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How Congress plans to buoy your retirement savings
(CNN) - Congress is taking action to help avoid a potential retirement crisis.
A bill expected to reach President Joe Biden’s desk later this year could bring about new rules involving 401(k) programs and could impact your retirement savings.
“Part of this overhaul is to actually force people into saving in the 401(k) plan,” said Ted Jenkin, Financial expert & CEO at oXYGen Financial.
If passed and signed, the legislation, Secure Act 2.0, could require most employer-sponsored retirement plans to enroll eligible workers automatically at a 3% level.
That would increase by 1% until you’re contributing 10% of your paycheck annually, but workers would have the option to opt out or change their contribution level.
“Most people do not understand something called the ‘pay yourself first’ rule, and that means put money in your retirement plan before you start spending money on things like entertainment and travel,” Jenkin said.
The plan would also delay mandatory withdrawals and limit penalties for those who fail to withdraw on time.
The proposed act could also make it easier for those with student loans to save and for older workers to make catchup contributions.
It’s also a major change for part-time workers, who would be able to contribute to 401(k) plans for the first time.
With pension plans nearly extinct and the social security trust fund facing a 75-year deficit, experts said 401(k) plans are more critical than ever.
“The three-legged stool of retirement has basically turned into a pogo stick, and it’s going to be on your back and your responsibility to save money,” Jenkin said.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/how-congress-plans-buoy-your-retirement-savings/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:05 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/how-congress-plans-buoy-your-retirement-savings/ |
Patrick Lyoya shot in head by Michigan officer, video shows
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Black man face-down on the ground was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer, the violent climax of a traffic stop, brief foot chase and struggle over a stun gun, according to videos of the April 4 incident.
Patrick Lyoya, 26, was killed outside a house in Grand Rapids. The white officer repeatedly ordered Lyoya to “let go” of his Taser, at one point demanding: “Drop the Taser!”
Citing a need for transparency, the city’s new police chief, Eric Winstrom, on Wednesday released four videos, including critical footage of the shooting recorded by a passenger in Lyoya’s car on that rainy morning.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Videos in this story may contain disturbing content.
“I view it as a tragedy. ... It was a progression of sadness for me,” said Winstrom, a former high-ranking Chicago police commander who became Grand Rapids chief in March. The city of about 200,000 people is about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.
Video shows Lyoya running from the officer who stopped him for driving with a license plate that didn’t belong to the vehicle. They struggled in front of several homes while Lyoya’s passenger got out and watched.
Winstrom said the fight over the Taser lasted about 90 seconds. In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him.
“From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact,” Winstrom told reporters. “And Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that’s the only information that I have.”
State police are investigating the shooting. Kent County’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Cohle, said he completed the autopsy but toxicology tests haven’t been finished.
The traffic stop was tense from the start. Video shows Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, getting out of the car before the officer approached. He ordered Lyoya to get back in the vehicle but the man declined.
The officer asked him if he spoke English and demanded his driver’s license. The foot chase began soon after, video shows.
Winstrom didn’t identify the officer, a seven-year veteran who is on paid leave during the investigation.
“Me being from Chicago for the last 20 years, I’ve handled many police shootings myself, so I do have a lot of experience in this,” the chief said. “I was hoping to never have to utilize that experience here.”
Video was collected from Lyoya’s passenger, the officer’s body-worn camera, the officer’s patrol car and a doorbell camera. Prosecutor Chris Becker, who will decide whether any charges are warranted, objected to the release but said Winstrom could act on his own.
Becker said the public shouldn’t expect a quick decision.
“While the videos released today are an important piece of evidence, they are not all of the evidence,” he said.
City Manager Mark Washington warned that the videos would lead to “expressions of shock, of anger and of pain.” Some downtown businesses boarded up their storefronts, and concrete barricades surrounded police headquarters.
Lyoya had two young daughters and five siblings, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke to his family.
“He arrived in the United States as a refugee with his family fleeing violence. He had his whole life ahead of him,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, speaking on behalf of Lyoya’s family, on Wednesday called for the officer in the shooting to be fired and prosecuted.
“The video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive, and fatal use of force against an unarmed Black man who was confused by the encounter and terrified for his life,” Crump said in a release.
“It should be noted that Patrick never used violence against this officer even though the officer used violence against him in several instances for what was a misdemeanor traffic stop,” he added.
Crump and Lyoya’s family were expected to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon.
More than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall before a City Commission meeting Tuesday night, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace.”
On Wednesday, several hundred protesters gathered outside the Grand Rapids Police Department following the release of the videos, with some cursing and shouting from behind barricades. The group demanded that officials make public the name of the officer in the shooting.
Some businesses cut their hours short Wednesday, closing early. Some boarded up windows. But the demonstration remained nonviolent with protesters demanding justice for Lyoya and other Black lives lost in shootings involving police.
Winstrom last week said he met Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, and that they both cried.
“I get it as a father. ... It’s just heart-wrenching,” the chief told WOOD-TV.
As in many U.S. cities, Grand Rapids police have been occasionally criticized over the use of force, particularly against Black people, who make up 18% of the population.
In November, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit over the practice of photographing and fingerprinting people who were never charged with a crime. Grand Rapids said the policy changed in 2015.
A downtown street has been designated Breonna Taylor Way, named for the Black woman and Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, during a botched drug raid in 2020.
___
White reported from Detroit. AP reporters Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan; David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; and John Flesher in Traverse City, Michigan, contributed to this story.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/patrick-lyoya-shot-head-by-michigan-officer-video-shows/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:18 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/patrick-lyoya-shot-head-by-michigan-officer-video-shows/ |
Tesla issues 2nd recall for obstructing pedestrian warning
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 8:38 AM EDT|Updated: 34 minutes ago
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly nearly 595,000 vehicles in the U.S., most for a second time, because a “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians.
The company says in government documents that the new recall will disable “Boombox” if owners are using a feature that lets them “summon” the vehicles at low speeds.
The first recall in February disabled “Boombox” if the Teslas are in drive, neutral or reverse.
Both recalls will be done with online software updates.
The new recall covers certain 2020 through 2022 Model Y, X, and S vehicles, as well as the 2017 through 2022 Model 3.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/tesla-issues-2nd-recall-obstructing-pedestrian-warning/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:25 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/14/tesla-issues-2nd-recall-obstructing-pedestrian-warning/ |
The hunger and the thirst for the game have never waned for Omer Yurtseven, even as the playing time dwindled after a breakout month in the Miami Heat’s absence of Bam Adebayo.
But now, as the Heat complete preparations for their Sunday 1 p.m. NBA playoff opener at FTX Arena, another hunger and thirst has entered the equation, one the rookie center embraces.
As part of his monthlong observance of Ramadan, Yurtseven has been fasting from dawn to sunset since the evening of April 1 and will continue through the evening of May 1, going those hours without food or drink, one of the five Pillars Of Islam.
Because the timing of the observance is based on the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, Ramadan shifts in a 33-year cycle through the months of Gregorian/solar calendar utilized in the United States and elsewhere.
This year, it ran through the end of the NBA regular season and now though the first round of the playoffs.
“I think it becomes the most challenging when the practices are like 11 a.m., and then your rest of the day where you’re like extremely dehydrated, you can’t really replenish anything,” Yurtseven said after completing a Heat practice session in that timeframe. “But since the games are late, 7:30, 8 is usually not too bad, ‘cause then you get a little bit of sugar, water in you right away, more than anything.
“Because hunger fades after a certain amount of time. No water, that’s the hardest part. The hunger fades after a certain amount of time, but the thirst never goes away.”
That makes Sunday’s 1 p.m. tipoff of particular challenge should Yurtseven be called upon, with sunset at 7:42 p.m. in Miami.
For the 23-year-old, a member of Turkey’s national team and a native of Istanbul, it is an observance that transcends NBA basketball.
“If you’re committed to it,” he said, “you don’t get out of it unless it’s extreme emergency and health reasons.”
In that commitment, he does not stand alone in the NBA. Among others who over recent years have spoken of their observance of Ramadan have been Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jusuf Nurkic, Enes Kanter and Tacko Fall, among others.
Irving addressed his fasting after scoring 34 points in the Wednesday night victory that pushed his Brooklyn Nets past the Cleveland Cavaliers in a play-in game and into the playoffs.
“I am not alone in this,” Irving said during his courtside postgame interview. “I have brothers and sisters all around the world that are fasting with me. We hold our prayers and our meditations very sacred and when you come out here, I mean, God’s inside me, God’s inside you, God’s inside all of us. So, I am walking with faith and that’s all that matters. When I get a chance to do this, in this type of arena and showcase my talents that have been granted to me strictly from God, I am humble.”
Such opportunities have been limited for Yurtseven over the second half of this season, after Adebayo’s return from thumb surgery.
But he has remained at the ready, where he stands going into the Heat’s opening-round series, the opportunity for his first career playoff minutes.
That left Yurtseven with a difficult choice last week while he dealt with a stomach illness.
“When I was sick,” he said. “I had to take pills and make sure my body wasn’t starved at the same time, dehydrated at the same time I was fighting a disease. Those were like small exceptions where I couldn’t fast.”
As with the potential playoff opportunity, this ongoing observance stands as a first.
“The college seasons don’t run through the summer, and because every year it moves back about two weeks, it was all through the summer within the past seven years, and it never came into a college season, where I had to play games,” he said of Ramadan. “This is like a first.
“So that’s been different. This has been an adjustment.”
One embraced spiritually and professionally.
So before sunrise, “longer-digesting carbs and protein, and that’s it.”
And during games after sundown, “a small [nutrition] bar. But it’s mainly hydration and liquids and Pedialyte. Those are the big things.”
All embraced with a spirituality.
“It’s a challenge to your faith,” he said. “So the bigger the challenge you can take on, the best.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/convergence-of-nba-playoffs-ramadan-have-heats-omer-yurtseven-fasting-fulfilled/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:33 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/convergence-of-nba-playoffs-ramadan-have-heats-omer-yurtseven-fasting-fulfilled/ |
The linebacker position for the Miami Dolphins was one where many believed the team could search for an upgrade this offseason.
In free agency, instead, the Dolphins decided to go the route of continuity, essentially bringing back last season’s linebacker corps and allowing the likes of Bobby Wagner (from Seahawks to Rams) and Myles Jack (Jaguars to Steelers) to land elsewhere.
Inside linebackers Elandon Roberts and Duke Riley were brought back, as were reserves Brennan Scarlett and Sam Eguavoen. The unit was already returning leading tackler Jerome Baker and outside linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Andrew Van Ginkel.
While returning all the linebacker corps’ main contributors from 2021, it’s still a position where the Dolphins could search for a player with one of their two middle-round draft picks in late April. Miami has pick No. 102 at the end of the third round and a fourth-round selection, along with two seventh-rounders, where a young player could be inserted into competition.
An inside linebacker could provide a piece that rotates in with Roberts and Riley next to Baker in a 3-4 defensive front, or give Baker the flexibility to stretch out wide as an outside linebacker, as he often did in the second half of last season. An extra outside linebacker could enhance the pass rush already present with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah (team-leading 9 sacks in 2021), Phillips (8 1/2), Baker (5 1/2) and Van Ginkel (4) and keep them all fresh in a rotation in the Dolphins’ blitz-heavy approach.
The continuity allows the Dolphins defense to build off the momentum of leading the way to eight wins in their final nine games last season. It maintains the same system on that side of the ball. Cornerbacks, with Xavien Howard landing a lucrative extension this offseason, can be called upon to defend in single coverage. With Ogbah re-signed, the defensive line in front of the linebackers remains stout, while linebackers and even safeties are often called upon to rush the passer.
“It was a great thing because I know all of those guys,” said Roberts of the defense remaining intact. “You’ve got that team camaraderie with your defense. I’m glad we got all the guys back, and it’s going to be fun. The NFL changes every year, so to not have your defensive unit change that much is a good thing.”
Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer remains in that role in the transition from Brian Flores to Mike McDaniel as head coach. Linebackers coach Anthony Campanile also returns to instruct his unit, and Ty McKenzie was hired as outside linebackers coach.
Baker, entering his fifth season, returns his 92 tackles. Roberts, who was a Flores player after spending three seasons with the former Dolphins coach in New England when Flores was a Patriots assistant, was still brought back amid the transition. The seventh-year pro brings leadership as a defensive captain last year, along with his 83 tackles, second among linebackers.
“You can start putting yourself and your defense in situations that you might have not been able to put in last year in OTAs,” said Roberts about the continuity at the position amid a coaching change. “You had to start from the foundation. Every year, you still have to start with your foundation because guys have been off. You’ve just got to revamp things, but it’s a quicker process.”
With Phillips, a former Miami Hurricanes standout, heading into his second season and Van Ginkel his fourth, they can anchor the outside. Midseason, Riley was a revelation for quality snaps inside that allowed Baker to rotate out. That can also allow Phillips to put his hand in the ground as the hybrid edge defender that he is, mostly playing defensive end when he broke through at UM in 2020 to become a first-round pick in the last year’s draft.
Scarlett, who started four games last season, provides depth, along with Eguavoen. Calvin Munson and Darius Hodge are other linebackers on the Dolphins roster this offseason that can compete come training camp.
Miami has also worked out a pair of linebackers, inside linebacker Reuben Foster and edge rusher Melvin Ingram, who can also play defensive end. It’s an indication the Dolphins are still looking for additions in this group.
Previously addressed
Dolphins giving Tua Tagovailoa tools to succeed heading into Year 3
Dolphins’ new-look backfield should benefit from Mike McDaniel’s run game
Dolphins have improved offensive line, but are still a piece or two away up front
Dolphins returning last year’s tight ends, but use of the unit could change in new offense
Dolphins filled offseason receiver need with speed; are they done at the position?
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/dolphins-opted-for-continuity-at-linebacker-but-could-another-pickup-be-in-play/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:39 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/dolphins-opted-for-continuity-at-linebacker-but-could-another-pickup-be-in-play/ |
Because of significant press problems, all Pioneer Press delivery routes will be running late on Thursday. We apologize for any inconvenience.
For access to today’s newspaper online, go to epioneerpress.com.
Because of significant press problems, all Pioneer Press delivery routes will be running late on Thursday. We apologize for any inconvenience.
For access to today’s newspaper online, go to epioneerpress.com. | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/due-to-printing-press-problems-pioneer-press-delivery-routes-running-late-on-thursday/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:45 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/due-to-printing-press-problems-pioneer-press-delivery-routes-running-late-on-thursday/ |
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 hitless 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 hit 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 mph 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’ bright side 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 be 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.”
Yankees fans are hoping the dominant stuff that had the team courting him and signing him to a nine-year, $324 million deal in December 2019 is coming too. He needs to rebuild the Yankee 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/2022/04/14/gerrit-cole-yankees-struggle-to-challenge-blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-s-3-home-runs/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:51 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/gerrit-cole-yankees-struggle-to-challenge-blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr-s-3-home-runs/ |
PHILADELPHIA — Jacob deGrom started the season on the injured list. His absence is certainly glaring, but the Mets rotation is doing just fine without him.
Who would’ve guessed?
Following Max Scherzer’s five innings of one-run ball in Wednesday’s series finale against the Phillies, Mets starters ended their seven-game road trip with the best ERA (1.29) in the major leagues.
Chris Bassitt, who dominated the Nationals in his season debut with eight strikeouts over six innings last Saturday, will try to pick up where he left off and continue the rotation’s strong start to the season. Bassitt is slated to pitch the home opener against the Diamondbacks on Friday, which will be his first career start at Citi Field across his eight-year career.
“Going to Citi Field for the first time, playing there for the first time, I’m definitely excited,” he said.
The Mets (5-2) will be greeted by a packed ballpark for the home opener, featuring what is sure to be a rowdy crowd after the Amazin’s successful road trip to kick off the season.
But Bassitt isn’t exactly one for all the pageantry associated with a home opener. He just wants to attack hitters, get outs, and win ballgames. So he’ll be happiest when his next start is over.
“It’ll be cool,” Bassitt said. “I’m really looking forward to getting it over with. For this time of year, it’s kind of annoying with pitch counts and inning limits, and all the festivities of openers and all that. I just want to play baseball.”
Bassitt said he is “pretty good at tuning things out,” so he doesn’t envision the loud crowd noise disrupting his start. He knows he pitches best when the game is just between him, his catcher, and the opposing hitter. And he knows how to get himself locked in.
“You really have to black out the fans, as hard as that is,” Bassitt said. “You can’t let them dictate how you’re pitching.”
One thing Bassitt is still adjusting to is a new league.
After spending seven seasons in the American League pitching for Oakland, Bassitt became familiar with his opposing hitters and exactly what he needed to do to get them out. Now, instead of enjoying down time at the hotel room before games, Bassitt spends those hours watching film of the some of the best hitters in the league.
“Now I’m back to basically being a rookie, back to square one and learning everybody,” Bassitt said. “It’s been fun because I feel like I matured in the aspect of understanding what I’m truly looking for and everything like that.”
Pitching in the National League now represents a challenge, one that will require an exceptional relationship with Mets catchers James McCann and Tomas Nido, who both know the league better than him. Bassitt said McCann and Nido have so far done a great job learning his own arsenal, a tricky six-pitch tool kit.
“For me, the amount of pitches that I have, I think that relationship with the catcher is massive,” Bassitt said. “We have to know each other. We basically have to be thinking on the same page nonstop. That’s where that homework is huge. It’s like studying for a test and making sure I have the right answer. It’s been fun.”
Bassitt will again try to have all the answers on Friday against a similar opponent to the Nationals, in that the Diamondbacks lineup will not pose as tough a threat. Bassitt expects that league-best rotation ERA to only decrease further.
The Mets host the Diamondbacks for three games, followed by a four-game set against the Giants at Citi Field.
“It’s going to be fun,” manager Buck Showalter said. “And a very deserving welcome to a team that played real well on the road trip.”
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/mets-starters-leave-philly-with-best-era-in-baseball-chris-bassitt-will-pick-up-baton-for-fridays-home-opener/ | 2022-04-14T13:13:57 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/mets-starters-leave-philly-with-best-era-in-baseball-chris-bassitt-will-pick-up-baton-for-fridays-home-opener/ |
The South Florida Sun Sentinel continues its 10-part series looking at the top prospects in the upcoming NFL draft (April 28-30) with linebackers. This is one of the deepest positions in the 2022 draft, but the caliber of the top linebackers doesn’t match last year’s class. There could be a few Day 3 gems the Dolphins could select with either their late third-round pick or their fourth-round selection to develop for the future.
Utah’s Devin Lloyd
Lloyd, who produced 165 sacks and five interceptions during his four college seasons, is a pure playmaker who can do everything asked of a linebacker in today’s pro game. He can defend the run, rush the passer and drop back into coverage. His football intellect and versatility should ensure he’s taken in the first round.
Georgia’s Nakobe Dean
Despite being a tad undersized (6-foot, 225 pounds), Dean was the heart of the Georgia defense. He’s a rangy playmaker who fires into gaps and strikes defenders. The only concerns about his game center on his size and the possibility that he might be forced to run around blocks in the NFL.
Georgia’s Channing Tindall
While Tindall was a role player for the Bulldogs elite defense, he’s flashed playmaking ability and traits that indicate he’s an athletic mover who could become a sideline-to-sideline defender. The only knock on Tindall is that he seems hesitant when dropping into zones. But he can be a core special teams player who brings value to the third phase of the game.
Alabama’s Christian Harris
Harris is a true three-down linebacker with loose hips, speed and athleticism needed to cover in space. His quickness and speed allow him to beat blockers, but he also has the size (6-2, 230) needed work in traffic. However, offenses seemed to target him in coverage in college and that could become an issue in the NFL.
LSU’s Damone Clark
Clark is a large (6-3, 245) well proportioned linebacker whose length and speed help him in coverage. He has an aggressive temperament, and his effort is never lacking. While he was highly productive (135 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one interception) in his final season at LSU there’s still room for growth and improvement.
Best of the rest
Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto, who produced 18.5 sacks, and would make an outstanding outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme. Georgia’s Quay Walker has the makeup of a starting strong side linebacker or outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. Wyoming’s Chad Muma is a tackling machine who could play all three linebacker positions in the NFL. And Penn State’s Brandon Smith and Zakoby McClain are fluid athletes who might become multi-year starters.
Class grade: C+
Linebacker has gradually become the defensive position that gets undervalued, much like running back on offense. Only a handful of linebackers are expected to be taken in the first two days of the draft, but nearly a dozen have the talent to eventually become NFL starters in a year or two if they are put in the right scheme. This comes down to each team’s personal taste, and their evaluation skills. But don’t be surprised if the next Darius Leonard, a three-time Pro Bowler who was a second-round pick by the Colts, is in this class.
Teams in need
The Giants, 49ers, Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Titans, Broncos and Chargers all need linebacker help immediately, they should fortify their units with players who could become starters in year one or two. Linebacker might be the position with the most rookies on NFL rosters come September. Problem is, they won’t be priority picks in the early rounds.
Dolphins’ focus
Elandon Roberts’ career history indicates he’s a two-down linebacker considering he’s struggled in pass coverage, and Jerome Baker thrived playing outside linebacker last season. If Baker remains in the same role he played the second half of last season, the Dolphins need to find an inside linebacker who has good run-game instincts and pass coverage skills. At the moment, Duke Riley and Brennan Scarlett would be part-time starters so it would be ideal for the Dolphins to add some competition.
Previously addressed
Miami Dolphins’ NFL draft options: Quarterbacks
Miami Dolphins’ NFL draft options: Running backs
Miami Dolphins’ NFL draft options: Offensive linemen
Miami Dolphins’ NFL draft options: Tight ends
Miami Dolphins’ NFL draft options: Receivers
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/miami-dolphins-nfl-draft-options-linebacker/ | 2022-04-14T13:14:03 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/miami-dolphins-nfl-draft-options-linebacker/ |
Are you tempted to fudge a little bit as you fill out your income tax return? And if you did, would it be a crime? For many Americans, the answers to those questions are not as clear-cut as one might expect.
A new Harris Poll survey on the topic of taxation, in fact, shows a country mired in cynicism and mistrust, both when it comes to how taxes are collected and the government spending that tax money supports. And it raises questions about Americans’ willingness to skirt, stretch and even break tax laws.
The findings speak to a system whose very complexity breeds confusion and suspicion. It’s a mess our political leaders would be wise to clean up, not just because it would make good fiscal and economic sense, but also because it would help restore civic trust and accountability.
Since before there even was a United States, citizens here have rebelled against paying taxes. That hasn’t changed, based on a survey we conducted of more than 1,000 demographically representative adults in March. In total, 57% of U.S. adults believe they are taxed at unfairly high rates, according to our poll. That extends through every cohort — age, gender, income, education and race/ethnicity.
The only difference is in degree: A whopping 78% of men 45 to 54 years old say they’re overtaxed, the highest portion of any group. People with household incomes of $75,000 to $99,900 a year (71%) and college graduates (57%) are also extra likely to feel overtaxed.
As for what the government does with that revenue, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults disagree with how it’s spent. This is not surprising, given the incredible array of government outlays — from health care and defense to interest on federal debt, to name a few of the biggest. Just about everyone can find something they dislike, which may deepen feelings of being overtaxed.
You can also see those feelings in who people suspect of paying too little. Half of American adults say businesses are likeliest to submit misleading tax filings. Nearly 6 in 10 also say high-income individuals are more prone to cheating than low- and middle-income earners. (The reality, per the Internal Revenue Service: Three-quarters of tax cheats are individuals — mostly middle-income — with the rest being corporations.)
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that many Americans occupy a moral gray area when it comes to actually paying taxes. First, they can’t agree on what actually qualifies as fraud. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults say that deliberately misreporting income is tax evasion. (Note to the remaining third: Lying on your taxes is, in fact, a crime). But a slight majority (52%) say there’s no difference between underreporting and using legal loopholes to lessen what one owes.
Second, among those who see no difference between taking advantage of legal loopholes and actually lying on your taxes, a majority think that exploiting loopholes is smart. And nearly half of them (48%) think that deliberately understating your income is not tax evasion (which, again, it is).
Overall, nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults say it would be smart to use loopholes to owe less. The share increases to two-thirds among those making more than $100,000 annually and college grads. Interestingly, most millennials, those currently 26 to 41 years old, say misrepresenting personal finances to lower their tax bill isn’t criminal.
Millennials are an interesting group when it comes to taxes. Despite their reputation for progressive activism, their tax views illustrate a libertarian streak: They are the second-most likely group to believe themselves overtaxed, the biggest fans of loopholes and tax evasion, and the only generation in which a majority say they should not have to pay taxes to support resources in their community.
Every few years, a big push is made to reform the tax code — everyone seems to agree on the idea of simplifying it by getting rid of wasteful loopholes and tax breaks. But one group’s waste is another’s critical support, and somehow each reform effort seems to fiddle with marginal rates without dramatically simplifying the overall structure. The result is a thicket that fosters doubt and grievance. It’s time for politicians to give it another try and go for more holistic changes.
Meantime, when you feel that surge of bitterness over writing out another big check to the government this month, know that you’re not alone: Most Americans feel the same way.
Will Johnson is CEO of The Harris Poll, one of the world’s leading public opinion research firms. He wrote this for the Chicago Tribune. | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/will-johnson-survey-of-americans-about-taxation-reveals-a-lot-of-cynicism-and-a-willingness-to-cheat/ | 2022-04-14T13:14:09 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/will-johnson-survey-of-americans-about-taxation-reveals-a-lot-of-cynicism-and-a-willingness-to-cheat/ |
Mackey & Judd By skornorth | April 13, 2022 Minnesota Timberwolves NBA playoff predictions: KAT, Anthony Edwards and more Share: Minnesota Timberwolves NBA playoff predictions: KAT, Anthony Edwards and more against the Memphis Grizzlies! | https://www.skornorth.com/minnesota-timberwolves-nba-playoff-predictions-kat-anthony-edwards-and-more/ | 2022-04-14T13:19:29 | 1 | https://www.skornorth.com/minnesota-timberwolves-nba-playoff-predictions-kat-anthony-edwards-and-more/ |
Minnesota Timberwolves beat the LA Clippers and Reusse is here to support Karl-Anthony Towns Subscribe to our channel to the …
Minnesota Timberwolves beat the LA Clippers and Reusse is here to support Karl-Anthony Towns Subscribe to our channel to the … | https://www.skornorth.com/the-nba-referees-hate-karl-anthony-towns/ | 2022-04-14T13:19:29 | 1 | https://www.skornorth.com/the-nba-referees-hate-karl-anthony-towns/ |
In the year ending in March, not adjusted for seasonal swings, food prices rose 8.8% - the biggest 12-month increase since the year ended May 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
RELATED: USDA predicts consumers will spend up to 4% more for food by the end of the year
Over the past year, virtually every type of food has become more expensive.
Groceries overall got 10% more expensive. Flour jumped 14.2%, milk rose 13.3%, eggs went up 11.2% and fruits and vegetables went up 8.5%. Bacon increased 18.2%.
A number of factors have tightened food supplies across several categories as demand stayed strong, causing prices to spike across the board.
One problem is environmental. Droughts in Brazil, the United States and Canada impacted crops from coffee to soy to wheat, said William Osnato, senior research analyst at Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data analytics firm.
The war in Ukraine has disrupted the wheat market, sending prices spiking. Plus, supply issues are also impacting the global vegetable oil market. A deadly avian flu is reducing the egg supply and driving wholesale egg prices way up, and threatening consumer prices as well.
It will take a while before prices come back down, Osnato noted.
"We're not about to grow our way out of it with a good US crop," he said. "That's not going to solve anything. We're going to be in a high food price environment for more than a year."
Butter spikes
Not every single food item got pricier last month. But several did.
Many shelf-stable goods saw big jumps from February to March, according to seasonally adjusted data from the BLS. The price of canned vegetables jumped 4.2%, while the dried beans, peas and lentils category went up 4.4%. Rice got 3.2% more expensive, and crackers and bread increased 2.7%.
Fresh staples got more expensive as well. Uncooked ground beef jumped 2.1%. Milk grew 1.3%. Fresh vegetables grew 2.6%.
But the biggest jump? Butter, with a 6% increase.
"The global supply of milk over the past six months or so has contracted in a significant way," said Rob Fox, director of the knowledge exchange division at CoBank, which provides financial services to agribusiness.
VIDEO: Inflation in US jumped 8.5% in past year, highest since 1981
In the United States, "the milk production forecast for 2022 is 226.0 billion pounds, 1.2 billion lower than last month's forecast and a projected decrease of 0.3 billion pounds from 2021," according to the USDA's dairy outlook released last month. "This would be the first year-over-year decrease in milk production since 2009."
But why was butter up 6% in March, while milk rose only 1.3%?
Fox explained that when milk supplies get squeezed and demand for milk is up or steady, butter is the first thing to get hit. That's because it's a relatively small part of the dairy market. "It can have significant price volatility," Fox said, noting that spikes in butter prices mean that other dairy goods could get more expensive too.
A few items did become cheaper last month. Doughnut prices fell 1.7%, peanut butter got 1.5% cheaper and ham prices declined 1.2%. | https://abc7ny.com/food-prices-grocery-inflation-supply/11747300/ | 2022-04-14T13:19:31 | 0 | https://abc7ny.com/food-prices-grocery-inflation-supply/11747300/ |
The 55-year-old agent was attacked inside P.S. 69 Journey Prep School at 560 Thieriot Avenue in the Soundview section just before 8 a.m.
"An intruder who is, attempting to enter a school, according to preliminary information, attempted to assault a teacher. A heroic act by a school safety agent prevented it from taking place. She was slashed by the individual and that individual will be brought to justice. This is unacceptable," Mayor Eric Adams said during an event Thursday morning to announce the expansion of gifted and talented programs citywide.
In relation to this morning’s incident at @NYCSchools @NYPD43Pct P.S. 69 at 560 Thieriot Avenue in the Bronx, the subject has been apprehended and there is no further threat to staff, parents, and students. pic.twitter.com/05XQ02T1vR
— NYPD School Safety (@NYPDSchools) April 14, 2022
The agent was taken to Jacobi Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. A teacher also suffered an injury to his arm.
A suspect, in his 20s, was taken into custody.
It is not yet known what led to the slashing.
WATCH | Witness describes chaos on subway train amid New York shooting
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In the year ending in March, not adjusted for seasonal swings, food prices rose 8.8% - the biggest 12-month increase since the year ended May 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
RELATED: USDA predicts consumers will spend up to 4% more for food by the end of the year
Over the past year, virtually every type of food has become more expensive.
Groceries overall got 10% more expensive. Flour jumped 14.2%, milk rose 13.3%, eggs went up 11.2% and fruits and vegetables went up 8.5%. Bacon increased 18.2%.
A number of factors have tightened food supplies across several categories as demand stayed strong, causing prices to spike across the board.
One problem is environmental. Droughts in Brazil, the United States and Canada impacted crops from coffee to soy to wheat, said William Osnato, senior research analyst at Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data analytics firm.
The war in Ukraine has disrupted the wheat market, sending prices spiking. Plus, supply issues are also impacting the global vegetable oil market. A deadly avian flu is reducing the egg supply and driving wholesale egg prices way up, and threatening consumer prices as well.
It will take a while before prices come back down, Osnato noted.
"We're not about to grow our way out of it with a good US crop," he said. "That's not going to solve anything. We're going to be in a high food price environment for more than a year."
Butter spikes
Not every single food item got pricier last month. But several did.
Many shelf-stable goods saw big jumps from February to March, according to seasonally adjusted data from the BLS. The price of canned vegetables jumped 4.2%, while the dried beans, peas and lentils category went up 4.4%. Rice got 3.2% more expensive, and crackers and bread increased 2.7%.
Fresh staples got more expensive as well. Uncooked ground beef jumped 2.1%. Milk grew 1.3%. Fresh vegetables grew 2.6%.
But the biggest jump? Butter, with a 6% increase.
"The global supply of milk over the past six months or so has contracted in a significant way," said Rob Fox, director of the knowledge exchange division at CoBank, which provides financial services to agribusiness.
VIDEO: Inflation in US jumped 8.5% in past year, highest since 1981
In the United States, "the milk production forecast for 2022 is 226.0 billion pounds, 1.2 billion lower than last month's forecast and a projected decrease of 0.3 billion pounds from 2021," according to the USDA's dairy outlook released last month. "This would be the first year-over-year decrease in milk production since 2009."
But why was butter up 6% in March, while milk rose only 1.3%?
Fox explained that when milk supplies get squeezed and demand for milk is up or steady, butter is the first thing to get hit. That's because it's a relatively small part of the dairy market. "It can have significant price volatility," Fox said, noting that spikes in butter prices mean that other dairy goods could get more expensive too.
A few items did become cheaper last month. Doughnut prices fell 1.7%, peanut butter got 1.5% cheaper and ham prices declined 1.2%. | https://abc11.com/food-prices-grocery-inflation-supply/11747300/ | 2022-04-14T13:20:57 | 0 | https://abc11.com/food-prices-grocery-inflation-supply/11747300/ |
1-year-old needs 3 doses of Narcan after ingesting fentanyl, mother charged
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS5/Gray News) – First responders and medical staff had to use three doses of Narcan on a 1-year-old boy after he ingested fentanyl, according to court documents.
AZFamily reports emergency crews were called to respond to a home in southwest Phoenix for reports of a toddler not breathing.
His mother, 23-year-old Anna Chavez, gave him CPR until they arrived.
Paramedics gave the little boy two doses of Narcan and rushed him to the hospital where he was given a third dose.
According to police, tests revealed the 1-year-old had fentanyl in his system.
Court documents say officers found eight counterfeit pills and about $10,000 in cash inside the home.
Chavez denied there could’ve been fentanyl in the home, saying she cleans the home, according to police.
She told officers she gave the boy a bottle in the morning and afternoon, and he was breathing normally.
Chavez was charged with felony child abuse.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/1-year-old-needs-3-doses-narcan-after-ingesting-fentanyl-mother-charged/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:03 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/1-year-old-needs-3-doses-narcan-after-ingesting-fentanyl-mother-charged/ |
AP source: Trump aide Miller to testify to Jan. 6 committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Miller, who served as a top aide to President Donald Trump, will appear Thursday before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Miller was a senior adviser for policy during the Trump administration and a central figure in many of Trump’s policy decisions. He has resisted previous efforts by the committee, filing a lawsuit last month seeking to quash a committee subpoena for his phone records.
The person familiar with the matter spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private testimony. It’s unclear whether Miller will appear in person or virtually. A spokesperson for the committee said the panel had no comment.
Miller’s scheduled testimony before the committee comes weeks after Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner also agreed to sit down with congressional investigators, months after the committee had reached out.
The nine-member panel subpoenaed the former Trump adviser in November along with Steve Bannon and former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the Democratic chairman of the panel. said in a statement at the time that Miller had “participated in efforts to spread false information about alleged voter fraud.”
The House voted last week to send contempt charges against former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino for their monthlong refusal to comply with subpoenas. The move was the third time the panel has sent contempt charges criminal referrals against those in the former president’s orbit to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. The first two referrals, sent late last year, were for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Bannon.
The contempt referral against Bannon resulted in an indictment, with a trial set to start in July. The Justice Department has been slower to decide whether to prosecute Meadows, much to the frustration of the committee.
Miller will now avoid the fate of the other former advisers and members of the Trump administration by testifying before the committee. The central facts of the Jan. 6 insurrection are known, but what the committee is hoping to do is fill in the remaining gaps about the attack on the Capitol. Lawmakers say they are committed to presenting a full accounting to make sure it never happens again.
The panel is looking into every aspect of the riot, including what Trump himself was doing while it unfolded and any connections between the White House and the rioters who broke into the Capitol building.
____
Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/ap-source-trump-aide-miller-testify-jan-6-committee/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:09 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/ap-source-trump-aide-miller-testify-jan-6-committee/ |
How Congress plans to buoy your retirement savings
(CNN) - Congress is taking action to help avoid a potential retirement crisis.
A bill expected to reach President Joe Biden’s desk later this year could bring about new rules involving 401(k) programs and could impact your retirement savings.
“Part of this overhaul is to actually force people into saving in the 401(k) plan,” said Ted Jenkin, Financial expert & CEO at oXYGen Financial.
If passed and signed, the legislation, Secure Act 2.0, could require most employer-sponsored retirement plans to enroll eligible workers automatically at a 3% level.
That would increase by 1% until you’re contributing 10% of your paycheck annually, but workers would have the option to opt out or change their contribution level.
“Most people do not understand something called the ‘pay yourself first’ rule, and that means put money in your retirement plan before you start spending money on things like entertainment and travel,” Jenkin said.
The plan would also delay mandatory withdrawals and limit penalties for those who fail to withdraw on time.
The proposed act could also make it easier for those with student loans to save and for older workers to make catchup contributions.
It’s also a major change for part-time workers, who would be able to contribute to 401(k) plans for the first time.
With pension plans nearly extinct and the social security trust fund facing a 75-year deficit, experts said 401(k) plans are more critical than ever.
“The three-legged stool of retirement has basically turned into a pogo stick, and it’s going to be on your back and your responsibility to save money,” Jenkin said.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/how-congress-plans-buoy-your-retirement-savings/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:16 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/how-congress-plans-buoy-your-retirement-savings/ |
Missing California teen found safe in Utah years later
PARK CITY, Utah (KSTU) - Connerjack Oswalt, an autistic teenager who went missing in California in 2019, was recently found in Utah.
After years of fearing for his safety, the family is overjoyed.
Connerjack was 16 years old when he was reported missing from Clear Lake, California.
After his disappearance, his family didn’t see or hear from him.
A few weeks ago, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office started receiving reports about a man pushing around a shopping cart. One concerned citizen reported the same man sleeping in front of a store.
Body camera video shows officers approaching Connerjack in front of the store and asking if he would like to sit in the car to warm up after a very cold night.
In the car, Connerjack would not tell the officers his name, but he allowed deputies to scan his finger and with technology, it showed that he had a warrant out of Nevada.
Sheriff Justin Martinez said the officers felt there was something more to his story.
“There’s something more, this individual being resistant, reluctant to communicate,” he said.
The officers took it upon themselves to comb through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database. After nearly 20 pages of scouring through names and photographs and trying to find something that might match up, his name came up.
Deputies then called his family, who had moved from California to Idaho.
Connerjack’s stepfather, Gerald Flint, immediately drove from Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Park City, Utah.
After fearing the worst for nearly two years, his family was finally reunited with Connerjack.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” Martinez said. “They’ve been reunited with this individual they haven’t seen for three years when he was 16. He’s now 19.”
Copyright 2022 KSTU via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/missing-california-teen-found-safe-utah-years-later/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:23 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/missing-california-teen-found-safe-utah-years-later/ |
Patrick Lyoya shot in head by Michigan officer, videos show
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Black man face-down on the ground was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer, the violent climax of a traffic stop, brief foot chase and struggle over a stun gun, according to videos of the April 4 incident.
Patrick Lyoya, 26, was killed outside a house in Grand Rapids. The white officer repeatedly ordered Lyoya to “let go” of his Taser, at one point demanding: “Drop the Taser!”
Citing a need for transparency, the city’s new police chief, Eric Winstrom, on Wednesday released four videos, including critical footage of the shooting recorded by a passenger in Lyoya’s car on that rainy morning.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Videos in this story may contain disturbing content.
“I view it as a tragedy. ... It was a progression of sadness for me,” said Winstrom, a former high-ranking Chicago police commander who became Grand Rapids chief in March. The city of about 200,000 people is about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.
Video shows Lyoya running from the officer who stopped him for driving with a license plate that didn’t belong to the vehicle. They struggled in front of several homes while Lyoya’s passenger got out and watched.
Winstrom said the fight over the Taser lasted about 90 seconds. In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back at times to subdue him.
“From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact,” Winstrom told reporters. “And Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that’s the only information that I have.”
State police are investigating the shooting. Kent County’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Cohle, said he completed the autopsy but toxicology tests haven’t been finished.
The traffic stop was tense from the start. Video shows Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, getting out of the car before the officer approached. He ordered Lyoya to get back in the vehicle but the man declined.
The officer asked him if he spoke English and demanded his driver’s license. The foot chase began soon after, video shows.
Winstrom didn’t identify the officer, a seven-year veteran who is on paid leave during the investigation.
“Me being from Chicago for the last 20 years, I’ve handled many police shootings myself, so I do have a lot of experience in this,” the chief said. “I was hoping to never have to utilize that experience here.”
Video was collected from Lyoya’s passenger, the officer’s body-worn camera, the officer’s patrol car and a doorbell camera. Prosecutor Chris Becker, who will decide whether any charges are warranted, objected to the release but said Winstrom could act on his own.
Becker said the public shouldn’t expect a quick decision.
“While the videos released today are an important piece of evidence, they are not all of the evidence,” he said.
The officer’s body-worn camera was turned off before the shooting, which happens when a button is pushed for 3 seconds, Winstrom said. He said it appears it was deactivated unintentionally due to body pressure during the struggle, but he would not discuss any officer statements about it.
“That will come out once the investigation’s complete,” Winstrom said.
City Manager Mark Washington warned that the videos would lead to “expressions of shock, of anger and of pain.” Some downtown businesses boarded up their storefronts, and concrete barricades surrounded police headquarters.
Lyoya had two young daughters and five siblings, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke to his family.
“He arrived in the United States as a refugee with his family fleeing violence. He had his whole life ahead of him,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, speaking on behalf of Lyoya’s family, on Wednesday called for the officer in the shooting to be fired and prosecuted.
“The video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive, and fatal use of force against an unarmed Black man who was confused by the encounter and terrified for his life,” Crump said in a release.
“It should be noted that Patrick never used violence against this officer even though the officer used violence against him in several instances for what was a misdemeanor traffic stop,” he added.
Crump and Lyoya’s family were expected to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon.
More than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall before a City Commission meeting Tuesday night, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace.”
On Wednesday, several hundred protesters gathered outside the Grand Rapids Police Department following the release of the videos, with some cursing and shouting from behind barricades. The group demanded that officials make public the name of the officer in the shooting.
Some businesses cut their hours short Wednesday, closing early. Some boarded up windows. But the demonstration remained nonviolent with protesters demanding justice for Lyoya and other Black lives lost in shootings involving police.
Winstrom last week said he met Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, and that they both cried.
“I get it as a father. ... It’s just heart-wrenching,” the chief told WOOD-TV.
As in many U.S. cities, Grand Rapids police have been occasionally criticized over the use of force, particularly against Black people, who make up 18% of the population.
In November, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit over the practice of photographing and fingerprinting people who were never charged with a crime. Grand Rapids said the policy changed in 2015.
A downtown street has been designated Breonna Taylor Way, named for the Black woman and Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, during a botched drug raid in 2020.
___
White reported from Detroit. AP reporters Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan; David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; and John Flesher in Traverse City, Michigan, contributed to this story.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/patrick-lyoya-shot-head-by-michigan-officer-video-shows/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:36 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/patrick-lyoya-shot-head-by-michigan-officer-video-shows/ |
Tesla issues 2nd recall for obstructing pedestrian warning
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 8:38 AM EDT|Updated: 50 minutes ago
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly nearly 595,000 vehicles in the U.S., most for a second time, because a “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians.
The company says in government documents that the new recall will disable “Boombox” if owners are using a feature that lets them “summon” the vehicles at low speeds.
The first recall in February disabled “Boombox” if the Teslas are in drive, neutral or reverse.
Both recalls will be done with online software updates.
The new recall covers certain 2020 through 2022 Model Y, X, and S vehicles, as well as the 2017 through 2022 Model 3.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/tesla-issues-2nd-recall-obstructing-pedestrian-warning/ | 2022-04-14T13:28:42 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/tesla-issues-2nd-recall-obstructing-pedestrian-warning/ |
USFL is back: Here are 10 college football players from Illinois in the new league
The United States Football League is back for 2022.
The USFL is scheduled to begin play April 16. There will be eight teams, split into two divisions. The North Division will include the New Jersey Generals, Michigan Panthers, Pittsburgh Maulers and Philadelphia Stars. The South will include the Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, Tampa Bay Bandits and Houston Gamblers.
The league originally ran from 1983-85 before folding prior to the 1986 season.
Six of the teams include at least 10 players who played their college football in Illinois, including players from Western Illinois, Illinois, Northwestern and Northern Illinois.
Peoria's best:The top central Illinois high school football players of the last 20 years
Lance Lenoir, Western Illinois
The 6-foot, 207-pound Michigan Panthers receiver rewrote the record book at Western Illinois after a high school career at Crete-Monee. The 27-year-old bounced around the NFL, playing eight games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2017 and '18 and playing on the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills practice squads.
Reggie Corbin, Illinois
The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Michigan Panthers running back is among the most prolific backs in Illini history. The 26-year-old Maryland native got a shot last season with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League but was cut in July.
Recruit:How this El Paso-Gridley football player became the nation's top college punting prospect
Carroll Phillips, Illinois
The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Philadelphia Stars defensive end was an all-Big Ten first-team pick for the Illini. The 29-year-old Florida native went on to play 11 games in the NFL between 2017 and '19 and played last year in The Spring League.
Stanley Green, Illinois
The 6-foot, 200-pound Houston Gambers defensive back played at East St. Louis before his career with the Illini, where he was an all-Big Ten pick. The 23-year-old was part of Hub Football's The CAMP last year before earning his first pro chance in the USFL.
Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback was selected fifth overall by the Houston Gamblers in the inaugural USFL draft. The 26-year-old is the most prolific passer in Northwestern history, leading the Wildcats to a Big Ten division title and four bowl games. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but bounced around to multiple teams, mostly on practice squads; he was on the New York Giants' active roster for two games in 2020.
Gunnar Vogel, Northwestern
The 6-foot-6, 308-pounder is an offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Stars. The Ohio native was a two-year starter for the Wildcats who signed with the NFL as an undrafted free agent before being released last August by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jordan Thompson, Northwestern
The 6-foot-3, 292-pound Birmingham Stallions defensive tackle was a three-year starter for the Wildcats, recently signing a free agent deal with the USFL. The Ohio native signed in 2019 as an NFL undrafted free agent but was cut before the season.
'Find your dream':NFL rookie lineman comes home to share journey with Peoria school kids
Jared Thomas, Northwestern
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound New Orleans Breakers center started his final season with the Wildcats in 2019. The Indianapolis native tried his hand at indoor football while attaining his masters degree from the Evanston school.
Brayden Patton, Northern Illinois
The 6-foot-5, 309-pound Pittsburgh Maulers offensive lineman is a three-year starter for DeKalb-based NIU, earning all-MAC honors. The 24-year-old Indiana native played in the 2021 Hula Bowl.
Jalen Embry, Northern Illinois
The 6-foot, 195-pound New Orleans Breakers cornerback was a two-year player at NIU after transferring from Iowa Central. The 26-year-old Detroit native played last year in The Spring League after getting invited to NFL camp by the Houston Texans in 2019.
USFL coaches with experience in Illinois
Pittsburgh Maulers head coach Kirby Wilson, a longtime NFL assistant, played at Illinois and was a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Southern Illinois in 1992 and '92. ... Houston Gamblers special teams/tight end coach Greg McMahon is a Rantoul native. He attended Eastern Illinois and spent time as a coach at Illinois (1992-2004) and EIU (1982) ... Michigan Panthers defensive line coach Kwahn Drake spent time at Eastern Illinois. ... New Jersey Generals defensive line coach Robert Diaco, former head coach at UConn, coached at Western Illinois in 1999-2000. ... Philadelphia Stars offensive line coach Jeff Jagodzinski, head coach at Boston College in 2007-08, was offensive line coach at Northern Illinois in 1986.
Wes Huett is Journal Star sports editor. Email him at whuett@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @WesHuett. | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/college/football/2022/04/14/usfl-2022-illinois-college-players-part-of-new-football-league/7256855001/ | 2022-04-14T13:29:14 | 0 | https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/college/football/2022/04/14/usfl-2022-illinois-college-players-part-of-new-football-league/7256855001/ |
INDIANAPOLIS — Staffing levels are slowly improving as COVID-19 hospitalizations in Indiana and across the U.S. continue to decrease and it's resulting in lower pay for travel nurses who were making upwards of $300 per hour in some cases.
The Indiana Hospital Association says now that we seem to be past the worst of the peaks, those wages have gone down to $120 to $190 an hour, but that's still up to double what it was before.
Brian Tabor with the association says our area had never seen rates or a demand so high for travel nurses until COVID hit, but even though things are winding down he expects the pay to remain inflated for awhile.
A shortage of health care professionals and high volume of patients during covid surges, skyrocketed wages. That coupled with more patients and not enough caregivers led to burnout and early retirements among some of the dedicated local staff.
Tabor says all of that combined created a perfect storm and travel nurses played a vital role in keeping hospitals afloat.
"We needed those nurses, respiratory therapists, other professionals that were traveling as the surging waxed across the country," said Tabor.
It also caused several hospital employees to leave and make more money elsewhere traveling.
Tabor says staffing in area hospitals still isn't where it needs to be.
So, if you're interested in travel nursing there are opportunities, wages just aren't as explosive as it was during the surges.
"We are seeing both fewer travel nurses being used with the hospital and because of supply and demand rates are coming down but travel nursing will still be a significant part of the overall picture for a while. Right now, we have about 3x the openings for nurses that we had before the pandemic but just a few months ago it was 8x the openings so we are still facing a long road, but we are in a much better place than we were during the last surge and before that," he said.
Tabor says although COVID cases have drastically dropped, many hospitals are still full - just not with COVID patients.
"What we are seeing is how much Hoosiers health declined during the pandemic whether it's from missed appointments, we are also seeing a lot of behavioral health issues, the mental health the stress and strain from the pandemic," Tabor said.
He's hoping with travel rates decreasing, more nurses will fill permanent roles in local hospitals to help with staffing shortages.
"We are also working hard within our hospitals to attract back some of those nurses that chose to travel for awhile so there are a lot of incentives, sign on bonuses for people to come back tot he hospital for a more permanent job. We are starting to see come back, but I do think we will still see some people for a period choose travel nursing," said Tabor. | https://www.wrtv.com/as-the-pay-for-travel-nurses-comes-back-down-hospitals-hope-nurses-seek-permanent-employment | 2022-04-14T13:39:23 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/as-the-pay-for-travel-nurses-comes-back-down-hospitals-hope-nurses-seek-permanent-employment |
Looking for a refreshing spring dessert that’s as easy as it is delicious? Look no further than lemon pudding cake, which has only a handful of ingredients — all of which you likely already have in your fridge and cupboards.
This lemon pudding cake recipe from Allrecipes doesn’t call for instant pudding mix. Instead, it combines eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, sugar, flour, salt and milk, which results in a dessert that looks like cake on the outside, but has a pudding-like consistency inside. To make the lemon pudding cake, you simply mix together some of the ingredients, then beat egg whites until stiff, eventually blending them with the rest of the mixture. Once the batter is ready, pour it into a pan and bake it in a bain-marie, or hot water bath, for 45 minutes.
With 179 ratings, the recipe has 4 out of 5 stars. Reviewers say it is easy to make: a new favorite dessert that’s fluffy and light yet thick. One reviewer said the cake has a “nice gooey sauce at bottom of dish, intense lemon flavor and perfect sponge cake on top.”
A handful of reviewers suggest adding more lemon juice and lemon zest than the recipe calls for, but only if you want a stronger lemon flavor. Other bakers suggest cutting down on the sugar a bit or substituting the lemon and dairy milk for something else, like lime and coconut milk.
You can read the full recipe at Allrecipes.
Because it’s a perfect spring flavor, there are dozens of dessert recipes that use lemon, from cakes and cheesecakes to sweet rolls and breads.
Sticking first with more desserts, these lemon cream cheese bars call for a few key ingredients. You’ll simply layer crescent roll dough with a mixture of lemon zest, lemon juice, cream cheese, and sugar spread on top of the dough. Another layer of crescent dough is next, which is then covered in butter and sugary lemon zest before baking.
You can also make lemon angel food cake, lemon blondies, lemon layer cake with lemon cream cheese buttercream, lemon blueberry poke cake and strawberry lemon blondies, which use fresh strawberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
For a non-cake dessert, a lemon cheesecake mousse is light and fresh and tastes like spring in a cup. The mousse has just four simple ingredients and takes only 10 minutes to put together. All you need is heavy whipping cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. You can also garnish the mousse with lemon slices, lemon zest, blueberries and mint leaves.
If you’ll be putting the mousse into individual cups, you could also make a crust with crushed graham crackers, sugar and salted butter that you’ll simply press into the bottom of the cup.
If you’re looking for sweet lemon flavors, but not necessarily desserts, check out these recipes for blueberry lemon monkey bread, blueberry-lemon ricotta pound cake, lemon sweet rolls and Ina Garten’s lemon yogurt cake.
The lemon yogurt cake recipe uses yogurt to soften the dish into a dessert that’s airy and light. While the recipe calls for plain whole milk yogurt, you can also substitute plain Greek yogurt if you’re looking to cut some sugar and add protein. You’ll also need fresh lemon juice, freshly grated lemon zest, sugar, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, baking powder and vegetable oil, but you can also replace the oil with unsweetened applesauce to make it a bit healthier.
If you decide to use applesauce, Food Network suggests swapping just half the oil for applesauce so that the applesauce flavor does not overpower the lemon and other flavors of the cake.
For an adult-only lemon treat, RumChata makes a Limón flavor that you can drink straight, over ice or mixed with vodka or coffee. Made with Caribbean rum, cream, vanilla and lemon, RumChata Limón has a fresh and creamy finish.
Try it in the RumChata Breakfast in Bed, which combines two parts of RumChata Limón with one part blueberry vodka, or the Lemon Latte Martini, which combines 2 ounces of RumChata Limón with 1 ounce vanilla vodka and cold brew coffee.
Do you have a favorite lemon dessert or another lemon-flavored treat?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories. | https://www.wrtv.com/lemon-pudding-cake-dessert-recipe | 2022-04-14T13:39:29 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/lemon-pudding-cake-dessert-recipe |
INDIANAPOLIS — Two people were shot within minutes of each other on separate sides of the city in Indianapolis Thursday morning.
Officers were initially called to a shooting in the 2900 block of North Sherman Dr. around 2:45 a.m. Arriving officers located a man suffering from injuries consistent with a gunshot wound, that man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not released the identity of the victim.
Officers at the scene told WRTV they were searching for a black Ford F-150 that may have fled the scene shortly after the shooting. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
Within minutes of that deadly shooting, officers were called to the 8100 block of Lafayette Rd. on the city's northwest side.
Police at the scene say they located a woman suffering from an apparent gunshot wound outside of her home in that area. The woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. No identities have been released at this time.
The shooting remains under investigation and police have not said whether they have any suspects at this time.
Anyone with information about either shooting should contact IMPD or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/two-shot-one-killed-in-indy-in-separate-incidents-within-minutes-of-each-other-thursday-morning | 2022-04-14T13:39:35 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/two-shot-one-killed-in-indy-in-separate-incidents-within-minutes-of-each-other-thursday-morning |
Pfizer announced Thursday that a third shot of its COVID-19 vaccine raised omicron-fighting antibody by 36 times in children ages 5 to 11.
Pfizer/BioNTech plans to request emergency use authorization from the FDA for a booster vaccine for this age group in the coming days.
The study looked at 140 children between 5 and 11 years old.
The children were administered a 10-microgram dose of the booster shot six months after their second dose.
That’s a smaller dose than what is administered to adults, which is 30 micrograms.
Omicron-fighting antibodies increased 36-fold from the levels recorded after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Antibodies levels against the original coronavirus strain increased 6-fold with the booster shot.
Scientists outside of Pfizer/BioNTech have not yet reviewed the new data.
The CDC has said that the spread of the omicron variant has led to a record number of COVID-19 cases in children, compared to other variants.
However, fewer than one-third of children in this age group have received two full of a COVID vaccine, according to CDC data. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/coronavirus/study-children-experience-higher-omicron-immunity-after-receiving-pfizer-booster | 2022-04-14T13:39:41 | 1 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/coronavirus/study-children-experience-higher-omicron-immunity-after-receiving-pfizer-booster |
Rescued pulled a puppy out from the debris in Ukraine after an attack in the region of Donbas.
Video shows rescuers digging through a pile of rubble until they’re able to find the dog.
The puppy and its 77-year-old owner “narrowly escaped death,” official adviser Anton Gerashchenko said in a tweet.
Both the owner and the dog received medical care.
The National Police of Ukraine said that both the dog and the owner are doing well. | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/dog-rescued-from-rubble-after-attack-in-ukraine | 2022-04-14T13:39:47 | 0 | https://www.wrtv.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/dog-rescued-from-rubble-after-attack-in-ukraine |
Build a new stadium in Birmingham, the detractors said, and it will be a really nice stadium that sits empty most of the year.
Yeah, about that.
Beginning Saturday night, an entire eight-team pro football league will begin playing games at Protective Stadium when the USFL kicks off its season with a game between the Birmingham Stallions and the New Jersey Generals. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. and it will be televised nationally on Fox and NBC. Three more games will be played on Sunday at Protective Stadium (11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.) and a total of 43 games will be played at either Protective or Legion Field for a season that runs through June.
A whole league of football players. And they’re living in hotels in Birmingham. That’s a lot of beer, and just imagine the stories that are going to come out of the lobby bar down at the Sheraton.
Is this all a little insane? Maybe, but all great ideas are laced with a touch of crazy. Personally, I don’t even care about the quality of the football. Birmingham is about to be in the national spotlight in a positive way, and that exposure in major television markets all over the country is worth every penny it took to bring the USFL to town.
Every game will be televised on national TV, and it is written into the contracts that every block of TV will feature two commercials promoting Birmingham. Smile, Birmingham, you’re about to be in a lot of living rooms around the country.
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GOODMAN: Future for Bryan Harsin depends on QB position
Do you see now, naysayers, what happens when Birmingham works together? Opportunities happen. Progress happens. This is a town they used to call The Football Capital of the South. It feels like that again.
Maybe the USFL will be back next spring. Maybe the league will fold like all the others. If this is only temporary, then enjoy it while it lasts and make the most of it. Let me make this pitch, though, for keeping at least part of the USFL in the Birmingham area beyond this season.
Arizona has the Cactus League. Florida has the Grapefruit League. I don’t see a reason why the Birmingham area couldn’t be the permanent home of a spring-football league.
The inaugural USFL playoffs will be played in Canton, Ohio, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Yes, it’s a little disappointing that the USFL playoffs will be someplace other than Birmingham, but it’s not because the USFL really wanted to leave.
Y’all, the USFL has to vacate Protective Stadium because the World Games are coming to Birmingham this summer.
Birmingham, Alabama, please listen up because this is really simple. These next few months will be a transformative time for a city whose moment in the spotlight is finally here. Embrace these events. Be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. For generations and generations, my entire life and longer, the city of Birmingham has lived under a cloud of infamy both nationally and internationally. That’s the old Birmingham, though.
The new Birmingham makes its debut beginning this spring.
No one really knows what to expect come Saturday, and I’ve heard that includes the people running the USFL, but it’s going to be a spectacle, this “bubble season” experiment, and it’s fun that this is all happening in Birmingham. The teams are using 38-man rosters with players still holding onto dreams of making it into the NFL. It might not be the greatest version of the game, in other words, but it’s still going to be compelling TV for key demographics.
Let’s call it for what it is. This is a made-for-TV league to go head-to-head with the NBA Playoffs. Success of the USFL isn’t going to be determined by the number of fans in the seats, but by the number of television viewers around the country.
But tickets are $10, y’all, and kids 10 and under get in free. Go to as many games as possible. I’ve called Birmingham the Minor League Sports Capital of the World in columns before, but I was only halfway joking. It’s 100 percent official now, though.
Even Birmingham’s coach for this thing is an offspring of a football original. The Stallions are led by Louis Leo Holtz, Jr., who most people just know as “Skip Holtz, son of Lou.
Want a local storyline on Birmingham’s coach? Holtz begins his time with the USFL after being fired by Louisiana Tech for, in part, going 1-4 against UAB since the Blazers’ return to football.
A couple more local angles … New Jersey Generals coach Mike Riley played for Paul Bryant at Alabama in the 1970s. When it was time for Riley to draft a quarterback for the Generals, he went with Luis Perez, who played quarterback for the Birmingham Iron of the failed Alliance of American Football.
The AAF still owes Birmingham money, and so it is right to be naturally concerned about another upstart spring league coming to town. This one is owned by Fox Sports, and they’ve invested a lot of money to make it work. I hope it does.
The Iron Bowl is the state of Alabama’s football Christmas, but spring games are when football teams are resurrected and presented to fans as new hope. So it is this Easter Weekend with the Crimson Tide’s spring scrimmage, and then the launch of a whole pro football league in Birmingham carrying the name of the long-dead USFL.
An attempt will be made on Saturday to attend A-Day in Tuscaloosa, and then make it to Birmingham on time for the beginning of the USFL football season. Admittedly, these are the actions of a degenerate lover of football, but then that’s the target audience of football in the springtime.
In Alabama, that describes the majority of the population, but Fox Sports is betting bigger. If this is a country of football junkies, then this weekend might best demonstrate the addiction.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr. | https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2022/04/this-insane-experiment-by-the-usfl-just-might-work.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:05 | 1 | https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2022/04/this-insane-experiment-by-the-usfl-just-might-work.html |
Bryan Harsin is big on first impressions; after all, you only get one of them. As far as those go, Caleb Wooden left a lasting one on his new head coach this spring.
The freshman safety came away with a pair of turnovers during Auburn’s first practice of the spring back on March 14, intercepting a pass and returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown on his first day in uniform. That was just on Day 1, and it was the start of a recurring theme for Wooden during his first spring on campus.
Read more Auburn football: Tight ends “all over the field” for Auburn as position continues to evolve within offense
Projecting Auburn’s depth chart at the end of spring practice
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“I’ll tell you what, he’s around the ball,” Harsin said. “He’s around the ball. And when he gets a chance to get his hands on it, he’s come down with it quite a bit…. He’s got some confidence when the ball is in the air that he can come down with it and make a play. And he’s been able to do that in quite a few practices.”
The former three-star prospect was one of the standouts of the spring for Auburn, immediately stepping in and making an impact on the back end of the defense over the course of 15 practices. The Tigers spent the spring largely without their top-three safeties from last year—Smoke Monday and Bydarrius Knighten graduated, while Zion Puckett was limited due to injury—leaving a need to address in the secondary and an opportunity for some newcomers and unproven returning players to step up.
Wooden didn’t hesitate to seize it.
With a nose for the ball, he established himself as a difference-maker this spring, earning reps with the first-team defense at safety. During the team’s first scrimmage on March 25, Wooden was the only defender who seemingly never came off the field, working with the first-, second- and third-team defenses. It spoke to the lack of numbers at safety this spring, especially with Puckett limited, but also to the job Wooden did to earn his keep during his first semester.
“He wants to be really, really good,” defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said. “Just like any young player, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. But he is actively trying to learn everything he possibly can. He brings juice to whatever he does.”
That’s on the field and off it. While Wooden showed a knack for creating turnovers throughout the spring—including one that Harsin contests was legitimate, though Wooden was still rewarded for it—he has put in the energy and time behind the scenes to get up to speed as an early enrollee. Defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge remarked that he has never seen a freshman dedicate so much of his free time to coming into his office to ask detailed questions about the defensive scheme and certain aspects of the position.
“He does that just about every day,” Etheridge said. “And that’s what you love to see from a guy.”
Wooden made himself at home in Etheridge’s office this spring, picking the former freshman All-American and four-year starter’s brain at every opportunity. He’ll pull up certain plays on his iPad and ask Etheridge for the specific coaching points, like what the keys are and where his eyes should be focused on.
The initiative, more than anything, has been what has impressed Etheridge. When a young player shows the desire to put in the work to try to be great, it makes it that much more enjoyable for Etheridge to help him get there.
There is still a ways away, though. Wooden is just a freshman, after all; he’s going to make mistakes and learn from them, and he’s still in the developmental stage of his fledgling career. Though he made his share of impact plays this spring, Wooden is still fine-tuning the many aspects of playing safety in the SEC.
Etheridge has focused on working with him on his attention to detail, his alignment, understanding of assignments within the scheme and knowing where to keep his eyes — breaking the habit that many young defensive backs have of focusing on the quarterback when in man coverage. According to Wooden’s older brother, defensive lineman Colby Wooden, he also need to work on being more of a presence against the run — but he’s confident he’ll get there, with time.
“He brings value to playing the free safety position,” Etheridge said. “Him just being able to pick it up and come in and get those reps and all our packages and doing things, because we’re going to need him…. He deserves those reps and he’s showing up every day to continue to put pressure on guys that are in front of him.”
Wooden capped his spring by splitting time between the first- and second-team defenses on A-Day. He finished the scrimmage with just one tackle and was in coverage when T.J. Finley connected with Malcolm Johnson Jr. for a jump-ball touchdown in the first quarter — though Wooden probably would have been credited with a pass breakup in a real game, as replay appeared to show Johnson was unable to complete the catch as he came down in the end zone.
“He’s going to be good,” defensive back Donovan Kaufman said. “By him having his brother here to teach him, he knows what it takes. I really think he’s going to have a great career here.”
Just how soon Wooden sees the field as a freshman remains to be seen, though he only helped his cause this spring while earning the trust of his coaches and impressing his new teammates—including his big brother.
“He’s got a couple things to tidy up, but I always tell him that,” Colby Wooden said. “It’s cool to see him out there. I’m like, ‘That’s really my brother out there.’ He’s on the field making plays. It was just great. Hopefully this fall we’ve got two Woodens on the field at the same time.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde. | https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2022/04/freshman-caleb-wooden-brings-value-juice-to-safety-position-for-auburn-in-1st-spring.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:12 | 1 | https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2022/04/freshman-caleb-wooden-brings-value-juice-to-safety-position-for-auburn-in-1st-spring.html |
(The Hill) — Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro got into a heated exchange with a student about gender identity while speaking at a North Carolina college.
Shapiro was speaking at an event titled “Men Cannot Be Women,” which was hosted by the Young America’s Foundation (YAF), at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) on Monday when the incident occurred.
The author and media host was taking questions from the audience when he got into an exchange with a student who introduced himself as a “mathematician and physicist.”
“So, I think I’m pretty qualified to say that most of what you’re saying is based on old data,” the student said in the video. “Like, for example, gender identity disorder. That’s a DSM4 [diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders] bro. We use a DSM5 now.”
“I literally cited the DSM5 in the speech, and it’s called gender dysphoria,” Shapiro said.
DSM5 is a resource used by health care professionals in the U.S. to classify and diagnose mental disorders, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
The student then said, “You sound like a bozo, bro,” and took shots at his relationship with his wife.
“Let me just say, the nice thing about having several small children is I don’t feel the necessity of having my masculinity challenged by someone like you,” Shapiro responded.
The student then pointed out that Shapiro was drawing his ideas from a “Western colonial framework of gender” and noted that other cultures, like some Native American and African communities, have a different viewpoint of how gender should be interpreted.
“And they are incorrect. I am saying biologically, they are incorrect,” Shapiro said.
UNCG media relations director Eden Boss told The Hill that student organizations that bring speakers to campus, as well as the student body who attends the events, have a responsibility to enforce free speech and civil discourse.
“At UNC Greensboro (UNCG), we support free speech and social discourse,” Boss said in an email. “As a public university, we cannot regulate free expression on the basis of content, whether we agree or disagree.”
Boss also noted that the social media account that posted the original video of the exchange between Shapiro and the student has been made private.
The Hill has reached out to Shapiro.
Shapiro has been a very vocal opponent of LGBTQ arguments about gender identity, claiming that men and women cannot alter the gender they were assigned at birth, and that gender is a binary.
The exchange comes amid a push by GOP lawmakers across the country to advance bills that restrict the rights of transgender young people, including measures to ban trans girls from youth sports and block access to medical care required for transitioning. | https://www.wric.com/entertainment-news/ben-shapiro-gets-into-scrap-with-student-at-men-cannot-be-women-event/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:15 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/entertainment-news/ben-shapiro-gets-into-scrap-with-student-at-men-cannot-be-women-event/ |
The global head of innovation at Johnson & Johnson, JLABs, will headline the first in-person conference in six years for members of Alabama’s bioscience industry later this month.
Melinda Richter will keynote the event for BIO Alabama, the trade organization for the biosciences, on April 25 and 26 at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook. The event will feature speakers from around the country and topics ranging from state innovation economies to workforce challenges.
About 200 scientists are expected for the event, called “Building Alabama’s Biohorizons.” For more information, visit the website.
Richter runs the external Johnson & Johnson research and development engine that works with more than 700 companies around the world in the biopharm, medical device and health tech arenas.
“Having a global company like Johnson & Johnson invest in the vision for Alabama’s future in bioscience gives our bioeconomy a head start for long-term strategic growth,” BIO Alabama CEO Rachel Lane said.
Also offering a keynote address will be Will Rosellini, cofounder and president of CytoImmune Therapeutics, developer of immunotherapies, on the role of nondilutive capital in the innovation economy.
Lane said the conference will bring together the state’s bioscience community to discuss strategy for moving the industry forward.
“Alabama boasts a rich history in bioscience innovation, but we lack a cohesive path forward that takes advantage of all our resources and potential,” Lane said.
BIO Alabama is also partnering with the Alabama Department of Commerce to host its first-ever statewide reverse-pitch event for the state’s bioscience research institutes.
The event, called RALLY, will be held on April 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Grand Bohemian. It connects bioscience companies with research and development to speed innovation.
Auburn University, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Southern Research, Tuskegee University, UAB, and the University of South Alabama are all presenting technologies to industry partners, with more than thirty-five potential technology matches.
Industry participants include local firms, like CFD Research in Huntsville, national names including Rhodium Scientific in Texas and Avanos Medical in Georgia, and international companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, Evonik, MilliporeSigma, and Croda International.
“These collaborations result in the meaningful advancement of research so that it can reach patients and end users more quickly,” Lane said. “They also support startup development, job creation, a positive innovation environment, and additional capital access opportunities.” | https://www.al.com/business/2022/04/alabamas-bioscience-industry-to-gather-for-conference-this-month.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:18 | 1 | https://www.al.com/business/2022/04/alabamas-bioscience-industry-to-gather-for-conference-this-month.html |
VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — A jury trial has been ordered and scheduled for the lawsuit filed by the parents of Gabby Petito against the parents of Brian Laundrie.
The suit filed by Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt last month claims Laundrie’s parents knew all along their son murdered 22-year-old Petito. The attorney for Chris and Roberta Laundrie has already filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it “baseless.”
The jury trial, if it does happen, won’t begin anytime soon.
According to court documents obtained by Nexstar’s WFLA, a trial in front of a jury has been set for the week of Aug. 14, 2023, at the South County Courthouse in Venice, Florida. The trial’s term window doesn’t begin until next year due to scheduling in the Sarasota County court system.
The jury trial, barring dismissal, is expected to be open to the public, which could draw international media attention. It would mark the first time the Petito case reaches a courtroom and, while it would be a civil case instead of a criminal one, it could reveal the highly-anticipated evidence Petito and Schmidt claim to have to support their accusations that the Laundries were told their son murdered Gabby Petito and sought to help him flee the United States.
While a date has been set, the case still faces the possibility of being dismissed after the Laundries’ attorney filed the motion for dismissal on the grounds their clients exercised their constitutional right to refrain from speaking and have “continuously relied on counsel to speak for them.”
Judge Hunter W. Carroll responded to the motion for the lawsuit’s dismissal by allowing the attorneys for Petito and Schmidt 20 days to file an amended complaint he says was necessary due to a “perceived procedural deficiency” in the lawsuit.
“To be clear, the Court in today’s order is not passing on Defendants’ arguments that this lawsuit should be dismissed with prejudice,” Carroll wrote in his response. “The Court’s intent is to address the perceived procedural deficiency before addressing the merits of Defendants’ motion.”
Pat Reilly, the attorney for Petito and Schmidt, says he is preparing to file the amended complaint to state “separate causes of action on behalf of the Petito family against the Laundries.”
A ruling on whether the lawsuit will be dismissed is expected after Judge Carroll reviews the revisions. Steven Bertolino, the Laundries’ attorney in New York, tells WFLA.com his clients will still seek dismissal regardless of the changes made to the amended complaint.
“We are prepared for everything,” Bertolino said.
Reilly says he has a “high confidence level” the lawsuit will reach a jury trial, if it doesn’t get settled out of court.
“The court will have to decide whether the motion to dismiss has any merit, which I don’t believe it does,” said Reilly.
Petito and Schmidt are suing on the grounds of intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging that the Laundries were told by their son of Petito’s murder “on or about” Aug. 28 and, rather than telling them of Gabby’s death, chose to remain silent. The lawsuit accuses the Laundrie family of acting “with malice or great indifference to the rights of” Petito’s family. Petito and Schmidt are seeking damages of at least $100,000, stating that they suffered pain and mental anguish as a result of the “willfulness and maliciousness” of the Laundries.
The Laundries, through their legal team, have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The big question that looms ahead of a potential jury trial is the evidence Petito and Schmidt claim to have to back up claims made in the lawsuit.
“They’ll have to wait and see,” said Reilly when asked about the evidence. “If we didn’t believe it was true, we wouldn’t have put them in the complaint.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/jury-trial-ordered-in-petito-lawsuit-against-laundries-case-may-still-be-dismissed/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:21 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/jury-trial-ordered-in-petito-lawsuit-against-laundries-case-may-still-be-dismissed/ |
A light chill met Christopher Vizzina III on Oct. 24, 2019, and for the first time, the freshman let the moment get to him. Briarwood Christian’s signal-caller was a school hero the week prior, leading a 14-point comeback with five minutes remaining, hurling on the field after tying the then-No. 1 team in the state. At Fairfield, however, something was different.
Vizzina was nervous. Tucked in the stands at Albert J.H. Sloan Stadium was a college coach from Georgia Tech. Vizzina knew he wasn’t there to scout him, but his presence caused a distraction. A nascent recruitment was starting to take shape and Vizzina found himself on the borderline teetering between a skilled, albeit raw, prospect and a high schooler who only ended up at quarterback after his best friend broke his ankle.
Months later, Vizzina decided who he’d try to become. His dad, Christopher Vizzina Jr., introduced him to a trainer from the Birmingham-based QB Country, then something interesting happened. Vizzina didn’t just love the work. He was good at it, too.
The ensuing two-and-a-half years — which included, but were not limited to, a nationwide tour, a rumored “throw-off” between Vizzina and Arch Manning, which the former won and Vizzina becoming the state’s highest-rated quarterback since Bo Nix was a 5-star in 2019 — demanded Vizzina reconcile his talent with the consequences it wrought.
A soft-spoken tree at 6-foot-4, 200-pounds, Vizzina appears more comfortable evading a rush than he does under a spotlight. He’s been grateful for the recognition, it just drained him whenever he wasn’t training or studying. The process forced Vizzina to turn inward, toward his faith and family. Before he could become the future of Clemson football, Vizzina needed to learn what it meant.
“I’ll be scrolling through Instagram and someone is talking about me. I don’t necessarily want to see that all the time,” Vizzina told AL.com, “A lot of attention comes even at school and people I’ve grown up with. ... I’ve had to really simplify my life. That’s what I’ve done the past few months.”
In a loaded position group, Vizzina is wildly-considered to be one of the more polished throwers in 2023. A few of the schools awaiting Manning’s historic decision, like Clemson, pivoted to surer bets once the No. 1 prospect’s sweepstakes stretched into the spring. Vizzina, ranked seventh by 247Sports, had six finalists, with Auburn, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Georgia missing out.
Vizzina’s team, comprising Ben Neill from QB Country (who Jr. knew from his days as Samford University’s head chef), Lions’ head coach Matthew Forester and athletic director Jay Mathews met to form a consistent plan across offseasons. They wanted to limit the number of practice throws he made, lower his left hand on release and slow his footwork on set drops. The goal was not only to build muscle memory but to make sure “CV,” could execute each route at a 90% clip.
“That’s what we were aiming towards, so when we went to colleges, he blew people’s socks off,” Neill said. “And it did. It worked. I think that conversation with the staff was preventative and also strategic.”
Those around Vizzina noticed a change in his work ethic ahead of his junior year. He attributed it to July 4th, 2021. Avoiding barbeques, Vizzina decided to spend the holiday on Briarwood’s field. When the sky burst into color, Vizzina living his own version of ‘The Sandlot,’ he pondered: “I really don’t think anybody else is working right now.” The feeling energized him to more solo sessions.
This past winter, though, following Briarwood’s second-round playoff exit, Neill spotted a modern-day pitfall of recruiting wear on his four-star trainee: Vizzina was worried about his phone. Per Neill’s math, throughout his cycle, Vizzina could’ve texted with representatives from 40 different schools a week, and that’s without counting multiple coaches at the same program.
Constant relationship-building meant constant texting, even if Vizzina woke early for a 6:30 a.m. lift before school and trained after, returning to his phone with dozens of missed notifications. He wanted to be there for each underclassman with a question but the time didn’t add up. Vizzina also wanted to keep proving himself, but with each performance, he brought more of the attention he was growing frustrated wish.
“He does enjoy (recruiting),” Vizzina Jr. said of his son, “but you gotta be a kid. You gotta enjoy being 16. … You don’t need the stress.”
Vizzina retreated to his Bible and Mark 8:36, a verse he first heard years ago, but fully understood after his journey: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
RELATED: State’s top 2023 QB Christopher Vizzina chooses Clemson over Auburn, others
Versatile athletes Ronnie Royal III, Chris Pearson piling up college offers at Gulf Shores
Auburn gets 2nd commitment of 2023 in 4-star safety Terrance Love
Vizzina is still working on his balancing act. Those close have told him every text doesn’t need an answer and every interview doesn’t require your attention. It’s not a huge surprise that Vizzina’s future club, Clemson, first reached out in 2020.
Neill still thinks one day he’ll have to teach Vizzina to prioritize himself more often. He’s getting there and after a year of, as Vizzina puts it, texting his family and Clemson coaches only, “stress relief,” should follow, assuming other schools don’t continue calling before his early enrollment.
During Briarwood’s spring break, his commitment less than two weeks away, Vizzina went to his parents with an idea and they agreed. For his Bahamas trip, Vizzina’s phone minutes were capped and he limited contact to his family and high school coaches. Thankfully, Vizzina’s girlfriend took the trip with him.
“I knew (recruitment) was going to be difficult,” Vizzina said, “I didn’t know it was going to be like that. Life has changed. People know who I am across the country. I’ve met the best coaches in the world.
“It’s really tested me this year.”
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com. | https://www.al.com/highschoolsports/2022/04/how-clemsons-christopher-vizzina-handled-the-pressures-of-his-recruitment.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:24 | 1 | https://www.al.com/highschoolsports/2022/04/how-clemsons-christopher-vizzina-handled-the-pressures-of-his-recruitment.html |
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) — Cousins Zack Dahhan and Mo Cheikh said they weren’t able to sleep after Tuesday morning’s violent attack on a Brooklyn subway; the pair said they even talked about wanting to catch the suspect, Frank R. James, as they came into the city from New Jersey Wednesday morning.
And, according to Dahhan, the two did just that.
“We saw him and we said ‘oh my God,'” Dahhan said.
Dahhan told a cohort of reporters he and his cousin spotted the suspect walking in the East Village with a bag, and then warned other pedestrians not to approach him. That’s when they say they spotted police, flagged them down and pointed them toward James.
“[James] was walking as if he didn’t do anything, man,” Cheikh said.
The NYPD, MTA and TWU transit union offered a combined $50,000 reward for information that led to an arrest and conviction in the case. The NYPD on Wednesday declined to identify the tipster that led them to James’ location.
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that James called to report his own location to police himself. They weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
James was initially spotted in a McDonald’s at East 6th Street and First Avenue, police said. Officers headed there after the CrimeStoppers tip but James wasn’t there, so the officers searched the neighborhood and found him nearby, officials said.
Tahhan thanked the police for their quick action catching James. Cheikh, who told reporters gathered near the scene he rides the subway, said his next ride is going to feel safer because of the arrest.
New York Attorney General Letitia James thanked Dahhan. She saw a video of him explaining what happened on Twitter.
“Thank you for your bravery today, Zack,” she tweeted. “All of New York is grateful.” | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/new-jersey-cousins-say-they-helped-police-find-brooklyn-subway-shooting-suspect/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:27 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/new-jersey-cousins-say-they-helped-police-find-brooklyn-subway-shooting-suspect/ |
Atlanta rapper Archie Eversole is dead at 37, according to multiple reports.
No cause of death has been named for Eversole, who was best known for the 2002 hit “We Ready.”
The song and a Bubba Sparxxx remix has remained a popular pre-game hype track.
“The man who gave us ‘We Ready,’ the greatest Game Day anthem ever, has passed away at 37-years-old,” former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III tweeted.
“Rest in Peace Archie Eversole. Prayers up to his family and loved ones.”
Eversole was 17 when he exploded on the scene and remained a part of his city’s hip-hop scene, getting contracted to release the 2018 song “United We Stand” for the MLS soccer team Atlanta United. | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/archie-eversole-atlantas-we-ready-rapper-dead-at-37.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:30 | 1 | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/archie-eversole-atlantas-we-ready-rapper-dead-at-37.html |
(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.wric.com/news/u-s-world/popcorn-sold-in-more-than-a-dozen-states-recalled-over-allergen-concerns/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:33 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/popcorn-sold-in-more-than-a-dozen-states-recalled-over-allergen-concerns/ |
Christians today observe Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.
Here are five important things to know about Maundy Thursday:
What does Maundy mean?
The Thursday before Easter is known as either Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday. Maundy is derived from the Latin word for “command,” and refers to Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to “Love one another as I have loved you.”
What does it commemorate?
Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, which Christians consider the institution of Holy Eucharist, also known as the Lord’s supper or communion. It is described in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22. At the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus breaks bread, saying, “This is my body,” and pours wine, saying, “This is my blood.” He then asks the disciples to “Do this in remembrance of me.”
What holiday was Jesus observing?
The Last Supper is derived from Jesus’ Jewish heritage and his observance of a Jewish holiday. The Last Supper was a Passover Seder, the feast of unleavened bread. Jesus and the disciples are eating unleavened bread. Passover is the Jewish festival commemorating the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, when they left so quickly there was no time for the bread to rise.
Why foot-washing?
Maundy Thursday is also associated with foot-washing. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, an act described in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, as Jesus teaching them to be servants. It’s the ultimate act of “servant leadership.” Jesus instructs his followers to love and to serve. Most Catholic churches will have a Mass tonight, with a Eucharistic celebration that includes the washing of feet..
Maundy Thursday has a dark side
Jesus foretells his death, saying he will eat no more until the kingdom of God is fulfilled. It also marks an act of betrayal. “One of you will betray me,” Jesus says. Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, is pointed out by Jesus as the one who will betray him. | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/what-is-maundy-thursday.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:36 | 0 | https://www.al.com/life/2022/04/what-is-maundy-thursday.html |
(NEXSTAR) — Inflation in the U.S. hit a 40-year high in March 2022 with the government’s consumer price index shooting up by 8.5% compared to the same time last year. Yet some parts of the country are feeling the pinch of inflation more than others.
According to the consumer price index, states in the South, as a whole, have seen the greatest spike – 9.1% – in inflation between March 2021 and March 2022. The West has experienced the second-worst spike, with an 8.7% change followed by the Midwest at 8.6%.
Last month, these rankings were the same – the South suffered the largest spike during the 12-month period ending in February 2022 at 8.4%, followed closely by the West and Midwest.
Within the most recent report, states in the Mountain West subregion – from Montana south to New Mexico – have been hit hardest at 10.4% change over the last year. Following the Mountain West is the West South Central subregion – Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, according to the Census Bureau – with an inflation spike of 9.5% over the last year.
Of the 23 metro areas the Labor Department provides data for, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., area was the hardest hit by inflation since March 2021, seeing a 10.2% increase. Between January and March alone, the area experienced a 2.1% spike. Close behind was the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. area, with a 10% rise.
The consumer price index shows the New York-Newark-Jersey City area experienced the smallest year-over-year inflation spike at 6.1%.
For the 14 areas with data available from Feb. 2022 rather than March 2022, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., area was the hardest hit, seeing a 10.9% increase. The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif., area had the smallest inflation spike between Feb. 2021 and Feb. 2022 at 5.2%.
Across the economy, the year-over-year price spikes were widespread. Gasoline prices rocketed 48% in the past 12 months. Used car prices have soared 35%, though they actually fell in February and March. Bedroom furniture is up 14.7%, men’s suits and coats 14.5%. Grocery prices have jumped 10%, including 18% increases for both bacon and oranges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/states-hit-the-hardest-as-inflation-reaches-40-year-high/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:39 | 0 | https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/states-hit-the-hardest-as-inflation-reaches-40-year-high/ |
John Mullen figures there is plenty that coastal Alabama residents already know about within the entries included in the newly released book he wrote entitled, “100 Things to Do on the Alabama Gulf Coast Before You Die.”
But there are also a few curveballs.
Ever heard of “Bamahenge”?
What about the life-sized dinosaurs that lurk in the woods near Elberta?
They, among other oddities, are included among the entries in Mullen’s book, released on April 1 and currently for sale through Reedy Press.
“I was surprised by how many people didn’t know about the life-sized dinosaurs, and the exact replica of Stonehenge,” Mullen recently said during an interview with AL.com.
Mullen, 60, is a semi-retired journalist living in Orange Beach who has been employed in various capacities with Alabama-based newspapers and publications since 1983.
He has lived full-time in the coastal Alabama region since 2010 and was more recently editor of The Islander for six years. He backed off the full-time gig and began freelancing a few years ago.
“I tell people that I work every day until happy hour starts,” Mullen said.
His current work can often be found on the OBA community website that focuses on the city of Orange Beach. He also covers Gulf Shores city government for the Mullet Wrapper.
About a year ago, he began the book project that examines things to do in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The boundaries are expanded a bit to include events or attractions in Fairhope and Foley, as well as Biloxi, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida.
“I’d sit down and do 10 a day,” said Mullen. “It’s a lot of research, and you try to toss in some light writing.”
He wrapped up the project in October.
Themes and Tips
The book is divided into several themed sections: Food and Drink, Music and Entertainment, Sports and Recreation, Culture and History, and Shopping and Fashion. Each entry within a section consists of a paragraph-long description followed by contact information that includes a website. At the bottom of some of the entries is a “Tip” that adds some humor or helpful advice.
“The tip I gave for crawfish season was, ‘Don’t touch your eyes or other sensitive extremities until you wash your hands,’” Mullen said. “You know, that will burn.”
He said he’s been asked about his favorite entry among the 100 places listed within the book. Though Mullen does not name one specific favorite, he said the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, does stand out.
“I’m a big World War II buff, and that’s an interest of mine,” Mullen said.
He also said he enjoyed entries that helped promote a local business that’s run by friends. One such entry included the American Star, a pirate-themed ship at the Perdido Pass in Orange Beach that is said to be an exact replica of Christopher Columbus’ ship, the Pinta.
Community relationships
Mullen said connections he’s made working in community news journalism for the past 10 years helped build the foundation for the book.
It’s also helping him get the book marketed and out into the public. So far, the reception has been strong, with St. Louis-based Reedy Press printing more than 2,000 books. The books are for sale online for $17.
Mullen said that while writing the book he felt that “snowbirds” visiting the Alabama Gulf Coast would be a top customer for it. Snowbirds is the term used to refer to the Northern retirees who vacation in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach during the winter months.
Turns out, local Realtors are among the best early customers.
“People with condo rental units want to buy them and leave them for people to look over and find things to do,” said Mullen. “Realtors are wanting to give them to clients at closings.”
Coastal restaurants are also selling it.
“I’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the support,” Mullen said.
He added, “It’s those relationships that really helped a lot for me to get into this. It would have been much harder not having those good relationships in the community.” | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/bamahenge-crawfish-and-more-alabama-journalist-searches-for-must-do-attractions-events-on-gulf-coast.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:42 | 0 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/bamahenge-crawfish-and-more-alabama-journalist-searches-for-must-do-attractions-events-on-gulf-coast.html |
(The Hill) – History-making Olympic track star Allyson Felix on Wednesday announced her retirement from the sport in an Instagram post.
Felix, who in 2021 became the most decorated U.S. track Olympian of all time, said she is stepping away from her athletic career at the end of this season.
“I have so much gratitude for this sport that has changed my life,” she wrote. “I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I’m not sure if I have anything left to give.”
Felix, recently named one of Time’s Women of the Year, also hinted at a future of women’s advocacy work in her announcement.
“This season I’m running for women. I’m running for a better future for my daughter. I’m running for you. More to come on that, so stay tuned, but I’ll be sharing a series of announcements that I’m hoping will make the world better for women,” she added.
Felix previously ended her Olympic career, saying the Tokyo Olympics would be her last. During her final Olympic summer games last year Felix helped Team USA secure the gold medal in the women’s 4×400-meter relay.
Felix told reporters at the time that it “was really cool to come together, to get to close out the Olympic Games — and, for me, my Olympic career — in this way,” according to USA Today. | https://www.wric.com/sports/history-making-track-olympian-allyson-felix-announces-retirement/ | 2022-04-14T13:40:45 | 1 | https://www.wric.com/sports/history-making-track-olympian-allyson-felix-announces-retirement/ |
A lingering threat for severe weather was confined to the southeast corner of Alabama as of Thursday morning.
The rain and storms that moved through the state late Wednesday have decreased in intensity, and no severe watches or warnings were in effect as of Thursday morning.
However, there could be a few storms later in the morning or early this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center agrees and has a marginal risk for severe weather in place over the southeast corner of Alabama. A marginal risk is Level 1 out of 5 and means that isolated severe storms will be possible. (See the map at the top of this post.)
Forecasters think the lingering front, which is expected to slow down or stall somewhere over south Alabama or the Gulf, could help set off a few storms later this morning or this afternoon.
Gusty winds are the main concerns with any stronger storms that develop, the weather service said.
The rest of Alabama is expected to be quiet, weather-wise, for the next day or two, but a chance for severe weather will return to the forecast on Saturday.
The Storm Prediction Center has added a marginal (Level 1) risk for severe weather for south Alabama on Saturday as the stalled frontal boundary moves back northward as a warm front.
Here is Saturday’s severe weather outlook:
The weather service said hail and strong wind gusts will be the main concerns on Saturday.
The chance for rain and storms will persist into Easter Sunday and Monday as well. There could be a chance for stronger storms both days but so far the SPC has not added a severe weather risk for Alabama.
There is hope that the frontal boundary will move out by early next week and put an end to the unsettled weather. However, some forecast models show it stalling out again through mid-week, according to the weather service. | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/chance-for-storms-in-alabama-today-next-chance-for-severe-weather-comes-saturday.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:48 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/chance-for-storms-in-alabama-today-next-chance-for-severe-weather-comes-saturday.html |
“Game of Thrones” actor Joseph Gatt was arrested this month in an ongoing investigation into alleged criminal acts against children, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
The announcement of his arrest and the investigation was made in a press release Tuesday, a week after investigators arrested the 50-year-old actor following a search at his home in the Beverly Grove area April 6.
Police said Gatt, who also appeared in “Thor” and television series such as “Z Nation,” was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant related to a sexual offense against a minor.
Investigators with the LAPD’s Juvenile Division and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force said police launched the criminal investigation after receiving information that Gatt had engaged in “online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines,” according to the statement.
Investigators provided few details about that case but said they are looking for additional victims who may have come in contact with the British actor.
Gatt was released after posting $5,000 bail a few hours after he was taken into custody, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A court hearing has not been scheduled, county records show.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
©2022 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/joseph-gatt-game-of-thrones-actor-accused-of-sex-crimes-against-children.html | 2022-04-14T13:40:54 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/joseph-gatt-game-of-thrones-actor-accused-of-sex-crimes-against-children.html |
A one-of-its-kind LGBTQ-affirming charter school in Homewood is adding security after an Alabama gubernatorial candidate released a campaign ad last week criticizing it for “exploitation” of children and “not education.”
Michael Wilson, principal of the Magic City Acceptance Academy, said Wednesday that a TV ad running in support of Republican governor hopeful Tim James is “scaring the hell out of our kids,” and he’s calling for it be removed.
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In the meantime, security has been added at the school that opened last fall and is believed to be the only LGBTQ-affirming charter school in the Southeast. The school accepts and tries to support children of all genders and races, like other public schools, but makes a particular effort to affirm LGBTQ students.
“The Tim James ad is nothing short of an adult bullying children,” said Wilson, 69, who oversees a school of approximately 240 students in grades 6-12. “It’s causing more anxiety. You are talking about kids who are four times more likely than their straight counterparts with suicide ideation.”
The ad is also drawing the ire of LGBTQ supporters, whose concerns about safety for Alabama’s LGBTQ youth is growing after last week’s legislative action in Montgomery.
Gov. Ivey appointees on the AL Public Charter School Commission funded Magic City Acceptance Academy w/ $2M in the state budget. The buck stops w/ the governor. As governor, Tim James would have opposed the formation of this school and would have vetoed any budget that funded it. pic.twitter.com/ERm2yjkJgb
— Tim James (@TimJamesGov) April 11, 2022
Two bills, viewed as anti-LGBTQ, were signed last week that limit medical care for transgender youths, bathroom access and restricts sex educational discussions in public schools.
Among the critics is Alabama Democratic Party vice-chair Patricia Todd, who served as the state’s first LGBTQ lawmaker in the Alabama Legislature from 2006-2018.
“What he’s doing is extremely dangerous to youth,” said Todd, referring to the James ad. “If anything happens, such as a hate crime to those kids, that will be on his hands.”
‘Common sense and crazy’
The James campaign, in response to Todd’s comments, doubled down on the remarks made in the ad by criticizing the public money appropriated to the school through the Alabama State Department of Education’s fiscal year budget.
“We find it unconscionable to use the concept of protecting kids as an opportunity to expose them to drag queen shows and normalize perversion,” the James campaign said in an email to AL.com on Tuesday. “For a public school like Magic City Acceptance Academy to use $2 million of our state tax dollars to host drag queen shows for kids should anger every parent, grandparent and taxpayer in Alabama.”
The campaign added, “This school needs to have its charter revoked and be shut down – not because of the children but because of the faculty.”
A public school using $2M of our state tax dollars to host drag shows for children should anger every parent, grandparent, & taxpayer in the state of AL. MCAA needs to have its charter revoked and be shut down - not because of the children but because of the faculty. #alpolitics https://t.co/YS1qfedJnz
— Tim James (@TimJamesGov) April 12, 2022
The James ad is a 30-second spot that starts off with the candidate claiming, “there is a war going on between common sense and crazy.” He then criticizes transgender athletes and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s response during her Senate confirmation hearings after being asked to define a “woman.”
The ad continues with James saying, “Now here in Alabama, we chartered the first transgender school in the South using millions of your tax dollars. The faculty put on a drag show for children. That’s not education, it’s exploitation. It’s got to stop. It’s time to fight back.”
Wilson said the drag show in question was a school fundraiser that occurred on the Friday before Spring Break last month.
He said the show was no different than similar activities that have been occurring at schools nationwide for decades. He said the school’s event was like a “womanless beauty pageant,” which has served as a school fundraiser across the country.
He also likened the event to the “Powder Puff” flag football game that occurs annually at Baylor School in Tennessee, which is where James attended high school. During that game, girls participate in a flag football game while the boys perform as cheerleaders.
James, during a radio appearance on Thursday, continued to use the charter school to underscore his platform that “our education system is crumbling,” citing the state’s low rankings in math. He said he plans to “deconstruct” the state’s educational system “as it stands today.”
He’s currently trailing incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey by a considerable distance in polling ahead of the May 24 primary. A poll from last month shows that James has a shot at pushing Ivey into a runoff on June 21. Ivey needs more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. Nine candidates are running for the GOP nomination for governor.
‘Brave space’
The use of the academy as campaign foil has Wilson defending his young school that received its charter to operate on November 10, 2020.
“For me, personally, as an Alabama adult and resident, it’s scary and disappointing at the same time,” said Wilson, who is a retired Alabama educator who previously served as the principal at Glen Iris Elementary School in Birmingham.
“I’m talking about the political rhetoric that his happening among these people vying for the Republican nomination,” he said. “We’re seeing ads for Senate and governor, and you know, I’m just surprised at how low one goes, the next goes lower. I just don’t understand how that inflammatory advertisement is good for democracy.”
The school’s sudden jolt into the campaign spotlight comes after the difficulties it experienced two years ago during its creation. Originally denied its charter by the Birmingham City School Board in early 2020, the school won approval following multiple setbacks before the Alabama Public Charter School Commission.
It wasn’t an easy process. The state commission voted three times to deny the school’s formation until Wilson and others convinced enough commissioners that the academy not only accepted LGBTQ students, but all others who are not having success in their current school. Public charter schools must accept all students who apply and cannot discriminate or set requirements for enrollment in the school.
Wilson said the hang-up was the focus on the phrase, “LGBTQ.” But Wilson also notes that the school is the first in the U.S. to include within its mission statement that it’s a “LGBTQ-affirming brave space” for students.
Funding
Aside from state funding, the school – which is sponsored by Birmingham AIDS Outreach – receives state and federal grants and is boosted through local fundraising. The school does not receive local tax dollars, Wilson said.
“We’re a public school just like any other public school,” said Wilson. “We get basic foundation funding like any school gets. We get no different (amounts of state funding) than anyone else.”
Students are primarily from the Birmingham area, with buses transporting them from Leeds, Trussville, Fultondale, McCalla, Pelham and beyond.
Wilson said the goal for the 2022-2023 school year is to increase enrollment by 110 students, up to 350.
The school’s curriculum follows state standards.
“Our expectations academically for each child is for them to make gains from where they began,” said Wilson. “We utilize a benchmark test to see where students were when they started in August and September, test in January and again at the end of the year. It tells us how we are doing in order to help every student to meet their own needs.”
‘Sad state of affairs’
Wilson said he’s not interested in inviting James for a meeting to allow the candidate to learn more about it, saying such a meeting “is pointless.”
“I don’t think people who that kind of rhetoric want to know the truth,” said Wilson.
For now, teachers are on guard at the school and are keeping a lookout for any strange vehicles that might drive by the school. He said school’s building is heavily secured with security cameras, and it’s positioned close to the Homewood Police Department’s headquarters, which Wilson said is “very fortunate for us.”
Peculiar activity has already happened, he said.
“We had a car drive by, and someone was shouting slurs at the kids while they were outside during PE,” Wilson said. “Another occurrence is that we had a man and a woman drive a car into the parking lot at the end of the building and the lady got out and walked toward a picnic table where the (students) were eating lunch. She was just filming. As soon as (the staff) went out there, she took off. I don’t know what their purpose was.”
Katie Glenn, a policy associate with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, said the academy’s situation illustrates the consequences that political ads have on an institution.
“It’s not about a couple of points in the polls, it’s the actual lives to children that are at risk,” she said. “I think we are in a really scary moment in the way that politicians are talking about LGBTQ folks, both adults and children. It will have real consequences.”
Glenn cited the 2019 suicide of 15-year-old Nigel Shelby in Huntsville, whose death from excessive bullying drew reaction from Hollywood and beyond.
“This has happened in these legislator’s backyards,” said Glenn. “If they don’t wake up soon, there will be other kids who end up hurt. That is a really sad state of affairs.”
Todd, the state’s first LGBTQ official, said she’s worried about future campaign ads this year, saying that fewer “moderate Republicans” are seeking election in 2022.
“They will be replaced by far more social conservative people,” said Todd. “They will come after trans people more than they have. It’s disgusting and heartbreaking and, at the same time especially when you come after queer youth, that should be out of bounds.”
She added, “It’s easy to hate someone you don’t know or have to face personally. It’s the same with race divisions, too. We haven’t come very far in Alabama when you think about this.”
Wilson said he hopes the James ad doesn’t lead to copycats.
“The primary is not until May 24,” he said. “I hate to have to endure another 30 days or so of listening to these ads. I’ll have to go turn off the TV and go strictly to streaming services with no commercials.” | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/lgbtq-affirming-magic-city-acceptance-academy-adds-security-after-tim-james-ad.html | 2022-04-14T13:41:00 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/lgbtq-affirming-magic-city-acceptance-academy-adds-security-after-tim-james-ad.html |
It’s tick season in the South, so you may want to be on the lookout.
Though people can encounter ticks throughout the year, the tiny critters are more active from April to September. For example, in North Carolina, tick bites become more likely starting in the late spring, Wake County said on its website.
Health experts say it’s important to avoid exposure to ticks because they can carry diseases that pose serious risks to humans.
Here are tips for staying safe and warning signs to watch for.
How can you avoid bites?
Of the tick species that bite humans, four are found throughout the Southeast, including in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. A fifth species lives along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, McClatchy News reported.
“Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, or even on animals,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website. “Spending time outside walking your dog, camping, gardening, or hunting could bring you in close contact with ticks.”
But if you want to bask in warm-weather activities, here are steps the CDC and the N.C. Cooperative Extension say you can take to try staying out of harm’s way:
- Walk in the middle of paths and steer clear of areas with high grasses or heavy leaf cover.
- Use products that have permethrin on your clothes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an online tool that lets you search for repellents.
- Wear light-colored clothes in layers and tuck your pants into your socks when possible.
- Slide a white cloth over plants to check for ticks before choosing a camping spot.
What if you’re exposed?
When you come home from a place where ticks may live, experts recommend taking a shower. You also might want to examine your body and clothes for the seed-sized creatures.
“Remove the attached tick as soon as you notice it,” the CDC said on its website. “Grasp the tick with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible, and pull it straight out.”
It’s also recommended to watch for signs that something could be wrong, including rashes, fever and flu-like symptoms. Lyme disease, the most common sickness of its type in the United States, “is rarely life-threatening” but waiting to get treated can lead to more serious consequences, according to health officials.
©2022 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/tick-season-how-to-protect-yourself-avoid-bites.html | 2022-04-14T13:41:07 | 0 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/tick-season-how-to-protect-yourself-avoid-bites.html |
With the sixth choice in the NFL Draft on April 28, the Carolina Panthers are supposed to pick a quarterback. At least that’s what the draft watchers say, and looking at their roster, it’s apparent why.
But what if they don’t? What if the Panthers decide to make their quarterback pick next year?
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Some highly regarded draft experts have as many as five quarterbacks in their first-round mock picks – Ole Miss’ Matt Corral, North Carolina’s Sam Howell, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Liberty’s Malik Willis, who started his college career at Auburn.
The highly productive college QBs have each been described glowingly by one talent evaluator or another. But one adjective not being used to describe any of the quarterbacks is franchise.
That presents a first-round dilemma for the quarterback-hungry teams such as Carolina.
“This will be interesting because the tackles will be the best players on the board,” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said of his team’s first-round choice. “But we do need a quarterback, and at some point you have to take a shot, especially in the top 10. You hate to force it, because when you force it, you could make a mistake.
“It’s a unique quarterback class because there’s not a clear No. 1, No. 2, No. 3. Like, who’s the proven starter who can come in and play for you? That’ll be the conversation we have for the next month -- quarterback or left tackle. …
“Getting the right person with the right makeup with the right skill set for your offense and having that blend together is key. So much of it is what’s around them. You’ve got to be able to protect them.”
The Panthers still have starting quarterback -- Sam Darnold -- and he has a guaranteed payday of $18.858 million for the 2022 season.
But does Carolina owner David Tepper really want the people who traded three draft choices for Darnold and exercised the big-money option for 2022 on Darnold’s contract one year ago only to find out his performance for the Panthers in 2021 mirrored his play for the New York Jets in the previous three seasons to be the ones who’ll try to discern which of the homogeneous QB prospects has the best NFL future?
In the 2023 NFL Draft, the out-of-the-gate quarterback pickers won’t be guessing. Alabama QB Bryce Young will be scooped up as quickly as possible, and the next quarterback chooser will take Ohio State’s CJ Stroud. They will be described as franchise quarterbacks.
“Tanking for Tua” became attached to the Miami Dolphins’ 2019 season. In 2022, the Panthers could tank for another Alabama quarterback and have a much-needed offensive tackle in place for the Crimson Tide QB’s arrival next year.
After Carolina, the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers are thought to be the teams most actively perusing the quarterbacks for first-round consideration. The Seahawks have the No. 9 pick, and the Steelers start at No. 20.
What if the Seahawks obtain Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns? Some team is going to get him at bargain terms, and even Mayfield thinks Seattle is his most likely landing spot with Cleveland kicking him to the curb after obtaining Deshaun Watson. Mayfield could make the Seahawks view QB with less urgency than the No. 9 pick.
But could an NFL Draft really get to the 10th pick without a quarterback selection?
It happened most recently in 2013, when Florida State’s EJ Manuel at No. 16 was the only quarterback in the first round. In the eight drafts since, 17 quarterbacks have been chosen in the first nine selections.
A look at the players who could be selected in the first round on April 28, using the draft order as it currently stands:
No. 1: Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson by the Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 2: Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux by the Detroit Lions
No. 3: Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal by the Houston Texans
No. 4: Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker by the New York Jets
No. 5: Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross by the New York Giants
No. 6: North Carolina State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu by the Carolina Panthers
No. 7: LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. by the New York Giants
No. 8: Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson by the Atlanta Falcons
No. 9: Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie by the Seattle Seahawks
No. 10: Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner by the New York Jets
No. 11: Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams by the Washington Commanders
No. 12: Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis by the Minnesota Vikings
No. 13: Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton by the Houston Texans
No. 14: Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum by the Baltimore Ravens
No. 15: Southern Cal wide receiver Drake London by the Philadelphia Eagles
No. 16: Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett by the New Orleans Saints
No. 17: Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis by the Los Angeles Chargers
No. 18: Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd by the Philadelphia Eagles
No. 19: Central Michigan offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann by the New Orleans Saints
No. 20: Liberty quarterback Malik Willis by the Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 21: Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. by the New England Patriots
No. 22: Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks by the Green Bay Packers
No. 23: Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam by the Arizona Cardinals
No. 24: Florida State edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II by the Dallas Cowboys
No. 25: Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary by the Buffalo Bills
No. 26: Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave by the Tennessee Titans
No. 27: Boston College guard Zion Johnson by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No. 28: Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning by the Green Bay Packers
No. 29: Michigan safety Daxton Hill by the Kansas City Chiefs
No. 30: Georgia wide receiver George Pickens by the Kansas City Chiefs
No. 31: Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean by the Cincinnati Bengals
No. 32: Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral by the Detroit Lions
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1. | https://www.al.com/sports/2022/04/alcom-nfl-mock-draft-2-tanking-for-bryce.html | 2022-04-14T13:41:13 | 1 | https://www.al.com/sports/2022/04/alcom-nfl-mock-draft-2-tanking-for-bryce.html |
KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine said Thursday its forces sank the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in a missile attack, but Moscow said the vessel was merely damaged, making no mention of an assault.
The loss of the ship would be a major military and symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.
Russia said a fire aboard the Moskva, a warship that would typically have 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate the vessel. It later said the fire had been contained and that the ship would be towed to port with its guided missile launchers intact.
The ship carries 16 missiles, according to a military analyst, and its removal from combat would greatly reduce Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. Regardless of the extent of the damage, any attack would represent a major blow to Russian prestige seven weeks into a war that is already widely seen as a historic blunder.
It was not immediately possible to reconcile the vastly different accounts, and cloud cover made it impossible to locate the ship or determine its condition based on satellite photos.
The news of damage to the ship came hours after some of Ukraine’s allies sought to rally new support for the embattled country. On a visit with leaders from three other EU countries on Russia’s doorstep who fear they could next be in Moscow’s sights, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda declared that “the fight for Europe’s future is happening here.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden, who called Russia’s actions in Ukraine “a genocide” this week, approved $800 million in new military assistance to Kyiv. He said weapons from the West have sustained Ukraine’s fight so far and “we cannot rest now.”
The news of the flagship’s damage overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where they have been battling the Ukrainians since the early days of the invasion in some of the heaviest fighting of the war — at a horrific cost to civilians.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that 1,026 troops from the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade surrendered at a metals factory in the city. But Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, rejected the claim, telling Current Time TV that “the battle over the seaport is still ongoing today.”
It was unclear when or over what time period a surrender may have occurred or how many forces were still defending Mariupol.
Russian state television broadcast footage that it said was from Mariupol showing dozens of men in camouflage walking with their hands up and carrying others on stretchers. One man held a white flag.
Mariupol’s capture is critical for Russia because it would put a swath of territory in its control that would allow its forces in the south, who came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to link up with troops in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukraine in the Donbas since 2014, the same year Russia seized Crimea. Russia has recognized the independence of the rebel regions in the Donbas.
But the loss of the Moskva, named for the Russian capital, could set those efforts back.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC show the Moskva steaming out of the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday.
Maksym Marchenko, the governor of the Odesa region, across the Black Sea to the northwest of Sevastopol, said the Ukrainians struck the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.” Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, then said the ship sank, calling it an event of “colossal significance.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It later said the ship was afloat and would be taken in for repairs. It said its “main missile weapons” were not damaged.
The Neptune is an anti-ship missile that was recently developed by Ukraine and based on an earlier Soviet design. The launchers are mounted on trucks stationed near the coast, and, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the missiles can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away.
The U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday.
“We don’t have the capacity at this point to independently verify that,” he told the Economic Club of Washington. Still, he called it “a big blow to Russia.”
“They’ve had to kind of choose between two stories: One story is that it was just incompetence, and the other was that they came under attack, and neither is a particular the good outcome for them,” Sullivan said.
Oleg Zhdanov, a Ukrainian military analyst, said the ship’s loss, if confirmed, would reduce the number of Russian cruise missiles in the Black Sea to 56.
“The loss of 16 cruise missiles at once will force the Russians to preserve their strength and change their tactics on the water,” he said.
Hours after the damage to the ship was reported, Ukrainian authorities said on the Telegram messaging service that explosions had struck Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port. They urged residents to remain calm and said there is no danger to civilians.
Russia invaded on Feb. 24 with the goal, according to Western officials, of rapidly seizing Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly replacement. But the ground advance stalled in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance with the help of Western arms, and Russia has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
A U.N. task force warned that the war threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries that are facing even higher food and energy costs and increasingly difficult financial conditions. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war is “supercharging” a crisis in food, energy and finance in poorer countries that were already struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to funding.
The war has also unsettled the post-Cold War balance in Europe — and particularly worried countries on NATO’s eastern flank that fear they could next come under attack. As a result, those nations have been some of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters.
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia traveled Wednesday to war-ravaged areas in Ukraine and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes. They met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited Borodyanka, one of the towns near Kyiv where evidence of atrocities was found after Russian troops withdrew to focus on the country’s east.
“There are no doubts that they committed war crimes. And for that, they should be accountable,” Latvian President Egils Levits said.
Nauseda of Lithuania called for tougher sanctions, including against Russian oil and gas shipments and all the country’s banks.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, who is also defense minister, visited Kyiv on Thursday.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy noted that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which was controlled by Russian forces until recently and where evidence of mass killings and more than 400 bodies were found.
“It is inevitable that the Russian troops will be held responsible. We will drag everyone to a tribunal, and not only for what was done in Bucha,” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-aud-nw-ukraine-russia-20220414-ormn3clyqfgfzlzeij5jqnc2ye-story.html | 2022-04-14T13:46:17 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-aud-nw-ukraine-russia-20220414-ormn3clyqfgfzlzeij5jqnc2ye-story.html |
The little things have kept NASA’s one big thing from getting to the finish line as the massive rocket for the Artemis I moon mission looks to complete a tanking test needed before it can be queued up for a launch later this summer.
NASA has already had to scrub two attempts at the simulated countdown and filling and draining for the Space Launch System rocket topped with the Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39-B. A third attempt is officially underway today.
The main goal is to fill the core stage and upper stages of the 322-foot-tall rocket with 730,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Pressure and valve issues related to the mobile launcher on which it sits forced scrubs of NASA’s efforts to complete the test on both April 3 and April 4. Then another pressure issue with a 3-inch valve in a hard-to-reach location in the upper stage of the SLS forced NASA to hold off a planned test this past weekend, shift its goals for the entire test, and attempt to fill only the core stage to its full level with only limited tanking on the upper stages.
Missions managers said the valve can much more easily be checked and replaced when the rocket is rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building after the tanking test, and that the upper stage testing, specifically for the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage powered by one Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, isn’t entirely necessary before a planned launch as it has already been flight proven on other rockets, and it won’t be used until the SLS has left Earth’s atmosphere.
The roughly 46-hour simulation that will bring the countdown clock down to 0, but not fire up the engines capable of producing 8.8 million pounds of thrust, began on Tuesday, but the final tanking procedure was to have begun this morning.
Once again, a pressure issue caused a delay, but NASA yet again worked around it, fixing the flow of gaseous nitrogen that is used to purge oxygen from the rocket ahead of tanking to make a safer environment.
The countdown clock for the test was delayed, but started up again at 8:47 a.m. with the test ending targeting 3:57 p.m.
The new lunar rocket was rolled out to the pad in March in anticipation of the test. After its expected completion Thursday afternoon, NASA will need about 10 days before it rolls the rocket back to the VAB to further go through data, and then potentially set a launch date this summer.
The next possible windows for launch are from June 6-16, June 29-July 12 and July 26-Aug. 9.
Artemis I is an uncrewed flight that will send Orion farther into space than any other human-rated spacecraft has ever traveled — 280,000 miles away, which is 40,000 miles beyond the moon. The SLS rocket will surpass the power of the Saturn V rockets of the Apollo program, producing 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
The mission could last either four or six weeks when Orion returns to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of California.
Originally to have launched in 2016, the SLS and Orion hardware have seen numerous cost and production delays, which have had a domino effect on future Artemis missions.
NASA now plans the crewed Artemis II flight, which will take humans in an orbit around the moon without landing, no earlier than May 2024. The Artemis III mission, which would use a Human Landing System, contracted to SpaceX using a version of its Starship spacecraft, will bring two astronauts, including the first woman, to the lunar surface. That mission is now planned for no earlier than 2025. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-nasa-artemis-i-tanking-test-update-20220414-nyfss7k4rneczb7v4oyr7nvc5q-story.html | 2022-04-14T13:46:23 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-nasa-artemis-i-tanking-test-update-20220414-nyfss7k4rneczb7v4oyr7nvc5q-story.html |
The linebacker position for the Miami Dolphins was one where many believed the team could search for an upgrade this offseason.
In free agency, instead, the Dolphins decided to go the route of continuity, essentially bringing back last season’s linebacker corps and allowing the likes of Bobby Wagner (from Seahawks to Rams) and Myles Jack (Jaguars to Steelers) to land elsewhere.
Inside linebackers Elandon Roberts and Duke Riley were brought back, as were reserves Brennan Scarlett and Sam Eguavoen. The unit was already returning leading tackler Jerome Baker and outside linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Andrew Van Ginkel.
While returning all the linebacker corps’ main contributors from 2021, it’s still a position where the Dolphins could search for a player with one of their two middle-round draft picks in late April. Miami has pick No. 102 at the end of the third round and a fourth-round selection, along with two seventh-rounders, where a young player could be inserted into competition.
An inside linebacker could provide a piece that rotates in with Roberts and Riley next to Baker in a 3-4 defensive front, or give Baker the flexibility to stretch out wide as an outside linebacker, as he often did in the second half of last season. An extra outside linebacker could enhance the pass rush already present with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah (team-leading 9 sacks in 2021), Phillips (8 1/2), Baker (5 1/2) and Van Ginkel (4) and keep them all fresh in a rotation in the Dolphins’ blitz-heavy approach.
The continuity allows the Dolphins defense to build off the momentum of leading the way to eight wins in their final nine games last season. It maintains the same system on that side of the ball. Cornerbacks, with Xavien Howard landing a lucrative extension this offseason, can be called upon to defend in single coverage. With Ogbah re-signed, the defensive line in front of the linebackers remains stout, while linebackers and even safeties are often called upon to rush the passer.
“It was a great thing because I know all of those guys,” said Roberts of the defense remaining intact. “You’ve got that team camaraderie with your defense. I’m glad we got all the guys back, and it’s going to be fun. The NFL changes every year, so to not have your defensive unit change that much is a good thing.”
Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer remains in that role in the transition from Brian Flores to Mike McDaniel as head coach. Linebackers coach Anthony Campanile also returns to instruct his unit, and Ty McKenzie was hired as outside linebackers coach.
Baker, entering his fifth season, returns his 92 tackles. Roberts, who was a Flores player after spending three seasons with the former Dolphins coach in New England when Flores was a Patriots assistant, was still brought back amid the transition. The seventh-year pro brings leadership as a defensive captain last year, along with his 83 tackles, second among linebackers.
“You can start putting yourself and your defense in situations that you might have not been able to put in last year in OTAs,” said Roberts about the continuity at the position amid a coaching change. “You had to start from the foundation. Every year, you still have to start with your foundation because guys have been off. You’ve just got to revamp things, but it’s a quicker process.”
With Phillips, a former Miami Hurricanes standout, heading into his second season and Van Ginkel his fourth, they can anchor the outside. Midseason, Riley was a revelation for quality snaps inside that allowed Baker to rotate out. That can also allow Phillips to put his hand in the ground as the hybrid edge defender that he is, mostly playing defensive end when he broke through at UM in 2020 to become a first-round pick in the last year’s draft.
Scarlett, who started four games last season, provides depth, along with Eguavoen. Calvin Munson and Darius Hodge are other linebackers on the Dolphins roster this offseason that can compete come training camp.
Miami has also worked out a pair of linebackers, inside linebacker Reuben Foster and edge rusher Melvin Ingram, who can also play defensive end. It’s an indication the Dolphins are still looking for additions in this group. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-sp-dolphins-draft-furones-lb-20220414-vv3ux7vtfngcvg4y5a36wwvhuq-story.html | 2022-04-14T13:46:29 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-sp-dolphins-draft-furones-lb-20220414-vv3ux7vtfngcvg4y5a36wwvhuq-story.html |
The Anniston Changers’ next monthly community project is to tidy up around the iconic Lott-Mosby Memorial Stadium to get it ready for spring training by the Anniston Bulldog football team.
Volunteers are needed on April 23 to help with spring cleaning at the stadium and the fieldhouse from 9 a.m. - noon. Volunteers are asked to assemble in the football stadium’s parking lot at 308 East 18th Street.
Jackson Hodges, City of Anniston public information officer, said this will be the 19th consecutive service project for Anniston Changers. The group came into being when the World Changers didn’t make an Anniston trip due to the pandemic, prompting city leaders in 2020 to take the initiative and form a local self-help organization.
“We couldn’t pick a better way to spend a Saturday than gearing up for football season with the Bulldogs,” Hodges said.
Volunteers are asked to bring pressure washers and landscaping equipment.
“We will mainly be focused on pressure washing the bleachers as well as working on the field house at the stadium. Drinks, food, and fellowship will be provided for all, so come out and be the change on April 23 and let’s work to help our Bulldogs to achieve a tremendous football season,” Hodges said.
The stadium was built in 1939 to honor deceased Anniston High athletes and was appropriately named Memorial Stadium. The stadium was renamed Chink Lott Memorial Stadium in 1985 to honor Edgar Douglas “Chink” Lott who was the head football coach at Anniston High from 1930-43.
In 2009 the stadium was renamed Lott-Mosby stadium to honor Robert Mosby who coached at the Cobb High School in west Anniston.
One of many events held at the stadium was the annual Turkey Bowl, which was played on Thanksgiving and featured local high school teams from 1951-61. The Turkey Bowl, a fundraiser for a charity and high school athletics, was sponsored by the Anniston Quarterback Club.
To register to volunteer for this project, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/3vbaEbT | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/anniston/anniston-changers-to-give-lott-mosby-stadium-a-spring-cleanup/article_59d0792a-bbb0-11ec-a06e-6b6d9054b0bd.html | 2022-04-14T13:52:53 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/anniston/anniston-changers-to-give-lott-mosby-stadium-a-spring-cleanup/article_59d0792a-bbb0-11ec-a06e-6b6d9054b0bd.html |
The Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention is helping residents dispose of unused prescription medication by hosting the local version of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day April 23, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at four local pharmacies.
ASAP, based in Oxford, recently announced its first of two events this year where people can bring in their unused or unwanted prescription medications and dispose of them properly.
“Oftentimes, consumers — people who are taking the medication — will flush the medication and that damages the water systems,” ASAP Prevention Specialist and HR Representative Maiya Northard said. “That is not the proper way.”
In addition to flushing the medication, people often throw unused medication into the trash and unknowingly give the homeless population access to that medication, according to Northard.
Northard said she and the ASAP want to encourage residents to dispose of drugs properly with this event and give folks something fun to do in the meantime.
“In order to engage with community members as well as encourage participation, ASAP is raffling a 50-inch flat-screen television, thanks to RO.S.S. (Recovery Organization of Support Specialists),” the press release stated.
Drive up, dispose of your meds, and get handed a raffle ticket in doing so. The winner of the raffle will be announced on the ASAP social media pages the following Monday.
The following locations are accepting people’s unneeded drugs:
Walgreens Pharmacy — 800 Quintard Avenue Anniston
Walgreens Pharmacy — 311 Pelham Road South Jacksonville
CVS Pharmacy — 825 South Quintard Avenue Oxford
Wright's Drug Pharmacy — 960 Ross Street Heflin | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/calhoun/drug-abuse-prevention-agency-will-host-drug-takeback-day/article_436e2516-bbaf-11ec-aef8-e3601ab4fa95.html | 2022-04-14T13:52:59 | 0 | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/calhoun/drug-abuse-prevention-agency-will-host-drug-takeback-day/article_436e2516-bbaf-11ec-aef8-e3601ab4fa95.html |
OXFORD — The Oxford City Council has unanimously approved a contract to have design work done for improvements for two interchanges on U.S. 78.
That comes with word that no significant traffic disruptions are anticipated in the near future with the highway work progressing at the Oxford Exchange.
Council members Tuesday received an update on the Leon Smith Parkway widening project at the Oxford Exchange area.
According to GMC Engineering Manager Keith Strickland, the work that’s been done since the project began in January has brought the project to 20 percent of total completion. Work during the past week has seen drilled shafts being built for a bridge foundation, grading and piping work, and girders being installed at the bridge over Choccolocco Creek.
“Over the next several weeks, work will continue on the bridge foundations for both bridges and the grading contractor will, weather permitting, continue hauling fill material to the area between the bridges,” the report says. “We do not anticipate any significant traffic disruptions. Any lane closures needed will be scheduled as to have no negative impact on events at Choccolocco Park or access to the nearby shopping centers.”
During official business during its regular meeting Tuesday night, the City Council gave Mayor Alton Craft the authority to enter into an engineering services agreement with CDG, Inc. for the amount of $359,600 to improve the intersections of U.S. 78 at the Leon Smith Parkway and Sunny Eve Road.
Funding comes from an approved application with the Alabama Transportation and Improvement II Program. | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/oxford/oxford-council-approves-design-work-on-two-u-s-78-intersections/article_ab1b2a6c-bbad-11ec-9715-6b4d1aef15b1.html | 2022-04-14T13:53:05 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/news/oxford/oxford-council-approves-design-work-on-two-u-s-78-intersections/article_ab1b2a6c-bbad-11ec-9715-6b4d1aef15b1.html |
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CONCORD — A proposed $100 million InvestHousing Fund will support building “thousands and thousands” of new affordable housing units across the state, Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.
Flanked by business leaders, housing advocates and state officials, Sununu urged the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee on Friday to endorse using federal American Rescue Plan Act money for the plan so it could be ready to begin this June.
“Even $100 million is really only getting us started to where we need to be, but this is an awesome start,” Sununu said at a news conference in the Executive Council chambers.
Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell said projects with at least an “affordable housing component” will be eligible to seek support.
“This is a once-in-a–lifetime investment that is to deal with the crux of the workforce issues we face right now,” Caswell said.
Brien Murphy, co-owner of Boyce Highlands Inc. in Concord, said the maker of hardwood moldings is down 10 employees and that he plans to further add staff because the firm bought a second business, Highland Hardwoods in Brentwood.
“With very limited housing, it is very difficult to attract workers,” Murphy said.
Over in Jaffrey, MilliporeSigma employs 1,200 making pharmaceutical production equipment.
Senior Director David Nichols said the company has gone to great lengths to find housing for workers.
“We have had as high as 80 people in temporary housing for months and months at a time to find (permanent living) space for them,” Nichols said. “Hopefully this will be a catalyst for the entire region to try and find some solutions.”
Sununu recalled that as CEO of the Waterville Valley resort in 2016 he canceled some campaign events during his first run for governor so he could buy a dormant hotel to turn it into temporary housing for workers.
“I have lived that exact situation. We took it off the rental market,” Sununu said, adding that new stick-built homes and apartments are what New Hampshire needs rather than projects that shoehorn housing into vacant, less ideal spaces.
Sununu: Money will go fast
Sununu has no doubt this money will go out fast. With a 0.6% vacancy rate statewide, these new housing units won’t stay unoccupied for long once they’re built.
“When you develop these properties, they will be filled,” Sununu said. “They will be waiting maybe hours to fill out all of these units.”
The plan is to use $40 million of the grant for communities and $60 million for developers, including $10 million for the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
Caswell said the authority is working on supporting 1,200 to 1,500 new affordable housing units.
“Hopefully we can get this stood up quickly enough to help make those a reality,” Caswell said.
The grants will be to provide the “last money in” needed to complete a project, he said.
Since becoming president and CEO of the Business & Industry Association, Mike Skelton has been crisscrossing the state, meeting with BIA members.
“Housing is the first or second thing that comes up with everyone, regardless of the industry, size of the company or where they are located in New Hampshire,” Skelton said during an interview.
“We used to talk about this as a challenge; it’s a crisis now, and it’s going to take many creative efforts like this one to really make a difference.”
Cities and towns will compete for $30 million to receive aid of $10,000 per unit up to a total of $1 million for each community.
This will support 3,000 new affordable housing units, the governor said.
Caps for towns, developers
Another $5 million would help local officials update their planning or zoning ordinances, and $5 million could be used to demolish buildings to make way for new housing.
Sununu spoke of an exchange he had with local officials in Warren at the recent ribbon cutting of a Dunkin’ franchise there.
“They said, ‘We’ve heard there’s going to be $100 million for affordable housing. What about that?’ and they pointed to a vacant lot that is their prime spot to build affordable housing,” Sununu said. “I believe in local control, and I want this tailored to meet each individual community’s needs.”
For-profit and not-for-profit developers would compete for part of the $50 million to build projects with at least five units of multifamily housing that are at or near construction.
These grants will be capped at $3 million per project. The developer must at least match the state grant with their own spending.
Housing for disabled is a priority
A spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Democratic Party said Sununu is trying to claim as his own the work of the all-Democratic congressional delegation that got the ARPA money.
“Sununu said he would have voted ‘no’ on the American Rescue Plan, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking credit for this funding,” Monica Venzke said.
“No matter how he tries to spin this to the press today, one thing is clear — Sununu has failed to alleviate New Hampshire’s housing crisis, and Granite Staters are paying the price,” she said.
Sununu said another priority is to support construction so that more individuals with disabilities can live on their own.
“Independent living opens up all those doors, not just for the individual but the entire family,” Sununu said.
ABLE-NH, an advocacy group for the disabled community, wasn’t impressed with the lack of specifics in the plan.
“Gobbledygook talk. No “experiments” with once-in-a-lifetime $100 million for housing which should be dedicated to affordable housing, not for market rate housing. Unconscionable!” the group said in a statement posted on social media.
The group pressured the housing authority to create set-asides for housing accessible to those with disabilities.
Caswell said he’s hiring staff who will soon flesh out details for how each grant program would operate. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/gov-sununu-hypes-100-million-housing-plan/article_1b3dccdd-d51b-5678-befc-13e4dae3b6ce.html | 2022-04-14T13:53:32 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/gov-sununu-hypes-100-million-housing-plan/article_1b3dccdd-d51b-5678-befc-13e4dae3b6ce.html |
April marks four years since Oklahoma Electrical Cooperative Fiber began their mission to expand access to high speed internet and improve Cleveland County’s quality of life.
The subsidiary of Oklahoma Electric Cooperative offers fiber-optic internet, the latest broadband connection. OEC Fiber has more than 27,000 subscribers online and expects that number to jump in 2022 as they continue to grow their service territory.
Kayla Wade, senior manager of fiber marketing and subscriber support, said OEC has just one fiber zone left to open before they offer access to their internet service for anyone within the coverage area for their other services.
Wade said that doesn’t mean OEC will stop building their service territory, however.
“We certainly do serve non OEC members as well, and we’ve got a lot of non OEC members that we serve and we’re going to continue building outside of our electric service territory to expand our fiber access as we move forward,” Wade said.
To best gauge the community’s needs, Wade highlighted the importance of reaching out to them regarding service as a means of tracking interest as they build beyond their electric service footprint.
OEC anticipates opening their final fiber zone this year.
The company released a mobile app last month that can be downloaded by searching “OEC Fiber” in the App or Google Play Store. OEC Fiber app users can manage their wi-fi network, create user profiles and guest networks and set parental controls, among other features.
“The new OEC Fiber app gives them the power to customize their network to fit their needs. From prioritizing network traffic to parental controls and so much more, we are putting control in the palm of your hand,” Wade said.
OEC submitted a request to the state of Oklahoma for American Rescue Plan Act funds. Wade said they asked for financial assistance through infrastructure dollars to expand their coverage into rural areas.
David Goodspeed, OEC Fiber President, said the company couldn’t have made the strides they did over the last four years wouldn’t have been possible without his passionate team that continues to raise the bar.
“From the techs in the field who are there for our subscribers seven days a week, to the team members supporting subscribers 24 [hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year], the entire team is dedicated to ensuring that we deliver an extremely affordable and reliable internet, phone and TV service,” Goodspeed said. | https://www.normantranscript.com/news/oec-fiber-launches-mobile-app-eyes-completion-of-zone-coverage-for-members/article_9eb0af14-bb70-11ec-966f-eb0a2d3968b8.html | 2022-04-14T13:57:01 | 1 | https://www.normantranscript.com/news/oec-fiber-launches-mobile-app-eyes-completion-of-zone-coverage-for-members/article_9eb0af14-bb70-11ec-966f-eb0a2d3968b8.html |
The company reported an adjusted net loss of $784 million in the first quarter, which was about $50 million less than Wall Street analysts had expected. Its revenue of $9.3 billion came in about $400 million higher than forecasts. The company said it was profitable in March.
Demand for travel is so strong right now that CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that March was Delta's best month ever for bookings - both for flights in March itself and for upcoming travel.
"Demand is phenomenal," he said on CNBC. "This is continuing in April. Consumers are ready to go."
"There are clear signs of pent-up demand for travel and experiences as consumers' spending shifts from goods to services and experiences, travel restrictions lift and business travelers continue to return to the skies," he told investors on a conference call later Wednesday morning.
Bastian said that demand for travel at the beginning of the quarter was negatively affected by the surge of Covid cases from the Omicron variant, but that demand rebounded quickly as that surge started to subside in mid-February. He added that there has been no sign so far of a negative impact on travel caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
That strong demand has translated into fuller planes and higher fares. Unit revenue, a measure of airfares, should be up more than 10% in the second quarter compared to same period of 2019, Delta anticipates. Its unit revenue in March was above that of March 2019, the first month since the start of the pandemic that the airline has achieved a positive comparison.
RELATED: CDC to extend federal mask mandate on airplanes, transit for 2 weeks
"We are successfully recapturing a significant portion of the run-up in fuel," Bastian told investors.
The first quarter is typically the slowest for US airline profits and revenue. But the second quarter, which includes the spring travel season and the start of summer travel, should be stronger.
A growing number of workers are returning to the office after two years of remote work, and business travel is expected to pick up. So is international travel. Those passengers typically pay higher fares than leisure travelers on domestic flights.
Domestic business travel was still only about 50% of pre-pandemic levels throughout the first quarter, but by March that had risen to 70%. And a survey of corporate customers found that 90% expect travel to increase in the second quarter said Delta President Glen Hauenstein.
Delta said it expects sales in the second quarter to be between 3% and 7% lower than in the same period of 2019, before the pandemic severely disrupted air travel. Yet Delta is flying just 84% of the capacity it flew back then. Part of the reason is the continued restrictions on international travel - but even domestic capacity is still only back to 90% of where it was before the pandemic.
Delta is doing what it can to increase capacity, Bastian said, including hiring the additional employees it needs to restore more flights to its schedule. But the 15,000 new employees the company has hired since the start of 2021 is still not enough to make up for the loss of staff during the pandemic, when Delta offered early retirement and buyout packages to reduce headcount.
"Maybe by end of year, if we really pushed it, we could get back to 100% (of pre-pandemic capacity)," he told CNBC. But he said that's not the current desire of management.
"Candidly, right now, for the amount of demand we have, we're sitting on a pretty good spot (on capacity)," he said.
Hauenstein added that the airline is not seeing any drop in demand as fares move higher. "We haven't seen a lot of resistance to the price points that we have in market," he said.
But with a greater percentage of available seats already booked for the summer travel season than three years ago, price-sensitive customers need to book early and be flexible with their travel dates.
Bastian said that Delta believes that Covid is shifting from a pandemic to a manageable seasonal virus, which is helping demand for travel. And he added that it's time for the federal mask mandate on travel to end. Most US airline CEOs also have urged the mandate be allowed to expire.
CNN has learned that the Centers for Disease Control now plans extend the mask mandate, which was due to end Monday, for another 15 days.
Bastian also disclosed that as of this month Delta is dropping a $200 monthly surcharge on what its employees pay for health insurance if they are not vaccinated. Unlike some other airlines, such as United, Delta never required its employees to get vaccinated.
"We really do believe that the pandemic has moved to a seasonal virus," he said about the reason for dropping the surcharge.
There is not yet a clear scientific consensus on the seasonality of Covid-19.
But while hospitalizations from Covid are down, they are still more likely for those who are not vaccinated. At the time Delta announced a surcharge for its unvaccinated workers, Bastian said employees hospitalized with the disease cost the company an average of $50,000 each.
Still, Delta and the rest of the airline industry face surging fuel prices.
Delta said it expects to pay an average of $3.20 to $3.35 a gallon for jet fuel in the second quarter, up from $2.79 a gallon in the first quarter and only $2.06 a gallon in the first quarter of 2019.
But the company has a major advantage that most of its competitors don't: it owns its own oil refinery. Higher fuel prices meant the refinery brought in $1.2 billion in revenue in the quarter, up sharply from only $48 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Shares of Delta jumped 4% in midday trading on the news and guidance. | https://abc7ny.com/delta-airlines-travel-air-plane-tickets/11747351/ | 2022-04-14T13:58:42 | 1 | https://abc7ny.com/delta-airlines-travel-air-plane-tickets/11747351/ |
WARNING: This story contains graphic details that are not suitable for all readers
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – When Fort Wayne police officers entered room 154 of the north side hotel last summer, they found the mother crying with her baby daughter in her arms.
The child – a little more than three months old – had blood, vomit and mucus around her nose and mouth and on her clothes. She had no pulse; she was cold to the touch.
Responding medics had no choice but to pronounce her dead at the scene.
Wednesday, Allen County prosecutors charged the child’s mother in connection to her death and also accused the woman of neglecting her other three children when police arrived at that hotel room last July.
Emily Marie Tudor, 37, who is listed in Allen Superior Court documents as homeless, is now facing a felony count of neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury and three felony counts of neglect of a dependent where the defendant places that dependent in a dangerous situation.
She also had methamphetamine and amphetamines in her system and admitted to being on a three-day drug binge at the time of the child’s death, according to court documents.
A warrant has been issued for her arrest but she has yet to be booked into Allen County Jail.
Police and medics were called to the Quality Inn at 1734 W. Washington Center Rd. a little after noon on July 10.
Once there, they met with a hotel employee who told them the day before a young child was found on the second floor running around without adult supervision and knocking on doors, according to court documents.
The child had only a pull-up diaper on with no other clothing.
That employee tried calling room 154 about 10 or 15 times, she told police in court documents, but she was unable to get a response. The employee then decided to go to the room. There, she found Tudor and two other children on the bed.
The employee said she pounded on the wall and called out several times to get Tudor’s attention, but she refused to stir. Finally, the employee went to the bed grabbed Tudor’s leg and shook it, she said in court documents.
When Tudor turned over slightly, the employee saw the baby.
Tudor may have been partially laying on the child, the employee said in court documents. She also told police Tudor was disoriented and did not show emotion when told one of her children may have been missing and running around in the halls of the hotel.
It’s unclear whether the baby was still alive at that point, but nobody called police.
Later, in an interview with detectives, Tudor said in court documents she fell asleep on the bed with the baby in her arms. Her other three children, whose ages were not given in court documents, were on both sides of her.
She told detectives she had not had good sleep from being homeless and spending nights in her van prior to getting the hotel room. Tudor admitted in court documents to having a methamphetamine addiction but – despite using meth on the morning of July 9 – she claimed to not get high around the kids.
Tudor further told detectives that when the employee woke her up she knew something was not right with her baby daughter. The girl, Tudor said in court documents, was cold and may not have breathing.
Still, Tudor fell back asleep.
When she woke up on July 10, she told detectives she began to panic. She held her baby for a long time. She called the child’s father, only for him to tell her she killed their baby, Tudor said in court documents.
She then called her mother, according to court documents, who urged her to take the child to a hospital. That’s supposedly when Tudor finally called 911.
A review of her cell phone, though, painted a slightly different picture, according to court documents.
Tudor sent one message to a man about 10 minutes before police were called to the hotel that read “she is definitely dead,” according to court documents. That man encouraged Tudor to call 911, but also said he would stop by to “get all the drugs and paraphernalia” out of the room.
In response, Tudor sent a message telling the man she had a “(expletive) ton of drugs.”
She did eventually call 911, according to court documents.
Later, the Department of Child Services administered a drug screen on Tudor which came back positive for methamphetamines and amphetamines. That’s when she admitted to child services officials that she had to clear paraphernalia out of the hotel room before calling 911, according to court documents.
A cause of the baby’s death was not listed in court documents, and until she is booked into Allen County Lockup, it’s not clear when Tudor will appear in court.
She could face a maximum of 16 years in prison for the neglect charge connected to her daughter’s death – though nine years is typically an advisory sentence – and up to two-and-a-half years in prison for each of the other neglect charges levied against her, according to Indiana law. | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/prosecutors-mother-in-the-grip-of-a-drug-binge-neglected-baby-now-charged-in-childs-death/ | 2022-04-14T13:58:42 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/crime/prosecutors-mother-in-the-grip-of-a-drug-binge-neglected-baby-now-charged-in-childs-death/ |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A Fort Wayne resident and Purdue Fort Wayne graduate is closing in on 50 states in one year.
Laura Williams handed in her resignation at “Do It Best” to travel the world. Weeks later, though, the world closed down due to COVID-19.
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 20.
In 2021 she bought a van and made it livable. Since then, 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/local-news/fort-wayne-traveler-close-to-marking-off-50th-state-travels-to-hawaii-next-week/ | 2022-04-14T13:58:48 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/local-news/fort-wayne-traveler-close-to-marking-off-50th-state-travels-to-hawaii-next-week/ |
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – The 2021 tax deadline is quickly approaching. This year’s Tax Day falls on April 18, 2022.
Normally Tax Day would be on April 15, however during years like these when Good Friday lands on April 15, Tax Day is extended to the following Monday.
Owner of Taxes Done Right, Lagenia Arnold, explains to News 3 the best steps to take if you have not filed your taxes yet.
“April 18, 2022, is the timely filing deadline, so that’s going to be for people who have income taxes due. They need to gather all of their information, W-2’s, 1099’s, and either prepare them themselves or come to a professional, or expert to have their taxes prepared. That’s what they need to start doing, quickly,” Arnold advises.
For those who feel they will not make the April 18th deadline, Arnold confirms there is still an option for late filers.
A request for an extension may be filed with the IRS, the deadline for this is also April 18, 2022. Arnold warns about the downfalls when filing for an extension.
“Extensions are available, but the only thing about extensions, they do not stop late fees and penalties. They just say, ‘I’m filing, I’m just filing late,'” Arnold says penalties do vary for everyone.
Arnold also explains the stipulations behind the Child Tax Credits issued during the pandemic. She says the advancement was optional, and breaks down why some people are having to pay it back this tax season.
“When they started the child tax credit, they were being issued in advance Child tax credit from July to December. Some people chose to opt in. Some people chose to opt out. So those who did receive those payments from July to December, when it came time to file the 2021 taxes, they had to placed it on their tax return to show that they had received it already in advance. So if they had a refund, whatever that amount was, it was deducted from that refund in the amount they received from July to December… As far as what it was, it was in advancement towards their child tax credit they would have received this year. So they got it in advance which means and now you need to give it back to us,” she explains.
Arnold also says people have up to three years to claim a tax refund, the next deadline to be on the lookout for is Oct.15, 2022.
“A lot of people don’t know that if they have a refund due to them, they can still receive it up to three years after the last date. So, we’re in ‘21 now which would take that back to ’19, ’18. So if they haven’t filed their 2018 taxes, they have until October the 15th of this year to get their refund,” she informs. | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/tax-deadline-approaches-how-to-prepare-what-to-know-about-child-tax-credits/ | 2022-04-14T13:58:54 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/tax-deadline-approaches-how-to-prepare-what-to-know-about-child-tax-credits/ |
(The Hill) – Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told activists on Wednesday that President Biden and his senior advisers are warming up to the idea of forgiving student debt, insisting they are closer to pulling the trigger “than ever before.”
Schumer, who has repeatedly called for canceling up to $50,000 in student debt per borrower, predicted that’s where the president and his administration will ultimately land.
“I have talked personally to the president on this issue a whole bunch of times. I have told him that this is more important than just about anything else that he can do on his own,” he told the State of Student Debt Summit in a virtual event Wednesday.
“We’re making progress folks. We are making progress. The White House seems more open to it than ever before,” he said.
The Department of Education announced last week that it would extend the pause on federal student loan repayment, interest and collections through August.
But Schumer says that doesn’t go far enough and that that Biden is getting closer to agreeing with him.
“Don’t get me wrong, the pause is a good thing, but it ain’t enough. It ain’t close to enough,” he said.
He argued that families will face an average monthly student debt payment of $393 when the pause is lifted.
“That is so much money. How does anybody live knowing every month I got to pay this $400?” he said. “So the pause has stopped that, but make no mistake about it. This pause isn’t going to stay forever and the canceling of student debt is the way to go.”
Schumer said he has weighed in hard with Biden about the importance of canceling this type of debt.
“You get out of college and you have all this debt,” he said. “I have told the president this is one of the most important things he can do to help our economy. We all want the economy to grow. We all want people to have good lives, where you can provide for yourself and your family.”
Schumer signaled he would support canceling even more than $50,000 in student debt per borrower.
“We want our young people to realize that they can have a good future. One of the best, very best, top-of-the-list ways to do it is by canceling student debt, by getting rid of the $50,000, even going higher after that,” he said. McCarthy faces grumbles from right over Biden impeachment remarksVideos show what led up to police officer shooting dead Black man in Grand Rapids
Biden has said he’s willing to cancel up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower, but he wants Congress to pass legislation to do so, which he would then sign.
The administration said last month that it would forgive about $6 billion in student loans through changes made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
The administration has also forgiven the debts of students who say they were defrauded by for-profit colleges such as ITT Technical Institute and DeVry University. | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/white-house-closer-to-canceling-student-debt-than-ever-before-schumer-says/ | 2022-04-14T13:59:00 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/white-house-closer-to-canceling-student-debt-than-ever-before-schumer-says/ |
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/top-stories/brooklyn-subway-shooter-allegedly-stopped-in-fort-wayne/ | 2022-04-14T13:59:06 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/top-stories/brooklyn-subway-shooter-allegedly-stopped-in-fort-wayne/ |
Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.
In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.
The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.
Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.
In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.
Vaccinations are generally less effective against the omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus — but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.
The Pfizer shots are the only vaccine available to U.S. children. Those ages 5 to 11 receive one-third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older. Just over a quarter in the younger age group have gotten two doses since vaccination opened to them in November, shortly before omicron struck.
The U.S. hasn’t yet allowed vaccinations for children under 5. But certain 5- to 11-year-olds — those with severely weakened immune systems — already are supposed to get three doses, to give that high-risk group a better chance of responding. | https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:29 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman described as a bookkeeper for international “child modeling” websites that sexually exploited young Eastern European children has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release Wednesday that 41-year-old Tatiana Power of Weston, Florida, handled many financial aspects of a business called Newstar Websites.
Prosecutors say the company recruited people under age 18 from Ukraine, Moldova, and other Eastern European countries under the guise they would become “child models” on the websites.
But prosecutors say the children were used to make about 4.6 million exploitative videos and images that were sold online. | https://www.wfla.com/news/crime/florida-woman-gets-12-years-prison-for-child-modeling/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:30 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/crime/florida-woman-gets-12-years-prison-for-child-modeling/ |
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida governor Ron DeSantis will speak at a press conference at Nacion de Fe, a church in Kissimmee, Thursday morning.
The subject of the press conference was not disclosed by the governor’s team.
It’s expected to start at 10:15.
You can watch it live on the WFLA.com, the WFLA app and the WFLA Facebook page. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/gov-desantis-to-speak-at-florida-church/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:32 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/gov-desantis-to-speak-at-florida-church/ |
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It was a weekend trip for Alexcia Powell, Brittany Gilliard, and family to Carowinds for a little family time and stress relief.
“We were on a boat ride that was across from it and as we were getting off, we heard people screaming,” said Alexcia Powell, who witnessed the ride stuck in midair.
The relaxing day turned into a stressful one, as people watched the Electro-Spin ride stuck in mid-air.
“It looked terrifying,” added Gilliard, who recorded the videos with Powell. “I was terrified for them.”
The pair says they can’t remember how long people were stuck in the air, but in the video, you see many hanging in their seats.
“People were terrified,” said Powell when recounting the incident. “It was quite horrifying to watch because that could have been anyone on there.”
A spokesperson for Carowinds sent Queen City News a statement saying, “Safety and security of our guests and associates is our top priority. Unfortunately, while we work hard to provide the best experience possible, attractions may not always be operational.”
“It kind of deterred us from wanting to get on any other rides for that exact reason,” says Powell. “Like what if we get on and we get stuck upside down or midway through a loop, you never know.”
This is not the first-time people have been stuck on a ride at the amusement park. Close to 100 people were suspended high in the air for over two hours stuck on the ride Windseeker.
The two videos of the Electro-Spin have been shared over 7,000 times on Facebook and viewed close to 8,000 times on Twitter with many people saying they may not ride again.
“It was crazy how big of an effect those videos had on people,” added Powell
We asked Powell and Gilliard if they will go back to Carowinds after witnessing that ride being stuck. They said yes, but only to the water park. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/it-looked-terrifying-riders-suspended-mid-air-as-ride-stalls/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:36 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/it-looked-terrifying-riders-suspended-mid-air-as-ride-stalls/ |
CHANDLER, Okla. (KFOR) – A man was hospitalized in Oklahoma City after he was mauled by a pack of wild dogs on Wednesday.
It was “the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” according to Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty. “As far as a dog injury.”
The 65-year-old man was on a morning walk along a rural stretch of road when he was attacked by the wild dogs.
“The dogs come out and get him down and go mauling him,” Dougherty said. “Looks like he’d been out there quite a while. They’d ripped all his clothes off.”
The recently retired man lay on the dirt road for hours with open wounds until a passerby called 911 and reported finding a body. The man was later found alive and flown to OU Health in Oklahoma City to undergo surgery.
“He received injuries pretty much all over his body, with the exception of maybe his neck,” the sheriff said.
Dougherty said the pack of wild dogs came from a marijuana grow operation sandwiching the street. Early in March, deputies and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted the grow for selling bud — the smokable part of a cannabis plant — on the “black market” and out of state. The operation had been licensed by the state.
“I don’t know if these dogs were supposed to protect the grow or if they’re just mean dogs altogether,” Dougherty added.
Two of the dogs were caught and taken to a local veterinary clinic. So far, it’s unclear if they’ll be put down.
“The investigators will be looking at trying to bring charges against somebody for some type of restitution for medical and different ones,” said the sheriff. “If you’re going to own dogs, you got to take care of them. You got to be responsible.” | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/ripped-all-his-clothes-off-wild-dogs-maul-65-year-old-man/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:36 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/ripped-all-his-clothes-off-wild-dogs-maul-65-year-old-man/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are deeply divided over how much children in K-12 schools should be taught about racism and sexuality, according to a new poll released as Republicans across the country aim to make parental involvement in education a central campaign theme this election year.
Overall, Americans lean slightly toward expanding — not cutting back — discussions of racism and sexuality, but roughly 4 in 10 say the current approach is about right, including similar percentages across party lines.
Still, the poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows stark differences between Republicans and Democrats who want to see schools make adjustments.
About 4 in 10 Republicans say teachers in local public schools discuss issues related to sexuality too much, while only about 1 in 10 say too little. Among Democrats, those numbers are reversed.
The findings reflect a sharply politicized national debate that has consumed local school boards and, increasingly, state capitols. Republicans see the fight over school curriculum as a winning culture war issue that will motivate their voters in the midterm elections.
In the meantime, a flurry of new state laws has been introduced, meant to curtail teaching about racism and sexuality and to establish a “parents’ bill of rights” that would champion curriculum transparency and allow parents to file complaints against teachers.
The push for legislation grew out of an elevated focus on K-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, when angry parents crowded school board meetings to voice opposition to school closures, mask mandates and other restrictive measures intended to prevent the spread of illness.
“All that that’s happening these days kind of goes against the longer history of school boards being relatively low salience government institutions and, in a lot of cases, they are nonpartisan offices,” said Adam Zelizer, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School researching school board legislation.
What distinguishes this moment, Zelizer said, is the “grassroots anger” in response to school policies and the national, coordinated effort to recruit partisan candidates for school boards and local offices.
What started as parents’ concern about virtual learning and mask-wearing has morphed into something larger, said Republican pollster Robert Blizzard, describing parents as thinking: “OK, now that we have the schools open, what are these kids learning in school?”
The poll shows 50% of Americans say parents have too little influence on curriculum, while 20% say they have too much and 27% say it’s about right. About half also say teachers have too little influence.
Kendra Schultz said she and her husband have decided their 1-year-old daughter will be homeschooled, at least initially, because of what friends have told them about their experiences with schools in Columbia, Missouri.
Most recently, she said, one 4-year-old’s pre-K class talked about gender pronouns. Schultz offered that and mask requirements as examples of how the public school system “doesn’t align with what we believe or how we would like to see our children educated.”
“I’m just like, you’re a little kid, you should be learning your ABCs and your numbers and things like that,” said Schultz, a 30-year-old conservative. “That’s just not something that me and my husband would be interested in having teachers share with our children.”
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed into law a bill barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Opponents, including the White House, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The poll shows Americans are slightly more likely to say the focus on sex and sexuality in local schools is too little rather than too much, 31% to 23%, but 40% say it’s about right. The poll didn’t ask about specific grade levels.
Blizzard, who has been working with a group called N2 America to help GOP candidates in suburbs, said the schools issue resonates with the Republican base and can motivate voters.
In the Virginia governor’s race last year, Republican Glenn Youngkin won after campaigning on boosting parental involvement in schools and banning critical race theory, an academic framework about systemic racism that has become a catch-all phrase for teaching about race in U.S. history. His Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, had said in a debate that parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach.
The poll also shows Americans have mixed views about schools’ focus on racism in the U.S.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said parents and teachers alike are frustrated after pandemic disruptions and should partner to help kids recover. The efforts to predetermine curriculum and restrict teaching are getting in the way, she said.
“The people who are proposing them, they’ve been pretty clear … they just want to sow doubt and distrust because they want to end public education as we know it,” Weingarten said.
Parents of school-age children aren’t more likely than other adults to say parents have too little influence in schools. But there is a wide partisan gap, with 65% of Republicans saying that, compared with 38% of Democrats.
Michael Henry, a father of three in Dacula, Georgia, says he’s wrestled over what the right level of involvement is. It didn’t sit right with him, for example, that his 6-year-old was taught about Christopher Columbus in an entirely positive light. He says he’s reflected on “some of the lies” and “glorifications of history” in his own public school education and thinks race needs to be talked about more.
But ultimately, school curriculum is “outside my area of expertise,” said Henry, 31, an actuary who is also the acting president of the Gwinnett County Young Democrats.
“I have to do a lot of studying and work to be able to make informed decisions, and I don’t feel like parents generally have that kind of skill set” for curriculum, he said. “I think professionals should mostly be determining what the curriculum should be.”
Henry worries that new restrictions are “adding extra hassle for teachers, who already have a lot on their plate, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.” | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/sex-race-lessons-in-schools-divide-americans-poll-finds/ | 2022-04-14T14:04:49 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/sex-race-lessons-in-schools-divide-americans-poll-finds/ |
To donate to Dress for Success Tampa bay go to: https://tampabay.dressforsuccess.org/
For more information about California Closets Tampa Bay, go to: californiaclosets.com/locations
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To donate to Dress for Success Tampa bay go to: https://tampabay.dressforsuccess.org/
For more information about California Closets Tampa Bay, go to: californiaclosets.com/locations | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/california-closets-teams-up-with-dress-for-success-2/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:11 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/california-closets-teams-up-with-dress-for-success-2/ |
Learn more about pet health at spcatampabay.org/veterinary-center and spcatampabay.org/blog
Check out the adoptable animals at spcatampabay.org
To get your Pet Prescriptions go to: Publix.com/Pharmacy
Posted:
Updated:
Learn more about pet health at spcatampabay.org/veterinary-center and spcatampabay.org/blog
Check out the adoptable animals at spcatampabay.org
To get your Pet Prescriptions go to: Publix.com/Pharmacy | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/farrons-furever-friends-part-1-of-our-look-at-pets-in-summertime-heat/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:17 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/farrons-furever-friends-part-1-of-our-look-at-pets-in-summertime-heat/ |
Posted: Apr 14, 2022 / 09:44 AM EDT Updated: Apr 14, 2022 / 09:44 AM EDT SHARE To enter the contest or to start planning your next trip go to: www.ExodusTravels.com or call 1 844 227 9087 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/learn-how-you-can-win-a-trip-to-turkey-with-exodus-travels/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:23 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/learn-how-you-can-win-a-trip-to-turkey-with-exodus-travels/ |
(NEXSTAR) – The Easter bunny will have the light of a full moon to hop by on Saturday as the Pink Moon rises on April 16.
This month’s full moon goes by many names, according to NASA. Native Americans named it the Pink Moon after the herb moss pink – one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring, found throughout the eastern U.S. Herb moss pink itself goes by several names – creeping phlox, moss phlox and mountain phlox.
Other names for the moon include nods to its springtime rise: the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.
April’s full moon also has names with religious roots, such as the Pesach or Passover Moon, because Passover begins at sundown the day before, and the Paschal Moon, “from which the date of Easter is calculated,” NASA explains.
“The date of Easter is determined by the moon. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox,” Kim Mandelkow, director of the Office for Worship with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, told Nexstar. Saturday’s full moon fits the bill.
Saturday morning, as twilight begins, NASA says four planets will be visible above the east-southeastern horizon: Mars, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter.
Last year’s Pink Moon was the biggest and brightest of 2021, causing astronomers to dub it a “supermoon.” To reach supermoon status, the moon must be within 90% of perigee, or at one of the closest points to Earth we see.
The next full moon, the Flower Moon, will rise on May 15. Skywatchers will have an extra surprise that day as well – a total lunar eclipse. | https://www.wfla.com/dont-miss/full-pink-moon-to-dazzle-the-night-sky-ahead-of-easter/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:29 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/dont-miss/full-pink-moon-to-dazzle-the-night-sky-ahead-of-easter/ |
Allegiant has a new travel deal for its new route from Sarasota to Austin, Texas.
Service from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Texas will begin Thursday and operate twice weekly.
To celebrate, the company is offering one-way fares on the new routes as low as $33. Flights must be booked by April 16 for travel by June 25, 2022.
“We’re thrilled to offer vacationers in Sarasota a way to connect to the vibrant music, arts and culture in Austin,” said Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of revenue and planning. “We believe Austin’s fast-growing market will be a popular destination for leisure travelers who want affordable, convenient flights without layovers or connections.
Tickets are available for purchase at Allegiant.com. Seats and dates are limited, and fares are not available on all flights. Fare rules, routes and schedules are subject to change without notice.
For more information about flight times and fares, visit Allegiant.com. | https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/flights-to-austin-for-33-allegiant-celebrates-new-route-with-deal/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:35 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/flights-to-austin-for-33-allegiant-celebrates-new-route-with-deal/ |
WASHINGTON — Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants -- and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.
In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.
The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.
Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.
In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.
Vaccinations are generally less effective against the omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus -- but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.
The Pfizer shots are the only vaccine available to U.S. children. Those ages 5 to 11 receive one-third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older. Just over a quarter in the younger age group have gotten two doses since vaccination opened to them in November, shortly before omicron struck.
The U.S. hasn’t yet allowed vaccinations for children under 5. But certain 5- to 11-year-olds -- those with severely weakened immune systems -- already are supposed to get three doses, to give that high-risk group a better chance of responding.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-seek-covid-booster-for-kids/507-c5153fed-fc33-4f40-9fe4-dbb21a19e957 | 2022-04-14T14:12:40 | 0 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-seek-covid-booster-for-kids/507-c5153fed-fc33-4f40-9fe4-dbb21a19e957 |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Summer is fast approaching and the UV index is increasing back to those ‘extreme’ levels. The UV index is a measure of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface that can cause skin damage.
While there are multiple factors that affect the UV index every day, the sun angle or how high the sun is in the sky, is critical. In general, the higher the sun is in the sky, the easier your skin can burn, causing skin damage after exposure.
Two things in particular affect the sun angle: the time of the day and the time of the year.
In the winter months, the sun angle is lower in the sky every day because of the tilt of the earth, meaning the UV index is lower by default. During the summer months when the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, the sun angle is much higher in the sky. That’s one main reason the UV index is much higher this time of the year.
The time of the day affects it as well and is the most important factor here in Florida. In the early morning hours the UV index is very low. It is highest during the middle of the day when the sun is more directly overhead.
Unless you’re constantly looking up the forecast, it is not easy to know what the UV index is, and it’s hard to tell if you need to wear sunscreen.
Instead, it is easy to use your shadow length to determine how long you have to be exposed to the sun’s rays before skin damage can occur. The longer or taller your shadow, the longer it takes for skin damage to occur and vice versa.
Just after sunrise, your shadow is very long. When your shadow is more the twice your height, it takes a very long time for the UV rays to cause damage to your skin, making sunscreen unnecessary.
As the morning goes on and the sun gets higher in the sky, your shadow starts to shorten up. When your shadow is shorter than your body length, sun burn can happen in less than 30 minutes.
When the sun is directly overhead and your shadow is less than half your height, skin damage can occur in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. | https://www.wfla.com/weather/uv-index-what-is-it-how-to-tell-high-it-is/ | 2022-04-14T14:12:41 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/weather/uv-index-what-is-it-how-to-tell-high-it-is/ |
TUMWATER, Wash. — The Washington State Board of Health (BOH) voted to accept an advisory group's recommendation on Wednesday and not add COVID -19 vaccinations to the list of required shots for K-12 students, at least not yet.
Earlier this year a state advisory board recommended against it by a 7-6 vote.
Following an extensive discussion and comments from the public, the BOH mostly decided that, despite how safe it feels the COVID vaccine is for all eligible age groups, the repercussions of requiring it for kids were too great.
Board member Dr. Bob Lutz said Wednesday during the meeting that in discussions with various school superintendents across the state, he learned there was real concern students would be kept from attending class.
"They are very concerned about loss of students, parents taking their children out of school. Whether this is real or not, irrespective. That is a logistical concern that they have, and I think we have to honor that," Lutz said.
State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah eventually made the motion to accept the advisory board's recommendation and not include the COVID-19 vaccine in the state's required vaccines for students.
The motion passed unanimously, but the board could revisit the requirement in the future.
“We all are united and making sure that we're doing the right thing and being health-protective of all Washingtonians, and I think that's the key message that is so critical here," Shah said.
Regarding the pandemic, he said he hoped that the state would not "just move on, as we often do as Americans, to the next headline," but that the state and entire country takes a "transformational" approach.
"Really think through what we have gone through, and the trauma that all of us have gone through. How it's impacted all of us, and really think about being transformational and really address those very issues," Shah explained.
Washington state requires 11 vaccinations for students to attend school including Chickenpox, Mumps, Polio, Hepatitis B and whooping cough.
According to the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, 36% of ages 5-11 have started the vaccination process while nearly 32% are fully vaccinated.
For the age group 12-15, 59% have received at least one shot while 55% are fully vaccinated and 39% have received a booster.
In the 16- and 17-year-old age group 67% have started the vaccination process while 62% are fully vaccinated and 43% have received a booster.
Vaccination rates in King County are a little higher. 52% of ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated while 76% of kids ages 12-17 are fully vaccinated.
The state dropped its indoor masking mandate on March 12, with schools across the state also dropping mask requirements around the same time.
While cases have been on a steady decline across the state since the mandate was lifted, experts say that waning immunity and a persistent omicron BA.2 variant could fuel another wave in the ongoing pandemic.
As of April 11, 74% of the state's eligible population is fully vaccinated and case counts have plateaued at levels similar to those seen last summer. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-health-board-vote-vaccine-students/281-a8b79600-a956-4f8a-82a1-6bfff5282533 | 2022-04-14T14:12:46 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-health-board-vote-vaccine-students/281-a8b79600-a956-4f8a-82a1-6bfff5282533 |
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The latest class of graduates from the Washington State Patrol Academy (WSP) is the agency's most diverse, a spokesperson said.
Of the 44 cadets sworn into service Wednesday, 43% come from populations considered historically underrepresented, according to spokesperson Chris Loftis.
Two of the new troopers are women, six are Hispanic, four are Asian, two are Black, and five identified themselves as representing two or more of those groups.
Loftis acknowledges the agency still does not reflect the diversity of the state’s population.
Not counting the recent graduating class, 90% of WSP’s commissioned officers are male, and 85% are white.
That lack of diversity prompted state legislators to pass a law requiring oversight of the agency’s minority hiring practices.
Loftis said the agency’s recent class is proof WSP was working on the issue before legislative action.
“We’re really seeing the fruits of our labor,” said Loftis. “It’s targeted recruitment, it’s community engagement, but it’s also increasing the allure and respect for law enforcement.”
New trooper Rommie Smith said he’s proud to be part of the most diverse graduating class of cadets.
“It felt nice to see there were more People of Color joining,” said Smith.
Loftis said the class set to graduate this fall could be even more diverse than Wednesday’s class. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-state-patrol/281-12d74aa1-7df0-4e43-bc60-ce65ba7557c1 | 2022-04-14T14:12:52 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-state-patrol/281-12d74aa1-7df0-4e43-bc60-ce65ba7557c1 |
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offering to buy Twitter, saying the social media platform he has criticized for not living up to free speech principles needs to be transformed as a private company.
Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, currently the company’s biggest shareholder, has proposed buying the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn’t already own at $54.20 per share, an offer worth more than $43 billion.
Musk called that price his best and final offer, although he provided no details on financing. The offer is non-binding and subject to financing and other conditions.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in the filing. “However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
Twitter said it has received Musk's offer and will decide whether it is in the best interests of shareholders to accept or continue to operate as a publicly traded company.
Analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush said in a client note that he believes “this soap opera will end with Musk owning Twitter after this aggressive hostile takeover of the company.” He thinks it would be hard for any other bidders or consortium to come forward and said Twitter’s board will likely be forced to accept Musk’s offer or start a process to sell the company.
Musk revealed in regulatory filings over recent weeks that he’d been buying shares in almost daily batches starting Jan. 31, ending up with a stake of about 9%. Only Vanguard Group’s suite of mutual funds and ETFs controls more Twitter shares.
The billionaire has been a vocal critic of Twitter in recent weeks, mostly over his belief that it falls short on free speech principles. The social media platform has angered followers of Donald Trump and other far-right political figures who’ve had their accounts suspended for violating its content standards on violence, hate or harmful misinformation. Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” also has a history of his own tweets causing legal problems.
After Musk announced his stake, Twitter quickly offered him a seat on its board on the condition that he not own more than 14.9% of the company’s outstanding stock, according to a filing. But the company said five days later that he’d declined.
He didn’t explain why, but the decision coincided with a barrage of now-deleted tweets from Musk proposing major changes to the company, such as dropping ads — its chief source of revenue — and transforming its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. Musk left a few clues on Twitter about his thinking, such as by “liking” a tweet that summarized the events as Musk going from “largest shareholder for Free Speech” to being “told to play nice and not speak freely.”
Musk’s 81 million Twitter followers make him one of the most popular figures on the platform, rivaling pop stars like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. But his prolific tweeting has sometimes gotten him into trouble with the SEC and others.
Musk and Tesla in 2018 agreed to pay $40 million in civil fines and for Musk to have his tweets approved by a corporate lawyer after he tweeted about having the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share. That didn’t happen, but the tweet caused Tesla’s stock price to jump. Musk’s latest trouble with the SEC could be his delay in notifying regulators of his growing stake in Twitter.
Shares of Twitter jumped 11% before the market open. The stock is still down from its 52-week high of about $73. Shares of Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer that Musk heads, slipped about 0.9%. | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/elon-musk-offers-to-buy-twitter/507-be912ad7-2a91-49fe-8dcb-f03a3ed563de | 2022-04-14T14:12:58 | 1 | https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/elon-musk-offers-to-buy-twitter/507-be912ad7-2a91-49fe-8dcb-f03a3ed563de |
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Local | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4004/3645992/ | 2022-04-14T14:17:29 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4004/3645992/ |
Fresh off a first 100 days in office that in some respects have unearthed a number of major challenges for Mayor Eric Adams -- from backlash over COVID mandate decisions to homelessness to increasing subway crime that climaxed this week with a mass shooting on a rush-hour train -- the Democrat is making another change.
Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks jointly announced Thursday a planned expansion to the at-times controversial Gifted and Talented program that will extend the offering citywide for the first time and add seats, especially for third-graders.
The effort to reinvigorate the longstanding program comes months after former Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to end it, citing a history of the program fueling systemic inequities by disproportionately enrolling white and Asian students compared with their Black and Latino counterparts and serving higher-income areas at higher rates.
According to the plan unveiled Thursday, the city will add 100 kindergarten seats and 1,000 third-grade seats, expanding both entry points to all districts for the first time and ensuring a more equitable screening process. It also will keep engaging parents and other stakeholders on the issue, saying those sessions informed the new plan.
Applications for both the kindergarten and third-grade programs open on May 31.
Adams had made his intentions for gifted and talented clear on the campaign trail, saying it wasn't right to eradicate the program without replacing it. Adams' plan is to implement an accelerated learning model that he says will expand and improve it -- with a focus on reaching more children, especially those in underserved communities.
"Expanding our Gifted and Talented program to all New York City districts is about giving every child, in every zip code, a fair chance and making sure no child is left behind," Adams said in a statement. "For the first time ever, there will be a Gifted and Talented program in every school district in this city. This is how we give every young person an opportunity to grow, to learn, to explore their talents and imagination."
What Changes and How Will Your Family Benefit?
Historically, kindergarten has been the initial entry point for New York City Gifted and Talented programs. For the 2022-2023 school year, about 100 new kindergarten seats are being added to the Gifted and Talented portfolio — expanding the program to all 32 districts and bringing the total number of seats to 2,500.
To fill these seats, every current pre-K student will be evaluated by their current teacher for a potential nomination. Universal pre-K screening takes the initial burden off families and creates access for more children with a more diverse eligibility pool.
First implemented for the 2021-2022 school year, universal screening led to a more diverse pool of students receiving invitations to apply for Gifted and Talented programs. Students enrolled in non-DOE programs and those not yet enrolled in school will participate in an interview with DOE staff to confirm eligibility.
Families of eligible, nominated children will receive an eligibility letter inviting them to apply before the process opens. The third-grade level also gets a huge infusion of support, with every district in the city set to provide an extra entry point, amounting to a baseline of one program in each district and the 1,000-seat total.
Determined by grades in the four core subject areas, the top 10% of second graders in each school will be invited to apply to a third-grade Gifted and Talented program. Families will be considered for placement at all of their application choices and offers will be made based on district and sibling priorities, as well as seat availability. Grade 3 programs will grow to grades 4 and 5 in subsequent years, officials said.
Child development research shows that identifying gifted behavior in later grades may provide a more accurate assessment of gifted ability, the city officials say.
"Today we move to end the era of scarcity — the era of making families fight amongst themselves for limited Gifted and Talented seats in far off schools," Banks said in a statement. "Through this expansion, we are providing more opportunities for accelerated learning to more families, while providing an equitable, fair process to identify the students who will excel with accelerated learning."
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Why the Reboot? Controversial Backstory
New York City has the largest public school district in America, with more than 1 million students enrolled, and though the city is one of the most diverse in the country, its public education system has long been criticized as being among the most heavily segregated, particularly within the gifted and talented program.
About 75% of the program’s 16,000 students are white or of Asian descent, though Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of students.
Banks had previously called on a need to improve the program, among other facets of the system, in an address earlier this year as he announced more than 120,000 families had left the school system in the past five years. The stunning number had floated around before but NYC Schools hadn’t confirmed it.
Although the decline started before the pandemic, the health crisis accelerated it. When it comes to the declining population of public schools, Banks said that the district has "broken the trust for our families. We gotta build that trust back.” | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/revamped-gifted-and-talented-program-returning-to-nyc-schools-mayor-says/3645881/ | 2022-04-14T14:17:35 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/revamped-gifted-and-talented-program-returning-to-nyc-schools-mayor-says/3645881/ |
Ri Chun Hi, North Korea’s most famous state TV anchor, has announced major events for decades, including nuclear and missile tests and the death of a leader, with an instantly identifiable, passionate voice.
The anchor, dubbed the “pink lady” abroad for her bright traditional Korean attire, became the topic of official North Korean media herself Thursday after leader Kim Jong Un gave her a luxurious residence and asked her to continue to serve as the voice of his ruling Workers’ Party.
Experts say Kim is providing special treatment to elite North Koreans to boost their loyalty as he grapples with the pandemic, a troubled economy and a stalemate in nuclear diplomacy with the United States.
“(Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that it would spare nothing for a national treasure like her, who has worked as a revolutionary announcer for the party for more than 50 years since her girlhood,” the official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim expressed his “expectation that she would as ever vigorously continue her work in good health as befitting a spokeswoman for the party.”
Kim met Ri, who is about 79, on Wednesday after inaugurating a newly built riverside terraced residential district in Pyongyang, the capital, KCNA said. It said houses in the district were presented to Ri and other people who have given distinguished service to the state.
North Korea often inaugurates construction projects to mark key state anniversaries. Friday is the 110th birthday of Kim’s late grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung. It’s the most important anniversary in North Korea, which has been ruled by three generations of the Kim family since its foundation in 1948. The new housing area is where Kim Il Sung’s official residence was located until the 1970s.
Pyongyang is North Korea’s showcase city, and its elite residents enjoy relatively affluent lives compared with people in remote rural areas where many still suffer from poverty and malnutrition. A majority of North Koreans who have fled the country in the past two decades have come from its northern regions close to the border with China.
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“By giving houses to those who have been faithful to him, Kim Jong Un would want to further bolster their loyalty and internal unity,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. “Ri Chun Hi is a clear example of such people as she’s strongly propagated his nuclear and missile tests and served as a sort of bugler for him.”
Kim toured Ri’s house with her and held her hand as they descended the stairs. Ri said she felt her new house is like a hotel and that all her family members “stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the party’s benevolence,” according to KCNA.
Ri later used her trademark over-the-top speaking technique to narrate a state TV video of Kim showing her the house.
Ri joined state TV in the early 1970s when the country was still governed by Kim Il Sung, and she has gradually become the face and voice of the country’s propaganda-driven news broadcasts.
Her close ties to Kim were shown last year at a government foundation anniversary ceremony when she watched from an elevated veranda right next to Kim, and at one point put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him. At another event, she was the first person to shake Kim's hand before holding his arm and posing for a group photo.
Moon, the analyst, said Ri receives Cabinet member-level treatment at home, appears healthy and is expected to continue to handle key televised announcements for at least the next few years.
Ri's passionate, effusive style has sometimes generated laughter in other countries. In 2011, a Taiwanese TV station apologized after one of its newsreaders mimicked the tone Ri used when she announced the death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.
Since inheriting power upon his father's death, Kim Jong Un, 38, has led North Korea with absolute authority. But he is facing one of the toughest moments of his rule after the coronavirus pandemic shocked an economy already in dire shape from mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions. Analysts say recent missile tests were meant to advance his weapons arsenal and pressure the U.S. into recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state and relaxing international sanctions. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/kim-jong-un-gives-north-koreas-most-famous-newscaster-a-luxury-home/3646067/ | 2022-04-14T14:17:47 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/kim-jong-un-gives-north-koreas-most-famous-newscaster-a-luxury-home/3646067/ |
In an effort to address climate change, a Maine grocery chain intends to use 100% green power in all its stores in just two years' time.
George Parmenter, health and sustainability lead for Hannaford Supermarkets, says at the moment, more solar power capacity must come online for the effort to be successful, but the company is pushing forward with its goal.
"We're figuring this out like everybody else as we go along, but it's important for us to get started on this," he says. "The recent news from the IPCC, and the situation is not getting better, and we just feel like it's time to act and that's why we're doing this."
Parmenter says that, so far, the company has achieved 30% renewable energy for its 184 stores by partnering with solar installations across Maine, Massachusetts and New York. Several stores also use rooftop solar to further offset their grid use.
"We know we want to get there, we're committed to get there, exactly how we'll do that is not 100% known, but we believe it will be through solar," Parmenter says. "Supermarkets are incredibly energy intensive buildings. You know, they're very brightly lit. We're heating stuff and cooling stuff all at the same time. The number of megawatts we need to cover is quite large — that's the biggest challenge really."
The 2024 target is part of the company's bigger goal to become carbon neutral by 2040.
Last year, after ten years of effort, the store announced it had achieved zero food waste, and now uses a system to divert food that would otherwise be sent to a landfill — another source of greenhouse gases.
Parmenter says it's important for Hannaford to push forward on aggressive climate goals to help inspire other businesses, and to encourage the development of more renewable resources. | https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2022-04-14/hannaford-aims-to-be-powered-entirely-by-renewables-by-2024 | 2022-04-14T14:21:00 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2022-04-14/hannaford-aims-to-be-powered-entirely-by-renewables-by-2024 |
This documentary from Small Change highlights the stories of five minority women-owned small businesses. The program examines the time and sweat equity it took to start the businesses, the critical pivots the owners made to keep their businesses afloat during the early months of the pandemic, and what they are doing now to keep their businesses running and growing. | https://www.mainepublic.org/show/2-pm-public-affairs-programs/2022-04-14/apm-presents-small-change-women-of-color-building-a-business-legacy | 2022-04-14T14:21:06 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/show/2-pm-public-affairs-programs/2022-04-14/apm-presents-small-change-women-of-color-building-a-business-legacy |
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Environment and Outdoors
WATCH: Somerset County may become the last bastion of maple syrup producers in New England
Steve Mistler
The northernmost reaches of Somerset County in Maine could become one of the last strongholds of syrup production in New England.
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6:43 | https://www.mainepublic.org/tags/share | 2022-04-14T14:21:12 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/tags/share |
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Beyond the Skyline is a podcast about economic development, commercial real estate and construction in Minnesota. Above all, it’s a show about what’s next, creativity and the innovation in technology that are changing how we work and shaping the future of business throughout our state.
This week, F&C reporter Brian Johnson talks to Al Gerhardt, who was recently named executive vice president of Kraus-Anderson Cos. In that role, he will collaborate with KA Realty and Development, among other duties. He remains president of Kraus-Anderson Construction.
During his career, Gerhardt has held leadership positions with the Construction Industry Round Table, the Associated General Contractors, the ACE Mentor Program, and the Construction Specifications Institute.
Like this podcast? Gain access to more great content with a month-to-month subscription. Start your subscription here. | https://finance-commerce.com/2022/04/interview-scott-mcmahon-executive-director-greater-minnesota-partnership-3/ | 2022-04-14T14:22:09 | 0 | https://finance-commerce.com/2022/04/interview-scott-mcmahon-executive-director-greater-minnesota-partnership-3/ |
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If you feel your login credentials are being used by a second party, contact customer service at 877-615-9536 for assistance in changing your password.Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here. | https://finance-commerce.com/2022/04/u-s-broadband-expansion-hits-roadblock/ | 2022-04-14T14:22:34 | 1 | https://finance-commerce.com/2022/04/u-s-broadband-expansion-hits-roadblock/ |
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (StudyFinds.org) – Could pollen and seasonal allergens actually be protecting some people from COVID-19? Researchers in North Carolina found that people with allergic asthma are less likely to have a severe infection.
For people with allergic asthma, the same triggers which cause many people to sneeze when their allergies strike causes others to suffer an asthmatic attack. The study discovered the protective role interleukin-12 (IL-13) plays in the bodies of these individuals.
“We knew there had to be a bio-mechanistic reason why people with allergic asthma seemed more protected from severe disease,” says Camille Ehre, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine in a university release. “Our research team discovered a number of significant cellular changes, particularly due to IL-13, leading us to conclude that IL-13 plays a unique role in defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection in certain patient populations.”
Keeping COVID from spreading in the lungs?
Normally, researchers can’t use cytokines such as IL-13 in clinical treatments because they trigger inflammation. However, the researchers in the study still found it important to study their mechanism of action and how they protect cells from foreign invaders. Doing so has the potential to reveal new therapeutic targets beyond cytokine use.
The research team used genetic analysis of human airway cell cultures infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) to study the gene expression of human protein ACE2 on specific cell types and the amount of virus found in the cell population.
Scientists used electron microscopy to look at the amount of virus from infected ciliated cells, which move mucus along the airway surface. They also found massive changes inside human cells from viral infection. The changes accumulated in infected ciliated cells, causing the airway surface to gradually shed away.
“This shedding is what provides a large viral reservoir for spread and transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” Dr. Ehre says. “It also seems to increase the potential for infected cells to relocate to deeper lung tissue.”
A key protein may block the virus
Further experiments on infected airway cells uncovered a large reduction of the mucus protein MUC5AC. The team suggests the depletion may have come from excess protein secretion as cells tried to trap invading viruses. However, in a rampant viral infection, the cellular efforts were futile as the virus’s presence continued to grow.
The importance of MUC5AC drew interest from researchers who knew from previous studies that patients with allergic asthma overproduce MUC5AC and are less susceptible to severe COVID. Additionally, they also knew that when patients with asthma are exposed to an allergen, the cytokine IL-13 increases MUC5AC secretion in the lungs.
Mimicking the airways of people with asthma, they infected human airway cells and then treated them with IL-13. Their findings showed a significant decrease in the amount of virus in the lungs, the rate of infected cell shedding, and the number of infected cells. The reduction remained even when mucus was removed from the cell cultures, indicating IL-13 has multiple methods to defend against SARS-CoV-2.
RNA sequencing analysis showed the IL-13 upregulated genes involved in antiviral processes and airway immune defense. IL-13 also decreases ACE2 expression, which serves as the viral receptor.
“We think this research further shows how important it is to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection as early as possible,” Dr. Ehre concludes. “And it shows just how important specific mechanisms involving ACE2 and IL-13 are, as we try our best to protect patients from developing severe infections.”
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. | https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/having-allergic-asthma-actually-protects-people-from-a-severe-case-of-covid-19/ | 2022-04-14T14:23:48 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/having-allergic-asthma-actually-protects-people-from-a-severe-case-of-covid-19/ |
The program serves elementary school students and will now add 100 kindergarten seats and 1,000 third-grade seats, expanding both entry points to all districts.
Through this expansion and updates to the admission process, the city's Gifted and Talented program will serve every community citywide for the first time.
Applications for both programs open on May 31st.
"Expanding our Gifted and Talented program to all New York City districts is about giving every child, in every zip code, a fair chance and making sure no child is left behind," Mayor Adams said. "We're doubling down on this administration's commitment to our youngest New Yorkers by adding additional seats and removing inequities in the admission process to allow students throughout this city to gain access to accelerated learning. And thanks to this expansion, for the first time ever, there will be a Gifted and Talented program in every school district in this city. This is how we give every young person an opportunity to grow, to learn, to explore their talents and imagination."
"Today we move to end the era of scarcity - the era of making families fight amongst themselves for limited Gifted and Talented seats in far off schools," Chancellor Banks said. "Through this expansion, we are providing more opportunities for accelerated learning to more families, while providing an equitable, fair process to identify the students who will excel with accelerated learning."
The 2022-2023 elementary Gifted and Talented expansion happened after the Department of Education met with a diverse set of parent representative groups and advocacy groups with a dedicated interest in this topic. Based on that feedback, the city came up with this new expansion plan.
The city said they focused on three areas:
1) Expanding the number of seats
2) Creating an equitable screening process
3) Providing an expanded third-grade entry point in every district
Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, released a statement saying,
"Expanded access to the city's gifted and talented programs is long overdue. Providing seats in every district and expanding options in 3rd grade will enable more of our students to flourish. We look forward to working with Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks to create the gifted program our children deserve."
Historically, kindergarten has been the initial entry point for New York City Gifted and Talented programs.
For the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 100 new kindergarten seats are being added to the Gifted and Talented portfolio - expanding the program to all 32 districts and bringing the total number of seats to 2,500.
To fill these seats, every current pre-K student will be evaluated by their current teacher for a potential nomination.
Universal pre-K screening takes the initial burden off families and creates access for more children with a more diverse eligibility pool.
First implemented for the 2021-2022 school year, universal screening led to a more diverse pool of students receiving invitation to apply for Gifted and Talented programs.
Students enrolled in non-DOE programs and those not yet enrolled in school will participate in an interview with DOE staff to confirm eligibility.
Families of eligible, nominated children will receive an eligibility letter inviting them to apply before the application opens.
For the first time ever, every district in New York City will provide an additional third-grade Gifted and Talented entry point, amounting to a baseline of one program in every district and a total of 1,000 seats.
Child development research shows that identifying gifted behavior in later grades may provide a more accurate assessment of gifted ability.
Determined by grades in the four core subject areas, the top 10 percent of second graders in each school will be invited to apply to a third-grade Gifted and Talented program.
Using grades in the four core subject areas ensures the DOE is using multiple measures to determine eligibility for the program.
Grounding the screen at the school level will ensure that district programs are representative of the district's population.
Families will be considered for placement at all of their application choices and offers will be made based on district and sibling priorities, as well as seat availability.
Grade three programs will grow to grades four and five in subsequent years.
ALSO READ | Luna Park reopens for the season, celebrates 95 years of the Coney Island Cyclone
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Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.
In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.
The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.
Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.
In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.
Vaccinations are generally less effective against the omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus — but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.
The Pfizer shots are the only vaccine available to U.S. children. Those ages 5 to 11 receive one-third of the dose given to everyone 12 and older. Just over a quarter in the younger age group have gotten two doses since vaccination opened to them in November, shortly before omicron struck.
The U.S. hasn’t yet allowed vaccinations for children under 5. But certain 5- to 11-year-olds — those with severely weakened immune systems — already are supposed to get three doses, to give that high-risk group a better chance of responding. | https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/ | 2022-04-14T14:23:55 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/community/health/coronavirus/pfizer-to-ask-fda-to-ok-covid-booster-for-healthy-kids-ages-5-11/ |
Frank R. James, 62, was taken into custody Wednesday in the East Village, after police believe he call Crime Stoppers and reported his own location.
Authorities have been poring over evidence, gathered both in Brooklyn and in Philadelphia, where police said James was staying right before the rampage.
A criminal complaint shows that James rented a U-Haul out of Philadelphia the day before the shooting. It is believed to be from the facility in the city's Hunting Park section.
WATCH | Witness describes chaos on subway train amid New York shooting
Investigators also said he rented a storage unit at the same facility.
Inside, law enforcement agents recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached, targets and .223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
The complaint also said he rented an apartment in Philadelphia for 15 days around March 28. Fifteen days from that date would have been Tuesday, the day of the shooting.
Sister station Action News obtained cellphone video taken by Philadelphia resident Yusuf Gillooly of the FBI raiding the apartment on Wednesday.
Agents recovered an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a Taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine, and a blue smoke cannister.
According to the criminal complaint, James took Lyft rides to or from his Philadelphia apartment approximately 21 times from March 28, 2022, through April 10, 2022.
Investigators said technology, video canvassing and getting information out to the public helped get the case solved quickly.
"We were able to shrink his world quickly," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. "There was nowhere left for him to run."
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?
James is the lone suspect in the Brooklyn subway attack that left 10 people shot and 19 others injured.
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.
RELATED | Man who spotted subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, flagged down officers speaks out
Police said 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 said James made his getaway by slipping into a train that pulled in across the platform 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 the 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.
While the motive for the attack remains under investigation, in recent months, James posted YouTube videos railing on the New York City mayor, racism and violence in the U.S.
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.
ALSO READ | Brooklyn subway shooting heightens fears about transit safety
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.
James was taken into custody without incident.
Though initial reports said James booked the Philadelphia apartment through Airbnb, a spokesperson with the company told Action News on Thursday that was not the case.
The company said there were no Airbnb accounts or reservations associated with "any of the identifiable information currently available about Frank James." Airbnb said they did not have any reservations at that property during the time he was present.
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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Rights activists and others are urging Rwandan authorities to free the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” saying his health is failing after an appeals court upheld his 25-year jail term for terror offenses.
Paul Rusesabagina, who holds Belgian citizenship and U.S. residency, is credited with sheltering a group of ethnic Tutsi during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. He was convicted in September on charges including membership in a terrorist group, murder and abduction.
Rusesabagina is a well-known critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and lived in exile in the U.S.
Some activists who spoke Wednesday during an online event in support of Rusesabagina said the U.S. could do more to free the 67-year-old recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They also appealed to the compassion of Rwandan authorities.
“I am asking President Kagame that you extend the grace that you’ve shown to me and my family to Paul and his family now,” said Don Cheadle, appealing to Rwanda’s leader. “Please lead with mercy.”
Cheadle, who played Rusesabagina in the 2004 Hollywood movie, said the former hotel manager had “more than given his pound of flesh” after many months in custody.
Rusesabagina is credited with saving more than 1,000 people by sheltering them at the hotel he managed during the genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu who tried to protect them were killed.
He left Rwanda in 1996.
The criminal case against Rusesabagina attracted international attention because of his high profile, the circumstances surrounding his arrest in 2020, and his limited access to an independent legal team. Throughout his trial Rusesabagina maintained that he was not guilty and asserted that he didn’t expect to get justice.
His conviction came more than a year after he disappeared during a visit to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He appeared days later in Rwanda in handcuffs, accused of supporting the armed wing of his opposition political platform, the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change.
The armed group claimed some responsibility for attacks in 2018 and 2019 that killed nine people in southern Rwanda. Rusesabagina testified at trial that he helped to form the armed group to help refugees but said he never supported violence.
Rusesabagina’s family and supporters insist his arrest was in response to his criticism of Kagame over alleged rights abuses. Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied targeting dissenting voices with arrests and extrajudicial killings.
Terry George, who directed “Hotel Rwanda,” said his film became “the center of a disinformation campaign” as Rusesabagina’s stature in the Rwandan diaspora grew with his criticism of Rwandan authorities.
“He turned to me and thanked me for making the film,” George said of Kagame, recalling a screening of the film in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. “The film was universally received in Rwanda at the time.”
Rwandan officials have since dismissed Rusesabagina as a “manufactured” hero.
Kagame’s Rwanda “is one of the world’s worst perpetrators of transnational repression,” said Nicole Bibbins Sedaca of the Freedom House group. ”We have to hold authoritarian regimes to account when they use tools like transnational repression, when they take political prisoners simply to target and silence their critics.”
Kate Gibson, a member of Rusesabagina’s legal team, said her client didn’t get a just trial. She also charged Wednesday that members of Rusesabagina’s legal team in Rwanda “have been subjected to unthinkable indignities over and over again.” She gave no details.
A Rwandan appeals court on April 4 upheld Rusesabagina’s 25-year jail sentence, rejecting prosecutors’ efforts to have him imprisoned for life.
Rusesabagina’s health has worsened, according to his family.
“He is sick. He is ill,” Anaise Kanimba said of her father. “We probably believe he had a stroke and we don’t have time. We don’t have time, and that’s why we need your help. We need the help of the international community. We need the help of the world.” | https://www.wane.com/news/activists-urge-release-of-hotel-rwanda-hero-rusesabagina/ | 2022-04-14T14:24:01 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/activists-urge-release-of-hotel-rwanda-hero-rusesabagina/ |
The Justice Department is improving language access to its programs to help people with limited English proficiency better report crimes. The Interior Department is providing technical assistance to Native American tribes to help them apply for grants. The Energy Department is helping low-income households access programs to weatherize their homes and save energy.
Those efforts are among hundreds of strategies and commitments the Biden administration released Thursday. They are the product of an executive order that President Joe Biden signed hours after taking office with the goal of advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities across the federal government.
The order was the first of its kind by a president, said Chiraag Bains, deputy assistant to the president for racial justice and equity.
“We set the mission and the mandate for every agency, the entire federal government, to center equity in all that we do,” Bains told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
After more than a year of review, more than 90 federal agencies, including all major Cabinet departments, released their “equity action plans” on Thursday.
The plans outline more than 300 strategies and commitments that aim to make federal policies fairer for everyone, including poorer communities and communities of color; tribal, rural and LGBTQ communities; and people with disabilities and women and girls.
They were to be discussed at a White House event hosted Thursday by domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, budget director Shalanda Young and members of the Cabinet. Biden, a Democrat, has one of the most diverse Cabinets, with Black and Hispanic people and women leading major departments, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of the equity plans have been announced, such as work by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to close the racial gap in homeownership, address disproportionate rates of homelessness among underserved communities and reduce bias in home appraisals.
Others strategies are being made public for the first time, such as Defense Department efforts to promote the use of artificial intelligence technology to reduce algorithmic bias by investing in the development of a more diverse AI workforce. That work includes partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities.
Equity action teams at every agency led the reviews. Bains said that, taken together, the strategies “will advance equity and justice so that everybody can thrive in America.” | https://www.wane.com/news/administration-unveils-steps-to-boost-racial-equity-in-govt/ | 2022-04-14T14:24:08 | 0 | https://www.wane.com/news/administration-unveils-steps-to-boost-racial-equity-in-govt/ |
BEIJING (AP) — Anti-virus controls that have shut down some of China’s biggest cities and fueled public irritation are spreading as infections rise, hurting a weak economy and prompting warnings of possible global shockwaves.
Shanghai is easing rules that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes after complaints they had trouble getting food. But most of its businesses still are closed. Access to Guangzhou, an industrial center of 19 million people near Hong Kong, was suspended this week. Other cities are cutting off access or closing factories and schools.
Spring planting by Chinese farmers who feed 1.4 billion people might be disrupted, Nomura economists warned Thursday. That could boost demand for imported wheat and other food, pushing up already high global prices.
The closures are an embarrassment to the ruling Communist Party and a setback for official efforts to shore up slumping growth in the world’s second-largest economy. They come during a sensitive year when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as leader.
Beijing has promised to reduce the human and economic cost of its “zero-COVID” strategy, but Xi on Wednesday ruled out joining the United States and other governments that are dropping restrictions and trying to live with the virus.
“Prevention and control work cannot be relaxed,” Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. “Persistence is victory.”
The risk that China might tumble into recession is increasing, Ting Lu, Jing Wang and Harrison Zhang of Nomura warned in a report.
“The logistics crunch is worsening,” they said. “The markets should also be concerned about the delayed spring planting of grain in China.”
The government reported 29,411 new cases Thursday, all but 3,020 with no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95% of that total, or 27,719 cases. All but 2,573 had no symptoms.
A health official warned Wednesday that Shanghai didn’t have the virus under control despite its easing restrictions.
Some 6.6 million people were allowed to leave their homes in areas that had no new cases for at least a week. But at least 15 million others still are barred from going outdoors.
Most people have obeyed despite grumbling about shortages of food, medicine and access to elderly relatives who need help. But videos on the popular Sina Weibo social media service show some trading punches with police.
Grape Chen, a data analyst in Shanghai, said she was panicking about getting medicines for her father, who is recovering from a stroke. She called police after getting no response from an official hotline but was told quarantine rules bar officers from helping.
“We are willing to cooperate with the country,” Chen said. “But we also hope that our lives can be respected.”
The city government of Suzhou, a center for smartphone manufacturing and other high-tech industry west of Shanghai, told its 18 million people to stay home when possible.
Taiyuan, a blue-collar city of 4 million in central China, suspended inter-city bus service, according to the official China News Service. Ningde in the southeast barred residents from leaving.
A restaurant cook in Taiyuan said his family has been confined to their apartment compound since April 3 after cases were found in neighboring compounds.
“Our lives will be seriously affected if the restrictions last long,” said the cook, who would give only his surname, Chen.
“My wife and I are earning nothing,” Chen said. “We have three children to support.”
All but 13 of China’s 100 biggest cities by economic output are under some form of restrictions, according to Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm.
“The intensity is increasing,” Gavekal said in a report this week.
The volume of cargo handled by the Shanghai port, the world’s busiest, has fallen 40%, according to an estimate by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Automakers have suspended production due to disruption in deliveries of supplies.
Restrictions on areas that produce the world’s smartphones, consumer electronics and other goods are prompting forecasters to cut expectations for this year’s economic growth to as low as 5%, down sharply from last year’s 8.1% expansion.
The ruling party’s target is 5.5%. Growth slid to 4% over a year earlier in the final quarter of 2021 after tighter official controls on debt triggered a collapse in home sales and construction, industries that support millions of jobs.
Even before the latest shutdowns, the ruling party was promising tax refunds and other help for entrepreneurs who generate wealth and jobs.
Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader and top economic official, called this week for “quicker rollout” of aid for businesses that face a “key juncture for survival,” China News Service reported.
Under a strategy dubbed “dynamic clearing,” authorities are trying to use more targeted measures to isolate neighborhoods instead of whole cities with populations bigger than some countries. But some local leaders are imposing more sweeping controls.
Shanghai leaders were criticized for trying to minimize economic damage by ordering testing but no shutdown once cases were found last month. A citywide shutdown was ordered with only a few hours’ warning after case numbers soared.
That was in contrast to Shenzhen, a tech and finance center of 17.5 million people near Hong Kong that closed the city March 13 after an outbreak and ordered mass testing. It reopened a week later and business returned to normal.
Guangzhou has imitated Shenzhen. Most access to the city of 19 million was suspended Monday and mass testing ordered after 27 infections were found.
Li Guanyu, a 31-year-old woman in Guangzhou, said residents can leave her apartment compound only once every other day to buy food but stores are well-stocked.
“This happened a bit suddenly,” said Li. “Maybe the Shanghai situation is so bad that Guangzhou started mass testing and lockdowns as soon as cases were discovered.”
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AP researchers Yu Bing in Beijing and Chen Si in Shanghai and video producer Olivia Zhang in Beijing contributed. | https://www.wane.com/news/anti-virus-shutdowns-in-china-spread-as-infections-rise/ | 2022-04-14T14:24:15 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/anti-virus-shutdowns-in-china-spread-as-infections-rise/ |
RISON, Ark. (AP) — A 20-year-old Arkansas woman was killed when a tree fell on her home as severe storms swept through the state and a possible tornado ripped roofs off homes in Alabama, officials said.
The woman’s death occurred Wednesday as part of a multiday severe weather outbreak that caused tornadoes, powerful winds and huge hail in parts of the central and southern United States.
A possible tornado tore roofs off homes in a public housing community and peppered cars with debris Wednesday night in rural Greene County, Alabama, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Birmingham. Billy Hicks, who lives in the area, told WBMA-TV he was lying down when he heard a rush of wind that lasted only a few seconds.
“I jumped up and put my clothes on, put my shoes on when everything was over with. I come to the side door and looked across the street. I knew that something had hit all these houses,” said Hicks, who got in his car to go check on neighbors.
Authorities swarmed the area but didn’t find anyone who was hurt, said Zac Bolding of Greene County Emergency Medical Services.
“Most of the people we talked to as we were doing a house-to-house search explained that they were in their bathroom or an interior hallway, so they were listening to those warnings and without that I think we would have been looking at a much different situation,” he said.
In Arkansas, the woman was died when a tree toppled on her home in Rison shortly after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, pinning her to the couch, said Stephen McClellan, Cleveland County’s emergency management coordinator. Rison is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Little Rock.
A day earlier, 23 people were injured in the central Texas town of Salado. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said Wednesday that the twister was rated an EF3 with peak wind speeds of 165 mph (265 kph).
Tornadoes were also reported Tuesday in parts of Iowa and Minnesota. And a blizzard struck North Dakota this week, closing the state Capitol, schools, government offices and some businesses for a third day Thursday.
The National Weather Service’s blizzard warning for much of the state and smaller sections of South Dakota and Montana remained in effect Thursday. More than a foot of snow (30 centimeters) has fallen in Bismarck with about 2 feet (61 centimeters) in Dickinson and Glenburn.
“For the month of April it’s not uncommon to get the snow. Now, snow of this magnitude — this is something that’s a little bit more unique,” said Rick Krolak, at the weather service’s Bismarck office. | https://www.wane.com/news/arkansas-woman-killed-when-tree-falls-on-home-during-storms/ | 2022-04-14T14:24:22 | 1 | https://www.wane.com/news/arkansas-woman-killed-when-tree-falls-on-home-during-storms/ |