text string | url string | crawl_date timestamp[ms] | label int64 | id string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WASHINGTON (AP) — The conservative activist group Project Veritas said Wednesday that the Justice Department had secretly obtained from Apple and Google personal information about its staffers as part of an investigation into how the organization received a diary purported to belong to President Joe Biden’s daughter.
The organization said it had recently learned from Apple and Google that the department had issued nine subpoenas and warrants between November 2020 and March 2021. The requested materials included payment information and browsing history, and the department compelled the technology companies to not disclose the government’s orders, according to Project Veritas.
The organization disclosed Wednesday what it said were notifications from Apple, dated last month, in which the tech company said it had received legal requests in late 2020 and early 2021 for “customer data.” The notification said the request allowed “delayed notice to the affected customer.” Project Veritas also revealed last month that the Justice Department had obtained secret court orders to seize emails of eight staffers.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for Apple.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement, “In order to protect user privacy, we don’t comment on specific cases, but we’re firmly committed to protecting user data and we have a long history of pushing to notify people using our services about legal requests that relate to their data.”
Project Veritas calls itself a media organization, though it relies on tactics — including sting operations — that are not regarded as conventional or widely accepted media practices.
Its founder, James O’Keefe, said previously that agents had searched his home, and the homes of two others, in connection with the diary investigation. O’Keefe said that, ultimately, Project Veritas did not publish information from the diary because it could not confirm it belonged to Ashley Biden. He has said the diary, which Project Veritas had received from “tipsters” who said it had been abandoned in a room, had been turned over to a law enforcement agency.
Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating, and a former federal judge has been appointed to ensure no First Amendment protections or attorney-client privileges are violated in the review of materials seized by federal law enforcement authorities from individuals connected with Project Veritas.
____
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP | https://www.wivb.com/science/project-veritas-says-us-seized-staffer-info-as-part-of-probe/ | 2022-04-14T17:21:58 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/science/project-veritas-says-us-seized-staffer-info-as-part-of-probe/ |
Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet with missiles, and one official said Thursday that the vessel sank. Russia said the Moskva was badly damaged by a fire that forced the warship’s evacuation but that it was still afloat.
The loss of the warship named for the Russian capital would be a major military and symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.
Russia did not acknowledge any attack but said a fire aboard the ship, which would typically have 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate. 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 can carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, 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.
There was even some caution from Ukrainian officials: One said the ship sank, and a video from its armed forces described it overturning and beginning to sink, but another official refused to confirm that.
The news of damage to the ship came hours after some of Ukraine’s allies visited the embattled country and sought to rally new support. The leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia hail from countries on Russia’s doorstep and fear they could be next. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda declared that “the fight for Europe’s future is happening here.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, who called Russia’s actions in Ukraine “a genocide” this week, has 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 Ukrainian troops 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 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 allow its forces in the south, who came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully 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 could delay any new, wide-ranging offensive.
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.” In a video posted by Ukraine’s military, an officer said poor weather and explosions “overturned the cruiser and it began to sink.”
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, later said he was unable to confirm that the ship was sunk or even hit by Ukrainian forces. He said he was aware of the comments by other Ukrainian officials but “could neither confirm nor deny” what happened.
“If or when this is confirmed, if it is confirmed, we can only have a sigh of relief because this means that fewer missiles will reach Ukrainian cities,” he told The Associated Press.
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 towed in for repairs. It said its “main missile weapons” were not damaged. In addition to the cruise missiles, the warship also had air-defense missiles and other guns.
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. 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 told the Economic Club of Washington.
During the first days of the war, The Moskva was reportedly the warship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, the soldier responds: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The AP could not independently verify the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters consider it an iconic moment of defiance. The country recently unveiled a postage stamp commemorating it.
Russia invaded on Feb. 24, but its 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.
Russian authorities on Thursday accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo in Russia’s Bryansk region, some 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the frontier. Russia’s Investigative Committee said seven people, including a toddler, were wounded.
Russia’s state security service had earlier said Ukrainian forces fired mortar rounds at a border post in Bryansk as refugees were crossing, forcing them to flee.
The reports could not be independently verified. Earlier this month, Ukrainian security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an air strike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, some 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the border. | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/ukraine-claims-to-hit-flagship-moskva-in-black-sea-russia-blames-fire.html | 2022-04-14T17:22:05 | 0 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/ukraine-claims-to-hit-flagship-moskva-in-black-sea-russia-blames-fire.html |
BOSTON (AP) — Multiple U.S. government agencies issued a joint alert Wednesday warning of the discovery of a suite of malicious cyber tools created by unnamed advanced threat actors that are capable of sabotaging the energy sector and other critical industries.
The public alertfrom the Energy and Homeland Security Departments, the FBI and National Security Agency did not name the actors or offer details on the find. But their private sector cybersecurity partners said the evidence suggests Russia is behind the industrial control system-disrupting tools — and that they were configured to initially target North American energy concerns.
One of the cybersecurity firms involved, Mandiant, called the tools “exceptionally rare and dangerous.”
In a report, it called the tools’ functionality was “consistent with the malware used in Russia’s prior physical attacks” though it acknowledged that the evidence linking it to Moscow is “largely circumstantial.”
The CEO of another government partner, Robert M. Lee of Dragos, agreed that a state actor almost certainly crafted the malware, which he said was configured to initially target liquified natural gas and electric power sites in North America.
Lee referred questions on the state actor’s identity to the U.S. government and would not explain how the malware was discovered other than to say it was caught “before an attack was attempted.”
“We’re actually one step ahead of the adversary. None of us want them to understand where they screwed up,” said Lee. “Big win.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which published the alert, declined to identify the threat actor.
The U.S. government has warned critical infrastructure industries the gird for possible cyberattacks from Russia as retaliation for severe economic sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Officials have said that Russian hacker interest in the U.S. energy sector is particularly high, and CISA urged it in a statement Wednesday to be especially mindful of the mitigation measures recommended in the alert. Last month, the FBI issued an alert saying Russian hackers have scanned at least five unnamed energy companies for vulnerabilities.
Lee said the malware was “designed to be a framework to go after lots of different types of industries and be leveraged multiple times. Based on the configuration of it, the initial targets would be LNG and electric in North America.”
Mandiant said the tools pose the greatest threat to Ukraine, NATO members and other states assisting Kyiv in its defense against Russian military aggression.
It said the malware could be used to shut down critical machinery, sabotage industrial processes and disable safety controllers, leading to the physical destruction of machinery that could lead to the loss of human lives. It compared the tools to Triton, malware traced to a Russian government research institute that targeted critical safety systems and twice forced the emergency shutdown of a Saudi oil refinery in 2017 and to Industroyer, the malware that Russian military hackers used the previous year to trigger a power outage in Ukraine.
Lee said the newly discovered malware, dubbed Pipedream, is only the seventh such malicious software to be identified that is designed to attack industrial control systems.
Lee said Dragos, which specializes in industrial control system protection, identified and analyzed its capability in early 2022 as part of its normal business research and in collaboration with partners.
He would offer no more specifics. In addition to Dragos and Mandiant, the U.S. government alert offers thanks to Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and Schneider Electric for their contributions.
Schneider Electric is one of the manufacturers listed in the alert whose equipment is targeted by the malware. Omron is another.
Mandiant said it had analyzed the tools in early 2002 with Schneider Electric.
In a statement, Palo Alto Networks executive Wendi Whitmore said: ““We’ve been warning for years that our critical infrastructure is constantly under attack. Today’s alerts detail just how sophisticated our adversaries have gotten.”
Microsoft had no comment.
—-
AP writer Alan Suderman contributed from Richmond, Virginia | https://www.wivb.com/science/us-agencies-industrial-control-system-malware-discovered/ | 2022-04-14T17:22:05 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/science/us-agencies-industrial-control-system-malware-discovered/ |
WATCH: Puppy rescued from rubble in Ukraine
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 12:27 PM EDT|Updated: 54 minutes ago
(CNN) - The amazing rescue of a puppy from the rubble in eastern Ukraine was caught on camera.
The rescue took place in the village of Mykhailvka on Wednesday.
Video shows rescuers digging through a pile of rubble until they reach the puppy buried underneath. The dog was miraculously pulled out alive and reunited with its 77-year-old owner.
According to the National Police of Ukraine, the blast nearly killed the man.
Both the owner and the dog were given medical care. The police said, “All is well with them.”
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/watch-puppy-rescued-rubble-ukraine/ | 2022-04-14T17:22:04 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/14/watch-puppy-rescued-rubble-ukraine/ |
Walmart and Target, as well as major drug store chains CVS and Walgreens, are limiting the amount of baby formula that can be purchased at one time due to ongoing shortages, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesperson for Walmart told the Journal shoppers are now only allowed to buy five containers of formula each day in stores. There doesn’t appear to be limits on purchases make on Walmart’s online marketplace, however. The in-store limits come at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Target also has restrictions in place but didn’t confirm the exact number. Online purchases appear to be capped at four items. That number also appears to be the limits at Kroger, though its limits have not been announced.
Shoppers at Walgreens and CVS are limited to three infant and toddler formula products per each transaction, according to the reports.
The shortages come after manufacturer Abbott recalled powdered formulas made in a Michigan plant after they were linked with bacterial infections at two deaths. The recall covers select lots of powdered Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas from Abbot’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan.
You can read the complete story here. | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/walmart-limits-baby-formula-purchases-target-cvs-kroger-walgreens-also-have-caps.html | 2022-04-14T17:22:11 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/walmart-limits-baby-formula-purchases-target-cvs-kroger-walgreens-also-have-caps.html |
A 20-year-old suspect is in custody in connection with the armed robbery of another man during which shots were fired at the victim.
Timothy Caillou Boggan is charged with first-degree robbery and attempted murder, Birmingham police Officer Truman Fitzgerald announced Thursday.
The holdup happened on Friday, March 25, in the 700 block of Valley Avenue in Birmingham.
According to police, the suspect was armed with a handgun and fired shots at the victim. No injuries were reported, but items were taken from the victim.
Fitzgerald said a service station nearby captured video and photos of the suspect.
Those images were released to the media on March 29, and Boggan turned himself on March 31, Fitzgerald said Thursday.
He was booked into the Birmingham City Jail. After warrants were obtained, he was transferred to the Jefferson County Jail on April one and remains held on bonds totaling $120,000. | https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2022/04/suspect-accused-of-robbing-and-shooting-at-victim-on-birminghams-valley-avenue-surrenders-to-police.html | 2022-04-14T17:22:17 | 1 | https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2022/04/suspect-accused-of-robbing-and-shooting-at-victim-on-birminghams-valley-avenue-surrenders-to-police.html |
Spring football games are meant to be a reward at the end of a four-week grind through practice, but they’re also a final evaluation tool for a team’s coaches.
South Alabama’s Kane Wommack is trying to strike a balance between the two at Saturday’s Red-Blue spring game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. On the one hand, he wants fans and especially Jaguars players to have fun, but he also knows the value of those players getting another day’s worth of game-like situations.
Kickoff for the Red-Blue game is set for 10 a.m. The game will feature an “offense vs. defense” format, with first-teamers going vs. first-teamers and second-teamers vs. second-teamers.
“Spring games, they should be fun,” Wommack said. “For our fans, they should be engaging, but you’ve also got to get better as a football team. So, there will be no magician that shows up or anything like that. We’re going to go offense vs. defense and we’ll do some ‘move the ball’ periods, see how it plays out. We still need to manage the amount of snaps that we’re running.
“We’ll do 1s vs. 1s and 2s vs. 2s most of the time. That’s really the only fair way to do it. I know you can make one side look good with 1s vs. 2s, but that doesn’t really help your first-team guys get better. We want to go compete against the best we’ve got on both sides of the ball.”
In addition to the traditional scrimmaging, the game will include a “red-zone lockout” period near the end, with points awarded for touchdowns and field goals, but also to the defense for preventing scores with turnovers or three & outs. There will also be time for levity, including a quarterback passing challenge and offensive and defensive linemen attempting to catch punts and kickoffs.
“This is my last one,” senior linebacker A.J. DeShazor said. “So I’m just taking it all in this whole last week of practice leading into the spring game. It’s been special for me individually. And just from an effort standpoint, I’m just giving it my all, communicating with my guys and making sure everyone is on-point. The more I push them, the more it keeps me in check as well. I’m enjoying every day, every second of spring.”
Last year’s spring game was cut short due to inclement weather, just as the quarterback challenge began. The Jaguars got in roughly one half of action before the skies opened up.
Saturday’s forecast calls for rain as well, though less likely in the morning than in the afternoon. Admission for the Red-Blue game is free to the general public.
• Gates at Hancock Whitney Stadium will open at 9 a.m. Saturday, allowing fans to take advantage of a South Alabama “yard sale” prior to the spring game.
Inside the Core Industries Lounge, items up for sale include helmets, jerseys and other apparel at prices ranging from $10 up to $150. Also included are last year’s specialty helmet decals, with a full set of 5 (Hank Aaron 44, Mobile skyline, SouthPaw, U.S.S. Alabama battleship and the new Jaguar logo) on sale for $20.
Cash is not accepted for the “yard sale,” so fans must provide cashless forms of payment.
In addition to the yard sale, there is also a pre-game Easter egg hunt inside the Jaguar Training Center at 9:30 a.m. Parking lots open at 8 a.m.
• South Alabama’s spring has seen a number of players changing positions or experimenting at new spots, including Anterrious Gray (guard to tackle), Terry Perry (defensive end to inside linebacker) and Lamondre Brooks (defensive end to outside linebacker). Another change took place just this week, with Daniel Foster-Allen moving from defensive end to offensive tackle.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Foster-Allen, a former St. Paul’s standout, transferred to South Alabama from Auburn this spring. He donned No. 77 at Wednesday’s practice after previously wearing No. 93.
South Alabama will hold a walkthrough on Friday morning, leading into Saturday’s spring game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. | https://www.al.com/sports/2022/04/south-alabama-tries-to-balance-fun-with-getting-better-at-red-blue-spring-football-game.html | 2022-04-14T17:22:23 | 1 | https://www.al.com/sports/2022/04/south-alabama-tries-to-balance-fun-with-getting-better-at-red-blue-spring-football-game.html |
Formerly married movie stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are squaring off in suburban courtroom near Washington, D.C. The issue is libel. Depp is suing his ex-wife for $50 million after Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in support of the Violence Against Women Act that drew on her own experiences as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
"Like many women, I had been harassed and sexually assaulted by the time I was of college age," Heard wrote. "But I kept quiet — I did not expect filing complaints to bring justice. And I didn't see myself as a victim. Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out."
Heard's essay does not name specific perpetrators, but it echoes claims against Depp the actress raised during their 2016 divorce. Those issues were never resolved; the dissolution of their year-long marriage was settled out of court. Amid the white-hot scrutiny of entertainment media, Depp and Heard jointly issued a statement reading in part: "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future."
Now Depp, 58, is claiming that Heard, 35, defamed him in her essay because, his lawyers say, it refers to allegations she's made elsewhere. The libel trial began in Fairfax, Va., on Monday with seven jurors and four alternates (who, as part of the screening process, were asked if they were aware of the actors' work in various films.) The venue was selected for a variety of reasons, including the location of the computer servers used by The Washington Post. It also seems likely the courtroom's remove from the hyperactive paparazzi cultures of Los Angeles and New York was a factor as well.
Still, paparazzi may be unable to resist the courtroom appearances said to be forthcoming from actors Paul Bettany and James Franco and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The trial is expected to last for at least a month.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/actors-johnny-depp-and-amber-heard-are-facing-off-in-a-defamation-trial | 2022-04-14T17:23:32 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/actors-johnny-depp-and-amber-heard-are-facing-off-in-a-defamation-trial |
Updated April 14, 2022 at 12:25 PM ET
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, making Florida the latest state to restrict access to the medical procedure. Just two days ago, Oklahoma's governor signed a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony in most cases.
The new Florida law, which takes effect July 1, will replace a previous one that allowed abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy.
"House Bill 5 protects babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste, who can see, and who can feel pain," DeSantis said in a statement Wednesday. "Life is a sacred gift worthy of our protection, and I am proud to sign this great piece of legislation which represents the most significant protections for life in the state's modern history."
The new 15-week ban does not make exceptions for cases of incest, rape or human trafficking. It does allow an abortion if it would save the life of a pregnant person or prevent serious injury to them.
The law also includes exceptions for fetal abnormalities that are discovered after 15 weeks. In such cases, two doctors must sign off saying the baby will die shortly after birth before an abortion can happen.
Groups including Planned Parenthood warn that marginalized communities, including Black and Latino residents, will have the added burden of traveling out of state for the procedure.
"We've entered a dangerous time for Floridians' reproductive freedom. In just a few months, thousands of pregnant people in Florida will no longer be able to access the care they need without leaving their state," said Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson in a statement. "The supporters of this bill have put their own political ambitions and beliefs before the health and futures of their constituents."
A similar Mississippi law is before the Supreme Court
Florida's new law is modeled after another in Mississippi that also bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That law is currently being considered at the Supreme Court, where justices in the six-member conservative majority appear willing to uphold the law.
Upholding Mississippi's law would significantly roll back or overturn the protections that Roe v. Wade guaranteed pregnant people.
Florida's bill passed the state House in mid-February and then went to the state Senate. In both chambers, lawmakers of both parties shared their personal experiences with sexual assault and abortion and how it informed their votes.
Lawmakers shared their own experiences during the debate over Florida's measure
During the House debate, Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy shared that she had previously gotten an abortion and was "ashamed because I will never get to know the unborn child that I could have had."
"It's something I have regretted every day since," Trabulsy said. "This is the right to life and to give up life is unconscionable to me."
In the Senate, Democrat Lauren Book pushed for an amendment to the bill that would have allowed exceptions for incest, rape or human trafficking. Book spoke of her own experience of sexual abuse and rape.
"It's not OK to force someone who's been sexually assaulted and impregnated to carry that pregnancy to term if they don't want to, it's just not," she said. "And if a woman or a girl needs more than 15 weeks to decide, we should be able to give that to her."
Florida is not the only state using Mississippi's law as a blueprint. Republican lawmakers in West Virginia and Arizona have proposed similar legislation in anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling.
Other Republican-led states are also considering and implementing abortion bans more restrictive than Mississippi's 15-week model. Last May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that effectively bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected or as early as six weeks. The Supreme Court has declined three times to take up the challenge to the Texas abortion law.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-a-bill-banning-abortions-after-15-weeks | 2022-04-14T17:23:39 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-a-bill-banning-abortions-after-15-weeks |
Lawmakers have called for an investigation into a troubled student loan cancellation program two weeks after an NPR report revealed the program — designed to help low-income borrowers, and eventually offer them debt cancellation — wasn't living up to its promise.
More than 9 million borrowers are currently enrolled in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which are designed to help people who cannot afford to make large monthly payments. The plans promise loan cancellation after 20-25 years. But documents obtained by NPR offer striking evidence that these plans have been badly mismanaged by loan servicers and the U.S. Department of Education.
The documents shed new light on the 2021 revelation that, at the time, 4.4 million borrowers had been repaying for at least 20 years but only 32 had had loans canceled under IDR.
"A recent NPR investigative report found the IDR program is riddled with problems and mismanagement, even worse than the public previously understood, resulting in millions of borrowers becoming unable to obtain debt cancellation," a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois signed onto the letter, which calls for CFPB to "investigate these reports and use all of its authorities to ensure borrowers are accessing IDR program benefits and receive the student loan forgiveness they have earned."
The senators also sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, calling for his agency to take action.
"We urge the Department of Education ('ED') to implement an IDR waiver, similar to the ongoing waiver for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ('PSLF') program, to allow borrowers to access the loan forgiveness they were promised through IDR," the letter says.
These senators aren't alone in their support of an IDR waiver. Earlier this year, more than 100 different advocacy groups cosigned a letter to Cardona demanding a waiver that would retroactively loosen the program's rules.
The problems NPR found with IDR
Under IDR, a monthly payment of $0 for a borrower earning less than 150% of the federal poverty line should still count toward loan cancellation. But NPR obtained a previously unreleased 2016 review of servicers, conducted by the Education Department's office of Federal Student Aid, in which officials warned these $0 IDR payments "are not adequately tracked."
Nearly half of all IDR borrowers are making $0 monthly payments, according to a 2019 analysis by the Center for American Progress (CAP). Not tracking those payments could delay or derail millions of the lowest-income borrowers on their way to loan cancellation.
The documents NPR obtained also revealed other irregularities in how servicers count IDR payments.
For example, if a monthly payment of $100.01 is owed but a borrower pays just $100 — one penny shy of the required amount — three loan servicers said they would still count it as a qualifying payment. But four others indicated they would not.
In response to NPR's original investigation, the Department of Education said, "Borrowers place their trust in us to make sure these plans work the way they were intended to, and we intend to honor that trust. We are aware of historical issues with prior processes that had undermined accurate tracking of eligible payments. The current situation is unacceptable and we are committed to addressing those issues."
What's next for IDR
Implementing an IDR waiver could help put qualifying borrowers back on the path to loan cancellation. But not everyone believes the remedy should fall solely to the Department of Education.
Beth Akers, who studies student loans at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told NPR she supports the idea of IDR – but she blames lawmakers for creating such a difficult suite of programs to implement.
"We're not going to get these programs cleaned up without legislation," Akers said. "The servicers have a thankless job. So does the Department of Education, because they were handed a pile of garbage."
NPR reached out to the CFPB and the Education Department for comment on the letters, and will update this story with their responses.
NPR is committed to reporting on pressing issues that matter to you, like student loans. Sign up for our Education newsletter to stay up to date. You can support NPR's trusted, vital coverage by donating to your local NPR station today.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/senators-call-for-probe-into-student-loan-program-after-npr-unearthed-major-problems | 2022-04-14T17:23:45 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/senators-call-for-probe-into-student-loan-program-after-npr-unearthed-major-problems |
Updated April 14, 2022 at 12:52 PM ET
LVIV, Ukraine — On a brilliant spring afternoon, Kateryna Kltsova pulls a bright-pink suitcase through a park in Lviv. She is trailed by her two daughters, 11-year-old Maria and 7-year-old Nadia.
"They are ballerinas," Kltsova says, her voice weary. "And I am a teacher at the Kharkiv ballet school."
Here's how fast the war in Ukraine has shattered lives: At Christmas, Kltsova's children danced in a lavish production of The Nutcracker in their hometown of Kharkiv. With Easter approaching, Kharkiv is now under siege by Russian forces who have been shelling the suburbs with artillery and rockets.
"It's a very beautiful city," Kltsova says, "but now it's broken, day after day more. It's very painful for me, you know."
More than 10 million Ukrainians — roughly one in four people — have been displaced by this war, most of them women and children. For now, the city of Lviv in western Ukraine is safe. It's packed with families like the Kltsovas who've been scattered by violence, separated from their loved ones and their old lives.
To show what her family has lost, Kltsova takes out her phone and pulls up photographs and videos of children learning the steps of the ballet.
After watching herself in one phone video, 11-year-old Maria grins and goes in her puffy white coat and tennis shoes to give a little performance right there in the park. She stretches forward gracefully, one leg rising behind.
But when asked about these last few days, the girl slumps and looks away.
"Yes," Maria says, "I worry. This is for me a nightmare."
Her father has stayed behind in Kharkiv as part of the territorial defense force.
"I worry," she says, "yes, so much."
Like many displaced persons passing through Lviv, the Kltsovas still seem in shock by this war that started roughly 50 days ago.
The girls' mother says she used to live in Moscow, loved it there and still has many friends in Russia. Now she feels betrayed.
"All my dreams about my children, because they are small ballerinas, they are broken," she says.
Kltsova finally decided it was time to flee when she saw images of dead bodies scattered in the suburbs around Kyiv. The family has been in Lviv almost a week and now plans to leave for France, where they will stay a while with relatives. They've just bought the pink suitcase for that trip.
But money is already tight and Kltsova is not sure how long she'll be welcomed by her family.
"I don't know. I don't have work now. I don't know what I will do after," she says.
Despite her fears, and her doubts for the future, Kltsova believes people in Kharkiv, including her husband, will keep fighting and she will one day be able to return home.
"Yes, of course I believe," she says. "I believe and I want to go home. And I believe we will win."
And then the Kltsovas set off again, a mother and her two little ballerinas, pulling their pink suitcase through the park.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/young-ballerinas-from-kharkiv-are-now-among-millions-displaced-by-ukraines-war | 2022-04-14T17:23:51 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/young-ballerinas-from-kharkiv-are-now-among-millions-displaced-by-ukraines-war |
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man who attacked police officers while storming the U.S. Capitol during the January 2021 insurrection has been arrested, officials said.
Steven Miles, 39, of Zephyrhills, was arrested Tuesday in Florida, where he made his initial court appearance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Zephyrhills is about 30 miles northeast of Tampa.
Miles faces charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, civil disorder and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon. The case is being prosecuted in Washington, D.C., federal court.
According to court documents, Miles on Jan. 6, 2021, joined with others objecting to Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over former Republican President Donald Trump. A mob attacked the Capitol that day in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying election results, authorities said. Five people died in the violence, including a police officer.
According to a criminal complaint, Miles marched in a group to the Capitol, where he and other rioters fought with police officers who were protecting the Capitol. Miles shoved and attempted to punch police officers, prosecutors said. Miles then made his way up a staircase, smashed a plank of wood into a window and entered the building through that broken window, officials said. He briefly walked through the building and then left through a door.
Online court records didn’t list a defense attorney for Miles who could be reached for comment.
Since Jan. 6, 2021, nearly 800 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, officials said. More than 250 people have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-stephen-miles-jan-6-attack-arrested-florida-20220414-smfcotdvorcy7p2r4bpee2pf6e-story.html | 2022-04-14T17:23:54 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-stephen-miles-jan-6-attack-arrested-florida-20220414-smfcotdvorcy7p2r4bpee2pf6e-story.html |
ROGERS, Ark. — Rogers Police are investigating the death of a teen girl found with a gunshot wound to the head just after 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 13.
According to Keith Foster, PIO with the Rogers Police Department, officers responded to the 400 block of East Asher Court regarding sounds of gunfire.
When officers arrived on the scene, a 17-year-old female was found unresponsive in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. The girl was later pronounced dead.
Foster says a homicide investigation has been launched and that the department will release more details at a future date.
This is a developing story. Please stick with 5NEWS for updates.
RELATED: Police: 18-year-old shot by juvenile in Springdale, one man arrested in connection to shooting
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/crime/rogers-teen-homicide-gunshot-wound-head/527-9d7dc9de-a7af-44f9-b71c-e961c9500014 | 2022-04-14T17:25:10 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/crime/rogers-teen-homicide-gunshot-wound-head/527-9d7dc9de-a7af-44f9-b71c-e961c9500014 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Attorneys for an Arkansas jail and doctor being sued by inmates who say they were unknowingly given ivermectin to treat their COVID-19 say the lawsuit should be dismissed because the men are no longer being held in the county facility.
In a motion filed Tuesday, attorneys for the Washington County jail and Dr. Robert Karas noted that the four inmates who filed the lawsuit are now being held in state prisons.
Sheriff Tim Helder in August revealed that Karas had prescribed ivermectin to treat some inmates with COVID-19.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. The FDA has not approved its use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans. According to the FDA, side effects for the drug include skin rash, nausea and vomiting.
Health officials have said the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19.
The inmates said they were never told ivermectin was among the medications they had been given to treat COVID-19, and instead were told they were being given vitamins, antibiotics or steroids.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/arkansas-jail-doctor-ivermectin-lawsuit-dismissal/527-1dc4f132-6ffc-4bf8-8db2-bf36597974d8 | 2022-04-14T17:25:17 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/arkansas-jail-doctor-ivermectin-lawsuit-dismissal/527-1dc4f132-6ffc-4bf8-8db2-bf36597974d8 |
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic content.
On April 8, a missile hit a train station in Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens more. There were thousands of people near the station, mostly women and children trying to flee Ukraine, when the missile hit.
Since the bombing, Russian media outlets falsely claimed missiles that were recovered near the train station belonged to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Those claims persisted a week later. On April 12, a video that appeared to have BBC News branding circulated across Twitter and pro-Russian channels on messaging app Telegram. The video appears to show BBC News reporting that Ukraine attacked one of its own train stations.
THE QUESTION
Did BBC News air a video claiming Ukraine bombed one of its own train stations?
THE SOURCES
- BBC News
- Joe Inwood, a producer for BBC News
- Analysis of verified BBC News social media channels
THE ANSWER
No, BBC News did not air a video claiming Ukraine bombed one of its own train stations. The viral video is doctored and has since been removed from most social media platforms.
WHAT WE FOUND
The viral video appearing to be from BBC News shows footage from the April 8 attack on the train station in Kramatorsk. The video contains the BBC News logo and branding elements similar to what is used by the news organization on its vertical videos that it posts on Facebook and Twitter.
On April 13, BBC News issued a statement on social media that the video was a fake. The BBC News Press Team said that the video was manipulated to appear as if it came from its news site.
“We are aware of a fake video with BBC News branding suggesting Ukraine was responsible for last week’s missile attack on Kramatorsk train station. The BBC is taking action to have the video removed. We urge people not to share it and to check stories on the BBC News website,” the BBC News press team tweeted.
VERIFY analyzed the Facebook and Twitter accounts for BBC News and did not find this video posted to these accounts. VERIFY also did not find a news report matching the fake video clip on the BBC News website.
BBC News producer Joe Inwood also tweeted that the videos were not from BBC News. In response to a tweet showing the purported BBC News clip, Inwood wrote: “As the BBC producer covering the story, I can confirm the video IS A FAKE. They do appear to have gotten hold of our branding, however, so I’m worried we will see more of these.”
Starting 44 seconds into the clip, the doctored video's English captions read: “Military experts stressed that Ukraine has often started using fake news to promote its position. Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy complained that he was asked for proof of the Russian army’s involvement in ‘The Bucha Massacre’. The strike on the train station killed 50 people. Ukraine blamed Russia for the attack.”
BBC News spells Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s name with only one Y, while the fake BBC News report used two Ys in the last name. The grammar and punctuation is also inconsistent with BBC News reporting from Ukraine.
VERIFY analyzed the fake video and compared it to actual BBC News video reports.
Vertical videos are typically published to meet standard size, just like horizontal videos are produced to fill a widescreen television. This sizing is measured by an aspect ratio, or the ratio of the width to the height of the video. Vertical videos are typically produced with a 9:16 aspect ratio. The doctored video is inconsistent with typical aspect ratio standards used in BBC News vertical videos.
So, we can VERIFY the report did not come from BBC News.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/verify/world-verify/ukraine-verify/bbc-didnt-air-a-video-claiming-ukraine-bombed-train-station/536-60588bac-dc4b-4cdf-919f-c0f382130e8d | 2022-04-14T17:25:23 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/verify/world-verify/ukraine-verify/bbc-didnt-air-a-video-claiming-ukraine-bombed-train-station/536-60588bac-dc4b-4cdf-919f-c0f382130e8d |
Advertisement
Ambassador Bill Taylor on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship47:23
PlayBill Taylor was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine twice — from 2006 to 2009, and 2019 to 2020.
"Ukraine has had six changes of president — back and forth, back and forth, back and forth," Taylor says. "A president from the east, followed by a president from the west, followed by a president from the east, followed by a president from the west."
Much has changed in Washington, too.
"First time in, the military support was not that great," Taylor says. "In 2014, it evolved into a very serious military effort, all the way till now where it is, you know — the spigot is wide open."
Ambassador Taylor has witnessed the U.S.'s relationship with Ukraine from the Orange Revolution to Donald Trump's so-called "perfect phone call" with Volodymyr Zelenskyy — all the way to Russia's invasion.
Today, On Point: We'll hear what that’s taught him.
Guest
Bill Taylor, vice president, Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He served as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv and as former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
Show Transcript
MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: This is On Point, I'm Meghna Chakrabarti. Today, we're joined for the hour by Ambassador Bill Taylor. He served the United States for more than 50 years, first as a West Point cadet, then with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. His career later took him to NATO and the State Department.
He's been appointed to posts by both Republicans and Democrats, by every U.S. president from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, including two periods as the U.S. top diplomat in Ukraine. First, from 2006 to 2009 as ambassador to Ukraine in the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and then from 2019 to 2020 as Chargé d’Affaires, effectively acting ambassador, in the Trump administration.
As such, Bill Taylor has vivid and unique experience on what is now the military front lines of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and on the diplomatic and political front lines of Washington's developing relationship with Kyiv. We're privileged to have him here today. Ambassador Taylor, welcome.
BILL TAYLOR: Thank you very much for having me. It's a real pleasure.
CHAKRABARTI: First, I understand that just three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, you were actually meeting, or you had a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Where did that meeting happen?
TAYLOR: In his office in Kyiv. Of course, the presidential administration is a big complex of buildings there in the center of Kyiv. Several of us were there to show support for Ukraine, and a couple of us sat down with President Zelenskyy at that time
CHAKRABARTI: To show support because there was already significant evidence of Russian military buildup on the border.
Advertisement
TAYLOR: Significant evidence in terms of about 120,000 Russian soldiers, around three of Ukraine's borders, yes.
CHAKRABARTI: So you met with President Zelenskyy. And what did you talk about with him?
TAYLOR: We talked about the relationship of the United States. Again, we were there to demonstrate support. Our presence and anyone's presence there, as we've seen lately, as a symbol, as a demonstration of strong support by just showing up. And that was why we were there. And so we had that conversation and he volunteered the good relationship he had with President Biden. And how much he appreciated the assistance that he was already getting.
He, of course, wanted more at the time. As you said, this is right at the end of January. So three weeks before the invasion, there was this discussion among Ukrainians, among Americans, Europeans, about how serious the threat of invasion was. President Biden and Americans more broadly were making the strong case that this was very serious, that it was imminent.
We even talked about imminent, and that became a word. Whereas President Zelenskyy saw the same intelligence, we were sharing intelligence very well, very fully, and he knew what he was up against. But he didn't want panic. He didn't want to panic the people of Ukraine. So his message was, Don't panic. Get ready. And we had that conversation.
CHAKRABARTI: So his message to the Ukrainian people. But did he also tell you about whether Ukraine was making preparations for an invasion? And when you say imminent, did President Zelenskyy essentially make it clear that he believed that Russia was indeed going to invade?
TAYLOR: He did not make that case. He didn't use the word imminent. This, I say, was an item of discussion between Americans and Ukrainians. The Americans thought it was imminent, although there was some backing down. We backed off of the word imminent in December. Out of deference to the Ukrainians sense that it was serious, but they didn't want panic.
And so yes, we had that conversation, and exactly as you asked. He did describe the improvements that he was making and intended to make to his military. As an example, one of the things I remember very clearly him talking about is 100,000 more troops and doubling the pay for all of the military. So he had big plans.
CHAKRABARTI: So I understand a head of state's desire not to panic their population, while sounds like preparing for, I'll use the word imminent, because now we know what happened, invasion from a massive military power. What was President Zelenskyy’s demeanor like?
TAYLOR: Determined, I would say. Grim, focused. As you indicated in your introduction, I'd met him in 2019 just after he had been inaugurated, so I got there in June. He'd been inaugurated just a month before. I had good opportunity to have several conversations with him that summer through the fall. And at that time, he was also determined, really upbeat, really focused on those two main parts of his campaign, his platform, which was end the war on Ukrainian terms and fight the corruption, defeat the corruption.
And so at that time in 2019, he was optimistic, enthusiastic when I saw him. Then in January, at the end of January, three weeks before, as we now know, the invasion. It was a more sober President Zelenskyy. It was a more determined. It was closer to a wartime president. He had already stepped into that role, he has done it even more since then, as you've seen, as we've all seen. But he was moving into that wartime presidency role.
CHAKRABARTI: Ambassador, if I may ask, I wonder what your demeanor was like? I mean, did you think at that moment, put yourself back there when you were speaking with President Zelenskyy. Did you yourself think that Russia would indeed launch a full scale invasion on Ukraine?
TAYLOR: So I was asked this a lot, and I tried not to give a yes or no answer. I tried to say, you know, probabilities. However, my probabilities at the time which I am public I was public with, was 55-45 against an invasion. The 55% chance that Putin would recognize the costs to him, the cost to Russia, the cost to Russian people of such a blunder.
It was clear to me that this would be able under were he to invade, and I thought that he would recognize, that he would do that same cost-benefit calculation that most of us did and many of us did. And so, yes, I put it 55-45 against an invasion. Turns out it was greater than that. We know, as you just said, he invaded and he's paying the price. Putin is paying the heavy price that we all saw.
CHAKRABARTI: Now when you say you were asked that by other journalists, reporters or were you asked that by President Zelenskyy?
TAYLOR: Journalists, reporters, I was on a couple of shows. I was asked that, I was not eager to go on the record, but there we are. And I can't take it back.
CHAKRABARTI: OK. Well, no. I mean, I appreciate your candor about this. And, you know, as a person who has a long relationship with Ukraine, both sort of, of course, diplomatically and as a representative of the United States. But also, I mean, it's fair to say you have a great affection for the country, is it not?
TAYLOR: It is fair to say, it is fair to say. I have many good friends, many good friends, Ukrainians, I have, with whom I'm in touch daily. I'm in touch this morning with one of my good friends since 2006, who's now in the army. He's on the front line, and he he's sent me a couple of notes from the battlefield. ... And many of the people that I worked with at the embassy, the Ukrainians that work at the embassy are phenomenal. They are the backbone of the embassy, like at all embassies. But Embassy Kyiv, it is a wonderful group of people that work there. So yes, I love those people.
CHAKRABARTI: Can you share what your friend told you this morning?
TAYLOR: Yes, he is concerned that the Russians are, as we see, as our intelligence shows as well, that the Russians are massing for a big offensive. He's near Izyum, southwest of his home. And they are preparing for this massive invasion column of tanks moving down. He's most concerned about aircraft. He's most concerned about the Russian increasing the numbers of combat aircraft to support this offensive.
So he's looking for those weapons that we've been talking about, that the Americans been talking about, that other European members of NATO have been talking about. He's looking forward to the drones. That will be helpful. So he's looking forward to the weapons coming in.
CHAKRABARTI: Now, ambassador, for a decent part of the rest of the show, we're going to go back in time and talk about your experience vis-a-vis U.S. diplomacy in Ukraine through a number of administrations. But we've got about a minute and a half left here in this first segment. And I wonder if you could describe to us, what do you think is at stake regarding what the future might bring for Ukraine? What's at stake for Europe, for the global community?
TAYLOR: You're right, it is a broad question and a lot's at stake for the global community, for Europeans, for the United States and of course, for Ukraine. Ukraine's important for several reasons. One is if we ever want to get back, if it is ever going to be possible to get back to some kind of order in Europe, some kind of rules-based order that nations respect each other's sovereignty.
In order to get back to that, the Russians are going to have to get out of or be driven out of Ukraine. So getting back to that, we can talk more about that, I'm sure. But that will be important if we're going to look forward, if we're going to move forward in some kind of a peaceful order in Europe. And more broadly where disputes are not solved by force. That's one of the main reasons that we cared. Not the only one, but we care a lot about Ukraine.
CHAKRABARTI: Well, this hour we're speaking with Ambassador Bill Taylor. He served twice as the US's top diplomat to Ukraine. We'll talk a lot more when we come back about what that was like serving under various administrations. And also the path ahead, not just for the Biden administration, but for Europe as well.
CHAKRABARTI: Today, we're privileged to have Ambassador Bill Taylor with us. He served two stints as the U.S.'s top ambassador to Ukraine, and he's currently vice president of Russia and Europe at the U.S. Peace Institute. And you know, Ambassador Taylor, I wish we had three or four hours here, because you’ve got quite a lengthy career I'd love to dive into. But let's just jump to the first time that you served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, beginning in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Now, recently in the New York Times, Fiona Hill, of course, the renowned Russia expert and formerly the senior director of Russian and European affairs on the National Security Council in the Trump administration, she told the New York Times that there was a moment in the Bush administration where she was in the Oval Office and had a discussion with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. And told them that offering Ukraine and Georgia a membership path to NATO was going to be a problem. You were ambassador to Ukraine at that time. Did you see it similarly?
TAYLOR: I didn't, actually. I supported the membership action plan, the first step in the process towards NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. And the reason is that it was not just that moment that we were looking at. Ukraine and other former Soviet states, and other former Warsaw Pact nations, knew and know Russian history. They knew Soviet history. They knew that Russia for centuries has been ruled by autocrats, by czars. They remember Joseph Stalin. It's not just Putin, it's not just Putin’s sense of grievance.
No, this is what Russia is. And has been, and it's been aggressive. It's been oppressive. It's been acquisitive. It is expansive. So these nations applied for NATO membership. And Poland and Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic and Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, the Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, they all recognize it wasn't just the moment that they were fearful of. It was the history. It was Russia as it is, and as it has been, that they were worried about and they wanted to be a member of NATO.
And we said yes. And Ukraine and Georgia made the same calculation, and they applied. And President Bush, just exactly as you said, came through Kyiv. Met with the president, the prime minister. People in the streets talked and went on to Bucharest. By the way, President Bush is the last sitting president of the United States to show up in Kyiv. That was when I was there in 2008, then he went on to Bucharest, where exactly what you just said. That is, they decided not to give the NATO nations and NATO heads of state, decided not to give a membership action.
CHAKRABARTI: I want to talk more about that Bucharest summit, because that was the April 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest. First of all, were you there as well?
TAYLOR: I was not. I stayed in Kyiv. I stayed in Kyiv. As I say, President Bush and his whole team, Condi Rice was the secretary of state and Steve Hadley was the national security advisor. And others came through, again, to meet the Ukrainians so that they could go to Bucharest and make the case for NATO's membership. And I stayed in Kyiv. They went on to Bucharest.
CHAKRABARTI: So we have some tape from when President George W. Bush talked about Ukraine again at the April 2008 NATO summit, and here is what he said.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH [Archival Tape]: Ukraine now seeks to deepen its cooperation with the NATO alliance through a membership action plan. Your nation has made a bold decision and the United States strongly supports your request. In Bucharest this week, I will continue to make America's position clear. We support map for Ukraine and Georgia. Helping Ukraine move toward NATO membership is in the interest of every member in the alliance and will help advance security and freedom in this region and around the world.
CHAKRABARTI: President George W. Bush. And I made an error a second ago, that was the president speaking in Kyiv just before he went to the NATO summit in Bucharest. And what's fascinating to me, Ambassador Taylor, is that NATO summit, a few days later, was the first time Vladimir Putin attended a NATO summit. And there, later in April in Bucharest, Putin said, quote: ‘As for the policy of expanding the alliance, we have been attentively watching your discussion yesterday.'
And he called any NATO expansion a direct threat. And then on the sidelines of what was happening at the summit in Bucharest, the then Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko was quoted as saying, quote: ‘Georgia and Ukraine's membership in the alliance is a huge strategic mistake, which would have most serious consequences for Pan European security.’ How is this reverberating with you and the U.S. diplomatic corps in Kyiv at the time?
TAYLOR: Well in Kyiv at the time, we were supportive, as was the leadership of Ukraine. So the president, President Yushchenko, was very supportive of membership action plan for Kyiv and we supported this, as President Bush described, the U.S. position. And that was certainly our position in the embassy. This was not without controversy at the time. I imagine that if you had taken, and people did, polls of Ukrainians, they would have been less than 50% support for NATO's membership at that time.
NATO membership for Ukraine is a controversial subject. That said, the president was clearly in favor of it. President Yushchenko, the Ukrainian president was, the United States, was other members of NATO were as well. The Poles, the Baltic states. There was good support, the Brits. So there was support for this. And as we know now, in my view, we should have done it then. We would not be in this war today. We would not have this invasion today had we offered a membership action plan to Ukraine then.
CHAKRABARTI: Because four months after that 2008 NATO summit, Russian troops, as you well know, launched an attack on the South Ossetia region of Georgia, right?
That was only a five day incursion, but there was a Russian military presence there, at least across a large chunk of Georgian territory, for quite some time. So you can see that two ways, right? As you just said, had NATO expansion been accelerated into Ukraine and Georgia, perhaps Putin wouldn't have even attacked Georgia.
But on the other hand, perhaps it would have also accelerated his aggressiveness about his posture, especially regarding Ukraine. Now what I really want to know, is at this time, the secretary of state was Condoleezza Rice. Her academic expertise was about the Soviet Union. So her understanding of the Soviets in Russia was quite deep. I'm wondering if you had ever had any conversations with Secretary Rice about what Putin might do if NATO were to expand into Georgia and Ukraine. Did you have any conversations with her about that?
TAYLOR: We talked briefly, certainly on that trip. As a matter of fact, we talked on that trip, as well as with her previous deputy and then national security advisor Steve Hadley, about this. And they're clear-eyed. They were clear-eyed and are clear-eyed about Russia and about Putin. But Meghna, you're exactly right.
When the NATO summit in Bucharest that spring of 2008 declined to give a membership action plan to Ukraine and Georgia, four months later, the Russians invaded. just exactly what you said. invaded Georgia. Because they noticed, they saw, they observed, they concluded that the West, that NATO, the United States was not going to support Georgia and Ukraine. So they took that message. And as we know, in 2014, they invaded Ukraine. First in Crimea and then in Donbas. So the Russians noticed.
CHAKRABARTI: And I mean, one would think also that hopefully the international community would notice that Vladimir Putin was willing to make good on his promises about aggression towards these countries. And so let's move forward a little bit into the Obama administration.
TAYLOR: … Could I just do one thing before we move forward into the Obama administration? Because at that same Bucharest summit, President Putin leaned over to President Bush and said famously, You know, George, Ukraine is not really a nation.
Putin never thought that Ukraine was a sovereign people, a sovereign nation. And we see that today. We see that today in his actions. He just thinks Ukraine is really just part of Russia, so he'll just absorb it. So I didn't want to go too far past that Bucharest summit, because that's where we really heard what President Putin thought about Ukraine.
CHAKRABARTI: So that's a really important point, ambassador, because then it actually makes the question I was about to ask you about the Obama administration that much more urgent. Because publicly in reporting and statements, et cetera, administration members across different presidents consistently say that the United States has been a consistent supporter of Ukraine.
But I really want to understand the truth behind that language because if my recollection is accurate. The Obama administration was reluctant to provide lethal support to the Ukrainians, even after, as we just talked about, Russia showed it was willing to send troops into Georgia. What do you think about that?
TAYLOR: That was a mistake. The Obama administration made a mistake not providing those weapons and other weapons, but certainly those lethal weapons. And the specific weapons we had in mind at the time, of course, were the javelins. We now know about the Javelin anti-tank missiles. But at the time, that was the question. At the time, so in 2015, 2016, when the discussion, the debate, the question came up, what kind of support should we provide to the Ukrainians, because they'd been invaded?
The Russians had invaded first in Crimea and then in Donbas in 2014, and we were supporting them, the Obama administration was indeed supporting them. That was not the issue. The question was whether or not to provide lethal weapons, and the concern, apparently right at the top of the Obama administration, was provoking Russia. In my view, that was a mistake. I mean, they didn't need provocation. They were already invading. And so we should have provided those weapons. We're now providing them in a great stream, in a mammoth stream. The question is, is it in time?
CHAKRABARTI: Well, but to be clear, you were outside of government at this period of time. But it seems to me that you were sufficiently alarmed by the possibility of Russian aggression that you joined some other former ambassadors, right, and urged the Obama administration to provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. Were you heard? Sounds like you were heard?
TAYLOR: I think so. I know we were heard because we sat down in many offices in the State Department and the Pentagon and had this conversation. And I will tell you that this position that we were advocating, a couple of my colleagues, former ambassadors as well to Ukraine, we were arguing in favor of lethal weapons to Ukraine. Because they'd been invaded.
And let's be clear, they had already been invaded in 2014 and they were trying to defend themselves. And we were making the case for providing these and we got a very positive reception. We heard from most of the people we talked to in State Department, Defense Department, the NSC, that they supported that. But there was reluctance again right at the top to provide these weapons for fear of provocation.
CHAKRABARTI: Ambassador Taylor, you've said right at the top a couple of times, is it fair to say that from your experience, the U.S. support for any particular country, but in this case, Ukraine, because you served as the nation's representative to Ukraine, was and is heavily influenced by the president of the United States' particular and personal approach to U.S. Ukraine relations?
TAYLOR: Well, what I would say is certainly the president has a big influence, no matter which president. I mean, you've quoted President Bush already, we've talked about President Obama's influence on some decisions. We know you're about to ask some other questions, I suspect, about the role of other presidents. And so there's no doubt that the president's view of a nation and in this case Ukraine, has an influence. But let me just say that the strong support for Ukraine in U.S. administration after U.S. administration has been consistent, has been consistent.
And that strong support, by the way, has been not just administration after administration but in the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats. It has been consistent. And so yes, the president's view has a role, but it's reinforced in most cases, not all, by the position of the government and, indeed, reflecting the people of the United States.
CHAKRABARTI: I'm glad you brought up Congress, by the way, because of course, Congress actually plays a huge role in all this, being the body that approves how the U.S. supports nations like Ukraine. But ambassador, if I might just push a little bit on this. Because I mean, the Obama example does make me wonder. OK, consistent support for nonlethal support.
But what does it tell you that in the moment when, as you just pointed out, Russia had already invaded Crimea. Several years before that, the incursion into Georgia. That perhaps in that time of need, let alone now, the administration was unwilling to provide lethal support, to push back or to prepare Ukraine for what might come next. Was that a mistake? Was it not as consistent support as people talk about?
TAYLOR: It was consistent support. However, it didn't go the full level. It didn't get to the level of lethal weapons, and that it should have. Yes.
CHAKRABARTI: Well, Ambassador Bill Taylor, stand by for just a moment. We'll talk a lot more, not just about the administration that followed Barack Obama, but about the future of Ukraine and the United States.
This program aired on April 14, 2022. | https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/04/14/ambassador-bill-taylor-on-the-u-s-ukraine-relationship | 2022-04-14T17:27:15 | 0 | https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/04/14/ambassador-bill-taylor-on-the-u-s-ukraine-relationship |
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Devastating images continue to come out of Ukraine. Tens of thousands are believed to have died already, and families remain separated after fleeing the fighting. In a war with no end in sight, one Ukrainian family still has hope thanks to the Spirit of Springfield.
Back in January, Max and Olena Stasuik, and their two kids were enjoying a day in Kyiv. They were ice skating and celebrating a birthday.
“We were very happy. I think we didn’t know we were happy,” said Olena. “You never think that you are happy with your ordinary life, with your ordinary days.”
Just three months later, the Ukrainian capital is unrecognizable. It’s been destroyed by Russian bombs and missiles.
“They destroy our people and country,” explained Max.
“The air alarms sound everyday and night. Still. The sound is so unpleasant,” Olena said. “Everyday, I think it’s a nightmare, it’s a bad dream, and we will wake up somehow and it will have stopped.”
As the situation got worse throughout the country, the family had to make a tough decision. Olena, their 12-year old son, 17-year old daughter and 68-year old aunt escaped to Italy as refugees. Max is still in Ukraine, not able to leave their home in Cherkasy.
“I ask the children and my wife to take videos and photos and send them to me so it seems that they are just in another room,” Max said.
The family talks on video chat and on the phone multiple times a day.
“We try not to think that we are separated and that the distance between us doesn’t mean anything because our hearts are together, our heads are together, our movements are together,” Olena said.
Half a world away, Max has been working with the Spirit of Springfield to illustrate a book based on Bright Nights at Forest Park. When the organization’s President Judy Matt found out that he was in Ukraine, she wanted to help. They are selling Little Frog and the Bright Lights for $10. The money will go to the Stasuik family.
“We are getting them (orders) from everywhere,” Matt said. “People want to have a way they can support these people, and this is it.”
Olena said the money will help them continue to live in Italy because she doesn’t have a work visa in there.
“It’s very hard to be in a foreign country when you do not know where to go or who to ask for help, nothing. It’s just a very, very hard situation,” Olena said.
They don’t know how much longer they will be apart because men 18 to 60-years old are not allowed to leave Ukraine in case they are called on to help fight.
“We never wanted war,” Max said. “We never wanted to attack anyone. We were happy.”
Anyone interested in purchasing the book can do so here, 100% of the proceeds go to Max and his family. | https://www.wivb.com/news/new-york/spirit-of-springfield-selling-books-to-support-ukrainian-illustrator/ | 2022-04-14T17:37:18 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/new-york/spirit-of-springfield-selling-books-to-support-ukrainian-illustrator/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — People Inc. is getting a boost in funding from the state in this year’s budget.
On Wednesday afternoon, People Inc. Associate Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Horrigan discussed what this means for the organization.
Watch the interview in the video above.
Latest Posts
Jordan Norkus is an anchor who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. | https://www.wivb.com/video/people-inc-gets-boost-from-nys-budget/ | 2022-04-14T17:37:25 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/video/people-inc-gets-boost-from-nys-budget/ |
GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) — A Jacksonville man was arrested Monday night after deputies said he called to turn himself in for a home invasion robbery where he tied up an elderly couple for over two days.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said 46-year-old Aubrey Lumpkin called them around 11:36 p.m. to tell them he was a “piece of s—,” had done “horrible things,” and to turn himself for a crime.
Deputies said Lumpkin told them there was an elderly couple who needed medical attention.
When deputies arrived at the address, they said they found two victims with their arms, legs and face bound by duct tape. The couple was extremely dehydrated, malnourished and covered in feces.
They also had multiple infections and lesions from being tied up, according to the affidavit, for over 48 hours. The couple was taken to the hospital.
Meanwhile, deputies arrested Lumpkin and took him back to their office for questioning.
During the interview, deputies said Lumpkin told them on Saturday night he and another man went to the home to rob the couple. He went through the back door while the other man went through the front.
Once inside, deputies said Lumpkin told them he ordered the couple to get on the ground and shot two shots over their heads to scare them when they wouldn’t stop screaming.
Lumpkin and the other man then tied the victims up with duct tape according to documents.
Deputies said Lumpkin and the other man found the victims’ credit cards, forced the victims to give them the PIN, and took turns going down the street to withdraw money from the victims’ accounts at an ATM at a Winn-Dixie. They withdrew about $3,000 in total. After that, Lumpkin told deputies the other man left.
The document also said Lumpkin admitted to taking the victims’ car out several times while they were held hostage to get drugs.
The victims corroborated the story and were able to identify Lumpkin as one of the robbers.
Lumpkin is charged with home invasion with a firearm, adult false imprisonment, possession of a firearm or ammo by a convicted felon and sale and delivery of drugs. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-man-calls-deputies-for-help-after-tying-up-couple-for-2-days/ | 2022-04-14T17:38:17 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-man-calls-deputies-for-help-after-tying-up-couple-for-2-days/ |
(WFLA) — A Ukrainian mother who now famously wrote her contact information and daughter’s name on the child’s back when Russian troops invaded Ukraine recently posted that the child is safe.
On April 1, Sasha Makoviy touched hearts around the world when she shared a photo of her young daughter’s back, with contact information written on the child’s skin so she could be identified if she was found as a lone survivor, or if the two were separated.
The woman also said, in a moment of panic, she considered the option of tattooing the information on her daughter to make sure the message would not fade away if it was needed.
Makoviy said it “hurt” to look through her phone’s photo gallery to see the old pictures of the “wonderful life” they had in Kyiv.
After receiving hundreds of messages asking about the child’s condition, Makoviy posted an update saying she was “moved to tears” by the outpouring of support. She said she and her daughter had safely crossed the border, and were staying with volunteers in southern France.
“I’d like to say thank you to French volunteers, and everyone who helped us and supported us as we were fleeing the war,” Makoviy wrote in the post. “My warmest thanks to the people of Poland🇵🇱. Your generosity and compassion is priceless. Your support is what keeps us going.” | https://www.wfla.com/news/international/ukrainian-mother-who-wrote-contact-info-on-daughters-back-says-she-is-safe/ | 2022-04-14T17:38:23 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/international/ukrainian-mother-who-wrote-contact-info-on-daughters-back-says-she-is-safe/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged in this week’s Brooklyn subway attack was ordered held without bail, with prosecutors saying he terrified the “entire city.”
Frank James was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday, a day after the attack, and made his first appearance in federal court Thursday. Authorities said he unleashed smoke bombs and dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters, shooting 10 people. All were expected to survive.
Investigators are continuing the examine the 62-year-old’s possible motive.
James is charged with a federal terrorism offense, which pertains to violent attacks on mass transit systems. There is no evidence connecting him to terror organizations, international or otherwise, at this time, authorities say.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday as investigators continue to examine his possible motive.
Frank James, 62, was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday, a day after the attack. Authorities say he unleashed smoke bombs and dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters, shooting 10 people.
“He fired approximately 33 rounds in cold blood at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide,” federal prosecutors wrote Thursday in court papers asking that James be held without bail.
They called the shooting premeditated and calculated, saying that James wore a hard hat and construction worker-style jacket as a disguise and then shed them after the gunfire to avoid recognition. Prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other gun-related items in a Philadelphia storage unit.
A lawyer appointed to represent him didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. James didn’t respond to shouting reporters Wednesday as he was led from a police precinct into a car headed for a federal detention center.
Authorities say a trove of evidence connects James to the attack. His credit card and a key to a van he had rented were found at the shooting scene. Officers also found the handgun they said was used in the shooting; tracing records show James purchased the gun from a licensed gun dealer in Ohio in 2011.
Investigators were examining many hours of videos that James posted on social media, including one a day before the attack, in which he delivered profanity-laced diatribes about racism, society’s treatment of Black people, homelessness and violence. He also talked about his history of psychiatric treatment, and he complained about New York’s mayor is dealing with homeless people on subways and with gun violence.
James was born and raised in New York City but had moved to Milwaukee. He’d recently left Wisconsin and had briefly lived in Philadelphia. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/brooklyn-subway-attack-suspect-charged-with-terrorism-held-without-bail/ | 2022-04-14T17:38:29 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/brooklyn-subway-attack-suspect-charged-with-terrorism-held-without-bail/ |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A person of interest is in custody in connection with the random shooting deaths of two men in St. Petersburg, police said.
Police said Vernon Williams, 60, and Corlenzo Williams, 24, were gunned down within two miles of each other this past Sunday and Tuesday.
The shootings were unprovoked, neither man was robbed and no evidence suggests the victims knew each other, according to police.
“We’re assuming that the suspect is just driving down the street, spotting these people walking down the street, having a conversation with these people and shooting them,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Police were only able to describe the suspect as a Black man driving an unknown vehicle.
Holloway said another person came forward to report an incident involving a suspicious man in a vehicle about a few blocks away from where Corlenzo was killed. They said the man started talking to him, but he ran away after he spotted a weapon in his vehicle.
On Thursday, police said they identified a person of interest in the shootings, and took him into custody with the help of the FBI.
The man is being held in Hillsborough County on charges unrelated to the shootings. His name was not released.
The two shootings remain under investigation. | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/person-of-interest-in-custody-after-random-st-pete-homicides/ | 2022-04-14T17:38:35 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/person-of-interest-in-custody-after-random-st-pete-homicides/ |
1 person shot outside Charlotte rapper Dababy's Troutman home
TROUTMAN, N.C. — A person was shot on a football field outside rapper DaBaby’s Troutman home Wednesday night, according to police.
The Charlotte rapper, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, was home at the time of the shooting, Troutman police said. A second person was also at the house.
According to authorities, a third person on the property was shot on the football field outside DaBaby’s mansion. The victim’s identity has not been released but they are being treated at a Charlotte hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers have not said who shot the person or if any charges will be filed. Police said they seized a gun.
There are several no trespassing signs around the property, detectives said.
Channel 9 Skyzoom flew over the mansion Thursday morning and security could be seen around the home, including a security car parked in the driveway for hours.
The home is located on more than 8.5 acres of land and the property is valued at nearly $2.3 million.
This is an ongoing investigation. Return to this story for updates.
Story provided by WSOC. | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/1-person-shot-outside-charlotte-rapper-dababys-troutman-home/7319040001/ | 2022-04-14T17:40:30 | 1 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/1-person-shot-outside-charlotte-rapper-dababys-troutman-home/7319040001/ |
CaroMont accused of negligence in Gastonia man's death
A Gastonia woman accuses two clinics owned by CaroMont Health in a lawsuit of negligence in their handling of her husband's illness, which she says resulted in his death.
In the lawsuit filed on March 30, Jaime Cornelius Moore said that her husband, 42-year-old Miles Moore, went to a doctor at CaroMont Family Practice in November 2019 complaining of sinus problems, which included a headache, nasal congestion and facial pressure. He was diagnosed with sinusitis and prescribed antibiotics.
A little less than a month later, Miles Moore went back to the same doctor complaining that his symptoms persisted and that he was experiencing "face pounding" on a daily basis, according to the lawsuit.
He received the same diagnosis, along with another prescription for antibiotics.
Miles Moore went back to the doctor in late December complaining of pain behind his left eye and congestion, along with a mild cough, and again received the same diagnosis, according to the lawsuit.
In January 2020, Miles Moore went to CaroMont Family Practice Urgent Care and was seen by someone else. He still was struggling with a headache and congestion, despite antibiotics, and he was again prescribed medication.
Two days later, Moore returned to the urgent care clinic with a fever and other symptoms, which included a severe headache and swelling of his upper eyelid.
He was prescribed another antibiotic, and blood tests suggested he had an infection, according to the lawsuit.
Moore returned to CaroMont Family Medicine on Jan. 20 with the same symptoms, and on Jan. 23 2020, Moore went to ENT Carolina. By then, the lawsuit said, his sinus infection had lasted for three months and he was getting no relief except when sleeping. The lawsuit alleges that the attending doctor did not review Moore's health information related to the condition he was treating Moore for, and nobody measured Moore's heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, or oxygen saturation.
The following day, Jaime Cornelius Moore found her husband having "stroke-like" symptoms, and he was taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center. He was diagnosed with meningitis, brain inflammation, and a brain abscess, among other things. His doctors found that his sinusitis caused drainage into his brain, leading to a brain infection, and he was transferred to Carolinas Medical Center.
He died April 2, 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that Moore's doctors did not recognize the serious nature of his condition, did not refer him to a specialist, did not communicate with his other health care providers, and did not order a sinus CT scan in a timely manner, failures that resulted in Moore's death.
The doctors responsible for Moore's care are also defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks for more than $25,000 in damages.
Jaime Moore declined to comment.
CaroMont Health also declined to comment, releasing a written statement instead.
"CaroMont Health does not provide comment on pending litigation," the statement said. "The health system and its team of medical providers share an unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care to every patient, every time."
Moore is represented by Randall J. Phillips of the Charlotte law firm Charles G. Monnett III & Associates.
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here. | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/caromont-health-named-negligence-lawsuit-after-gastonia-mans-death/9500730002/ | 2022-04-14T17:40:36 | 0 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/caromont-health-named-negligence-lawsuit-after-gastonia-mans-death/9500730002/ |
Gaston County committed to building new Grier Middle School
Construction on a new Grier Middle School building could begin as early as November with an aim to complete the building next summer, according to information released by Gaston County Schools.
Grier, a 157,000-square-feet school built roughly 61 years ago, sits on 25 acres of school district property on Garrison Boulevard, adjacent to the Schiele Museum and near the main Gaston County Library.
The new building is to be located at the existing site on play fields, similar to the way the new Stanley Middle School building was built before it opened in 2018, said superintendent Jeff Booker.
The school right now is being designed by an architect, and the district will receive bids for construction this fall, Booker said. Construction is expected to begin as early as November or as late as January 2023, depending on market conditions, Booker said.
The county intends to issue bonds from the school bonds referendum, which voters passed in 2018, in the range of $75 million to $90 million for the renovation of existing school facilities and the construction of the new Grier Middle School.
The cost of the school itself is estimated to be in the range of $50 million to $60 million, but those numbers are not set in stone, said County Manager Kim Eagle. The cost of construction and materials have increased because of both the pandemic and inflation, so the numbers shared are simply an estimated range that could change.
"We are doing everything we can without a crystal ball to understand the impact of inflation and increase in construction costs to best estimate a number and do an issuance that covers Grier Middle replacement and then also adds funding for some of those other capital needs," she said.
Grier Middle School had 636 students in the 2020-2021 school year, according to Gaston County Schools. Most students come to Grier from Sherwood and Woodhill elementary schools, and most Grier students go on to Ashbrook High School.
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here. | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/gaston-county-committed-building-new-grier-middle-school/7302813001/ | 2022-04-14T17:40:42 | 0 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/2022/04/14/gaston-county-committed-building-new-grier-middle-school/7302813001/ |
After run to Final Four, UNC's 'Iron Five' revels in success at ACC Barnstorming Tour stop
LOWELL — For some, it was the powder blue that made them fall in love. In Aljhun Escueta’s case, his reverence for University of North Carolina men’s basketball came as a result of something much grittier.
“When I arrived in the states (from his native Philippines) in 2005, North Carolina won a national championship with Sean May leading the way,” he said. "I remember the doubt that people had in them then, and it really made me love the team. I’ve been a Tar Heel fan ever since.”
The 2021-22 Tar Heel squad holds a similar place in his heart, reveling in a memorable season that ended a game short of a national title. “For me, it was the way this team never gave up. All the challenges against them, them being labeled just a ‘bubble team’ to getting that close to a national championship. I’m just proud of them and happy to be a Tar Heel,” Escueta said.
Such reverence brought the Richlands man to Lowell on Wednesday, traveling four hours for the opportunity to meet North Carolina basketball’s “Iron Five” starters. A group consisting of Armando Bacot, “Leaky” Black, R.J. Davis, Caleb Love and Brady Manek were joined by teammates Puff Johnson and Dontrez Styles at Gaston Christian in the first leg of the 2022 ACC Barnstorming Tour.
The event was hosted by North Carolina basketball legend Phil Ford and the locally-based Sumner Group.
For four decades, barnstorming tours have roamed the state. Previously, the event featured Duke, NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest standouts whose eligibility had run its course in a friendly basketball game often including high school athletes. In the two years since its last events, the ACC Barnstorming Tour was revamped in an effort to best allow athletes to be compensated for appearances based on new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules.
Instead of a friendly hoops contest, the “Iron Five” spent their time in Gaston County taking pictures, autographing countless items and answering questions posed by those in attendance.
One question delved deep into matters, asking the Tar Heel standouts to declare their intentions for the 2022-23 season.
Outside of Manek, who is out of eligibility after four years at Oklahoma and another with North Carolina, the only one who chose to do so was Bacot. Hours before heading for Lowell, the 6-10 big man announced his plan to return to Chapel Hill for his senior season, much to the delight of those in the Gaston Christian gymnasium.
“To be honest, I wasn’t ready to leave … I wasn’t ready to go. Plus, we got so close this year and I really want a national championship,” Bacot said when asked by a child in attendance.
Though less committal than his teammate, Black left the door open for a return. After a fan expressed his gratitude to Black for a great career but would rather wait to do so, the UNC senior and former Cox Mill standout replied: “Yeah, it’s probably best to wait until next season before we do that.”
North Carolina’s defensive stopper, Black said he could be nearing a decision in the coming days.
Caleb Love was frequently asked about his status as well, the sharpshooter mulling between whether to remain in Chapel Hill for another year or take his talents to the NBA. The St. Louis native kept his cards close to his chest, though, not shedding too much light on which direction he is leaning.
Love did take time to discuss a certain shot that will live on in North Carolina lore for decades to come, however.
“I didn’t get silly questions, but the main one I got was which win did I love the most: the one at Cameron or the win over Duke in the Final Four? And of course, I said the Final Four,” he said. “It is great to know 20, 30, 40 years from now I will be able to look back at that and say ‘I did that.’ It will be great to see.”
After this past season, Ford said he came to a few conclusions of his own.
“It was said I’m the best UNC player ever. But I don’t feel I’m worthy of that title, much less being the best point guard up here,” Ford joked. “But for this team to stay together, pull together like you did — though you scared me a bit how late you did it — you guys have earned the right to be named among the best Carolina teams, even though you didn’t win it all.
“All the pieces fit just as they should.”
You can reach Joe Hughes at 704-914-8138, email jhughes@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @JoeLHughesII. | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2022/04/14/uncs-iron-five-comes-gaston-christian-during-acc-barnstorming-tour/7315323001/ | 2022-04-14T17:40:48 | 0 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2022/04/14/uncs-iron-five-comes-gaston-christian-during-acc-barnstorming-tour/7315323001/ |
Meet the latest Athletes of the Week, as voted by readers of the Gazette and Star
In polling that ended April 10, readers of The Gaston Gazette and The Shelby Star selected the area’s fifth batch of Athlete of the Week nominees for the spring sports season.
Coaches of spring sports can submit scores and standout performances from their team’s previous week of action. If an athlete’s name does not appear on the list following a stellar showing, please encourage your coach to email their submissions to jhughes@gastongazette.com.
Baseball Player of the Week
Joshua Powell, Burns
The Bulldog baseball standout earned baseball player of the week honors, receiving close to 80% of last week’s vote tally.
He finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in a 7-2 win over Cherryville. Later in the week, he hit a double and home run as part of a 4-3 victory over the Ironmen. Along with a solid night at the plate, he pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three runs — none earned — on four hits with two strikeouts.
Powell has helped Burns to a 13-2 mark heading into Thursday’s matchup with East Gaston.
Softball Player of the Week
Sayge Strange, Burns
Strange is the area’s top softball player after receiving 69.3% of last week’s vote tally. She ran away with a race also featuring standouts such as Crest’s Aidan Ledbetter and Grace East of Piedmont Community Charter.
She hit a two-run homer and added an RBI in a loss to Cherryville. Strange then allowed no runs on three hits, striking out five in a 3-0 win over the Lady Ironmen. Sandwiched between those was a 4-for-5 effort with two doubles and seven RBIs as part of an 18-8 win over Freedom.
She followed that with another strong week, striking out 17 in a 3-2 win over Highland Tech. Days later against the Rams, she had two hits and an RBI, along with striking out 13 batters as part of a Burns victory.
Athlete of the Week
Madison Setzer, Crest
After receiving 63.1% of votes in last week’s poll, the Crest top shot is top athlete for her work during the week of March 28 through April 2.
Setzer contributed a goal in her team’s 3-1 win over Forestview, following that effort with a hat trick in the Chargers’ 9-0 win over Hunter Huss. She added six goals and two assists in the four games since, keeping her team in contention for a 3A playoff berth.
Past recipients
Week 1: Colby Humphries, Crest baseball; Jaylen Ledbetter, Crest softball; Cadence Setzer, Crest girls soccer
Week 2: Colby Humphries, Crest baseball; Sara Rose Warlick, Crest softball; Cooper Hayes, East Gaston boys golf
Week 3: Cole Drewery, Crest baseball; Madison Joyner, Highland Tech girls soccer; Kali Weaver, Kings Mountain softball
Week 4: Austyn Dixon, Kings Mountain softball; Vari Green, Crest baseball; Chastity Ledford, Burns girls soccer | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/04/14/gazette-and-stars-april-14-batch-athletes-week/7274027001/ | 2022-04-14T17:40:54 | 0 | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/04/14/gazette-and-stars-april-14-batch-athletes-week/7274027001/ |
- Tesla shares dipped Thursday morning after CEO Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share.
- The chief executive would likely need to sell more Tesla shares in order to fund an acquisition.
- Musk has been spending time pulling in and out of Twitter dealings over the last week.
Tesla shares were down about 3.5% Thursday after company CEO Elon Musk offered to buy social media company Twitter.
Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, or about $43 billion, in a filing published Thursday. He said the social media company needs to be transformed privately. The offer comes a little over a week after another Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed Musk's 9.1% stake in the company.
Wells Fargo analysts said in a note on Thursday they're concerned about the distractions Twitter would present for Musk.
"If the deal is successful, there are two concerns from a TSLA shareholder perspective," the Wells Fargo analysts said. "One, TSLA is currently in the early days of ramping two factories, Austin & Berlin, which will likely double its global capacity. Running Twitter would be a possible distraction for a CEO that already has a full plate. Two, the takeover financing terms are unclear. Elon's most liquid assets would be his TSLA shares valued at $170B."
"Therefore, there is a risk if he decides to sell more TSLA shares to fund the takeover, which could put pressure on the stock."
Shares of Tesla are down about 14% since Musk first revealed his stake in the company on April 4.
Money Report
The acquisition offer is the latest development in Musk's Twitter saga over the last week. He first disclosed his stake in the social media giant on April 4. He later planned to sit on the company’s board of directors, if approved, but then reversed that decision.
Meanwhile, the Tesla CEO already finds himself in battles with regulators that tend to be public and messy, occasionally including vulgar taunts. Earlier this year, the SEC subpoenaed Musk and Tesla after he informally polled his tens of millions of Twitter followers, asking if he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings. The majority of his followers voted yes.
Tesla recently achieved two major goals, opening new vehicle assembly plants in Germany and Texas. But now it is in the middle of a Covid lockdown in Shanghai that has forced it to suspend production at its factory there. Tesla also is still facing chip shortages, inflationary and other supply chain pressures plaguing the entire auto (and solar) industry.
Musk's aerospace venture, SpaceX, is also facing growing pains.
SpaceX has completed multiple high-altitude flight tests with its Starship prototypes, but the prototype's next major step is to reach space. Starship is the spacecraft the company is developing to one day embark on a mission to Mars. Its progress was delayed on multiple fronts last year, and an orbital flight test is now pending regulatory approval.
SpaceX needs a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to move ahead with the flight test, and a separate, key environmental assessment also is pending.
Twitter shares were up about 2.2% Thursday after closing at $45.85 a share on Wednesday.
CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/business/money-report/tesla-shares-dip-after-ceo-elon-musk-makes-bid-to-buy-twitter/3646547/ | 2022-04-14T17:46:10 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/business/money-report/tesla-shares-dip-after-ceo-elon-musk-makes-bid-to-buy-twitter/3646547/ |
ABINGTON, Pa. -- "I was doing hair at the age of 17," said Myisha Stratton. "And when I opened the salon, I had clients come to me that had cancer."
Stratton, whose passion for hair dates back to her early childhood, opened her own salon called, "D.D. Daughters Lace Wig Beautique." The hair stylist found a new purpose through her clipping career.
"I was helping them feel comfortable with their hair loss," she said. "We would shave their hair off. We would give them the same look that they had."
Stratton used wig-styling to create natural looks for women, which were particularly valuable for those undergoing chemotherapy.
"You really do feel good if you look good," she said. "And that's the whole key."
Stratton would soon come to learn that first-hand.
"At the age of, like, 20, I had spots of alopecia. And then I got diagnosed with breast cancer at 35," she said. "So, those same clients helped me feel comfortable."
One client provided Stratton with a chemotherapy care package. The box included different kinds of healthcare products to address all the bodily changes that come with such cancer treatment.
"It helped me so much," she said. "So, ever since I have been in remission, I give out boxes to women patients at Fox Chase Cancer Center."
Stratton also occasionally creates boxes for male patients. Each comes packed with the unique gift of a free wig voucher.
During her first round of donations last year, Stratton collected enough funds to provide 50 boxes to those who received similar diagnoses.
"A cure for breast cancer may be far away," said Myisha Stratton. "But in the meantime, I just want to make people feel good, look good."
Breast cancer survivor, salon owner donates wigs to women
By Matteo Iadonisi | https://abc11.com/breast-cancer-survivor-women-health/11734648/ | 2022-04-14T17:50:51 | 0 | https://abc11.com/breast-cancer-survivor-women-health/11734648/ |
South Bay Medical Clinic has a breakthrough treatment for E.D. that does not require pills, injections or surgery. Men, it’s time to change life in the bedroom. Zero side effects! For Bloom Special Offer Pick up the Phone and Call Now 813-565-1000 www.southbaymedicalclinic.com
Breakthrough Medical Treatment for E.D. – No Pills, No injections
by: Elizabeth Motley
Posted:
Updated:
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter | https://www.wfla.com/bloom/breakthrough-medical-treatment-for-e-d-no-pills-no-injections-156/ | 2022-04-14T17:51:20 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/bloom/breakthrough-medical-treatment-for-e-d-no-pills-no-injections-156/ |
The Susan G. Komen® organization is racing for a cure for breast cancer, and for over two decades, Wacoal America has partnered by their side with the Fit For the Cure program. To book an appointment online for a complimentary bra fitting at a Fit for the Cure® event in your area, visit fitforthecure.com to find the nearest retail location to you.
Moffitt Medical Minutes
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/fit-for-the-cure/ | 2022-04-14T17:51:29 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/fit-for-the-cure/ |
Do you know what’s in your dog’s food? If its first five ingredients don’t contain raw animal protein – you might want to reconsider what you serve at mealtime! To help them lead an amazing life, Lifestyle Expert Jennifer Bonner joined us with more from ORIJEN pet foods. Shop today’s top finds at local pet stores, Petco and online at Chewy and Amazon.
Moffitt Medical Minutes
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/nourish-your-amazing-dog-with-new-orijen-amazing-grains/ | 2022-04-14T17:51:37 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/nourish-your-amazing-dog-with-new-orijen-amazing-grains/ |
Playing a Nicolas Cage superfan in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” wasn’t a stretch for actor Pedro Pascal , who already fit the bill in reality. He talks to us about working with Cage (who plays himself in the film) in the highly-acclaimed, new comedy…. and we TRY to get him to spill the beans on the upcoming season of “The Mandalorian”, in which he plays the title role.
Pedro Pascal on working with Nicolas Cage and the new season of ‘The Mandalorian’
Posted:
Updated:
Moffitt Medical Minutes
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/pedro-pascual-on-working-with-nicolas-cage-and-the-new-season-of-the-mandalorian/ | 2022-04-14T17:51:45 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/pedro-pascual-on-working-with-nicolas-cage-and-the-new-season-of-the-mandalorian/ |
For more information, visit: www.ChickenNBiscuits.com and www.CrackerBarrel.com.
Moffitt Medical Minutes
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter
Posted:
Updated:
For more information, visit: www.ChickenNBiscuits.com and www.CrackerBarrel.com. | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/tasty-ways-to-save-family-time/ | 2022-04-14T17:51:51 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/tasty-ways-to-save-family-time/ |
Taro Larrea was born in Spain,but grew up in Venezuela. As a personal chef, he now melds the best flavors of his two cultures to create memorable dishes. In this edition of “Destination Delicious”, he shares the street food he grew up eating in Venezuela and creates a fusion dish featuring octupus, piquillo peppers and saffron from Spain, as well as chimichurri and sweet plantains to represent Venezuela.
The flavors of two cultures fuse beautifully in ‘Destination Delicious: Spain & Venezuela’
Posted:
Updated:
Moffitt Medical Minutes
Close
Subscribe Now
You have been added to Breaking News Newsletter | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/the-flavors-of-two-cultures-fuse-beautifully-in-destination-delicious-spain-venezuela/ | 2022-04-14T17:52:00 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/the-flavors-of-two-cultures-fuse-beautifully-in-destination-delicious-spain-venezuela/ |
(Stacker) — The richest celebrity couples in the world Celebrity power couples hold the fascination of many people. How these couples manage to bring such large amounts of money into a nuclear unit while standing firmly rooted in their love for each other can seem both inspiring and unattainable—or at least from an outsider’s perspective.
In a COVID-19 world—where stadiums are starting to fill up again and TV shows are getting into the swing of regular production schedules—many celebrities have ventured into other lines of business, such as investments and real estate to add to their earning portfolio.
Top-earning celebrities on this list include Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, who outside of acting have collectively invested millions worth in real estate. There’s also Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, the singer-actor couple who made their share of money through tours and property ownership. We can’t forget the legendary Tina Turner and Erwin Bach, who left the U.S. in pursuit of European living, racking up a real estate portfolio of their own.
Stacker took a look at the richest couples in the world and ranked the top 21, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Here’s a look at some of your favorite celebrity couples and how they’ve accumulated their wealth.
You may also like: 50 most physical jobs in America
21. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel
- Net worth: $250 million
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel both have achieved unparalleled success, with Justin being a singer, songwriter, actor, and founder of the clothing line William Rast. Biel has also starred in films and also dabbled in the business world, helping to launch Kinderfarms, a health and wellness brand for families.
20. Tina Turner and Erwin Bach
- Net worth: $300 million
Legendary singer Tina Turner may have retired from performing live, but she is still a top earner. She’s worth $250 million alone from music sales and real estate, carrying most of the net worth between her and her spouse. Turner and her husband, Erwin Bach, a music producer, have been living in Switzerland for years where they purchased an estate for $76 million in 2022.
19. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
- Net worth: $320 million
Since their union in 2006, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have gone on to dominate in their fields. Nicole Kidman alone is worth $250 million, mostly from acting in movies. Together, Kidman and her musician husband Urban, own $30 million worth of real estate.
18. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
- Net worth: $350 million
Emmy award-winning Ellen DeGeneres and her spouse Portia de Rossi got married in 2008—during the brief six-month window when same-gendered marriage was legal in California—and have been going strong ever since. DeGeneres made her earnings through standup comedy and TV shows, including her Emmy-winning show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Together, DeGeneres and de Rossi, an actress, and former model, have purchased and sold over 20 properties since 2003.
You may also like: 50 jobs that no longer exist
17. Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom
- Net worth: $370 million
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have both achieved significant success in their careers. Bloom’s roles in films like “Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Troy” have made him a household name, especially in the early 2000s. Katy Perry alone is worth $330 million, and she has raked in her earnings from album sales, tours, endorsements, and real estate.
16. Sting and Trudie Styler
- Net worth: $400 million
Sting may have grown up in a working-class family in Wallsend, England, but over the years, the musician, singer, and songwriter more than built a name for himself, acquiring fame and fortune. Sting has sold millions of records as a solo artist and as a former frontman for the band Police. His wife, Trudie Styler, is an actress who has appeared in several British TV series and she’s also worked as a producer.
15. Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber
- Net worth: $400 million
Known for being a modeling legend and entrepreneur, Cindy Crawford amassed her wealth not only by gracing magazine covers and landing campaigns but also by investing in real estate with her husband. Crawford’s husband Rande Gerber is also a former model turned entrepreneur. Together, the couple has purchased properties in Malibu, California, Miami, and Canada.
14. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Net worth: $400 million
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones got married in 2000 and have been enjoying their luxurious lifestyle together ever since. Douglas has been a major Hollywood star since the ’80s and has also invested in real estate over the years with his actress wife. In 2021, the couple listed their luxury New York City co-op for $45 million.
13. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith
- Net worth: $400 million
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith married in December 1997 and have become a powerhouse couple ever since, though there have been some public tensions within their relationship in recent years.
Throughout the years, Will earned his millions mostly from film projects but has also raked in earnings from his music career and his first memoir titled “Will.”
Jada alone is worth $50 million and has earned her income through various ventures such as film projects, publishing a children’s book titled, “Girls Hold Up this World,” and being a spokesperson for Carol’s Daughter, a hair care and beauty product line. The couple collectively owns $100 million worth of real estate.
You may also like: Highest-paying jobs that only require a 2-year degree
12. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
- Net worth: $400 million
As of 2022, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have been married for 34 years, which is rare in Hollywood’s entertainment industry. Over the years, the powerhouse couple collectively acquired their wealth through film projects they’ve starred in or directed as well as real estate purchases.
11. Barbra Streisand and James Brolin
- Net worth: $450 million
Multi-talented star Barbra Streisand and James Brolin tied the knot at Streisand’s Malibu estate in 1998. Streisand makes a majority of her money from her music and TV career which has spanned close to 60 years. Brolin is an actor, producer, and director who alone is worth $50 million.
10. David Beckham and Victoria Beckham
- Net worth: $450 million
Victoria and David Beckham tied the knot in 1999 after meeting in person for the first time in 1997 at a charity soccer match. Victoria Beckham, who rose to fame as Posh Spice from the popular ’90s British pop group The Spice Girls, grew up wealthy. Her parents owned a profitable electronic wholesale business, but Victoria Beckham would continue acquiring wealth through her own business ventures.
In 2008, Victoria Beckham launched her fashion label, wrote a book, and put out a fragrance line with her husband, who is now a retired soccer player but still makes a $50 million a year salary.
9. Elton John and David Furnish
- Net worth: $550 million
Music icon Elton John and David Furnish, a former advertising executive turned filmmaker, met at a dinner party at John’s home in 1993. They’ve been a couple ever since and over the years, John has sold millions of records. Furnish earned his wealth through his work for the ad agency and from films he has produced and directed.
8. George Clooney and Amal Clooney
- Net worth: $570 million
This power couple has been able to amass their fame and fortune through a variety of business ventures and high-profile projects. George Clooney has starred and directed in several films. His British-Lebanese wife, Amal Clooney, alone is worth $50 million, and specializes in international law and human rights. Some of her clients include Nobel Peace Prize winners such as Nadia Murad and women who have survived sexual violence.
You may also like: 50 ways the workforce has changed in 50 years
7. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen
- Net worth: $650 million
In February 2022, Tom Brady became the National Football League’s second-highest earning NFL athlete of all time. Brady alone is worth $430 million between his NFL salary and endorsements over the course of his 22-year career. Gisele Bundchen is one of the highest-paid models in the world, having modeled in campaigns for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Valentino, and Versace.
6. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
- Net worth: $800 million
Both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner come from influential New York City real estate families. Known as the daughter of former President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump has an estimated net worth of $300 million. Ivanka has been involved with several business ventures, which include a handbag and footwear line that she sold through Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom. Kushner holds a multimillion-dollar stake in Cadre, the real estate startup he co-founded.
5. Holly Valance and Nick Candy
- Net worth: $1.12 billion
Retired actor and model Holly Valance and luxury property developer Nick Candy’s relationship oozed wealth from the beginning with their lavish Beverly Hills wedding in 2012, attended by guests such as Elton John with a performance by Katy Perry. Nick Candy, along with his brother Christian Candy, owns several high-rise buildings all over the world. Valance created her own wealth, having been featured in TV shows such as “CSI: NY,” “CSI: Miami,” and “Prison Break.”
4. Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z
- Net worth: $1.8 billion
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z, also known as The Carters, have done pretty well for themselves, collectively growing a portfolio of businesses that span music, real estate, and brand endorsements. Beyoncé’s net worth alone is $500 million through her music, films, investments, and other business ventures. Jay-Z has amassed his own net worth of $1 billion, making him one of the few entertainers to achieve financial status of that value.
3. Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham
- Net worth: $3.4 billion
Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham first met each other at a charity event in Chicago in 1986. It was the same year the iconic “Oprah Winfrey Show” debuted on television and was nationally syndicated for several years, catapulting her to multi-millionaire status, far from her childhood years of financial struggle in rural Mississippi. Graham alone is worth $10 million as a speaker, author of several self-help books, and businessman.
You may also like: Worst jobs in America
2. Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw
- Net worth: $3.5 billion
Stephen Spielberg, one of the most iconic film producers of all time, met actor Kate Capshaw back in 1984 when she was auditioning for a role in the 1984 film, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” The couple has achieved significant success throughout their careers and owns properties in various locations including Naples, Florida, and Pacific Palisades, California.
1. Salma Hayek and Francois Pinault
- Net worth: $7.1 billion
Mexico-born actor Salma Hayek moved to Los Angeles in 1991 and has starred in several films ever since. Hayek also founded her own production company in 1999, called Ventanarosa. Hayek and Francois Pinault, a multi-billionaire entrepreneur who founded the luxury fashion group Kering, and who owns the French winery, Chateau Latour, have been married since 2009. | https://www.wfla.com/entertainment-news/tom-brady-and-gisele-among-richest-celebrity-couples/ | 2022-04-14T17:52:06 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/entertainment-news/tom-brady-and-gisele-among-richest-celebrity-couples/ |
HACKENSACK, N.J. (StudyFinds.org) – Tax Day is here again, and a new survey finds plenty of Americans are STILL waiting to file for 2021. In fact, one-third of taxpayers wait until the filing deadline to do their annual taxes. Unfortunately, that’s a big problem for many people because 56 percent of Americans don’t even know when that deadline is!
In a poll of more than 1,100 people, commissioned by IPX 1031, 32 percent say they procrastinate when it comes to doing their taxes because they don’t expect to get a refund. One in four say they hold off until the last minute because the process is just too complicated and stressful. For those who still don’t know, Tax Day 2022 is April 18.
Researchers also found that the nation’s younger taxpayers are more likely to procrastinate each year. Millennials rank as the most likely Americans to file their taxes at the last minute — despite receiving the largest average refunds among all generations! Overall, however, the survey found that one in four people will see a smaller refund this year in comparison to 2021.
Nevadans love to gamble — with their taxes
When it comes to which Americans avoid doing their taxes the longest, residents in Nevada are the new kings of procrastination. Famous for being the home of Las Vegas, the poll finds Nevadans also like to gamble on getting their taxes done on time. Nevada moved up three spots from number four in 2021, averaging more Google searches related to the Tax Day deadline than any other state in the nation.
Specifically, researchers looked at search phrases such as “what happens if I file my taxes late?”, “when is it too late to file taxes?”, and “can I file late taxes?” across all 50 states to compile their annual list.
Rounding out the top five are the same states that appeared on the 2021 list, including Hawaii (2nd), Georgia (3rd), Alaska (4th), and California (5th).
As for the Americans who get their taxes done in a timely fashion, Iowa (50th) continues to be home to the fewest tax procrastinators in the country. Wisconsin (49th) and Michigan (48th) followed closely behind.
Speaking of Las Vegas, the poll’s review of the biggest procrastinators by city found Sin City is still home to the most last-minute tax filers in the U.S. The survey finds there are more than 1,300 Tax Day searches for every 100,000 people in the city. Denver, Baltimore, and Seattle round out the top four — all averaging over 1,100 Tax Day deadline searches on Google.
Where’s the money going?
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Americans received an average refund of $2,815 in 2021. Unfortunately, confidence in the economy is much lower this year and respondents are only expecting to receive just over $1,900 this year.
For the 50 percent of Americans who say they have already filed their taxes, 11 percent admit they’ve already spent that money! Over a third (37%) plan to save that money when it arrives and one in five (22%) plan to use the money to pay down their debt. | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/tax-day-2022-56-of-americans-dont-know-when-the-filing-deadline-is/ | 2022-04-14T17:52:12 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/national/tax-day-2022-56-of-americans-dont-know-when-the-filing-deadline-is/ |
Nirmal Singh, 70, was sucker punched from behind in an unprovoked assault on 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill just before 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 3.
It left Singh with a broken nose and severe bruising.
Police announced Thursday that Vernon Douglas has been arrested and is charged with assault as a hate crime, robbery and aggravated harassment.
(Video above is from previous coverage)
The incident outraged and terrified the South Asian community in the area, leaving many concerned for their safety.
Anyone with additional information in regard to the incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
RELATED | Dozens gather to show support for Sikh man attacked while walking in Queens
----------
* More Queens news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube
Submit a News Tip | https://abc7ny.com/queens-sikh-man-attacked-attack-rally-nirmal-singh/11747910/ | 2022-04-14T17:54:33 | 0 | https://abc7ny.com/queens-sikh-man-attacked-attack-rally-nirmal-singh/11747910/ |
Skip to content
WNTZ - cenlanow.com
Alexandria
72°
Alexandria
72°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
News
Russia and Ukraine conflict
Newsfeed Now
Crime
Local
State
National
Washington D.C. Bureau
Health
Coronavirus
Business
Entertainment
Election HQ
Border Report Tour
Press Releases
Weather
Weather Headlines
Forecast/7-Day/Live Radar
Tracking the Tropics
Sports
Geaux Nation
Geaux Black and Gold
Masters Report
NFL Draft
Big Race – Daytona
China 2022
Top Stories
BC coach Jerry York retires; most NCAA hockey wins …
Top Stories
AP Source: Pirates agree to 2-year deal with CF Reynolds
Top Stories
Saban: Current state of college football not ‘sustainable’
LEADING OFF: Vlad takes his cuts, Braves hit the …
Stars on Ice back after pandemic with Olympic, world …
MacKinnon’s hat trick leads Avs to 53rd win, 9-3 …
Contests
Community
Expert Tips
Cenla’s Remarkable Women 2022
Veterans Voices
Community Calendar
Community News & Events
Hispanic Heritage Month
Best Reviews
Watch Now
TV Schedule
FOX Now
FOX Sports App
Antennas and Digital Television
2019 Frequency Change
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
WNTZ 2021-2022 EEO REPORT
Regional News Partners
About BestReviews
Jobs
Find a Job
Post a Job
Work For Us
Search
Please enter a search term.
Batteries & Power
Best Ryobi battery
Top Batteries & Power Headlines
Best solar panels | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/batteries-power-br/ | 2022-04-14T17:55:37 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/batteries-power-br/ |
Skip to content
WNTZ - cenlanow.com
Alexandria
72°
Alexandria
72°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
News
Russia and Ukraine conflict
Newsfeed Now
Crime
Local
State
National
Washington D.C. Bureau
Health
Coronavirus
Business
Entertainment
Election HQ
Border Report Tour
Press Releases
Weather
Weather Headlines
Forecast/7-Day/Live Radar
Tracking the Tropics
Sports
Geaux Nation
Geaux Black and Gold
Masters Report
NFL Draft
Big Race – Daytona
China 2022
Top Stories
BC coach Jerry York retires; most NCAA hockey wins …
Top Stories
AP Source: Pirates agree to 2-year deal with CF Reynolds
Top Stories
Saban: Current state of college football not ‘sustainable’
LEADING OFF: Vlad takes his cuts, Braves hit the …
Stars on Ice back after pandemic with Olympic, world …
MacKinnon’s hat trick leads Avs to 53rd win, 9-3 …
Contests
Community
Expert Tips
Cenla’s Remarkable Women 2022
Veterans Voices
Community Calendar
Community News & Events
Hispanic Heritage Month
Best Reviews
Watch Now
TV Schedule
FOX Now
FOX Sports App
Antennas and Digital Television
2019 Frequency Change
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
WNTZ 2021-2022 EEO REPORT
Regional News Partners
About BestReviews
Jobs
Find a Job
Post a Job
Work For Us
Search
Please enter a search term.
Ladders & Step Stools
Which ladder is best for cleaning your roof?
Top Ladders & Step Stools Headlines
Best telescoping ladder | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/ladders-step-stools-br/ | 2022-04-14T17:55:44 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/ladders-step-stools-br/ |
Skip to content
WNTZ - cenlanow.com
Alexandria
72°
Alexandria
72°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
News
Russia and Ukraine conflict
Newsfeed Now
Crime
Local
State
National
Washington D.C. Bureau
Health
Coronavirus
Business
Entertainment
Election HQ
Border Report Tour
Press Releases
Weather
Weather Headlines
Forecast/7-Day/Live Radar
Tracking the Tropics
Sports
Geaux Nation
Geaux Black and Gold
Masters Report
NFL Draft
Big Race – Daytona
China 2022
Top Stories
BC coach Jerry York retires; most NCAA hockey wins …
Top Stories
AP Source: Pirates agree to 2-year deal with CF Reynolds
Top Stories
Saban: Current state of college football not ‘sustainable’
LEADING OFF: Vlad takes his cuts, Braves hit the …
Stars on Ice back after pandemic with Olympic, world …
MacKinnon’s hat trick leads Avs to 53rd win, 9-3 …
Contests
Community
Expert Tips
Cenla’s Remarkable Women 2022
Veterans Voices
Community Calendar
Community News & Events
Hispanic Heritage Month
Best Reviews
Watch Now
TV Schedule
FOX Now
FOX Sports App
Antennas and Digital Television
2019 Frequency Change
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
WNTZ 2021-2022 EEO REPORT
Regional News Partners
About BestReviews
Jobs
Find a Job
Post a Job
Work For Us
Search
Please enter a search term.
Pumps, Presses & Compressors
Best portable air compressors
Top Pumps, Presses & Compressors Headlines | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/pumps-presses-compressors-br/ | 2022-04-14T17:55:50 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/tools-br-lawn-garden-br/pumps-presses-compressors-br/ |
Skip to content
WNTZ - cenlanow.com
Alexandria
72°
Alexandria
72°
Toggle Menu
Open Navigation
Close Navigation
Search
Please enter a search term.
Primary Menu
News
Russia and Ukraine conflict
Newsfeed Now
Crime
Local
State
National
Washington D.C. Bureau
Health
Coronavirus
Business
Entertainment
Election HQ
Border Report Tour
Press Releases
Weather
Weather Headlines
Forecast/7-Day/Live Radar
Tracking the Tropics
Sports
Geaux Nation
Geaux Black and Gold
Masters Report
NFL Draft
Big Race – Daytona
China 2022
Top Stories
BC coach Jerry York retires; most NCAA hockey wins …
Top Stories
AP Source: Pirates agree to 2-year deal with CF Reynolds
Top Stories
Saban: Current state of college football not ‘sustainable’
LEADING OFF: Vlad takes his cuts, Braves hit the …
Stars on Ice back after pandemic with Olympic, world …
MacKinnon’s hat trick leads Avs to 53rd win, 9-3 …
Contests
Community
Expert Tips
Cenla’s Remarkable Women 2022
Veterans Voices
Community Calendar
Community News & Events
Hispanic Heritage Month
Best Reviews
Watch Now
TV Schedule
FOX Now
FOX Sports App
Antennas and Digital Television
2019 Frequency Change
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
WNTZ 2021-2022 EEO REPORT
Regional News Partners
About BestReviews
Jobs
Find a Job
Post a Job
Work For Us
Search
Please enter a search term.
Percussion Instruments
Best Zildjian cymbals
Top Percussion Instruments Headlines
Best castanets
Best xylophone for kids
Best timpani mallets | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/music-br/percussion-instruments-br/ | 2022-04-14T17:55:57 | 1 | https://www.cenlanow.com/reviews/br/music-br/percussion-instruments-br/ |
In a world where social media is everywhere and the news cycle runs around the clock, it’s a challenge for celebrities to keep things quiet. However, a group of musicians from various classic grunge-rock bands managed to keep an entirely new supergroup secret from the world — and announced it by suddenly dropping its debut album.
The new group, appropriately called 3rd Secret, features Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, as well as Void guitarist Bubba Dupree and singers Jennifer Johnson and Jillian Raye.
The group quietly released the self-titled album on Monday, April 11 only to streaming services, and shared the news on its official website.
“Get in on the secret!” the band announced on the website. “New album on your favorite streaming service.”
While fans can listen to the new 3rd Secret album easily on Spotify, they might have trouble finding it on Apple Music. The band addressed the issue on its website, as well.
“Reports coming over 3rd Secret hotline that album is still not on Apple Music,” the update confirmed. “Please be patient as work was uploaded Saturday night and needs time to get to streaming platforms.”
The band also recommended listening to “I Choose Me” on YouTube (along with other songs from the 11-track album) to get a preview of what to expect from the supergroup. Check out “I Choose Me” via YouTube below.
According to the music website NME, the album “leans heavily on classic grunge and alt-rock flavors, but adds diversity with hints of laid-back folk and indie-rock, swampy blues and stomping hard-rock.”
While news of 3rd Secret was largely kept under wraps, a few details leaked along the way and some people began piecing them together. First, NME reported that Novoselic posted a mysterious tweet in February.
“I am really busy trying to finish a record. In the middle of some hangups – looking for a mid-March release,” the tweet read. “But it’s a secret, so don’t tell anybody!!!” That tweet was deleted a short time later, though.
Then, on April 10, Cameron posted on his Instagram account and shared a photo of the group performing at the Museum of Pop Culture with the caption, “3rd Secret coming soon!”
That photo is now one of the centerpiece photos on the group’s website.
No word yet on whether or not 3rd Secret will play any live gigs in the coming months. People magazine reported Cameron will hit the road with Pearl Jam as part of a North American tour that had to be rescheduled following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. So, stay tuned for updates on the newest group to emerge from a combination of ’90s grunge legends.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories. | https://www.wmar2news.com/members-nirvana-pearl-jam-soundgarden-form-new-band-3rd-secret | 2022-04-14T18:00:04 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/members-nirvana-pearl-jam-soundgarden-form-new-band-3rd-secret |
BPW Assessment and Consultation Services provide psychological assessments for children, adolescents, and adults struggling with a wide range of socio-emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and/or learning challenges.
Evaluations can inform the diagnosis and treatment of many mental health disorders and can include observations, clinical interviews, record review, collateral information gathering, and psychological testing.
BPW Assements offers tests for children, adolescents, and adults as well as bariatric surgery readiness evaluations.
Learn more here. | https://www.wmar2news.com/middaymaryland/balance-point-wellness-bpw-assessments | 2022-04-14T18:00:10 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/middaymaryland/balance-point-wellness-bpw-assessments |
BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — A Baltimore County Police Public Information Officer is on their way to a shooting.
Police say the report of a shooting took place in the area of Maryland and Avon Avenue.
This is a breaking news incident, we will update as information comes in. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/baltimore-county-police-investigating-report-of-shooting-near-maryland-and-avon-avenue | 2022-04-14T18:00:16 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/baltimore-county-police-investigating-report-of-shooting-near-maryland-and-avon-avenue |
OCEAN CITY, Md. — The Ocean City-based landmark M.R. Ducks says that its matriarch and co-founder, Gail Lewis, has died.
She died at age 82, just days before what would have been her 60th wedding anniversary. Her husband, Lloyd B. Lewis, died last year.
Gail and Lloyd Lewis helped launch the M.R. Ducks clothing company, which became a ubiquitous Ocean City-centric inside joke and source of local pride for Marylanders in the 1980s and 1990s.
Years before the Internet and abbreviations like "LOL" and "TTYL," there was this lingo: "M.R. Ducks." "M.R. Not Ducks." "O.S.A.R. C.M. Wangs?" "L.I.B! M.R. Ducks."
(If you're not sure what that means, here's a translation. )
The clothing company recently marked its 35th anniversary and now has five locations, including two in Myrtle Beach, as well as the M.R. Ducks Saloon.
The company posted on social media Wednesday: "It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that our family announces the passing of our matriarch and co-founder, Gail Lewis. Thursday April, 14th would have been Gail & Lloyd’s 60th wedding anniversary and we find comfort in knowing that they are dancing together again. A viewing will be held this evening at Burbage Funeral Home in Berlin, Maryland from 6-8pm and the memorial service will be held Thursday Morning at 11am at Atlantic United Methodist Church on 4th Street in Ocean City Maryland."
According to an obituary with Burbage Funeral Home, "Gail remained an active participant and owner/manager of M.R. Ducks Retail stores until her death, being known for her creativity and business acumen. She enjoyed hosting personal parties at home as well as company parties for work. She was also known for her gracious Southern style. Gail leaves a legacy of many friends at work and devoted family members whom she deeply touched." | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/m-r-ducks-co-founder-gail-lewis-dies | 2022-04-14T18:00:22 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/m-r-ducks-co-founder-gail-lewis-dies |
BALTIMORE — Lakeya Aldridge was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit kidnapping by a U.S. District Judge.
The 41-year-old from Federalsburg, Maryland conspired with 33-year-old Joshua Lankford in October 2018. The two recruited a victim to perform sex acts in their direction.
The victim was told that she would make enough money to buy a house and attain custody of her son. At one point, the victim was yelled at by Aldridge because she didn't make enough money.
She was scared for her safety, so she tried to jump from a moving car to escape. The victim was then recaptured and a belt was placed around her neck to prevent her from trying to escape again.
Lankford and other members of the sex trafficking conspiracy drove the victim to railroad tracks and beat her with a belt for her disobedience. Afterwards, they took her to a hotel where she was forced to walk around naked and take a cold shower. Later that night, members of the group drafted a "sex acts" sheet which listed the acts the victim would be required to perform for customers moving forward.
It wasn't until the morning of October 30, 2018, that the police would ultimately discover the victim. She grabbed Aldridge's phone and called 911. When the troops arrived to the room, they could clearly see the victim was in distress and needed help.
The conspirators were then detained. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/member-of-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-sentenced-to-nine-years-in-prison | 2022-04-14T18:00:28 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/member-of-sex-trafficking-conspiracy-sentenced-to-nine-years-in-prison |
A wind-driven blaze believed to have killed two people and that burned at least 200 homes and other structures in New Mexico.
The blaze in the Village of Ruidoso was fueled by winds between 50 and 90 mph on Tuesday.
Authorities have ordered or advised up to 4,500 people to evacuate.
Airtankers resumed an aerial attack on the fire Wednesday after high winds kept them grounded much of the day.
Authorities say that they are working to confirm the identities of the people who died.
The fire has reportedly burned more than 5,7000 acres and is 0% contained.
A state of emergency has been declared for Ruidoso. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/2-killed-in-new-mexico-wildfire | 2022-04-14T18:00:35 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/2-killed-in-new-mexico-wildfire |
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of committing a mass shooting on a subway train in Brooklyn will be held in jail without bail.
Frank James made his first court appearance Thursday.
Prosecutors said James "fired approximately 33 rounds in cold blood at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide."
James was arrested in Manhattan a day after the attack in which 10 people were wounded by gunfire.
According to CNN, James is charged with violating a federal law that prohibits terrorist and other violent attacks against a mass transportation system. If he's convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison, the network reported.
Authorities say a trove of evidence connects James to the attack. His credit card and a key to a van he’d rented were found at the shooting scene.
Officers also recovered the handgun used in the shooting, which records show James purchased legally in Ohio in 2011.
James didn't respond to questions shouted at him by reporters after his arrest Wednesday. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/brooklyn-subway-attack-suspect-to-make-1st-court-appearance | 2022-04-14T18:00:41 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/brooklyn-subway-attack-suspect-to-make-1st-court-appearance |
Delta Air Lines is dropping an extra charge for employees who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19.
Delta said it has dropped the $200-a-month surcharge, which applied to unvaccinated employees covered by the company's health plan.
CEO Ed Bastian says Delta is dropping the charge because, he says, COVID-19 is now “a seasonal virus.”
U.S. airlines tried different approaches to encourage employees to get vaccinated — United Airlines made it a mandate.
Delta was the only one to impose an insurance surcharge.
When the airline introduced the surcharge, Bastian said it was necessary because the average hospital stay for an employee cost the company $50,000.
More than 95% of employees are vaccinated, according to Delta. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/coronavirus/delta-drops-monthly-surcharge-for-unvaccinated-employees | 2022-04-14T18:00:47 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/coronavirus/delta-drops-monthly-surcharge-for-unvaccinated-employees |
An owlet that fell from its nest is safely back home thanks to the help of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
On Tuesday, the department shared on its Facebook page about a firefighter at Station No. 84 coming to rescue a baby owl that had fallen from its nest in Woodland Hills.
According to CBS News and People, the cute ball of fuzz was found by a family who called to report it had fallen out of its nest on their roof.
The media outlets reported that the family had done "everything to protect the owls," including using the back entrance to their residence, so they didn't disturb the nest above their front entrance.
The family first reached out to animal services and the humane society, but since they were unable to get help, they contacted the LAFD.
To reach the nest, the department used a ladder. Then Probationary firefighter Hailey Denny, who wore personal protective equipment, picked up the owlet and placed it back into the nest. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/lafd-rescues-owlet-that-fell-from-a-nest | 2022-04-14T18:00:53 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/lafd-rescues-owlet-that-fell-from-a-nest |
A recently released report shows that Latino men between the ages of 18 and 35 may be “easy targets for racialized disinformation about the role of immigrants in this country.”
United We Dream partnered with nonprofit media research group Harmony Labs to analyze the content Latinos consume on tv and digital platforms.
Researchers found Latina women under the age of 35 are more likely to consume human interest stories about immigrants, not just content regarding policy and law.
When it came to Latino men in the age same group, they didn’t consume as much media regarding immigration.
Researchers said these media consumption habits put young Latino men “at risk of passively consuming anti-immigrant content as bystanders."
The report also found that older Latino audiences were more likely to consume anti-immigrant content.
Latino men over the age of 36 were more likely to watch or read stories from right-wing stories, such as Fox News and OAN News, the report found.
The new report comes less than one year after Nielsen released a separate report showing that Latinos are more likely to consume share misinformation online than the general population.
United We Dream said its research shows that it is important to “fight back against racialized disinformation and the radicalization of young Latinx men.” | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/new-report-shows-younger-latino-men-more-susceptible-to-consuming-misinformation-about-immigration | 2022-04-14T18:00:59 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/new-report-shows-younger-latino-men-more-susceptible-to-consuming-misinformation-about-immigration |
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The City of Maple Heights only has about 20,000 people, but it is making headlines by taking on two multi-billion dollar companies in the Ohio Supreme Court.
The town argued Wednesday morning that Netflix and Hulu must pay franchise fees to municipalities, the same as cable companies.
As more and more people are "cutting the cord" with their cable providers, the city's attorney Justin Hawal said it is only fair that streaming services pay up since municipalities are losing money from the telecommunications fees.
"The fees that go to the municipalities and townships to invest in this infrastructure are being pulled away from the cities because there are not as many subscribers to the cable companies," Hawal said. "They're going towards Netflix and Hulu, who are using the exact same infrastructure but aren't being required to pay any fee."
This is just one of the latest dozen of lawsuits from across the country against the companies.
Maple Heights filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 2020 on behalf of all Ohio local governments receiving franchise fees. The city claimed Netflix and Hulu are now required to receive video service authorization.
The 2007 video service authorization law states companies deemed "video service providers" must pay a fee to local governments.
Maple Heights' argument is that the streaming services should fall under the same statute that regulates cable providers because they provide content that reaches customers through fiber optic cable lines along with public rights of way.
Counsel for Netflix and Hulu says that Hawal is misinterpreting the statute.
"They're fundamentally unlike the cable operator operators, which are the paradigm example of the video service provider for which this act was intended, which actually own, operate, and install wires and cables in the public rights of way," said Netflix's attorney Gregory Garre. "In the case of Netflix, Netflix doesn't provide video programming under the Act, which is defined in reference to programming that is like a television program. Netflix is programming which is available anywhere, any time and any place — is not scheduled or channelized."
The companies can't be video service providers, like cable, because they are not internet service providers, he added. They simply exist on the internet, and people can access them through WiFi.
"There's nothing in that definition of video service that requires Netflix and Hulu to operate facilities in the rights of way, nothing that requires them to construct facilities in the rights of way," Hawal said. "They only must provide their programming over wires and cables, and there's no dispute."
But the core principle that animates the law is delivery, according to Ohio Deputy Solicitor General Mathura Sridharan.
"It's about those entities that are physically intruding in Maple Heights as public rights of way, those who are digging up their roads and they pay for the right to do that, and that's what the authorization does," she said. "The statute is very clear — this is about those who dig. They must pay. If they don't dig, then they don't pay."
Sridharan said that another program under the statute would be to even get authorization from the municipalities.
"Under the statute, and there's only one person who's authorized to call the shots, that is, to declare an entity, a video service provider, and compel them to get an authorization — and that person is the director of commerce, who is not only the franchising authority, but the sole franchising authority under the statute," Sridharan said. "And that really ends the case here because Maple Heights cannot sue to compel entities like Netflix and Hulu to get authorizations."
This argument of what falls under the 2007 law was the primary debate and back-and-forth between Maple Heights, the streaming services, and the Supreme Court, who seemed to find humor in the whole ordeal.
Justice Pat Fischer posed a hypothetical: if governments are taxing streaming services, does that mean that Columbus should tax the Ohio Government channel, where anyone can stream most state government hearings if they have access to the internet?
Hawal said no.
"Video programming is defined in the statute as being comparable to that of broadcast television, and so our allegations are such that an entity like this, I mean—" Hawal started, getting cut off.
"These are pretty good broadcasts," Fischer said, chuckling at his comment.
"I agree, your honor, but they don't provide the same content, quality, genre, entertainment that Netflix and Hulu—" Hawal responded, getting cut off again.
"Woah, Woah, wait," Justice Melody Stewart said. "How do you know we don't?"
Laughs erupted from the Court and each of the parties.
"No, but seriously, I imagine that there are some citizens across the state who might tune in to government programming regularly, be at this court's hearings, be it legislative sessions, be it of meetings of the governor, whatever," Stewart continued. "And if they are entertained by that, I mean, isn't that a subjective standard?"
It's not about the standard of entertainment per se, Hawal responded.
"I think the fact that makes Netflix and Hulu video programmers is the fact that their content is virtually indistinguishable from broadcast television," the attorney said. "They provide the same shows, the same movies. They're competing with broadcast television. They produce their own content."
The questions-and-answers continued until Victor Jih, attorney for Hulu, rebutted Hawal's points. He brought up the fact that ISPs are not controlled by the services.
"The person is providing over the wires and cables as the ISP, not Hulu, not Netflix — we don't control it, we don't dictate it," he added. "We simply make it available on the internet, just like this court does this session."
The Supreme Court will now decide whose interpretation is correct.
Similar lawsuits are being heard around the country, according to the Associated Press.
Already, Netflix and Hulu won their arguments in Arkansas, Nevada, California and Texas. The Supreme Court in Tennessee will hear arguments next month. The city of Knoxville also sued Netflix and Hulu. There's also a case pending in Missouri.
Four cities in Indiana sued not just Netflix and Hulu, but also Disney+, DIRECTV, and DISH.
Morgan Trau at WEWS first reported this story. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/ohio-city-sues-netflix-hulu-for-cable-fees | 2022-04-14T18:01:05 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/ohio-city-sues-netflix-hulu-for-cable-fees |
The Republican National Committee (RNC) voted unanimously Thursday to leave withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
The RNC claims the commission is biased and "refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates."
"We are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people,” said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
In the same statement, McDaniel said, "We are not walking away from debates. We are walking away from the CPD."
Former President Donald Trump was a vocal critic of the Commission on Presidential Debates, claiming they were unfair. He threatened to not participate in the debates but ultimately showed up.
The CPD has run all presidential debates since 1988. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/republican-national-committee-votes-to-withdraw-from-commission-on-presidential-debates | 2022-04-14T18:01:11 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/republican-national-committee-votes-to-withdraw-from-commission-on-presidential-debates |
The United Nations said the recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic could be slowed by Russia’s war with Ukraine, especially for the developing nations.
The UN says that despite the economic effects posed by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, it is “no excuse for inaction.” The UN also cites a drop in aid from developed nations to developing nations.
“There is no excuse for inaction at this defining moment of collective responsibility to ensure hundreds of millions of people are lifted out of hunger and poverty. We must invest in access to decent and green jobs, social protection, healthcare, and education, leaving no one behind,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said.
“The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution, and hunger,” the UN said. The organization said Russia has 30% of the world’s wheat and barley supply, one-fifth of its maize, and over half of its sunflower oil.
Earlier in the week, the UN released a report indicating the COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate the divide between developed and developing nations. The organization estimates the pandemic pushed 77 million people globally into poverty.
The report estimates that 1 in 5 developing countries’ GDP per capita would not return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023, even before absorbing the impacts of the Ukraine war, the UN said.
Adding insult to injury, 13 developed nations have decreased support for developing countries.
“The developed world proved in the last two years that millions can be lifted out of poverty by the right kind of investment – in resilient and clean infrastructure, social protection or public services,” said UN Under Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin, head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which produced the report. “The international community must build on that progress and ensure developing countries can invest at similar levels while reducing inequality and securing a sustainable energy transition.”
In a separate report, the UN indicated that 30% of the world’s grain. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/un-ukraine-war-could-pose-challenges-for-developing-nations | 2022-04-14T18:01:17 | 1 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/un-ukraine-war-could-pose-challenges-for-developing-nations |
Trump aide Stephen Miller will appear before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. That's according to two people familiar with the matter.
It’s unclear whether Miller will appear Thursday in person or virtually. Miller hasn’t returned a message seeking comment.
Miller was a senior adviser for policy during President Donald Trump's administration and a central figure in many of the Republican's policy decisions. Miller had resisted previous efforts by the committee, filing a lawsuit last month seeking to quash a committee subpoena for his phone records.
The people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private testimony.
The committee has sought testimony from a number of members of the Trump administration. A week ago, the House voted to hold advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt of Congress. The matter was referred to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution. | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/sources-trump-aide-stephen-miller-to-speak-to-1-6-panel | 2022-04-14T18:01:24 | 0 | https://www.wmar2news.com/news/national/sources-trump-aide-stephen-miller-to-speak-to-1-6-panel |
From brunch to beautiful photography, here's what's going on in Shreveport entertainment
Spring has sprung in Shreveport and there is plenty going on that you should have on your radar. From where to go for your next brunch date to keeping up with the schedule of festivals coming up, there is a lot to look forward to.
Red River Revel Reveals Artist Submission Deadlines
The annual arts festival is returning to Festival Plaza in October and submissions are now open for artists to participate in the city-wide loved event.
Gorgeous Galleries
Local photographer Jamal Martin shows us life through his lens with beautiful black and white photography.
Brunch, anyone?
Who doesn't love a delicious, fun brunch spot? Check out all the places to get your brunch fix in Shreveport.
Be on the lookout for The 318, our round-up of the week's top headlines Sunday night.
Also, check out Business in the 318, our weekly roundup of all things business in the area.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com. | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2022/04/14/brunch-art-and-local-photographer-making-waves-shreveport/7283753001/ | 2022-04-14T18:03:33 | 0 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2022/04/14/brunch-art-and-local-photographer-making-waves-shreveport/7283753001/ |
Meet the man behind two of Shreveport's locally sourced Mexican, Latin restaurants: Food Finds
Chef Gabriel Balderas brings homegrown flavors and passion to Shreveport with two unique restaurants that focus on fresh ingredients and authentic tastes with a modern twist.
Growing up in Oaxaca, Mexico, Balderas helped his mother and grandmother cook over an open fire and had never used a microwave - and still doesn't. After immigrating to the US, he moved around to Kentucky, Chicago and Birmingham before finding his place in Shreveport in 2006.
El Cabo Verde opened in 2016 with a mission to bring a fresh twist to authentic Mexican cuisine including a promise to have everything prepared from scratch.
"Cooking for us is almost like we believe in home-cooked meals, things from scratch," said Balderas. "I've worked in restaurants long enough to know that most restaurants don't do that. Everything comes out of the back, reheat and then serve."
Balderas takes inspiration from his upbringing and watching his mother and grandmother in the kitchen, taking those principles of authentic, home cooking and elevating them.
"I believe there are two ways of looking at food because I'm not the type of person that believes that there's a rule of cuisines," Balderas explained. "I believe in good food and good ingredients. It doesn't matter what your concept is, if you follow good food and good ingredients."
More Food Finds:Wondering where to get brunch in Shreveport? Check out these great spots
Balderas opened Zuzul Coastal Cuisine in 2019. It focuses on fresh, sustainable dishes inspired by coastal Latin America. It shares the same mission of fresh ingredients and good food.
To achieve their commitment to fresh ingredients, Balderas buys the bulk of them from local farms like Mahaffey Farms, Smith Family Farms and Shady Grove Ranch.
Balderas also has a small organic garden on one side of El Cabo where produce is featured on the daily specials. Soon, he hopes to open a farm of his own filled with chickens, fruit trees, vegetables and more.
Moving forward, Balderas wants to have the community get involved with education opportunities by seeing how dishes get created from farm to table to show the importance of supporting local farmers, restaurants and a better understanding of where your food grows.
"We want to teach our community about how our food is raised and grown the right way and that's our goal for the next year to create a space for people to come and see the whole process."
Community is a huge focus for Balderas as well, because he sees it all as a cycle.
"Our goal has always been to create a network of local producers and support community because you think about it, those people you support can also be your very same customers," explained Balderas. "You keep it local and it's a way to create customers because they come in and support your vision because you support them. If you do that, these relationships will be there for the rest of your life."
El Cabo Verde is located at 1023 Provenance Place Blvd. in suite 210 and open Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Zuzul Coastal Cuisine is located at 1370 E. 70th St. in Shreveport's Fern Marketplace and open Tuesday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com. | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2022/04/14/locally-sourced-fresh-takes-mexican-and-latin-cuisines-shreveport-ingredients-customers-relationship/7220606001/ | 2022-04-14T18:03:39 | 1 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2022/04/14/locally-sourced-fresh-takes-mexican-and-latin-cuisines-shreveport-ingredients-customers-relationship/7220606001/ |
The chief executive officer of the Durham Housing Authority (DHA) said this week that his agency will meet with residents of the city’s oldest public housing complex to discuss its fate and what it could mean for them in the future.
DHA CEO Anthony Scott offered reassurances that a recovery agreement that the agency has reached with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to “reposition” McDougald Terrace and remove it from HUD’s public housing program does not mean its residents will have to find other places to live in an increasingly unaffordable housing market.
Scott on Monday outlined the DHA’s affordable housing plan over the next 20 years during a joint meeting with the Durham city council and members of the DHA board.
Scott said DHA staffers will, in the coming weeks, meet with McDougald Terrace residents to discuss whether the more than 300 units will be renovated or torn down and rebuilt.
Scott added that one of the options under consideration while McDougald Terrace is renovated or demolished will be to temporarily house McDougald Terrace residents at the Lincoln Apartments, a DHA-owned housing complex at Fayetteville Street and Cornwallis Road.
Scott said a preliminary analysis of the mammoth property that was built in 1954 indicates it will cost more than $53 million over the next 20 years to maintain the property, along with $2 million that’s “needed immediately.”
Scott said that with McDougald Terrace needing $53 million for renovations and upkeep over the next two decades—and with three other properties at Oxford Manor, Cornwallis, and Club Boulevard all failing inspections this year—the $15 million that the DHA currently has in capital funding for repairs at all of its properties “will barely make a difference.”
Scott has long maintained that HUD has underfunded public housing authorities across the country by about $70 billion and that it’s “an indication of how bad the problem is with America’s public housing stock.”
“That [$70 billion] figure, by the way, equates to about $70,000 per [housing unit] that public housing authorities should have received, but that the U.S. Congress has chosen not to fund over the years,” the DHA leader told the INDY last month.
“A lot of the issues that I talk about are not just related to Durham,” Scott told city council and DHA board members, city staffers, and members of the public during the virtual meeting. “These are issues that are taking place around the country and at all housing authorities.”
As the INDY previously reported, the DHA entered into a recovery agreement with HUD following a 2018 public housing assessment that rated all of the local housing authority’s properties as “troubled” based on the financial condition of the agency, management, physical inspections, and available capital funding.
Scott said in February and reiterated on Monday that the rating happened before the agency spent $6 million to address brick-and-mortar concerns, with $3.7 million spent on health and safety repairs since the 2020 carbon monoxide crisis.
DHA agreed to submit a redevelopment plan that calls for the “repositioning” of McDougald Terrace by February of next year. If HUD approves the plan, local public housing officials’ options include “substantial renovation” of the property—a so-called “voluntary conversion”—based on a physical needs assessment, according to a two-page letter the DHA made public that outlines the terms of the agreement.
“Relocation will be necessary, phased at best,” DHA officials stated in a letter made public about the recovery agreement.
The other option calls for issuing “tenant protection vouchers” to McDougald Terrace families and demolishing the city’s oldest and largest public housing complex, removing the property altogether from the federal housing program.
“In other words, HUD no longer wants McDougald Terrace in the Public Housing Program, which is not something we disagree with,” Scott told the INDY in an email last month. “The age and funding methodology does not serve a property like McDougald Terrace well. Other programs within the HUD tool box will allow much-needed renovations and/or redevelopment to benefit our residents.”
At the behest of city council member and mayor pro tem Mark-Anthony Middleton, Scott clarified how repositioning McDougald Terrace and removing the property from the public housing program might affect its residents.
Middleton asked Scott to “demystify the process around McDougald Terrace” and clear up the perception that “repositioning is part of a continuum” to move the current residents away from the property and permanently remove it altogether from the federal public housing portfolio “in perpetuity” before selling it to a private developer, or even nearby NC Central University.
Scott said the DHA had always planned to reposition all of DHA properties out of the public housing program, largely because capital support for public housing was “woefully underfunded” over the past three decades in comparison to housing choice vouchers that have been “consistently funded at 90 to 100 percent over the same time period.”
He added that there will always be housing at McDougald Terrace, and its current residents will certainly have a right to return.
Scott explained that one of the likely options that may take place at McDougald Terrace is a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) voluntary program that seeks “to preserve public housing by providing Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) with access to more stable funding to make needed improvements to properties,” per HUD.
The DHA chief said that housing vouchers are based on the rent in a particular area to help determine “what those rents will be and ultimately what your subsidy will be.”
“We’re getting out of the public housing program [but] we’re still going to have 340 units that will be in McDougald Terrace in some capacity,” Scott said.
Middleton pushed for more clarification.
“So what you were paying before this redevelopment occurred, when it’s rebuilt, will you still be able to live there at that level?” the council member asked. “If your income hadn’t changed, provided all the other factors remained the same?”
Scott answered by pointing to the 447 units that will be torn down and replaced as part of the DHA Downtown Neighborhood Plan, and the agency’s commitment to constructing affordable housing that remains in the downtown district and not pushed out to the edge of the county.
“It was important that those units remain downtown because that’s where they’ve always been,” Scott said.
Similarly, Scott said, subsidized rents will remain based on 30 percent of a renter’s income.
“That has always been the case and that will remain the same,” Scott said. “So, rents can’t just go up just because it’s a new building.”
“And one other really critical thing,” he added, “you can’t be re-screened. So, if you are eligible for public housing now, you will be eligible for that unit whenever you come back, or wherever you go to.”
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Follow Durham Staff Writer Thomasi McDonald on Twitter or send an email to tmcdonald@indyweek.com. | https://indyweek.com/news/durham/you-can-go-home-again-dha-chief-assures-mcdougald-terrace-residents/ | 2022-04-14T18:05:12 | 0 | https://indyweek.com/news/durham/you-can-go-home-again-dha-chief-assures-mcdougald-terrace-residents/ |
This story originally published online at NC Policy Watch.
Another increase in COVID-19 cases is expected in North Carolina, but it’s predicted to be not as big as the wave of infections that filled hospitals last winter, state health officials told legislators Tuesday.
Susan Gale Perry, state Department of Health and Human Services chief deputy secretary, detailed COVID-19 monitoring and responses for legislator Tuesday, as cases in the northeast United States and Washington DC are rising and the day after Philadelphia announced it is reinstating its mandate for indoor masking.
Last month, DHHS started updating its COVID-19 data dashboard weekly rather than daily, and redesigned it to deemphasize testing. With so much home-testing, the state no longer has complete information on testing and new cases.
North Carolina saw a slight uptick in cases between March 26 and April 2. From March 13-26, about one-third of the COVID-19 variants detected in the state were omicron BA.2, the subvariant behind the rise in cases in the United Kingdom and parts of Asia.
Trends in the United States mirror the United Kingdom, said Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief of the chronic disease and injury section in the state Division of Public Health.
“We can expect to see cases start to increase again,” she said.
In a webinar with reporters last month sponsored by Ethnic Media Services, Dr. John T. Brooks said more than 95 percent of people in the U.S. have COVID-19 antibodies from vaccinations or infections, possibly placing the country in “a slightly better position” than others. Brooks is senior science advisor for the CDC emergency COVID-19 response.
“We will see increases,” he said. “I hope it is not as high or severe as it has been in other places. We would not be surprised if there are regional variations. Some parts of the country may see increases where others do not.”
Perry told legislators that the state has an adequate supply of COVID-19 treatments, although Rep. Hugh Blackwell, a Burke County Republican, said he knew of people who were having trouble getting monoclonal antibody therapy.
North Carolina researchers started monitoring wastewater for COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic. People who are infected shed the virus in their feces.
Checking COVID-19 levels in municipal wastewater has been elevated to be an early warning indicator in North Carolina, and has been endorsed by the CDC as a community-level COVID tracker.
“Sustained trends over time can give us an early indication of COVID-19 infections in communities,” Brooks said last month.
But wastewater monitoring can’t serve as an early warning sign in communities that use septic systems.
“We don’t have a direct answer to that question,” Brooks said. Cases that start in communities on septic systems would be picked up when infections spread to neighborhoods on municipal wastewater systems, he said.
North Carolina is checking wastewater at about two dozen sites, but there are wide swaths of the state where no such monitoring exists.
Perry said Tuesday that North Carolina considers wastewater monitoring a statewide early detection system, and has other indicators that can fill in the COVID picture.
DHHS counts the percentage of emergency room visits by people with COVID-19 symptoms as the other early indicator. That remained steady at 2 percent from March 26 to April 2.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com. | https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/covid-19-cases-are-predicted-to-increase-in-nc-wastewater/ | 2022-04-14T18:05:18 | 0 | https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/covid-19-cases-are-predicted-to-increase-in-nc-wastewater/ |
This story originally published online at NC Policy Watch.
At the end of March, Every Child NC, a community-led, statewide coalition of organizations, parents, teachers, and students who advocate for every child’s constitutional right to a sound, basic education, sent a letter to state schools Superintendent Catherine Truitt with recommendations that would have strengthened Truitt’s new Parent Advisory Commission. Unfortunately, recent reporting has shown that Truitt ignored these recommendations. As a result, the commission is unlikely to represent the diverse stakeholders who are engaged in North Carolina’s schools.
The coalition’s recommendations sought to make commission membership more accessible and representative. Unfortunately, Truitt ignored the following recommendations:
- Making the application to serve, all subsequent documents, and both the review and selection process available to the public in Spanish, and ensuring language accessibility in all commission meetings, events and reports;
- Removing the requirement that all candidates receive a recommendation from either school personnel or a public figure;
- Ensuring that the commission is designed with an intention to be inclusive of significant and proportional minority representation and to make public the mechanisms by which such representation is achieved;
- Rethinking and reframing the composition of the commission so that public school families are adequately, equitably, and proportionally represented (currently, only one-third of the seats on the commission are guaranteed to parents of traditional public school students even though about 80 percent of children attend a traditional inclusive public school); and
- Opening commission participation to educators and students.
Every Child NC’s concerns were clearly prescient. We learned last week that nearly 80 percent of applications were thrown out for being “incomplete.”
The coalition further recommended that Truitt ensure the commission operates effectively, equitably and transparently by taking the following steps:
- Creating a plan to compensate commission members for their time, travel and childcare, to encourage a more economically diverse commission profile;
- Providing commission members with the technology appropriate to ensure that they may participate in virtual meetings, and for DPI to commit to hold in-person meetings in different regions throughout the state, to provide equity in access for families who would prefer in-person engagement but who cannot participate in extensive travel;
- Releasing the selection rubric used to evaluate applicants, the specific process by which commission members will be selected, and the names of the people responsible both for screening applications and for making final decisions on commission appointments, and being open to suggestions for improvement to the rubric that has been selected;
- Making public the answers of all selected applicants so that all North Carolinians may evaluate for themselves whether the commission represents the state’s ideological diversity;
- Providing a clear statement addressing how changes to commission membership will be handled.
Truitt has released the names of the DPI staffers who will review applications. But Truitt has yet to publicly commit to any of the remaining steps.
Truitt created the commission to “elevate the voice of parents in students’ education.” Her decision to ignore Every Child NC’s recommendations reveals a lamentable preference to elevate the voices of privileged over the voices of the families who have historically been excluded from public education policymaking.
With no selections having yet been made, it’s not too late to start over with a process that incorporates Every Child NC’s recommendations to ensure the commission will truly speak for all of North Carolina’s students.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com. | https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/state-schools-superintendent-largely-ignores-reccomendations-for-parents-advisory-commision/ | 2022-04-14T18:05:24 | 0 | https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/state-schools-superintendent-largely-ignores-reccomendations-for-parents-advisory-commision/ |
It’s not summer yet, which means luckily there’s still a chance to enjoy the outdoors before it’s boiling hot. Learn about Raleigh raptors, take your kids on an Easter egg hunt at the animal park, or sit back and listen to some live music at the Carolina Brewery.
Raptors, owls, and hawks, oh my! If you’re a fan of birds of prey, dive into their world with a 45-minute walking tour of the Piedmont Wildlife Center. The Durham rehabilitation center houses animals who have nowhere else to go and teaches people young and old about wildlife conservation. They’re holding just two more days of pop-up tours: some this Friday and some on May 17. Tickets are $10 per person.
If you’re tired of traditional Easter egg hunts, take your children on a bigger adventure at the Animal Park in Burlington. The park, at the Conservators Center, is holding its annual hunt Saturday and Sunday. Families can roam the lawn looking for candy after a self-guided safari. Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for children over age 4.
If you want a more relaxed, adult-friendly weekend, sit back with a beer at the Carolina Brewery, where Pittsboro is continuing its summer music series. The brewery is hosting Durham folk band The Pagan Hellcats on Saturday from 5:30-8 p.m. The Durham group is known for easygoing Americana that’s perfect for a warm summer evening.
Check out the INDY's calendar for a full list of events this weekend.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Follow Staff Writer Jasmine Gallup on Twitter or send an email to jgallup@indyweek.com. | https://indyweek.com/news/things-to-do-this-weekend-in-the-triangle-41422/ | 2022-04-14T18:05:31 | 0 | https://indyweek.com/news/things-to-do-this-weekend-in-the-triangle-41422/ |
Seven-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix announces plans to retire after 2022 season
Allyson Felix — the most decorated U.S. track and field athlete in Olympics history — announced that she plans to retire following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
During her illustrious career, she won 11 Olympic medals — seven of them gold — and 13 world championship titles.
"As a little girl they called chicken legs, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I'd have a career like this," Felix said in an Instagram post Wednesday.
"I have so much gratitude for this sport that has changed my life. I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I'm not sure if I have anything left to give."
The 36-year-old began her career specializing in the 200 meters, winning an Olympic silver at Athens 2004 and becoming the youngest ever world champion in the discipline in 2005 at age 19.
At the 2008 Beijing Games she guided the U.S. women's 4x400m relay team to a gold medal.
This was the first of six relay Olympic gold medals — four as part of the 4x400m relay and two in the 4x100m relay. Felix was also crowned the individual 200m champion in 2012.
"I want to say goodbye and thank you to the sport and people who have helped shape me the only way I know how — with one last run. This season isn't about the time on the clock, it's simply about joy," her Instagram post continued.
Outside of athletics, Felix has highlighted the issue of maternal mortality among Black women, testifying before the House Committee on Ways and Means, after she gave birth to her daughter Camryn via emergency C-section at 32 weeks in November 2018.
In a New York Times op-ed, she accused her long-term sponsor Nike of penalizing her and other pregnant athletes in contract negotiations. She soon left Nike and signed with Athleta while Nike have since expanded their protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
Felix won two world championship gold medals less than a year after giving birth — her 12th and 13th overall — and surpassed Usain Bolt's record for the most world championship titles won by any track and field athlete.
"If you see me on the track this year I hope to share a moment, a memory and my appreciation with you," Felix said. "This season I'm running for women. I'm running for a better future for my daughter. I'm running for you." | https://www.wisn.com/article/allyson-felix-announces-plans-to-retire/39726407 | 2022-04-14T18:13:45 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/allyson-felix-announces-plans-to-retire/39726407 |
Brooklyn subway attack suspect ordered held without bail
The man accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn was ordered held without bail as prosecutors told a judge Thursday he terrified all of New York City.
Frank James, 62, spoke only to answer “yes” to standard questions during the brief proceeding in a federal court in Brooklyn.
He was arrested in Manhattan on Wednesday, a day after authorities say he unleashed smoke bombs and dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters, shooting 10 people. He's charged with a federal terrorism offense that applies to attacks on mass transit systems — authorities say there's currently no evidence linking him to terror organizations.
“The defendant terrifyingly opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, interrupting their morning commute in a way the city hasn’t seen in more than 20 years," Assistant U.S. attorney Sara K. Winik said. "The defendant’s attack was premeditated, was carefully planned, and it caused terror among the victims and our entire city.”
In court papers, prosecutors called the shooting calculated, saying that James wore a hard hat and construction worker-style jacket as a disguise and then shed them after the gunfire to avoid recognition. Prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other gun-related items in a Philadelphia storage unit.
His lawyer, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, agreed to his being held without bail, at least for now. His attorneys could seek bail later on.
At the request of James’ lawyers, Magistrate Roanne Mann said she would ask the federal Bureau of Prisons to provide James with “psychiatric attention,” as well as magnesium tablets for leg cramps, at the federal lockup in Brooklyn where he's being held.
James didn’t respond to shouted questions from reporters Wednesday as he was led from a police precinct into a car headed for a federal detention center.
Video below: Man records NYC subway shooting suspect arrest
Authorities say a trove of evidence connects James to the attack. His credit card and a key to a van he had rented were found at the shooting scene. Officers also found the handgun they said was used in the shooting; tracing records show James purchased the gun from a licensed gun dealer in Ohio in 2011.
Investigators were examining many hours of videos that James posted on social media, including one a day before the attack, in which he delivered profanity-laced diatribes about racism, society's treatment of Black people, homelessness and violence. He also talked about his history of psychiatric treatment, and he complained about New York's mayor is dealing with homeless people on subways and with gun violence.
James was born and raised in New York City but had moved to Milwaukee. He'd recently left Wisconsin and had briefly lived in Philadelphia. | https://www.wisn.com/article/brooklyn-subway-attack-court-april-14/39725601 | 2022-04-14T18:13:55 | 0 | https://www.wisn.com/article/brooklyn-subway-attack-court-april-14/39725601 |
A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded.The jury deliberated for four hours before finding El Shafee Elsheikh guilty on all counts. Elsheikh stood motionless and gave no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He now faces up to a life sentence in prison.In convicting Elsheikh, the jury concluded that he was one of the notorious "Beatles," Islamic State captors nicknamed for their accents and known for their cruelty — torturing and beating prisoners, forcing them to fight each other until they collapsed and even making them sing cruel song parodies. Surviving hostages testified that the Beatles delighted themselves rewriting "Hotel California" as "Hotel Osama" and making them sing the refrain "You will never leave."The guilty finding came even though none of the surviving hostages could identify Elsheikh as one of their captors. Although the Beatles had distinctive accents, they always took great care to hide their faces behind masks and ordered hostages to avoid eye contact or risk a beating.Prosecutors suggested in opening statements that Elsheikh was the Beatle nicknamed "Ringo" but only had to prove that Elshiekh was one of the Beatles because testimony showed that all three were major players in the scheme.Elsheikh, who was captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian defense Forces in 2018, eventually confessed his role in the scheme to interrogators as well as media interviewers, acknowledging that he helped collect email addresses and provided proof of life to the hostages' families as part of ransom negotiations.But testimony showed that he and the other Beatles were far more than paper pushers. The surviving hostages, all of whom were European — the American and British hostages were all killed — testified that they dreaded the Beatles' appearance at the various prisons to which they constantly shuttled and relocated.Surviving witness Federico Motka recounted a time in the summer of 2013 when he and cellmate David Haines were put in a room with American hostage James Foley and British hostage John Cantlie for what they called a "Royal Rumble." The losers were told they'd be waterboarded. Weak from hunger, two of the four passed out during the hourlong battle.The convictions on all eight counts in U.S. District Court in Alexandria revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. All but Mueller were executed in videotaped beheadings circulated online. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.They were among 26 hostages taken captive between 2012 and 2015, when the Islamic State group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.Defense lawyers acknowledged that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State group but said prosecutors failed to prove he was a Beatle. They cited a lack of clarity about which Beatle was which, and back in the trial's opening statement cited the confusion about whether there were three or four Beatles.Prosecutors said there were three — Elsheikh and his friends Alexenda Kotey and Mohammed Emwazi, who all knew each other in England before joining the Islamic State.Emwazi, who as known as "Jihadi John" and carried out the executions, was later killed in a drone strike. Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together in 2018 and brought to Virginia in 2020 to face trial after the U.S. promised not to seek the death penalty. Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence but leaves open the possibility that he could serve out his sentence in the United Kingdom after 15 years in the U.S.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded.
The jury deliberated for four hours before finding El Shafee Elsheikh guilty on all counts. Elsheikh stood motionless and gave no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He now faces up to a life sentence in prison.
In convicting Elsheikh, the jury concluded that he was one of the notorious "Beatles," Islamic State captors nicknamed for their accents and known for their cruelty — torturing and beating prisoners, forcing them to fight each other until they collapsed and even making them sing cruel song parodies. Surviving hostages testified that the Beatles delighted themselves rewriting "Hotel California" as "Hotel Osama" and making them sing the refrain "You will never leave."
The guilty finding came even though none of the surviving hostages could identify Elsheikh as one of their captors. Although the Beatles had distinctive accents, they always took great care to hide their faces behind masks and ordered hostages to avoid eye contact or risk a beating.
Prosecutors suggested in opening statements that Elsheikh was the Beatle nicknamed "Ringo" but only had to prove that Elshiekh was one of the Beatles because testimony showed that all three were major players in the scheme.
Elsheikh, who was captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian defense Forces in 2018, eventually confessed his role in the scheme to interrogators as well as media interviewers, acknowledging that he helped collect email addresses and provided proof of life to the hostages' families as part of ransom negotiations.
Alexandria Sheriff's Office via AP
In this photo provided by the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office is El Shafee Elsheikh who is in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, in Alexandria, Va.
But testimony showed that he and the other Beatles were far more than paper pushers. The surviving hostages, all of whom were European — the American and British hostages were all killed — testified that they dreaded the Beatles' appearance at the various prisons to which they constantly shuttled and relocated.
Surviving witness Federico Motka recounted a time in the summer of 2013 when he and cellmate David Haines were put in a room with American hostage James Foley and British hostage John Cantlie for what they called a "Royal Rumble." The losers were told they'd be waterboarded. Weak from hunger, two of the four passed out during the hourlong battle.
The convictions on all eight counts in U.S. District Court in Alexandria revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. All but Mueller were executed in videotaped beheadings circulated online. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.
They were among 26 hostages taken captive between 2012 and 2015, when the Islamic State group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
Defense lawyers acknowledged that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State group but said prosecutors failed to prove he was a Beatle. They cited a lack of clarity about which Beatle was which, and back in the trial's opening statement cited the confusion about whether there were three or four Beatles.
Prosecutors said there were three — Elsheikh and his friends Alexenda Kotey and Mohammed Emwazi, who all knew each other in England before joining the Islamic State.
Emwazi, who as known as "Jihadi John" and carried out the executions, was later killed in a drone strike. Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together in 2018 and brought to Virginia in 2020 to face trial after the U.S. promised not to seek the death penalty. Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence but leaves open the possibility that he could serve out his sentence in the United Kingdom after 15 years in the U.S. | https://www.wisn.com/article/islamic-state-fighter-convicted-deaths-4-american-hostages/39727714 | 2022-04-14T18:14:06 | 0 | https://www.wisn.com/article/islamic-state-fighter-convicted-deaths-4-american-hostages/39727714 |
Louvenia Johnson scholars: Delonte Nelson
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
Louvenia Johnson scholars: Delonte Nelson
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
JOHNSON. HE WANTS TO WORK IN CHNOTELOGY SO HE N CAMAKE LIFE BETTER FOR EVERYONE. >> WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU? >> GOING TO COLLEGE, TRYING TO BUILD MY OWN CPAOMNY, PROBABLY LIKE GAMING. I WANT TO MAJOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, GRAPHIC DESIGNING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING. >> IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE A VERY CREATIVE PERSON, SO WHERE DOES THAT PASSION COME FROM? >> PASSION COMES FROM MY CHILDHOOD, PLAYING VIDEO GAM,ES WATCHING YOUTUBE AND PLAYING DIFFERENT TYPES OF GAMES THAT INSPIRE ME. I WANT TO DO MEOR GAMES. >> HOW DO YOU THINK WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW D ANBEING A SCHOLAR HERE SHARING YOUR STORY, HOW IT CAN BE AN EXAMPLE TO OTHER PEOPLE? >> IT CAN MOTIVATE THEM, HPEL THEM CHASE A NEW DREAM AND GET CREATIVE. HELP THEM CHANGE UP. >> WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SCHOR LATO YOU? >>HOR LATO YOU? IT MEANS TO HAVE PASSION. YOU CAN HAVE GOOD GRADES, BUT YOU’VE GOT TO ALSO HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE AND GOOD MIND WITH IT. YOU CAN’T STJU BE SMART AND DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOU’VE ALSO
Advertisement
Louvenia Johnson scholars: Delonte Nelson
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
Advertisement | https://www.wisn.com/article/louvenia-johnson-scholars-delonte-nelson/39720708 | 2022-04-14T18:14:16 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/louvenia-johnson-scholars-delonte-nelson/39720708 |
2022 Louvenia Johnson Scholarship winners
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
Advertisement
2022 Louvenia Johnson Scholarship winners
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.Shaterra Richerson, Divine Savior Holy Angels High SchoolBrandon Evans Jr., Hamilton High SchoolDelonte Nelson, Bay View High SchoolCheck back tomorrow for more!
MILWAUKEE —
WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Times are honoring the academic achievements of high school students who are receiving the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship.
Shaterra Richerson, Divine Savior Holy Angels High School
Advertisement
Brandon Evans Jr., Hamilton High School
Delonte Nelson, Bay View High School
Check back tomorrow for more! | https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-2022-louvenia-johnson-scholarship-winners/39704397 | 2022-04-14T18:14:27 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-2022-louvenia-johnson-scholarship-winners/39704397 |
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their 2022 home opener on Milwaukee's "414 Day" against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Share
Updated: 12:49 PM CDT Apr 14, 2022
First regular Opening Day festivities since 2019
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their 2022 home opener on Milwaukee's "414 Day" against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Share
Updated: 12:49 PM CDT Apr 14, 2022
LIVE FROM OUTSIDE THE BALLPARK WHERE FANS ARE ALREADY LINING , UP. HANN:AH IT IS SUNNY OUT HERE, AND WE ARE APPROACHING ABOUT TWO HOURS UNTIL THE PARKING LOTS OPEN HERE AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD. WE ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE DOZEN CARS LINING UPRE, ADY TO BEGIN THEIR TAILGATE. SOME OF THEM ALREADY STARTING THEIR TAILGATE. INOW K THE FIRST PEOPLE IN LINE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR HOURS AT THIS POINT. >> THE SUN IS BARELY UP, BUT YOU ARE ALREADY IN LINE. WHY? >> TO GET IN EARLY. DEDICATED. HANNAH: YES, VERY DEDICATED .TIM ARNDT OF COLUMBUS, WCOINIS DROVE THE HOUR 15 EASTO T AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD ARRIVING BY 7:00 A.M. HE WAS THE FIRST IN LINE THIS MORNING, WITH THE MANDEL FAMILY NOT TOO FAR BEHIND. I’M TOLD THE STRATEGY IS TO AVOID TRAFFIC ON THE WAY IN, AND GET PRIME PARKING, AND MEET MESO NEW PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY. YOU GOT HERE AT WH TE?AT >> WE GOT HERE A LITTLE WHILE AGO RIGHT WHEN YOU PULLED UP. ,HANNAH: LIKE 7:45? >> YEAH, ABOUT THAT TIME. HANNAH: WHY? >> TO BE HERE EARLY. MY WIFE WANTED TO BE FIRST, TBU WE ARE SECOND, BUT IT’S NOT SO BAD. HANNAH: WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE MEANTIME? >> TALK WITH MY HUSBAND AND EAT AND JUST CHILL OUT. HANN:AH THIS OPENING DAY MABEY DELAYED TWO WEEKS, BUT IT IS THE FIRST ONE WITHOUT PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS SINCE 2019. IN 2020, NO FANS WERE ALLOWED DURING A CONDENSED SEAN. AND LAST YEAR, IT WAS REDUCED CAPACITY. IT WILL BE FULL CAPACITY TODAY, AND WE ALRDYEA HAVE SOME BLOODY MARY’S ON DKEC AS PEOPLE GET READY TO TAILGATE. THEY ARE EXPECTING A SELLOUT CROWD HERE WITH 4300,0 FANS EXPECTED INSIDE ETH BALLPARK WHEN THAT FIRST PITCH COMES AT 4:.14 ADRIENNE: I THINK YOU ARE DONE FOR THE DAY, SO MAYBE GO HAVE SOME FUN THERE. HANNAH: ONE MORE. RIADEN:NE ONE MORE. WE WILL SEE YOU THEN. SO HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU’RE GOING TO THE GAME. AGAIN, THE PARKING LOTS AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD OPEN AT 1:15. THE GATES OPEN >> -- THE GATES OPENED AN HOUR LATER AT 2:.15 CASH WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED ANYWHERE ONCE YOU GET INSIDE. IF FANS HAVE CASH, THE TEAM WILL HAVE KIOSKS AROUND THE BALLPARK WHERE THEY CAN EXCHANGE CA
Advertisement
First regular Opening Day festivities since 2019
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their 2022 home opener on Milwaukee's "414 Day" against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Share
Updated: 12:49 PM CDT Apr 14, 2022
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their 2022 home opener on Milwaukee's "414 Day" against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.Some hardy fans lined up to tailgate even before the gates to the lots opened."My wife wanted to be first, but we are second," Steve Mandel said.Tom Arndt, of Columbus, Wisconsin, took that spot.He said he arrived at 7 a.m.!Arndt said he planned to take a nap before the game."At least now I can get pictures without anyone being in the parking lot," he told WISN 12.Most of the early risers said they wanted to beat traffic and get a prime parking spot."Nothing better than opening day in Milwaukee, man," Arndt said.After a sunny spring day Wednesday, temperatures Thursday were a shock.A wind advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. for gusts of up to 50 mph.Wind chills will be in the 30s.A sellout crowd is expected for first pitch at 4:14 p.m.
MILWAUKEE —
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate their 2022 home opener on Milwaukee's "414 Day" against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Some hardy fans lined up to tailgate even before the gates to the lots opened.
Advertisement
"My wife wanted to be first, but we are second," Steve Mandel said.
Tom Arndt, of Columbus, Wisconsin, took that spot.
He said he arrived at 7 a.m.!
Arndt said he planned to take a nap before the game.
"At least now I can get pictures without anyone being in the parking lot," he told WISN 12.
Most of the early risers said they wanted to beat traffic and get a prime parking spot.
"Nothing better than opening day in Milwaukee, man," Arndt said.
After a sunny spring day Wednesday, temperatures Thursday were a shock.
A wind advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. for gusts of up to 50 mph.
Wind chills will be in the 30s.
A sellout crowd is expected for first pitch at 4:14 p.m. | https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-first-regular-brewers-opening-day-festivities-since-2019/39724532 | 2022-04-14T18:14:37 | 0 | https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-first-regular-brewers-opening-day-festivities-since-2019/39724532 |
'I let my temper get the best of me': NBA star apologizes for throwing mouthguard at a fan
NBA player Miles Bridges has apologized for accidentally hitting a young fan with his mouthguard after he was ejected against the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday.
"I let my temper get the best of me," Bridges told reporters in a post-match press conference after the 132-103 loss for his team, the Charlotte Hornets.
"That was definitely the wrong thing to do by throwing my mouthpiece."
He said he was targeting an Atlanta Hawks fan, adding: "I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and ... it hit a little girl.
"That's definitely unacceptable on my part, and I take full responsibility. I'm ready for any consequence that the NBA gives me.
"That's on me. That's out of character for me. You've been around me, you know I don't act like that or never flash out like that. So that was definitely wrong, a lot of emotions.
"Hopefully I can get in contact with the young girl and sincerely apologize to her."
A sore defeat
The Hornets forward amassed two technical fouls and was eventually ejected in the fourth quarter after he passionately protested a goaltending call.
While Bridges was walking off the court and towards the locker room, a Hawks fan appeared to yell in his direction and the player responded by throwing his mouthguard, which reportedly landed on a young spectator.
Bridges could face additional penalties for his behavior, according to the official NBA website.
The Hornets haven't made the playoffs since 2016. They showed promise at the end of the first half, earning 29 points against their opponents' 28. But Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter wrapped up his team's victory by smashing a third quarter surge, after rising point guard star Trae Young netted 24 points.
By the end of the game Hunter had achieved 22 points, while Danilo Gallinari and Clint Capela finished with 18 points and 15 points respectively. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter also made sizeable contributions to the Hawks' win, scoring 13 points each. | https://www.wisn.com/article/nba-star-apologizes-throwing-mouthguard-at-fan/39727089 | 2022-04-14T18:14:47 | 0 | https://www.wisn.com/article/nba-star-apologizes-throwing-mouthguard-at-fan/39727089 |
Russian navy warship badly damaged after Ukrainians claim it was hit with missiles
The Russian military sustained a major blow Thursday when the flagship of the country's Black Sea fleet was badly damaged and its crew evacuated. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva but no attack.
Related video above: White House stands by Biden calling Ukraine war 'genocide'
The warship named for the Russian capital was 60 to 65 nautical miles south of Odesa when the fire ignited, and the vessel was still battling flames hours later while heading east, according to a Pentagon official. The loss of the ship would be a major military setback and a devastating symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital.
Despite an early report from one Ukrainian official saying the ship had sunk, the Moskva was still moving on its own power, at least for now, a senior U.S defense official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. military assessments, said the Pentagon could not confirm what caused the fire.
Russia said the fire aboard the ship, which would typically have 500 sailors on board, forced the entire crew to evacuate. 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 can carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, 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 huge blow to Russian prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, Russia's invasion has stalled because of resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC show the Moskva steaming out of the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula on Sunday. But cloud cover on Thursday made it impossible to use satellite images to locate the ship or determine its condition.
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 Ukrainian troops 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 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 allow its forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully 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.
The loss of the Moskva could delay any new, wide-ranging offensive.
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." But Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, later said he was unable to confirm that the ship was sunk or even hit by Ukrainian forces. He said he was aware of the comments by other Ukrainian officials but "could neither confirm nor deny" what happened.
"If or when this is confirmed, if it is confirmed, we can only have a sigh of relief because this means that fewer missiles will reach Ukrainian cities," he told The Associated Press.
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 towed in for repairs. It said its "main missile weapons" were not damaged. In addition to the cruise missiles, the warship also had air-defense missiles and other guns.
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 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. 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 told the Economic Club of Washington.
During the first days of the war, The Moskva was reportedly the warship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, the soldier responds: "Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself."
The AP could not independently verify the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters consider it an iconic moment of defiance. The country recently unveiled a postage stamp commemorating it.
Russia invaded on Feb. 24, but its 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. It's also threatened the global economy and further inflated already high prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps around the world.
Russian authorities on Thursday accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo in Russia's Bryansk region, some 7 miles from the frontier. Russia's Investigative Committee said seven people, including a toddler, were wounded.
Russia's state security service had earlier said Ukrainian forces fired mortar rounds at a border post in Bryansk as refugees were crossing, forcing them to flee.
The reports could not be independently verified. Earlier this month, Ukrainian security officials denied that Kyiv was behind an airstrike on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, some 35 miles from the border. | https://www.wisn.com/article/russia-warship-ukraine-claims-neptune-missiles/39727257 | 2022-04-14T18:14:58 | 0 | https://www.wisn.com/article/russia-warship-ukraine-claims-neptune-missiles/39727257 |
Trump aide Stephen Miller to testify to Jan. 6 committee, AP source says
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 two people familiar with the matter.
Miller was a senior adviser for policy during the Trump administration and a central figure in many of the Republican's policy decisions. He had resisted previous efforts by the committee, filing a lawsuit last month seeking to quash a committee subpoena for his phone records.
The people familiar with the matter spoke on the 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, and Miller did not immediately return a message seeking 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 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" and to encourage state legislatures to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by appointing alternate electors.
Thompson has also said that Miller helped prepare Trump's remarks for a rally on the Ellipse that preceded the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and was with Trump when he spoke.
The House voted last week to hold former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt for their monthlong refusal to comply with subpoenas. The move was the third time the panel has referred people in the former president's orbit to the Justice Department for potential prosecution for contempt. 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 committee's frustration.
By agreeing to testify, Miller is looking to avoid the fate of the other former advisers and members of the Trump administration. 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 was doing while it unfolded and any connections between the White House and the Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol building.
____
Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed to this report. | https://www.wisn.com/article/stephen-miller-to-testify-to-jan-6/39724817 | 2022-04-14T18:15:08 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/stephen-miller-to-testify-to-jan-6/39724817 |
Man dies in crash after driver flees deputies
The chase started in Germantown and ended before the vehicle crashed in Lannon.
The chase started in Germantown and ended before the vehicle crashed in Lannon.
The chase started in Germantown and ended before the vehicle crashed in Lannon.
An 18-year-old man died in a crash after the car he was in fled deputies in Washington County.
The man was the passenger in a car that was pulled over by deputies in Germantown early Wednesday morning.
One deputy saw a casing from a handgun on the front floorboard of the vehicle, investigators said.
Deputies then learned the driver, a 27-year-old Milwaukee man, was on parole for a robbery and was prohibited from having firearms.
The 18-year-old passenger, from Milwaukee, also had an active warrant out for his arrest.
When deputies asked the pair to get out of the car the driver took off.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office called off the chase before it got to the Village of Lannon.
Deputies found the vehicle crashed on Lannon Road near Mill Road shortly afterward.
The passenger died at the scene. The driver was injured but is expected to survive.
The two have not been identified.
No other details were released. | https://www.wisn.com/article/wisconsin-man-dies-in-crash-after-driver-flees-deputies/39718840 | 2022-04-14T18:15:18 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/wisconsin-man-dies-in-crash-after-driver-flees-deputies/39718840 |
A deputy has been fired after he was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl and arrested.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Deputy Paul S. Mauricio Thursday after the girl’s mother filed a complaint Tuesday night, WJXT reported.
Sheriff Michelle Cook said the abuse was ongoing but is still working on details for the timetable of the abuse.
Mauricio is facing a charge for capital sexual battery, indicating some of the abuse took place before the victim turned 12 years old, according to WJXT.
Investigators interviewed him after the girl detailed “a pattern of sexual abuse.”
Mauricio confirmed what the victim told authorities.
He was initially suspended when the victim filed the complaint, but the suspension was upgraded to a termination of employment after the arrest.
Read the full report on news4jax.com. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-florida-deputy-arrested-after-admitting-sexually-abusing-12-year-old-girl-20220414-iglvzu74zza6zl6dlh2xdnhkde-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:05 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-florida-deputy-arrested-after-admitting-sexually-abusing-12-year-old-girl-20220414-iglvzu74zza6zl6dlh2xdnhkde-story.html |
Three directors are facing numerous felony charges for allegedly stealing money from the county fair.
Arcadia Police Department in DeSoto County started the investigation on Feb. 21, WINK News reported.
Advertisement
In February, authorities noticed suspicious transactions on the DeSoto County Fair Association’s account.
The investigation led to the arrest of Fair President Christopher Stewart, Fair Treasurer Leann Humphreys, and Fair Secretary Stevie Rioux, according to WINK News.
Advertisement
Read the full report on winknews.com. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-three-florida-officials-accused-of-stealing-money-from-county-fair-20220414-uj4mlj7qjfc4ji5jk72ov32pai-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:11 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-three-florida-officials-accused-of-stealing-money-from-county-fair-20220414-uj4mlj7qjfc4ji5jk72ov32pai-story.html |
Shannon Landin never doubted her tech savvy.
Before creating Codecraft Works, an educational technology and training company headquartered in Brevard County, the entrepreneurial mom volunteered at her kids’ schools, helping teach teachers how to crack computer coding challenges.
But commercializing her smart ideas? That was trickier.
“I can’t say that I’m this really savvy business person and that I knew I was going to do this thing and make money,” said Landin, 48. “No, it was more like I thought there’s a gap out here and I think I can fill it and maybe somebody will pay for it.“
She hopes to get a boost for her company from Cenfluence, a job-growing strategy, funded by Orange County, to lift local tech companies, diversify the region’s tourism-reliant economy and blunt financial harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative took small but significant steps in its first year, foreshadowing good things to come, its leaders say.
About 70 technology companies have enlisted in the collaborative’s mission to make Central Florida as magical for tech entrepreneurs as for tourists, said Paul Sohl, a former U.S. Navy pilot, retired rear admiral and head of Cenfluence’s management team.
“We’re leveraging magic that already exists here,” he said, citing a cadre of local innovators and the University of Central Florida’s research prowess. “There are an amazing number of resources here — everything from big anchor industries to research universities to economic-development organizations — all hyper-focused on doing what’s right for businesses to grow.”
Cenfluence, which has office space at the National Entrepreneur Center at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, is structured to “leverage synergies” among all those assets, Sohl said.
Since its launch in 2021, Cenfluence’s advisors and consultants have helped identify more than $2 million in grants, loans and other funding opportunities for members, which operate in Orange or neighboring Brevard, Lake, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties.
About 30% are owned by women or minorities. The companies are catalogued in a Cenfluence guide.
Orange County provided $630,000 in funding in February 2021 to get Cenfluence rolling and pledged $550,000 for year two.
Eric Ushkowitz, Orange County’s economic development chief, said the organization’s solid debut suggests a promising future.
“The big push in year one was identifying companies, getting them signed on and organized into clusters,” he said. “Definitely we’re seeing results and we’re happy with the work they’re doing already, but I think it will continue to grow bigger and better from here on.”
Ushkowitz said he expects more companies will sign on with one of Cenfluence’s four clusters: energy and environmental sciences; gaming, entertainment and e-sports; learning sciences and human performance; and life sciences. In Orange County alone, 2,500 companies could fit in one of the groups.
Companies in the clusters, according to figures posted on Cenfluence’s website, employ about 85,000 workers and pack a combined economic wallop over $8.5 billion a year. Businesses can learn more and sign up for cluster membership at Cenfluence.com.
Membership is free. Ushkowitz said the pay off for the county hopefully will be in higher-wage jobs.
Landin and Codecraft Works, which creates online technology-education programs, were early recruits by Cenfluence staff, who discovered her company after it won a grant from the National Science Foundation for innovations in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.
Though always confident in her ideas, Landin said she often felt alone in business before joining Cenfluence’s cluster initiative.
“Cenfluence is exactly what we needed to help create partnerships across the state,” said Landin, whose firm fits in the learning sciences and human performance cluster. “They’ve made introductions for us and helped us build relationships which, hopefully, will result in business and revenue.”
She described the connection as “like having partners supporting us.”
Cenfluence also helped link Codecraft Works with Michelle Taub, an assistant professor in learning sciences and educational research at the University of Central Florida. Together, they pitched a proposal to help adults get work experience through hands-on performance in a virtual environment, an idea which has made them a finalist in a national competition with a $4 million prize pool.
What is a cluster?
Clusters are regional concentrations of allied industries and research groups, said Andrea Wesser-Brawner, Orange County’s chief innovation and emerging technology officer, who studied industry clustering in Europe where the strategy has proven successful for 30 years.
Some clusters may grow naturally, like the county’s tourism and hospitality industries, she said.
Sohl said others may need help to blossom into a potent force.
“I’ll give you shining examples of what already exists here,” Sohl said, explaining clusters to Orange County commissioners last fall. “We’re the world’s leader in modeling simulation and training. Our tourism and hospitality cluster is the envy of the planet. And how about optics and photonics? Another key cluster with deep research at UCF and a vibrant, expanding set of businesses close by.”
All are thriving and all depend on tech and innovation, he said.
Modeling, simulation and training has evolved into a $6-billion-a-year industry in Central Florida with government contracts flowing through the region — many commissioned by the Department of Defense for military simulation command centers, stationed in Orlando.
[ The COVID-19 recession exposed a regional economy dangerously out of balance ]
Clusters are a “striking feature of all modern economies, making regions uniquely competitive for jobs and private investment,” according to The U.S. Cluster Mapping Project, a study initiative led by Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness.
What does Cenfluence do?
Cenfluence aims to diversify the region’s economy by helping home-grown tech companies build a global reputation to attract customers and investors like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios draw tourists from all over the world, Ushkowitz said.
“It’s a place cluster members can find funding resources, research and development talent and collaboration partners,” he said.
Members get weekly newsletters by email, which include alerts for state and federal grant opportunities, business pitch competitions and educational events. They can join private LinkedIn groups to share their company’s needs and celebrate successes.
They are granted access to monthly webinars about applying for innovation grants and finding international business.
Cenfluence has created a members-only resource guide with more than 100 vetted businesses resources in Central Florida.
The organization is building a job bank for its website where cluster members can publicize their employment opportunities.
Cenfluence also organizes meet-ups between cluster members and potential customers. This month, members of the energy and environment sciences cluster will sit down with representatives of the Orlando Utilities Commission to discuss what utilities look for in partners.
The organization arranged for TECHFIT Digital Surgery to participate as an exhibitor during the giant Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society global meeting last month at the Orange County Convention Center.
“We got some very interesting leads for potential customers,” said Mauricio Toro, CEO and co-founder of the company, which makes 3D-printed, customized medical implants in Daytona Beach.
Though clever, innovators often aren’t sure where to turn for help or resources, said Cenfluence consultant Mark Spinoglio.
“If you’re an entrepreneur who’s created a small business, you’re busy, head down and focused on revenue, focused on keeping that company afloat. You may not know all that’s out there to help you,” said Spinoglio, who worked closely with clusters in Europe. “We can play a key role in helping individual companies navigate what’s available to help them to prosper not only in the region but globally.”
Breaking News
Cenfluence has boosted hopes of young entrepreneurs like Kyle Morrand, founder and CEO of Orlando-based 302 Interactive, which started as a video-game studio and has expanded into creating immersive experiences through augmented reality technology.
Augmented reality is an interactive experience that combines real-world environments enhanced by virtual features.
302 Interactive’s customers have ranged from small start-ups to Universal Orlando.
“Working with other business leaders in the area has always been a really good practice for me,” said Morrand, 28, whose company is part of the gaming, entertainment and e-sports cluster. “I’m really excited about sharing my thoughts on how our tech community as a whole can advance and about Cenfluence having resources to execute some of those ideas.”
Those kinds of ideas offer promise beyond theme parks, said Commissioner Nicole Wilson, whose district includes Disney.
“I think there’s a misconception about Orange County being a one-trick pony,” she said during a commission discussion of Cenfluence. “Whenever we discuss these other clusters and the types of innovative businesses we have here, it makes me feel like we’re going to have more and more and more in the years to come for us to show off.” | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orange-cenfluence-20220414-ap5em3mpofbhxgxr2slp7spq4e-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:17 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orange-cenfluence-20220414-ap5em3mpofbhxgxr2slp7spq4e-story.html |
Oviedo commissioners on Monday plan to enact a six-month moratorium on the sale of sparklers and fireworks after city officials said an outdoor vendor blatantly sold pyrotechnics that are not permitted under Oviedo’s rules.
The temporary halt, expected to last until the end of October, would give Oviedo a chance to study what is allowed under Florida law regarding fireworks and then update the city’s regulations on permitting outdoor sales of the explosives, assistant city attorney David Hall told commissioners at a recent meeting.
It’s to “give ourselves time to really ferret this out and decide what we want to do,” Hall said. “It’s a safety concern. And we’re obligated to protect our citizens.”
Altamonte Springs attorney Steve Mason, who represents Big Bang Fireworks, called Oviedo’s position “nonsensical” because the city has issued his client more than a dozen permits over the years to sell sparklers, roman candles, fireworks and other kinds of pyrotechnics that light up the night on holidays. But in December, city officials took away the company’s temporary permit for outdoor sales just before the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“It’s political obstinacy,” Mason said. “I’m not trying to be inflammatory here. ... But I want to persuade these politicians in Oviedo to not pass this moratorium.”
Mason said the city could continue issuing permits while it studies the issue rather than imposing a moratorium.
The controversy sparked last October when Big Bang applied for an outdoor sales permit at the Tee It Up property on West Mitchell Hammock Road. The permit was valid from Dec. 15 through Jan. 5, and Big Bang was hoping to sell some pyrotechnic fun for the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Oviedo issues permits to outdoor vendors for the sale of sparklers only, and Big Bang’s permit said only sparklers approved for sale by Florida law could be sold by the company, according to city officials.
On Dec. 27, a city inspector reported that Big Bang was selling under its tent fireworks in addition to sparklers that were not approved by the state of Florida.
After Oviedo issued a notice of violation and revoked Big Bang’s permit, the company continued selling the explosives for two more days, according to city documents.
But on Feb. 24, a special magistrate threw out the case because Big Bang was not properly cited by the city. Mason argued his client was never provided with a citation “specifying the specific code provisions alleged to have been violated.”
Even so, Special Magistrate Howard Marsee said in his order Big Bang “had no intention of” complying with Oviedo’s permit or regulations regarding the sale of fireworks.
“Such continued sales constituted a contumacious disregard of the city’s notice of violation, notice of revocation and ordinances,” Marsee said in his order.
Now Oviedo leaders hope to prevent similar controversies in the future.
On Monday, commissioners are scheduled to discuss and vote on the temporary ban. The city attorney will then seek an opinion from Florida’s attorney general regarding the sale of fireworks.
Breaking News
City officials and Mason point out that Florida’s current law is unclear on what defines fireworks and how far local governments can go in restricting the sale of such pyrotechnics.
“There are so many exceptions within the chapter that they virtually overtake the prohibition,” Mason said in his motion to the city magistrate. “For instance, fireworks and sparklers can be sold by a vendor for ‘ceremonial, blasting, military, agricultural, farming, fishery, athletic and sporting events’....among many others. By this writer’s count, there are approximately 14 exemptions for the sale and use of fireworks.”
According to Oviedo’s proposed ordinance establishing the moratorium, “there is a large body of evidence that local governments have been vested with local control over various aspects of fireworks regulation for over 67 years.”
Seminole County also requires a temporary permit for outdoor sales that meet the state’s definition of a sparkler. But fireworks are not permitted.
In support of the moratorium, Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek said the city should pause issuing permits to get better direction from its attorneys and the state of Florida.
“We just want to be fair to everyone,” she said.
mcomas@orlandosentinel.com | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole-county/os-ne-fireworks-sales-moratorium-20220414-45q4r6eygvhdnf5hw34xbvg3la-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:23 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole-county/os-ne-fireworks-sales-moratorium-20220414-45q4r6eygvhdnf5hw34xbvg3la-story.html |
I’m ticked off that FedEx is such a slow delivery company. Why anyone uses them is beyond me but most merchants do not give us a choice!
I’m ticked off that some politicians just want to tax and spend without considering making cuts to wasteful overspending and lowering our taxes. C’mon man, think of us little people with low incomes for once.
Just which organization confers the title of “Celebrity?”
I am so very ticked off that someone took the bottom of our car’s right sided mirror.
To the person who wants the weather forecast to include humidity! Are you for real or just new to Florida? Most of the time it’s 100% but if you’d just look on your phone weather app it’ll tell you. Or you can gauge it by if it’s hot out - usually humid. If it’s cool out - usually lower humidity. Or by your hair. Or by how much you’re sweating. Get out much?
I am ticked off at men that do not speak up about spousal and family abuse. There was a situation where a woman was terribly abused and hospitalized. The summation by the husband’s friend was that he knew that she was being a little roughed up at times but that was their business. Also, what is the mentality of men that beat on others, especially women? What is masculinity anyway?
To the person ticked off about waiting on a plane for takeoff. According to a pilot I talked to “on time” reliability is determined by when the door to the airplane is closed not actual takeoff!
The flip side
A big shout out to the fast-forward button on the remote control for my TV. I take such great pleasure in zooming past all the highly annoying car salespeople and all the highly annoying lawyers. Thank you for sparing me their relentless drivel! | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-op-ticked-off-041522-20220414-sli25tfhwrf3tfetfliwvz7uga-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:30 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-op-ticked-off-041522-20220414-sli25tfhwrf3tfetfliwvz7uga-story.html |
An appeals court Thursday overturned the conviction of a Lake Howell High School JROTC instructor who was arrested in 2018 on allegations of having sex with a student.
A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal agreed with Bryan Teet’s arguments that he was not in a position of “custodial authority” at the time he allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Teet, who was acquitted by a jury on other charges, had argued a circuit judge should have rejected a charge of “sexual battery on a child over 12 years of age but less than 18 years of age by a person in familial or custodial authority,” according to the ruling.
Teet was accused of having sex with the student at her grandmother’s home after driving her home from a JROTC practice. Teet contended that he was not in a position of custodial authority, saying “he did not hold that authority because he had not been granted parental permission to drive the victim home, enter, and remain in her residence; and the offense did not occur on school property or in connection with an extra-curricular activity,” according to Thursday’s ruling.
The panel agreed that Teet did not hold custodial authority and said prosecutors could have pursued other charges against him.
“This result was self-inflicted by the state’s decision to charge Teet as it did,” said the 13-page ruling, written by Judge Jay Cohen and joined by Chief Judge Brian Lambert and Judge Kerry Evander. “There were other offenses available that did not involve the element of custodial authority. Additionally, the state chose not to request a jury instruction on any lesser included charges other than simple battery.” | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-bryan-teet-jrotc-instructor-conviction-overturned-20220414-zxjobyv7a5etjixnyinqxw5lwa-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:36 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-bryan-teet-jrotc-instructor-conviction-overturned-20220414-zxjobyv7a5etjixnyinqxw5lwa-story.html |
Gov. Ron DeSantis is amassing a staggering amount of cash for his reelection effort, making him a heavy favorite to win this year’s race for governor and cementing his status as a top Republican presidential prospect for 2024.
DeSantis has topped $100 million raised for the 2022 election, dwarfing the money raised by his three potential Democratic foes in Florida.
His campaign and political committee, both working for his reelection, have raised a combined $102 million through March, according to an Orlando Sentinel analysis of campaign finance records.
That sum is unheard of at this point in a Florida governor’s race, said Kevin Wagner, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University.
“It is a staggeringly high amount,” he said. “Part of it has to do with his national profile. Part of it is he is very good at fundraising.”
DeSantis’ haul perhaps exceeds any other candidate running for governor in the United States, although such comparisons for state candidates are difficult because of differing campaign finance laws.
Where the money is coming from
DeSantis has drawn from former President Donald Trump’s megadonor network, while also racking up smaller donations from people across the United States. The bulk of the money raised for DeSantis’ reelection effort has come through his Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee, which can accept unlimited contributions.
Evan Power, chairman of chairs for the Republican Party of Florida, attributed DeSantis’ fundraising success to his opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, which sent his popularity soaring among conservatives.
“It obviously catapults him to the top tier of Republican leaders nationwide,” Power said of DeSantis’ fundraising performance. “I think it comes down to COVID. Florida is seen as a beacon of freedom. I have people from out of state who say how much they love our governor and wish their governor would be like ours.”
DeSantis has built his political brand through campaign merchandise that has spanned from “Don’t Fauci My Florida” drink koozies to an edgy golf ball set that proclaims “Florida’s governor has a pair.”
He’s also boosted his profile through fiery news conferences and Fox News appearances, making him a Republican foil to Democratic President Joe Biden. He’s extended his fundraising reach beyond Florida with events in California, Pennsylvania and other states.
[ RELATED: DeSantis-brand drink koozies help show disdain for Fauci and mask wearing ]
DeSantis is leading the money race among governor candidates nationwide, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan watchdog that tracks money in politics.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, another possible GOP presidential contender in 2024, is running close, having raised $93 million so far for his battle with Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke, OpenSecrets reports.
DeSantis has secured backing from some of Trump’s top donors, including Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus; WeatherTech founder David MacNeil; and shipping supply magnates Dick and Liz Uihlein.
He’s picked up support among the nation’s wealthiest hedge fund managers and private equity bankers.
His top individual donor is Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based investment firm Citadel LLC. Griffin cut DeSantis a $5 million check in April 2021.
Griffin hasn’t committed to backing DeSantis if he runs for president in 2024, although he said it was time for “America to move on” from Trump.
At an event in Chicago, Griffin praised DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic in its early days and his success in protecting the state’s economy. But he said he disagreed with DeSantis’ decision to block county-level mask mandates and his shift away from promoting vaccines.
“In this giant political mess he has made, he has lost the messaging point — and he has been really good on this — about the importance of vaccines,” Griffin said told the Economic Club of Chicago in October.
DeSantis has also found financial industry support from private equity billionaire, John W. Childs, and Hungarian-born business owner Thomas Peterffy, the richest person in Florida, according to Forbes.
Aside from megadonors, DeSantis has raked in more than $1.4 million from people who donated $100 or less to his political committee. About 38% of contributors to his political committee listed an address outside Florida, according to the Sentinel’s analysis.
Notable Florida brands have chipped in too, including Disney, which has given $100,000 to DeSantis’ political committee with the most recent contribution in March 2021.
DeSantis and Disney have since clashed over what critics have called the “don’t say gay” law. Disney announced it is pausing its political contributions in Florida, while DeSantis has blasted the entertainment giant for what he calls “woke” stances on social issues.
[ RELATED: Disney vs. DeSantis: Florida Republicans bash the Mouse, but is it just bluster? ]
DeSantis’ campaign did not respond to messages asking about fundraising and whether DeSantis will return Disney’s contributions.
Publix has given $150,000 to DeSantis’ reelection effort, while the Associated Industries of Florida and other pro-business groups have also given six-figure sums. DeSantis’ top contributor is the Republican Governors Association, which has provided more than $12 million.
DeSantis is not able to draw from his personal fortune like his predecessor Rick Scott. DeSantis reported a net worth of just over $348,800 in June. Scott, now a U.S. senator, spent about $73 million of his own money to boost his name recognition when he first ran for governor in 2010 and put another $12 million into his 2014 reelection campaign.
Democrats far behind in money race
DeSantis has raised far more than the three leading Democratic contenders for governor combined. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist and state Sen. Annette Taddeo are among those squaring off in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary.
Crist, who is leading the Democratic money race, has raised $8.2 million. Unlike DeSantis, Democratic contenders will have to expend some of what they garner battling in the primary.
Eric Johnson, a Democratic political strategist, said DeSantis’ national prominence and polarizing nature will help Democrats raise money once a nominee is chosen.
“The same reason DeSantis has been able to raise $100 million because he is a darling of the national Republican Party is probably the same reason why once there is a nominee they’ll be able to raise national dollars,” he said.
A bigger factor in the race could be how Floridians feel about the economy and Biden’s performance as president, and Democrats need wins at the national level to better their chances in the governor’s race, Johnson said.
Money isn’t everything, but it often is a good indicator of a politician’s strength, said Wagner, the political scientist.
“Money doesn’t guarantee victory, but the absence of it makes it very, very hard to win,” he said.
Biggest benefactors
Here are the top individual donors to Friends of Ron DeSantis dating back to 2018:
Kenneth C. Griffin, $10.8 million: Founder and CEO of the investment firm Citadel LLC, Griffin is the No. 47th richest American with a net worth of $16.1 billion, according to the Forbes 400. Griffin was born in Daytona Beach, grew up in Boca Raton and resides in Chicago. He has been a major GOP donor over the years, but he indicated he won’t back Trump in 2024.
Laura and Ike Perlmutter, $2.6 million: Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, and his wife, Laura, were top donors to Trump. Ike Perlmutter informally advised Trump on veterans issues at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach estate, according to reporting by ProPublica.
Liz and Dick Uihlein, $1.9 million: The New York Times dubbed the Uihleins “the most powerful conservative couple you’ve never heard of.” The Chicago-area couple ranked as the No. 2 conservative donor for the 2020 election, contributing $68.3 million to conservative candidates and causes, according to OpenSecrets. Only the late Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, gave more. Dick Uihlein, an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune, is president of Uline, a shipping and packaging supply company he founded with his wife. His political contributions include $800,000 in September 2020 to Tea Party Patriots, which helped to organize the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the Capitol insurrection.
John W. Childs, $1.3 million: A private-equity billionaire, Childs is a seasonal Florida resident with a home near Vero Beach.
Political Pulse
David MacNeil, $1.1 million: Founder and CEO of WeatherTech, MacNeil donated to Trump. In 2018, he vowed to cut off funding to any Republican who didn’t support protecting young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Charles B. Johnson, $755,000: Principal owner of the San Francisco Giants, Johnson was listed as the top political donor in sports in an October 2020 investigation by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight with nearly $11 million in contributions from 2016-2020.
Bernard Marcus, $750,000: Co-founder of Home Depot, Marcus was also a top Trump donor. He has a home in Palm Beach County.
Paul Tudor Jones II, $650,000: A billionaire Palm Beach hedge fund manager, Jones co-founded the Everglades Foundation, which advocates for the preservation of the Everglades and wetlands.
Walter W. Buckley Jr., $600,000: Buckley is a retired money manager living in North Palm Beach.
Thomas Peterffy, $560,000: With a net worth of $20.1 billion, Peterffy is the richest person in Florida, according to Forbes. The Hungarian-born business owner lives near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. He supported Trump, but Peterffy told Bloomberg News in September that DeSantis was his “favorite man.” He also told Bloomberg earlier that year he didn’t support Trump until he became the Republican nominee and hopes he doesn’t run again.
sswisher@orlandosentinel.com | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-biggest-donors-20220414-e6brcbkqgjgbfjg7zdqq5oykxq-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:42 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-biggest-donors-20220414-e6brcbkqgjgbfjg7zdqq5oykxq-story.html |
KOB Web Staff
Updated: April 14, 2022 08:02 AM
Created: April 14, 2022 08:01 AM
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Beginning Monday, April 18, crews will be closing Golf Course Road at Westside Boulevard as they lay a 20-inch pipeline across the intersection.
The project is expected to close the intersection for two weeks, as crews will be working nonstop 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day to get the project done as soon as possible. Golf Course Rd is expected to reopen Monday, May 2 or sooner if work gets done early.
DETOURS
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/golf-course-road-to-be-closed-for-two-weeks-at-westside-blvd-beginning-april-18-/6446185/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T18:18:43 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/golf-course-road-to-be-closed-for-two-weeks-at-westside-blvd-beginning-april-18-/6446185/?cat=500 |
State Rep. Anthony Sabatini wants backing from lawmakers to hold a special legislative session about a “constitutional carry” gun proposal.
Sabatini, a Howey-in-the-Hills Republican who is running for Congress, made the request Wednesday, two days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that will allow people in Georgia to carry concealed handguns without first getting licenses from the state.
Sabatini, who has frequently clashed with legislative leaders, has proposed constitutional carry bills in recent years, but they have not moved forward. Sabatini is trying to use a process of polling lawmakers to force a special session on the issue.
Under state law, Sabatini would have to get 20 percent of the Legislature, or 32 members, to file letters of support for a special session with the Department of State. If the 20 percent mark is reached, the department would have seven days to poll lawmakers.
A session would be held if it is supported by three-fifths of the House and three-fifths of the Senate. Sabatini is the second Republican lawmaker trying to use the process to go around leaders to spur a special session.
Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, has been awaiting an announcement from the Department of State on his request for lawmakers to be polled about a special session on property insurance. Brandes dropped off more than the required 32 letters of support on Monday.
Lawmakers will begin a special session Tuesday on congressional redistricting, but the insurance and gun issues are not included. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-sabatini-constitutional-carry-special-session-20220414-3yi6qhsy3jax7hyi2wbhdaftmy-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:48 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-sabatini-constitutional-carry-special-session-20220414-3yi6qhsy3jax7hyi2wbhdaftmy-story.html |
KOB 4
Created: April 14, 2022 08:14 AM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — This weekend, S.T.E.A.M. Nights is returning to the Balloon Museum with 'Robots and Drones'
Be Greater Than Average and R4 Creating are teaming up this Saturday with the Balloon Museum for another edition of S.T.E.A.M. Nights, featuring a build-your-own-robot exhibit, 3-D printing, music by DJ Melanie Moore, food by the Munchie Truck and drinks by Vara.
The fun goes from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., April 16, at the Balloon Museum.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for New Mexican adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for people ages 6-17 and free for kids ages 5 and under.
For more information, visit the Balloon Museum website.
Colton Shone was joined by Dr. Shelly Gruenig, the founder of Be Greater Than Average, as she brought some tech-y fun to the studio, including her robot friend.
Click the video above to view Colton's interview with Dr. Gruenig.
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/steam-nights-returns-april-16-with-robots-and-drones/6446188/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T18:18:49 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/steam-nights-returns-april-16-with-robots-and-drones/6446188/?cat=500 |
CORAL GABLES — Alabama coach Nick Saban criticized the NCAA’s current rules regarding name, image and likeness, saying the current environment was not “sustainable” and that it “creates a situation where you can basically buy players.”
In South Florida, Miami Hurricanes coach and former Saban assistant Mario Cristobal is embracing NIL opportunities for his players.
“Football is changing,” Cristobal said Thursday. “Like anything else in life, you adapt to how things change. I think it’s really neat that guys can profit off of their name, image and likeness.”
Florida state law prohibits university officials or employees from directing NIL deals to players or recruits and prohibits compensation “provided in exchange for athletic performance or attendance at a particular institution.”
But players and boosters have advertised NIL deals on social media, which is viewable by anyone — including prospects considering the Hurricanes. Several players have posted about signing NIL deals where they have received cars.
“I think it sells itself,” Cristobal said. “Let’s call it what it is. I can go and grab statistical information that will blow people away on the financial capabilities of a city like Miami, its alumni and how well it’s doing in the NIL world. But I think that’s already out there. I think that’s been advertised and has been highlighted. So I like to focus on the other stuff, you know, because that is a piece of it. And it’s reality, so we don’t ignore it. But I think it’s obvious to the rest of the world if you want to compare what’s being done here to everywhere else, I think it’s out Miami’s blowing people away and not by a little.”
Although it doesn’t hurt to have prospective players seeing the flashier benefits of playing for the Hurricanes, Cristobal said he thinks there are wide-ranging perks to playing at UM, including learning from the coaching staff, the education the school provides and living in Coral Gables.
“I still walk in the door and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s Charlie Strong. Damn,’” Cristobal said. “He’s here as a co-coordinator and coach. There’s Kevin Steele and there’s (Joe) Salave’a and there’s (Alex) Mirabal, there’s Josh Gattis, there’s Kevin Smith, coach (Frank) Ponce. It goes on and on and on. I don’t want to leave out anybody. There’s a Jason Taylor. A couple gold jackets walking around. There’s a couple of NFL players, some high-level coaches walking around. And the best part is that they do this.
“So that combination, along with the people, the networking system, the alumni here, a private-school education, living in Coral Gables, which — I remember driving around in a ‘68 Impala, trying my whole life to get into Coral Gables and it was really hard. So being able to go to school here and being part of a community like this, it’s unmatched. So instead of bragging about it, you just show it. You show facts so that people understand that we’re working really hard to show what we have and we focus on selling us and stay away from negative recruitment.”
Gattis surprised with Broyles Award trophy
Hurricanes offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was named the Broyles Award winner for the nation’s top assistant coach in December, but he was surprised with the trophy presentation during his post-practice press conference on Thursday.
“It’s truly an honor,” Gattis said. “It’s one I really hold in the highest regard. Obviously, as an assistant coach, this is always a dream for any coach to be honored with the Broyles Award.”
Gattis won the award after helping lead Michigan to the College Football Playoff last season. Gattis’ offense was 16th in the nation with 35.8 points per game.
Gattis’ colleagues congratulated him on social media, and Cristobal added his praise.
“Congratulations to coach Gattis again for being presented the Broyles Award,” Cristobal said. “Certainly, that’s the highest honor you can have as an assistant coach, and he’s certainly been a game-changer for us since his arrival from a lot of different standpoints — from a cultural standpoint, a schematic standpoint, his credibility, his ability to teach and motivate. His scheme really fits the footprint of our recruiting area. It really does. Really, congrats. Super happy for him and really excited for what’s to come.”
Logan Sagapolu shooting for a half-ton squat
Offensive lineman Logan Sagapolu followed Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal from Oregon to Miami in the offseason, and the new Hurricane lineman brings strength to the weight room.
“I come from a powerlifting background, so I love the squat,” Sagapolu said. “Squatting is probably my favorite one. The most I’ve ever done is 800 pounds.”
But Sagapolu doesn’t want to stop at 800 pounds. He wants to add more weight.
“I want to squat 1,000 pounds,” Sagapolu said. “Probably have to go back to my old powerlifting way of lifting, but other than that, that’s like my goal: squat 1,000 before I die.” | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/miami-hurricanes/fl-sp-um-thursday-20220414-gwgxrtuqgfc5hc7jdgy54mkloe-story.html | 2022-04-14T18:18:54 | 1 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/miami-hurricanes/fl-sp-um-thursday-20220414-gwgxrtuqgfc5hc7jdgy54mkloe-story.html |
Jonathan Fjeld
Updated: April 14, 2022 07:38 AM
Created: April 14, 2022 07:18 AM
RUIDOSO, N.M. — New Mexico State Police is investigating the death of an elderly couple who tried Tuesday to evacuate the McBride Fire.
The couple was found Wednesday at their Ruidoso residence on Gavilan Canyon Road.
Firefighters reportedly responded to a structure fire, believed to be at the residence, around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. However, police were notified by family in the evening that the couple tried to evacuate but were unaccounted for.
In a coordinated effort with police, State Police and the Bonita Volunteer Fire Department, they investigated and found the remains of an elderly couple at the Gavilan Canyon Road home.
State Police is working with the medical investigator's office to find out the identities of the two individuals. Once positively identified, they will notify next-of-kin and then release the identities.
The New Mexico State Fire Marshal's Office, the Village of Ruidoso and the U.S. Forest Service are assisting State Police in the active and ongoing investigation.
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/nmsp-two-people-found-dead-in-mcbride-fire-evacuation-attempt/6446123/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T18:18:55 | 1 | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/nmsp-two-people-found-dead-in-mcbride-fire-evacuation-attempt/6446123/?cat=500 |
Steve Stucker
Created: April 14, 2022 07:17 AM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thursday is starting a little cooler but temperatures will be picking up as the day progresses.
Thankfully, the wind will not be picking up as much – as breezes are expected to be calmer Thursday. However, in eastern portions of the state, red flag warnings remain posted.
We hope to brighten your spirits today with the salute and hope these wildfires let up soon.
Click the video above to view Steve's full Thursday morning forecast.
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/steve-stucker-calmer-winds-arrive-but-fire-danger-remains-in-the-east/6446122/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T18:19:02 | 0 | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/steve-stucker-calmer-winds-arrive-but-fire-danger-remains-in-the-east/6446122/?cat=500 |
KOB Web Staff
Created: April 14, 2022 10:40 AM
RUIDOSO, N.M. — Officials held a news conference to update the McBride Fire in Ruidoso and the separate Nogal Canyon Fire north of Ruidoso.
The update comes Thursday morning as the McBride Fire has now burned over 5,700 acres, including 207 homes – and claimed two lives. A Type 1 Management Team has taken over response to the McBride Fire and the Nogal Canyon Fire.
Click the video above to watch the full news conference and update on the wildfires.
MORE:
Copyright 2022 - KOB-TV LLC, A Hubbard Broadcasting Company | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/watch-officials-update-the-mcbride-fire-and-nogal-canyon-fire-/6446323/?cat=500 | 2022-04-14T18:19:08 | 0 | https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/watch-officials-update-the-mcbride-fire-and-nogal-canyon-fire-/6446323/?cat=500 |
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose to a three-month high in early April as optimism about job growth and wage expectations more than outweighed decades-high inflation.
The University of Michigan's sentiment index increased to 65.7 from 59.4 in March, data released Thursday showed. The figure exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which had a median forecast of 59.
The survey's measure of future expectations climbed to 64.1, the highest since January. The monthly increase of almost 10 points was the largest since 2006. A gauge of current conditions increased to 68.1.
Consumers still expect inflation to rise 5.4% over the next year, and their expectations for price increases in the next five to 10 years remained at 3%. That's a good sign that they don't see inflation worsening much more.
Americans see their wages rising and the economy improving, bolstering sentiment about their personal finances. They also see a smaller rise in gas prices, supporting anticipation of improved inflation-adjusted incomes.
Healthy employment gains helped bolster wage expectations among respondents younger than age 45. Households expect income gains to rise 2.7%, the biggest increase since 2006.
Even so, inflation is still outpacing wage gains and straining Americans' budgets, especially as prices for everyday items like food and gas are higher after Russia's war in Ukraine. While pump prices have come down somewhat, grocery bills are likely to remain expensive for some time to come, leaving little disposable income for other purchases.
Data this week showed U.S. consumer prices rose in March by 8.5%, the most since late 1981, while producer prices in that month rose the most in records back to 2010. A report earlier Thursday showed retail sales rose 0.5% in March, led by an increase in gasoline receipts.
The Michigan data may help to sooth concerns about the prospects of a recession, which some economists fear will be the result of an aggressive Federal Reserve combined with the impact of higher inflation on spending. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/business/u-s-consumer-sentiment-unexpectedly-rises-to-three-month-high/article_c4d257dc-decf-521f-bc61-db3a374ff5a9.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:28 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/business/u-s-consumer-sentiment-unexpectedly-rises-to-three-month-high/article_c4d257dc-decf-521f-bc61-db3a374ff5a9.html |
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to forcibly touching a woman at a Manhattan nightclub in 2018, according to the Associated Press. The sexual misconduct allegation was among many made against Gooding, who was arrested three years ago by the New York Police Department.
The Associated Press reported that Gooding, 54, previously pleaded not guilty to this charge and several other misdemeanor counts. The Washington Post has reached out to his representatives for comment on Wednesday's plea.
Gooding was arrested in June 2019 on a misdemeanor charge after a woman told police he touched her without her consent a few days earlier at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge. A few months later, according to ABC News, two more women came forward and accused him of forcibly touching them in 2018 at Tao Downtown and the Lavo New York nightclub, respectively.
In Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday, according to the AP, Gooding told the judge that he "kissed the waitress on her lips" without her consent at the Lavo nightclub.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said the plea deal does not call for any jail time, and instead requires Gooding to have no new arrests and continue "alcohol and behavior modification treatment" for six more months. If he fulfills these terms, he can withdraw his plea and submit a new one for a lesser, second-degree harassment charge. If he does not, he could face up to a year in jail.
Gooding's attorney Peter Toumbekis said in a statement that Gooding "entered into a re-pleader today whereby in six months his case will be disposed of with a violation, which is not a crime, resulting in no criminal record."
The judge previously ruled that if the case had gone to trial, prosecutors would have been able to seek testimony from two women whose allegations did not lead to criminal charges, and who were among 19 additional people who have also accused Gooding of misconduct.
An assistant district attorney, Coleen Balbert, revealed in court Wednesday -- and on the record for the first time -- that the judge had reversed this ruling, the office said.
Gooding, who broke out with 1991's "Boyz N the Hood," is best known for his Oscar-winning turn in the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire." He earned an Emmy nomination in 2016 for playing the title role in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." He appeared to take a break from acting after his 2019 arrest but has since starred in a few films, one of which is in postproduction.
In January, Reuters reported that Gooding asked a federal judge to dismiss a $6 million lawsuit from 2020 claiming he raped a woman twice in 2013. Gooding has denied the allegations. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/actor-cuba-gooding-jr-pleads-guilty-to-forcible-touching/article_74557d63-b27a-51e3-a1fe-cdbbc0c28594.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:34 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/actor-cuba-gooding-jr-pleads-guilty-to-forcible-touching/article_74557d63-b27a-51e3-a1fe-cdbbc0c28594.html |
DURHAM, N.C. -- After an incredible run on Broadway, "Pretty Woman The Musical" is headed to the Durham Performance Arts Center later this month.
The love story is based on the 1990 movie, and arrives at the DPAC April 19th.
More information here.
Pretty Woman The Musical at DPAC
Related topics:
abc11 together
abc11 together
ABC11 TOGETHER | https://abc11.com/pretty-woman-musical-dpac-broadway/11747927/ | 2022-04-14T18:29:38 | 1 | https://abc11.com/pretty-woman-musical-dpac-broadway/11747927/ |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/jury-finds-member-of-islamic-state-beatles-cell-guilty-of-terrorism-offenses/article_579cc543-dc4a-5c83-9b59-92ada7a8ae41.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:40 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/jury-finds-member-of-islamic-state-beatles-cell-guilty-of-terrorism-offenses/article_579cc543-dc4a-5c83-9b59-92ada7a8ae41.html |
Fourteen months after fleeing New Hampshire, Timothy Johnson returned to the state on Wednesday and was charged with killing a fellow homeless man outside a Manchester shelter.
Johnson, 39, faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Jean Lascelle, who was 67 when shot and killed while smoking a cigarette outside the doors of the temporary homeless shelter for the 2020-21 winter. Johnson also faces a charge of firearm possession by a felon.
He was caught four days after the Feb. 13, 2021, shooting inside a stolen car in Framingham, Mass.
Both Lascelle and Johnson were living at the temporary Families in Transition shelter at the time of the shooting. While Lascelle, a registered sex offender, kept to himself, Johnson was avoided. Shelter residents had said he had full blown conversations with himself and would scream sometimes.
According to Agati, a motive for the killing has not been established.
"I don't know what Mr. Johnson was thinking about when he was alleged to have done the crimes," he said.
Agati said a defendant's competency to stand trial can be raised in any prosecution, and that would be up to Johnson's lawyer.
On Thursday, Johnson's public defender consulted briefly with Agati, who announced that Johnson had waived his courtroom arraignment and agreed to be held without bail at Valley Street jail.
Johnson has a record that includes at least two felonies: attempted home invasion and larceny in southeastern Michigan. That made it illegal for him to possess a handgun.
While most New Hampshire defendants arrested in Massachusetts readily agree to return to New Hampshire, Johnson had challenged his extradition.
"It's Mr. Johnson's right; if he chooses to do that certainly he can do that," Agati said. That involved lengthy proceedings where Johnson challenged whether he was the actual person identified in warrants signed by the governors of both states, Agati said.
Courts in both Framingham and Middlesex County ruled against him, and Agati praised the efforts of Framingham Police, the Middlesex County District Attorney and the Massachusetts Attorney General to work through the process and have him returned to New Hampshire.
Agati said the case will be eventually presented to a grand jury. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/man-returned-to-new-hampshire-to-face-charge-in-homeless-shelter-killing/article_88e98ec3-bee2-5307-9d3d-1e602539dd20.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:46 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/man-returned-to-new-hampshire-to-face-charge-in-homeless-shelter-killing/article_88e98ec3-bee2-5307-9d3d-1e602539dd20.html |
BRUNSWICK, Maine — Shoppers aren't aware, but every night, workers at the new Hannaford Supermarkets store here at Cook's Corner pull down what look like polyester window shades across the walls of produce cases. Sure, they help keep vegetables from drying out. But their real value is holding in the refrigerated air, which reduces energy costs and saves money.
"Most of our stores have these now," said George Parmenter, who leads Hannaford's health and sustainability efforts.
Pulling down shades every night at 184 stores across the Northeast is one strategy designed to move Hannaford toward the company's newest goal: run its supermarkets on 100 percent renewable electricity by 2024. Other strategies include meat cases that can be closed and motion-sensitive lights in freezer cases.
It's an aggressive timetable, but it's just one step in an even more ambitious goal in the climate-change-fight for Hannaford's parent company, Ahold Delhaize. The global retailer is striving to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040, and its entire supply chain by 2050. That will require a drastic reduction in burning fossil fuels for uses such as transportation, heating and cooking.
"We understand this is going to be a journey for everyone," Parmenter said.
Energy is among the top expenses for supermarkets. And because profit margins can be as low as 1 percent, food retailers are always looking for ways to use less electricity and fossil fuels.
In recent years, the global imperative around slowing climate change has led some corporations to double down on reducing both power consumption and their carbon footprints, according to the Food Marketing Institute. Advances in solar and wind power technologies and government policies that encourage them are making renewable energy a big part of the solution. Nationally, Target has set a goal of using 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030; Walmart is shooting for that benchmark by 2035.
These goals don't mean that each store will have on-site, 24/7 renewable generation. Hannaford has rooftop solar on 10 stores. Its store on Cony Street in Augusta, for instance, has a solar array that provides up to 5 percent of its electricity needs. When it opened in 2009, that store was the first in North America to earn a government-recognized LEED Platinum designation for using half the energy of similar-sized grocery stores.
And while a growing number of retailers do have solar-electric panels on site, the prevailing practice is to sign contracts with companies that produce power elsewhere at larger-scale solar and wind farms.
In Hannaford's case, that currently involves partnering with more than 30 mid-sized community solar projects in Maine, Massachusetts and New York. These partnerships already provide roughly 30 percent of the chain's electricity, the equivalent of the energy needed to power 16,000 typical homes.
To get to 100 percent, the next stage will involve contracting with more mid-sized solar farms, but also signing contracts for larger, utility-scale projects.
"Powering Hannaford with 100-percent renewable energy sources will make an immediate, positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions," said Mike Vail, Hannaford's president. "This is an important leap forward in our sustainability journey, and one that we hope sparks others to join. Prioritizing the health of our communities and the planet is a win for us all."
Reducing energy demand
To economically get to 100 percent renewable electricity, Hannaford, which is announcing its renewable energy goal Thursday, also has to do what it can to reduce demand as much as possible in all its stores.
A typical supermarket has three big electricity loads, according to the Ratio Institute, a sustainability consultant that works with food retailers, including Hannaford. Refrigeration accounts for 40 to 60 percent; heating, ventilation and air conditioning use 20 to 30 percent; and lighting is 15 to 25 percent.
Strategies to reduce those loads are evident in the Cook's Corner store, which opened in 2021.
In the deli area, many of the meat cases have sliding glass tops. That sounds like a simple fix, but the conventional wisdom in food merchandising for many years has been to have open cases, to reduce any barrier for a shopper selecting a product.
A glass door can cut energy costs by 70 percent, Parmenter noted, which really adds up across thousands of refrigerated display cases in 184 stores. So if someone wants to buy an Easter ham at Cook's Corner this week, they'll have to slide open a glass door.
Across the deli, open cases with packaged, refrigerated foods are still in use. At night, workers will pull down the shades, but Hannaford hasn't yet decided to put doors on these cases.
"It's an evolution of what shoppers will accept," Parmenter said.
Because refrigeration is such a big cost, food retailers have learned how to make the energy go further. At the Augusta and Cook's Corner stores, heat that is given off as part of the refrigeration process is cycled back to recovery units hidden in back rooms. That otherwise-wasted heat is used to warm the store and water.
Lighting is critical, because retailers want to put their goods in the best light to attract shoppers. Of course, everything in this store is brightly illuminated with efficient LED lights. The frozen food aisles are an exception; they are noticeably darker. But if someone walks down an aisle in search of ice cream or french fries, motion sensors immediately flip on LEDs inside the cases.
Light years ahead
Beyond electricity, Hannaford will need to reduce its use of fossil fuels to hit the future carbon emission targets. It has been experimenting with running trucks on biodiesel, refined from the vegetable oil used in its fryers. Over time, it will need to phase out cooking equipment that uses natural gas or propane, as illustrated by the blue flame visible inside the pizza oven here.
Hannaford's initiatives have drawn praise from Peter Cooke, co-founder of the Ratio Institute and a former business sustainability program designer at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. He later created a Grocery Stewardship certification and works with stores nationwide.
"Hannaford is light years ahead of the rest of the industry when it comes to their sustainability efforts — and they've been doing so for well over a decade," Cooke said in a statement. "Hannaford associates continue to rally behind making the company more sustainable and that is an advantage to their current and future success in making the planet healthier and greener."
The company's efforts also are being recognized by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.
"With Maine already facing the acute effects of climate change, I commend Hannaford for taking action by pledging a move to a 100 percent clean energy system by 2024," said Pingree, who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment. "I hope their pledge inspires other companies to embrace renewable energy and sustainable practices."
Hannaford's sustainability actions include being the nation's first grocery retailer to introduce reusable bags in the mid-1980s. It is expanding electric vehicle charging stations to parking lots and currently has 163 plugs at 31 stores. Last year, it became the first large-scale grocery retailer in its marketplace to achieve zero food waste going to landfills or incinerators, by donating or diverting all food at risk of going to waste.
Hannaford Supermarkets operates stores in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. It employs nearly 30,000 workers and is based in Scarborough.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/environment/hannafords-goal-use-only-renewable-power-by-2024/article_2901a4f7-b1e0-57b7-a463-39d501ba29ca.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:52 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/environment/hannafords-goal-use-only-renewable-power-by-2024/article_2901a4f7-b1e0-57b7-a463-39d501ba29ca.html |
Ron Covey, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Bank, will be honored as the next Greater Manchester Chamber Citizen of the Year.
Over the past 14 years, he helped grow the nation’s oldest credit union.
Beyond his executive role at the bank, Covey is a volunteer, philanthropist and community leader, wrote Ken Senus, chief operating officer of St. Mary’s Bank in a nomination letter.
“He considers, at every turn, what he does for others. Ron ultimately demonstrates the values that unequivocally qualify him to be Citizen of the Year. Ron never seeks any attention for the good work that he does, he does it because he has a passion for helping others,” Senus wrote.
Covey, 65, of Hooksett, will be honored during a celebration at 5 p.m. June 15 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Manchester. The annual event is sponsored by the Elliot.
Married with two children, Covey grew up on the West Side of Manchester not too far from the credit union’s headquarters. He became the credit union’s eighth president in 2008.
At St. Mary’s, he has made it his goal to build on the credit union’s mission to serve the ever-diversifying population of Manchester.
He serves on the Boys & Girls Club Greater Manchester, America’s Credit Union Museum, Daniel Webster Council nonprofit boards and the advisory board of the University of New Hampshire at Manchester.
Heather McGrail, interim CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber added, “Leadership and personal integrity are at the core of what it means to be a Citizen of the Year. Ron has embodied a deep commitment to service in the pursuit of lifting others throughout his entire career.” | https://www.unionleader.com/news/human_interest/st-marys-ceo-ron-covey-named-manchester-chambers-citizen-of-the-year/article_5f59c81a-d084-56b1-9da7-8d3e480b8ed6.html | 2022-04-14T18:29:58 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/human_interest/st-marys-ceo-ron-covey-named-manchester-chambers-citizen-of-the-year/article_5f59c81a-d084-56b1-9da7-8d3e480b8ed6.html |
U.S. officials announced Wednesday the discovery of an alarmingly sophisticated and effective system for attacking industrial facilities that includes the ability to cause explosions in the energy industry.
The officials did not say which country they believed had developed the system, which was found before it was used, and they kept mum about who found the software and how.
But private security experts who worked in parallel with government agencies to analyze the system said it was likely to be Russian, that its top target was probably liquefied natural gas production facilities, and that it would take months or years to develop strong defenses against it.
That combination makes the discovery of the system, dubbed Pipedream by industrial control security experts Dragos Inc., the realization of the worst fears of longtime cybersecurity experts. Some compared it to Stuxnet, which the United States and Israel used more than a dozen years ago to damage equipment used in Iran's nuclear program.
The program manipulates equipment found in virtually all complex industrial plants rather than capitalizing on unknown flaws that can be easily fixed, so almost any plant could fall victim, investigators said.
"This is going to take years to recover from," said Sergio Caltagirone, vice president of threat intelligence at Dragos and a former global technical lead at the National Security Agency.
The initial report of the system's discovery came in a joint warning notice issued by the NSA, the Energy Department, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI. The agencies urged the energy sector and others to install monitoring programs and require multifactor authentication for remote logins, among other steps.
The "tools have a modular architecture and enable cyber actors to conduct highly automated exploits against targeted devices," the advisory said.
Dragos said the malicious computer code was probably aimed at liquefied natural gas plants because its most detailed attack methods appeared intended to target equipment that would be in such facilities.
In particular, the programs contain methods for subverting controllers made by France's Schneider Electric and Omron of Japan, as well as open-source framework for moving data from sensors into applications, called OPC Unified Architecture.
The software is intended to take advantage of longstanding issues that make defending control systems difficult. Those include the industry's requirements for compatibility among products made by different vendors, which means that data flowing from one type of equipment to the next must do so unencrypted.
Another systemic flaw is that it is hard to monitor what is going on inside physical equipment.
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the software was its seeming effort to target the way most industrial facilities protect themselves from cyberattack by keeping aspects of the operation separated from one another.
Pipedream can target hundreds of types of what are known as programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, which link operations. A few previous industrial attacks, including one attributed by Western intelligence to Russia against energy facilities, attacked a specific kind of PLC used in safety equipment.
Two years ago, the United States sanctioned a Russian lab it said was behind the software, called Triton or Trisis, used in that 2017 attack on a Saudi petrochemical plant. That attack cost millions of dollars to the plant's production but could have been far worse if it had worked as designed.
Pipedream goes further, using the omnipresent code in PLCs to break through layers and probe more deeply into the heart of a facility.
Based largely on previous attacks, security firm Mandiant said Russia was probably behind the new system and that those at greatest risk from it in the near term included Ukraine and NATO countries protecting it from Russia's attack.
The attack kit "contains capabilities related to disruption, sabotage, and potentially physical destruction. While we are unable to definitively attribute the malware, we note that the activity is consistent with Russia's historical interest," said Mandiant Director of Intelligence Analysis Nathan Brubaker.
Liquefied natural gas, including from the United States, is playing a growing role as an alternative to Russian oil and gas imports that the European Union has pledged to reduce because of the invasion. | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/malware-was-intended-to-attack-natural-gas-plants-u-s-says/article_37aac603-8819-5bdd-be52-854fa19d9bea.html | 2022-04-14T18:30:04 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/military/malware-was-intended-to-attack-natural-gas-plants-u-s-says/article_37aac603-8819-5bdd-be52-854fa19d9bea.html |
CONCORD — Along party lines Thursday, the State Senate killed a popular, House-passed bill (HB 579) that would have required local police inform the public prior to the federal government installing immigration checkpoints on New Hampshire highways.
Senate Republicans said giving out the details of where these random stops would occur only help criminals or illegal immigrants get around them.
“It makes no sense to give traffickers bringing fentanyl and illegal immigrants across our borders prior notice so they can evade immigration checkpoints,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro. “Even members of our congressional delegation are finally admitting that we have a problem with border enforcement. We shouldn’t be making it harder to prevent illegal border crossings and drug smuggling.”
Senate Democrats said this notice would be similar to what the state does when local police advertise where there will be checkpoints to find drunken or drugged drivers.
“These immigration checkpoints have been used for fishing expeditions for other unlawful activities,” said Sen. Becky Whitley, D-Hopkinton.
Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy of Manchester said the state's Constitution contains a ban on illegal search and seizures that’s stronger than the federal standard.
“This is very reasonable, practical legislation,” Soucy said.
The Senate vote to kill the bill was 14-10, with all Republicans in support and all Democrats in opposition.
Last month, the House of Representatives had endorsed this bipartisan bill by an overwhelming margin of 254-85.
Critics: Burden for small police depts.
Sen. Harold French, R-Canterbury, said these requirements could be onerous, especially for smaller police departments near the Canadian border.
But supporters said this did not make local police have to do their own research on these checkpoints. Instead, they have to give at least 24-hour notice to the public via the local media on any plans they learn about from federal colleagues.
In the Upper Valley, these checkpoints have stopped ambulances from getting patients to trauma centers for live-saving treatment, said Sen. Suzann Prentiss, D-Lebanon, and an emergency medical technician.
Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, said this is not a proper role for state government.
“The sobriety checkpoints? We are in control of those. This is different; this is the federal government doing its job and now we are going to put a burden on our local law enforcement to give us notice? To what purpose is what I ask?” Carson said. “We are not responsible for immigration; that is not our job, it is the job of the federal government and we know they aren’t doing that job.” | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/state/nh-senate-kills-requiring-local-police-to-warn-public-when-feds-are-trolling-for-immigrants/article_4a9a0ce1-895f-514d-9ba5-8d4c19507606.html | 2022-04-14T18:30:11 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/state/nh-senate-kills-requiring-local-police-to-warn-public-when-feds-are-trolling-for-immigrants/article_4a9a0ce1-895f-514d-9ba5-8d4c19507606.html |
$80 million ‘Field of Dreams’ movie site expansion unveiled
DYERSVILLE, Iowa (KCRG/Gray News) - The “Field of Dreams” movie site will soon feature more baseball fields, team dormitories, a hotel and an outdoor concert amphitheater.
The new owners of the “Field of Dreams” movie site, Go the Distance Baseball, LLC, unveiled their master plan to expand the site after buying it in September.
The $80 million expansion will add nearly 100 acres to the original 190-acre site. That additional land will provide space for nine new baseball fields, dormitories for youth teams, and a hotel to be completed in phases by the end of 2023.
Other additions include a 100,000-square-foot field house, an outdoor concert amphitheater, an RV park, jogging trails and a large park inclusive for children and adults with disabilities. These additions will be completed in phases through 2025.
In a news release, Go the Distance Baseball said the plan will create a youth baseball and softball oasis while maintaining the property as a working farm.
“I am grateful for all that the game of baseball gave me throughout my career, and now I am proud and excited to lead a team that is building opportunities for players, fans and families to enjoy our national pastime and for teams to train and compete,” said Frank Thomas, CEO of Go the Distance Baseball and a first-ballot member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Go the Distance Baseball also said the development will create about 170 new full-time equivalent jobs.
Copyright 2022 KCRG via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/80-million-field-dreams-movie-site-expansion-unveiled/ | 2022-04-14T18:31:19 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/80-million-field-dreams-movie-site-expansion-unveiled/ |
Congresswoman Moore again tests positive for COVID-19
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore says she’s again tested positive for COVID-19
MILWAUKEE (AP) — U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore says she’s again tested positive for COVID-19.
Moore, along with many of Wisconsin's highest-ranking Democrats, attended Wednesday's inauguration of Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Moore sat next to Gov. Tony Evers at the ceremony. She was wearing a mask.
“Today, I was experiencing very mild symptoms associated with COVID-19. I got tested as a precaution and tested positive for COVID-19,” Moore said in a statement late Wednesday.
Evers tested negative for the virus on Thursday morning, his spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said.
Moore previously tested positive in December 2020. In January 2021, she announced she was cleared to return to work after six days.
Moore joins is a growing list of Washington officials who are testing positive for COVID-19. House members are under a home district work schedule this week.
Moore is vaccinated and said she is quarantining.
“I am following guidance from my doctors and quarantining. Please remain vigilant against COVID-19 by wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, and practicing social distancing when possible,” she said. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/congresswoman-moore-again-tests-positive-covid-19/ | 2022-04-14T18:31:26 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/congresswoman-moore-again-tests-positive-covid-19/ |
COVID relief is stalled in the Senate with lawmakers on a two-week recess
The Senate is debating a $10 billion package that would provide funding to handle another potential surge in COVID-19 cases as the BA.2 subvariant causes cases to rise.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The omicron BA.2 subvariant is causing a rise in COVID-19 cases in certain areas of the country. The uptick has lawmakers on Capitol Hill working on another relief funding package.
The Senate is debating a $10 billion package that would provide funding to help handle another possible nationwide surge in COVID cases. Reps. Susie Lee (D-NV) and Dina Titus (D-NV) argue the bill needs to pass immediately. The package stalled before lawmakers left for a two week recess a week ago.
As parts of the northeast are seeing a surge in cases, lawmakers moved toward passing the bill that would bolster funding for things like therapeutics, testing, and vaccines. The stalemate occurred when Republicans tried to add in language in the bill that would prevent the Biden administration from ending a restrictive immigration policy enacted under President Donald Trump for national health reasons.
In response to the Biden administration’s decision to end the public health order under Title 42, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “This White House is using the pandemic as a pretext to shamelessly pick and choose liberal policies to advance. The effects will be functionally open borders while a state of emergency continues for Americans. Completely unacceptable.”
Lee and Titus said the funding package needs to pass before another nationwide crisis.
“The problem with government is too often it’s reactive as opposed to proactive. So we often wait until something becomes a disaster before we get involved in trying to fix it,” said Titus.
“Make these types of what I call a smart investment in preparedness ahead of the curve. I think it’s incredibly important,” said Lee.
Lawmakers will not return to Capitol Hill until the week of April 25, which means picking back up debate on the package is still more than 10 days away, and passing a final bill is even further off.
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/covid-relief-is-stalled-senate-with-lawmakers-two-week-recess/ | 2022-04-14T18:31:33 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/covid-relief-is-stalled-senate-with-lawmakers-two-week-recess/ |
DNR restarts effort to set bacteria standards in groundwater
The state Department of Natural Resources has restarted efforts to set standards for bacteria in groundwater after conservatives on the agency’s policy board killed the attempt in February
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources has restarted efforts to set standards for bacteria in groundwater after conservatives on the agency’s policy board killed the attempt in February.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the board on Wednesday authorized a public hearing and comment period on a new rule-making process to set groundwater standards for E. coli bacteria.
DNR officials spent two-and-a-half years developing a package of rules setting groundwater standards for E. coli, PFAS chemicals and other pollutants but the board scrapped the package in February. The board’s conservative majority said then that federal regulators have yet to set standards for PFAS and they were concerned about the state getting out in front of them. They also said they were worried about the cost of compliance.
Board Chairman Greg Kazmierski said the DNR shouldn't have lumped PFAS in with the other substances. He said the standards for them were “a victim of the process.”
The board’s vote Wednesday gives the department until Sept. 21, 2024 to submit a new rule to the Legislature. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/dnr-restarts-effort-set-bacteria-standards-groundwater/ | 2022-04-14T18:31:42 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/dnr-restarts-effort-set-bacteria-standards-groundwater/ |
Migrants bused from Texas arrive in Washington, DC
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 12:55 PM CDT|Updated: 35 minutes ago
(CNN) - The first round of migrants bused from Texas to Washington, D.C. arrived at Union Station on Wednesday, with a second arriving early Thursday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott started this voluntary transfer of immigrants as a way to blast the Biden administration’s border policies.
Abbott, a Republican, issued a statement saying his state shouldn’t have to “bear the burden of the Biden administration’s failure to secure our border.”
Officials from Catholic Charities D.C. were on hand to meet the migrants and offered assistance, including food and medical care.
So far, there’s been no comment from either the Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/migrants-bused-texas-arrive-washington-dc/ | 2022-04-14T18:31:51 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/14/migrants-bused-texas-arrive-washington-dc/ |