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SALADO, Texas, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul® is offering 30 days of free self-storage and U-Box® container usage at five Central Texas facilities to residents impacted by the Salado tornado and severe storms that hit the region early Tuesday evening.
Hail and high-speed winds damaged multiple buildings and homes across Bell and Williamson Counties. Accessibility to local storage can assist in the community's recovery and rebuilding after natural disasters.
"As our neighbors begin the process of cleaning up, we want to provide them with a secure place to store their possessions," stated Matthew McMillan, U-Haul Area District Vice President of Central Texas. "These storms have left destruction behind. Those in need can give us a call and receive a storage unit or U-Box container for their belongings free for one month."
U-Haul is offering to deliver U-Box containers to residents' homes in Central Texas at no cost as part of the goodwill gesture. This includes the retrieval of U-Box containers after 30 days of free usage.
Additionally, U-Haul has a variety of boxes and other moving supplies it is making available to assist those in need. The free supplies are available on a first-come, first-serve basis for a limited time at participating locations.
Customers needing boxes can also utilize the Take a Box, Leave a Box program. U-Haul offers an in-store area where customers can drop off used boxes in good condition, and other members of the community can access the boxes at no cost. U-Haul encourages anyone who has reusable boxes to drop them at the nearest U-Haul store location for this purpose.
People seeking more information about the U-Haul disaster relief program or needing to arrange 30 days of free self-storage should contact the participating facility nearest them:
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Midway
3914 S. General Bruce Drive
Temple, TX 76502
(254) 727-7216
U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Temple
215 SW H K Dodgen Loop
Temple, TX 76502
(254) 770-3001
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Centex
3501 E. Central TX Expressway
Killeen, TX 76543
(254) 699-8334
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Killeen
102 E. Veterans Memorial Blvd.
Killeen, TX 76541
(254) 526-9626
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Twin Creek
1507 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Killeen, TX 76543
(254) 532-3001
In addition to its 30 days free self-storage disaster relief program, U-Haul is proud to be at the forefront of aiding communities in times of need as an official American Red Cross Disaster Responder.
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 855,000 rentable storage units and 73.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading "Best for Vets" employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America.
Andrea Batchelor
Jeff Lockridge
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-263-6981
Website: uhaul.com
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SOURCE U-Haul | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/tornado-recovery-u-haul-offers-30-days-free-storage-central-texas/ | 2022-04-14T03:47:38 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/tornado-recovery-u-haul-offers-30-days-free-storage-central-texas/ |
Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers and stick up for Kirill Kaprizov; Ryan Hartman flips off Evander Kane and is also having …
Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers and stick up for Kirill Kaprizov; Ryan Hartman flips off Evander Kane and is also having … | https://www.skornorth.com/minnesota-wild-players-stick-up-for-kirill-kaprizov/ | 2022-04-14T03:47:43 | 1 | https://www.skornorth.com/minnesota-wild-players-stick-up-for-kirill-kaprizov/ |
Did you sell or otherwise dispose of securities of Twitter between March 24, 2022 and April 1, 2022? If so, please visit Twitter, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who sold or otherwise disposed of the securities of Twitter, Inc. ("Twitter" or the "Company") (NYSE: TWTR) between March 24, 2022 and April 1, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Elon Musk ("Musk") is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and according to Forbes, is the richest person in the world.
Beginning in January 2022, Musk started to acquire shares of Twitter. By March 14, 2022, Musk had acquired more than a 5% ownership stake in Twitter.
Pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 13d-1 promulgated thereunder, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13d-1(a), Musk was required to file a Schedule 13 with the SEC within 10 days of passing the 5% ownership threshold in Twitter, or March 24, 2022.
Musk did not file a Schedule 13 with the SEC within the required time and instead continued to amass Twitter shares, eventually acquiring a 9.1% stake in the Company before finally filing a Schedule 13 on April 4, 2022.
When Musk finally filed the required Schedule 13, thereby revealing his ownership stake in Twitter, the Company's shares rose from a closing price of $39.31 per share on Friday, April 1, 2022, to close at $49.97 per share on April 4, 2022 – an increase of approximately 27%.
Investors who sold securities of Twitter stock between March 24, 2022, when Musk was required to have disclosed his Twitter ownership, and before the Monday, April 4, 2022 disclosure, missed the resulting price increase as the market reacted to Musk's purchases and were damaged thereby.
By failing to disclose his ownership stake via Schedule 13, Musk was able to acquire shares of Twitter less expensively during the Class Period.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 13, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.
If you sold or otherwise disposed of TWTR securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Twitter, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com.
Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2022 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Peter Allocco
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
pallocco@bernlieb.com
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SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/twitter-inc-nyse-twtr-shareholder-class-action-alert-bernstein-liebhard-llp-announces-that-securities-class-action-lawsuit-has-been-filed-behalf-twitter-investors-against-elon-musk/ | 2022-04-14T03:47:44 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/twitter-inc-nyse-twtr-shareholder-class-action-alert-bernstein-liebhard-llp-announces-that-securities-class-action-lawsuit-has-been-filed-behalf-twitter-investors-against-elon-musk/ |
The Timberwolves and their fans received criticism from late Tuesday into Wednesday morning from both national and local media and fans who felt there had been excessive celebration following the Wolves’ five-point victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in a play-in game at Target Center.
The TNT studio crew led the way by joking that the Wolves must had won the NBA championship. Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverley celebrated by hopping on the scorer’s table as an announced crowd of 17,136 showed its appreciation with thunderous applause following a sometimes ugly but, nonetheless, exciting game.
The common refrain: Act like you’ve been there before. This was only one game and, technically, it wasn’t even a playoff game.
The message to Shaq, Charles and everyone else: Buzz off.
The Wolves’ victory over Los Angeles put them in the postseason for only the second time since reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2004. The fact that an extremely talented and contagiously enthusiastic 20-year-old (Edwards) and a Clippers castoff (Beverley) would lead the celebration shouldn’t surprise or annoy anyone. The fact that the Wolves were able to win after such an ineffective performance by their star player (Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points) only made it more emotional for those who did contribute.
As for the fans, anyone who criticizes the Wolves faithful for having fun has no understanding of what they put up with for nearly 20 years. Having to celebrate a play-in victory might not be ideal, but it’s certainly justified. Look at the years of ineptitude put forth by this franchise and tell me that you really think fans should have exited Target Center as if nothing happened? Been there before? These people are used to seeing their team’s playoff hopes disappear before Christmas.
The fact this team seems to have built a bond with its fan base made Tuesday’s events even more special. When guard D’Angelo Russell complained about the lack of enthusiasm from Wolves fans earlier this season, it could have gone either way. The fans could have told Russell to mind his own business and pointed out that the Wolves hadn’t exactly held up their end of the bargain when it came to getting an enthusiastic response.
Instead, the team and fans embraced the opportunity and fans now don’t sit until the Wolves have scored their first basket each game. On Tuesday, the seats might have been paid for but they were rarely used as fans booed the officials, chanted “Beat L.A.” and nearly blew the roof off the place when Edwards and Co., made a basket.
The dynamic that exists between this team and its fans is different from 2018 when the Wolves made the playoffs with Jimmy Butler. That team beat Denver in overtime in Game 82 at Target Center to qualify for the playoffs before losing to Houston in the first round of the playoffs. It was shortly thereafter that Butler began making noise about wanting out of Minnesota and what had looked so promising came to an ugly end for Tom Thibodeau. The Wolves were, once again, forced to hit a reset button.
Where Thibodeau was a volatile figure on the Wolves’ sidelines, Chris Finch serves as a calming influence and seems like the father from a 1960s sitcom. Not surprisingly that approach works well in Minnesota and it’s working very well for a Wolves team that will face Memphis in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Saturday. The Wolves’ will play host to Game 3 a week from Thursday.
If the Wolves win that game it’s likely the noise inside Target Center again will be deafening and again will be high. Will there be more ridicule if that’s the case? Perhaps. Fortunately, the Wolves and their long-suffering fans will be having too much fun to care. | https://www.skornorth.com/zulgad-fun-police-got-it-wrong-in-criticizing-how-timberwolves-and-their-fans-celebrated-victory/ | 2022-04-14T03:47:49 | 1 | https://www.skornorth.com/zulgad-fun-police-got-it-wrong-in-criticizing-how-timberwolves-and-their-fans-celebrated-victory/ |
Net revenue grew 26.1% quarter over quarter to $23.2 million from $18.4 million in Q4 2021. Net revenue was primarily driven by provincial sales which increased by 36.7% in Q1 2022 as compared to Q4 2021
Q1 2022 demonstrates Valens' underlying business has passed an inflection point
Became a top 10 licensed producer in Canada, with a 3.1% market share as of February 2022
B2C revenue lines of provincial sales and Green Roads accounted for 68.5% of net revenue in Q1 2022
Valens reiterates its objective of achieving positive adjusted EBITDA by Q4 2022
KELOWNA, BC, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - The Valens Company Inc. (TSX: VLNS) (Nasdaq: VLNS) (the "Company", "The Valens Company" or "Valens"), a leading manufacturer of cannabis products, is pleased to report its first quarter fiscal year 2022 financial results for the period ended February 28, 2022.
Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company, said: "The results from the first quarter demonstrate that Valens' underlying business has passed an inflection point. Valens delivered strong top line growth despite many headwinds in the marketplace. This performance reinforces the importance of Valens now diversified business lines across provincial sales, B2B LP sales, and Green Roads sales. Diversified business lines are now allowing us to deliver more sustainable growth. To that point, we delivered another quarter of strong provincial sales as we continue to grow our recreational market share, with the launch of Versus and Contraband. We are also pleased to report that our B2B segment has returned to growth, and we remain optimistic that this platform will continue to strengthen as our partners optimize their manufacturing processes amid both industry and economic headwinds. Our Green Roads US CBD business saw a modest decline in revenue primarily due to normal seasonal trends, with December being historically its slowest month.
Robson continued, "As expected, adjusted EBITDA declined quarter over quarter due to an inefficient cost structure that had not yet benefited from our Integration Initiatives announced in late February and a change in sales mix that saw a lower percentage of sales come from our higher margin Green Roads business and greater percentage of our sales come from our B2B customers. In addition, we took the opportunity to exit some higher priced inventory through the B2B channel and reposition our holdings to better support the anticipated growth in future quarters. These factors also resulted in lower gross margins in the quarter. Importantly, subsequent to quarter end, we are already seeing the benefits of our Integration Initiatives and anticipate realizing improvements to our cost structure in the back half of the year. It was also encouraging to see gross margin improvements in provincial sales despite significant retail price compression and increases in supply chain costs in the quarter. Overall, our business remains on track to deliver on our objectives in 2022, and we reiterate our target to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in Q4 2022."
First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Highlights:
- Net revenue increased 26.1% to $23.2 million in Q1 2022 from $18.4 million in Q4 2021, benefiting from strong Canadian operations, which represented 73.7%of total sales in the first quarter
The following table of financial highlights is presented in Canadian dollars, except for percentages
- Valens became a top 10 licensed producer by market share in Canada:
- BC God Bud #1 best-selling SKU across all product categories in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan during the first two months of 2022 as per Hifyre data
Operational Cost Efficiencies
Valens has made significant progress with approximately $9.5 million of the first $10 million in annual cost efficiencies now actioned. The Company expects to realize these benefits towards the end of the second fiscal quarter of 2022, after accounting for one-time costs, with the majority expected to be realized in the second half of fiscal 2022.
Of the $9.5 million actioned, approximately 67%, or $6.4 million, of the cost savings are coming through SG&A, of which almost half were driven from synergies of acquisitions, while the remaining were related to organizational realignment at Valens. This is expected to positively impact SG&A in future quarters, after accounting for one-time costs. Approximately 33%, or $3.1 million, was driven by operational efficiencies including automation, process standardization and supplier optimization which is expected to positively impact margins in the second half of the year. Valens remains on track to achieve a total of $20 million in annualized cost savings run rate by the end of fiscal fourth quarter of 2022.
First Quarter Fiscal 2022 Corporate and Operational Highlights:
- Commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, positioning Valens and its shareholders for greater access to liquidity, increased corporate visibility, and a broader shareholder base in 2022 and beyond.
- Enhanced adult recreational market portfolio with the launch of two new brands, Versus and Contraband, designed to meet the needs of target consumers in the value and premium markets respectively. The Versus launch follows Valens' acquisition of Verse Cannabis in September 2021 and the subsequent repositioning of the value brand to better align with its consumer base. The Contraband launch follows the acquisition of Citizen Stash and leverages its catalogue of premium genetics, expanding its reach to the evolving consumer base in the fast growing, premium market segment.
- Signed the first beverage manufacturing partnership agreement since the launch of the Pommies facility and successfully completed first shipments of cannabis-infused beverages to Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta Manitoba and Yukon.
- Accelerated Valens' international expansion strategy by entering into two strategic agreements with PMI Mexico, a subsidiary of Merger Group, and one of the main drug suppliers of the Mexican government. Under the terms of the agreement, Valens will manufacture CBD-infused and uninfused Predilife probiotic products for PMI globally.
- Subsequent to quarter-end, Valens closed its previously announced CAD$32.3 bought deal public offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to continue to pursue strategic growth initiatives in North America, providing funding for working capital and for general corporate purposes.
Financial Summary
- Net revenue of $23.2 million in Q1 2022, representing an increase of 26.1% over Q4 2021.
- Valens had cash and marketable securities of $20.2 million at the end of Q1 2022 and subsequent to quarter end raised $32.3 million in gross proceeds.
- Adjusted gross profit(1) was $3.4 million, or 14.6% of net revenue in Q1 2022, compared to $6.3 million, or 34.1% of net revenue, in Q4 2021.
- Adjusted EBITDA(2) was $(17.6) million, in Q1 2022 compared to $(13.3) million in Q4 2021.
The following table of financial highlights is presented in thousands of Canadian dollars, except for percentages, per share figures and Canadian recreational market share.
- Management utilizes this measure to provide a representation of performance in the period by excluding the inventory impairment measurement adjustments and impacts of biological asset changes as required by IFRS. Adjusted gross profit is a non-GAAP ratio, which management believes provides useful information as it represents gross profit for management purposes based on costs to manufacture, package and ship inventory sold, exclusive of any impairments due to changes in internal or external influences impacting the net realizable value of inventory and non-cash items. See reconciliation of "Adjusted Gross Profit (non-GAAP measure)" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended February 28, 2022.
- The Company has identified adjusted EBITDA as a relevant industry performance indicator. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure used by management that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management defines adjusted EBITDA as loss for the period, as reported, adjusted for financing costs (net), recovery of income taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based payments, fair value and realized biological assets changes, foreign exchange gains, inventory valuation allowance, remeasurement of contingent consideration, restructuring charges, gains and losses on disposal of capital assets, gains and losses on marketable securities and derivatives, and non-recurring and transaction costs. Management believes this measure provides useful information as it is a commonly used measure in the capital markets to approximate operating earnings. See reconciliation of "Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP measure)" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended February 28, 2022.
Outlook
Key Performance Indicators and Revenue Guidance:
Key Objectives for 2022:
- Grow adult recreational market share in Canada by seeking to become a top 5 Player in vapes, edibles and beverages and a top 10 player in flower products.
- Unlock our potential in the U.S. and international markets through the Green Roads platform acquired in April 2021.
- Seek to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA by Q4 by improving the gross margin and SG&A profile of the business through our Integration Initiatives which are based on a combination of cost efficiencies, realization of M&A synergies and greater levels of automation and process standardization.
- Reduce cash burn through improvements in adjusted EBITDA, working capital management and monetization of non-core assets.
- Development of the Company's U.S. THC strategy as permissible under federal regulations.
Revenue & EBITDA Guidance 2023:
- Minimum revenue of CAD$225 million
- Adjusted EBITDA margins greater than 10%
Jeff Fallows, President of The Valens Company, said, "In Q1 2022, we took action to align our Company to current market conditions and deliver the value we saw in the acquisitions and other strategic changes we made in 2021. More specifically, we implemented a series of Integration Initiatives aimed at driving efficiencies throughout the organization and right sizing our cost structure to ensure we remain nimble and aggressive in a competitive market. With these initiatives now firmly underway and following our recent CDN$32.3 million financing we believe we have the branded product portfolio, manufacturing capabilities and balance sheet strength to pursue our key strategic objectives in 2022."
This press release is intended to be read in conjunction with the Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period and the accompanying Financial Statements and notes, available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Company's Form 6-K, which will be furnished on EDGAR (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml).
Q1 2022 Conference Call Details
The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, 2022, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time / 8:00 AM Pacific Time to discuss the financial results and business outlook.
Participant Dial-in Numbers:
Toll-Free: 1-877-407-0792
Toll / International: 1-201-689-8263
*Participants should request The Valens Company Earnings Call or provide confirmation code 13728569.
The call will be available via webcast on the Valens investor page of the Company website at https://thevalenscompany.com/investors/ or at this link. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the call will be available on the Valens investor page approximately two hours after the conference call has ended.
Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey Fallows, President, and Everett Knight, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Capital Markets, will be conducting a question-and-answer session following the prepared remarks.
At Valens, it's Personal.
About The Valens Company
The Valens Company is a leading cannabis consumer products company, with significant expertise in manufacturing cannabinoid-based products and a mission to bring the benefits of cannabis to the world. Valens provides proprietary cannabis processing services and best-in-class product development, manufacturing, and commercialization of cannabis consumer packaged goods. Valens' high-quality products are formulated for the recreational, health and wellness, and medical consumer segments and are offered across all cannabis product categories, with a focus on quality and product innovation. Valens also manufactures, distributes, and sells a wide range of CBD products in the United States through its subsidiary Green Roads, and distributes medicinal cannabis products to international markets through its subsidiary Valens Australia. In partnership with brand houses, consumer packaged goods companies and licensed cannabis producers around the globe, Valens continues to grow its diverse product portfolio in alignment with evolving cannabis consumer preferences. Through Valens Labs, Valens is setting the standard in cannabis testing and research and development with Canada's only ISO17025 accredited analytical services lab, named The Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Science by partner and scientific world leader Thermo Fisher Scientific. Discover more on The Valens Company at http://www.thevalenscompany.com.
Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements
All information included in this press release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance and other statements of The Valens Company that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "scheduled", "trends", "forecasts", "future", "indications", "potential", "estimates", "predicts", "anticipate", "to establish", "believe", "intend", "ability to", or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of these words or other variations thereof, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding future results of operations, future outcomes of transactions, economic conditions, and anticipated courses of action. Investors and other parties are advised that there is not necessarily any correlation between the number of SKUs manufactured and shipped and revenue and profit, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information.
The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, cannabis regulatory risk, risks relating to the regulation of hemp in the United States, U.S. entry restrictions, the uncertainties, effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on Canadian licenses, reliance on Australian licenses, the illegality of cannabis under federal law in the United States; catastrophic events; competition; the recent development of the cannabis industry and market in Canada; price compression in the cannabis industry; maturation of the cannabis market; dependence on supply of cannabis and reliance on other key inputs, material weakness in the Company's internal controls over financial reporting, dependence on senior management and key personnel, general business risk and liability, regulation of the cannabis industry, change in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, foreign operations, reliance on a limited number of facilities, limited operating history, TSX and Nasdaq continued listing requirements, vulnerability to rising energy costs, environmental regulations and risks, conflicts of interest, unfavorable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product recalls, difficulties with forecasts, management of growth and litigation, many of which are beyond the control of The Valens Company. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks faced by The Valens Company, and which may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of The Valens Company to be materially different from estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, please refer to The Valens Company's latest Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com or on The Valens Company's website at www.thevalenscompany.com. The risks described in such Annual Information Form are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Although the forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based upon information available to management as of the date hereof, The Valens Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The Valens Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Valens Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of The Valens Company.
In addition to the foregoing assumptions, the 2023 revenue guidance of C$225 million referenced above is based on the following assumptions: (i) that the Green Roads business in the United States in 2023 achieves revenue consistent with pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels (many of the bricks-and-mortar retail locations that Green Roads sells to experienced challenges related to COVID-19 but are now resuming normal operations); (ii) a slight percentage increase in the Company's market share of the Canadian recreational cannabis market associated with new branded product launches (such Canadian recreational cannabis market based on a third-party data analytics company covering the cannabis industry), and reflecting a typical wholesale discount to reflect that Company sells to provincial distributors; (iii) the Company's B2B business in 2023 generating revenue consistent with current levels; and (iv) the Company's Pommies business and Valens Labs as well as its revenue from foreign operations outside of the United States, in 2023 achieving revenue from ongoing initiatives and consistent with the Company's previous disclosure.
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DUBLIN, Ohio, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) will release its first quarter 2022 results before the market opens on Wednesday, May 11. The Company will host a conference call that same day at 8:30 a.m. ET, with a simultaneous webcast from the Company's Investor Relations website at www.irwendys.com. The related presentation materials will also be available on the Company's Investor Relations website. The live conference call will be available by telephone at (866) 211-4759 for domestic callers and (647) 689-6752 for international callers. An archived webcast and presentation materials will be available on the Company's Investor Relations website.
About Wendy's
Wendy's® was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio. Dave built his business on the premise, "Quality is our Recipe®," which remains the guidepost of the Wendy's system. Wendy's is best known for its made-to-order square hamburgers, using fresh, never frozen beef*, freshly-prepared salads, and other signature items like chili, baked potatoes and the Frosty® dessert. The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) is committed to doing the right thing and making a positive difference in the lives of others. This is most visible through the Company's support of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® and its signature Wendy's Wonderful Kids® program, which seeks to find a loving, forever home for every child waiting to be adopted from the North American foster care system. Today, Wendy's and its franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across approximately 7,000 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand. For details on franchising, connect with us at www.wendys.com/franchising. Visit www.wendys.com and www.squaredealblog.com for more information and connect with us on Twitter and Instagram using @wendys, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wendys.
*Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S., Alaska, and Canada.
Contacts:
Investor Contact:
Greg Lemenchick
Sr. Director - Investor Relations & Corporate FP&A
(614) 766-3977; greg.lemenchick@wendys.com
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SOURCE The Wendy’s Company | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/wendys-company-report-first-quarter-2022-results-may-11/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:00 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/13/wendys-company-report-first-quarter-2022-results-may-11/ |
SUZHOU, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancers, chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and age-related diseases, today announced that it has presented the latest results from six preclinical studies of the company's five investigational drug candidates: the Bcl-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax (APG-2575) and the MDM2-p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin (APG-115), two key candidates in the company's apoptosis-targeted pipeline, as well as the FAK inhibitor APG-2449, the EED inhibitor APG-5918 and the KRAS inhibitor APG-1842, at the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.
The AACR Annual Meeting is one of the world's largest and long-standing scientific gatherings in the field of cancer research. Covering cutting-edge advances in all the areas of cancer research and innovation, the annual event attracts tremendous interest from the global cancer research community.
Dr. Yifan Zhai, Chief Medical Officer of Ascentage Pharma, said: "At this year's AACR Annual Meeting, we presented preclinical data that support potential combination approaches between our lead candidates with drugs of different targets and mechanism of actions. These studies represent our ongoing effort in addressing important unmet medical needs in cancer treatment. It is worth pointing out that the results from three preclinical studies of the MDM2-p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin have demonstrated broad therapeutic potential and highlighted a novel mechanism of action. Meanwhile, we also reported encouraging results supporting the upcoming clinical development of the EED inhibitor APG-5918. We will actively advance these programs to bring meaningful clinical benefits to patients."
The details of these posters presented at AACR 2022 are as follows:
Co-targeting MDM2-p53 and BCL-2 apoptosis pathways overcomes resistance conferred by acquired BCL-2 gene mutations in preclinical models
- Abstract/Poster Number: 3964
- Introduction:
The BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, although efficacious in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, meets significant resistance in a large number of patients due to acquired BCL-2 gene mutations. Among acquired mutations, those proximal to BH3 binding motifs (e.g., G101V, D103E, and V156D) have the most significant impact on BCL-2 binding to BH3-only pro-death proteins and BH3 mimetics (e.g., venetoclax). Hence, it is important to identify novel therapeutics that address this emerging unmet need.
- Conclusions:
Our study demonstrates, alrizomadlin combined with lisaftoclax synergistically inhibited the proliferation of RS4:11-BCL-2 mutant cell lines and the growth of cell-derived xenografts in vivo. Co-targeting BCL-2 and MDM2-p53 apoptosis pathways represents a new and effective strategy to overcome drug resistance conferred by clinically BCL-2 gene mutations.
Inhibition of MDM2-p53 interaction by alrizomadlin (APG-115) induces pyroptotic cell death in gasdermin E (GSDME)-expressing cancer cells
- Abstract/Poster Number: 2998
- Introduction:
The mouse double minute-2 (MDM2)-p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin (APG-115) is an investigational agent known to induce apoptosis of TP53-wild type cancer cells (Aguilar et al, J Med Chem 2017). Emerging evidence suggests that activation of p53 by alrizomadlin also promotes antitumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment (Fang et al, JITC 2019; Zhou et al, Nat Immunol 2021), but the links between these processes are not yet completely understood. Pyroptosis refers to inflammatory programmed cell death. Central to this process is the family of gasdermins, which can form pores in cell plasma membranes, resulting in lysis and release of immune stimulants. In cells expressing these proteins, GSDME can be cleaved by caspase-3, which converts noninflammatory apoptosis to pyroptosis (Zhang et al, Nature 2020). In this context, caspase-3/GSDME appears to represent a switch between apoptosis and pyroptosis. Given that alrizomadlin elicits its apoptogenic activity primarily by activating caspase-3, we hypothesized that the MDM2-p53 inhibitor might also induce pyroptosis in GSDME-expressing cells by cleaving caspases.
- Conclusions:
Our study demonstrates that, in addition to apoptosis, MDM2-p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin induces caspase-mediated pyroptosis in GSDME-expressing cancer cells. In this study, we reveal for the first time that apoptosis-inducing, alrizomadlin induces both apoptosis and pyroptosis in GSDME-expressing cancer cells. GSDME-dependent pyroptosis is a previously unrecognized mechanism of action for alrizomadlin to exert antitumor immunity, with potentially important implications for clinical development of therapy involving MDM2-p53 inhibition.
MDM2 inhibitor alrizomadlin (APG-115) stabilizes p53 and synergizes with proteasome inhibitors in multiple myeloma
- Abstract/Poster Number: 5439
- Introduction:
Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for about 2% of all cancers and 18% of all hematologic malignancies in the US. Recent therapeutic advances (e.g., immunomodulators, proteasome inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies) have improved outcomes, but MM inevitably relapses and is considered incurable. Genomic analysis shows that the TP53 gene encoding tumor suppressor protein p53 is infrequently mutated in patients with MM, of whom about 82% retain wildtype (WT) TP53. Mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that inhibits p53 via proteasome degradation. Proteasome inhibitors might help to stabilize p53 and synergize with MDM2 inhibitors. Therefore, MDM2 inhibitors that activate p53 might constitute an attractive pharmacologic approach to MM. Alrizomadlin is an investigational, novel small molecule targeting the p53/MDM2 interaction and is in clinical development for solid and hematologic cancers. This study aimed to evaluate whether alrizomadlin can potentiate the antitumor effects of proteasome inhibitors in MM.
- Conclusions:
The results demonstrate that the combination of MDM2 inhibitor alrizomadlin and proteasome inhibitors have synergistic antitumor effects on MM tumors harboring WT TP53 in animal models. These data warrant clinical studies to test this novel therapeutic option for patients with refractory MM.
FAK inhibitor APG-2449 and CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib synergistically suppress mesothelioma tumor growth via autophagy induction
- Abstract/Poster Number: 2563
- Introduction:
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but highly lethal malignancy, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. Among the most common genomic abnormalities are alterations of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A/B (CDKN2A/B) and neurofibromin 2 (NF2). Mesothelioma cells lacking expression of CDKN2A/B or NF2 are reported to be sensitive to CDK4/6 or focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibition. In this study, APG-2449 as a clinical stage FAK/ALK/ROS1 multi-kinase inhibitor combined with CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib demonstrated anti-tumor activity.
- Conclusions:
These results demonstrate that the combination of palbociclib and APG-2449 synergistically inhibits tumor growth in mesothelioma and such effect is mediated by induced autophagy and enhanced cellular senescence. The preclinical study suggests that APG-2449 combined with CDK4/6 inhibitors may have therapeutic potential in mesothelioma and may warrant future clinical development.
Preclinical development of embryonic ectoderm development (EED) inhibitor APG-5918/EEDi-5273 for cancer therapy
- Abstract/Poster Number: 3939
- Introduction:
Three core components constitute the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a multiprotein complex that catalyzes the methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3): enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), embryonic ectoderm development (EED) and suppressor of zeste 12 protein homolog (SUZ12). Dysregulated function of PRC2 has been implicated in the development of a variety of cancer types. With the use of tazemetostat, an EZH2 inhibitor, inhibition of PRC2 functions has been proven to be a successful cancer therapeutic strategy. Nevertheless, the activity of an EZH2 inhibitor might be compensated due to acquired resistance through secondary mutations in EZH2 or its paralog EZH1. Because binding of EED with trimethylated H3K27 (H3K27me3) is the prerequisite for the activation of the methyltransferase activity of EZH2, allosterically targeting EED is emerging as a novel approach to inhibit PRC2. APG-5918/EEDi-5273 has been reported as a novel, bioactive, and potent EED inhibitor. In this study, we further characterized APG-5918 for cancer therapy in a preclinical setting.
- Conclusions:
APG-5918 was thoroughly characterized in the preclinical stage, with potent biochemical binding activity to EED protein, in vitro anti-proliferatively activity, and in vivo antitumor activities. APG-5918 showed definitive in vitro and in vivo target engagement and on-target antitumor activity. APG-5918 demonstrated strong PD/PK correlation in mice bearing KARPAS-422 xenograft tumors. APG-5918 appeared to be similar or more potent than MAK683, an EED inhibitor under clinical development, in terms of biochemical, in vitro, and in vivo activities. In summary, our results suggest potential utility of APG-5918 in cancer therapy and it deserves further clinical investigation.
Development of covalent KRASG12C inhibitor APG-1842 for the treatment of solid tumors
- Abstract/Poster Number: 2664
- Introduction:
The KRAS gene is frequently mutated in human cancers, and the KRASG12C mutation occurs in approximately 13% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and in 1 to 3% of colorectal cancers and other solid tumors. KRASG12C small molecule inhibitors, AMG510 and MRTX849, have been investigated as treatment options for solid tumors with the KRAS G12C mutation. In this study, APG-1842 was characterized as a potent, selective, and covalent KRASG12C inhibitor with demonstrated inhibition on KRAS-dependent signaling and anti-tumor activity both in vitro and in vivo.
- Conclusions:
Collectively, these results demonstrate that APG-1842 is a potent, bioavailable, and highly selective KRASG12C inhibitor. Our data provide the preclinical evidence for clinical development of APG-1842 in patients with KRASG12C-mutant solid tumors.
About Ascentage Pharma
Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK) is a globally focused biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancers, chronic hepatitis B, and age-related diseases. On October 28, 2019, Ascentage Pharma was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited with the stock code 6855.HK.
Ascentage Pharma focuses on developing therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein interactions to restore apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The company has built a pipeline of eight clinical drug candidates, including novel, highly potent Bcl-2, and dual Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitors, as well as candidates aimed at IAP and MDM2-p53 pathways, and next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Ascentage Pharma is also the only company in the world with active clinical programs targeting all three known classes of key apoptosis regulators. The company is conducting more than 50 Phase I/II clinical trials in the US, Australia, Europe, and China. Olverembatinib, the company's core drug candidate developed for the treatment of drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), was granted Priority Review status and a Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and is already approved for the indication. In addition, the olverembatinib was also granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and a Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the US FDA, and an Orphan Designation by the EU. To date, Ascentage Pharma has obtained a total of 15 ODDs, 2 FTDs and 2 Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) designations from the US FDA and 1 ODD from the EU for four of the company's investigational drug candidates. Ascentage Pharma has been designated for multiple Major National R&D Projects, including five National Major New Drug Discovery and Manufacturing projects, one New Drug Incubator status, four Innovative Drug Programs, and one Major Project for the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.
Leveraging its robust R&D capabilities, Ascentage Pharma has built a portfolio of global intellectual property rights and entered into global partnerships with numerous renowned biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and research institutes such as UNITY Biotechnology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MSD, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer. The company has built a talented team with global experience in the discovery and development of innovative drugs and is setting up its world-class commercial manufacturing and Sales & Marketing teams. One pivotal aim of Ascentage Pharma is to continuously strengthen its R&D capabilities and accelerate its clinical development programs, in order to fulfil its mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world for the benefit of more patients.
Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements made in this article relate only to the events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this article. Except as required by law, Ascentage Pharma undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. In this article, statements of, or references to, our intentions or those of any of our Directors or our Company are made as of the date of this article. Any of these intentions may alter in light of future development.
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Attracting almost 500 applicants from 91 countries or regions, the unique 100% A-level Scholarships Programme gives the global community access to Harrow's 450 years of educational excellence
HONG KONG, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The AISL Harrow Scholarships Programme is the most prestigious award available across the AISL Harrow family. First launched in 2021, the Scholarships received an overwhelming global response. Moving into the second year, with almost 500 of exceptionally talented students from 91 countries or regions applying, six Scholarships have been awarded, offering opportunity to the full access of a Harrow A-Level (pre-university) education - a values-based education that provides 'Educational Excellence for Life and Leadership'.
The selection process was rigorous, fair and balanced. From hundreds of applicants, 12 were selected for interview and, from these, 6 successful candidates were chosen based on their outstanding academic performance, English fluency, and extracurricular talents, alongside their commitment to leadership and service activities.
AISL is delighted to announce that the 2022/24 recipients of the AISL Harrow Scholarships are (from left to right): Pui Yan Sham Peony (Hong Kong SAR, China), Ka Hin Cheung Kyan (UK), Lauren Saunders (UK), Kaijun Chang (USA), Eaint Aunt Auw (Thailand) and Yoon Yati (Myanmar). The AISL Harrow family extends a warm welcome to each of these scholarship awardees. They will join AISL Harrow Hong Kong, AISL Harrow Shanghai and AISL Harrow Bangkok from September of this year.
In response to the awards, Dr. Rosanna Wong, Chairman of Asia International School Limited, praised the six recipients of the AISL Harrow Scholarships as "truly outstanding". She noted, "they exemplify the very best of academic and extra-curricular excellence; we are proud to have them joined the AISL Harrow family."
EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR LIFE AND LEADERSHIP
The establishment of the AISL Harrow Scholarships Programme is another milestone in AISL Harrow's long history of educational excellence. The Programme seeks to enhance the diversity of the AISL Harrow community by attracting academically gifted students from around the world. The scholarships give students the chance to experience all that a Harrow education affords: Excellence in and out of the classroom, the development of leadership skills, and a commitment to service.
Through the AISL Harrow Scholarships Programme, AISL is proud to be giving back to the global community, extending the availability of an excellent AISL Harrow education to students from around the world, allowing them access to a prestigious British education and, subsequently, to top universities.
As exemplified by the AISL Harrow scholars, graduates leave as capable, confident and caring individuals, their well-rounded skills-base and holistic nature provide the foundation for them to become future leaders.
Alongside the AISL Harrow Scholarships, the individual Harrow-branded schools in Asia also provide scholarship opportunities for gifted students. To learn more, please subscribe to AISL Harrow's official Facebook Page (AISL Harrow Schools) and view the AISL Harrow Schools website at https://www.harrowschools.com/.
About Asia International School Limited (AISL) GROUP
Asia International School Limited (AISL) is a leading provider of world-class K-12 education in Asia. Through our wholly owned subsidiary Harrow International Management Services Limited and affiliates, AISL sub-licenses the Harrow brand and provides professional educational services to our Harrow branded schools, including AISL Harrow International Schools, AISL Harrow Innovation Leadership Academies and AISL Harrow Little Lions Early Years Centres. In the academic year of 2021/2022, the Group has 17 schools and early years centres in the network.
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SOURCE AISL Harrow Schools | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/aisl-harrow-scholarships-202224-winners-announced/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:13 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/aisl-harrow-scholarships-202224-winners-announced/ |
MCKINNEY, Texas, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Globe Life Inc. (NYSE: GL) will release First Quarter 2022 earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. At that time a copy of the Company's Q1 - 2022 earnings press release and any other financial and statistical information about the quarter will be available on the Company's website at https://investors.globelifeinsurance.com/ under Financial Reports and Other Financial Information. In conjunction with the First Quarter 2022 Earnings Release of Globe Life Inc. you are invited to listen to a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 11:00 am Eastern (10:00 am Central).
First Quarter Conference Call
Thursday, April 21, 2022
11:00 a.m. (Eastern)
Listen live and as a replay at https://investors.globelifeinsurance.com/ under
Calls and Meetings
or
Call-In Number:
1-323-794-2588
(Pass Code: Globe Life Inc.)
Globe Life Inc. is a holding company specializing in life and supplemental health insurance for "middle income" Americans marketed through multiple distribution channels including direct to consumer, and exclusive and independent agencies.
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SOURCE Globe Life Inc. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/globe-life-inc-announces-first-quarter-2022-earnings-release-conference-call/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:20 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/globe-life-inc-announces-first-quarter-2022-earnings-release-conference-call/ |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., SUZHOU, China and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed ("HBM" or the "Company"; HKEX: 02142), today announced the appointment of Dr. Humphrey Gardner as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Gardner will be responsible for leading the global product development of the Company, including pipeline strategy, clinical development plan and operations, and product registration.
Dr. Gardner has more than 30 years industry experience, achievement and leadership in clinical development and translational medicine, including over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and over 10 years of experience in academia. Before joining the Company, he served as the chief medical officer at Silicon Therapeutics and the chief of medical oncology at Evelo Biosciences. He also served critical leadership roles at Novartis, AstraZeneca and Biogen.
"I am delighted to welcome Dr. Gardner, an industry veteran and highly respected scientist, to Harbour BioMed. Dr. Gardner's extensive experience in drug development from conception to approval will be instrumental to advancing our innovative therapeutics through global clinical trials and on to registration," said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "He is joining HBM at a very important time and will be a tremendous asset to our organization, strengthening our mission to deliver breakthrough medicines for healthy life."
With Dr. Gardner's appointment, the Company will further strengthen its global clinical development capability and continue to advance the global development of its clinical products, including next-generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody HBM4003 and B7H4x4-1BB bispecific antibody HBM7008, whilst enriching the pipeline strategy of the global development of its immune-oncology pipeline.
"I am profoundly excited to bring my experience to HBM, an organization I have long admired," said Dr. Gardner. "I am looking forward to working with the Company's talented teams to advance novel and highly innovative antibody-based therapeutics in the areas of oncology and immunological diseases and to build a robust pipeline that has the opportunity to transform care for many more patients in need around the world."
Dr. Gardner holds a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and his medical degree from the University of Cambridge, and an MS in Bioinformatics from Brandeis University. He completed his residency in Anatomic Pathology at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and postdoctoral training at Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Dr. Gardner is an expert in oncology, rheumatology, and infectious disease. He published approximately one hundred papers in international academic journals, and has been an active influential speaker at international conferences. He is also a fellow of the College of American Pathologists, and a member of American Society of Clinical Oncology, and has previously been a member of a variety of professional organizations including the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.
About Harbour BioMed
Harbour BioMed (HKEX: 02142) is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibody therapeutics focusing on immunology and oncology. The Company is building its robust portfolio and differentiated pipeline through internal R&D capability, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners and select acquisitions.
The Company's proprietary antibody technology platforms Harbour Mice® generate fully human monoclonal antibodies in two heavy and two light chain (H2L2) format, as well as heavy chain only (HCAb) format. Building upon the HCAb antibodies, the HCAb-based immune cell engagers (HBICE®) are capable of delivering tumor killing effects unachievable by traditional combination therapies. Integrating Harbour Mice® with single B cell cloning platform, our antibody discovery engine is highly unique and efficient for development of next generation therapeutic antibodies.
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Heading into last season, Brayden Willis wasn’t sure if it’d be his last at Oklahoma.
The only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn’t going to transfer. And that didn’t change when Lincoln Riley and several assistant coaches departed the program late last year.
“[I didn’t] really [approach] it like it's my last season but just being open to whatever comes," Willis said. "Like if I had the opportunity [to go to the NFL], I would take it. If not, I was never opposed to coming back. I never wanted to leave. Whenever there was the [coaching] switch, I had no interest in transferring... I was gonna go on to the next level or I was gonna stay at Oklahoma.”
Even after Jeremiah Hall, Willis’ partner at the tight end/H-back position, declared for the draft, Willis weighed his options. In January, he announced he was returning for his fifth and final season with the program.
There were a few things that led Willis to stay.
“I just think this is a special place,” Willis said. “I love it here and I just wanted to be here with my team. And [it was great] getting to know the coaching staff, being basically re-recruited by them. I tell this all the time when I talk to recruits, I was recruited a second time so I can tell you everything that they're telling you is true. And I've seen it. I've got to experience it. And I'm so glad I came back. It's been a blessing for me.”
It also didn’t hurt that he had a good opening conversation with his new head coach, Brent Venables, which helped seal his decision.
“I think everybody has the same story I do,” Willis said. “When you talk to the guy, it’s just something different about him, something special. And like I said, it kind of made my decision easy. I started talking to the coaches and the [Venables], it made my decision easy to come back.
“I knew that I wanted to grow as a player and I just wanted to see who they brought in and get to know them and get to know them on a personal basis. Right off the bat, I knew he was different, that he would be able to put into me and make me better in all aspects, not just football but a better man.”
It’s a good thing for the Sooners he stayed. With the departures of Hall to the NFL Draft and Austin Stogner via the NCAA Transfer Portal, the Sooners’ lost most of their production at the tight end/H-back position from last season. Outside of Willis and fifth-year transfer Daniel Parker, the position consists mostly of underclassmen.
Willis also had his best season as a pass catcher last year, recording career highs in receptions (15) and yards (177) while adding two touchdowns. He also played in all 13 games last season, starting in eight of them. While tight ends will be continue to be featured in new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s offense, Willis also brings experience as a blocker that is essential to playing the position.
For Joe Jon Finley, the Sooners’ tight ends coach, Willis brings more to the team than just his pass-catching ability.
“He’s a lead by example type of guy whenever you get in the weight room, out there running, in the meeting room,” Finley said. “When they’re eating, everything, he’s going to do everything right. It’s a great picture for those younger guys to see that every day. He’s become more vocal because he’s earned that right. He does a great job with every aspect.
“I call him a pro. You talk about a pro with a pro mindset. You have to treat this like a job. In addition to this, you have the academics and everything else. You really have to do a great job of managing your time and doing everything right. That’s what he does every single day. He’s the same guy every single guy. That’s why he’s had so much success and will continue to have so much success.”
Coming into his final season, Willis’ focus has been on being a leader for the younger guys at his position as well as the rest of the team.
“I knew if I came back, I was gonna have to be a leader, an old guy,” Willis said. “And so I take pride in that role. And then in terms of my position group, we got guys that have extreme talent that are going to be great players here at the University of Oklahoma in Kaden (Helms) and Jason (Llewellyn).
“So my job is to take all the little things that I've learned over the years, all the tips and tricks and things that come with playing over the years and pass it on to those guys so that when they get in that role very soon, that they'll be able to do it.” | https://www.normantranscript.com/it-made-my-decision-easy-willis-commits-to-final-season-with-sooners-after-talk-with/article_1b94dbac-bb87-11ec-b861-fba76921cf38.html | 2022-04-14T03:48:27 | 1 | https://www.normantranscript.com/it-made-my-decision-easy-willis-commits-to-final-season-with-sooners-after-talk-with/article_1b94dbac-bb87-11ec-b861-fba76921cf38.html |
Hodlnaut celebrates its third year with the launch of two new assets, TerraUSD (UST) and Terra (LUNA).
SINGAPORE, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore-based crypto lending and borrowing firm, Hodlnaut, has just announced the launch of two new assets namely, TerraUSD (UST) and Terra (LUNA).
Hodlers are able to earn interest in a total of eight supported assets: BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, DAI, WBTC, and the newly launched UST and LUNA. The effective rates for both open and fixed terms for UST and LUNA are as follows.
"The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) has proven to support the growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem, which is in line with Hodlnaut's vision. Therefore, we are proud to announce the support of Luna and UST on the Hodlnaut platform," said Juntao, CEO and Co-Founder of Hodlnaut.
Users can start earning in both UST and LUNA from 7 April 2022, 7:30 pm (GMT+8) and utilize the entire suite of features supported. This includes Hodlnaut's Token Swap, Preferred Interest Payout, Fixed Term Deposits, and Interest Account functions. To celebrate the launch, Hodlnaut will be holding a US$2,000 worth of UST and LUNA giveaway. Click here for more information.
Currently, Hodlnaut only supports the deposit and withdrawal of wormhole UST and wormhole LUNA via the ERC-20 network. Hodlnaut is continuously working towards ensuring the firm meets its rigorous regulatory and security framework and is expected to accept the support of UST and LUNA on the native terra chain by the end of April.
About Hodlnaut
Hodlnaut is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform that allows users to earn interest of up to 13.8% on their cryptocurrencies by lending them to vetted institutions. Founded in April 2019 by Bitcoin maximalists Juntao Zhu and Simon Lee, Hodlnaut has grown tremendously over the years.
Hodlnaut has received an in-principle approval (IPA) for a Major Payment Institution License in Singapore from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act (PS Act) for its Token Swap feature. The firm is also a certified Fintech by the Singapore Fintech Association, an accreditation recognized by the MAS.
For more information, please visit www.hodlnaut.com.
CONTACT: Sten Ivan, Head of Growth at Hodlnaut, sten@hodlnaut.com
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At 36-0, Oklahoma is off to the best start in NCAA Division I softball history.
Thirty of the Sooners’ wins have come by run-rule, as OU has been rolling past its opponents this season. But dominating the sport of softball is nothing new for this program. OU won the Women’s College World Series three of the last five times it's been played and is currently the defending national champion.
While winning games and championships has always been the focus, the Sooners have broken record after record along the way.
“I think when you look at records, you can't beat a record without focusing on the process that goes behind it and before it,” shortstop Grace Lyons said. “So I would say that all of this success is a result of us focusing on keeping our house in order and focusing on that process mindset.”
In 2021, the Sooners broke NCAA records, program records, single-game records and season-long records as a team — 30 records in total.
Eight of those records were NCAA season records for home runs (161), runs scored (638), runs per game (10.63), team batting average (.405), on-base percentage (.490) and more.
“We're not trying to break records or milestones or anything like that,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “We really aren't. We don't talk about those things.”
The Sooners currently lead the NCAA by far in those categories as well, having hit 100 home runs, scored 354 runs at a rate of 9.83 runs per game and amassed a team batting average of .392 with an on-base percentage of .504.
As a program, OU has been building a dynasty of dominance in recent seasons, but Gasso doesn’t think she’s done anything different to contribute to that. For her, the key to success is simple — practice hard.
“I'm very demanding,” Gasso said. “I am looking for excellence. I'm trying to push every player to the limit. A lot of times, I don't get it. And that's when they hear me. So at practice I push and I push and I push. If I don't like something, we'll do it over again.”
Gasso emphasizes the importance of intensity during practices. It's where her team is able to put in the most work to get better because some of the best hitters and pitchers in the country are facing each other.
The level of competition Gasso builds into practice feeds into the games and fuels OU’s success, whether it manifests in wins, records or championships.
“If we're going to wear championship mindset logos all over everything that we own, then we better know what it means,” Gasso said. “And that's what it means is just sustaining your eyes on excellence and maintaining that effort at practice coming to practice ready to compete harder than you do in a game.”
OU started last season 33-0 before losing to Georgia in the first game of a double header. At the time, it was a program record-setting streak for a start to a season. This season, the Sooners have blown past that streak, breaking their program record in the first game of the Texas Tech series last weekend and the NCAA record for best start to a season with the win in the last game of the series.
This weekend, OU heads to Austin for a series against fellow Big 12 undefeated team Texas. The Sooners aren’t focused on continuing to go undefeated. In fact, Gasso has often commented that her teams learn more when they lose. So instead of worrying about records or streaks, OU is just worried about the game in front of it.
“When we head into the game, it's how can we as a team continue to grow [and] continue to get better no matter who the opponent is,” Lyons said. “[It's] almost thinking of the opponent as ourselves and how can we get better pitch by pitch or just simply getting on base, moving runners, executing all those little things that we do at practice. Just internal motivation.” | https://www.normantranscript.com/ou-softball-despite-historic-start-to-the-season-sooners-focused-on-improving/article_02a24e32-bb7c-11ec-a897-1b4865e07eb1.html | 2022-04-14T03:48:34 | 0 | https://www.normantranscript.com/ou-softball-despite-historic-start-to-the-season-sooners-focused-on-improving/article_02a24e32-bb7c-11ec-a897-1b4865e07eb1.html |
SAN FRANCISCO and SUZHOU, China, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovent Biologics, Inc. ("Innovent") (HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high-quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, metabolic, autoimmune and other major diseases, announced that the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for IBI310 in combination with sintilimab for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.
The NMPA BTD for IBI310 was based on results from First part of a Phase 2 trial (CDE Registration No. CTR20202017). This study enrolled 205 patients in patients with advanced cervical cancer. The safety profile in this study was consistent with that observed in previously reported studies, and no additional safety signals were identified for the combination of IBI310 and sintilimab. Relevant study results will be published at an upcoming medical conference in 2022.
"We are glad to see the NMPA grant Breakthrough Therapy Designation based on the results of First part of Phase 2 data of IBI310," said Dr. Hui Zhou, Senior Vice President of Innovent. "Patients with advanced cervical cancer currently have limited treatment options. Patients treated with chemotherapy show limited clinical benefit and the overall survival is limited to a few months. The results of First part of the Phase 2 study of IBI310 in combination with sintilimab show potential for this combination as a new treatment option for patients in need. We look forward to obtaining more data from the ongoing pivotal Phase 2 trial which may support a future regulatory application in China for IBI310 in combination with sintilimab in recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer."
NMPA Breakthrough Therapy Designation is intended to facilitate and expedite the development and review of an investigational drug to treat a serious disease or condition when preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug has demonstrated substantial improvement over current therapies. The BTD will not only qualify a drug candidate to receive status for rapid review by the CDE, but it will also allow the sponsor to obtain timely advice and communication from the CDE to accelerate the approval and launch to address the unmet clinical need of patients at an accelerated pace. Click here for the published list of drugs which have been granted BTD by NMPA.
About Cervical Cancer
According to GLOBOCAN 2020 report,there were approximately 110,000 new cases and 60,000 death cases of cervical cancer in China in 2020, making cervical cancer one of the most common malignant tumor types in gynecology. There is an urgent clinical need for more treatment options, especially for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, as traditional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are ineffective with a low overall survival rate for those patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.
About IBI310
IBI310 is a recombinant fully-human IgG1 monoclonal antibody against cytotoxic T lymphocytic associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) developed independently by Innovent Biologics. IBI310 can bind to CTLA-4 molecules and block the inhibition of T cells induced by CTLA-4, thereby leading to T cell activation and proliferation, and enhancing the anti-tumor activity of immune system to achieve the goal of tumor treatment.
About Sintilimab
Sintilimab, marketed as TYVYT® (sintilimab injection) in China, is a PD-1 immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody developed by Eli Lilly and Company and Innovent. Sintilimab is a type of immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody, which binds to PD-1 molecules on the surface of T-cells, blocks the PD-1 / PD-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway, and reactivates T-cells to kill cancer cells. Innovent is currently conducting more than 20 clinical studies of sintilimab to evaluate its safety and efficacy in a wide variety of cancer indications, including more than 10 registrational or pivotal clinical trials.
In China, sintilimab has been approved and included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) for four indications, including:
- The treatment of relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkins lymphoma after two lines or later of systemic chemotherapy;
- In combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer lacking EGFR or ALK driver mutations;
- In combination with gemcitabine and platinum chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of squamous non-small cell lung cancer;
- In combination with BYVASDA® (bevacizumab biosimilar injection) for the first-line treatment of unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Additionally, Innovent currently has three regulatory submissions under review in China's NMPA for sintilimab:
- In combination with cisplatin plus paclitaxel or cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil for the first-line treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma;
- In combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma;
- In combination with bevacizumab biosimilar and chemotherapy for EGFR-mutated non-squamous NSCLC following EGFR-TKI treatment.
- Phase 2 study as second-line treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma;
- Phase 3 study as second-line treatment for squamous NSCLC with disease progression following platinum-based chemotherapy.
About Innovent
Inspired by the spirit of "Start with Integrity, Succeed through Action," Innovent's mission is to develop, manufacture and commercialize high-quality biopharmaceutical products that are affordable to ordinary people. Established in 2011, Innovent is committed to developing, manufacturing and commercializing high-quality innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune, metabolic and other major diseases. On October 31, 2018, Innovent was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited with the stock code: 01801.HK.
Since its inception, Innovent has developed a fully integrated multi-functional platform which includes R&D, CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls), clinical development and commercialization capabilities. Leveraging the platform, the company has built a robust pipeline of 32 valuable assets in the fields of cancer, metabolic, autoimmune disease and other major therapeutic areas, with 7 products approved for marketing in China – TYVYT® (sintilimab injection), BYVASDA® (bevacizumab biosimilar injection), SULINNO® (adalimumab biosimilar injection), HALPRYZA® (rituximab biosimilar injection) , Pemazyre® (pemigatinib oral inhibitor) and olverembatinib (BCR-ABL TKI) and Cyramza® (ramucirumab), 1 asset under NMPA NDA review, 5 assets in Phase 3 or pivotal clinical trials, and an additional 19 molecules in clinical studies.
Innovent has built an international team with advanced talent in high-end biological drug development and commercialization, including many global experts. The company has also entered into strategic collaborations with Eli Lilly and Company, Adimab, Incyte, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Hanmi and other international partners. Innovent strives to work with many collaborators to help advance China's biopharmaceutical industry, improve drug availability and enhance the quality of the patients' lives. For more information, please visit: www.innoventbio.com and www.linkedin.com/company/innovent-biologics/.
Note:
TYVYT® (sintilimab injection) is not an approved product in the United States.
BYVASDA® (bevacizumab biosimilar injection), SULINNO®, and HALPRYZA® (rituximab biosimilar injection) are not approved products in the United States.
TYVYT® (sintilimab injection, Innovent)
BYVASDA® (bevacizumab biosimilar injection, Innovent)
HALPRYZA® (rituximab biosimilar injection, Innovent)
SULINNO® (adalimumab biosimilar injection, Innovent)
Pemazyre® (pemigatinib oral inhibitor, Incyte Corporation). Pemazyre® was discovered by Incyte Corporation and licensed to Innovent for development and commercialization in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Disclaimer:
1. This indication is still under clinical study, which hasn't been approved in China.
2. Innovent does not recommend any off-label usage.
Innovent's Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to Innovent, are intended to identify certain of such forward-looking statements. Innovent does not intend to update these forward-looking statements regularly.
These forward-looking statements are based on the existing beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates, projections and understandings of the management of Innovent with respect to future events at the time these statements are made. These statements are not a guarantee of future developments and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond Innovent's control and are difficult to predict. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of future changes or developments in our business, Innovent's competitive environment and political, economic, legal and social conditions.
Innovent, the Directors and the employees of Innovent assume (a) no obligation to correct or update the forward-looking statements contained in this site; and (b) no liability in the event that any of the forward-looking statements does not materialize or turn out to be incorrect.
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SOURCE Innovent Biologics | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/innovent-receives-nmpa-breakthrough-designation-ibi310-anti-ctla-4-monoclonal-antibody-combined-with-sintilimab-advanced-cervical-cancer-treatment/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:40 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/innovent-receives-nmpa-breakthrough-designation-ibi310-anti-ctla-4-monoclonal-antibody-combined-with-sintilimab-advanced-cervical-cancer-treatment/ |
NANJING, China, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InxMed Co., Ltd. announced that IN0018, its focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor, had been granted with Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the China National Medical Products Administration. This designation is based on the results of a Phase Ib/II clinical trial of IN10018 for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, with the proposed indication for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in combination with PEG-liposomal doxorubicin. InxMed plans to disclose more data on IN10018 at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June 2022 and initiate a pivotal trial in the second half of the year.
Breakthrough Therapy Designation aims to help companies work closely with authorities to accelerate research, development, and approval of innovative therapies that can address unmet medical needs. IN10018 received fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in August 2021. InxMed will live up to the high expectations and strive to deliver the benefits of innovative drugs to patients as quickly as possible.
FAK is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase and transmitter that plays an important role in cell adhesion, migration, and regulation. It exhibits expression upregulation in multiple tumor types. Researchers have found that inhibiting the FAK signaling pathway can effectively reverse previously failed chemotherapy and targeted therapy caused by drug resistance and enhance the response and efficacy of immunotherapy for solid tumors.
IN10018 is a potent and highly selective adenosine triphosphate competitive FAK inhibitor, and InxMed has its exclusive global development and commercial operation rights. InxMed Nanjing Translational Medicine Center has conducted extensive original exploratory research on IN10018 and FAK targets and has published research results in renowned academic journals. Early clinical data on IN10018 showed its safety and efficacy in multiple tumor types, and the latest research results and preclinical data demonstrated that IN10018 can also be effective in combination therapies. It is expected to overcome the tumor-associated fibrosis barrier and improve local immunity, and therefore has the potential to act as an important anchor molecule in synergy with different therapeutic modalities including immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.
InxMed set up a global clinical development program for IN10018. Clinical trials currently underway in the US and China are designed for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, NRAS mutant metastatic melanoma, triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumors that are still lacking effective treatment.
For more information, visit http://en.inxmed.com/
About InxMed
InxMed is a clinical-stage biotech company established in the end of 2018. The company dedicates on developing innovative therapies targeting stroma microenvironment and solid tumor resistance and metastasis, especially new drug development on anti PD-1/PD-L1 treatment drug resistance. InxMed committees to building an efficient engine for clinical translational science and proof of concept platform driven by in-depth understanding of disease biology and being a China based biotech company with global impact. We have built translational medicine and clinical development team across Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, United States, Canada and Australia. We have built a highly differentiated pipeline and established partnership with various multinational pharmaceutical companies including Merck, Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim.
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SOURCE InxMed (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/inxmed-fak-inhibitor-in10018-received-breakthrough-therapy-designation-by-china-national-medical-products-administration-platinum-resistant-ovarian-cancer/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:46 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/inxmed-fak-inhibitor-in10018-received-breakthrough-therapy-designation-by-china-national-medical-products-administration-platinum-resistant-ovarian-cancer/ |
BEIJING, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The UNESCO Netexplo Innovation Forum has taken place on the 13th April, 2022. During this event, the Netexplo Observatory issued the "Top 10 Global Science and Technology Innovation Awards" to the 10 most inspiring, powerful and surprising innovations in the past year that may change our future. LLVSION AR smart subtitle glasses is the only award from China and also the only one in AR sector.
This innovative product creatively solves the real-time communication problem of the hearing-impaired people, breaks down the barriers in the silent world and helps them communicate with others face to face freely and confidently. More importantly, considering that many people wear masks during the pandemic, allergy seasons, etc., this technology will be of great help to those who are lip-reading.
Netexplo is an independent observatory that studies the impact of digital technology on society and business, it is an UNESCO partner since 2011. Every year, 2-3,000 innovations in all continents and all walks of life are brought together with the help of the UNESCO Netexplo Committee, which is composed of renowned lecturers and researchers in digital and related fields. Then, the Netexplo Observatory will select the 10 most outstanding winners, who represent the trend of digital innovation and will profoundly reshape our future. The award-giving ceremony successfully held at UNESCO headquarters for 15 years and has international influence and authority. In 2021, Pan Jianwei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Science, and his quantum-science satellite project won this award.
This award represents UNESCO's recognition of LLVISION's contribution to digital innovation. The founder and CEO of LLVISON, Mr. Fei WU, expressed after the award-giving ceremony that he hoped the AR technology would help build a much more friendly society for the disabled and pave the way for a more accessible world. He also believes that the Chinese technological innovation will bring more surprises to the world.
If you are interested in LLVISION AR smart subtitle glass, please visit https://www.llvision.com/en/h-col-215.html or contact global@llvision.com.
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SOURCE Beijing LLVision Technology Co.,LTD | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/llvision-chinese-ar-technology-company-won-award-netexplo-global-innovation-15th-unesco-netexplo-innovation-forum/ | 2022-04-14T03:48:53 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/llvision-chinese-ar-technology-company-won-award-netexplo-global-innovation-15th-unesco-netexplo-innovation-forum/ |
NEW YORK, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Moore Kuehn, PLLC, a securities and shareholder law firm located on Wall Street, is investigating potential claims against:
- AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV)
The company, its officers, or directors misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) safety concerns about Xeljanz extended to Rinvoq and other JAK inhibitors; (2) as a result, it was likely that the FDA would require additional safety warnings for Rinvoq and would delay the approval of additional treatment indications for Rinvoq; and (3) therefore, Defendants' statements about the company's business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis. As a result of the alleged wrongful acts and omissions, AbbVie's securities have experienced a significant decline in market value and AbbVie investors have suffered significant damages.
- International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM)
Please contact only if you acquired shares before April 4, 2017.
After the close of the market on October 16, 2018, IBM revealed a shortfall in revenue and disappointing 3Q2018 growth associated with the Company's Strategic Imperatives and CAMSS lines of business, particularly its Cloud business line.
On October 20, 2021, after the close of the market, the Company issued a press release announcing its 3Q2021 results. The Company announced total revenues for the quarter of $17.62 billion, a shortfall of $191.84 million based on analyst estimates. The main culprit was the Cloud & Cognitive Software segment, which had revenues of $5.69 billion, a shortfall of approximately $80 million based on analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Over 42% of the $191 million shortfall was attributable to the Company's Cloud & Cognitive Software segment – where most of the strategic revenue produced by the fraudulent scheme and wrongful reclassification of revenues from non-strategic to strategic historically went.
Shareholders of ABBV or IBM should contact Fletcher Moore, Esq. by email at fmoore@moorekuehn.com or telephone at (212) 709-8245.
Moore Kuehn is a New York-based law firm with attorneys representing investors, stockholders, unitholders, and consumers. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Moore Kuehn, PLLC
Fletcher Moore, Esq.
30 Wall Street, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10005
fmoore@moorekuehn.com
(212) 709-8245
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SOURCE Moore Kuehn, PLLC | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/moore-kuehn-pllc-encourages-investors-abbvie-inc-or-international-business-machines-corporation-contact-law-firm/ | 2022-04-14T03:49:00 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/moore-kuehn-pllc-encourages-investors-abbvie-inc-or-international-business-machines-corporation-contact-law-firm/ |
HANGZHOU, China and SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sciwind Biosciences Co., Ltd., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat metabolic disease, today announced the initiation of subject dosing in its Phase 1 clinical trial of XW004. XW004 is an oral tablet formulation of Ecnoglutide, a novel long-lasting GLP-1 peptide analogue under development for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes and NASH. Co-formulation of the peptide agonist with an oral absorption enhancer prevents deactivation in the digestive tract and allows for daily oral administration. Preclinical studies have demonstrated good safety and efficacy profiles for XW004.
The single-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and multiple ascending dose (MAD) study will evaluate XW004 at doses of up to 30 mg daily in approximately 56 healthy volunteers. Participants in the trial, which is being conducted in Australia, will be treated with the study drug once daily for 15 days with a 21-day treatment-free follow-up period. The objective of the study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of XW004.
"As a once-daily oral GLP-1 tablet, XW004 has the potential to offer a more convenient treatment option for patients with metabolic disease and improve the overall compliance in broader patient populations. It is also amenable to developing oral combination treatments with other drugs to further enhance treatment outcomes," said Dr. Hai Pan, founder and CEO of Sciwind. "Initiation of this Phase 1 MAD study is an important first step towards developing XW004 as a safe and effective treatment for patients living with metabolic disease."
About Sciwind Biosciences
Sciwind Biosciences is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat metabolic disease. Its product pipeline consists of potentially first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates. Sciwind has developed multiple proprietary technologies, including oral peptide and inhaled protein therapeutic delivery platforms and identified a series of drug candidates based on these core platform technologies. For more information, visit www.sciwindbio.com.
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SOURCE Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences Co., Ltd. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/sciwind-biosciences-announces-initiation-dosing-phase-1-clinical-trial-evaluating-xw004-an-oral-tablet-formulation-its-proprietary-glp-1-analogue-ecnoglutide/ | 2022-04-14T03:49:06 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/sciwind-biosciences-announces-initiation-dosing-phase-1-clinical-trial-evaluating-xw004-an-oral-tablet-formulation-its-proprietary-glp-1-analogue-ecnoglutide/ |
CALGARY, AB, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Sundial Growers Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) ("Sundial" or the "Company") reports that the Company's external auditor has advised that it now expects to complete its audit and release its audit opinion and report on the Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 on or before April 29, 2022. The Company expects to file its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, annual management's discussion and analysis for the same period, annual information form for the same period (which will be reported as an Annual Report on Form 20-F) and management certifications of annual filings (collectively, the "Filings"), on or before April 29, 2022, which will be within the applicable U.S. filing deadline.
The principal reason for the delay is the significant amount of additional work and in-depth procedures required to be performed by the Company and its external auditor as 2021 is the first year that the Company is required to have an auditor attestation report on its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Company becoming subject to the requirement to obtain an auditor attestation report on internal control over financial reporting is a function of the rapid growth in scale and level of corporate activity Sundial has achieved over the last two years. The process of obtaining such a report will assist the Company in identifying improvements to corporate controls and processes that will ultimately benefit Sundial shareholders through best practices in risk management.
Sundial and its auditor have made significant progress and continue to work diligently toward completing the audit and the Filings as soon as possible. The Company's auditor has confirmed it will not seek reappointment at the Company's 2022 annual shareholder meeting, but will complete the review of the Company's 2022 first quarter financial statements in order to assist the Company with transition to a new auditor, at Sundial's request. There have been no disagreements between the Company and the auditor regarding any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures. Sundial believes that there will be no restatement of previously released financial statements of Sundial.
Sundial is also providing this bi-weekly update on the status of the management cease trade order granted on April 1, 2022 (the "MCTO") by its principal Canadian regulator, the Alberta Securities Commission (the "ASC"), under National Policy 12-203 – Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"). The Company has requested an extension of the MCTO from the ASC.
The MCTO restricts the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer from all trading in securities of Sundial until such time as the Filings have been filed by the Company and the MCTO has been lifted. The MCTO does not affect the ability of other shareholders to trade in securities of the Company.
Sundial confirms that since its April 1, 2022 press release: (i) there has been no material change to the information set out in the April 1, 2022 press release that has not been generally disclosed other than as set forth herein; (ii) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the "alternative information guidelines" under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Filings is continuing, each of which will be issued in the form of a news release; (iii) there has not been any other specified default by the Company under NP 12-203; (iv) the Company is not subject to any insolvency proceedings; and (v) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.
Sundial is a public company whose shares are traded on Nasdaq under "SNDL". Its business is reported and analyzed under three operating segments: Cannabis Operations, Retail Operations (Cannabis and Liquor), and Investment Operations.
As a licensed producer that crafts small-batch cannabis using state-of-the-art indoor facilities, Sundial's 'craft-at-scale' modular growing approach, award-winning genetics, and experienced growers set us apart. Sundial's brand portfolio includes Top Leaf, Sundial Cannabis, Palmetto, and Grasslands. Sundial also operates the Spiritleaf retail banner. Spiritleaf aims to be the most knowledgeable and trusted source of recreational cannabis by offering a premium consumer experience, and quality curated cannabis products. Sundial has acquired Alcanna Inc. and is now the largest private sector cannabis and liquor retailer in Canada.
Sundial's investment operations seek to deploy strategic capital through direct and indirect investments and partnerships throughout the global cannabis industry.
Sundial is proudly Albertan, headquartered in Calgary, AB. For more information on Sundial, please go to www.sndlgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains statements and information that, to the extent that they are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation ("forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information is typically, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "will", "expected", "projected", "to be" and similar words, including negatives thereof, or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the expectations of management with respect to the anticipated filing of the Filings and the duration of the MCTO, as well as Sundial's expectation that it will file its Annual Report on Form 20-F.
Such forward-looking information is based on various assumptions and factors that may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, factors and assumptions with respect to: Sundial's belief that its external auditor will complete its audit and release its audit opinion in a timely manner that will allow Sundial to file the Filings on or before April 29, 2022; that the unaudited financial statements prepared by management of the Company will not differ materially from audited financial statements once available; that the Company will receive an extension of the MCTO from the ASC; Sundial's belief that there will be no restatements of its previously released financial statements; and the ability of Sundial's management to execute its business strategy, objectives and plans. As a result, although Sundial believes that the assumptions and factors on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Sundial can give no assurance that it will prove to be correct or that any of the events anticipated by such forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Sundial will derive therefrom.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof. Except as expressly required by applicable securities laws, Sundial does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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SOURCE Sundial Growers Inc. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/sundial-growers-announces-filing-annual-report-by-april-29-provides-bi-weekly-mcto-status-update/ | 2022-04-14T03:49:13 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/sundial-growers-announces-filing-annual-report-by-april-29-provides-bi-weekly-mcto-status-update/ |
OSAKA, Japan, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyobo Co., Ltd. has launched a major U.S. marketing initiative for Nerbridge TM ("the product", hereafter), a conduit for peripheral nerve regeneration.
On January 11, 2022, Toyobo kicked off the sales promotion campaign at a conference jointly held in Carlsbad, California, by three societies – the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), the American Society for Peripheral Nerve (ASPN) and the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM). The campaign is being conducted in partnership with the exclusive U.S. distributor of Nerbridge TM, Synovis Micro Companies Alliance, Inc. (hereafter Synovis), a subsidiary of Baxter International Inc., a global medtech leader.
The global nerve conduit market is estimated at around 150,000 units as of 2021 and has been growing at a rate of 15 percent per annum*1. The U.S. accounts for about 70 percent of the share, making it the biggest market of its kind in the world.
Toyobo plans to feature the product in collaboration with Synovis at conferences held by various societies. At the events, the company plans to present data*2,3 on clinical tests, post-sale surveys and clinical practice it has accumulated since the company started marketing the product in Japan in 2013. The societies to which Toyobo will showcase the product are those holding conferences across the United States, including ASRM, ASSH and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The product is a medical device used with the aim of facilitating regeneration and reconstructing functions of peripheral nerves severed or lost due to external injury. The device is a tube made of polyglycolic acid filled with sponge-shaped collagen, which enables the creation of an environment to induce nerve growth and reconstruct the severed section. The sponge-like structure of collagen has been confirmed as effective in multiplying nerve cells. The nerve conduit products made of synthesized materials that are available on the overseas market have reportedly caused some instances of triggering inflammatory reactions when the materials have decomposed inside the body*4. However, such events were not found with Nerbridge TM in a systematic literature search Toyobo has been making for the past several years in Japan. Using Nerbridge TM makes it unnecessary to harvest healthy peripheral nerves for autografting, reducing the patient's burden and shortening the time needed for surgical treatment.
Toyobo plans to enhance the production capacity of the product by the end of 2025 as well as expanding the scope of its clinical applications. To respond to the increasing demand expected for nerves conduits in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, Toyobo will strengthen its production and sales capacities, thus becoming the leading company in the nerve conduit business field.
About Nerbridge TM
Brand name: Nerbridge TM
US FDA 510(k): Clearance No. K152967／Nerve Cuff
JP MHLW: Approval No.22500BZX00106000／Absorbent nerve regeneration inducer with the use of collagen
*1 Global Nerve Conduit, Nerve Wrap and Nerve Graft Repair Product Market Growth 2021-2026
*2 Product document of Nerbridge TM
*3 Kusuhara H, et al. A clinical multi-center registry study on digital nerve repair using a biodegradable nerve conduit of PGA with external and internal collagen scaffolding.、Microsurgery. 2018;1–5.
*4 Kehoe S, et al., FDA approved guidance conduits and wraps for peripheral nerve injury: A review of materials and efficacy、Injury, Int. J. Care Injured 43 (2012) 553–572.
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SOURCE Toyobo Co., Ltd. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/toyobo-launches-major-marketing-initiative-nerbridgetm-us-setting-sights-global-nerve-conduit-market/ | 2022-04-14T03:49:21 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/toyobo-launches-major-marketing-initiative-nerbridgetm-us-setting-sights-global-nerve-conduit-market/ |
Agreements Subject to Court Approval
TORONTO, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Braxia Scientific Corp. ("Braxia Scientific", or the "Company"), (CSE: BRAX) (OTC: BRAXF) (FWB: 4960) announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle (the "US Settlement") to settle claims alleged in a securities class action ("US Class Action") pending against the Company and certain of its former officers filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in April, 2021. The Company also announced it has signed a settlement agreement (the "Canadian Settlement") to resolve a class action lawsuit ("Canadian Class Action") that was filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court in May 2021 against the Company its CEO, certain of its former officers, a shareholder, and underwriters.
The US Settlement contemplates a cash payment by the Company of USD $1 million to settle the US Class Action. The Canadian Settlement contemplates a cash payment of CDN $1.9 million, of which the Company will be paying CDN $1.6 million.
After available insurance, the total cost to the Company to settle both class actions will be approximately CDN $1.36 million. This does not include legal expenses incurred by the Company, estimated at approximately CDN $950,000, of which approximately CDN $750,000 has been paid.
Both the US Settlement and the Canadian Settlement are subject to court approval at hearings expected later in 2022. Under the respective settlement agreement, once the US Settlement and the Canadian Settlement receive court approval, both class actions will be dismissed against all defendants, including the Company and its officers. Approval by the respective courts, notice to the putative classes, and the satisfaction of customary conditions to effectiveness will take several months.
As previously disclosed, given the uncertainties of litigation, the Company had not been in a position to assess the likelihood of any potential loss or adverse effect on its financial condition or to reasonably estimate the amount of potential loss in connection with the class actions. As a result of the entry into the US Settlement and the Canadian Settlement, the Company expects that the above-referenced total cost to settle will be incorporated into its results of operations and financial condition for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2022.
The Company announces that Dr. David Greenberg has resigned as a director. The resignation is not connected to the class actions or the settlement. Dr Greenberg is not a party to the class actions.
The Company appreciates David's meaningful contribution to the Company and wishes him well in future endeavours.
Braxia Scientific is a medical research company with clinics that provide innovative ketamine treatments for persons with depression and related disorders. Through its medical solutions, Braxia aims to reduce the illness burden of brain-based disorders, such as major depressive disorder among others. Braxia is primarily focused on (i) owning and operating multidisciplinary clinics, providing treatment for mental health disorders, and (ii) research activities related to discovering and commercializing novel drugs and delivery methods. Braxia seeks to develop ketamine and derivatives and other psychedelic products from its IP development platform. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Canadian Rapid Treatment Center of Excellence Inc., Braxia currently operates multidisciplinary community-based clinics offering rapid-acting treatments for depression located in Mississauga, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Dr. Roger S. McIntyre"
Dr. Roger S. McIntyre
Chairman & CEO
The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations, or beliefs of future performance are "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements include statements about the intended promise of ketamine-based treatments for depression and the potential for ketamine to treat other emerging psychiatric disorders, such as Bipolar Depression. Such forward- looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events, or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the failure of ketamine, psilocybin and other psychedelics to provide the expected health benefits and unanticipated side effects, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, municipal, local or other licenses and engaging in activities that could be later determined to be illegal under domestic or international laws. Ketamine and psilocybin are currently Schedule I and Schedule III controlled substances, respectively, under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19 (the "CDSA") and it is a criminal offence to possess such substances under the CDSA without a prescription or a legal exemption. Health Canada has not approved psilocybin as a drug for any indication, however ketamine is a legally permissible medication for the treatment of certain psychological conditions. It is illegal to possess such substances in Canada without a prescription.
These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, including the Amended and Restated Listing Statement dated April 15, 2021, which are available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Braxia Scientific Corp. | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/update-braxia-scientific-reaches-agreements-settle-class-actions-us-canada/ | 2022-04-14T03:49:27 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/prnewswire/2022/04/14/update-braxia-scientific-reaches-agreements-settle-class-actions-us-canada/ |
Chief Adderley meets with residents living on the north end
Inside the De George Boys and Girls Club on Pinewood Avenue, West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley is holding one of his monthly meetings.
The crowd is small, but their concerns are plenty.
"Every time they pull up it scatters, the crime scatters, the drug dealers scatter, the prostitutes scatter, all the illegal drinking scatters," one woman said.
Another resident was looking for direction.
"You see the people come here. We come every month means they're concerned means they want something different," she said.
Another was concerned about speeding.
"People are speeding constantly, constantly, even on Broadway constantly," he said.
The folks living in the north end are frustrated.
"Our biggest issue is more policemen. can't stop a bullet but it can control some of the quality-of-life issues that we're having," Denise Smith-Barnes said.
While many voiced their concerns over neighborhood crime, not one person asked about the rash of homicides that's plagued the city in recent days.
Chief Adderley did address the issue with us and what he says is key to solving the violence.
"From what I've seen so far none of them are related to each other. separate incidents. we're committed to solving them. We get a lot of people that say they want to talk about the incidents, give us information when you get like ten anonymous individuals say I don't want to give my name, I don't want to give a statement. they identify the same person and it's kind of clear that that is the person. however, that doesn't give us enough to take it to court," he said.
Chief Adderley also spoke about staffing within his department. He said at the moment there are 23 vacancies he needs to fill. He believes the new officers will alleviate some of the issues the city is facing.
Scripps Only Content 2022 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/chief-adderley-meets-with-residents-living-north-end/ | 2022-04-14T03:59:49 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/chief-adderley-meets-with-residents-living-north-end/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After finishing his contract with the Air Force in Texas, Tyler Watkins said he planned to join his wife Sasha in Ukraine while she waited for a new U.S. visa for a spouse.
“But then when the war started,” Sasha Watkins said, “everything changed and we had to come up with a completely new plan.”
They met four years ago while he was living in Largo and she was living in St. Petersburg on a work visa. After that expired, they said they had to marry overseas in December 2020 during the pandemic.
Sasha said she had her doubts about whether Russia would actually invade.
“Tyler said you need to get out of there because the longer you wait the harder it will be to leave Ukraine,” she said, recalling their conversation the day the invasion began in February.
The next day, she said she took a train from her hometown of Lviv in the western part of Ukraine to Warsaw, Poland.
“It was a major relief to me,” Tyler said, “but that wasn’t the end of it, so I really wanted her to be with me during this time.”
Tyler told News Channel 8 he contacted Congressman Charlie Crist’s office looking for help to speed up his wife’s visa application process.
“The folks at his office were more than helpful setting up the avenues to get it fast-tracked based on a humanitarian issue,” he said.
In late March, Tyler traveled to Poland to bring her the documentation she needed.
“Once we got everything processed into the embassy at Warsaw, she needed to have her birth certificate, social security card that she had when she came here for her work visa,” he explained.
After a long-distance start to their marriage, the couple says they are grateful to be back together.
“It just took us a pandemic and a war to get a visa for me,” Sasha said, “but yeah, it meant a lot I was able to finally travel and come here to visit Tyler’s family and start planning for the future.”
Tyler said if anyone else is in a similar situation with loved ones escaping Ukraine during the war, he strongly encourages them to call their member of Congress. | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/couple-reunites-in-the-u-s-after-wife-escapes-war-torn-ukraine/ | 2022-04-14T04:02:36 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/couple-reunites-in-the-u-s-after-wife-escapes-war-torn-ukraine/ |
If anyone watching this season of “Survivor” had trouble imagining what a worst-case scenario would look like for Alabama castaway Jonathan Young, Wednesday night’s episode brought it vividly to life.
From the beginning of the show’s 42nd season, Young established himself as a challenge beast. In terms of strength and fitness, he was in a class by himself, which made him a big asset to his Taku tribe. But it wasn’t long before spectators, including some former players, labeled him as a likely “merge boot.”
A player with outstanding strength and speed has an edge in the weekly challenges that grant immunity to the winner. That’s great in the early phase of the game: There’s no downside to being a strong player who can help your tribe win immunity.
But when the competing tribes merge into one hotbed of alliance and deception, conspicuous strength puts a target on your back. Your ability to dominate immunity challenges doesn’t help anyone but you -- and that’s a situation that newly merged tribes tend to want to nip in the bud.
The sixth episode of the season was a super-sized two-hour edition that saw the end of the Taku, Ika and Vati tribes. Technically the merge happened only at the very end -- but any way you slice it, the night’s tribal council was the first occasion on which all remaining players voted on who would go home.
Early on, it looked like Jonathan had marked himself safe by doing exactly what challenge beasts do. A random shuffle left him a group of five that included only one of his former Taku mates, Maryanne Oketch. No problem: Jonathan muscled them through the physical part of the night’s challenge, giving them a big head start on the puzzle part. They won, securing immunity for their group, which grew to include former Taku member Lindsey Dolashevich.
In addition to immunity, they got a full dinner from a major restaurant chain. You won’t be surprised to hear that an ad for that very chain led off the next commercial break.
Nobody enjoyed that feast more than Jonathan. “I’m twice as big as everybody else out here,” he said. “Twelve days of not eating, and I’m starving.”
It seemed simple enough. Jonathan and his temporary tribe would kick back while the other six players scrambled through a second challenge and then a vote at tribal council. But this season, like the one before it, features an array of gimmicks designed to push players into risky decision with massive consequences.
Sometimes it’s a little too gimmicky, sometimes -- like this time -- it makes things highly entertaining. Long story short, one player got the chance to reverse the outcome of the challenge. That player, Rocksroy Bailey, took the chance. Suddenly Jonathan and his well-fed companions were on the hot seats, and Jonathan’s was the hottest of all.
It got worse: The individual immunity challenge was based more on dexterity than strength and Tori Meehan won it. She’s a player nobody trusts, and her ability to escape elimination seems to become more miraculous every episode.
It looked like the writing was on the wall. Jonathan come into the round with a big target on his back and he’d been hitting it off conspicuously well with some of the players from other tribes, notably retired firefighter Mike Turner. Mike said when he was younger, he was the big guy, the one everybody thought was a blockhead. He knew what it felt like.
Jonathan on Mike: “He’s going to be my buddy for a long time out here.” Mike on Jonathan: “There’s a lot more to this guy than people give him credit for.”
It rubbed some people the wrong way. Romeo Escobar aggressively began lining up votes against Jonathan.
To his credit, Jonathan knew exactly what was going on. He turned to his first big buddy of the season, Omar Zaheer, who went out and lobbied hard. There’d been some talk that the choice might be Jonathan or Maryanne, but Omar had a stroke of genius: Instead of playing up that dynamic, he pitched Lydia Meredith -- essentially an innocent bystander -- as the one to go.
Not everybody bought it, but enough did. As host Jeff Probst counted out the ballots, at one point the vote was a three-way tie. In the end, Lydia was gone. It wasn’t even close. It was the season’s first true blindside -- certainly for Lydia, and probably for Romeo as well.
As someone said shortly before the vote: “Moments like these are where good players fold and great players prevail.”
So where does that leave us? Thanks to Omar, Jonathan effectively survived the merge boot. He’s still a big target, but he’s got some time to shore up alliances and battle for immunity. Tori’s still seen by most as untrustworthy, and Chanelle Howard spent the episode on the outside looking in as alliances formed around her.
With six episodes down, the real game is finally about to start. | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/survivor-alabamas-jonathan-young-faces-worst-case-scenario.html | 2022-04-14T04:04:25 | 1 | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/survivor-alabamas-jonathan-young-faces-worst-case-scenario.html |
"Once you're in these streets, there's no coming back from death," Goodman said. "I was one of the lucky ones to be able to get out of it alive and not incarcerated."
He spends his off time volunteering with violence interruption groups -- working to convince at-risk kids and current and former gang members that there's a better, safer path.
"I try to say to them, I've been where you're at," Goodman said. "So we're trying to get the ones that we see going down the wrong road. And we try to snatch them and keep them from going down that road."
“Once you’re in these streets, there’s no coming back from death.”
— 𝙹𝚘𝚎𝚕 𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 (@JoelBrownABC11) April 14, 2022
T O N I G H T at 11
Quincy Goodman, a chef and restaurateur, is trying to cook up change on the same SE Raleigh streets he grew up on, now plagued with a new surge in deadly gun violence #abc11 pic.twitter.com/cikPUiUewd
Tuesday night's news of a Raleigh teenager shot in the head outside of a New Bern Avenue gas station sent Diana Powell's phone buzzing once again.
"People texting, messaging, crying," the community activist recalled. "They're asking when is it gonna stop? When is it ever going to end? What can we do?"
Powell is teaming up with Goodman in planning a new Stop the Violence rally. But she admits the mounting bloodshed is fueling community doubt that it can make a difference.
"When I was telling people and passing info around about let's do another rally, people said, 'Miss Powell, what for? We're doing it, and everybody keeps going back to their old ways,'" she said. "But doing nothing -- does that accomplish anything?"
Goodman said the latest rash of gun violence plaguing the city is a combination of gang brutality and individuals with weapons angry at each other.
"It's a little bit of all that," he said -- calling for more county funding and resources for children to get them off the streets. He's also calling on parents to deliver the love that too many young people are finding in the wrong place.
"When you have gang members out here and they're showing that love to them, that's where they're going to go -- where they feel the love," said Goodman.
The Community Benefit Day event is April 30 at Q's Catering at 311 N Tarboro St. from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m.
James Montague, the successful Black business developer from southeast Raleigh, is a special guest -- emphasizing the push to get more local companies involved and investing in community-based solutions to gun violence. | https://abc11.com/raleigh-crime-gun-violence-street-police/11746214/ | 2022-04-14T04:04:32 | 1 | https://abc11.com/raleigh-crime-gun-violence-street-police/11746214/ |
Grand Rapids police release footage of Patrick Lyoya shooting
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WNEM) - Protesters were calling for justice in west Michigan Wednesday over a deadly police shooting during a traffic stop.
The shooting happened on Monday of last week.
In an effort of transparency, the Grand Rapids Police Department released four videos of the stop from April 4, each from a different viewpoint, of the events leading up to the death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya.
The videos included cell phone, home surveillance video, dash and body worn camera footage.
“Another African American man has died as a result of the use of lethal force with an interaction with law enforcement,” said Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington.
“The reason that we’re having this today is, this is transparency about the use of force incident,” said Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom.
According to police, the un-named officer pulled Lyoya over because the license plate didn’t match the record for the car. TV5′s review of the footage shows Lyoya exiting his vehicle to confront the officer.
After this confrontation, it appears Lyoya attempts to run away, but is instead taken to the ground, where the officer and Lyoya struggle.
“It looks like they were struggling over the taser for about 90 seconds,” Winstrom said.
Police say the officer unsuccessfully attempts to use his taser multiple times on Lyoya, before shooting him in the back of the head, killing him.
“The taser was deployed twice. The taser did not make contact. Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head,” Winstrom said.
The officers body cam footage was deactivated right before the shooting. Police say that may have been unintentional.
“It was hit many times during that struggle. That was the first time that it was held down for more than three seconds, that’s what deactivated,” Winstrom said.
Winstrom said state police are investigating to answer the key question.
“Whether that deadly force was needed to prevent death or great bodily harm to that officer,” Winstrom said.
Winstrom said the officer is on paid leave, stripped of his police powers, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The officer is said to have joined the agency in 2015. When state police complete their investigation, they will hand their results to the Kent County Prosecutor’s office for the review for criminal charges.
Copyright 2022 WNEM. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/grand-rapids-police-release-footage-patrick-lyoya-shooting/ | 2022-04-14T04:04:55 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/grand-rapids-police-release-footage-patrick-lyoya-shooting/ |
Netflix launches new way for viewers to ‘like’ their favorite shows
Published: Apr. 13, 2022 at 10:58 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
(CNN) - Netflix wants to keep its customers happy with the selections they are making.
The streaming service recently introduced a new recommendation tool - a double thumbs-up button.
Netflix already has thumbs up and thumbs down buttons for viewers to give feedback on what they like and dislike, but the company said it wanted to add another option.
The double thumbs-up tool is a way for viewers to let Netflix know which shows and movies they really like and enjoy.
Representatives with Netflix said it could recommend similar content thanks to the new tool, which ultimately helps customers stick around longer and feel satisfied with their subscription.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/netflix-introduces-new-way-recommend-content-viewers-like/ | 2022-04-14T04:05:01 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/netflix-introduces-new-way-recommend-content-viewers-like/ |
Police: Woman dies after getting stuck upside down while climbing US-Mexico border wall
TUCSON, Ariz. (Gray News) - Police in Arizona said a Mexican woman died after illegally attempting to cross into the U.S. earlier this week.
Cochise County Sheriff Mark J. Dannels reports deputies responded to a call from Mexican authorities at about 11 p.m. on Monday concerning a woman stuck on a border fence near Douglas, Ariz.
According to the sheriff’s office, the woman was climbing over the border wall when she got stuck in the ropes of a harness and trapped upside down for a significant amount of time.
The 32-year-old was transported to a local hospital, but she was pronounced deceased. Authorities in Arizona said they notified the Mexican Consulate about the incident.
An autopsy will be completed to determine the woman’s cause of death and the sheriff’s office said its investigation continues.
“These incidents are not political; they are humanitarian realities that someone has lost a loved one in a senseless tragedy,” Sheriff Dannels said. “We have to do better in finding solutions to the challenges facing our border, and we have to do it for the right reasons. Regardless of opinions, the facts should direct our progress, and we will keep working towards a shared goal of border safety and security.”
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/police-woman-dies-after-getting-stuck-upside-down-while-climbing-us-mexico-border-wall/ | 2022-04-14T04:05:07 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/police-woman-dies-after-getting-stuck-upside-down-while-climbing-us-mexico-border-wall/ |
Chicago White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez exited Wednesday’s 6-4 victory against the Seattle Mariners with left ankle soreness.
After further evaluation, the Sox said X-rays were negative and he is day to day with a bruised ankle.
Jiménez fouled a pitch off his ankle during a third-inning at-bat that ended in a strikeout. He was in left field the next two innings before Leury García hit for him in the fifth.
Second baseman Josh Harrison left before the eighth with lower back stiffness. The Sox said he’s being further evaluated.
Jiménez has been one of the most productive hitters in the Sox lineup. He homered to left in the second against 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray — his first home run of the season — and leads the team with seven RBIs.
The Sox also got back-to-back homers from Tim Anderson (three hits, three RBIs) and Luis Robert in the seventh, while Dallas Keuchel went five innings for the win. Keuchel allowed three runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/eloy-jimnez-exits-the-chicago-white-soxs-6-4-win-in-the-5th-inning-with-a-bruised-left-ankle/ | 2022-04-14T04:05:50 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/eloy-jimnez-exits-the-chicago-white-soxs-6-4-win-in-the-5th-inning-with-a-bruised-left-ankle/ |
All Gerrit Cole could do was literally tip his cap.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his way with the Yankees ace Wednesday night, hitting two home runs and a double off Cole — and another homer off Jonathan Loaisiga — as the Blue Jays beat the Bombers, 6-4, at Yankee Stadium.
“I mean, did you see the night? I mean, if you had a cap you’d tip it too,” Cole said of actually tipping his cap to the Blue Jays first baseman. “And it got better after that too, my goodness.”
Guerrero Jr., who had been hit-less in the first two games of the series, had his second-career three home run game, driving in four runs and absolutely dominating the Yankees (3-3). Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres each had their first home runs of the season. Anthony Rizzo had his third and DJ LeMahieu drove in a run, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays (4-2).
“That was impressive tonight. Wish it was against somebody else and I was watching on TV and I didn’t see it live,” Judge said. “That’s the type of player he is. He can take over a game. Those were three impressive swings. Even more impressive, with two strikes shooting a double down the right field line. He is a game changer.”
A game-changer is what the Yankees are hoping to have in Cole.
So far, the Yankees ace has not exactly redefined himself after last year’s struggles and the disastrous loss to the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game.
Wednesday night, Cole labored through 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Cole had 17 swing-and-misses, including four each on his four-seam fastball, his cutter and slider.
Guerrero Jr., hammered a hanging slider in the first inning for his first homer of the night off Cole. In the third, with Bo Bichette on, Guerrero — who had to have his hand bandaged after Aaron Hicks stepped on it — turned on a 98 mile per hour fastball up and inside and sent a laser into left-center field for his third homer of the season (and second of the night). In the sixth, Guerrero went down and got a 98 mph fastball at the knees and lined it into the right-field corner for a double.
“He’s just a great hitter,” Aaron Boone said. “I thought the first home run to center was a hanger that he took advantage of… but then after that it was just kind of other-worldly hitting. … Just a really good job of hitting and then you don’t see many right-handers elevate the ball like that off of (Loaisiga’s) two-seam fastball and he obviously squared it up. So pretty impressive display by him, and we got beat by obviously a great hitter.”
The Yankees’ brightside was that Cole held every other Blue Jay to just one hit.
Cole was slow to ramp up, making just two starts to the rest of the staff’s three, in a lockout-shortened spring training. He gave up a homer and three runs in his season debut, a no-decision against the Red Sox, which only brought back the nightmares from the Wild Card loss. Wednesday night, he lost the battle to Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays, another star and team who the Yankees are going to battling this season in the division and for a playoff spot.
Cole thinks he is almost where he needs to be.
“I still blew through the tempo on a few, especially some first pitches, but it’s just… it’s just coming,” Cole said. “I mean, the stuff looks pretty good. And the execution for the most part is pretty good. So, just crisp up the reads a bit and execute a few more pitches.”
The Yankees fans are hoping the dominant stuff that had the Yankees courting him and signing him to a nine-year, $324 million deal in December of 2019 is coming too. He needs to rebuild the Yankees’ fans’ confidence that he will be the bulldog they need in big matchups and playoff games.
So far, that hasn’t been there.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/gerrit-cole-yankees-struggle-to-challenge-blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-s-3-home-runs/ | 2022-04-14T04:05:56 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/gerrit-cole-yankees-struggle-to-challenge-blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-s-3-home-runs/ |
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rich Stanek is hospitalized after a crash in Buffalo, Minn., though he wasn’t seriously injured and is looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Stanek was leaving Buffalo Covenant Church on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. after speaking to a Wright County conservative group. He drove his pickup truck east out of the church parking lot at Minnesota 25 and Catlin Street, and collided with a car that was northbound on Highway 25, according to a Minnesota State Patrol report.
The 43-year-old driving the car had non-life-threatening injuries and was not transported to a health care facility. Alcohol was not involved in the crash and both drivers were seat-belted, according to the report, which noted that the roadway was wet at the time as thunderstorms moved across central Minnesota.
Stanek, 60, was taken by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale “out of an abundance of caution,” said Jon Collins, Stanek’s campaign spokesman.
Stanek was formerly a Minneapolis police officer, Republican state legislator, state public safety commissioner and Hennepin County sheriff. During his years as an officer, “as most police officers do, they get injured in the line of duty,” Collins said. Stanek previously had surgeries for neck and back injuries, and doctors admitted him to the hospital as a precaution.
“Doctors don’t have any reason to be concerned,” Collins said and he expects Stanek will be released from the hospital Thursday.
The crash remains under investigation by the State Patrol. | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/gubernatorial-candidate-rich-stanek-hospitalized-as-precaution-after-crash-in-buffalo/ | 2022-04-14T04:06:02 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/gubernatorial-candidate-rich-stanek-hospitalized-as-precaution-after-crash-in-buffalo/ |
Even as the Orioles came back before falling behind again late to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, the focus will be on that fourth inning, when left-hander John Means was last on the mound before an unceremonious departure that will drive worry throughout Baltimore.
Means cruised through the fourth inning, needing just 12 pitches to retire the side in order. But midway through the home half of that inning, right-hander Joey Krehbiel popped up in the bullpen, despite Means sitting at 51 pitches.
And when the fifth inning opened, there Krehbiel was, replacing Means on the mound after Baltimore’s most reliable starter allowed two runs in his second start of the season. Means withdrew after he felt left forearm tightness, the team announced, a troublesome update for a team with little consistency and few places to turn for solid starting pitching.
Without Means, the Orioles’ bullpen once again held their own and the offense showed a spurt of life. But after the Orioles tied the game at 2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Brewers answered with two in the ninth, leaving Milwaukee with a 4-2 win and a series victory.
The score was secondary for the Orioles, however, with Means exiting early overshadowing the team’s fifth loss in six games this season. At least externally, Means wasn’t overly concerned with the early departure. He said he experienced similar tightness during Friday’s season opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, stemming from a curveball before spreading to the rest of his arsenal.
In the third inning Wednesday, another curveball tripped the forearm tightness again, something he said he’s never dealt with before in his career.
“I felt it throughout the week, but it progressively got better throughout the week and then felt great the first two innings,” Means said. “And then felt it on one pitch and kind of kept feeling it and battling through it. But it wasn’t tingly fingers or anything like that. It was just the forearm.”
Means will undergo further testing Thursday, when the Orioles have an off day before the New York Yankees arrive for a three-game series at Camden Yards. The 28-year-old ace said he’ll receive an MRI “at some point in the next day or so, just to make sure” there isn’t a larger issue at play. He hopes to get back to throwing in the next few days, casting doubt over an immediate return to the mound.
“I’m not going to rush to anything until we know what results come back, know what the results are tomorrow,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Staying positive with it and optimistic and hopefully it’s just a little bit of tightness he felt in the forearm and we’ll see.”
Means was expected to push beyond what he produced in his first start, when he needed 84 pitches to get through four frames. Hyde has been wary of pushing his starting pitchers too long, considering the shortened spring training build-up time.
There wasn’t an obvious indication of an injury or lack of stamina and Means retired his final seven batters. According to MLB Statcast, Means’ average fastball was 92.8 mph against the Rays last week and dropped to 91.6 Wednesday.
Means worked quickly through the first inning of action but ran into trouble in the second with a one-out walk to second baseman Keston Hiura, leaving a fastball well out of the zone on a full count. With two outs, Means left a slider hanging over the plate, and first baseman Rowdy Tellez blasted it to the deepest part of center field to drive in the first run of the game.
And then third baseman Mike Brosseau extended his career tally against Means to 6-for-12 with seven RBIs when his single drove home Tellez, who also had an RBI double in the ninth. But Means settled in from there, needing nine pitches to retire the side in the third and 12 in the fourth, even as the tightness began.
Any absence for Means would leave Baltimore’s rotation in disarray. When Means missed nearly two months last season with a left shoulder strain, the remaining members of the rotation posted a 7.63 ERA.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Means said. “Wanted to get rolling and wanted to start the season strong. It’s a long season and we’ll get this out of the way, get going. Still confident I’m able to go.”
Strikeouts pile up
Catcher Anthony Bemboom singled in the third inning and took second on a wild pitch, setting up a chance to break through against right-hander Corbin Burnes. But center fielder Cedric Mullins flew out and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle struck out, continuing a dreadful streak to begin the season.
Mountcastle’s swing and miss became the Orioles’ 26th of 28 strikeouts with runners in scoring position this season. Strikeouts 27 and 28 came from Mullins and Ramón Urías, who came to the plate in the eighth with a chance to give the Orioles a lead.
The team is hitting 5-for-55 in those situations this season, with more than half of those at-bats ending in a strikeout.
“We’re getting a little anxious,” Urías said.
But the strikeouts go beyond situations with runners in scoring position. Entering Wednesday, no MLB team had struck out more than Baltimore, a club boasting a 28.4% chase rate on balls out of the zone, according to MLB Statcast, the 10th worst rate in baseball.
And by the time Wednesday came to a close, the Orioles had struck out 68 times in six games. The previous record for most strikeouts by a team over the first six games of the season came last year, when Baltimore struck out 77 times.
Base coaches absent
First base coach Anthony Sanders and third base coach Tony Mansolino missed the game due to illness, Hyde said pregame. Wednesday marked the second straight game Sanders had missed. In their place were José Hernández at first and Fredi Gonzalez at third.
Hyde, citing the club’s policy, declined to elaborate further on the illnesses.
A comeback and a departure
As the Orioles dealt with the concern surrounding Means’ injury, two prospects at Triple-A Norfolk faced diverging courses.
Outfielder Yusniel Diaz landed on the injured list Wednesday with a hamstring strain suffered the night before, the latest in a series of injuries that have prevented Diaz from finding his way to the big leagues. Earlier this month, Diaz said through a team interpreter that he’s “trying to manage health,” but he tweaked his hamstring as he ran down the line to first base.
Diaz has had multiple lower-body injuries since arriving as part of the Manny Machado trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018.
For outfielder Kyle Stowers, though, Wednesday marked a return to game action eight days after bruising his hand on a hit by pitch during the Triple-A season opener. Stowers is the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect, according to Baseball America.
In his return to the Triple-A lineup, Stowers finished 1-for-3 with a double, RBI and two walks.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/john-means-exits-early-with-left-forearm-tightness-in-orioles-4-2-loss-to-brewers-ace-to-get-further-testing-thursday/ | 2022-04-14T04:06:08 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/john-means-exits-early-with-left-forearm-tightness-in-orioles-4-2-loss-to-brewers-ace-to-get-further-testing-thursday/ |
Chants of "no new jail," resounded on a street in Chinatown. It was the beginning of a last stand.
A human chain was formed on Baxter Street, blocking construction crews from starting work on a new jail on Wednesday morning.
They were desperate and livid.
"Shame on you for making money off the backs of people of color!"
Evelyn Yang, wife of former presidential and mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, were among those arrested.
"Hearing Mayor Adams in his own words calling than jail institutionalized hate against Chinatown and making the promise last year with his campaigning to the people of Chinatown that he would not allow this jail to go up if he were mayor ... and then going back on his word ... how dare you make this promise to people who have suffered so much and then turn their back on them," Yang said.
The new jail at the site of the Manhattan detention complex known as the Tombs, is part of the city's plan to close Riker's Island.
WATCH | Witness describes chaos on subway train amid New York shooting
"It would be jail number five for just this site. We had jails since 1838," said Jan Lee of Neighbors United Below Canal.
"You can renovate this. It'll cost much less and you can achieve the goals that everyone wants," council member Christopher Marte said.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office had this to say:
"This administration will always follow the law, and the law says the jails on Rikers Island must close on time. To follow the law and protect the safety of the community and all involved in this project, this work is proceeding. We have engaged deeply with the community every step of the way, and we are committed to continuing to work with them to limit the disruption of this project."
City officials also say the existing building can't withstand the extent of the renovation required and say council members made clear extending the deadline legislatively was a non-starter.
ALSO READ | Quick thinking 3rd-grade teacher in NJ saves 9-year-old boy from choking on bottle cap
"In the global pandemic that we just experienced, for one every deadline has been changed in some form everywhere in the world," Jan Lee said. "It doesn't make sense that we have to look at this it's carved in stone. It's just unreasonable. But even within that deadline, we feel that the plan that we're proposing certainly can meet the deadline possibly faster and get people off of Rikers Island."
Community leaders say they'll be at city hall on Thursday, and the day after to protest. And they'll file a lawsuit if they have to.
But what they really want they say, is to continue the dialogue with the mayor's office.
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Submit a News Tip | https://abc7ny.com/chinatown-jail-rikers-island-tombs/11746368/ | 2022-04-14T04:06:38 | 1 | https://abc7ny.com/chinatown-jail-rikers-island-tombs/11746368/ |
NEW YORK -- Twenty-four-year-old Kaylea Scott is a singer, producer and DJ from Brooklyn, New York. She was active onstage, performing or working, when a year before Covid emerged she developed some very unusual symptoms and weight gain.
"I gained fifty pounds in two and a half years. I didn't want to perform anymore," Kaylea said.
Kaylea finally did a Google search and found out there was a disease associated with her symptoms. She was diagnosed with Cushing's disease and ended up in the care of Rohan Ramakrishna, MD, Chief Of Neurosurgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
"Kaylea's symptoms show the role our hormones play in our body," Dr. Ramakrishna says. "The discoloration, the lack of sleep, the anxiety, the weight gain - all of these symptoms stemmed from a tumor in her pituitary gland and are a result of when there is too much cortisol."
When she was diagnosed in January of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had brought the world and elective surgeries to a halt. But Kaylea was lucky to have a world-class multi-disciplinary medical team right there at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
"Dr. Ramakrishna called me and said we could do the surgery in the next month," she remembers. "I was so excited to get it done with!"
Dr. Ramakrishna, also Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, makes it a top priority to keep his patients informed of their treatment options.
"When people think of brain surgery, they typically think of us drilling and opening up the skull," says Dr. Ramakrishna. "But we increasingly perform surgeries like Kaylea's using minimally invasive techniques. We can often take an endoscopic approach, such as through the nasal cavity directly to the tumor in the pituitary gland. From there, we extract the tumor. Minimally invasive surgery allows for a shorter recovery period and a quicker return to regular life."
With the tumor removed, Kaylea is resolved to find normalcy again.
"I felt like I was catching up on the sleep I'd lost after three years," she said.
Kaylea went through so much, but for anyone going through the same thing she has some words of advice.
"Always listen to yourself. Listen to your body," Kaylea said "If something's going on, look into it and don't ignore your feelings."
And thanks to the team at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, she's back to her music, performing, and everyday life.
WABC-TV is proud to have taken you inside NewYork-Presbyterian for a look at some extraordinary stories that we call Medical Marvels. It's WABC's Emmy-nominated digital series exclusive to abc7ny.com.
Click here for more information on Rohan Ramakrishna, MD, at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
To make an appointment or learn more please contact the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine team at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital at 718-780- 3070 or visit www.nyp.org/brooklyn/neurosurgery
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Back in the rhythm of life: Cushing's disease didn't crush her spirit
Sponsored Content | https://abc7ny.com/medical-marvels-news-innovations-wabc-tv/11721967/ | 2022-04-14T04:06:44 | 1 | https://abc7ny.com/medical-marvels-news-innovations-wabc-tv/11721967/ |
(The Hill) – New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more Americans died in 2021 than in any other year in the nation’s history, as the coronavirus pandemic raged and death rates attributed to cancer, diabetes and strokes rose..
The data published through the end of the third quarter of the year shows a death rate of 1,058.8 per 100,000 Americans, a nearly 10 percent increase over the 12-month period the prior year and a 21 percent jump from 2019.
The rising-rate meant nearly 3.5 million Americans died in the 12 months that ended in September 2021, the highest number of deaths ever recorded in the U.S. in a single year.
Much of the rising death toll was caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which cost 415,000 American lives in 2021, a higher figure than during the first year of the outbreak, even though vaccines were widely available for most of the year. The coronavirus was responsible for more than 1 in 10 deaths in the U.S. last year, the CDC data shows.
Other causes of mortality rose slightly. Chronic liver disease claimed more lives, while deaths from diabetes, heart disease and strokes increased.
The data is not complete, but early signs suggest that deaths related to drug overdoses spiked substantially as well. Provisional data shows more than 105,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, up more than 10 percent from the year before.
The unprecedented death toll has meant the average life expectancy for an American likely continued to decline in the last year, a string of decreases not seen since the Spanish Flu pandemic more than a century ago.
A study by researchers at the Urban Institute, the University of Colorado and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) estimated that the U.S. life expectancy dropped last year to 76.6 years, down more than two years from the rate in 2019. At the same time, life expectancy rates in other wealthy countries increased between 2020 and 2021, after registering a smaller decrease the year before.
“While other high-income countries saw their life expectancy increase in 2021, recovering about half their losses, U.S. life expectancy continued to fall,” VCU sociologist Steven Woolf, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “This speaks volumes about the life consequences of how the U.S. handled the pandemic, and in a country where the U.S. Constitution and the 10th Amendment grant public health authority to the states, I believe the U.S. catastrophe speaks volumes about the policies and behaviors of U.S. governors — at least some of them.”
Life expectancy has dropped the most in recent years among Hispanic and Black populations, which researchers attributed to “the legacy of systemic racism and inadequacies in the U.S. handling of the pandemic.”
Ryan Masters, a sociologist at the University of Colorado and the study’s lead author, said high rates of obesity and heart disease made the U.S. population more vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic than populations in other wealthy countries. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/2021-was-americas-deadliest-year-ever-cdc/ | 2022-04-14T04:08:17 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/2021-was-americas-deadliest-year-ever-cdc/ |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Frankie Montas pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Sean Murphy hit a three-run homer, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2.
Montas allowed two runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings as the A’s defeated Tampa Bay for the second time in three days. Tampa Bay got a fourth-inning solo homer from Ji-Man Choi.
After Jed Lowrie and Stephen Piscotty drew two-out walks in the third, Murphy took Shane McClanahan deep to put the A’s up 3-0. Murphy’s homer was his first this season.
Lou Trivino, the third Oakland reliever, worked the ninth for his first save. | https://www.wfla.com/sports/montas-pitches-into-7th-murphy-homers-as-beat-rays-4-2/ | 2022-04-14T04:08:23 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/sports/montas-pitches-into-7th-murphy-homers-as-beat-rays-4-2/ |
A look at acts of public violence in NYC during the last 40 years
Video above: New Yorkers react to rising crime on city's trains
The shooting this week of 10 people by a man who deployed smoke grenades and fired at least 33 shots in a commuter-packed Brooklyn subway car was hardly the first time New Yorkers have grappled with an act of violence.
Over the past 40 years, New York has endured multiple subway and train shootings, bombing attempts, a vehicular attack on pedestrians and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
The suspect in the latest assault was taken into custody Wednesday, about 30 hours after the carnage on a rush-hour train. The attack left five victims in critical condition and has put residents of the U.S.' largest metropolis on edge.
A look at some of the attacks in the city over the past four decades:
___
1984 SUBWAY SHOOTING
Thirty-eight years ago, a man shot four Black teens on the 2 train in Manhattan at a time of widespread crime in the city, sparking a nationwide debate on racism, gun control and safety.
Bernhard Goetz said he shot the teens because they were attempting to rob him. The teens had sharpened screwdrivers and asked Goetz for $5. Goetz was charged with attempting to murder the four teens with an unlicensed firearm.
In 1987, Goetz was cleared of the attempted murder charge and spent less than a year in jail for a weapons conviction.
Darrell Cabey, one of the young men shot on the subway, was left paralyzed and suffered brain damage after the shooting. Several years later, he was awarded $43 million in a lawsuit against Goetz. The other three victims recovered from their wounds.
___
LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD SHOOTING
In 1993, a man opened fire on the Long Island Rail Road, killing six people and injuring 19 others.
Passengers on the train charged at shooter Colin Ferguson and held him down as the train pulled into a station.
In his 1995 trial, Ferguson refused an insanity plea and defended himself. Under cross-examination, witnesses answered Ferguson's questions by implicating him, telling Ferguson, "I saw you shoot me."
Ferguson was convicted on six murder charges and 19 attempted murder charges. He was acquitted of 25 counts of civil rights violations on charges that accused Ferguson, who was Black, of targeting the victims based on their race. The people killed and injured were of multiple races.
___
CHELSEA BOMBING
In 2016, a pressure cooker device connected to a cellphone exploded in a Manhattan neighborhood, injuring 30 people. The Chelsea bombing triggered a two-day manhunt that came to a head in a shootout in New Jersey. The convicted bomber, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, is now serving a life sentence.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said the attack was "an intentional act" and initially called it terrorist-related. During Rahimi's trial, prosecutors said he attempted to radicalize prisoners after his arrest with terrorist propaganda from speeches and lectures by al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who inspired attacks on America and was killed in a U.S. airstrike in September 2011.
___
TIMES SQUARE SUBWAY BOMBING
In 2017, a man used Christmas lights, matches and a nine-volt battery to ignite a pipe bomb under a Times Square subway station but the bomb, which was strapped to the bomber's chest, failed to launch. It injured three people and severely burned the bomber.
Akayed Ullah was sentenced to life in prison. Ullah said he was not motivated by religious extremism, but by anger sparked by former President Donald Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric. Authorities said Ullah was radicalized online by Islamic State extremists.
___
BIKE PATH KILLINGS
In 2017, a New Jersey man allegedly drove a truck on Halloween down a bicycle path along the Hudson River in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring numerous others.
The truck driver, Sayfullo Saipov, was shot by police after he reportedly smashed into a school bus and then ran down the highway with a paintball gun while shouting "Allahu akbar."
He was charged with terrorism and the murder of eight civilians.
Saipov is currently in jail awaiting trial, which has been delayed since 2019.
___
FAKE BOMBS IN FULTON STREET STATION
In 2019, a West Virginia man allegedly traveled to the city to plant two pressure-cooker type devices in the Manhattan Fulton Street subway station, triggering an evacuation in one of the city's busiest stations and affecting thousands of commuters.
New York City police opened another investigation after a third device was found in the nearby Chelsea neighborhood.
Larry Kenton Griffin was arrested and charged with placing a false bomb. | https://www.wisn.com/article/acts-of-public-violence-in-nyc/39719731 | 2022-04-14T04:09:26 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/acts-of-public-violence-in-nyc/39719731 |
Rep. Gwen Moore tests positive for COVID-19
The congresswoman was a guest speaker at Wednesday's inauguration for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
The congresswoman was a guest speaker at Wednesday's inauguration for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
The congresswoman was a guest speaker at Wednesday's inauguration for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Hours after delivering a message at the inauguration for incoming Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a spokesperson for Rep. Gwen Moore announced the congresswoman tested positive for COVID-19.
“Today, I was experiencing very mild symptoms associated with COVID-19. I got tested as a precaution and tested positive for COVID-19," Moore said in an emailed statement.
"I am following guidance from my doctors and quarantining. Please remain vigilant against COVID-19 by wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, and practicing social distancing when possible.”
The historic inauguration drew a large crowd to the Harley Davidson Museum Wednesday morning with many people not wearing masks.
When Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers introduced the congresswoman, she was wearing a mask when she shook the governor's hand and gave him a hug.
After delivering her message, Moore introduced Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and greeted him with a hug. Neither were wearing masks at the moment.
The congresswoman was also seen sitting next to the Evers without a mask.
It is unclear whether the congresswoman or her staff have reached out directly to Evers or Crowley to inform them they are close contacts.
"I'm sure he will follow the recommendations of public health officials," Jeff Fleming, a spokesperson for Mayor Johnson wrote in a text message late Wednesday night. Fleming said he was unaware of the congresswoman's diagnosis and was unsure if her team had contacted Johnson directly.
Johnson did not immediately return text messages sent Wednesday night.
According to a guide on the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person who came in contact on with someone with COVID-19 on Wednesday's date and is up-to-date on vaccines does not have to isolate or quarantine unless they develop symptoms.
The website recommends the close contact get tested on or after April 19 and wear a well-fitting mask around other people through April 23.
Spokespersons for Evers and Crowley also did not immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday night.
This is the second time Moore has contracted the virus.
"After months and months and months of just diligently trying to avoid the virus, I just want to remind people that it's extremely contagious," Moore said in late December.
At the time, the congresswoman said she was treated by doctors at Froedtert Hospital for a bout with COVID-19 but was not hospitalized.
Her message Wednesday night did not indicate the need for hospital treatment.
This is a developing story. | https://www.wisn.com/article/congresswoman-gwen-moore-tests-positive-for-covid-19/39720713 | 2022-04-14T04:09:36 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/congresswoman-gwen-moore-tests-positive-for-covid-19/39720713 |
Harvard scientists discover 1st interstellar meteor to collide with Earth, US military confirms
One meteor traveled quite a long way from home to visit Earth.
Related video above: Top astronomy events for April 2022
Researchers discovered the first known interstellar meteor to ever hit Earth, according to a recently released United States Space Command document. An interstellar meteor is a space rock that originates from outside our solar system — a rare occurrence.
This one is known as CNEOS 2014-01-08, and it crash-landed along the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea on Jan. 8, 2014.
The finding came as a surprise to Amir Siraj, who identified the object as an interstellar meteor in a 2019 study he coauthored while an undergraduate at Harvard University.
Siraj was investigating ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object in our solar system that was found in 2017, with Abraham Loeb, professor of science at Harvard University.
Siraj decided to go through NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies database to find other interstellar objects and found what he believed to be an interstellar meteor within days.
A need for speed
The meteor's high velocity is what initially caught Siraj's eye.
The meteor was moving at a high speed of about 28 miles per second (45 kilometers per second) relative to Earth, which is moving at around 18.6 miles per second around the sun. Because researchers measured how fast the meteor was moving while on a moving planet, the 45 kilometers per second was not actually how fast it was going.
The heliocentric speed is defined as the meteor's speed relative to the sun, which is a more accurate way to determine an object's orbit. It's calculated based on the angle at which a meteor hits the Earth. The planet moves in one direction around the sun, so the meteor could have hit Earth head-on, meaning opposite the direction the planet is moving, or from behind, in the same direction the Earth is moving.
Since the meteor hit the Earth from behind, Siraj's calculations said the meteor was actually traveling at about 37.3 miles per second relative to the sun.
He then mapped out the trajectory of the meteor and found it was in an unbound orbit, unlike the closed orbit of other meteors. This means that rather than circling around the sun like other meteors, it came from outside the solar system.
"Presumably, it was produced by another star, got kicked out of that star's planetary system and just so happened to make its way to our solar system and collide with Earth," Siraj said.
Difficulty getting published
Loeb and Siraj have been unable to get their findings published in a journal because their data came from NASA's CNEOS database, which doesn't divulge information such as how accurate the readings are.
After years of trying to obtain the additional information needed, they received official confirmation that it was, in fact, an interstellar meteor, from John Shaw, deputy commander of the U.S. Space Command. The command is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense and is responsible for military operations in outer space.
"Dr. Joel Mozer, the Chief Scientist of Space Operations Command, the United States Space Force service component of U.S. Space Command, reviewed analysis of additional data available to the Department of Defense related to this finding. Dr. Mozer confirmed that the velocity estimate reported to NASA is sufficiently accurate to indicate an interstellar trajectory," wrote Shaw in the letter.
Siraj had moved onto other research and almost forgotten about his discovery, so the document came as a shock.
"I thought that we would never learn the true nature of this meteor, that it was just blocked somewhere in the government after our many tries, and so actually seeing that letter from the Department of Defense with my eyes was a really incredible moment," Siraj said.
A second chance
Since receiving the confirmation, Siraj said his team is working to resubmit their findings for publication in a scientific journal.
Siraj would also like to put a team together to try and retrieve part of the meteor that landed in the Pacific Ocean but admitted it would be an unlikely possibility due to the sheer size of the project.
If researchers were able to get their hands on the "holy grail of interstellar objects," Siraj said it would be scientifically groundbreaking in helping scientists discover more about the world beyond our solar system.
NASA and U.S. Space Command did not initially respond for comment. | https://www.wisn.com/article/harvard-scientists-1st-interstellar-meteor-collide-earth-us-military/39718159 | 2022-04-14T04:09:47 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/harvard-scientists-1st-interstellar-meteor-collide-earth-us-military/39718159 |
'I know somebody knows something': Mother pleads for help finding daughter's killer
Diamond Arberry, 24, died from a stray bullet outside Elmnt Lounge in July 2021. Her mother is pleading for someone to turn Arberry's killer in.
Diamond Arberry, 24, died from a stray bullet outside Elmnt Lounge in July 2021. Her mother is pleading for someone to turn Arberry's killer in.
Diamond Arberry, 24, died from a stray bullet outside Elmnt Lounge in July 2021. Her mother is pleading for someone to turn Arberry's killer in.
The mother of a woman shot and killed nine months ago is pleading for justice for her daughter.
Diamond Arberry, 24, died when she was shot by a stray bullet outside Elmnt Lounge on Water and Michigan Streets on July 17, 2021.
Her mother, Lakia Thomas, said a fight broke out inside the nightclub and security kicked large portions of the club outside. She said Arberry was in that crowd, but not involved in the fight.
Thomas said within minutes of being outside, the fight continued and Arberry was shot by a stray bullet.
Thomas said she cannot stop thinking about the call she got, informing her of Arberry's death.
"That phone call played over and over and over in my head, every day, every night," Thomas said.
Easter Sunday will mark nine months since Arberry died. She was a mother of three young children.
Thomas contacted WISN 12 News after seeing the $22,000 raised this week for two women this week, also killed by gun violence in Milwaukee within the past year.
Milwaukee Police Department said they've seen an uptick in women killed since just before the pandemic.
According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office website, since 2020, 94 women have been killed in the county.
Crime Stoppers said they offer a $1,000 reward for a tip that leads to an arrest in any case of someone killed in Milwaukee.
Thomas said because she is now caring for her daughter's three kids, she doesn't have extra money to put towards a reward.
She's pleading with the public to help find her daughter's killer.
"He's out here living his life while Diamond is gone. She had a life too," Thomas said. "I know somebody knows something. It was too many people out there that night."
"I'm sick. I might look OK, but I'm not," Thomas said. "I don't think I'll feel better until she gets justice."
Milwaukee Police Department said they arrested one person originally, but determined he was not involved in Arberry's death. MPD declined an on-camera interview Wednesday and said they are still seeking an unknown suspect in this case.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips App. | https://www.wisn.com/article/i-know-somebody-knows-something-mother-pleads-for-help-finding-daughters-killer/39720724 | 2022-04-14T04:09:57 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/i-know-somebody-knows-something-mother-pleads-for-help-finding-daughters-killer/39720724 |
SPRINGVILLE — Oxford scored five runs in the final three innings, including three in the seventh inning, and beat Springville 8-5 in Class 6A, Area 13 softball action Wednesday.
Top performers for Oxford:
—Ashlyn Burns, 3-for-3, two runs, RBI.
—Matti Sprayberry, 2-for-4, RBI.
—Berkley Mooney, 1-for-4, two RBIs; pitched a complete game, allowing six hits, five earned runs and seven walks with five strikeouts.
—Abbie Mitchell, 1-for-3, double, run.
—Kaelyn Crossley, 2-for-4, run, RBI.
—Kannon Slaughter, 1-for-1, run, two RBIs.
Piedmont 8, Ohatchee 4: Savannah Smith struck out 11 batters over seven innings, and Cayla Brothers doubled twice and drove in two runs as Piedmont prevailed in Class 3A, Area 11 play. She was 2-for-3 and scored two runs.
Other top performers for Piedmont (15-10):
—Cacey Brothers, 2-for-4.
—Emily Farmer, 2-for-4, double.
—Z’Hayla Walker, 1-for-3, run, RBI.
—Armoni Perry, 2-for-4, run, two RBIs.
—Jaycee Glover, RBI.
Top performers for Ohatchee:
—Ellie Carden, RBI.
—Hannah Fitch, 2-for-4, run.
—Kaylee Barnes, 2-for-4, double, run.
—Alanah Fitch, 2-for-3, two RBIs.
Baseball
Donoho 12, Ragland 2: Will Folsom drove in three runs to lead Donoho to a 12-2 victory over Ragland on Wednesday in Class 1A, Area 9 baseball action.
Folsom was 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Other top performers for the Falcons (15-3):
—Blake Sewell, started on the mound and pitched a complete game, striking out four batters and allowing four hits and two walks over six innings.
—Slade Haney, 4-for-5, run, two RBIs.
—Judson Billings, 2-for-2, home run, double, two runs, two RBIs.
—Nic Thompson, 2-for-3, double, two runs, two RBIs.
—Peyton Webb, 2-for-4, run, two RBIs.
—Kai Cleckler, 2-for-4, double, two runs. | https://www.annistonstar.com/sports/high_school/prep-roundup-oxford-softball-wins-at-springville/article_f7dacac8-bb9a-11ec-9e82-b34c13f63182.html | 2022-04-14T04:10:06 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/sports/high_school/prep-roundup-oxford-softball-wins-at-springville/article_f7dacac8-bb9a-11ec-9e82-b34c13f63182.html |
Meet the people who want to spend the rest of their lives on cruise ships
Angelyn Burk has been in love with cruising since she boarded a megaship for the first time back in 1992 to sail in the Caribbean.
Now that the 53-year-old is retired from her accounting job, she and her husband, Richard, plan to sail off into the sunset for good — by retiring aboard a cruise ship.
The Burks, who last lived in the Seattle area but have been location independent since May 2021, have done the math for what they can afford to spend for daily living during their retirement years.
Angelyn says the number comes to $100 per day or less for the two of them to cover their living expenses (with a buffer to spend up to $135 per day, if needed).
"Currently, this year, we have secured 86 cruise days with an average all-in cost of $89/day for both of us," she says via email. "Which includes room, food, entertainment, transportation, gratuity, port fees and taxes."
"This is well within our retirement budget," she says, adding that taking frequent cruises has led to the couple being offered deep discounts on future sailings through loyalty programs.
The bulk of the 86 days the Burks have booked this year are on Holland America, with roughly a week on a Carnival ship. And among the many destinations the couple will be visiting are Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Alaska, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam.
"When planning out cruises, I try to stay on the same ship as long as possible, as long as it is cost-effective," says Angelyn, noting the couple plans to spend most of their retirement years living on cruise ships and not on land.
As for the advantages of moving aboard a floating home for their retirement, she says, those are obvious.
"Where else can you have your resort take you to different countries while relaxing by the pool or sleeping in a comfortable bed?"
An enticing retirement or work-from-anywhere plan
Considering retiring on a cruise ship? You're not alone.
Deciding to retire or work aboard a cruise ship is rare overall, but not new.
Before the pandemic, which interrupted some longer-term cruise ship stays, Crystal Cruises (which declared bankruptcy in early 2022) and Royal Caribbean Group had at least two passengers who lived aboard their ships for years on end and who became celebrities in cruising circles.
One of them, Mario Salcedo, is still working while cruising. Nicknamed Super Mario, Salcedo has lived on Royal Caribbean cruise ships for more than two decades. CNN Travel tried to reach him through Royal Caribbean, but the line says their top cruiser doesn't do media interviews anymore.
"There's a sense of home for all of our guests, especially those that spend a majority of the year sailing on our ships," Mark Tamis, a Royal Caribbean International senior vice president, says in a statement to CNN Travel. "For example, one of my favorite guests, Super Mario has an 'office' on the top deck of every ship he sails on and VOOM streaming internet service so that he can work from anywhere in the world."
Another famous long-term cruiser, "Mama" Lee Wachtstetter, spent years aboard Crystal Serenity and wrote a memoir, "I May be Homeless but You Should See my Yacht." It detailed some of her cruising shenanigans, including a rogue wave in the Mediterranean and the time she was kidnapped by a tuk-tuk driver in Thailand.
In March 2017, when cruising website Cruise Critic asked the question "Would you retire at sea?" in a poll on its website, 59% of respondents said they would love to retire at sea or at least try it for a couple of years (another 27% of respondents answered, "Maybe, if the price was right").
"It's something that's certainly aspirational," says Colleen McDaniel, Cruise Critic's editor-in-chief. "We hear from our cruisers all the time that retiring onboard is something they'd be interested in doing."
McDaniel points to the convenience factor of cruising — "getting to see the world from your home where you have all your meals taken care of, great service and things like laundry onboard" — as one of its main appeals for people considering retiring onboard.
Having a built-in community also appeals to people looking to move onto cruise ships longer term. Crew members can become like family for many long-term passengers, says McDaniel.
A potential cost benefit
And the affordability of cruising compared with retired life on land is another selling point, she says.
"Assisted living is not a cheap proposition. It costs thousands and thousands of dollars a month, depending on where you're staying," McDaniel says. "So cruising is potentially a far more cost-effective way to retire."
Malcolm Myers, 88, who once spent 10 straight months aboard Seven Seas Voyager, a Regent Seven Seas ship, says that while the luxury line is not inexpensive, the average cost is comparable to what he pays in his high-end senior living community in Stuart, Florida.
"If I have to move to a senior (more comprehensive care) facility in my community, the cost of living on the ship would definitely be better," Myers says in an email to CNN. "And I would have a variety of entertainment, lectures and restaurants and medical care at my disposal without additional cost."
Cruise Critic's McDaniel notes that while cruise lines have a medical facility onboard, it's not the same as being next door to a hospital.
"There's only so much they can handle onboard," she says, so it's important to have evacuation insurance and land-based options for healthcare should you need medical care while cruising. | https://www.wisn.com/article/people-who-want-to-spend-lives-on-cruise-ships/39720446 | 2022-04-14T04:10:07 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/people-who-want-to-spend-lives-on-cruise-ships/39720446 |
Talladega Police responded to shots fired on Howard Street just after 11 p.m. Tuesday, in a case that will likely result in the city’s third homicide in less than a month.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a vehicle off the side of the road against the curb. According to Lt. Jimmy Thompson, there was a male subject inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to his head. He was subsequently identified as Jahaiem Embry, 19, of Talladega.
Embry was still alive and was airlifted to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital.
According to Talladega County Deputy Coroner Joshua Vincent, Embry was declared brain dead at 11:47 a.m. Wednesday at UAB.
Thompson said numerous shell casings were recovered near the scene of the shooting, and included 9 mm, .40 caliber and 7.62s.
“Any information from the public is appreciated, including anyone who will contact the police department with home video surveillance or any cell phone video that they can offer to assist in the investigation,” Thompson said.
The first homicide of 2022 was the killing of Oderious Tre’quan Jemison, 25, on March 17. Jemison died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, and his body was also found inside his car, this time on Stephen J. White Memorial Blvd. Several 7.62 shell casings were recovered from the scene. Crime Stoppers of Central Alabama has offered at $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the case.
The second homicide took place April 2 on Avenue H, near Knoxville Homes. At about 10:47 p.m., a patrol officer heard shots and found 14-year-old Jeremiah Ra’Shad Curry in the passenger seat, again with gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.
It was not entirely clear Wednesday if or how the three cases are related.
Anyone with information on any of these incidents is asked to contact the Talladega Police Department at 256-362-4508 or call the city’s anonymous tip line at 256-299-0011. You may also leave anonymous tips through the city’s website at www.talladega.com.
Information can also be left with Central Alabama CrimeStoppers using their 24-hour tip line at (334) 215-STOP (7867), or download the P3-tips app. Central Alabama CrimeStoppers can also be reached using their toll-free number at 1-833-AL1-STOP. | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-man-left-brain-dead-following-shooting/article_4f79f9ea-bb99-11ec-9ef0-7780ebe16cd2.html | 2022-04-14T04:10:12 | 0 | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-man-left-brain-dead-following-shooting/article_4f79f9ea-bb99-11ec-9ef0-7780ebe16cd2.html |
'Twas the night before the home opener
Brewers fans pack the bars on opening day eve in Milwaukee ahead of Thursday's home game
Brewers fans pack the bars on opening day eve in Milwaukee ahead of Thursday's home game
Brewers fans pack the bars on opening day eve in Milwaukee ahead of Thursday's home game
The countdown to opening day at American Family Field began Wednesday night.
Brewers fans packed into bars, while bar managers and staff prepare for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.
"We're getting ready for tomorrow," said John Duggan, a Brewers fan who is attending Thursday's game with his daughter.
He was one of many fans at Leff's Lucky Town Wednesday night.
Last year due to COVID-19, fans could not tailgate on opening day, and the stadium was not at full capacity.
In 2022 it's back to normal at the ballpark.
"That'll be outstanding," Duggan said. "I mean back in the day with COVID it was kind of nice to have no one around you, but the crowd it will be so exciting to have that."
Brewer's president of business operations, Rick Schlesinger, agrees.
"You can't substitute for the whole crowd, you can't substitute for the engagement of the fans, can't substitute for the roar of the crowd," he told 12 News. "And the players miss that."
Bar managers say a crowded bar filled with comradery will be a welcomed sight.
"With the strike and the lockout and then you didn't know when that was going to start, it feels good to know that it's going to be here," said 4th Base manager C.J. Papara. "We got to make up for the last couple of years."
To kick off the festivities, Leff's Lucky Town bar-goers learned Wednesday night Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes paid the entire tab.
The game starts at 4:14 p.m. Thursday to celebrate it being 414 Day in Milwaukee. | https://www.wisn.com/article/twas-the-night-before-the-home-opener/39720608 | 2022-04-14T04:10:17 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/twas-the-night-before-the-home-opener/39720608 |
City of Lincoln asking people to conserve water as dry spell continues
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - So far this spring, the theme continues to be dry conditions across Nebraska. As of the last drought monitor, 96.5% of Nebraska is covered by moderate to extreme drought conditions.
It’s something the City of Lincoln is already taking into account. It’s asking people to consider conserving water, specifically watering outside.
Steve Owen, the City’s Manager of Water Production said thankfully we aren’t seeing as bad of conditions as in 2012, which was the last time Lincoln had mandatory water restrictions in place. Models and predictions show conserving water now will set residents up better for the coming months.
“We thought this would be a good time to remind our customers of the value of water conservation,” Owen said.
Lincoln’s water supply comes from wells on the Platte River. After consulting with people who monitor climate conditions and water levels, the city realized that putting the call out early would be beneficial. Owen does note, however, that it’s likely we won’t have mandatory restrictions later on either way.
“We have also increased our summer capacity in our system by over 30% by installing additional wells since 2012,” Owen said.
For places like Nebraska Nursery near 76th and Pioneer Streets, spring planting is picking up. They said you have a few options for conserving water.
One is planting native Nebraska plants, like tall grasses or plants with deep roots. The second is to limit watering and try things like deep watering, which allows water to soak farther into the ground and hold moisture for longer.
“Once we get into the 70s, 80s, maybe then you’re looking at every two or three days,” said Lyle Luebbe with the nursery. “You’d be better to do a deep watering less frequently.”
Owen also said conserving water this spring and summer could save you money.
“A customer that’s using a lot of water for lawn irrigation - that rate is over 100% higher than the lowest rate that we have,” Owen said.
For a better idea of just how much water goes to things like lawn maintenance, Owen said on a hot and dry day, people will use more than 50% of the daily water supply on things like watering grasses and plants.
Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/city-lincoln-asking-people-conserve-water-dry-spell-continues/ | 2022-04-14T04:10:59 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/city-lincoln-asking-people-conserve-water-dry-spell-continues/ |
Husker Hoops team screens groundbreaking documentary
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Memorial Stadium was a popular place on Wednesday evening, but not for any competition. Nebraska Athletics hosted a documentary screening and discussion surrounding race and equality.
Dozens of people joined the Nebraska Men’s Basketball team to watch “The Loyal Project,” a documentary many said wasn’t easy to watch.
“Just a really inspiring story of a group that came together from all different walks of life, different backgrounds, different races,” said head coach Fred Hoiberg. “They came together for one common goal.”
The documentary features the 1963 Loyola-Chicago team that changed the game of basketball.
At the time, it wasn’t common for teams to play with more than a couple black players at once. The 1963 Loyola-Chicago team won by starting four black players, an accomplishment many didn’t know about.
“I loved it,” said senior forward Derrick Walker. “Just seeing what they went through and how much it’s changed the game. For me to be able to sit in the seat that I’m in today, I’m very appreciative of that.”
Joining the Nebraska team were Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts and Nebraska Hall of Fame member Al Maxey, who played for the Huskers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“Sports can do so much more for the country by just bringing people together,” Walker said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, just being able to have that common interest can bring everyone together.”
The University of Nebraska is one of 63 universities airing the documentary. The goal is to create meaningful conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/husker-hoops-team-screens-groundbreaking-documentary/ | 2022-04-14T04:11:05 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/husker-hoops-team-screens-groundbreaking-documentary/ |
Dylan Menante is going to have to get a bigger trophy case at the rate he’s going this spring.
The Pepperdine star backed up his win at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational two weeks ago with another victory at the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo GC in Santa Cruz, California.
“This week was one of the toughest challenges of golf I’ve ever played,” Menante said after the final round. “[These two wins] set me up so greatly. So much confidence.”
This makes back-to-back individual champions for Pepperdine at this event, as Menante’s teammate, Joe Highsmith, hoisted the trophy at Pasatiempo in 2021.
Menante finished the three-round event at 1 under par, three shots clear of Texas’ Pierceson Coody, Colorado State’s Rasmus Hjelm and BYU’s Carson Lundell.
Pepperdine was looking to defend its team title as well, but couldn’t catch the Texas Longhorns, who finished one shot better than the 2021 national champions.
Along with Coody’s runner-up finish, the Longhorns also had Cole Hammer, Mason Nome and Travis Vick finish T-7.
It’s the second victory in a row for Texas, as they won the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational 10 days ago by 26 strokes.
If recent history is any indicator, Texas could have an even bigger win on the horizon. The past two national champions also won the Western Intercollegiate that same season, with Pepperdine taking the top spot at Grayhawk in 2021 and Stanford winning it all in 2019 at Blessings Golf Club. | https://www.golfchannel.com/news/longhorns-take-team-crown-while-pepperdines-menante-wins-western-intercollegiate | 2022-04-14T04:21:20 | 1 | https://www.golfchannel.com/news/longhorns-take-team-crown-while-pepperdines-menante-wins-western-intercollegiate |
The PGA Tour on Wednesday finalized a long-term commitment to staging the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, announcing that the biennial matches will return to the Sandbelt in both 2028 and 2040.
The 2028 matches will be the fourth time that the event has been held in Melbourne, matching the most cups contested in one city. The venue has not yet been announced. Previously, the Presidents Cup has been staged three times at Royal Melbourne, most recently in 2019, when Tiger Woods served as a playing captain and rallied the Americans on the final day to a close victory.
The 1998 matches at Royal Melbourne mark the only time in 13 competitions that the International team has won. The Americans are 11-1-1 overall in the event.
“Since the Presidents Cup was first staged in Melbourne in 1998, Australia and its passionate fanbase have played a leading role in the growth of the Presidents Cup,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “As the event continues to visit new corners of the globe, we remain committed to a presence in Melbourne and the Sandbelt region, a place our players and fans around the world hold in high regard.”
This year’s Presidents Cup, scheduled for Sept. 22-25, will be held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina | https://www.golfchannel.com/news/presidents-cup-be-held-melbourne-2028-2040 | 2022-04-14T04:21:26 | 0 | https://www.golfchannel.com/news/presidents-cup-be-held-melbourne-2028-2040 |
Netflix launches new way for viewers to ‘like’ their favorite shows
Published: Apr. 13, 2022 at 10:58 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
(CNN) - Netflix wants to keep its customers happy with the selections they are making.
The streaming service recently introduced a new recommendation tool - a double thumbs-up button.
Netflix already has thumbs up and thumbs down buttons for viewers to give feedback on what they like and dislike, but the company said it wanted to add another option.
The double thumbs-up tool is a way for viewers to let Netflix know which shows and movies they really like and enjoy.
Representatives with Netflix said it could recommend similar content thanks to the new tool, which ultimately helps customers stick around longer and feel satisfied with their subscription.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/netflix-introduces-new-way-recommend-content-viewers-like/ | 2022-04-14T04:26:30 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/netflix-introduces-new-way-recommend-content-viewers-like/ |
NIAGARA, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Tuesday night, Amazon met with Niagara Town Board members at a workshop to discuss the new mega-distribution facility planned for Lockport Road.
Project leaders from Amazon, Phillips Lytle LLP, JB2 Parnters, LLC, Langan Engineering and SRF Associates presented to the board members. This is similar to the presentations they made previously with the Niagara County Planning Board and Zoning Board.
Initial planning stages are in the works for a giant new distribution facility at 8995 Lockport Rd. in the Town of Niagara. This warehouse will be a first mile facility, meaning it will primarily serve local residents who buy products from the company.
“If you’re buying your annual Bills gear, it’s going to be stored in a facility like this close by,” Amazon Economic Development Manager Maura Kennedy said.
Niagara County officials confirmed the e-commerce giant was coming to Niagara County, after months of going by the moniker Project FiFi. The project cleared the County Planning Board last month.
The proposal will create jobs both at Amazon and during the construction process.
“We’re really looking to bring economic opportunity to the jurisdiction through this investment. We’re looking to create 1,000 full time positions. All [of them] on average make $18 or more per hour,” Kennedy added.
One main concern from the Town Board members and residents is traffic. The site has three entrances off of Lockport Road. Almost 500 trucks will enter and exit the facility over the course of 24 hours, seven days per week. There is also an exit on Tuscarora Road for passenger vehicles. An initial traffic assessment was completed by SRF Associates, which concluded that peak hours for the facility do not interrupt prime commuting times at the main intersections.
“They have shifts that occur in the morning and in the evening. Those shift times don’t overlap with the intersection peak hours,” Amy Dake, senior managing traffic engineer at SRF Associates, said.
Some suggestions included making adjustments to Interstate 190 to accommodate more traffic. Additionally, the Board wants to learn more about the economics and how the facility will generate money for the town.
“Typically a facility of this size is going to generate significantly more in tax revenue than it will in cost to the town,” Kim Mason, partner at Phillips Lytle LLP, continued.
Local officials were mostly optimistic, saying they want the project to go through, from what they have seen so far.
“We are a little guarded because we are concerned about our constituents, but I can’t say a negative about anything so far. I think you guys did your homework before you even brought us a presentation,” Deputy Supervisor Charles Teixeira said.
The next steps will come in May when the project goes before the Town, Zoning and Planning Boards again. There will also be a public comment period before a final vote.
The company was already planning to call Western New York home, but that project fell apart when residents on Grand Island pushed back in 2020. In the same year, Town of Niagara Supervisor Lee Wallace sent a letter, saying his town was “fully on board and committed to assist in bringing this great project to Niagara County.”
The facility will be four stories, more than 3 million square-feet, built on a 216-acre plot and will feature 55 loading docks, 414 trailer parking stalls, 1,755 parking stalls and two guard buildings. This will cover 7% of the property, according to the application by JB2 Partners, LLC., and 105 acres will be left untouched.
The Town of Niagara posted several of the planning documents on their website. Meeting minutes from the March Planning Board meeting can be found here.
Tara Lynch is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team as a reporter in 2022. She previously worked at WETM in Elmira, N.Y., a sister station of News 4. You can follow Tara on Facebook and Twitter and find more of her work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/niagara-county/town-of-niagara/we-want-to-be-community-partners-amazon-makes-pitch-to-niagara-town-board/ | 2022-04-14T04:33:06 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/niagara-county/town-of-niagara/we-want-to-be-community-partners-amazon-makes-pitch-to-niagara-town-board/ |
BROCTON, N.Y. (WIVB) — Four individuals were arrested Wednesday following a several months-long investigation into drug sales in the Westfield and Brocton areas.
According to the Sheriff’s office, just before the execution of a search warrant Wednesday on John Street in the Village of Brocton, Shawn Conway, 43, had left the residence and was stopped for driving with a suspended license. He was detained and found to be in possession of crack cocaine and fentanyl, both of which had reportedly been packaged for sales.
Upon execution of the search warrant, investigators found 8.12 ounces of cocaine, 4.84 ounces of fentanyl, 1.4 grams of meth and $447 in cash. They also located Savannah Dorsey-Carter, 22, and Donald Tolbert, 48, who had arrest warrants out of Westfield and Dunkirk, respectively.
Conway and Dorsey-Carter were each charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in both the first and second degrees, as well as criminal possession of drug paraphernalia in the second degree.
Additionally, Conway is facing four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree and a vehicle and traffic law violation of unlicensed operation, while Dorsey-Carter is facing two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Donald Tolbert, 48, was brought in on an arrest warrant for criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and grand larceny in the fourth degree.
Steven Andrews, 57, is facing a charge of criminal nuisance in the second degree for maintaining a residence where others engaged in unlawful conduct.
All four were taken to the Centralized Arraignment Program at the Sheriff’s jail.
The investigation was conducted by three Chautauqua County Sheriff’s office units: the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, SWAT and the Criminal Investigative Division, as well as Dunkirk Police.
Adam Duke is a digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of his work here. | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/western-new-york/chautauqua-county/four-arrested-in-chautauqua-county-following-execution-of-search-warrant/ | 2022-04-14T04:33:12 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/western-new-york/chautauqua-county/four-arrested-in-chautauqua-county-following-execution-of-search-warrant/ |
(NEXSTAR) – Potentially-contaminated popcorn that hit grocery store shelves in a number of U.S. states is now under recall, the Food and Drug Administration warns.
Snak King Corporation issued the voluntary recall after discovering that certain five-ounce packages of O Organics Sea Salt Organic Popcorn may have an undeclared milk allergen.
The recalled items were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Idaho.
Popcorn bags, which all have the “best by” dates of 9/24/2022 – 9/25/2022, landed on shelves in ACME, Safeway, King’s, Balducci’s, Jewel-Osco, Andronico’s Community Markets, Vons, Pak ‘N Save, Albertsons, Eagle, Carrs-Safeway, Haggen and Pavilions locations.
The UPC number for the recalled items is 079893 403038.
While a milk allergen may be seriously harmful and even life-threatening for people who are allergic, as of Tuesday there were no reports of illness.
Anyone who bought a now-recalled O Organics bag of popcorn is urged not to eat it, and to return it to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.
Consumers can call the company with any questions at (626) 363-7711. | https://www.wivb.com/news/popcorn-sold-in-more-than-a-dozen-states-recalled-over-allergen-concerns/ | 2022-04-14T04:33:18 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/popcorn-sold-in-more-than-a-dozen-states-recalled-over-allergen-concerns/ |
Part of our News 4 Sports 30-in-30 series taking a look at 30 prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
“I think I’m the best edge rusher in this draft.”
Confidence is not an issue for Jermaine Johnson and when watch what he did last season at Florida State it’s easy to see why.
The edge rusher racked up 12 sacks and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
“I do everything exceptionally well I play the run as well as I play the pass and nobody in this class does that like I do,” Johnson said at the NFL Combine.
Jermaine’s college career made several stops on the way to the draft. He started at Independence Community College, then went to Georgia and finally, Tallahassee. He found a home at Florida State and flourished in 2021.
Is he a one hit wonder or was last season the start of something special?
“I think the only question mark on me is that I’ve had just this past year of one solid year of production but I think if I would have had the same snaps before I would have done the same thing. If I would have done it two years consecutive I don’t think it would be a question,” Johnson explained.
Johnson wants to follow in the footsteps of the other elite pass rushers in the NFL.
“Miles Garrett and Khalil Mack, I like Aaron Donald obviously as well just mindset purposes people fear them and that’s what I want to be at the next level I want to be feared,” Johnson said.
Jermaine Johnson is projected to be a first round draft pick. | https://www.wivb.com/sports/30-in-30-florida-state-edge-jermaine-johnson/ | 2022-04-14T04:33:24 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/sports/30-in-30-florida-state-edge-jermaine-johnson/ |
ROGERS, Ark. — The Northwest Arkansas area has secured a spot as one of the fastest-growing metros in the U.S.
According to Talk Business & Politics, Northwest Arkansas' metropolitan area is ranked 102 on a list of best places to live and ranked 31st on a list of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S.
With events like bikes, Blues & Barbeque, and the LPG coming to Rogers, the area is seeing an uptick in visitors. This has prompted the City of Rogers to add more pedestrian-friendly services in the area, like sidewalks and trails.
“We’re seeing conventions and obviously things like bikes blues and bbq coming up to rogers this fall LPG is coming back a lot of good things happening," said Steve Cox with the Rogers Chamber of Commerce.
The growth is coming with pains however it affects other aspects of life, like paying rent. Downtown Rogers Inc. says while business is booming it's becoming more difficult to find housing.
Residents say the City of Rogers is splitting housing development plots to make room for more people. Land that was once meant for a two-family home could now become a spot for four to five families.
Downtown Rogers Inc. also says at least 17 more businesses will soon be setting up and opening in the area.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/community/northwest-arkansas-one-fastest-growing-metropolitan-areas-us/527-98757450-e616-440c-8a22-0441b5acbf8e | 2022-04-14T04:35:21 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/community/northwest-arkansas-one-fastest-growing-metropolitan-areas-us/527-98757450-e616-440c-8a22-0441b5acbf8e |
BALTIMORE — A 21-year-old man was found shot to death in an overturned car Wednesday in Northwest Baltimore.
Police responded to a crash in the 4200 block of Nadine Avenue.
There, officers found the driver inside the car unresponsive after he had been shot. He was pronounced dead.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/21-year-old-found-shot-to-death-in-overturned-car-in-northwest-baltimore | 2022-04-14T04:35:21 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/21-year-old-found-shot-to-death-in-overturned-car-in-northwest-baltimore |
ARKANSAS, USA — After Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law making it illegal to perform an abortion in the state, Planned Parenthood is discussing how this will affect them and their clients.
"We don't ant to allow abortions in the state of Oklahoma," said Gov. Stitt.
Senate Bill 612, signed into law Tuesday, April 13, can convict anyone of performing an abortion will face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine but does not authorize criminal charges against a woman for receiving an abortion. The only exception to the bill is for an abortion to be performed to save the life of the mother.
"The law just signed by the governor, is a near total ban," said Emily Wales, Interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
The Oklahoma Senate also considers the Sneate Bill to be modeled after the controversial Texas Heart Beat Bill.
Oklahoma and Arkansas have already seen an increase of more than 500 patients since Texas' law passed. Planned Parenthood says the natural state can soon expect an increase in the number of abortions in the state as many travel from neighboring states like Texas and now possibly Oklahoma.
"We have been providing more care to Texans in Arkansas than our usual patient load. Since September Texans have been scrambling to find care," said Wales.
The Oklahoma bill will take into at the end of August but is still dependent on what the U.S. Supreme Couty decides.
Arkansas' abrotion ban, signed into law March 2021, makes abortion illegal at all stages but was put on hold by a district court till July.
"Unless it was a medical emergency to save the live of the pregnant person. Which is an extremely narrow exception," said Jill Lens a Robert A. Leflar Professor of Law. "Wer'e all just sort of waiting. Waiting to see what happens."
Any decision made by the Supreme Couty concerning Roe V. Wade, will affect these state laws by:
- If upheld, Oklahoma's ban will likely be deemed unconsitutional.
- If overturned, Arkansas' ban will likely go into effect immediately.
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For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/planned-parenthood-oklahoma-abortion-ban/527-5ed955a3-d47d-46f9-bb3f-42ca15b372a7 | 2022-04-14T04:35:27 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/planned-parenthood-oklahoma-abortion-ban/527-5ed955a3-d47d-46f9-bb3f-42ca15b372a7 |
Here’s what the Marlins bought with $53 million in Avisail Garcia … and $36 million for Jorge Soler … and in a functional trade for Joey Wendle … and by finding local product Jesus Luzardo on the scrap heap last season and turning him around so he had 12 strikeouts in five innings Tuesday night.
They bought hope.
It’s all they can offer the oddest baseball market of them all for Thursday’s home opener against Philadelphia.
Hope they can compete. Hope they can score enough runs. Hope they can stay close enough in the first couple months of this season so owner Bruce Sherman allows a big bat to be bought in a trade for some of their many prospects.
Hope, too, the 1-4 start out West doesn’t gain traction as the Marlins have their home opener Thursday against the money-bag Philadelphia Phillies.
Are you allowed to worry about the Marlins this early?
Just a little?
No one thinks this start is the end of anything. But this is a team that could use a good start to find some faith in their re-done lineup as the franchise turns from Derek Jeter being the face of the organization to Sherman being its most important figure.
Everyone sees Opening Day of baseball differently. Some see poetry, others as just one of 162 games.
The Marlins manager Don Mattingly has been around enough to figure the analogy to an unwritten book is more practical and relatable. Opening Day is page one. So by that count the home opener is page six.
“What’s going to get written?” he said.
Here’s what he’s banking on: Balance in this roster. He was here back when the lineup was top-heavy with stars like Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Jose Fernandez but had no middle class.
He’s been here these rebuilding years when the Marlins surprised everyone with a playoff win in the COVID-shortened season but settled back to the bottom last year.
The story of the Marlins is always of money. That’s the story baseball demands, too. Their three opponents in the National League East rank in the top nine of roster payroll. The New York Mets are second at $256 million, the Phillies fourth at $234 million.
The Marlins have a $79 million payroll. Their big offseason buys and most expensive players, Garcia and Soler, each has a $12 million annual salary. That ranks ninth among Philadelphia players in this opener.
That’s why the Marlins’ margin for error is immeasurably small this season. Having a representative offense is a must, which is why the creaky .199 batting average and .577 OPS on the opening road trip was disappointing.
Staying healthy is a given, too. They have good prospects to fall back on in their minor-league system. But they’re just that. Prospects.
They need some breaks like they didn’t have in this opening stretch. In both games against the Los Angeles Angels, bad umpiring against Marlins pitchers on called ball fours allowed the game-turning runs to happen. It doesn’t explain the weak offense. But this is a team that needs some breaks.
Finally, they need to stay close to contention the first couple of months to make Sherman trade for a dynamic, veteran bat. That’s what this lineup still lacks. It’s what they have the prospects to trade for come June or July.
Will Sherman allow it? Does he have the wallet? There’s only one way to find out and, as with most small-money teams, that’s if the Marlins are relevant as summer arrives.
Thursday’s game is largely symbolic — and not as large a symbol as it once was. Opening Day once was a national holiday across America. That was a different America, one with pay phones and smoking in airplanes.
Baseball has been carved into a regional game today. In a handful of big-money markets like New York and Boston, St. Louis and Los Angeles, the sport is the calendar of any summer.
It’s a finger-crossed possibility in places like South Florida. The Marlins have the pitching and a revamped lineup to see how this season can work. That’s about all this downtrodden market can ask for in the home opener.
Hope. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/fl-sp-hyde-marilns-opener-20220413-tsavekth25cn3fxayhwlaod7sa-story.html | 2022-04-14T04:36:28 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/fl-sp-hyde-marilns-opener-20220413-tsavekth25cn3fxayhwlaod7sa-story.html |
Orlando area high school scores and top performers from Wednesday. You can go to SentinelVarsity.com for more news and look here for previous nightly scores collections:
Baseball
Ocoee 3, Apopka 2
Buzz: Tyrell Williams did it all for Ocoee (7-9), pitching a complete game with 5 strikeouts, and he had the game-winning hit in the 7th inning. Hunter Sandbrink also had a big day for the Knights, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles and a run scored. Philip DeVita went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Apopka (13-4) and Donovan Murdock was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Oviedo 6, Seminole 1
Buzz: Oviedo got strong pitching performances from Xavier Lopez, who earned the win, and Robbie Mitchell, who pitched 3 innings and struck out 4 batters. Gian Flores had 2 RBIs for the Lions.
Olympia 15, Evans 0
Buzz: Daniel Ortiz went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and Tyler McClanahan was 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs for Olympia. Nico Bañez also had a good performance for the Titans, going 2-for-3.
Osceola 8, Liberty 1
Buzz: Chris Palmi had 2 hits and 2 RBIs for Osceola.
East River 9, Winter Park 4
Buzz: Hunter Key led East River (12-6), going 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Ty Kennedy also had a big day at the plate for the Falcons, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
Dr. Phillips 10, Lake Buena Vista 0
Buzz: Jared Davis broke Dr. Phillips’ record for stolen bases and went 3-for-4 with a 3-run home run. On the mound, the Panthers pitched a combined no-hitter. Tyler Blanchard pitched 3 innings and struck out 7 batters while Sam Gordon pitched 2 innings and struck out 6.
Other scores:
Windermere 4, West Orange 2
Lake Brantley 3, Spruce Creek 0
Trinity Christian Academy 13, Geneva 0
South Sumter 15, Tavares 0
Timber Creek 6, Freedom 5
Legacy Charter 15, Wildwood 5
Edgewater 14, Horizon 10
Trinity Catholic 4, Eustis 1
Montverde Academy 10, Lake Highland Prep 0
Lake Nona 8, Cypress Creek 2
Softball
The First Academy 6, Trinity Catholic 0
Buzz: Hannah Harper pitched a complete-game shutout with 14 strikeouts for TFA (10-4). Molly Sheridan led the Royals’ offense, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs, and Alexis Zerquera went 2-for-4 with a double.
Lyman 12, Master’s Academy 0
Buzz: Lyman (14-5) was led by Morgan Crider, who went 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored, and Mackenzie Morro, who had 2 hits and an RBI.
Other scores:
Olympia 13, Dr. Phillips 5
Winter Park 10, East River 0
Harmony 5, Osceola 0
Timber Creek 14, Orlando University 1
Melbourne 7, Hagerty 0
Boone 15, Freedom 0
Tavares 8, Crystal River 2
St. Cloud 17, Tohopekaliga 0
Boys Water Polo
REGION 1 FINAL
At Oviedo Aquatic Center
Oviedo 13, Lake Mary 8
Buzz: Oviedo (13-2) advances to the state semifinals.
Girls Water Polo
REGION 1 FINAL
Winter Park 11, Lake Brantley 7
Buzz: Abigail Hendricks scored 4 goals for Winter Park (25-5). The Patriots (17-6) were led by Katie Sands, who also scored 4 goals. Winter Park will face Ransom Everglades on April 22 in the state semifinals.
Girls Lacrosse
CLASS 2A DISTRICT 7
Bartow 14, Dr. Phillips 5
Boys Tennis
CLASS 4A DISTRICT 9
Buzz: Lake Nona won the district title with 21 points thanks to a clean sweep in every line of singles and doubles. Freedom was the runner-up with 11 points.
Singles
1. Harry Michalowski (Lake Nona)
Doubles
1. Harry Michalowski and Kartik Mandla (Lake Nona)
Girls Tennis
Buzz: The girls also won the district title with 21 points a clean sweep in every line of singles and doubles for Lake Nona. Freedom was the runner-up with 8 points.
Singles
1. Elietta Said, Lake Nona
Doubles
1. Elietta Said & Gabriella Almanza, Lake Nona
Boys Track and Field
Freedom High Open
At Freedom High School
Team Scores: 1. Boone 92, 2. (tie) Freedom and South Lake 89, 4. Windermere Prep 70, 5. Lake Nona 62, 6. Evans 57, 7. Foundation Academy 50, 8. Cypress Creek 42, 9. Lake Buena Vista 24, 10. Faith Christian 22, 11. Ormond Beach Calvary Christian 13
Top Individual & Local
100 — 1. Aidan Mizell (Boone) 10.78
200 — 1. Brandon Jacobs (Evans) 22.29
400 — 1. Terrel Alexander (South Lake) 52.29
800 — 1. Brant Josephs (Windermere Prep) 2:01.11
1,600 — 1. Santos Aguilar (South Lake) 4:29.01
3,200 — 1. Patrick Holden (Windermere Prep) 10:54.43
400 relay — 1. Boone (Westbrook, Mizell, Horton, Francis) 43.40
1,600 relay — 1. Freedom (Sardina, Umanchuk, Rijos, Shin) 3:34.96
3,200 relay — 1. Cypress Creek (Johnson, Jimenez-Abreau, Prophet, Torres Plaza) 8:51.76
High Jump — 1. Roderick Horton (Boone) 1.65m
Pole Vault — 1. Andrew Barnette (Boone) 3.50m
Long Jump — 1. Michael Pineda Garcia (Freedom) 6.51m
Triple Jump — 1. Levi Walraven (Freedom) 11.74m
Shot Put — 1. Sebastian Urbina-Lopez (Lake Nona) 13.07m
Discus — 1. Colin Czerwinski (Freedom) 38.07m
Javelin — 1. Andrew Trewin (South Lake) 46.24
Seminole Athletic Conference Championship
At Seminole High School
Team scores: 1. Lake Mary 185, 2. Seminole 180.5, 3. Hagerty 145.5, 4. Winter Springs 63, 5. Lake Brantley 46, 6. Oviedo 41, 7. Lake Howell 24, 8. Lyman 11, 9. Crooms Academy
Top Individual & Local
100 — 1. Amari Turner (Seminole) 10.59
200 — 1. Amari Turner (Seminole) 20.89
400 — 1. Jalen Blake (Winter Springs) 50.56
800 — 1. Miguel Pantojas (Hagerty) 1:58.52
1,600 — 1. Brayden Seymour (Hagerty) 4:26.64
3,200 — 1. Brayden Seymour (Hagerty) 9:41.95
110 hurdles — 1. Markel Jones (Lake Mary) 14.43
300 hurdles — 1. Markel Jones (Lake Mary) 39.08
400 relay — 1. Seminole (Beckford, Lewis, McDonald, Turner) 40.71
1,600 relay — 1. Seminole (Johnson, McDonald, Turner, Lewis)
3,200 relay — 1. Hagerty (Leon, Wetzl, Orr, Pantojas) 8:17.46
High Jump — 1. Christopher Ross (Lake Mary) 1.94m
Pole Vault — 1. Tai Bailey (Seminole) 3.20m
Long Jump — Michael Harris (Lake Brantley) 6.92m
Triple Jump — 1. David Davis (Seminole) 12.50m
Shot Put — 1. Jake Ramsey (Lake Mary) 15.26
Discus — 1. Isaac Peters (Lake Mary) 39.31
Javelin — 1. Trevor Duncan (Lake Mary) 48.19m
Orange Belt Conference Championship Meet
At St. Cloud High School
100 — 1. Isaiah Oquendo (Harmony) 10.81
200 — 1. Isaiah Oquendo (Harmony) 22.50
400 — 1. Jared Falchook (Celebration) 50.53
800 — 1. Cooper James (Celebration) 1:57.65
1,600 — 1. Julian Drey Pomales (Tohopekaliga) 4:35.55
3,200 — 1. Jared Falchook (Celebration) 9:46.34
110 hurdles — 1. Tyson Job (Harmony) 15.59
300 hurdles — 1. Alex Tuyo (Harmony) 40.45
400 relay — 1. Harmony 42.69
1,600 relay — 1. Celebration 3:27.64
3,200 relay — 1. Kissimmee Gateway 8:36.31
High Jump — 1. Orlando Descartes (Tohopekaliga) 6-07.50
Pole Vault — Peter De Almeda (Tohopekaliga) 11-07.00
Long Jump — 1. Hakeem Alvena (Liberty) 19-11.75
Triple Jump — 1. Tyson Job (Harmony) 41-07.50
Shot Put — 1. Peter Rodriguez (Tohopekaliga) 42-10.50
Discus — 1. Jimarion McCrimon (Osceola) 121-02.00
Javelin — Orlando Descartes (Tohopekaliga) 159-11.75
Girls Track and Field
Freedom High Open
At Freedom High School
Team Scores: 1. South Lake 139, 2. Lake Nona 129, 3. Freedom 68, 4. Boone 56, 5. Foundation Academy 46, 6. Windermere Prep 44, 7. Lake Buena Vista 27, 8. Ormond Beach Calvary Christian 18, 9. Cypress Creek 12, 10. Faith Christian 8
Top Individual & Local
100 — 1. Emma Morris (Lake Nona) 12.80
200 —1. Emma Morris (Lake Nona) 25.84
400 — 1. Deanna Harley (Freedom) 1:00.75
800 — 1. Sade Laitinen (Windermere Prep) 2:30.63
1,600 — 1. Sade Laitinen (Windermere Prep) 5:32.24
3,200 — 1. Natalie Kaufman (Lake Buena Vista) 12:25.94
400 relay — 1. Lake Nona (Morris, Slater, Smith, Massey) 49.59
1,600 relay — 1. South Lake (Manning, Torres, Stansfield, Prudent) 5:23.82
3,200 relay — 1. Freedom (Gonzalez, Klaff, Englehart, Harley) 11:10.20
High Jump — 1. Jade Kelly (Boone) 1.47m
Pole Vault — 1. Nicole Munter (Cypress Creek)
Long Jump — 1. Janyia Key (South Lake) 5.17m
Triple Jump — 1. Nia Overby (Boone) 10.01m
Shot Put — 1. Adelyn Richgels (Lake Nona) 8.77m
Discus — 1. Shenell Headley (South Lake) 21.84m
Javelin — 1. Chryssa Monterio (Lake Nona) 29.41m
Seminole Athletic Conference Championship
At Seminole High School
Team Scores: 1. Lake Mary 176.5, 2. Seminole 174.5, 3. Winter Springs 107.5, 4. Hagerty 77, 5. Lake Brantley 56.5, 6. Oviedo 49.5, 7. Lake Howell 48.5, 8. Lyman 2
Top Individual & Local
100 — 1. Molly McGrath (Hagerty) 12.24
200 — 1. Sidney Allen (Seminole) 25.24
400 — 1. Karis Guilbeau (Winter Springs) 1:01.09
800 — 1. Caroline Wells (Winter Springs) 2:23.54
1,600 — 1. Caroline Wells (Winter Springs) 4:56.14
3,200 — 1. Caroline Wells (Winter Springs) 11:05.37
100 hurdles — 1. Karis Reese (Lake Mary) 14.63
300 hurdles — 1. Karis Reese (Lake Mary) 44.90
400 relay — 1. Seminole (Hemmings, Soremi, Hillery, Allen) 47.99
1,600 relay — 1. Winter Springs (Giambalvo, Flowers, Wells, Guilbeau) 4:05.87
3,200 relay — 1. Winter Springs (Mason, Flowers, Giambalvo, Guilbeau) 10:02.03
High Jump — 1. Karis Reese (Lake Mary) 1.53m
Pole Vault — 1. Aislin Blue (Lake Mary) 2.46m
Long Jump — 1. Sidney Allen (Seminole) 5.37m
Triple Jump — 1. Sidney Allen (Seminole) 11.12m
Shot Put — 1. Sarai Simpson (Seminole) 12.28m
Discus — 1. Amarja Eccles (Lake Brantley) 28.74m
Javelin — 1. Taylin Duncan (Lake Mary) 29.26
Orange Belt Conference Championship Meet
At St. Cloud High School
100 — 1. Shannon Levy (Oscola) 12.05
200 — 1. Amela Johnson (Gateway) 25.35
400 — 1. Amela Johnson (Gateway) 58.63
800 — 1. Catalina Edwards (Celebration) 2:19.38
1,600 — 1. Catalina Edwards (Celebration) 5:25.90
3,200 — 1. Lailana Decker (Harmony) 12:19.28
100 hurdles — 1. Helena Huyke (Celebration) 15.08
300 hurdles — 1. Helena Huyke (Celebration) 46.57
400 relay — 1. Osceola 48.59
1,600 relay — 1. Osceola 4:15.25
3,200 relay — 1. Harmony 10:23.82
High Jump — 1. Drea Thompson (Harmony) 5-01.75
Pole Vault — 1. Elizabeth Hernstrom (Harmony) 10-00.00
Long Jump — 1. Helena Huyke (Celebration) 17-00.75
Triple Jump — 1. Hannah Vickers (Harmony) 31-10.25
Shot Put — 1. Paige Alise (Gateway) 33-06.00
Discus — 1. Paige Alise (Gateway) 92-01.50
Javelin — 1. Thora Gaston (Harmony) 117-00.75
Boys Volleyball
Lake Mary 3, Crooms Academy 0
Buzz: The Rams (20-1) cruised to a 25-9, 25-8, 25-4 sweep.
Other scores:
Winter Springs 3, Seminole 0
Lake Brantley 3, Hagerty 0
Lake Howell 3, Harmony 0
Beach Volleyball
West Orange 5, Winter Park 0
Oviedo 4, Lake Mary 1
Orangewood Christian 4, Geneva 1
Windermere Prep 5, The First Academy 0
This report was first published at Orlandosentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/scores/os-sp-hs-scores-0413-20220414-c4lhcmuhwvfrvczjeteanlomve-story.html | 2022-04-14T04:36:34 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/scores/os-sp-hs-scores-0413-20220414-c4lhcmuhwvfrvczjeteanlomve-story.html |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The man police say was behind the shooting in a Brooklyn subway on Tuesday morning appears to have stayed in Fort Wayne while making the journey from Milwaukee to New York.
On March 20, Frank James, 62, posted a video in which he claims to be “sitting here in Fort Wayne, Indiana” in front of a Kroger store. James was driving from Wisconsin to Philadelphia and made several stops in various cities, including Fort Wayne.
Multiple media outlets have cited James’ videos from his now deleted Youtube channel, ProfitofTruth88, where he documented his journey to New York through a series of rants.
These videos have now been removed from Youtube, but Ford Fischer, editor in chief of News2Share posted clips of James’ rant on Twitter. The clips can be found here. | https://www.wane.com/news/brooklyn-subway-shooter-allegedly-stopped-in-fort-wayne/ | 2022-04-14T04:39:24 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/brooklyn-subway-shooter-allegedly-stopped-in-fort-wayne/ |
MEDFORD, Ore — A hazardous materials assessment is underway and cleanup is expected to last days after a Tuesday night gas station fire in southern Oregon destroyed multiple businesses and caused an oil spill.
Medford Emergency Management estimates at least four buildings were destroyed in the blaze in Medford that started at the Carson Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling station and quickly spread north, The Mail Tribune reported.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded to the site, saying in a news release Wednesday evening that an absorbent boom had been placed at the location and in nearby Bear Creek to reduce the amount of petroleum product released into the stream.
The fueling station contained large amounts of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in above and below-ground tanks, the Medford Fire Department said.
EPA set up community air monitors Wednesday, state officials said.
“The scene remains dangerous and is off-limits to the public,” Oregon DEQ said.
Oiled birds also have been observed and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildfire and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are managing the response to birds and any other impacts to fish or wildlife.
Medford police and Medford fire investigators are working to determine how the fire started. The police department said the fire was first reported as a warming fire near railroad tracks.
During the Labor Day weekend fires of 2020, the Almeda Fire surged north from the north end of Ashland and up to the southernmost reaches of Medford — devastating the towns of Talent and Phoenix in between. Thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses were destroyed. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/southern-oregon/medford-fuel-station-fire-oil-spill-epa-deq-hazmat/283-4fb784b1-b791-44fc-820e-58420ebc13c7 | 2022-04-14T04:43:22 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/southern-oregon/medford-fuel-station-fire-oil-spill-epa-deq-hazmat/283-4fb784b1-b791-44fc-820e-58420ebc13c7 |
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To the Editor: Congressional candidate Matt Mowers reminds me of that greedy kid who trick-or-treats on Halloween, changes his costume, and then knocks on the same doors again to get more candy. Instead of changing a costume, however, he changed his state of residence from New Hampshire, where he had only lived for a few years, back to his native state of New Jersey. Although he had already voted in the Granite State’s presidential primary in February 2016, he thought it would be just fine to participate in the Garden State’s contest as well.
Mowers’ failure to abide by that wise old proverb “you can’t have your cake and eat it too” clearly reveals his poor judgement. His transgression also exemplifies his lack of loyalty to the Granite State. He moved here in 2013 not just to become the executive director of the state Republican Party but also to prepare for N.J. Governor Chris Christie’s upcoming presidential campaign. When Christie’s campaign failed, Mowers moved back to New Jersey only to return to New Hampshire in 2020 as a carpetbagger seeking a Congressional seat.
Whether or not Mowers technically broke any laws, the current voting controversy would follow him into the general election preventing him from ever beating Chris Pappas, who already defeated him in the previous election.
For the sake of all Granite State Republicans, Mowers must quit now and let someone with better judgement, deeper New Hampshire roots, and a stronger chance of beating Pappas compete for the Congressional 1st District seat.
To the Editor: When Bosnian Serbs were committing war crimes they termed ethnic cleansing, the U.S. and NATO eventually stepped in militarily to stop the bloodshed. A peace deal was then brokered. Today, Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. While sanctions will cost Russians financial… | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-mowers-must-bow-out-if-gop-is-to-unseat-pappas/article_4eadeebe-eb64-5d65-bb34-8e1471f2850a.html | 2022-04-14T04:43:36 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-mowers-must-bow-out-if-gop-is-to-unseat-pappas/article_4eadeebe-eb64-5d65-bb34-8e1471f2850a.html |
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICIANS, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have recently stated that children’s mental health is a national emergency. The American Psychological Association added that children’s mental health is in crisis. Yet, in March, the state House of Representatives approved HB 1639, relative to the youth risk behavior survey (YRBS) in schools, over the objections of educators, students, and advocates for children, mental health and community health centers, and substance use disorder providers.
This legislation will make the annual YRBS an opt-in as opposed to an opt-out, making it harder to collect information and identify trends. It will also mean that New Hampshire could lose a significant amount of funding for direct behavioral health care services for our young people, by limiting access to the data needed to inform policies and programs.
YRBS was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is purposefully structured as an opt-out program to maximize participation and expand data collection as widely as possible. Studies show the data collected to be valid and reliable, with safeguards in place to discount false answers; and all the data is aggregated before it becomes publicly available, so it cannot be linked to an individual. State health and education officials use this anonymous data to track trends and develop health systems and policies that prevent and address risky and unhealthy behavior by high school students.
Particularly in the age of COVID, it is essential to recognize any changes in behavioral health patterns in students so that schools, parents, and programs can adjust their strategies to support youth accordingly. The CDC recently completed a nationwide survey of over 7,700 high school students. They found a third stated they experienced stress, anxiety or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly a fifth reported seriously considering suicide. Now, possibly more than ever, we need data to help inform us what is troubling our young people and how to help them. Shifting YRBS to opt-in would significantly decrease participation in the survey, reducing the amount of data collected, and weakening the prevention and treatment programs that rely upon this data.
NAMI New Hampshire (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), a grassroots nonprofit agency that offers support, education and advocacy for individuals, families, and communities affected by mental illness and suicide, has used YRBS data to successfully apply for a much-needed Youth Suicide Prevention grant from SAMHSA. These funds are distributed to the project partners — community mental health centers, such as Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord, regional public health networks, community colleges and other New Hampshire providers — to fund targeted suicide prevention efforts among youth and transition-age adults. YRBS data was critical in leveraging the current 5-year, $3.675M, grant and in determining the project’s scope.
The proposed measure to make the YRBS an opt-in survey will yield significantly less data which will ultimately impact New Hampshire’s ability to secure future funds and ensure interventions are appropriately targeted to our most vulnerable youth.
HB 1639 falls into the same category as a number of pieces of legislation we have seen in 2022 that focus on parental rights, whether it is in the area of education, health care or mental health. Legislators and citizens who are opposed to vaccines, mask mandates, public education, and public health argue that parents know what’s best for their children and that the state — “bureaucrats” in particular — should have no say. There is no doubt that parents should be the primary voice, but let’s remember that our young people should have a voice too! They are the ones who are suffering, using substances to manage anxiety, considering hurting themselves, seeing their friends in pain, and, they are the ones participating in active shooter drills just in case the rage of a distraught classmate wreaks havoc in their school. They should have a voice to say what it is like to be them. It is these vulnerable children who will be impacted the most if HB 1639 becomes law and if funding for programs like NAMI’s suicide prevention grants is lost.
The state Senate needs to take a hard look at the programs that will disappear if HB 1639 is enacted and question whether it’s worth creating an opt-in that will have the effect of denying New Hampshire funding for behavioral health services. It is disingenuous to bemoan the mental health, substance abuse, opioid, suicide and domestic violence problems that continue to plague our beautiful state just because an opt-in sounds like “freedom.” For all kids with untreated behavioral health issues, it is no kind of freedom. They deserve to have a voice; the YRBS is the tool to share their message. | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/lisa-k-madden-nh-opting-out-of-funding-for-youth-behavioral-health-programs/article_03999185-45ff-5c7b-a44c-5320ed2e2d9e.html | 2022-04-14T04:43:42 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/lisa-k-madden-nh-opting-out-of-funding-for-youth-behavioral-health-programs/article_03999185-45ff-5c7b-a44c-5320ed2e2d9e.html |
FOR THE PAST two years, the country has endured one failed COVID policy after another, but not without injury, and now we face a test of resiliency that requires bold and honest leadership to redirect the country back toward its foundations in freedom.
Lockdowns, which have been packaged into a variety of draconian policies, devastated our once free civilization. Measures such as school closures, hybrid learning environments, restrictions on sporting and cultural events, private business closures, travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders, religious institution closures, and curfews robbed us of joy and purpose without any discernible benefit.
According to a February meta-analysis from Johns Hopkins University, “lockdowns have had little to no public health effects [and] they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted. In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.”
Lockdowns as a public health policy bizarrely were based on nothing more than a simple hypothesis conjured up in a 14-year-old’s science project, yet public health experts in positions of governmental authority eagerly thrust this life-changing measure on the public and governors enforced it with threats of fines and imprisonment. I suppose no one can fault politicians in the early days of COVID, who faced enormous pressure from a terrified public to do something, but proper disease management likely required capitalistic ideas such as searching for therapeutics and adequately staffing the health care system. Ultimately, history once again proved that a centralized, one-sized-fits-all mentality is not suitable for human nature and results in misery every single time it’s tried.
Once enough time had passed to prove the failure of lockdown policies, leaders with common sense started to unwind the damage, but for the left, the lockdowns and the subsequent mask and vaccine mandates had become a religion of virtue signaling and control. In New Hampshire, Democrats campaigned on these failed policies during the 2020 election, as well as a healthy dose of Trump-bashing, and voters flatly rejected them. Republicans regained the majority in the state Legislature by campaigning on reopening society and fixing the ruined economy it left in its wake. New Hampshire became the only state in 2020 to flip both the state House and Senate to the right.
Elsewhere, fear seemed more entrenched and the left continued its reign of terror. Democrat politicians enacted rolling lockdowns and mandated measures against all science and reason, destroying people’s lives and livelihoods as well as their physical, emotional and psychological health. Taking up the mantle of excessive spending, they then decided to throw even more fiat money to the wind while continuing to subvert the economic engine that funds government spending. It’s no surprise we’re facing the worst supply chain failures and inflation in decades. The consequences of these catastrophic policies will haunt us for generations.
As this virus has evolved to become less virulent, public opinion has shifted further against COVID policies. Most people now have natural immunity or have been vaccinated, and they would like their lives back. Democrats are now in tactical retreat, hoping to save themselves from a slaughter in the upcoming election. Sadly, Republicans seem far too willing to allow Democrats to slink off into the night rather than publicly rebuke them for their policies that cost so many lives and livelihoods.
Far too many Granite Staters lost their jobs, shut down their businesses and watched their children stagnate in their educational and emotional development. Many suffered from severe mental health breakdowns, and some tragically took their own lives. Others lost their lives to treatable and preventable diseases because they weren’t able to access proper health care to diagnose and treat them. The federal government continues to harass health care workers and the military with vaccine mandates, and many private corporations have succumbed to the mandate culture as well. Now, we’re all suffering under crippling inflation, making economic recovery an even more distant hope.
Democrats championed the failed policies that got us here, employing psychological abuse to force us into compliance. They and their media minions called us “selfish” for wanting to provide for ourselves and educate our children. They bullied us with accusations of “killing grandma” when we sought irreplaceable human contact. They told us to sacrifice for the “common good,” yet again, and subject ourselves to experimental medication just to get back to work. Republicans have stood by and let them do this for far too long, but the time has come to say “Enough!” There must be a day of reckoning. Those who promoted these measures must be held accountable. Our future depends on it. | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/rep-melissa-blasek-don-t-let-democrats-shrug-off-covid-failures/article_50e90c40-50a2-5682-aaa8-0db3639d8225.html | 2022-04-14T04:43:48 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/rep-melissa-blasek-don-t-let-democrats-shrug-off-covid-failures/article_50e90c40-50a2-5682-aaa8-0db3639d8225.html |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne resident and Purdue Fort Wayne grad closes in on 50 states in one year.
Laura Williams handed in her resignation at “Do It Best” to travel the world, weeks later the world closed down due to covid. Unfazed, she moved forward with her plan, sold her house and changed her goal to the entire United States instead.
Two years removed from quitting her job, Williams has just one state left to check off on her list, Hawaii. She’ll head to the Aloha state on April 20th.
In 2021 she bought and made a van livable, and that she has since put 32,000 miles on the vehicle traveling the United States. In April that same year she officially set out to see every national park within one year.
Although she will fall short of that goal due to wildfires in California and not being able to see all the parks in Alaska, she will finish all 50 states within one year. She hopes to visit both national parks Hawaii has to offer (Maui and the Big Island).
When she returns her goal remains to step foot in each national park. In the meantime you can track her travels on her YouTube channel. | https://www.wane.com/news/fort-wayne-traveler-close-to-marking-off-50th-state-travels-to-hawaii-next-week/ | 2022-04-14T04:55:07 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/fort-wayne-traveler-close-to-marking-off-50th-state-travels-to-hawaii-next-week/ |
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Amazon is taking a step to offset its rising costs, announcing Wednesday it will add a 5% “fuel and inflation surcharge” to fees it charges third-party sellers who use the e-commerce giant's fulfillment services.
The Seattle-based company said on its website that the added fees, which take effect April 28, are “subject to change” and will apply to both apparel and non-apparel items.
The latest fee hike follows one announced in November and went into effect in January. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for further details on the recent move. But in a notice sent to sellers Wednesday, the company said its costs had gone up since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to increases in hourly wages, the hiring of workers and construction of more warehouses.
It said it had absorbed costs whenever possible, and only increased fees to address permanent costs and to be competitive with other providers. Amazon competitors FedEx and UPS both have fuel surcharges.
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“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” the company said in the notice.
Federal data released Tuesday showed inflation jumped 8.5% in March, its fastest pace in more than 40 years. Gasoline prices have rocketed 48% in the past 12 months.
Though the company is blaming inflation and rising fuel costs for the surcharge, Stacy Mitchell, co-director for the anti-monopoly group Institute for Local Self-Reliance, criticized Wednesday's announcement, saying Amazon was taking advantage of the moment.
“Amazon keeps increasing its fees on the sellers that have to depend on its platform,” Mitchell said, adding the new fees are a way “to take more money out of the pockets of independent businesses and put it into Amazon’s coffers.”
Amazon's third-party marketplace, where independent merchants list millions of their products, is a huge part of its business. It has about 2 million sellers, and more than half the goods sold on Amazon.com come from these sellers.
Last year, sellers paid Amazon about $103 billion in fees, which made up about 22% of the company's revenue. The online retailer said the new fees will apply to products ordered before April 28 but shipped and delivered after that date. Amazon is also expected to release its earnings report from the first three months of this year on April 28.
Amazon has long faced accusations of undercutting merchants that sell on its platform by making “knock-offs,” or very similar products, and boosting their presence on the site.
Associated Press journalist Manuel Valdes in Seattle contributed to this report. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/amazon-adds-5-fuel-and-inflation-surcharge-to-seller-fees/3645481/ | 2022-04-14T05:09:50 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/amazon-adds-5-fuel-and-inflation-surcharge-to-seller-fees/3645481/ |
When President Joe Biden declares Russia's Ukraine war “genocide,” it isn't just another strong word.
Calling a campaign that's aimed at wiping out a targeted group “genocide” not only increases pressure on a country to act, it can oblige it to do so. That’s partly because of a genocide treaty approved by the U.N. General Assembly after World War II, signed by the United States and more than 150 other nations.
The convention was the work of, among others, a Polish Jew whose family was murdered by Nazi Germany and its accomplices. The advocates pushed for something that would make the world not just condemn but actually prevent and ensure prosecution for future genocides.
In comments Tuesday, Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” Other world leaders have not gone as far. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Russia’s behavior in Ukraine “doesn’t look far short of genocide,” but the U.K. has not officially used the term, saying only a court can make such a designation.
A look at what’s involved in that decision, and what it means when a world leader declares a genocide:
What Does 'Genocide' Mean?
It’s a surprisingly modern word for an ancient crime. A Jewish lawyer from Poland, Raphael Lemkin, coined it at the height of World War II and the Holocaust. Lemkin wanted a word to describe what Nazi Germany was then doing to Europe's Jews, and what Turkey had done to Armenians in the 1910s: killing members of a targeted group of people, and ruthlessly working to eradicate their cultures.
Lemkin paired “geno,” a Greek word meaning race, and “cide,” a Latin word meaning kill. Lemkin dedicated his life to having genocide recognized and criminalized.
In 1948, after Adolf Hitler and his accomplices systematically murdered 6 million Jews in Europe, the U.N. General Assembly approved the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
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What Is the Legal Definition of Genocide?
Under the genocide convention, the crime is trying to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in part or in whole.
That includes mass killings, but also actions including forced sterilization, abuse that inflicts serious harm or mental suffering, or wrenching children of a targeted group away to be raised by others.
Is Russia Committing Genocide in Ukraine?
The case may hang in part on Putin’s own words.
Russian forces are widely accused of carrying out wholesale abuses of Ukraine’s civilians, including mass killings.
Those would be war crimes. But do they amount to genocide?
It's all about intent, argues Bohdan Vitvitsky, a former U.S. federal prosecutor and former special adviser to Ukraine’s prosecutor general.
“Any attempt to determine whether the crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are driven by genocidal intent must necessarily focus on the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Vitvisky wrote for the Atlantic Council think tank this week.
Putin long has denied any standing for Ukraine to exist as a separate nation, or Ukrainians as a separate people. He cites history, when Ukraine was part of the Russian empire, and later of the Soviet Union.
In a long essay last year, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” Putin made clear the depth of his determination on the matter. He called the modern border dividing Russia and Ukraine “our great common misfortune and tragedy.”
Putin and Russian state media falsely call Ukrainian leaders “Nazis” and “drug addicts." Putin has called his military campaign in Ukraine one of de-Nazification.
Gissou Nia, a human-rights lawyer who worked on war crime trials at the Hague, points to two alleged acts by Russia in Ukraine as also possibly showing intent of genocide: Reports of deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, and an account, from Ukraine's government, of Russian soldiers telling 25 detained women and girls in Bucha that the Russians aimed to rape them to the point that they never bear any Ukrainian children.
What Does It Matter If World Leaders Use 'Genocide' to Describe Russias Actions?
Embedded in the genocide convention is an obligation that the U.S. and other signers of the treaty have treated warily —if they acknowledge a genocide is occurring, they're committed to ensuring investigation and prosecution, at the least.
People and countries committing genocide “shall be punished,” the treaty declares, seeking to crush any wiggle room.
U.S. leaders for decades dodged using the word “genocide” to avoid increasing the pressure on them to act as mass killings targeted classes of people or ethnic groups in Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Regretting his failure to do more to stop the killing of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda in 1994, Bill Clinton in June 1999 became the first U.S. president to recognize an act of genocide as it was playing out, saying Serb forces carrying out a deadly campaign against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were attempting genocide.
NATO intervened, lobbing 78 days of airstrikes that forced Serbian fighters' withdrawal from Kosovo. An international tribunal charged Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic with war crimes, although Milosevic died before his trial concluded.
Starting in 2005, world leaders embraced – in principle – responsibility for collective action to stop genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Atrocities and targeted campaigns against groups continue around the world, however, and the so-called responsibility to protect is seldom invoked.
What Happens If the U.S. Does Declare Russian Actions to Be Genocide?
U.S. leaders long have feared that acknowledging genocide would require them to intervene, even to send in troops, with all the risks, costs and political backlash that would entail. It's been a main reason leaders limit themselves to angry statements and humanitarian aid.
Biden is adamant the U.S. will not use its own military to confront Russian forces on behalf of Ukraine. Doing so would risk World War III, he says.
He and allies in Europe and elsewhere already are intervening by sanctioning Russia and by sending weapons and other support to Ukraine for its defense.
Biden and other Western leaders also have called for war crimes trials. The International Criminal Court already has started an investigation. But longstanding U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, over worries that U.S. troops could face prosecution there one day, complicates such prosecutions. So can Russia's veto power on the U.N. Security Council. And practically speaking, bringing Putin before a court is a long shot.
In the past, Americans' opposition to entanglement in foreign wars also has helped discourage U.S. leaders from doing more to stop possible acts of genocide.
But Russia's invasion of a neighboring country and brutality against Ukraine's people have angered Americans in a way that genocidal campaigns in Cambodia, Kurdish areas of Iraq and elsewhere did not.
A recent poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 40% of people in America believe the U.S. should have a “major role” in ending Russia's invasion. Just 13% think the U.S. shouldn't be involved at all.
Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/explainer-why-term-genocide-matters-in-ukraine-war/3645494/ | 2022-04-14T05:09:56 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/explainer-why-term-genocide-matters-in-ukraine-war/3645494/ |
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As seen on News 4 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/police-investigate-possible-test-run-before-brooklyn-subway-attack/3645457/ | 2022-04-14T05:10:03 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/police-investigate-possible-test-run-before-brooklyn-subway-attack/3645457/ |
The Concacaf Champions League Final matchup is set.
Following a 1-1 tie on Tuesday against New York City FC, the Seattle Sounders punched their ticket to the final after winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Seattle will face Pumas UNAM of Liga MX for the title. Pumas advanced to the final after eliminating Cruz Azul in the semifinals 2-1 on aggregate.
The Concacaf Champions League was founded in 1962 and represents the biggest club competition for teams in the region, similar to how the UEFA Champions League works for the elite clubs in Europe.
Safe to say both of these teams will be facing a ton of pressure.
Seattle, founded in 2007, has never made it this far in the tournament. On top of that, a Major League Soccer team has not won the final since 2000, when the Los Angeles Galaxy took home the prize.
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For the Pumas, history is on their side. They have won the final three times in four appearances, which is tied for the fifth-most wins for any participant. Mexico overall has been a dominant force. A Liga MX team has won every tournament dating back to 2006.
Pumas will host the first leg on April 26 with kick-off time to be announced. Seattle will host the second leg on May 3. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/sounders-to-face-pumas-in-concacaf-champions-league-final/3645477/ | 2022-04-14T05:10:09 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/sounders-to-face-pumas-in-concacaf-champions-league-final/3645477/ |
94-year-old Taopi woman survives tornado; childhood home destroyed
TAOPI, Minn. (KTTC) – “It’s a very hard day. I don’t get to go back to my house. It’s pretty sad. I have been there 72 years,” 94-year-old Norma Kiefer said.
Tuesday evening’s EF-2 tornado left her home in pieces.
“All my children were born there. I have ten children, and they were all born there. That’s the only home they know. It’s sad it’s gone now. It’s a sad time,” she said.
Despite her loss, Kiefer kept a smile on her face.
“I never expected something like this to happen but I guess that’s life,” she said.
Kiefer said she’s grateful to be alive.
“It’s a miracle that everybody lived through this. Because if I stayed in my home, I wouldn’t be here,” she said.
Kiefer’s daughter, Mary is the town’s mayor.
“My daughter came and got me,” she said.
Kiefer said she was taking shelter in her home when the storm began.
“I had gone to the basement and I was coming back out of the basement and my window and my utility room blew out the steps and by that time Mary was coming to get me,” Kiefer said.
Kiefer and her family are thankful the community has come together to help those whose homes were damaged by the tornado.
“We’re staying here. We’re committed to our town. Everybody’s helping us to dig out and make a plan,” Mary Huntley, Kiefer’s daughter said.
Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/94-year-old-taopi-woman-survives-tornado-childhood-home-destroyed/ | 2022-04-14T05:14:41 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/94-year-old-taopi-woman-survives-tornado-childhood-home-destroyed/ |
La Crosse National Weather Service hosts storm spotter training
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – On Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) of La Crosse, hosted a free training on spotting storms.
“We are here tonight to build a weather-ready nation to make sure folks are ready and responsive and resilient from severe weather when it strikes,” said a speaker at the event.
At least 50 people were in attendance.
“Preparedness is key,” said Capt. Jon Jacobson, Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office. “If you’re outside and not inside a vehicle you need to seek shelter immediately. If you’re in a vehicle and you’re traveling, you’re relatively safe inside a vehicle as long as it’s a closed top and your windows are closed. You should still try to seek shelter immediately especially if there is a tornado upon us.”
Attendees at the event received a cloud chart with photos of the different types of clouds including ones that we see during severe weather.
But one of the biggest takeaways was the importance for the community to rely on weather experts to stay safe.
“It’s super important because one of the issues the National Weather Service is facing is their ability to communicate to the public where there is danger. A lot of the public just stays completely unaware of the danger of severe weather until it’s too late or there’s a storm on top of them,” said Tom Mayer, a storm chaser.
LaCrosse NWS is hosting a virtual storm spotter training on April 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/la-crosse-national-weather-service-hosts-storm-spotter-training/ | 2022-04-14T05:14:47 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/la-crosse-national-weather-service-hosts-storm-spotter-training/ |
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent.
The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled.
The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes.
Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border.
“I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border,” Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. “But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border.”
Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico’s three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail.
At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott’s order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they “would not have any trouble.”
Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous.
“This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market — holding the border hostage is not the answer,” the letter read.
The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of “unprecedented actions” he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington.
During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.” Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now.
Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico’s government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments.
The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party.
The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation “cannot be sustained.”
John Esparza, the association’s president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico’s governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done.
“The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country,” Esparza said. " It is like when a disaster strikes.”
The 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 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.
Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbott’s objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, the agency said 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 inspections turned up migrants or drugs.
____
Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to show it’s Customs and Border Protection.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-14T05:14:53 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Thinking small: Biden scrounges for ways to break through
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his sweeping domestic agenda on hold and images of horror in Ukraine dominating headlines, President Joe Biden is scrounging for ways to demonstrate that he’s still making progress for Americans at a time when many feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Six months out from the midterm elections, Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational. And as the global focus is on Ukraine, the White House is eager for Americans to see Biden tackling the kitchen-table issues important to them –- none more so than the searing inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
Last week, that meant aides positioned big rigs outside the White House so Biden could talk about efforts to get more truck drivers on the road. A day later, he welcomed back former President Barack Obama for the signing of an executive order updating the Affordable Care Act. And after that, he signed bipartisan legislation intended to safeguard the U.S. Postal Service’s financial future.
This week, he’s notching his heaviest domestic travel in months. On Thursday, he is to visit Greensboro, North Carolina, to highlight his plans to boost domestic supply chains and high-tech workforces. It comes after a Tuesday stop in Iowa to announce that his administration was granting a waiver to allow more ethanol in gasoline year-round, a move that officials estimated would shave 10 cents per gallon off gasoline prices — but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000.
The White House says the public focus on the war in Ukraine is “understandable” and it’s realistic about the challenges facing Biden in breaking through.
“While the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the country needs to see how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Being able to continue to speak to our domestic audience about that is a huge priority. And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is.”
All of the policies Biden is touting will have direct impact on American lives — but they also fall far short of the goals that Biden set for himself when taking office. Taken together, they show how the White House is trying to regain momentum at a time when Biden is under pressure to recalibrate his ambitions.
“I think it makes good strategic sense that, if you’re going to be stymied by Congress, you take matters into your own hands,” said Eric Schultz, a communications official in the Obama White House.
It’s a dynamic that Obama himself confronted, particularly in his second term in office, when he used his executive authority to push forward his agenda as much as possible.
“It’s not a coincidence that this strategy emerged when Republicans threw up their hands and decided they didn’t want to be governing partners,” Schultz said.
Schultz said Democrats need to demonstrate they’re making progress even if they’re not passing the sweeping legislation they promised.
“Did we accomplish everything we wanted to? No,” he said. “But did we roll up our sleeves every day and push the needle forward? Yes.”
While there have been successes, notably the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, much of Biden’s agenda remains stalemated — or worse.
Lawmakers are struggling to hash out a bipartisan compromise on legislation that’s intended to help the U.S. compete economically with China. Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better legislation is dead in the water, waiting for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to decide what, if anything, he’ll support. Immigration reform, gun control legislation and voting reform have fallen out of the national conversation.
That’s left Biden touting the benefits of infrastructure legislation that passed last year — old bridges slated for replacement are a staple of his domestic travels — and looking for other, small policies that can be advanced.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said smaller initiatives are only going to help if they “lay the groundwork for passing much bigger policies.”
“Singles are fine if they’re a prelude to a grand slam,” he said, adding that Democrats face “a motivation challenge” ahead of the midterms. “Democrats are not going to get people to the polls with a lot of singles.”
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Biden is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.
“He’s doing what he can now that some of his grander plans have been sidetracked,” he said.
Galston recalled a similar strategy when he worked on domestic policy for President Bill Clinton. Before the midterms in 1994, the White House worked on “running up the score” with policy proposals that were less controversial.
“It was just what happened when the White House conceded defeat on its central agenda item,” which was health care reform for Clinton.
“Those smaller victories made absolutely no difference in the midterms. The fact that they were below the radar screen was good news for passing legislation, but bad news for their political effectiveness,” he said. For Biden, “that’s likely to be the case this time, too.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ | 2022-04-14T05:15:00 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ |
A look at acts of public violence in NYC during the last 40 years
Video above: New Yorkers react to rising crime on city's trains
The shooting this week of 10 people by a man who deployed smoke grenades and fired at least 33 shots in a commuter-packed Brooklyn subway car was hardly the first time New Yorkers have grappled with an act of violence.
Over the past 40 years, New York has endured multiple subway and train shootings, bombing attempts, a vehicular attack on pedestrians and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
The suspect in the latest assault was taken into custody Wednesday, about 30 hours after the carnage on a rush-hour train. The attack left five victims in critical condition and has put residents of the U.S.' largest metropolis on edge.
A look at some of the attacks in the city over the past four decades:
___
1984 SUBWAY SHOOTING
Thirty-eight years ago, a man shot four Black teens on the 2 train in Manhattan at a time of widespread crime in the city, sparking a nationwide debate on racism, gun control and safety.
Bernhard Goetz said he shot the teens because they were attempting to rob him. The teens had sharpened screwdrivers and asked Goetz for $5. Goetz was charged with attempting to murder the four teens with an unlicensed firearm.
In 1987, Goetz was cleared of the attempted murder charge and spent less than a year in jail for a weapons conviction.
Darrell Cabey, one of the young men shot on the subway, was left paralyzed and suffered brain damage after the shooting. Several years later, he was awarded $43 million in a lawsuit against Goetz. The other three victims recovered from their wounds.
___
LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD SHOOTING
In 1993, a man opened fire on the Long Island Rail Road, killing six people and injuring 19 others.
Passengers on the train charged at shooter Colin Ferguson and held him down as the train pulled into a station.
In his 1995 trial, Ferguson refused an insanity plea and defended himself. Under cross-examination, witnesses answered Ferguson's questions by implicating him, telling Ferguson, "I saw you shoot me."
Ferguson was convicted on six murder charges and 19 attempted murder charges. He was acquitted of 25 counts of civil rights violations on charges that accused Ferguson, who was Black, of targeting the victims based on their race. The people killed and injured were of multiple races.
___
CHELSEA BOMBING
In 2016, a pressure cooker device connected to a cellphone exploded in a Manhattan neighborhood, injuring 30 people. The Chelsea bombing triggered a two-day manhunt that came to a head in a shootout in New Jersey. The convicted bomber, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, is now serving a life sentence.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said the attack was "an intentional act" and initially called it terrorist-related. During Rahimi's trial, prosecutors said he attempted to radicalize prisoners after his arrest with terrorist propaganda from speeches and lectures by al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who inspired attacks on America and was killed in a U.S. airstrike in September 2011.
___
TIMES SQUARE SUBWAY BOMBING
In 2017, a man used Christmas lights, matches and a nine-volt battery to ignite a pipe bomb under a Times Square subway station but the bomb, which was strapped to the bomber's chest, failed to launch. It injured three people and severely burned the bomber.
Akayed Ullah was sentenced to life in prison. Ullah said he was not motivated by religious extremism, but by anger sparked by former President Donald Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric. Authorities said Ullah was radicalized online by Islamic State extremists.
___
BIKE PATH KILLINGS
In 2017, a New Jersey man allegedly drove a truck on Halloween down a bicycle path along the Hudson River in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring numerous others.
The truck driver, Sayfullo Saipov, was shot by police after he reportedly smashed into a school bus and then ran down the highway with a paintball gun while shouting "Allahu akbar."
He was charged with terrorism and the murder of eight civilians.
Saipov is currently in jail awaiting trial, which has been delayed since 2019.
___
FAKE BOMBS IN FULTON STREET STATION
In 2019, a West Virginia man allegedly traveled to the city to plant two pressure-cooker type devices in the Manhattan Fulton Street subway station, triggering an evacuation in one of the city's busiest stations and affecting thousands of commuters.
New York City police opened another investigation after a third device was found in the nearby Chelsea neighborhood.
Larry Kenton Griffin was arrested and charged with placing a false bomb. | https://www.koat.com/article/acts-of-public-violence-in-nyc/39719731 | 2022-04-14T05:18:25 | 0 | https://www.koat.com/article/acts-of-public-violence-in-nyc/39719731 |
Lamart Harvey believes he has heeded his old high school coach’s advice.
After five seasons as Okolona’s head football coach, Harvey is leaving to be an assistant at East Union. He departs with a record of 30-30, including an 11-3 mark in 2017, when he was named the Daily Journal Coach of the Year.
“My old coach, (Thrasher’s) Willie T. Jackson, always told me, ‘When you leave a place, leave it better than when you found it,’” Harvey said. “I feel good about what we did. We went .500 here, and we got new lockers, and we got three new uniforms in five years. We’ve got practice gear. Before I came here, none of that was here.”
Harvey, 52, is making this move for two reasons: East Union is closer to his home in Saltillo, and the Urchins’ new coach, Brandon Cherry, played at Saltillo when Harvey was an assistant there.
“He’s all pumped up and talking about how I’m going to bring a wealth of knowledge – which I will,” Harvey said. “I’m not coming here to try to step on his toes. I’m going to be a loyal assistant.”
It also doesn’t hurt that East Union has become a Class 2A power in Northeast Mississippi. The Urchins have won four-straight division titles, with an overall record of 33-14 over that span.
Harvey said he has recommended Okolona assistant coach Colbry Latham as his replacement.
O’Briant-Wright promoted
Courtney O’Briant-Wright has been promoted to head girls basketball coach at East Webster.
O’Briant-Wright, 34, has been an assistant the past seven years. She takes over for Jon Ginn, who is stepping down but will continue coaching the boys team.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished one of the goals off my bucket list,” said O’Briant-Wright, who played at East Webster. “It feels real good to be home in a great community where I know the kids, know the parents.”
The Lady Wolverines went 22-8 and reached the third round of the Class 2A playoffs last season. They’ll lose Shanayshia Culpepper and Lauren Graves to graduation but have some good pieces coming back.
“I’m going to be missing two big-time players,” O’Briant-Wright said. “But we’ve got some young girls coming up that I coached in junior high that will probably step in and fill some of those roles.”
Meeks to Kossuth
Former Alcorn Central football coach Matt Meeks has been hired as an assistant at Kossuth, his alma mater.
Meeks was head coach at Central for four years, compiling a record of 10-30, including 4-6 last season. Marty Warren was recently hired to replace him.
Meeks will also help with Kossuth’s powerlifting team. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/high-school/prep-notebook-harvey-leaving-okolona-for-east-union/article_0a41405a-c7fd-5699-b1f9-5f299b2435d4.html | 2022-04-14T05:23:31 | 1 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/high-school/prep-notebook-harvey-leaving-okolona-for-east-union/article_0a41405a-c7fd-5699-b1f9-5f299b2435d4.html |
Louisiana Tech Student Athletes Benefit from NIL Deal with Gordon McKernan
Louisiana personal injury attorney Gordon McKernan has made it his business to make NIL deals with athletes.
Gordon McKernan is proud to secure name, image, and likeness deals with athletes.
He is excited to build a strong relationship with Steele Netterville and Davon Harris.
Steele Netterville is a sure handed outfielder for Louisiana Tech.
He deferred medical school so he could play for the Bulldogs.
He looks forward to building a career in the medical field.
Davon “Smoke” Harris is an outstanding wide receiver for Louisiana Tech.
Davon plans to build his clothing brand and mentor the youth.
He wants to help those who are less fortunate.
Davon and Steele want to mentor the youth.
They can bring attention to charities through public appearances.
Both look forward to working with Gordon on community projects.
Gordon is delighted to be a part of student athletes staying in Louisiana.
Athletes can help others while reaching their financial and business goals.
Their next charity event will be with the Shriner’s Hospital in Shreveport. | http://klax-tv.com/louisiana-tech-student-athletes-benefit-from-nil-deal-with-gordon-mckernan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=louisiana-tech-student-athletes-benefit-from-nil-deal-with-gordon-mckernan | 2022-04-14T05:27:32 | 0 | http://klax-tv.com/louisiana-tech-student-athletes-benefit-from-nil-deal-with-gordon-mckernan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=louisiana-tech-student-athletes-benefit-from-nil-deal-with-gordon-mckernan |
OCPS set to open five new schools in the 2022-23 school year
APOPKA, Fla. - Orange County Public Schools is relying on five new schools next year to relieve some of the overcapacity issues in the county.
One student, 10-year-old Caua Lemos says school’s changed a lot in the last two years since he’s been in the Orange County district. "I think there’s, from last year to this year, it’s grown a lot, and only in my class there’s 26 students. There’s a bunch of kids and new kids are coming in everyday from each class," said Lemos.
That’s why he’ll likely be attending one of the district’s five new schools next year: Hamlin Elementary, Hamlin Middle and Panther Lake Elementary in Winter Garden, Stonewyck in Orlando and Kelly Park K-8 in Apopka. The new schools will take overcapacity students from 12 current schools in the district. Those 12 schools combined have 4,256 students overcapacity.
"Actually we need it. His school, he has 32 students in his class and it’s crazy. So it’s about time we get a new one," said Ashraf Abualsuod, whose son is a kindergartner.
Parents and students say the class sizes right now are so large, they’re hurting the children’s education. "Sometimes we ask him ‘what did you guys learn today? Did your teacher help you with this?’ And he says ‘no, she was busy with the other kids.’ And it just feels very hectic," said Abualsuod.
"They even had to make it, in the middle of the year, they had to make new classrooms so kids could go and have teachers," said Lemos.
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The new schools are set to open in August. | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ocps-set-to-open-five-new-schools-in-the-2022-23-school-year | 2022-04-14T05:31:53 | 1 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ocps-set-to-open-five-new-schools-in-the-2022-23-school-year |
Osceola schools warns of potential for more bus delays Friday
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - The Osceola County School District is warning families to plan ahead for possible school bus delays Friday.
The district, already short dozens of drivers, worries many of them could call out ahead of the holiday weekend.
It's asking parents to drive their kids to school if possible.
The shortage of drivers already caused problems this week after an unexpected number of them called on Tuesday morning.
"In some cases on Tuesday morning, it ran about 30 to 40 minutes I think the students were late," said Arby Creach, the district's transportation director.
Creach says they have 242 runs to make each day, but they only have 212 drivers.
Around 27,000 students rely on rides, that's up about 4,000 from the last school year.
"Generally, in other times, we can cover that fairly easily with substitute drivers and creative routing, but the problem is right now we’re down more than 30 bus drivers," Creach said. "In other words, there are 30 routes out there that don’t have a daily assigned driver to them."
Osceola has been working to recruit more drivers, holding monthly job fairs, offering bonuses and putting bus attendants with drivers to watch the students.
But like other districts, hiring has been slower than they hoped.
"Our recruiting efforts have been lean so to speak," Creach said. "We have a hiring fair almost every month, sometimes twice a month and unfortunately many people come in, but they realize that this isn’t for them, or they just don’t qualify for the very strict requirements."
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Right now, starting pay for bus drivers in Osceola is $13.85 an hour, but the district hopes that will be up to $15 starting in July. | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/osceola-schools-warns-of-potential-for-more-bus-delays-friday | 2022-04-14T05:31:59 | 0 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/osceola-schools-warns-of-potential-for-more-bus-delays-friday |
Police search for motive in Brooklyn subway suspect’s videos
NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
“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,” says James in a video where he takes on the moniker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed “We got him!” Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, now charged with a federal terrorism offense, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?” he said in the video posted March 27. “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was 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, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A search of James’ Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he “couldn’t get any justice for what I went through.”
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.
“Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City,” James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is “full of hate, full anger and bitterness.”
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
“My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work,” he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
“I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive,” he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
“I just couldn’t believe it would be him,” Yarbrough said. “But who knows what people will do?”
___
AP reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
___
On Twitter follow Bernard Condon at twitter.com/bernardfcondon, Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Kunzelman at twitter.com/Kunzelman75 and send confidential news tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ | 2022-04-14T05:36:43 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ |
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent.
The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled.
The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes.
Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border.
“I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border,” Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. “But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border.”
Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico’s three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail.
At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott’s order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they “would not have any trouble.”
Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous.
“This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market — holding the border hostage is not the answer,” the letter read.
The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of “unprecedented actions” he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington.
During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.” Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now.
Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico’s government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments.
The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party.
The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation “cannot be sustained.”
John Esparza, the association’s president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico’s governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done.
“The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country,” Esparza said. " It is like when a disaster strikes.”
The 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 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.
Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbott’s objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, the agency said 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 inspections turned up migrants or drugs.
____
Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to show it’s Customs and Border Protection.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-14T05:36:49 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Thinking small: Biden scrounges for ways to break through
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his sweeping domestic agenda on hold and images of horror in Ukraine dominating headlines, President Joe Biden is scrounging for ways to demonstrate that he’s still making progress for Americans at a time when many feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Six months out from the midterm elections, Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational. And as the global focus is on Ukraine, the White House is eager for Americans to see Biden tackling the kitchen-table issues important to them –- none more so than the searing inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
Last week, that meant aides positioned big rigs outside the White House so Biden could talk about efforts to get more truck drivers on the road. A day later, he welcomed back former President Barack Obama for the signing of an executive order updating the Affordable Care Act. And after that, he signed bipartisan legislation intended to safeguard the U.S. Postal Service’s financial future.
This week, he’s notching his heaviest domestic travel in months. On Thursday, he is to visit Greensboro, North Carolina, to highlight his plans to boost domestic supply chains and high-tech workforces. It comes after a Tuesday stop in Iowa to announce that his administration was granting a waiver to allow more ethanol in gasoline year-round, a move that officials estimated would shave 10 cents per gallon off gasoline prices — but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000.
The White House says the public focus on the war in Ukraine is “understandable” and it’s realistic about the challenges facing Biden in breaking through.
“While the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the country needs to see how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Being able to continue to speak to our domestic audience about that is a huge priority. And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is.”
All of the policies Biden is touting will have direct impact on American lives — but they also fall far short of the goals that Biden set for himself when taking office. Taken together, they show how the White House is trying to regain momentum at a time when Biden is under pressure to recalibrate his ambitions.
“I think it makes good strategic sense that, if you’re going to be stymied by Congress, you take matters into your own hands,” said Eric Schultz, a communications official in the Obama White House.
It’s a dynamic that Obama himself confronted, particularly in his second term in office, when he used his executive authority to push forward his agenda as much as possible.
“It’s not a coincidence that this strategy emerged when Republicans threw up their hands and decided they didn’t want to be governing partners,” Schultz said.
Schultz said Democrats need to demonstrate they’re making progress even if they’re not passing the sweeping legislation they promised.
“Did we accomplish everything we wanted to? No,” he said. “But did we roll up our sleeves every day and push the needle forward? Yes.”
While there have been successes, notably the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, much of Biden’s agenda remains stalemated — or worse.
Lawmakers are struggling to hash out a bipartisan compromise on legislation that’s intended to help the U.S. compete economically with China. Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better legislation is dead in the water, waiting for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to decide what, if anything, he’ll support. Immigration reform, gun control legislation and voting reform have fallen out of the national conversation.
That’s left Biden touting the benefits of infrastructure legislation that passed last year — old bridges slated for replacement are a staple of his domestic travels — and looking for other, small policies that can be advanced.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said smaller initiatives are only going to help if they “lay the groundwork for passing much bigger policies.”
“Singles are fine if they’re a prelude to a grand slam,” he said, adding that Democrats face “a motivation challenge” ahead of the midterms. “Democrats are not going to get people to the polls with a lot of singles.”
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Biden is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.
“He’s doing what he can now that some of his grander plans have been sidetracked,” he said.
Galston recalled a similar strategy when he worked on domestic policy for President Bill Clinton. Before the midterms in 1994, the White House worked on “running up the score” with policy proposals that were less controversial.
“It was just what happened when the White House conceded defeat on its central agenda item,” which was health care reform for Clinton.
“Those smaller victories made absolutely no difference in the midterms. The fact that they were below the radar screen was good news for passing legislation, but bad news for their political effectiveness,” he said. For Biden, “that’s likely to be the case this time, too.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ | 2022-04-14T05:36:55 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ |
Police search for motive in Brooklyn subway suspect’s videos
NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
“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,” says James in a video where he takes on the moniker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed “We got him!” Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, now charged with a federal terrorism offense, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?” he said in the video posted March 27. “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was 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, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A search of James’ Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he “couldn’t get any justice for what I went through.”
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.
“Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City,” James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is “full of hate, full anger and bitterness.”
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
“My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work,” he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
“I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive,” he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
“I just couldn’t believe it would be him,” Yarbrough said. “But who knows what people will do?”
___
AP reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
___
On Twitter follow Bernard Condon at twitter.com/bernardfcondon, Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Kunzelman at twitter.com/Kunzelman75 and send confidential news tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ | 2022-04-14T05:40:34 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ |
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent.
The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled.
The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes.
Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border.
“I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border,” Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. “But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border.”
Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico’s three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail.
At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott’s order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they “would not have any trouble.”
Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous.
“This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market — holding the border hostage is not the answer,” the letter read.
The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of “unprecedented actions” he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington.
During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.” Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now.
Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico’s government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments.
The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party.
The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation “cannot be sustained.”
John Esparza, the association’s president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico’s governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done.
“The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country,” Esparza said. " It is like when a disaster strikes.”
The 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 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.
Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbott’s objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, the agency said 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 inspections turned up migrants or drugs.
____
Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to show it’s Customs and Border Protection.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-14T05:40:41 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Thinking small: Biden scrounges for ways to break through
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his sweeping domestic agenda on hold and images of horror in Ukraine dominating headlines, President Joe Biden is scrounging for ways to demonstrate that he’s still making progress for Americans at a time when many feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Six months out from the midterm elections, Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational. And as the global focus is on Ukraine, the White House is eager for Americans to see Biden tackling the kitchen-table issues important to them –- none more so than the searing inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
Last week, that meant aides positioned big rigs outside the White House so Biden could talk about efforts to get more truck drivers on the road. A day later, he welcomed back former President Barack Obama for the signing of an executive order updating the Affordable Care Act. And after that, he signed bipartisan legislation intended to safeguard the U.S. Postal Service’s financial future.
This week, he’s notching his heaviest domestic travel in months. On Thursday, he is to visit Greensboro, North Carolina, to highlight his plans to boost domestic supply chains and high-tech workforces. It comes after a Tuesday stop in Iowa to announce that his administration was granting a waiver to allow more ethanol in gasoline year-round, a move that officials estimated would shave 10 cents per gallon off gasoline prices — but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000.
The White House says the public focus on the war in Ukraine is “understandable” and it’s realistic about the challenges facing Biden in breaking through.
“While the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the country needs to see how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Being able to continue to speak to our domestic audience about that is a huge priority. And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is.”
All of the policies Biden is touting will have direct impact on American lives — but they also fall far short of the goals that Biden set for himself when taking office. Taken together, they show how the White House is trying to regain momentum at a time when Biden is under pressure to recalibrate his ambitions.
“I think it makes good strategic sense that, if you’re going to be stymied by Congress, you take matters into your own hands,” said Eric Schultz, a communications official in the Obama White House.
It’s a dynamic that Obama himself confronted, particularly in his second term in office, when he used his executive authority to push forward his agenda as much as possible.
“It’s not a coincidence that this strategy emerged when Republicans threw up their hands and decided they didn’t want to be governing partners,” Schultz said.
Schultz said Democrats need to demonstrate they’re making progress even if they’re not passing the sweeping legislation they promised.
“Did we accomplish everything we wanted to? No,” he said. “But did we roll up our sleeves every day and push the needle forward? Yes.”
While there have been successes, notably the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, much of Biden’s agenda remains stalemated — or worse.
Lawmakers are struggling to hash out a bipartisan compromise on legislation that’s intended to help the U.S. compete economically with China. Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better legislation is dead in the water, waiting for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to decide what, if anything, he’ll support. Immigration reform, gun control legislation and voting reform have fallen out of the national conversation.
That’s left Biden touting the benefits of infrastructure legislation that passed last year — old bridges slated for replacement are a staple of his domestic travels — and looking for other, small policies that can be advanced.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said smaller initiatives are only going to help if they “lay the groundwork for passing much bigger policies.”
“Singles are fine if they’re a prelude to a grand slam,” he said, adding that Democrats face “a motivation challenge” ahead of the midterms. “Democrats are not going to get people to the polls with a lot of singles.”
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Biden is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.
“He’s doing what he can now that some of his grander plans have been sidetracked,” he said.
Galston recalled a similar strategy when he worked on domestic policy for President Bill Clinton. Before the midterms in 1994, the White House worked on “running up the score” with policy proposals that were less controversial.
“It was just what happened when the White House conceded defeat on its central agenda item,” which was health care reform for Clinton.
“Those smaller victories made absolutely no difference in the midterms. The fact that they were below the radar screen was good news for passing legislation, but bad news for their political effectiveness,” he said. For Biden, “that’s likely to be the case this time, too.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ | 2022-04-14T05:40:48 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ |
'I felt butterflies': How the Rivermen fared in their first SPHL playoff game since 2019
The wait ended for the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday as they burst into the win column of the SPHL first-round playoffs.
The Peoria franchise had not seen any postseason game since 2019 because of the pandemic, not won any postseason game since 2018, and not ever won a playoff game against the Pensacola Ice Flyers.
The Rivermen took care of all that by racing out to the first five goals and cruising to a 6-3 victory over Pensacola in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series at Pelham Civic Center just outside Birmingham, Ala.
Austin Wisely, Alec Baer, Lordanthony Grissom, Jordan Ernst (game-winner), Kasey Kulczycki and Mike Laidley each scored a goal for Peoria, while veteran goaltender Eric Levine earned his first SPHL playoff win.
The Rivermen can eliminate Pensacola when they host Game 2 at 7:15 p.m. Friday in Carver Arena.
More:These 3 Peoria Rivermen won rings with rival Pensacola. Now they meet in the playoffs
"It's been a while, a long wait for us to finally get in a playoff game again," Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "I won't lie, I felt butterflies for the first time this season. It was exciting."
Peoria got points from 13 players, including an assist from Levine, who made his SPHL playoff debut at age 33 and took the nets in a pro playoff game for the first time since 2014-15.
"We got that first win, played a great game for the first 40 minutes before we shut down in the third period and let them have some momentum," Trudel said. "Our whole bench was alive, though. Pensacola is a very good team and they are aggressive, so we did some tactical things to counter it. The boys really wanted to play.
"We had guys like Lordanthony Grissom and Kasey Kulczycki and others who played extremely well, stuck to our plan and did what we needed them to do."
Grissom had a big game in his pro postseason debut, notching a goal and an assist and bringing physical play to the ice.
Late-season addition center Kulczycki was terrific in a third-line role, scoring a goal and helping create another with his aggressive, physical board play that forced Pensacola players off the puck.
"Nervous?" Grissom said. "Not at all. I've been in enough playoff games, I was ready. Everyone looked at us as an underdog in this game. That's a little motivation for us."
A dominating first 40 minutes
Kulczycki started the first scoring play with his heavy check in Pensacola's right corner, giving Peoria control of the puck.
Veteran winger Mike Gurtler gathered in the puck behind the net and set up Peoria-born Wisely at the bottom of the right circle for an open net past goaltender Sean Kuhn at 9:41.
The Rivermen went up 2-0 at 14:48 when SPHL scoring champion Baer skated in two-on-two with Ernst, kept the puck, and fired on the fly low past Kuhn's blocker to the far side of the net.
BOX SCORE:Rivermen 6, Pensacola 3
SPHL:First-round playoff scores | First-round playoff schedule
Pensacola replaced Kuhn with Cody Karpinski.
The Rivermen countered Pensacola's two-man forecheck with stretch passes up the middle and generated multiple scoring chances in the period.
The Rivermen blew out the Flyers with a 20-shot second period in which they scored three times in the final 9:33 to build a 5-0 lead.
Grissom's one-timed blast from the left point ripped past Karpinski at 10:27 for 3-0.
"It was just a perfect screen." Grissom said. "Goaltender didn't see it at all."
Then Ernst turned Pensacola defenseman Dylan Carabia inside-out as he split the defense above the left circle during a power play and walked in for a slick shortside shot under the crossbar at 16:41.
The Rivermen made it 5-0 just 35 seconds later when Gurtler -- who came out of retirement at age 35 late this season to re-join Peoria -- forced a turnover in the high zone and sent a pass to Kulczycki in the high slot, who sent a sweeping shot through Karpinski.
"I felt great coming back here," said Kulczycki, who played three seasons for Birmingham at Pelham Civic Center. "On (the game's first goal) I saw a chance to finish my check. I know my role, I don't want to try to do too much.
"It was exactly the game I wanted. And exactly the game we wanted."
More:Who the Peoria Rivermen chose for their final playoff roster as SPHL pairings are set
The SPHL all-rookie team
The SPHL settled on its all-rookie team Wednesday in a survey of league and team officials.
Rivermen winger Marcel Godbout and defenseman Zach Wilkie made the squad, joining forwards Taylor Best (Fayetteville), Weiland Parrish (Pensacola), Carson Rose (Birmingham), defenseman Dylan Carabia (Pensacola) and goaltender Kristian Stead (Knoxville).
Godbout led the SPHL in goals (33) and power play goals (13) and was fifth in the league with 61 points. He ranked second in the league in power play points with 23, and finished fourth among rookies in power play assists with 10.
River Readings
Game 1 was Pensacola's home game, but the Flyers home ice was not available so the game was played at the Pelham Civic Center in Pelham, Ala. ... The Birmingham Bulls gave the Rivermen their locker room and coaches offices for the game. "We are so grateful," Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "They took great care of us, were so good to us. It was a terrific setup and we thank them for it." ... The Rivermen had never beaten Pensacola in the playoffs, their only previous matchup a 3-0 series sweep for the Flyers in the 2015-16 SPHL Finals. ... Rivermen first-round individual playoff tickets at Carver Arena are $21 for glass seating, $19 for premium sections, $13 for Pilot House locations and $12 for upper bowl seats. Game 2 tickets for Friday — and tickets for Game 3, if needed, Saturday, can be purchased through the Rivermen team offices in person (open 8 a.m.-4 p.m.) or by calling the team at (309) 676-1040. They can also be purchased online via Ticketmaster with a direct link. ... The Rivermen scoring effort in Game 1 matched their most goals in a playoff game in Peoria's SPHL era. The Rivermen last reached six on April 18, 2018 in a 6-1 win over Knoxville at Carver Arena nine playoff games ago. The Rivermen had never reached six goals in an SPHL road playoff game before Wednesday. ... The last time the Rivermen scored at least six goals in a road playoff game was in a 6-3 win at Atlantic City in Game 2 of the ECHL first-round playoffs on April 9, 2004.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/nhl/rivermen/2022/04/13/sphl-playoffs-peoria-rivermen-defeat-pensacola-ice-flyers-game-1/9530979002/ | 2022-04-14T05:41:10 | 1 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/nhl/rivermen/2022/04/13/sphl-playoffs-peoria-rivermen-defeat-pensacola-ice-flyers-game-1/9530979002/ |
The Maplewood Police Department on Wednesday night released body camera footage of its officers handcuffing and detaining four children as they investigated a report of gunshots earlier this week.
The video, which is about 46 minutes long, was recorded by the body-worn camera of the officer who first interacted with the kids shortly after 9:30 p.m. Monday and continues for the entire length of the encounter, according to a statement issued by Maplewood police.
After talking with the kids for a little over 20 minutes, the officers handcuffed the youths and placed them in the back seats of squad vehicles, where they remained for roughly 20 minutes more until they were released, the video shows.
Officers determined that the four youths — a 10-year-old, two 12-year-olds and a 16-year-old — were not involved in the firing of the gunshots.
The children’s parents on Wednesday said the experience deeply upset their kids and called on the department to apologize for the incident. Three of the children are Black and one is Latino, their parents said.
“I just feel in my heart there was another way they could’ve handled the situation,” said Toshira Garraway, whose son was among the kids who were handcuffed. “I don’t know if race was involved, but it raises serious questions about how this would’ve went down if these were white children.”
“As a mother, I just want them to say, ‘I’m wrong, and I’m sorry,’ ” she added
Police Lt. Joe Steiner said Tuesday that officers “acted very professionally during this incident and exactly how we would expect them to act.”
The incident began at 9:32 p.m. Monday, when police received a report that four juveniles had been seen outside a business in the 1700 block of Cope Avenue shortly before a volley of gunshots was heard, Steiner said.
Officers responding to the area about two minutes later found the four children — three boys and a girl — not far from where the shots were reported, according to police. Two of the boys ran away from the officers when they first arrived.
The video starts as the officer wearing the body camera pulls his squad vehicle into the parking lot of a gas station on Cope Avenue and begins speaking to the two remaining kids, who are standing on the side of the road.
The officer tells them he is investigating a report of gunshots being fired nearby, and the kids respond that they weren’t involved and were just walking home from McDonald’s.
After about four minutes, the two kids who ran when the police arrived returned to the gas station parking lot. Two officers detained the kids on the boulevard between the gas station and Cope for about 20 minutes.
The officers explained to the kids that the person who reported the gunshot said one of the juveniles observed at the scene was wearing a red sweatshirt, and that one of the boys being detained is wearing a sweatshirt with a red hood.
Twenty-three minutes into the video, a third officer arrived at the gas station and the officers handcuffed all four of the children, explaining that they had received confirmation that gunshots had indeed been fired.
One of the boys told the officer his handcuffs were too tight.
“I can fit a finger in both of them, which means they are not too tight,” the officer responded. “Now I’m double locking them so they don’t get tighter.”
The kids were then patted down and placed inside the officers’ squad vehicles.
Garraway and the mother of another child being detained arrived about 32 minutes into the video and repeatedly demanded the officers release their kids.
“My child is not who y’all are looking for,” Garraway tells the officers. “And you had no right to falsely detain my child and put him in your car.”
About 42 minutes into the video, the officers began releasing the children to their parents “after further investigation revealed that the four juveniles detained were not the juveniles on the business video surveillance,” police said. | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/maplewood-police-release-body-cam-footage-of-officers-who-detained-and-handcuffed-4-kids/ | 2022-04-14T05:41:27 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/13/maplewood-police-release-body-cam-footage-of-officers-who-detained-and-handcuffed-4-kids/ |
The Chicago White Sox poured on multiple runs in multiple innings in the pouring rain Wednesday against 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.
Eloy Jiménez, Tim Anderson and Luis Robert hit solo home runs against the lefty in a 6-4 victory in front of 12,291 soaked fans at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Jiménez’s homer started a four-run second inning. Anderson and Robert hit back-to-back homers in the seventh as the Sox won their fourth straight.
“We had a little chance to do my homework,” said Anderson, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. “We had a plan. We succeeded with our plan and stuck to the plan throughout the whole game. We were able to pull out some more runs and stretch the lead a little bit.”
The Sox have had their share of injuries already this season, and Jiménez and second baseman Josh Harrison left Wednesday’s game early.
Jiménez exited with left ankle soreness. After further evaluation, the Sox said X-rays were negative and he is day to day with a bruised ankle.
Jiménez fouled a pitch off his ankle during a third-inning at-bat that ended in a strikeout. He was in left field the next two innings before Leury García hit for him in the fifth.
Harrison, who made two nice defensive plays, left before the eighth with lower back stiffness. The Sox said he’s being further evaluated.
“I’m sure (Jiménez will) be sore, so I doubt he’ll play (Thursday),” manager Tony La Russa said. “And actually as much as Josh has played, he wasn’t in there for (Thursday). He felt a little bite there. He plays hard. He’s all over the field too.”
La Russa added with a smile: “They may talk me out of it (Thursday) morning because I can be intimidated with the best of them. Players’ manager. It’s probably best to use the roster. The other guys want to play, why push it?”
Jiménez has been one of the most productive hitters in the Sox lineup, leading the team with seven RBIs.
“Just a real smart approach,” La Russa said. “He’s doing a lot of preparation he takes into the game. He’s an intelligent guy and he works well with our hitting coaches and he also gets mentored by our veterans. When there’s a man on second base he tries to get a base hit and not hit a home run.”
Wednesday’s game began as a matchup between two Cy Young winners.
Dallas Keuchel, who won the award in 2015 with the Houston Astros, allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks in five innings in his first start of the season. He earned the 100th victory of his career.
“It means more to me than I originally thought it was going to,” Keuchel said of win No. 100. “You never can take anything for granted in this game and I’m very thankful to have lasted this long.”
Ray, who won the Cy Young Award last year with the Toronto Blue Jays, allowed six runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 6⅓ innings.
“The lake gods were kind to us a little bit: It rained on Robbie and it sprinkled on me,” Keuchel said. “I’m a firm believer of great pitching beats good hitting any day, and it was really nice to see us still swinging the bat.
“We have one of the best lineups, when healthy, I’ve ever seen. And we play well at home. Regardless of rain or not, chances are we’re going to put up some runs. I was just trying to do my thing and get us in the dugout as quick as possible.”
La Russa said Keuchel’s outing was “a real boost for us.”
He noted a key play in the sixth when right fielder Adam Engel made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Jesse Winker. Reliever Kyle Crick raised both hands to the air in acknowledgement of the play.
Crick, José Ruiz and Kendall Graveman pitched scoreless innings. The Mariners scored an unearned run in the ninth against closer Liam Hendriks, who collected his second save.
Despite a couple of starters exiting early, the Sox continued their winning ways.
“Our mantra coming out of camp was you’ve got to be tough enough physically and mentally for six months,” La Russa said. “We’re going to have a lot of challenges — everybody is, all 30 teams. Never give in, never give up.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/eloy-jimnez-leaves-with-a-bruised-left-ankle-after-hitting-1-of-3-chicago-white-sox-homers-in-a-6-4-win/ | 2022-04-14T05:41:33 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/eloy-jimnez-leaves-with-a-bruised-left-ankle-after-hitting-1-of-3-chicago-white-sox-homers-in-a-6-4-win/ |
Destructive wildfires rage in New Mexico, Colorado
(AP) - Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken mountainsides around a New Mexico village as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools.
Homes were among the structures that had burned, but officials on Wednesday did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest.
Rabon announced emergency evacuations of a more densely populated area during a briefing Wednesday afternoon as the fire jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line. She told people to get in their cars and go.
So far, no deaths or injuries were reported from the fire, which has been fanned by strong winds.
The winds prevented forced a suspension of the aerial attack on the flames and kept authorities from getting a better estimate of how large the fire has grown. But some planes returned to the air as winds subsided late in the day, and seven airtankers and two helicopters have now been assigned to the fire, Forest Service officials said Wednesday evening.
While the cause of the blaze was under investigation, fire officials and forecasters warned Wednesday that persistent dry and windy conditions had prompted red flag warnings for a wide swath that included almost all of New Mexico, half of Texas and parts of Colorado and the Midwest.
Five new large fires were reported Tuesday, and nearly 1,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to large fires in the southwestern, southern and Rocky Mountain areas, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Hotter and drier weather weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. And the problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. The fire season has become year-round given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall.
In Ruidoso, officials declared a state of emergency and said school classes were canceled Wednesday as the village — about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of El Paso, Texas — coped with power outages due to down power lines.
The residences that burned were mostly a mix of trailers and single-family homes, and close to 4,000 people were displaced by evacuations that were ordered Tuesday. That number was expected to grow with the latest call for residents to leave.
Village spokeswoman Kerry Gladden said authorities spent part of Wednesday surveying as much damage as possible before the winds kicked up again. Air tankers also were able to drop a few loads of slurry, and more air support was expected Thursday.
“Right now, everybody is just rallying around those who had to be evacuated,” Gladden said. “We’re just trying to reach out to make sure everyone has places to stay.”
Donations were pouring in from other communities in southern New Mexico. State officials said emergency grants have been approved that will provide resources to firefighters and for other emergency efforts.
Ruidoso in 2012 was hit by one of the most destructive wildfires in New Mexico history, when a lightning-sparked blaze destroyed more than 240 homes and burned nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers).
Rabon said Wednesday that no precipitation was in the forecast and humidity levels remained in the single digits, which would make stopping the flames more difficult.
“Those extremely dry conditions are not in our favor,” she said.
Another wildfire in the Lincoln National Forest northwest of Ruidoso burned at least 400 acres (1.6 square kilometers) after it was sparked Tuesday by power lines downed by high winds. Crews confirmed Wednesday that 10 structures there were lost.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
In Colorado, crews were battling wind-whipped grass fires that had destroyed two homes and forced temporary evacuations.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ | 2022-04-14T05:42:29 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ |
Police search for motive in Brooklyn subway suspect’s videos
NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
“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,” says James in a video where he takes on the moniker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed “We got him!” Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, now charged with a federal terrorism offense, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?” he said in the video posted March 27. “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was 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, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A search of James’ Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he “couldn’t get any justice for what I went through.”
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.
“Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City,” James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is “full of hate, full anger and bitterness.”
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
“My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work,” he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
“I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive,” he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
“I just couldn’t believe it would be him,” Yarbrough said. “But who knows what people will do?”
___
AP reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
___
On Twitter follow Bernard Condon at twitter.com/bernardfcondon, Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Kunzelman at twitter.com/Kunzelman75 and send confidential news tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ | 2022-04-14T05:42:35 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ |
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent.
The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled.
The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes.
Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border.
“I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border,” Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. “But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border.”
Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico’s three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail.
At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott’s order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they “would not have any trouble.”
Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous.
“This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market — holding the border hostage is not the answer,” the letter read.
The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of “unprecedented actions” he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington.
During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.” Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now.
Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico’s government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments.
The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party.
The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation “cannot be sustained.”
John Esparza, the association’s president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico’s governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done.
“The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country,” Esparza said. " It is like when a disaster strikes.”
The 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 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.
Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbott’s objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, the agency said 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 inspections turned up migrants or drugs.
____
Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to show it’s Customs and Border Protection.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-14T05:42:41 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Thinking small: Biden scrounges for ways to break through
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his sweeping domestic agenda on hold and images of horror in Ukraine dominating headlines, President Joe Biden is scrounging for ways to demonstrate that he’s still making progress for Americans at a time when many feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Six months out from the midterm elections, Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational. And as the global focus is on Ukraine, the White House is eager for Americans to see Biden tackling the kitchen-table issues important to them –- none more so than the searing inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
Last week, that meant aides positioned big rigs outside the White House so Biden could talk about efforts to get more truck drivers on the road. A day later, he welcomed back former President Barack Obama for the signing of an executive order updating the Affordable Care Act. And after that, he signed bipartisan legislation intended to safeguard the U.S. Postal Service’s financial future.
This week, he’s notching his heaviest domestic travel in months. On Thursday, he is to visit Greensboro, North Carolina, to highlight his plans to boost domestic supply chains and high-tech workforces. It comes after a Tuesday stop in Iowa to announce that his administration was granting a waiver to allow more ethanol in gasoline year-round, a move that officials estimated would shave 10 cents per gallon off gasoline prices — but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000.
The White House says the public focus on the war in Ukraine is “understandable” and it’s realistic about the challenges facing Biden in breaking through.
“While the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the country needs to see how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Being able to continue to speak to our domestic audience about that is a huge priority. And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is.”
All of the policies Biden is touting will have direct impact on American lives — but they also fall far short of the goals that Biden set for himself when taking office. Taken together, they show how the White House is trying to regain momentum at a time when Biden is under pressure to recalibrate his ambitions.
“I think it makes good strategic sense that, if you’re going to be stymied by Congress, you take matters into your own hands,” said Eric Schultz, a communications official in the Obama White House.
It’s a dynamic that Obama himself confronted, particularly in his second term in office, when he used his executive authority to push forward his agenda as much as possible.
“It’s not a coincidence that this strategy emerged when Republicans threw up their hands and decided they didn’t want to be governing partners,” Schultz said.
Schultz said Democrats need to demonstrate they’re making progress even if they’re not passing the sweeping legislation they promised.
“Did we accomplish everything we wanted to? No,” he said. “But did we roll up our sleeves every day and push the needle forward? Yes.”
While there have been successes, notably the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, much of Biden’s agenda remains stalemated — or worse.
Lawmakers are struggling to hash out a bipartisan compromise on legislation that’s intended to help the U.S. compete economically with China. Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better legislation is dead in the water, waiting for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to decide what, if anything, he’ll support. Immigration reform, gun control legislation and voting reform have fallen out of the national conversation.
That’s left Biden touting the benefits of infrastructure legislation that passed last year — old bridges slated for replacement are a staple of his domestic travels — and looking for other, small policies that can be advanced.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said smaller initiatives are only going to help if they “lay the groundwork for passing much bigger policies.”
“Singles are fine if they’re a prelude to a grand slam,” he said, adding that Democrats face “a motivation challenge” ahead of the midterms. “Democrats are not going to get people to the polls with a lot of singles.”
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Biden is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.
“He’s doing what he can now that some of his grander plans have been sidetracked,” he said.
Galston recalled a similar strategy when he worked on domestic policy for President Bill Clinton. Before the midterms in 1994, the White House worked on “running up the score” with policy proposals that were less controversial.
“It was just what happened when the White House conceded defeat on its central agenda item,” which was health care reform for Clinton.
“Those smaller victories made absolutely no difference in the midterms. The fact that they were below the radar screen was good news for passing legislation, but bad news for their political effectiveness,” he said. For Biden, “that’s likely to be the case this time, too.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ | 2022-04-14T05:42:47 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ |
Brittany Costello
Updated: April 13, 2022 10:25 PM
Created: April 13, 2022 05:50 PM
CARLSBAD, N.M. -- There are some things we just leave up to the experts – that includes the science and research that goes into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the only-of-its-kind facility that stores transuranic radioactive waste from around the country.
What if we told you there are questions about the science of its long-term safety? KOB 4 spoke with a former scientist who said he lost his job after raising the red flag.
There's an expectation, a reputation that follows the name Sandia National Labs. Its advanced scientific work is something many of us take for granted. Not Dr. Charles Oakes, who is a geochemist who used to work for Sandia National Labs in Carlsbad at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, also known as WIPP.
Part of his job was to make sure WIPP, and all of the transuranic radioactive waste stored inside, is safe for years to come.
"This is a case where they weren't, not only were they not doing their job, they were claiming they were doing their job but falsifying all the evidence that went into the claims that they were doing the job," Dr. Charles Oakes said.
From the outside, there's not much to see at WIPP. That's because all the waste is stored more than 2,000 feet below ground.
"WIPP is the only facility of its kind in the world, deep geologic repository for nuclear waste," said Don Hancock, Director of the Nuclear Waste Program a Southwest Research and Information Center.
Hancock has served as a WIPP watchdog even before the first disposal at the Department of Energy site in 1999.
"Essentially what's in WIPP are elements that are contaminated from the manufacturing of components in nuclear weapons, particularly the plutonium core, the heart of it," said Hancock. "That includes machinery that includes gloves, and booties, that includes sludges."
It might sound complex, but the key to safe storage of radioactive material is simple: accurate, reliable science and research. Regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency demand it.
Sandia National Labs is contracted to do it, at a cost of $18-million a year.
It's so important that, in order for WIIPP to continue accepting waste, every five years, it has to recertify that its projections show the facility will be safe after it's filled up and closed down.
Safe from that point and 10,000 years beyond it.
"The most common feared way that the radiation will get to the surface is through the flow of water," said Dr. Oakes. "There are some aquifers in the rock of the repository. One of the fears is that a well will be drilled through the repository or near to this repository and water may flow through the repository and intersect with a well bore."
Dr. Oakes said his job was to look at how much of that radioactive material would make it to the surface.
"If you do have radioactive material dissolved in the water, will it react with rocks, minerals along the way, and be removed from the water, in which you removed the threat, or will it carry on its merry way dissolved and get to the surface where it can potentially hurt people and the environment," he said.
During his time at Sandia National Labs, Dr. Oakes said he discovered inaccuracies that called into question WIPP's long-term safety, what he believed to data errors.
Oakes said he brought it up to his bosses, the Department of Energy and even the EPA.
After he spoke up, Oakes said Sandia labeled him a problem employee and showed him the door. Attorney Timothy White is representing Oakes with the goal of addressing much more than what he believes to be retaliatory discharge.
"We're trying to achieve a certain safety standard here and the information that is being used to allegedly show that we've achieved that standard, that we should be recertified to manage the WIPP project, is built on bad science leading to fraud," said White.
KOB 4 wanted to hear from Sandia National Labs. A spokesperson told us they cannot comment on these accusations because of the pending lawsuit.
There are a number of defendants named in the suit: Honeywell International, National Technology and engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, Carol Adkins, and Paul Shoemaker.
Attorneys representing the defendants have responded in court. Documents allege Oakes was fired after multiple "inappropriate interactions with colleagues" but they did not go into detail.
Attorneys are also asking a federal judge to dismiss the case.
As far as all of that expansive data is concerned, officials at the Department of Energy, with the WIPP project, said there are quality assurance procedures in place including several independent reviews.
They said a recertification decision is expected later in April or early May.
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/4-investigates-scientist-fired-after-raising-questions-about-safety-at-nuclear-waste-plant/6445723/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T05:45:30 | 0 | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/4-investigates-scientist-fired-after-raising-questions-about-safety-at-nuclear-waste-plant/6445723/?cat=500 |
Chase Golightly
Updated: April 13, 2022 10:25 PM
Created: April 13, 2022 08:51 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – One wildfire can be a strain on the state's firefighting resources, but multiple ones, at this intensity - just days apart?
KOB 4 took a closer look at the resources we have in New Mexico and the ones coming from afar.
At this time, the agency coordinating resources for the southwest portion of the country says 20 crew members have arrived in New Mexico, some from Arizona, with 39 engines, five helicopters and two planes currently in action.
“They are sent wherever they are needed,” said Punky Moore with the Southwest Coordination Center.
Some of them responding to multiple fires in New Mexico, going from one location to the other. And more help is on the way.
"We have received and are ordering crews from other geographic areas," said Moore.
That includes FEMA stepping in as well. The state was granted five federal teams, their job is to help coordinate firefighting efforts on all the wildfires here.
"That's pretty unheard of to have that many going on at one time," said Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Kelly Hamilton.
Hamilton is currently in Ruidoso for the McBride fire. The problem is, air crews are still running into those strong wind gusts - preventing aircraft ready to go from taking flight.
"I assure you none of them want to be on the ground and the crews don't want to be on the ground, but the wind is such to where they can't be," said Hamilton.
However, we've seen a few go up. But Hamilton says many are on standby, waiting for the opportunity to battle these destructive fires from the air.
KOB 4 also learned the ten tanker, which is stationed at the Albuquerque Sunport, is also battling these wildfires and is headed to the McBride fire in Ruidoso.
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/new-mexico-sees-local-and-out-of-state-resources-for-multiple-wildfires/6445829/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T05:45:36 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/new-mexico-sees-local-and-out-of-state-resources-for-multiple-wildfires/6445829/?cat=500 |
Sherri Papini’s faked kidnapping bill to exceed $300,000, but ‘there’s no repaying the community:’ sheriff
Under a plea agreement in which she admits she faked her own kidnapping, Sherri Papini will be required to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to various government agencies, including nearly $149,000 to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
The 39-year-old Redding woman will be required to pay back a total of $309,686 to the California Victims Compensation Board, the U.S. Social Security Administration, the sheriff's office and the FBI.
In November 2016, her husband, Keith Papini, reported her missing, setting off a nationwide search for her.
There were community rallies, numerous news conferences, television shows, family statements, rewards offered and an investigation to track down leads that stretched across the country.
But 22 days after her reported kidnapping while jogging along a dirt road north of Redding, she was found wandering along a remote section of Interstate 5 north of Sacramento, bound with chains.
She told investigators she was kidnapped at gunpoint by two Hispanic women who blindfolded her and held her captive, cut her hair and branded her.
It turns out, though, that she made the whole thing up, according to court documents.
While law enforcement, Papini's husband and the rest of her family searched for her, she was holed up at an ex-boyfriend's home in Orange County, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
She was arrested and charged in March with fraud and lying to the FBI. On Tuesday, she signed an agreement to plead guilty to the two charges. Through her attorney, she also issued an apology, expressing "shame" for her actions.
That plea agreement also included paying restitution to several agencies.
Read the plea deal:
Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said Wednesday the restitution amount laid out in the plea agreement likely does not fully compensate the work his office did to investigate her "kidnapping."
"I think that is probably very gracious, in the fact that we didn't start probably as soon as we should have in tracking our resources," Johnson said, referring to the $148,866 in restitution she agreed to pay to the sheriff's office.
"But if we saw that return and restitution to this agency, it would be great. It would be pretty phenomenal that we get that much back," Johnson said.
Plea deal:Sherri Papini agrees to plead guilty in fake kidnapping case
He added, though, that he was somewhat skeptical that Papini would pay back the entire amount.
"And aside from the monetary value, you know, there's no repaying the community for the damage she caused there with trust issues and fear issues and everything else that we went through with that," Johnson said.
In addition to the Sheriff's Office payments, she will also be required to pay back $127,567 for receiving Social Security disability benefits.
She also will owe the FBI $2,558 and California Victims Compensation Board (CalVCB) at least $30,694, the plea agreement says.
The indictment filed against her in federal court in Sacramento says that in the 11 months leading up to her disappearance Papini was devising a plan to obtain funds under false and fraudulent pretenses.
Analysis:What experts say about Sherri Papini's 'bizarre' case and its five-year investigation
"The purpose of the scheme was to obtain funds directly and indirectly from the CalVCB intended as financial assistance for California victims of violent crimes, including funds to pay for PAPINI’s ambulance expenses, therapist expenses, and home improvements," the indictment says.
Not included in the repayment plan in the plea agreement was the $49,000 her family raised through a GoFundMe account.
Papini's lawyer, William Portanova of Sacramento, said the reasoning behind the kidnapping hoax is more complicated than the indictment alleges.
Portanova told The Associated Press he's not sure why his client did what she did.
“Honestly I don’t know if anybody does. I don’t know if she knows,” he said.
“In my opinion it is a very complicated mental health situation, but one that has to be confronted and dealt with — and that includes admission and acceptance and punishment,” Portanova said. He said treatment is not required under the plea deal, but “counseling is part of her daily life and will continue to be.”
Papini’s GoFundMe page raised some $49,000 for the Redding woman back in 2016.
A GoFundMe spokeswoman said the Papini fundraiser was removed from the online platform and “has not been actively receiving donations since 2016. We are working with law enforcement to assist with their ongoing investigation.”
The official also provided a link to the company’s website that says, “In the very rare case when something isn’t right with a fundraiser, donors may be eligible for a 100% refund of their donation.”
In addition to restitution, Papini could be required to pay fines, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Related:Sherri Papini's family issues statement following her arrest, charges she faked kidnapping
The mother of two faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for the count of mail fraud, federal officials said.
The actual sentence, however, will be determined by a federal judge. The court has not yet scheduled a date for Papini to enter her guilty pleas.
Dig deeper:
Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/13/sherri-papinis-faked-kidnapping-bill-to-exceed-300-000-plea-deal-that-captured-global-attention/7309592001/ | 2022-04-14T05:49:51 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/13/sherri-papinis-faked-kidnapping-bill-to-exceed-300-000-plea-deal-that-captured-global-attention/7309592001/ |
Destructive wildfires rage in New Mexico, Colorado
(AP) - Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken mountainsides around a New Mexico village as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools.
Homes were among the structures that had burned, but officials on Wednesday did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest.
Rabon announced emergency evacuations of a more densely populated area during a briefing Wednesday afternoon as the fire jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line. She told people to get in their cars and go.
So far, no deaths or injuries were reported from the fire, which has been fanned by strong winds.
The winds prevented forced a suspension of the aerial attack on the flames and kept authorities from getting a better estimate of how large the fire has grown. But some planes returned to the air as winds subsided late in the day, and seven airtankers and two helicopters have now been assigned to the fire, Forest Service officials said Wednesday evening.
While the cause of the blaze was under investigation, fire officials and forecasters warned Wednesday that persistent dry and windy conditions had prompted red flag warnings for a wide swath that included almost all of New Mexico, half of Texas and parts of Colorado and the Midwest.
Five new large fires were reported Tuesday, and nearly 1,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to large fires in the southwestern, southern and Rocky Mountain areas, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Hotter and drier weather weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. And the problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. The fire season has become year-round given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall.
In Ruidoso, officials declared a state of emergency and said school classes were canceled Wednesday as the village — about 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of El Paso, Texas — coped with power outages due to down power lines.
The residences that burned were mostly a mix of trailers and single-family homes, and close to 4,000 people were displaced by evacuations that were ordered Tuesday. That number was expected to grow with the latest call for residents to leave.
Village spokeswoman Kerry Gladden said authorities spent part of Wednesday surveying as much damage as possible before the winds kicked up again. Air tankers also were able to drop a few loads of slurry, and more air support was expected Thursday.
“Right now, everybody is just rallying around those who had to be evacuated,” Gladden said. “We’re just trying to reach out to make sure everyone has places to stay.”
Donations were pouring in from other communities in southern New Mexico. State officials said emergency grants have been approved that will provide resources to firefighters and for other emergency efforts.
Ruidoso in 2012 was hit by one of the most destructive wildfires in New Mexico history, when a lightning-sparked blaze destroyed more than 240 homes and burned nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers).
Rabon said Wednesday that no precipitation was in the forecast and humidity levels remained in the single digits, which would make stopping the flames more difficult.
“Those extremely dry conditions are not in our favor,” she said.
Another wildfire in the Lincoln National Forest northwest of Ruidoso burned at least 400 acres (1.6 square kilometers) after it was sparked Tuesday by power lines downed by high winds. Crews confirmed Wednesday that 10 structures there were lost.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
In Colorado, crews were battling wind-whipped grass fires that had destroyed two homes and forced temporary evacuations.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ | 2022-04-14T05:58:08 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ |
Police search for motive in Brooklyn subway suspect’s videos
NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
“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,” says James in a video where he takes on the moniker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed “We got him!” Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, now charged with a federal terrorism offense, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?” he said in the video posted March 27. “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was 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, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, including for possession of burglary tools, criminal sex act, trespassing, larceny and disorderly conduct.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A search of James’ Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he “couldn’t get any justice for what I went through.”
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s.
“Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City,” James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is “full of hate, full anger and bitterness.”
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
“My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work,” he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
“I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive,” he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
“I just couldn’t believe it would be him,” Yarbrough said. “But who knows what people will do?”
___
AP reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington, Deepti Hajela in New York, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin and Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
___
On Twitter follow Bernard Condon at twitter.com/bernardfcondon, Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Kunzelman at twitter.com/Kunzelman75 and send confidential news tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ | 2022-04-14T05:58:13 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ |
Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world’s busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent.
The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled.
The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes.
Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border.
“I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border,” Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. “But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border.”
Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico’s three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail.
At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott’s order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they “would not have any trouble.”
Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous.
“This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market — holding the border hostage is not the answer,” the letter read.
The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of “unprecedented actions” he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington.
During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbott’s order “unnecessary and redundant.” Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now.
Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico’s government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments.
The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party.
The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation “cannot be sustained.”
John Esparza, the association’s president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico’s governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done.
“The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country,” Esparza said. " It is like when a disaster strikes.”
The 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 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.
Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbott’s objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, the agency said 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 inspections turned up migrants or drugs.
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Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show it’s Customs and Border Protection.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-14T05:58:20 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Thinking small: Biden scrounges for ways to break through
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his sweeping domestic agenda on hold and images of horror in Ukraine dominating headlines, President Joe Biden is scrounging for ways to demonstrate that he’s still making progress for Americans at a time when many feel the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Six months out from the midterm elections, Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational. And as the global focus is on Ukraine, the White House is eager for Americans to see Biden tackling the kitchen-table issues important to them –- none more so than the searing inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion.
Last week, that meant aides positioned big rigs outside the White House so Biden could talk about efforts to get more truck drivers on the road. A day later, he welcomed back former President Barack Obama for the signing of an executive order updating the Affordable Care Act. And after that, he signed bipartisan legislation intended to safeguard the U.S. Postal Service’s financial future.
This week, he’s notching his heaviest domestic travel in months. On Thursday, he is to visit Greensboro, North Carolina, to highlight his plans to boost domestic supply chains and high-tech workforces. It comes after a Tuesday stop in Iowa to announce that his administration was granting a waiver to allow more ethanol in gasoline year-round, a move that officials estimated would shave 10 cents per gallon off gasoline prices — but at just 2,300 gas stations out of the nation’s more than 100,000.
The White House says the public focus on the war in Ukraine is “understandable” and it’s realistic about the challenges facing Biden in breaking through.
“While the world needs to understand and see how he is leading on the war, the country needs to see how he is continuing to lead on the economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. “Being able to continue to speak to our domestic audience about that is a huge priority. And his schedule tells the story of how much of a priority it is.”
All of the policies Biden is touting will have direct impact on American lives — but they also fall far short of the goals that Biden set for himself when taking office. Taken together, they show how the White House is trying to regain momentum at a time when Biden is under pressure to recalibrate his ambitions.
“I think it makes good strategic sense that, if you’re going to be stymied by Congress, you take matters into your own hands,” said Eric Schultz, a communications official in the Obama White House.
It’s a dynamic that Obama himself confronted, particularly in his second term in office, when he used his executive authority to push forward his agenda as much as possible.
“It’s not a coincidence that this strategy emerged when Republicans threw up their hands and decided they didn’t want to be governing partners,” Schultz said.
Schultz said Democrats need to demonstrate they’re making progress even if they’re not passing the sweeping legislation they promised.
“Did we accomplish everything we wanted to? No,” he said. “But did we roll up our sleeves every day and push the needle forward? Yes.”
While there have been successes, notably the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, much of Biden’s agenda remains stalemated — or worse.
Lawmakers are struggling to hash out a bipartisan compromise on legislation that’s intended to help the U.S. compete economically with China. Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better legislation is dead in the water, waiting for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to decide what, if anything, he’ll support. Immigration reform, gun control legislation and voting reform have fallen out of the national conversation.
That’s left Biden touting the benefits of infrastructure legislation that passed last year — old bridges slated for replacement are a staple of his domestic travels — and looking for other, small policies that can be advanced.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said smaller initiatives are only going to help if they “lay the groundwork for passing much bigger policies.”
“Singles are fine if they’re a prelude to a grand slam,” he said, adding that Democrats face “a motivation challenge” ahead of the midterms. “Democrats are not going to get people to the polls with a lot of singles.”
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Biden is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.
“He’s doing what he can now that some of his grander plans have been sidetracked,” he said.
Galston recalled a similar strategy when he worked on domestic policy for President Bill Clinton. Before the midterms in 1994, the White House worked on “running up the score” with policy proposals that were less controversial.
“It was just what happened when the White House conceded defeat on its central agenda item,” which was health care reform for Clinton.
“Those smaller victories made absolutely no difference in the midterms. The fact that they were below the radar screen was good news for passing legislation, but bad news for their political effectiveness,” he said. For Biden, “that’s likely to be the case this time, too.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ | 2022-04-14T05:58:26 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/thinking-small-biden-scrounges-ways-break-through/ |