes. “We’re going to need to train probably ten techs for every tech that we’ve got who’s competent to lead them.”
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill passed last fall, says that areas that receive broadband speeds of less than 25 megabit downloads and 3 megabit uploads are considered unserved. To qualify for different federal grants through the infrastructure bill and other programs, most finished projects must offer speeds of at least 100 megabits per second for downloads. Upload speeds differ, but most federal grants have a minimum of 20 megabit uploads.
For comparison, it takes 80 seconds to download a 1 gigabyte video at the speed of 100 megabits per second. It takes four times as long — 320 seconds, or more than 5 minutes — at 25 megabits per second.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a part of the Agency of Commerce, which is funding broadband projects across the country through the infrastructure law, is neutral about about how internet service providers reach the speed requirements. Many providers say the key to bringing true high-speed internet service to the entire country is to install fiber optic cable to every nook and cranny.
Deploying high-speed internet in tribal communities and rural areas across the western United States where distances dwarf those of rural northern New England will be even more of a challenge.
Broadband access on the Navajo Nation — the largest reservation in the U.S. at 27,000 square miles (69,930 square kilometers) in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — is a mix of dial-up, satellite service, wireless, fiber and mobile data.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, which has broad oversight of tribal affairs, said federal appraisals, rights-of-way permits, environment reviews and archaeological protection laws can delay progress.
The argument against the wireless options currently being used in some areas is they can’t offer speeds needed to qualify for the federal grants.
Mike Wendy of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association said wireless technology is getting faster and more reliable and wireless connections could be the only way to reach some of the most remote locations.
“The challenge of all this money is to make sure that the unserved are served,” said Wendy, whose organization represents about 1,000 fixed wireless internet providers. “Our guys are in those markets right now and they’re growing.”
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said $233 million in state dollars will be used in his state to expand broadband to over 43,000 households. Other internet service providers have agreed to expand broadband to another 51,000 households. Ohio is expected to receive an additional $268 million in federal funding to further broadband expansion in the state.
Husted said Ohio is focused on infrastructure while groups and organizations are needed to provide computers and to help people adapt to the fast-growing digital age.
“We’re building the road,” Husted said. “Access to broadband is like the highway system. That’s where we’re focused. It doesn’t mean there are people who don’t need cars or need driver’s licenses.”
There are still scattered locations across the country that rely on dialup and some people in remote locations use satellite internet services. Some people have no internet options whatsoever.
Martel, the Victory town clerk, said that when the people from NEK Broadband visited the community they told residents it would be five to seven years before fiber optic cable would reach the community.
But Shute says her organization is hoping to get a grant to connect the most rural areas, which could move the timeline for Victory up to three years.
Meanwhile, back in East Concord, after having the service for several weeks, Gilchrist said he and his daughter Emily, who is 19 and headed to college in a few months, no longer have to go to the local diner to use the internet. He canceled his expensive satellite TV service, his daughter and her friends have been using it to play online video games and in a few months she will be using the connection while doing college studies.
“It’s been working great, as far as I’m concerned, all I do is check email,” Gilchrist said. “I don’t watch TV, but my daughter loves it.”
___
Gillispie reported from Cleveland. AP Correspondent Felicia Fonseca contributed to this report from Flagstaff, Arizona. | https://www.wivb.com/science/lots-of-broadband-money-but-us-expansion-finds-speed-bumps/ | 2022-04-13T17:20:09 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/science/lots-of-broadband-money-but-us-expansion-finds-speed-bumps/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Meet Cayden! He’s up for adoption through 716 Paws.
Cayden is a Labrador Retriever mix and will be two years old this August. For more information on adopting him, watch the video above and click/tap here.
More Adoptable Animals
Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. | https://www.wivb.com/wake-up/mels-mutts/mels-mutts-cayden/ | 2022-04-13T17:20:16 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/wake-up/mels-mutts/mels-mutts-cayden/ |
New York LiveDaily lifestyle show giving viewers the best in all things New York -- 11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday and 7:15 p.m. Fridays | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/the-adventure-begins-in-curacao-2/3644492/ | 2022-04-13T17:21:07 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/the-adventure-begins-in-curacao-2/3644492/ |
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KSWB) – A group of whale watchers was surprised last week when they witnessed a “stampede” by a large group of dolphins near their boat off the coast of Oceanside, California.
Video from the Oceanside Adventures whale watching group shows more than a dozen dolphins playfully interacting with a boat on the Pacific Ocean last Thursday.
In the video, one woman can be seen recording the “stampede” from the boat’s deck while the dolphins weave in and out of the water just beside the boat.
According to the Pacific Beach Coalition, Southern California waters are home to more than 10 different species of dolphins. The majestic animals can be found off the coast year-round, but primarily in the fall and winter months.
The American Cetacean Society (ACS) says that packs like the one in the video above are actually not uncommon for dolphins.
“Common dolphins are often found in large herds of hundreds or even thousands,” the ACS says on its website.
Additionally, the animal is well known for its playful, engaging tendencies when it comes to boats and vessels out on the water.
“They are noted for riding bow and stern waves of boats, often changing course to bow-ride the pressure waves of fast-moving vessels and even large whales,” a description of the animal says on the ACS website.
Earlier this year, another “stampede” wowed crowds near Newport Beach as hundreds of dolphins swam alongside a whale watching group just before sunset. You can watch video from that event here. | https://www.wane.com/dont-miss/watch-dolphins-stampede-near-boat-off-california-coast/ | 2022-04-13T17:21:45 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/dont-miss/watch-dolphins-stampede-near-boat-off-california-coast/ |
MIAMI (AP) — Police in Miami arrested a 41-year-old woman in the deaths of her two children, aged 3 and 5, after officers responded to repeated hang-up 911 calls from her apartment where they found their tied-up bodies.
Police say Odette Lysse Joassaint told officers, “Come get them, I don’t want them anymore” when they arrived at the apartment Tuesday night.
The officers found the 3-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl on a bed, where their arms, legs and neck were tied up.
They tried to resuscitate the children until a Miami Fire Rescue crew arrived and pronounced them dead.
The woman has been charged with two counts of murder. | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/2-dead-kids-found-in-miami-apartment-after-911-hang-ups-mother-arrested/ | 2022-04-13T17:21:52 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/2-dead-kids-found-in-miami-apartment-after-911-hang-ups-mother-arrested/ |
(The Hill) — More Americans might find their dollar isn’t going as far as before under the sting of rising inflation, as price stickers on food, gas and other goods and services skyrocket across the country.
Data released by the Labor Department this week found that consumer prices climbed 1.2 percent last month and 8.5 percent annually. The yearly increase marks the highest seen in roughly four decades, as the Russian-Ukraine war exacerbates the nation’s inflation problem.
Some economists are hopeful prices for items like fuel will reach their peak soon, but they warn other higher price tags could be here to stay for a while.
Here are five areas where your pocket might be feeling the most punch.
Food
The new report said rising food prices are one of the largest contributors to inflation, with prices shown to have risen 1 percent in March and 8.8 percent in the 12-month period ending last month.
The Labor Department said prices for six major grocery store food groups jumped in March, including a 1.5 percent increase in fruit and vegetable prices, as well as cereals and bakery products; a 1 percent increase in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs; and a 1.2 percent increase in dairy and related products.
Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in an interview that prices fluctuate dramatically on a month-to-month basis, and noted that food prices, in particular, can be “more volatile” in nature.
With that said, however, Goldwein told The Hill the increases are “extremely high.”
“If you’re thinking about overall inflation, in a normal year, it’s 2.5 percent over the year, so 0.2 percent per month … but 1 percent is extremely high for a monthly growth, and 1.5 percent, even higher,” Goldwein said.
Goldwein said food prices had been on the upswing, in part driven by demand, and, to a lesser degree, by other supply chain issues. The war in Ukraine, an exporter of certain grains and other foods, could have an impact on global prices, which he said “increases the domestic price.”
Gas
Energy prices increased by 11 percent last month, with gasoline prices seeing a sharp 18.3 percent increase in March, after seeing a 6.6 percent increase the month before – a jump economists have also credited largely to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Moscow.
“We’ve definitely been talking about gasoline inflation over the last year. But what happened as a result of the invasion, it just took it to a new level of awful,” said Wendy Edelberg, director of The Hamilton Project and a senior economic studies fellow at the Brookings Institution.
In its consumer price index (CPI) on Tuesday, the Labor Department said gasoline prices made up more than half of all items’ monthly increases.
Goldwein said he’s hopeful fuel prices will peak soon but added there could also be “a second spike” in the months ahead.
Goldwein said there are certain “one-off things” that can explain changes in inflation. But he added “very broad inflation” has persisted across the nation’s economy, primarily driven, “not by these supply shocks, but by oversaturated demand, with very low interest rates and fiscal stimulus.”
Shelter
The Labor Department identified March prices for shelter as the biggest contributor in price increases tracked for all items minus food and energy.
Shelter prices rose 0.5 percent last month – which the agency said “accounted for nearly two-thirds of the monthly increase in the all items less food and energy index.” Rent prices increased by 0.4 percent during the same period, and prices tracked in the “lodging away from home” category rose 3.3 percent.
Over the past year, shelter prices saw a 5 percent increase, which the agency said is the highest annual rise recorded in over 30 years. Prices for household furnishings and operations rose by 10.1 percent in the same window, the highest annual increase for the grouping in almost five decades.
Edelberg pointed to several potential factors at play for the hike.
“I think that there was a big shift in the demand for different kinds of housing, as a result of the pandemic. People wanted more space, people wanted to live in different places, people wanted to rent in different places,” Edelberg said, while also noting falling mortgage rates for owner-occupied housing.
“That boosted the price of housing because people could afford bigger mortgages, and I think just generally speaking, our housing stock has been, it’s very hard for it to expand in places where there’s more demand,” she said.
That increase in demand, which Edelberg said was fueled by “more fiscal support, and people cutting back on other kinds of spending,” has “just hit up against lack of supply in housing where people want it, and some stickiness in prices where people don’t want to live.”
“So, we don’t see rents falling in places where people don’t want to live enough to make up for the fact that rents are rising, where people do want to live,” she said.
Airline fares
Airline fares saw a 10.7 percent spike last March, more than double the increase recorded in February. Economists have linked the jump to an increase in demand for an industry hit hard during the pandemic, as well as rising fuel prices.
Edelberg said she expects airlines and several other services that previously saw big declines in demand, including recreation services, leisure and hospitality services and higher education services, to all make a comeback.
She also noted the airline industry is “very labor-intensive.”
“They need to be able to hire workers. So, what’s going to drive inflation in the services sector is what happens to demand for workers and what happens to the supply of workers in that sector going forward,” she said. “And there are a lot of unknowns there, because we need people to be comfortable working in face-to-face service sectors again.”
Medical
Prices for medical care rose 0.5 percent last month, as well as prices for physicians’ services, while prices for hospital services climbed 0.4 percent.
Goldwein said prices for medical care services are growing just slightly above target level.
A large part of the reason, he said, is that prices are mostly set “by negotiations with insurance companies or by Medicare at the beginning of the year based on expected inflation.”
“And so the good news is, because people sort of expected inflation this year, but they did it, it actually was kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy in the healthcare space,” he said. “So, we haven’t seen a lot of healthcare inflation.”
However, Goldwein said the downside is the economy’s “other shoe hasn’t dropped yet, because people probably are going to expect higher inflation for next year.” | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/five-parts-of-the-economy-where-you-can-see-inflation/ | 2022-04-13T17:21:58 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/five-parts-of-the-economy-where-you-can-see-inflation/ |
(WGHP) — Cancers aren’t like coronavirus infections, but fighting them may have a lot of similarities.
For the last several years, researchers have been working with technology based around mRNA — messenger RNA, which is something that complements the work of your DNA — to see if they can utilize it to get your body’s own immune system to fight cancers. At Duke University, they’re working with mRNA technology to create vaccines for cancer.
“It is a product which is RNA nucleic acid which encodes a specific protein and then that can be encapsulated in something we like to call a lipid nanoparticle, which is really a little fat bubble, and that can be injected into your body and sort of teaches your body what to go after immunologically,” said Zachary Hartman, who works in the Lyerly Lab at Duke.
If it all sounds familiar, it should — mRNA vaccines have been in the news quite a bit over the last two years. It’s the type of technology used to create the COVID-19 vaccines.
“Remember, people were expecting that a successful vaccine would provide protective immunity to about 50% of patients, and the first two mRNA vaccines provided over 90% protection, a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, who runs the lab at Duke.
Lyerly has been at Duke for nearly 40 years and has seen massive changes in how we can combat cancer going from relatively crude chemotherapy to very targeted immunotherapy.
“Think about that, in my career, a complete reversal of fortune for immunotherapy to be something to being considered an outsider, not likely to ever work, to being the most prominent form of cancer therapy and the development of new cancer therapeutics in the world today,” said Lyerly.
He’s taken note of the people who are skeptical when it comes to the new mRNA vaccines, but he thinks their concern is misplaced.
“You have mRNAs – billions of mRNA copies in your body right now. And so, to be concerned that the introduction of an mRNA coding of a viral protein is going to be harmful to you, again, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because if you happen to be infected with a coronavirus, you’re going to have a thousand times more mRNAs from the virus invading your body. So, the way to protect yourself from disease-causing mRNAs in your body is to vaccinate yourself,” he said.
Zach Hartman believes this technology will change the way we treat cancers completely.
“I think that within my lifetime, we will see cancer as a more managed disease,” said Hartman. “We’re going to turn the dial and be able to treat more and more of these kinds of cancers in the coming years and decades to where it’s not quite the same sentence it was 20 or 30 years ago. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to rid the world of cancer, but I think we will be able to prevent a lot of cancers, and then a lot of cancers that we’ll be able to catch early and treat, we’ll have very effective treatments.” | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/how-close-are-we-to-a-cancer-vaccine-duke-scientists-say-theyre-closing-in/ | 2022-04-13T17:22:05 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/how-close-are-we-to-a-cancer-vaccine-duke-scientists-say-theyre-closing-in/ |
(The Hill) – The White House on Wednesday slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for the delays at the state’s border with Mexico after he ordered state troopers to step up truck inspections.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the delays from the inspections are causing rising prices and “significant disruptions” to supply chains.
“Governor Abbott’s unnecessary and redundant inspections of trucks transiting ports of entry between Texas and Mexico are causing significant disruptions to the food and automobile supply chains, delaying manufacturing, impacting jobs, and raising prices for families in Texas and across the country,” Psaki said in a statement.
State troops are inspecting commercial vehicles, which have already been searched by federal officers, crossing northbound into Texas, a directive Abbott implemented after Biden announced Title 42 would be rescinded earlier this month.
Psaki said that the delays truckers are facing have exceeded five hours at some border crossings and commercial traffic has dropped by 60% at the southern border.
“The continuous flow of legitimate trade and travel and CBP’s [Customs and Border Protection] ability to do its job should not be obstructed. Governor Abbott’s actions are impacting people’s jobs, and the livelihoods of hardworking American families,” she said.
On Tuesday, no commercial vehicles crossed the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, which is the busiest bridge in the area, because truckers on the Mexico side are blocking traffic in protest, The Texas Tribune reported.
Title 42, which will officially end on May 23, was first imposed under the Trump administration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed migrants to be expelled at the border, blocking them from trying to obtain asylum.
Abbott’s order cited “cartels that smuggle illicit contraband and people across our southern border” as justification for the state trooper inspections, Reuters reported.
The delays at the border come as the first bus of migrants arrived in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning after Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to bring migrants in Texas to the nation’s capital last week.
The White House dismissed Abbott’s plans to send migrants to Washington last week as a “publicity stunt.” | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/white-house-slams-texas-gov-abbott-for-causing-significant-disruptions-to-supply-chain-at-southern-border/ | 2022-04-13T17:22:12 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/white-house-slams-texas-gov-abbott-for-causing-significant-disruptions-to-supply-chain-at-southern-border/ |
NEWCASTLE upon TYNE, England, (StudyFinds.org) – Tumble dryers are as bad as washing machines for spewing out plastic, scientists are warning. According to a recent study, dryers release microfibers into the air at comparable levels to those that go down the drain during the same load.
The findings are based on experiments involving over 1,200 garments under typical conditions.
“By measuring microfibers released during the whole laundering process we found microfibre loss through domestic drying is a huge concern,” says lead author Dr. Kelly Sheridan, of Northumbria University in England, per South West News Service. “Ours is the first study that has simultaneously quantified microfibers released from clothing during washing alongside that released when the clothing is then tumble dried.”
Wildlife ingest these microfibers as they float in the air, settle on the land and get washed into rivers. Eventually, they end up on our dinner plates as they enter the food chain. The particles also absorb harmful chemicals that leach out into the systems of any person or animal that breathes them in.
Polyester and other artificial fibers do not break down and remain in the environment for a very long time. The international team urged manufacturers to install filter that slashes numbers that get out. The air used in tumble drying passes through a duct, or tube, and is vented directly outdoors. Thousands of tons of air pollution could be reduced by the use of fabric conditioners, tumble dryer sheets and smaller pores in lint filters that trap more particles.
Washing laundry sheds up to a million tons of microfibers annually worldwide, posing potential risks to aquatic ecosystems. Minuscule fragments of clothing are blown out through air vents on tumble dryers also spurring a threat to human health. They have been found in ocean-caught fish, beer, and even placentas of unborn babies. Lab experiments suggest they damage cells.
The research provides convincing reasons to hang-dry clothes and use energy-intensive dryers sparingly — if ever.
“We measured the volume of microfibers released during washing, as well as those captured in lint filters when tumble dried,” says Sheridan. “Our study found domestic dryers produce comparable quantities of microfibers that could be released to the air as we already see going into our water systems from a standard washing cycle. While many microfibers can be captured in lint filters during drying, if the pore size is too large, a significant amount will be released into the air, comparable to the amount released down the drain in washing.”
Tests on 10 polyester and 10 cotton T-shirts found domestic dryers produce far more microfibers than washing. Many are captured in filters, but amounts that get into the atmosphere are similar to those that get into rivers from washing.
“It’s critical to our understanding of the impact of microfibers on human health and the environment that all the potential pathways for microfiber release, including air, are assessed. Airborne fibers are just as concerning as those present in wastewater,” adds Sheridan.
Synthetic materials, such as polyester, are the worst as they biodegrade much more slowly than cotton or wool.
“The recent rises in energy costs have led us all to think carefully about the financial impact of using dryers, but few are aware of their impact on particulate air pollution,” says co-author Dr. Neil Lant, of Procter and Gamble, in a statement. “These latest findings are a call to action for the appliance industry to improve the efficiency of fiber filtration systems in vented dryers and drive the conversion to condenser dryers with no airborne fiber release, especially super energy-efficient heat pump dryers. While we know people in different parts of the world and in different types of households may choose alternative ways to dry their clothing, our findings relate to the impacts of vented tumble drying. Further research would be needed to assess the impacts of other drying methods.”
The U.S. consumer giant has been working with experts at Northumbria for over five years. About 700,000 microfibers from acrylic and polyester clothes are shed during washing in every cycle.
“We’re very pleased with the results from this latest study with Northumbria University, showing how products like liquid fabric softener or dryer sheets can reduce airborne fiber pollution from dryers,” adds Jerry Porter, vice president of research and development at P&G. “This and the other findings from the research will help us partner with the textile and appliance industries to identify long-term solutions to this complex problem.”
The study is published in the journal PLOS One.
South West News Service writer Mark Waghorn contributed to this report. | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/tumble-dryers-release-harmful-microfibers-into-air-putting-wildlife-and-environment-at-risk/ | 2022-04-13T17:22:18 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/tumble-dryers-release-harmful-microfibers-into-air-putting-wildlife-and-environment-at-risk/ |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Police in Los Angeles are searching for a pair of robbers who hit a woman with their car as she ran away from them in search of help Monday.
It happened around noon near a downtown Los Angeles intersection.
The woman had just left a jewelry store in the Jewelry District when her attackers began following her in a silver Dodge Challenger, police said.
As she approached the intersection in her vehicle, one of the robbers approached her vehicle and shattered her driver-side window with some sort of tool.
The woman tried to drive away from the robber but was stopped by traffic. She left her vehicle and ran into the road while she called for help, but she was followed by the Challenger, which accelerated and hit her as she ran.
After she was on the ground, two men exited the car and grabbed the woman’s Rolex watch, which she had thrown away from her. One of the men was armed with a handgun, police said.
Police said one of the men is 5 feet, 11 inches and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants, white shoes and a ski mask. He is believed to have been armed with a semi-automatic handgun.
The second suspect was wearing a black sweater and light blue jeans. Police said he was also had a handgun.
Video of the suspects hitting the woman and then robbing her was posted on the LAPD’s YouTube page.
Anyone with information or additional video of the robbery is urged to contact LAPD detectives Moreno and Vargas at 213-486-6840. You can also submit an anonymous tip online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Police say this robbery is part of a startling trend of robberies in which suspects follow their victims to their homes, businesses or secluded areas and then rob them.
LAPD said robbers are targeting people leaving high-end businesses or wearing expensive jewelry. Authorities said there were five robberies that fit that description over a 48-hour period this week.
A special task force has been established by the Los Angeles Police Department that focuses on these follow-home or follow-off robberies. | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/woman-run-over-while-fleeing-robbers-in-downtown-los-angeles/ | 2022-04-13T17:22:24 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/top-picks/woman-run-over-while-fleeing-robbers-in-downtown-los-angeles/ |
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — An Indiana jewelry store owner has been charged after police say he shot at two people believed to have stolen from his business.
Officers were sent to Darrell’s Diamonds in the Meadows Shopping Center around 2:45 p.m. on April 5 in report to a theft and shots fired.
Dispatchers told officers two males had robbed the jewelry store then ran out the front door.
Witnesses told police they saw a man, identified as 72-year-old Darrell Bemis, run after the two males and fire a handgun in their direction including towards a parking lot.
The witnesses said there were several pedestrians and vehicles in the parking lot at the time.
One man, who was in a vehicle with his wife and children, said he told Bemis to stop shooting because there were kids around.
Bemis was then seen firing his gun towards Ohio Boulevard, an area known for both heavy foot and vehicle traffic.
No one was hurt by the gunfire.
Bemis was charged with criminal recklessness.
The two males who ran from the store are believed to be anywhere from 15 to 23 years old. They have not been found. | https://fox59.com/indiana-news/court-docs-indiana-store-owner-charged-after-shooting-gun-at-suspected-thieves/ | 2022-04-13T17:23:04 | 1 | https://fox59.com/indiana-news/court-docs-indiana-store-owner-charged-after-shooting-gun-at-suspected-thieves/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was extending the order, which was set to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.
“In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
When the Transportation Security Administration, which enforces the rule for planes, buses, trains and transit hubs, extended the requirement last month, it said the CDC had been hoping to roll out a more flexible masking strategy that would have replaced the nationwide requirement.
The mask mandate is the most visible vestige of government restrictions to control the pandemic, and possibly the most controversial. A surge of abusive and sometimes violent incidents on airplanes has been attributed mostly to disputes over mask-wearing.
Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.
There has been a slight increase in cases in recent weeks, driven by the BA.2 strain, with daily confirmed cases nationwide rising from about 25,000 per day to more than 30,000. Those figures are an undercount since many people now test positive on at-home tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
Severe illnesses and deaths tend to lag infections by several weeks. The CDC is awaiting indications of whether the increase in cases correlates to a rise in adverse outcomes before announcing a less restrictive mask policy for travel. | https://fox59.com/news/coronavirus/cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks-ap-source-says/ | 2022-04-13T17:23:05 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/coronavirus/cdc-to-extend-travel-mask-requirement-for-2-weeks-ap-source-says/ |
INDIANAPOLIS – A man charged in a series of armed robberies around Indianapolis had been on GPS monitoring, police say.
Donta Allen, 24, was on home detention and had tampered with the electronic monitoring device, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Another man, 29-year-old Lance McGee, is also charged in the case.
According to IMPD, the men were involved in a series of armed robberies across the city from March 25 through April 8, when they were arrested following a robbery at the GameStop located at 6905 S. Emerson Ave.
Following the Emerson Avenue case, IMPD SWAT located a vehicle and detained both men. IMPD said officers found evidence connected to the robbery inside the vehicle.
The robberies targeted GameStop, Disc Replay and Auto Zone stores. Allen is accused in all of the thefts, while McGee is charged in connection with nine of them.
Here are the robbery locations:
- March 25: Disc Replay at 8210 Rockville Road
- March 27: GameStop at 3269 W. 86th Street
- March 27: Auto Zone at 4606 E. County Line Road
- April 2: GameStop at 4525 Lafayette Road
- April 2: Auto Zone at 7455 Michigan Road
- April 3: Disc Replay at 9739 E. Washington Street (Allen)
- April 5: Disc Replay at 7317 US 31 South
- April 5: Auto Zone at 8525 Southeastern Avenue
- April 5: Auto Zone at 6055 E. 82nd Street
- April 8: GameStop at 6905 S. Emerson Avenue
Allen is charged with 10 counts each of armed robbery and criminal confinement, along with single counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and escape.
McGee faces nine counts of aiding, inducing or causing armed robbery.
The investigation involved multiple districts and units, including the IMPD Covert Robbery Unit, Southwest District, Northwest District, IMPD SWAT, IMPD Aviation Unit and FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, among others. | https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/serial-robbery-suspect-was-on-gps-monitoring-police-say-indy-gamestop-disc-replay-auto-zone-stores-targeted/ | 2022-04-13T17:23:07 | 1 | https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/serial-robbery-suspect-was-on-gps-monitoring-police-say-indy-gamestop-disc-replay-auto-zone-stores-targeted/ |
INDIANAPOLIS – We have talked about this threat all week long, there is the potential for strong to severe storms across the entire state of Indiana today. Now is the time to prepare and monitor weather conditions all day long.
Where is the severe weather threat?
Everyone across the state has the chance to see severe weather today. Indianapolis is in an enhanced risk, a level 3 out of 5. The southwest corner of Indiana is in a moderate risk, a level 4 out of 5.
When will severe storms hit?
There are a few chances for strong to severe storms today. The main event will be this evening with a line of storms pushing into Indiana. A few storms are possible, though, ahead of this line.
What are the threats?
All threats of severe weather are possible with storms today.
- Damaging winds up to 70mph
- Large hail up to the size of golf balls
- Heavy rain and flash flooding
- Tornadoes
Watch VS Warning
Know the difference between a watch and a warning.
- A WATCH means conditions are favorable for strong to severe storms.
- A WARNING means you need to take action and get in your safe place.
What can you do to prepare?
Now is the time to have a plan of action ready for when a warning is issued.
- Download the Weather Authority App: have multiple ways to receive warnings; DO NOT rely on the outdoor sirens to warn you
- Have a safety kit in your safe place that includes essential documents, batteries, non-perishable food
What should you do after the storm passes?
- Stay home or in your safe place if you can
- If your home is not damaged, stay inside
- Avoid possible hazards such as downed power lines or downed trees
- Check on your family and friends over the phone
- Check-in through all modes of contact
- Allow for crews to clean up and restore lost power
The rest of the week
The rest of the week will be seasonal with a few chances of showers into the weekend. | https://fox59.com/weather/severe-weather-in-indiana-today-tornadoes-possible/ | 2022-04-13T17:23:09 | 1 | https://fox59.com/weather/severe-weather-in-indiana-today-tornadoes-possible/ |
Dad accidentally runs over 2-year-old, killing him, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – A father in Oklahoma ran over his 2-year-old son, killing him, in a situation police deemed a tragic accident.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers arrived at the home Tuesday night and learned the man accidentally ran over the toddler with his Dodge pickup while trying to park in the driveway.
Investigators said that the family arrived home from the grocery store and parked the truck in front of their home. The mother and the toddler got out of the truck and began walking toward the house.
The father then pulled the truck into the driveway and “felt a bump,” police said. He got out of the truck and found out that the 2-year-old had ran back toward the truck and had been run over with the right rear wheel.
Police said the child was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and he died overnight.
Police said this is a “tragic situation for everyone involved” and that no charges are being filed.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ | 2022-04-13T17:27:49 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ |
Homebuyers stymied by fewer homes, high prices, rising rates
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shortly after moving to South Florida for a new job with the U.S. military, Shannon Kaufman and his wife, Wendy, signed up for a whole other mission: buying a home.
For months, they scoured listings, strategizing late into the night on which homes to target and working out how much they could afford, even if it meant using some of their retirement savings.
After visiting 200 listings and making offers on 15 homes that ultimately didn’t pan out, the Kaufmans finally found a home that fits at least some of their needs. They’ll be renting it, however.
“We found a place that’s smaller than we want, but it’ll work until we have something built or until the market cools off,” said Shannon Kaufman, 47.
America’s housing market has grown increasingly frenzied, and prices are out of reach for many buyers, especially first-timers. This spring, traditionally the busiest season for home sales, is more likely to deliver frustration and disappointment for aspiring homebuyers than it is homeownership.
The number of homes for sale nationally remains near record lows, fueling fierce competition among buyers vying for fewer homes. From Los Angeles to Raleigh, North Carolina, when a house does hit the market, it typically sells within days.
Bidding wars are common, often driving the sale price well above what the owner was asking. And would-be buyers planning to finance their purchase with a home loan are often losing out to investors and others able to buy a home with cash. A quarter of all homes sold in February were purchased with cash, up from 22% a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Real estate investors accounted for 19% of transactions in February, up from 17% a year ago.
Nichol Khan, a project manager, and her husband Ed moved to Mesa, Arizona, from Phoenix two years ago to shorten their commute to work. Home prices in the Phoenix area have jumped 20% from a year ago to $500,000, according to Realtor.com.
“The prices just keep going up and up,” Khan said.
The couple has lost out on more than a dozen homes they bid on. Some of the homes ended up selling for less in cash than the couple had offered.
“We don’t have $500,000 in cash,” said Khan, 42. “We just could not be competitive with that.”
Fewer homes on the market and high prices have been the hallmark of the housing market for the past 10 years or so. Now, rising mortgage rates further complicate the homebuying equation. Higher rates could limit the pool of buyers and cool the rate of home price growth — good news for buyers. But higher rates also weaken their buying power.
The average rate on a 30-year home loan has climbed to around 4.7%. A year ago, average rates hovered just above 3%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The increase follows a sharp move up in 10-year Treasury yields, reflecting expectations of higher interest rates overall as the Federal Reserve moves to hike short-term rates in order to combat surging inflation.
Would-be buyers who applied for a home loan in February faced a median monthly mortgage payment of $1,653, including principal and interest, an increase of 8.3% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“It’s hard to believe, but I do think it’s going to be tougher this year, in some respects, than it was in previous years,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “So far, at least, we have seen the number of homes for sale continue to decline and prices continue to rise. Those two factors combined suggest that the competitive market is going to keep buyers on their toes.”
Buyers should set their sights on homes that are listed well within what they can afford, experts say.
“You should be looking 15%-20% below their limit; that gives them room for appraisal gaps, it gives them room for negotiating,” said Tracy Hutton, a broker with Century 21 in Indianapolis.
Being well prepared sometimes isn’t enough when a homeowner prefers to accept an all-cash offer, rather than sell to a buyer with financing.
Wendy Kaufman in South Florida couldn’t even get into an open house for a property on the market after she revealed the couple had a mortgage backed by the Veterans Administration.
“When they saw I had a VA preapproval they said, ‘Sorry we don’t want to work with you.’” she said.
Sometimes, buyers don’t have a chance to make an offer before a home is snapped up, sight unseen.
In the Miami area, so-called “blind offers” have become common as a way to get around other buyers, said Rafael Corrales, a Redfin agent.
One reason is the ultra-low level of homes for sale, which for the greater Miami metropolitan area, was down 55% in February from a year ago, according to Realtor.com.
While every market is unique, there is one common hurdle across the U.S.: affordability. The median U.S. home price jumped 15% in February from a year earlier to $357,300, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The San Jose, California, metro area had 40% fewer homes for sale in February than a year ago, according to Realtor.com. Buyers there have to navigate some of the most expensive home prices in the nation. The median home listing price climbed 13.3% to about $1.36 million in February from a year earlier.
The market trends are a bit more welcoming for buyers in the Midwest, including the Indianapolis metropolitan area, where the number of homes for sale was down about 23% from a year ago. The median home price there stood at $287,000 in February, up 8.5% from a year earlier.
In Raleigh, home listings were down a whopping 55% in February from a year earlier. Competition for fewer homes helped push the median home price to $430,000, a 9% increase from February 2021.
Those trends made for a more competitive market for first-time buyers like Lisa Piercey and her husband, Alex Berardo. First-time buyers made up 29% of all homes sold nationally last month. That share has averaged 31% annually over the past 10 years.
The couple began looking in December for homes at $350,000 or below. They offered $5,000 over the asking price on two properties but lost out to rival bidders.
“That was all we could afford,” said Lisa Piercey, a 32-year old project manager. “It’s really defeating, really disappointing.”
In the end, the couple bought a townhome in a new construction community, though they see it as a stepping stone to a more spacious house with a big yard.
“Its big enough that we can still start our family and then move when the market hopefully dies down in a couple of years,” she said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/homebuyers-stymied-by-fewer-homes-high-prices-rising-rates/ | 2022-04-13T17:27:55 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/homebuyers-stymied-by-fewer-homes-high-prices-rising-rates/ |
Man pretended to be federal marshal to steal car from dealership, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – A man in Oklahoma was arrested Monday after police said he attempted to steal a car from a dealership and then pretended to be a federal marshal.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, dealership employees said Randy Cantwell came into the office asking to look at an Audi on the lot. An employee grabbed the keys and went outside with Cantwell to look at the vehicle.
When the employee told Cantwell he couldn’t test drive the vehicle because it was not ready to be driven, Cantwell told the employee he was going to take the vehicle anyway. Police said he then told the employee that he was a federal marshal and had the power to take the vehicle.
Police said the workers blocked the vehicle in to stop Cantwell from stealing it. When Cantwell realized he was stuck, he walked away from the lot.
Officers arrived and spoke with Cantwell, who provided no verification that he was a federal marshal. Instead, he told officers that he became a federal marshal after former President Donald Trump “enacted martial law.”
Police said Cantwell was arrested for false impersonation of law enforcement.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/man-pretended-be-federal-marshal-steal-car-dealership-police-say/ | 2022-04-13T17:28:02 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/man-pretended-be-federal-marshal-steal-car-dealership-police-say/ |
Minnesota Zoo welcomes 1-year-old tiger
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (KTTC) – In an effort to continue tiger conservation, the Minnesota Zoo has welcomed a 16-month-old male Amur tiger.
The tiger is named Luca, and the Minnesota Zoo says that he arrived last week from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
It was recommended to the Minnesota Zoo from Association of Zoos and Aquariums Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP) to receive Luka after the unfortunate death of a male Amur tiger in March.
The zoo says Luka is spending time behind the scenes and adjusting to his new environment and care team.
“While this opportunity came about quicker than anticipated, it’s one that will benefit Luka, who was at an age where he was ready to separate from his mother, and one that will support the Zoo’s dedication to tiger conservation by providing potential future breeding opportunities in the years ahead,” said Minnesota Zoo Director John Frawley.
Luka is set to be introduced to his public habitat this week and will be more visible to guests in the coming days.
RELATED STORY: Minnesota Zoo’s 12-year-old Amur tiger dies
Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/minnesota-zoo-welcomes-1-year-old-tiger/ | 2022-04-13T17:28:08 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/minnesota-zoo-welcomes-1-year-old-tiger/ |
Nestle Toll House to roll out stuffed cookie dough
Published: Apr. 13, 2022 at 10:46 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hours ago
(CNN) - Nestle Toll House is stuffing its cookie dough.
The iconic brand has been baking up some tasty new creations with its first-ever stuffed cookie dough.
You’ll have two flavors to choose from – chocolate chip cookie dough with fudge filling and double chocolate cookie dough with salted caramel filling.
The new dough delights are expected in the refrigerated aisle in July.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/nestle-toll-house-roll-out-stuffed-cookie-dough/ | 2022-04-13T17:28:15 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/nestle-toll-house-roll-out-stuffed-cookie-dough/ |
Orphaned mountain lion cub found by hikers treated at Oakland Zoo
(CNN) – An orphaned mountain lion cub is being cared for at the Oakland Zoo in California.
The little female cub’s name is Rose.
She’s only about 4 to 5 months old, but she’s already a fighter.
She looks skinny in photos the zoo released of her.
Rose was initially spotted by hikers in a preserve in San Mateo, California, and they say she was all by herself and looked unhealthy.
It took some time for wildlife biologists to track her down, but they finally caught up to her and brought her to the zoo Sunday.
She was extremely emaciated, dehydrated and covered in fleas and ticks when she was taken in.
However, the caretakers at the Oakland Zoo say she has a feisty spirit and an obvious will to live, so they’re guardedly optimistic their little Rose will blossom.
If all goes well with her recovery over the next few months, the zoo says it will work to find her a good home.
Unfortunately, she won’t be able to go back to the wild because she’ll have missed out on the crucial time with her mother to learn how to survive on her own.
The Oakland Zoo provides veterinary care for sick, injured, burned or orphaned wild mountain lions through a partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. To learn more, you can visit the zoo’s website.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/orphaned-mountain-lion-cub-found-by-hikers-treated-oakland-zoo/ | 2022-04-13T17:28:21 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/13/orphaned-mountain-lion-cub-found-by-hikers-treated-oakland-zoo/ |
Howard County
Arrests
Monday, 12:45 a.m., deputies arrested Nathaniel James Daugherty, 22, 700 block of South Armstrong Street, at the Howard County Jail, on two warrants for invasion of privacy.
Monday, 3:32 a.m., deputies arrested Jessica Ann Smith, 43, 1600 block of North Jay Street, in the 600 block of South Reed Road, on a warrant for failure to appear and a charge of possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug, a Level 6 felony.
Monday, 9 a.m., deputies arrested Gwendolyn Marie Wolfe, 40, 700 block of North Purdum Street, at the Howard County Courthouse, on a warrant for petition to revoke.
Monday, 9:38 a.m., deputies arrested Keith Orlando Taylor, 37, 2000 block of West Vaile Avenue, at the HCJ, on a warrant for no operator licensed.
Monday, 11:54 a.m., deputies arrested Betty Lynn McClain, 51, homeless, at the HCJ, on a warrant for a court violation.
Monday, 5:49 p.m., deputies arrested Scott A. May, 36, unknown address, at the HCJ, on a warrant for failure to appear.
Monday, 5:53 p.m., deputies arrested Casey Lou Carpenter, 39, 1500 block of South Plate Street, at the HCJ, on a warrant for failure to appear and a warrant for theft.
Wednesday, 12:27 a.m., officers arrested David Fitzwater, 46, 2300 block of North Apperson Way, in the 1200 block of East Gano Street, on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash, a misdemeanor.
Wednesday, 12:45 a.m., officers arrested Johnny Harrington, 30, 2300 block of North Apperson Way, in the 1200 block of East Gano Street, on charges of operating while intoxicated causing bodily injury, a Level 6 felony; leaving the scene of a crash, a misdemeanor; and operating while intoxicated-endangerment, a misdemeanor.
Wednesday, 2:15 a.m., officers arrested Joshua Edwards, 33, homeless, in the 200 block of South 00 East West, on a charge of resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor.
Wednesday, 4:04 a.m., officers arrested Miranda Brown, 36, 300 block of Wickersham Drive, in the 1300 block of Kingston Road, on a charge of operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.
Miami County
Arrests
Friday, 3:05 p.m., deputies arrested Domenick Weiser, 21, 2000 block of Shaw Avenue, Peru, on a warrant for violation of probation.
Saturday, 9:45 a.m., deputies arrested Tyran Lenard, 32, South Bend, on a warrant for failure to appear.
Saturday, 5:46 p.m., officers arrested Mack Eudy, 78, 300 block of Tyler Avenue, Peru, on a charge of domestic battery in the presence of a child.
Sunday, 12:59 a.m., officers arrested Misty Stallard, 34, 200 block of Carbon Avenue, Peru, on a charge of domestic battery in the presence of a child.
Sunday, 12:59 a.m., officers arrested Robert Skolds, 37, 200 block of Carbon Avenue, Peru, on a charge of domestic battery in the presence of a child.
Sunday, 4:46 p.m., deputies arrested Eric Knight, 24, 2000 block of East 550 South, Peru, on a warrant for failure to appear.
Sunday, 5:35 p.m., officers arrested Tylor Cone, 22, Amboy, on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and trespassing.
Tipton County
Arrests
Friday, 10:56 a.m., officers arrested Kaleb R. Bell, 29, Tipton, on a Hamilton County warrant.
Saturday, 6:31 p.m., deputies arrested Chelsea M. Shaw, 30, Windfall, on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.
Sunday, 5:43 p.m., officers arrested Jonathon Q. Christy, 37, Tipton, on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia.
Monday, 2:25 p.m., deputies arrested Keion M. White, 23, Indianapolis, on a warrant for failure to appear. | https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/police-reports-april-13-2022/article_90cecd0a-bb2e-11ec-8395-43a0cc849344.html | 2022-04-13T17:29:54 | 0 | https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/police-reports-april-13-2022/article_90cecd0a-bb2e-11ec-8395-43a0cc849344.html |
Dad accidentally runs over 2-year-old, killing him, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – A father in Oklahoma ran over his 2-year-old son, killing him, in a situation police deemed a tragic accident.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers arrived at the home Tuesday night and learned the man accidentally ran over the toddler with his Dodge pickup while trying to park in the driveway.
Investigators said that the family arrived home from the grocery store and parked the truck in front of their home. The mother and the toddler got out of the truck and began walking toward the house.
The father then pulled the truck into the driveway and “felt a bump,” police said. He got out of the truck and found out that the 2-year-old had ran back toward the truck and had been run over with the right rear wheel.
Police said the child was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and he died overnight.
Police said this is a “tragic situation for everyone involved” and that no charges are being filed.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:17 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ |
Delta Air Lines drops surcharge for unvaccinated employees
Published: Apr. 13, 2022 at 12:22 PM CDT|Updated: 7 minutes ago
ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines is dropping an extra charge for employees who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
Delta said Wednesday that it has dropped the $200-a-month surcharge, which applied to unvaccinated employees covered by the company’s health plan.
CEO Ed Bastian says Delta is dropping the charge because, he says, COVID-19 is now “a seasonal virus.”
U.S. airlines tried different approaches to encourage employees to get vaccinated — United Airlines made it a mandate.
Delta was the only one to impose an insurance surcharge.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/delta-air-lines-drops-surcharge-unvaccinated-employees/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:18 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/delta-air-lines-drops-surcharge-unvaccinated-employees/ |
Former Trump chief of staff Meadows removed as North Carolina registered voter
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An elections board in a North Carolina county has removed Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, from its list of registered voters after documents showed he lived in Virginia and voted in the 2021 election in that state.
Questions arose about Mark Meadows last month, when North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s office asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into Meadows’ voter registration in Macon County in western North Carolina.
In announcing his removal, the Macon County Board of Elections said it has received no formal challenge and is referring the matter to the SBI, the state Board of Elections said Wednesday.
A representative for Meadows did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Macon County District Attorney Ashley Welch asked the attorney general’s office in March to handle any probe into Meadows’ voter registration and said she would recuse herself from the matter. She noted that Meadows, a former congressman from the area, contributed to her campaign for DA and appeared in political ads endorsing her.
Public records indicated Meadows is registered to vote in two states, including North Carolina, where he listed a mobile home he did not own as his legal residence weeks before casting a ballot in that state in the 2020 presidential election.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/former-trump-chief-staff-meadows-removed-north-carolina-registered-voter/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:19 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/former-trump-chief-staff-meadows-removed-north-carolina-registered-voter/ |
Gov. Ricketts signs historic tax relief bill
LINCOLN, Neb. (Press Release) - Governor Pete Ricketts hosted a bill signing for LB 873 in the State Capitol Rotunda Wednesday. LB 873 delivers record amounts of tax relief to Nebraskans by cutting income taxes and reducing property tax burdens. The Governor was joined at the ceremony by State Senators, agricultural groups, business leaders, senior citizen advocates, and other tax relief supporters.
“Today, we enacted historic tax relief legislation for Nebraska,” said Gov. Ricketts. “LB 873 is the biggest tax relief package in state history. It will provide 12 times more annual tax relief than any tax bill passed in any prior administration. Senior citizens, families, ag producers, and small businesses will see major tax savings in the coming years as a result of LB 873. Thanks to everyone who supported this historic tax relief package.”
Tax relief has been Governor Ricketts’ number one legislative priority since taking office in 2015. In previous years, he worked with the Legislature to deliver over $4 billion of property tax relief. LB 873 will provide an additional $3.4 billion of overall tax relief to Nebraskans through tax year 2027. When fully implemented, LB 873 will deliver nearly $1 billion of annual tax relief above and beyond what Nebraskans currently receive.
Provisions of LB 873
- Protects the refundable income tax credit on property taxes paid to support K-12 public schools. For tax year 2021, this rebate was over 25% of school property taxes.
- Creates a new rebate on property taxes paid to community colleges. The community college tax rebate will be $50 million in tax year 2022, and will increase to $195 million by tax year 2026.
- Accelerates the phaseout of taxes on Social Security income. This income will now be fully exempt from Nebraska income taxation starting in tax year 2025.
- Phases in a reduction of the highest individual income tax rate from 6.84% to 5.84% by the 2027 tax year.
- Phases in a reduction of the business income tax rate from 7.5% to 5.84% by the 2027 tax year.
The Governor credited the State’s spending discipline for making it possible to deliver record amounts of tax relief. Over the past eight years, Gov. Ricketts has worked with the Legislature to control annual average State spending growth to 2.7%. The State’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars has helped Nebraska rank as the least indebted state government in the nation according to Moody’s Investors Services.
Ricketts said, “The Legislature has rightly recognized, that is, they’re going to return that money back to the people of Nebraska. That’s not my money, that’s not the legislature’s money, that’s the people’s money.”
Copyright 2022 KSNB. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/gov-ricketts-signs-historic-tax-relief-bill/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:20 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/gov-ricketts-signs-historic-tax-relief-bill/ |
Man pretended to be federal marshal to steal car from dealership, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – A man in Oklahoma was arrested Monday after police said he attempted to steal a car from a dealership and then pretended to be a federal marshal.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, dealership employees said Randy Cantwell came into the office asking to look at an Audi on the lot. An employee grabbed the keys and went outside with Cantwell to look at the vehicle.
When the employee told Cantwell he couldn’t test drive the vehicle because it was not ready to be driven, Cantwell told the employee he was going to take the vehicle anyway. Police said he then told the employee that he was a federal marshal and had the power to take the vehicle.
Police said the workers blocked the vehicle in to stop Cantwell from stealing it. When Cantwell realized he was stuck, he walked away from the lot.
Officers arrived and spoke with Cantwell, who provided no verification that he was a federal marshal. Instead, he told officers that he became a federal marshal after former President Donald Trump “enacted martial law.”
Police said Cantwell was arrested for false impersonation of law enforcement.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/man-pretended-be-federal-marshal-steal-car-dealership-police-say/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:20 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/man-pretended-be-federal-marshal-steal-car-dealership-police-say/ |
Orphaned mountain lion cub found by hikers treated at Oakland Zoo
(CNN) – An orphaned mountain lion cub is being cared for at the Oakland Zoo in California.
The little female cub’s name is Rose.
She’s only about 4 to 5 months old, but she’s already a fighter.
She looks skinny in photos the zoo released of her.
Rose was initially spotted by hikers in a preserve in San Mateo, California, and they say she was all by herself and looked unhealthy.
It took some time for wildlife biologists to track her down, but they finally caught up to her and brought her to the zoo Sunday.
She was extremely emaciated, dehydrated and covered in fleas and ticks when she was taken in.
However, the caretakers at the Oakland Zoo say she has a feisty spirit and an obvious will to live, so they’re guardedly optimistic their little Rose will blossom.
If all goes well with her recovery over the next few months, the zoo says it will work to find her a good home.
Unfortunately, she won’t be able to go back to the wild because she’ll have missed out on the crucial time with her mother to learn how to survive on her own.
The Oakland Zoo provides veterinary care for sick, injured, burned or orphaned wild mountain lions through a partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. To learn more, you can visit the zoo’s website.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/orphaned-mountain-lion-cub-found-by-hikers-treated-oakland-zoo/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:37 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/orphaned-mountain-lion-cub-found-by-hikers-treated-oakland-zoo/ |
There’s still a way to reach global goal on climate change
(AP) - If nations do all that they’ve promised to fight climate change, the world can still meet one of two internationally agreed upon goals for limiting warming. But the planet is blowing past the other threshold that scientists say will protect Earth more, a new study finds.
The world is potentially on track to keep global warming at, or a shade below, 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than pre-industrial times, a goal that once seemed out of reach, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
That will only happen if countries not only fulfill their specific pledged national targets for curbing carbon emissions by 2030, but also come through on more distant promises of reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, the study says.
This 2-degree warmer world still represents what scientists characterize as a profoundly disrupted climate with fiercer storms, higher seas, animal and plant extinctions, disappearing coral, melting ice and more people dying from heat, smog and infectious disease. It’s not the goal that world leaders say they really want: 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The world will blast past that more prominent and promoted goal unless dramatic new emission cuts are promised and achieved this decade and probably within the next three years, study authors said.
Both goals of 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees are part of the 2015 Paris climate pact and the 2021 Glasgow follow-up agreement. The 2-degree goal goes back years earlier.
“For the first time we can possibly keep warming below the symbolic 2-degree mark with the promises on the table. That assumes, of course, that the countries follow through on the promises,” said study lead author Malte Meinshausen, a University of Melbourne climate scientist.
That’s a big if, outside climate scientists and the authors say. It means political leaders actually doing what they promise.
The study “examines only this optimistic scenario. It does not check whether governments are making efforts to implement their long-term targets and whether they are credible,” said Niklas Hohne of Germany, a New Climate Institute scientist who analyzes pledges for Climate Action Tracker and wasn’t part of this study. “We know that governments are far from implementing their long-term targets.”
Hohne’s team and others who track pledges have similarly found that limiting warming to 2 degrees is still possible, as Meinshausen’s team has. The difference is that Meinshausen’s study is the first to be peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal.
Sure, the 2-degree world requires countries to do what they promise. But cheaper wind and solar have shown carbon emissions cuts can come faster than thought, and some countries will exceed their promised cuts, Meinshausen said. He also said the way climate action works is starting with promises and then policies, so it’s not unreasonable to take countries at their word.
Mostly, he said, limiting warming to 2 degrees is still a big improvement compared to just five or ten years ago, when “everybody laughed like ‘ha, we’ll never see targets on the table that bring us closer to 2 degrees,’” Meinshausen said. “Targets and implemented policies actually can turn the needle on future temperatures. I think that optimism is important for countries to see. Yes, there is hope.”
About 20% to 30% of that hope is due to the Paris climate agreement, but the rest is due to earlier investments by countries that made green energy technologies cheaper than dirty fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, Meinshausen said.
Yet, even if that’s good news, it’s not all good, he said.
“Neither do we have a margin of error (on barely limiting to 2 degrees) nor do the pledges put us on a path close to 1.5 degrees,” Meinshausen said.
In 2018 the United Nations’ scientific expert team studied the differences between the 1.5- and 2-degree thresholds and found considerably worse and more extensive damages to Earth at 2 degrees of warming. So the world has recently tried to make the 1.5 degrees goal possible.
Earth has already warmed at least 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, often considered the late 1800s, so 2 degrees of warming really means another 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than now.
Meinshausen’s analysis “looks good and solid, but there are always assumptions that could be important,” said Glen Peters, a climate scientist who tracks emissions with Global Carbon Project.
The biggest assumption is that nations somehow get to promised net zero carbon emissions, most of them by 2050 but a decade or two later for China and India, said Peters, research director of the Cicero Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, Norway.
“Making pledges for 2050 is cheap, backing them up with necessary short-term action is hard,” he said, noting that for most countries, there will be five or six elections between now and 2050.
___
Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
___
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 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/theres-still-way-reach-global-goal-climate-change/ | 2022-04-13T17:30:43 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/13/theres-still-way-reach-global-goal-climate-change/ |
Triangle Rising Stars
On May 11 Triangle Rising Stars returns to the Durham Performing Arts Center's stage. Twenty students from Central North Carolina will get a chance to show their musical theater talents during a show hosted by Clay Aiken.
The students named best actor and best actress will go to New York to participate in a week-long musical theater workshop. The students also get a chance to compete in the National High School Musical Theater Awards, known as The Jimmy Awards.
In 2021 Triangle Rising Star best actress Elena Holder from Durham went on to win the best actress award The Jimmy Awards.
This year's Triangle Rising Stars show will take place May 11 at 7:30PM at DPAC.
ABC11 Together is a proud sponsor of Triangle Rising Stars.
Click here for more information on Triangle Rising Stars.
Walk to Defeat ALS
Every year about 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS, an always fatal neurodegenerative disease in which a person's brain loses connections with muscles causing people to lose their ability to walk, talk eat and eventually breathe.
The annual Walk to Defeat ALS returns to the Halifax Mall in Downtown Raleigh on Saturday, April 23. ABC11 Together will once again have our "Stogner Strong" team that will walk in memory of our friend and colleague Larry Stogner who lost his battle with ALS in 2016.
Click here to join the ABC11 Together Stogner Strong Team.
The goal for this year's Walk to Defeat ALS is to raise $420,000. Money raised by the event goes toward a treatment and ultimately a cure for ALS and to support those living with the disease.
Walk to Defeat ALS check in starts at 9AM on April 23, the two mile walk starts at 10AM.
Click here for more information on the Walk to Defeat ALS.
Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
After a two year pandemic hiatus, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is back. The Festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary with four days of fun and it all gets started on Thursday, April 21 with the Cork & Fork Premier Food and Wine Event.
Friday night features a concert in Fayetteville's Festival Park featuring Hoobastank and Marcy Playground. The midway rides will be open and there will be plenty of food and beverage vendors.
Saturday the Downtown Street Fair gets underway with an array of vendors including arts and crafts. Saturday night's concert in Festival Park features Dillon Carmichael, Kameron Marlowe and Tyler Farr.
Sunday the Downtown Street Fair continues and there will also be a Car, Motorcycle and Truck Show.
Click here for more information on the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. | https://abc11.com/abc11-together-perspectives-triangle-rising-stars-the-walk-to-defeat-als-fayetteville-dogwood-festival/11744241/ | 2022-04-13T17:34:09 | 0 | https://abc11.com/abc11-together-perspectives-triangle-rising-stars-the-walk-to-defeat-als-fayetteville-dogwood-festival/11744241/ |
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Police in South Carolina have arrested a man who allegedly sent dozens of threats to Black civil rights attorney and former state lawmaker Bakari Sellers.
Grant Edward Olson Jr., of Asheville, North Carolina, is also accused of intimidating Sellers for exercising his civil rights as an attorney, television commentator and lobbyist, authorities said. Olson, 48, was arrested Friday and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County.
Arrest warrants from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division show Olson sent dozens of messages to Sellers on Instagram that included racial slurs, indications that Olson was armed and mentioned the killings of African-Americans. Police said Olson admitted to sending the messages earlier this year.
Sellers thanked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for last week's arrest.
"This isn't just about me," Sellers said in a statement. "I have a wife, a teenage bonus daughter and twin three-year-olds and I take any threat against them very seriously. They shouldn't be subject to threats and intimidation like this. No one should. This isn't political debate. This isn't the 'new normal.' It's a crime, pure and simple."
Sellers, the son of civil rights activist Cleveland Sellers, was first elected to the South Carolina House as a Democrat in 2006 at the age of 22 and has also worked as an attorney and as a political analyst on CNN. He chose not to run for reelection in 2014, instead entering the lieutenant governor's race that year, where he lost to current governor Henry McMaster. | https://abc11.com/bakari-seller-grant-edward-olsen-jr-arrest-south-carolina/11744774/ | 2022-04-13T17:34:15 | 0 | https://abc11.com/bakari-seller-grant-edward-olsen-jr-arrest-south-carolina/11744774/ |
A manhunt is now underway for Frank James, 62, a suspect in the mass shooting Tuesday that left 10 people with gunshot wounds and 19 other people injured in Brooklyn, Lt. Thomas Antonetti of the New York Police Department said Wednesday.
Police believe none of the wounded have life-threatening injuries.
LIVE UPDATES: NYC police search for gunman in Brooklyn subway shooting
NYPD released several photos of James and asked anyone with information about where he might be to contact police.
The NYPD believes James rented a U-Haul van whose keys were found at the scene of the shooting, it said.
On 4/12/22 at 8:30 AM, Frank Robert James fired numerous gun shots inside an "N" line subway car at 36th St & 4th Ave subway station causing serious injuries to 10 people. Anyone with info about the incident or his whereabouts should contact @NYPDTips or call 1-800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/MaeF16i4bX
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 13, 2022
James has been linked to rambling videos posted on a YouTube channel. A screenshot from one of the videos was used on an NYPD Crimestoppers flyer seeking information about the shooting, and in one video, he posts a City of New York ID card from a past educational training program.
In what appears to be his latest video posted Monday, James talks about times when he "wanted to kill people."
MORE: Witness says he feared NYC shooter was among crowd after escaping subway
He described someone who engaged in violence and ended up in jail. He said he could identify but talked about the consequences.
James and his family didn't immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
Videos include racist and misogynistic language
Many of the videos that James uploaded included references to violence, including at a set group of people he believed had maligned him, in addition to broad societal and racial groups that he appeared to hate.
In one video posted online in February, James criticized a plan by New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration to address safety and homelessness in the subway in part through an expanded presence of mental health professionals.
In that racist and rambling recording, James said the new effort was "doomed to fail" and described his own negative experience with city health workers during a "crisis of mental health back in the '90s '80s and '70s."
SEE ALSO: What we know about Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank R. James
In a video posted last week, James, who is Black, rants about abuse in churches and racism in the workplace, using misogynistic and racist language.
That speech was a common theme throughout James' videos, in which he repeatedly espoused hatred toward African Americans.
In another video posted last month to the same channel, James said that he had post-traumatic stress. In that video, James said he left his home in Milwaukee on March 20. During the trip eastward, he said he was heading to the "danger zone."
Preliminary information indicated James mentioned homelessness, New York City and its mayor in online posts, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Tuesday. As a result, she said the city would increase the mayor's security.
Police released two photos of James at a news conference Tuesday night, including one that appeared to be a screengrab from a YouTube video.
Keys belonging to a U-Haul that had been rented under James' name in Philadelphia were found among the shooter's possessions at the shooting scene in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.
The videos give insight into James' path to the Northeast. He arrived in Philadelphia March 25 after stops in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Pittsburgh; and Newark, New Jersey.
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://abc11.com/frank-james-nyc-new-york-shooting-subway-youtube-suspect/11744757/ | 2022-04-13T17:34:27 | 0 | https://abc11.com/frank-james-nyc-new-york-shooting-subway-youtube-suspect/11744757/ |
A 47-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries when his house was shot up Wednesday morning.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office responded to calls about a shooting on Sanderosa Road Wednesday at around 5:30 a.m.
When they arrived, deputies found Tony Blackledge seriously injured. First responders rushed him to the hospital.
Outside deputies found around 70 shell casings. They determined Blackledge's home had been hit by at least 20 bullets.
Investigators have not released any other details other than to say that the shooting was not random.
If you have information regarding this investigation, please call the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office at (910) 677-5450 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). | https://abc11.com/sanderosa-road-fayetteville-shooting-tony-blackledge-man-shot/11744193/ | 2022-04-13T17:34:33 | 0 | https://abc11.com/sanderosa-road-fayetteville-shooting-tony-blackledge-man-shot/11744193/ |
He saw women screaming and "banging on the door," and a man trying to open the subway car door, "fighting for his life."
"That's when I knew something was very, very wrong and that's before the gunshots even happened," Foote-Smith told ABC News' "Good Morning America."
LIVE UPDATES: NYC police search for gunman in Brooklyn subway shooting
Ten people were shot by a gunman on a Manhattan-bound N subway car during the Tuesday morning commute as the train approached the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, according to the New York City Police Department.
The gunman -- who remains at large -- donned a gas mask and detonated a smoke canister before pulling out a gun and opening fire, a police official told ABC News.
Twenty-nine people suffered injuries overall.
SEE ALSO: What we know about Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank R. James
On 4/12/22 at 8:30 AM, Frank Robert James fired numerous gun shots inside an "N" line subway car at 36th St & 4th Ave subway station causing serious injuries to 10 people. Anyone with info about the incident or his whereabouts should contact @NYPDTips or call 1-800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/MaeF16i4bX
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 13, 2022
Foote-Smith said the first interruption to his commute was "a loud bang, sounded almost like glass breaking."
"Everyone on my train got up and hurriedly moved toward the conductor's door, and before I could turn to see what they were fleeing from, there were three loud bangs -- and it was much closer and much different noise than that first bang," he said.
Foote-Smith said he looked at the next subway car and saw a man "banging on our door, trying to open it up with all the ounce of power he can -- and the door is not moving."
MORE: Victims of Brooklyn subway shooting, including several children, begin slow recovery
That's when smoke started filling up that neighboring car.
"Once my eyes adjusted to this really thick, white smoke filling up the car, I saw faces pressed against the glass of their subway connector door. And it was women's faces and they were screaming, they were banging on the door," he said. "And once we saw that gentleman banging on the door for -- fighting for his life, that's when we noticed -- that's when I knew something was very, very wrong and that's before the gunshots even happened."
The gunshots rang out as the train approached the 36th Street station, Foote-Smith said.
"It was three or four quick 'pop, pop, pops,'" he said, "and everyone on my train immediately knew what it was."
"No one screamed or said anything, we were just pleading with the conductor to please move this train," he said. "He does eventually come out and sees the smoke -- and the smoke at this point has now completely filled the car. I can't see into the [neighboring] railway car anymore and people spilled out onto that small platform between the trains and the screams have now increased."
"This is the moment when the gentleman in our train decides to try and open the subway connector door from our side -- after we were frozen in fear for maybe the longest 30 seconds of our life --.and the door still jammed," he said. "Now have to watch as people scream and struggle and try and fight for their lives for something we don't know."
Commuters cover their faces as smoke fills the subway when a lone gunman in a reflective vest and possibly a gas mask threw smoke bombs on the southbound R train and opened fire. Continuing coverage: https://t.co/Vi5v3dRCnN pic.twitter.com/ulHKgtoa1a
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 12, 2022
There were more gunshots as the train pulled up to the station, he said.
"As soon as the subway doors opened, it's a sea of people coming out of the subway," he said. "I saw people with gunshot wounds and stumbling and pushing people over, coughing and choking on smoke."
In the chaos, he said a conductor led passengers onto another train.
"My first thought when we got on that train, though, was, is the shooter still with us?" Foote-Smith said.
Police have named a suspect in the shooting -- 62-year-old Frank R. James.
James is now considered a wanted fugitive. The U.S. Marshals have joined the search along with the NYPD, FBI, ATF and other agencies.
Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
ABC News' Kelly McCarthy contributed to this report. | https://abc11.com/new-york-shooting-subway-brooklyn-nyc-attack-gma/11744683/ | 2022-04-13T17:42:51 | 0 | https://abc11.com/new-york-shooting-subway-brooklyn-nyc-attack-gma/11744683/ |
Carne Asada Fajitas
Ingredients
- 8 oz. steak (flap meat, skirt steak, or something similar)
- 1 white onion, cut into strips
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. salt
- 6 corn tortillas
- 1 lime
- 2 oz. canola oil
Instructions
Mix spice mixture together and set aside in a bowl.
Lightly sprinkle seasoning over both sides of the steak. Make sure to reserve a little for fajita peppers.
Grill or sear steak to your preferred liking. For steak that is 1/2 inch thick, cook for 2 minutes on each side for medium. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
While steak is resting, get a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and allow it to get very hot.
Place oil in sauté pan and place peppers and onions, with the remaining spice mix. Make sure to move pepper mix around. Cook for 2 minutes and place on a plate.
Slice steak into strips and place on top of a bed of peppers and onions. Serve with lime slices and tortillas.
Serving ‘em up
The Mexicano | 4801 E. Cactus Road, Scottsdale | Facebook | Instagram
Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/06/carne-asada-fajitas/ | 2022-04-13T17:48:28 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/06/carne-asada-fajitas/ |
CDC extends travel mask requirement as COVID rises
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was extending the order, which was set to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S.
“In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
When the Transportation Security Administration, which enforces the rule for planes, buses, trains and transit hubs, extended the requirement last month, it said the CDC had been hoping to roll out a more flexible masking strategy that would have replaced the nationwide requirement.
The mask mandate is the most visible vestige of government restrictions to control the pandemic, and possibly the most controversial. A surge of abusive and sometimes violent incidents on airplanes has been attributed mostly to disputes over mask-wearing.
Critics have seized on the fact that states have rolled back rules requiring masks in restaurants, stores and other indoor settings, and yet COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January.
There has been a slight increase in cases in recent weeks, driven by the BA.2 strain, with daily confirmed cases nationwide rising from about 25,000 per day to more than 30,000. Those figures are an undercount since many people now test positive on at-home tests that are not reported to public health agencies.
Severe illnesses and deaths tend to lag infections by several weeks. The CDC is awaiting indications of whether the increase in cases correlates to a rise in adverse outcomes before announcing a less restrictive mask policy for travel.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/13/ap-source-cdc-extend-travel-mask-mandate-two-weeks/ | 2022-04-13T17:48:35 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/13/ap-source-cdc-extend-travel-mask-mandate-two-weeks/ |
Dad accidentally runs over 2-year-old, killing him, police say
TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – A father in Oklahoma ran over his 2-year-old son, killing him, in a situation police deemed a tragic accident.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers arrived at the home Tuesday night and learned the man accidentally ran over the toddler with his Dodge pickup while trying to park in the driveway.
Investigators said that the family arrived home from the grocery store and parked the truck in front of their home. The mother and the toddler got out of the truck and began walking toward the house.
The father then pulled the truck into the driveway and “felt a bump,” police said. He got out of the truck and found out that the 2-year-old had ran back toward the truck and had been run over with the right rear wheel.
Police said the child was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and he died overnight.
Police said this is a “tragic situation for everyone involved” and that no charges are being filed.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ | 2022-04-13T17:48:41 | 1 | https://www.kold.com/2022/04/13/dad-accidentally-runs-over-2-year-old-killing-him-police-say/ |