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Official Naming Rights partner of home of the Miami Marlins and Official Mortgage Provider of the team pledges $50 for every Marlins run scored at loanDepot park throughout the season – with a special donation increase of $1,000 per run scored by Marlins players at the team's Home Opener on April 14
Builds on $16,300 raised during 2021 season to launch inaugural Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Marlins Youth Academy Jr. RBI Northwest teams (2)
loanDepot hosted Jr. RBI Northwest teams at home opener; including pre-game pep-talk with loanDepot EVP TJ Freeborn and Miami Marlins Players Jon Berti, Bryan De La Cruz and Payton Henry
MIAMI, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade, loanDepot, the nation's second largest nonbank retail lender has announced the return of its "Runs Scored" program with the Miami Marlins Foundation. In its second season as Official Naming Rights partner of the home of the Miami Marlins and Official Mortgage Provider of the team, loanDepot has once again pledged $50 for every Marlins run scored at loanDepot park – which includes a bonus of $1,000 per run at today's Home Opener.
loanDepot's EVP, Chief Administrative Officer TJ Freeborn was on hand at loanDepot park before the game to make the announcement with Miami Marlins Foundation Executive Director Raquel "Rocky" Egusquiza, Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade President Alex Rodriguez-Roig and kids from Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade benefiting from the program.
"loanDepot park is our home away from home," said Freeborn. "We care deeply about the communities where Team loanDepot lives and works, which is why we're so passionate about supporting those served by the Miami Marlins Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade."
As a result of more than $16,000 donated by loanDepot through the Runs Scored program in its first year of the partnership in 2021, the Miami Marlins Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade received enough money to fund the creation of two youth baseball and softball teams for 30 kids at the Northwest Club in the community of Liberty City. The teams are part of the Marlins Youth Academy Jr. RBI program, which helps to grow and promote baseball and softball while teaching the fundamentals and life lessons learned through the game. With today's bonus and an expected increase in runs this season, the program could raise more than $25,000.
"Since joining the Marlins family last year, loanDepot and CEO Anthony Hsieh have stepped up to the plate in such a big way," said Egusquiza. "With the renewal of the Runs Scored program they've given Marlins fans yet another great reason to cheer this season. We're proud to call loanDepot a partner as they work alongside us to grow the sport of baseball and support those who need it most in our community."
Amidst the announcement, loanDepot and the Miami Marlins Foundation hosted the Northwest Club's Jr. RBI teams and their coaches at the Marlins' 2022 Home Opener. Prior to the game, the kids enjoyed a special pre-game experience where they stepped onto the big-league field alongside Freeborn, and Marlins players Jon Berti, Bryan De La Cruz and Payton Henry.
"Thanks to loanDepot and the Miami Marlins Foundation's support, we're able to provide this opportunity for 30 kids, who may not otherwise have the chance to play and learn the sport of baseball – or even step foot in an MLB ballpark," said Rodriguez-Roig. "The money donated by loanDepot will pay for fundamentals, like equipment, uniforms and coaching staff, things that other communities don't need to think twice about. Paired with the experience and advice they received today, we're making a lasting, positive impact on these kids and the community."
In addition to the Runs Scored program, loanDepot and Hsieh worked with the Miami Marlins Foundation last year to address the immediate needs of the survivors of the Surfside condo collapse, donating $50,000 to the Surfside Relief Fund. The company also hosted community nights at Marlins home games for kids and staff from Boys & Girls Clubs and other organizations in the loanDepot suite.
The Runs Scored program runs in parallel to loanDepot's "Home Means Everything" RBI campaign with Major League Baseball, donating $25 for every RBI of the season to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and local clubs, including those in Miami-Dade county. That program kicked off with a special $250 per RBI donation during the first two days of the MLB season last Thursday and Friday, raising $29,500.
loanDepot is also the Official Mortgage Provider of MLB and the Presenting Sponsor of the ALCS and NLCS.
About loanDepot
loanDepot (NYSE: LDI) is a digital commerce company committed to serving its customers throughout the home ownership journey. Since its launch in 2010, loanDepot has revolutionized the mortgage industry with a digital-first approach that makes it easier, faster and less stressful to purchase or refinance a home. Today, as the nation's second largest retail mortgage lender, loanDepot enables customers to achieve the American dream of homeownership through a broad suite of lending and real estate services that simplify one of life's most complex transactions. With headquarters in Southern California and offices nationwide, loanDepot is committed to serving the communities in which its team lives and works through a variety of local, regional and national philanthropic efforts.
Media Contact:
Jonathan Fine
VP, Public Relations
(781) 248-3963
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/loandepot-strengthens-commitment-to-miami-community-renewing-runs-scored-program-with-miami-marlins-foundation-and-boys--girls-clubs-of-miami-dade-301526370.html
SOURCE loanDepot, Inc. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_sports/loandepot-strengthens-commitment-to-miami-community-renewing-runs-scored-program-with-miami-marlins-foundation-and/article_ea6efa16-3c6e-5ed4-afb1-8528efc1d817.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:07 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_sports/loandepot-strengthens-commitment-to-miami-community-renewing-runs-scored-program-with-miami-marlins-foundation-and/article_ea6efa16-3c6e-5ed4-afb1-8528efc1d817.html |
ValvTechnologies, the leading manufacturer of zero leakage, severe service isolation valve solutions, welcomes Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Co. Ltd. as the exclusive distributor of ValvTechnologies' valves in Saudi Arabia.
HOUSTON, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- ValvTechnologies, the leading manufacturer of zero leakage, severe service isolation valve solutions, welcomes Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Co. Ltd. as the exclusive distributor of ValvTechnologies' valves in Saudi Arabia.
"We are delighted to add Kanoo as our trusted partner in Saudi Arabia," said David Birks, Regional Sales Director, ValvTechnologies. "They have a successful record of working with customers in the region and will represent our market-leading products in Oil and Gas."
Under the terms of the agreement, the partnership with Kanoo will enable ValvTechnologies to expand its footprint in Upstream and Downstream Oil and Gas operations in Saudi Arabia.
Manoj Tripathy, CEO, Kanoo Industrial & Energy added, " We have a history of providing customized value-added solutions to our customers and are excited to add ValvTechnologies' products to our offering. Their zero leakage valve solutions will be beneficial to companies in our region and support growth in sustainable solutions."
About ValvTechnologies
Part of Severn, ValvTechnologies manufactures highly reliable metal seated valves for severe service applications. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, it is the leading manufacturer of zero leakage, high-performance isolation valve solutions for customers in energy, chemical processing, mining and minerals, pulp and paper, and other specialized industries. ValvTechnologies, with broad experience in providing reliable custom engineered valves to meet the demands of almost any specific process condition, prides itself on exceeding industry standards by offering market-leading warranties to maintain customers' safe and reliable operations. Learn more at http://www.valv.com.
Severn is a global group of specialist high-end valve engineering and manufacturing companies, including Severn Glocon, LB Bentley, and ValvTechnologies.
About Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Co. Ltd.
YBA Kanoo is one of the largest, independent family-owned multinational businesses in the Middle East with an extensive portfolio of business units and strategic partnerships across a range of industry sectors. Established in 1890 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the group has evolved into a diversified conglomerate with a physical presence across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.
With over 130 years of experience, ethical conduct & best-in-class partnerships, it has established itself as a first-choice partner for regional & international businesses and continues to pursue growth and expansion through the constant delivery of business excellence.
YBA Kanoo's business activities include Private Equity, Real Estate, Shipping, Logistics, Travel, and Industrial Services in the Oil & Gas, Machinery and Power segments.
#
Media Contact
Juliana Herman, ValvTechnologies, +1 713-860-0400, jherman@valv.com
SOURCE ValvTechnologies | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/valvtechnologies-announces-new-representation-in-saudi-arabia/article_c8fbaace-abe8-5ebb-bb56-cfde678d5057.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:10 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_stocks/valvtechnologies-announces-new-representation-in-saudi-arabia/article_c8fbaace-abe8-5ebb-bb56-cfde678d5057.html |
TAIPEI, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Organization of Smart Cities (GO SMART), founded by Taipei City Government in 2019, is committed to becoming a platform for capacity sharing and matchmaking of all the stakeholders in the smart city development. To discover valuable inter-city PoC projects, since the establishment, GO SMART has called for solutions and is having the 4th edition this year. 2022 GO SMART Award attracted 42 projects from over 20 cities. It encourages cross-border and cross-domain smart city development projects from all over of world. After diversified and professional review, this year GSA has 3 winners: "I3 Systems and the City of Los Angeles" from the US; "Taipei Urban Intelligence Center" from Taipei, Taiwan and "Qlue Smart City Project: Alam Sutera Intelligent Mobility System" from Indonesia are the winners. Here is the briefing.
I3 Systems, working with the City of Los Angeles' Information Technology Agency, Department of Sanitation, and other partners, are building a situational awareness support system based on vision analytics and artificial intelligence that allows the city to proactively support its citizens while reducing Smart City operational costs.
The system design uses mobile video and AI technology to enable city vehicles to serve as advanced edge processing systems for the identification of targeted issues of concern for the city. Once potential problems have been identified, the software will automatically alert impacted city departments via the City's 311 Service Request System. Department staff will have real-time access to data to rapidly resolve any open issues while maintaining personal privacy and respecting civil rights. Local academic institutions are participating in the process to provide cutting-edge vision analytics and AI research. This groundbreaking implementation is being championed by the Department of Sanitation to leverage the schedule of the City's refuse trucks that traverse the width and breadth of the city on a weekly basis and can ensure the city is collecting consistent and reliable data that can be used to drive the city decision-making processes. Long term, this same technology can be deployed on a myriad of city vehicles to further enhance data-driven decision-making processes. Innovative solutions such as this are envisioned to benefit the City's near-term operational needs while also establishing a base platform that will support future planned events as well as providing the opportunity to improve emergency preparedness plans.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2022-go-smart-award-winners-i--i3-systems-and-the-city-of-los-angeles-301526367.html
SOURCE GO SMART | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/2022-go-smart-award-winners-i---i3-systems-and-the-city-of-los/article_834ccfc6-b4ee-5859-b5dc-3617157a5a9b.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:11 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/2022-go-smart-award-winners-i---i3-systems-and-the-city-of-los/article_834ccfc6-b4ee-5859-b5dc-3617157a5a9b.html |
CIXCI has partnered with 4 of the top Cell Phone Accessory Vendors. They took the traditional B2B and B2C relationship between Wireless Carriers and Accessory Vendors to enhance the customer experience with real-time access, seamless interaction, and immediate innovation within a single transaction.
LEESBURG, Va., April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- CIXCI has partnered with 4 of the top cell phone accessory vendors to participate in this next big integration, uncovering potential opportunities for customer service, revenue, and more between Wireless Carriers and Accessory Vendors.
Alexander Phillips, Founder and CEO at CIXCI, worked most of his career with a top Wireless Carrier. He noticed the struggle to increase revenue, product selection, and customer satisfaction. Alexander began identifying a better way of doing business for everyone. He approached this by expanding his relationships and connections and identifying how to cultivate the process.
His inspiration for CIXCI came from the inefficiencies and lost opportunities with the partnership between Wireless Carriers, Accessory Vendors, and their customers. This has generated a passion for streamlining the process, improving effectiveness, and the overall customer experience.
Alexander's commitment includes changing the environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive regardless of their race, gender, and cultural beliefs. Ultimately removing limitations to create impact and generational legacy.
The goal is to deliver a platform that simplifies the current go to market process for Wireless Carriers and Accessory Venders. By creating this strategic partnership, he began the process of changing the way accessories are sold. Increasing brand presence, reducing inventory and marketing cost, and generating a revenue stream is their focus.
The pandemic has catapulted wireless capabilities and its accessories to be a necessity. CIXCI took the traditional relationship between Wireless Carriers and Accessory Vendors to enhance the customer experience. Wireless Carriers offer the Top Brands, Top Trends and Newest Innovations in real time. And Accessory Vendors expands their audience which enables to them to be a new participant in the shopping process.
The way we do business has changed and continues to do so. As a result, challenges arise that call for simplification. CIXCI is committed to strengthening perspectives that empowers the freedom to adapt to that change. To be able to go past what is believed to be impossible.
The challenge most carriers face when selling accessories is the process of selling accessories. Streamlining the process between accessory vendors and wireless carriers is essential to stay competitive within the accessory market. The value Wireless Carriers bring to their customers regarding their accessory needs, should be no different than the value they provide for their mobile devices and rate plan needs. Improving their accessory portfolio can enhance their customers mobile shopping experience, in return increasing revenue and brand loyalty.
CIXCI is a certified Small, Women and Minority-Owned (SWaM) organization and is a member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).
Email info@cixci.com for more information.
Media Contact
Alexander L. Phillips, CIXCI, 703-852-5159, info@cixci.com
SOURCE CIXCI | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/cixci-partners-with-4-of-the-top-cell-phone-accessory-vendors/article_163b5656-7494-5e49-9813-f076d08d95db.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:23 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_technology/cixci-partners-with-4-of-the-top-cell-phone-accessory-vendors/article_163b5656-7494-5e49-9813-f076d08d95db.html |
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins tried to do less, and it worked.
Sandy Alcantara allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings, Joey Wendle had two RBIs and the Marlins won their home opener by downing the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Thursday night.
Garrett Cooper hit his first home run of the year, while Jesús Sánchez had two hits and an RBI for Miami. The Marlins started the year with a 1-4 road trip, and manager Don Mattingly’s diagnosis was that his team was trying to do too much.
“There’s a fine line between trying to do what you want to do and what you execute,” Cooper said. “The first few games, coming out of spring training, it was just guys trying to do too much, trying to be the hero. Just play baseball, do what you do.”
Alcantara (1-0) gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one. Anthony Bender pitched the ninth for his second save, giving up two singles and then getting Bryce Harper to fly to left to end the game.
Harper drove in three runs and J.T. Realmuto reached base five times — four singles and a walk — for the Phillies, who have lost three straight and four of five following a 2-0 start. Kyle Gibson (1-1) gave up five hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out six.
It was the 67th time in Harper’s career that he had at least three RBIs. His teams fell to 61-6 in those games.
“That first inning, they were aggressive to me,” Alcantara said.
That they were. Alcantara was down 1-0 after only three batters, giving up a leadoff double to Schwarber, a single to Realmuto and then Harper’s sacrifice fly.
He settled in nicely from there, becoming the first Marlins starter to get into the seventh inning this season. Alcantara allowed only one batter the rest of the way to reach third — Philadelphia had runners on second and third with one out in the fourth — but he worked out of it by inducing harmless pop-ups from Bryson Stott and Matt Vierling.
“My biggest feeling that I’ve had is that we’re trying really hard,” Mattingly said. “And sometimes, trying really hard and holding the bat tighter or squeezing the ball tighter is not really what you want. You want to be relaxed and focused.”
The Marlins took Alcantara out two batters into in the seventh, and Harper cut the lead to 4-3 with a two-run double.
Gibson’s rough inning was the fourth, when Cooper homered and Wendle had an eventful at-bat that ended up as a two-out, two-run double. Gibson threw behind Wendle for ball one, then nearly hit him again for ball two. After working the count to 2-2, Wendle flared one down the left-field line with runners Sánchez and Avisail Garcia — both off on the pitch — scoring easily to put Miami up 3-1.
“Wendle placed it well,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “Joey Wendle puts the ball in play. He’s not going to strike out. He’s going to put a tough at-bat on you and that’s what he did. He got a base hit and that’s the difference in the game ”
Sánchez singled in the fifth for a 4-1 lead.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: SS Jean Segura (sore wrist, jammed right shoulder) is day-to-day. ... RHP Sam Coonrod (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list. “He’s basically going to have to start spring training over,” Girardi said. “It’s so he doesn’t rush and we don’t rush.”
Marlins: RHP Dylan Floro (shoulder) threw a bullpen before the game. ... RHP Edward Cabrera (biceps) threw 20 pitches at the Marlins’ complex in Jupiter, Florida, on Wednesday as part of his rehab plan.
CROWD NOISE
Miami drew 31,184 fans for the home opener, its biggest crowd there since opening day in 2018. The Marlins’ ballpark holds 36,742.
PHILLIES MOVES
The Phillies reinstated RHP James Norwood off the bereavement list and selected the contract of RHP Andrew Bellatti from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. RHP Connor Brogdon and LHP Damon Jones were optioned to Lehigh Valley.
NEW BANNERS
The Marlins have finally added actual World Series banners, suspended from the roof beyond the left field foul pole, to commemorate the 1997 and 2003 championships. They replaced small pennants that had been in the same area of the ballpark since its opening in 2012.
UP NEXT
RHP Zach Eflin (0-0, 0.00), who had a 0.96 ERA in spring training and threw four shutout innings in his debut this season, starts for the Phillies against Miami RHP Pablo Lopez (0-0, 1.80) on Friday night. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/alcantara-sharp-marlins-win-home-opener-over-phillies-4-3/article_d0139b32-bc6c-11ec-8d0e-e7c9a30e02fe.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:29 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/alcantara-sharp-marlins-win-home-opener-over-phillies-4-3/article_d0139b32-bc6c-11ec-8d0e-e7c9a30e02fe.html |
EMMAUS, Pa. - Emmaus one of the few remaining unbeatens in the Lehigh Valley, and they'd keep it that way with a 9-1 win over Freedom.
The Green Hornets jumped out to a lead early, and never looked back. They led 4-0 after two innings, the next inning they would continue to build on their lead.
Emmaus improves to 10-0 on the season, while Freedom falls to 4-5. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/emmaus-rolls-past-freedom-to-remain-undefeated/article_1ed0018c-bc60-11ec-a1ab-53b553708741.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:35 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/emmaus-rolls-past-freedom-to-remain-undefeated/article_1ed0018c-bc60-11ec-a1ab-53b553708741.html |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Freedom pushing their win streak to six game with an 18-8 win over Saucon Valley on Thursday night.
The Lady Patriots rolled right out of the gates in this one, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. They would add three more goals and go into the half up 10-4. They'd outscore the Panthers 8-4 the rest of the way.
Freedom sits at 7-1 after the win, Saucon Valley falls to 4-3. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/freedom-keeps-their-win-streak-alive-with-18-goal-effort/article_1a9a0928-bc60-11ec-837c-1b3e23ce6715.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:41 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/freedom-keeps-their-win-streak-alive-with-18-goal-effort/article_1a9a0928-bc60-11ec-837c-1b3e23ce6715.html |
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Kutztown playing host to Tamaqua on Thursday night, the Cougars picking up their fifth win of the season with a 13-4 romp.
The Cougars came out swinging in this one, Jacob Rabert giving his squad a 5-0 lead with a three-run shot over the wall. They would continue to build on their lead in the third inning and beyond.
Kutztown is 5-2, 3-0 on the season. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/kutztown-rolls-past-tamaqua-13-4/article_e72551f6-bc5f-11ec-b5d1-ffb8c06dcb40.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:47 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/kutztown-rolls-past-tamaqua-13-4/article_e72551f6-bc5f-11ec-b5d1-ffb8c06dcb40.html |
BOYERTOWN, Pa. - Perkiomen Valley takes control late in the game for the 8-5 road win over Boyertown.
The Vikings fell behind early, but erased that deficit quickly taking a 4-1 lead following one of three goals by Dane Hagen. Bears, not going away, they would come back and tie the game at five eventually.
Fourth quarter belonged to the Vikings though, Dallas Pulliam netting what would be the game winner.
Perk Valley improves to 6-1 on the season, and Boyertown sits one game above .500 at 5-4. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/perk-valley-takes-over-in-the-4th-quarter-en-route-to-their-6th-win/article_e394c97c-bc5f-11ec-894f-3f0ef5851f95.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:53 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/perk-valley-takes-over-in-the-4th-quarter-en-route-to-their-6th-win/article_e394c97c-bc5f-11ec-894f-3f0ef5851f95.html |
AKRON, Oh. - Reading drops game three in their series against Akron, 5-3 on Thursday night.
The Fightin Phils grabbed a brief lead right from the start, Wendell Rijo with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead. The Rubber Ducks would make that lead short lived with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Reading wouldn't lead again, but they would get within one-run in the sixth with. a two runs. One scored by way of a wild pitch, allowing Jhailyn Ortiz to score. Kevin Vicuna would drive in the second one with an RBI single.
Akron would score an insurance run in the eighth to assure the win. | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/reading-strikes-first-but-falls-behind-in-close-loss-to-akron/article_df5fa50c-bc5f-11ec-99c3-bb2c4caff396.html | 2022-04-15T04:32:59 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/sports/reading-strikes-first-but-falls-behind-in-close-loss-to-akron/article_df5fa50c-bc5f-11ec-99c3-bb2c4caff396.html |
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Activate your digital account | https://www.registerguard.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.registerguard.com%2Fstory%2Fbusiness%2F2022%2F04%2F15%2Fdavid-minor-theater-building-demolished-eugene-5th-street-public-market-parking%2F65350214007%2F | 2022-04-15T04:35:40 | 1 | https://www.registerguard.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.registerguard.com%2Fstory%2Fbusiness%2F2022%2F04%2F15%2Fdavid-minor-theater-building-demolished-eugene-5th-street-public-market-parking%2F65350214007%2F |
Amy Schumer Revealed That She Received Death Threats Over Oscars’ Joke
Amy Schumer revealed during an interview that she received death threats over her Oscars joke about Kirsten Dunst being a ‘seat filler’.
Amy said, “They were like, ‘Who do you think you are to disrespect Kirsten Dunst like that?'”
She continued, “The Secret Service, the LAPD, [reached out] because [the death threats] were that serious and that many. They called me and they were like, ‘Did you make fun of Kirsten Dunst at the Oscars?'”
According to Amy, she reached out to every celebrity she made a joke of at the Oscars including Leo to get their ‘okay’. | https://www.kfrxfm.com/amy-schumer-revealed-that-she-received-death-threats-over-oscars-joke/ | 2022-04-15T04:39:19 | 1 | https://www.kfrxfm.com/amy-schumer-revealed-that-she-received-death-threats-over-oscars-joke/ |
Anderson police arrest pair in drive-by shooting; held for attempted murder
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting Monday night in Anderson.
Christopher James Miller, 23, and Tanner James Rotta, 20, both of Anderson, were booked into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, discharging a firearm in a negligent manner and conspiracy, the Anderson Police Department said Thursday.
Police say the drive-by shooting involving multiple shots took place about 9:15 p.m. Monday in the 3400 block of Daisy Street.
“The shots were fired from a vehicle that had pulled up in front of the residence,” police said.
Officers identified the shooter as Miller and the driver as Rotta.
Police said there were four children and two adults in the home at the time of the shooting.
Mike Chapman is an award-winning reporter and photographer for the Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif. His newspaper career spans Yreka and Eureka in Northern California and Bellingham, Wash. Support local journalism by subscribing today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/anderson-police-arrest-pair-drive-shooting-attempted-murder/7325111001/ | 2022-04-15T04:41:21 | 1 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/anderson-police-arrest-pair-drive-shooting-attempted-murder/7325111001/ |
How Redding teens can have their say in local government, learn about jobs in public sector
The city of Redding is allocating a portion of American Rescue Plan Act funds to establish a youth government program and other engagement efforts that are scheduled to begin as early as May.
The city will spend $310,000 on a three-part youth action plan, said Janelle Galbraith, the city’s economic development, innovation, and equity manager.
- Youth Action Council: Beginning May 19 at 5 p.m., the city will hold monthly meetings where high school students can learn about government careers, hear from officials, including the city manager and mayor, and weigh in on decisions about youth-related issues, Galbraith said. Youth Options Shasta will be working with the city to hold this council.
- Internships: Intended as a youth career training program, high school students, ages 16 and up, will be able to work during the summer break and potentially spring and winter break. However, the internship program will not be ready for the upcoming summer. Students will learn about internship opportunities during the monthly youth meetings and through their high schools, Galbraith said.
- Apprenticeships: A long-term apprenticeship program focused on high school students who recently graduated is also in the works. Through this path, new graduates can get on-the-job training to transition into entry-level positions at the city. Unlike the internship, this option will last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, she said.
Check out:What to know about the new Redding Teen Center that opens Monday
Galbraith said for years she and Mayor Kristen Schreder had discussed beginning a youth council and engagement track but plans kept getting interrupted by other more immediate community needs, referring to the Carr Fire and the coronavirus pandemic.
While traveling, Schreder said she heard a high school graduate talk about what they learned after spending two weeks in city hall and it influenced her to change her college major and rethink her career path. Bringing a similar program to Redding will fill the learning gap about city jobs and allow businesses to interact with students about job opportunities, she said.
The ARPA fund is being budgeted to last four to five years, Schreder said, with $30,000 going toward the program annually.
Galbraith has contracted Youth Options Shasta to run the youth council and together, they have been honing in on the issues it will address, she said.
One of the issues is the teens who go away for college and don’t come back, said Susan Wilson, executive director of Youth Options Shasta.
ICYMI:In this Redding classroom, this is how students get a head start on engineering
“Our goal is to appoint them with the city and give them some power to talk to the City Council,” she said. “We’re planning three open discussions with the city manager, mayor, and members of the City Council and different department heads.”
Wilson said she wants every teenager to have the option to be on the council and give their input.
Take a ride:Mountain bike race that drew hundreds to Redding gets new venue in last-minute change
Nada Atieh is a Report For America corps member and education reporter focusing on childhood trauma and the achievement gap for the Redding Record Searchlight. Follow her on Twitter at @nadatieh_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! And if you are able, please consider a tax-deductible gift toward her work. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/city-redding-include-teens-decision-making/7295821001/ | 2022-04-15T04:41:27 | 1 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/city-redding-include-teens-decision-making/7295821001/ |
Man arrested Thursday on homicide charge in Shasta Lake
A 26-year-old man was arrested Thursday and charged with murder after Shasta County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call in Shasta Lake for what had initially been described as a possible overdose, law enforcement officials said.
Deputies with the City of Shasta Lake station said they responded to 4808 Shasta Dam Blvd. at 12:53 p.m.
As the deputies provided medical aid to a woman at the residence, they said they noticed she had recent stab wounds. She was transported to a local hospital, where she died. The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Deputies said the victim’s boyfriend, Elijah Daniel Portillo, was at the scene along with other witnesses. According to deputies, witnesses said Potillor and the victim had been in an argument before the deputies arrived.
Potillor was transported to the Major Crimes Unit for questioning. A search warrant was obtained for the residence and the scene was processed, officials said.
Potillor was ultimately arrested on a charge of murder and booked into Shasta County Jail. His bail was set at $1 million. He will be arraigned on April 19 at the Shasta County Superior Court.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Major Crimes Unit at 530-245-6135 or MCU@co.shasta.ca.us.
Michele Chandler covers city government and housing issues for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @MChandler_RS, call her at 530-225-8344 or email her at michele.chandler@redding.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today. | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/man-arrested-homicide-charge-shasta-lake-stabbing-overdose/7328176001/ | 2022-04-15T04:41:33 | 0 | https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/04/14/man-arrested-homicide-charge-shasta-lake-stabbing-overdose/7328176001/ |
In the driving rain Thursday night, members of the Richmond Hill Sikh community prayed for peace.
They prayed after three of their own were preyed upon, on the very same corner.
"Hit me with a stick my head, kicked me in my head," one man said at the rally.
Two men, one 64 years old, the other 76 years old, detailed how Tuesday morning, two men jumped them at 95th Street and Lefferts Boulevard, yanked off their turbans and pummeled them with closed fists and a wooden stick.
Their injuries, fortunately, were superficial. But their pain is searing and deep.
"This hate does not belong in our city, does not belong in our state, does not belong in our country," rally organizer Japneet Singh said. "And we wanna make sure that this does not happen again to anybody. Anybody!"
But this was the second attack on Sikhs in a week and a half.
On April 3, 70-year-old Nirmal Singh was the victim when he was sucker punched from behind, leaving him with a broken nose and covered in blood.
In that case, police arrested 19-year-old Vernon Douglas and charged him with a hate crime.
Police say this week's case is unrelated, even though it happened on the same corner.
They've already caught one of the two assailants and charged him with hate crime robbery.
"I just don't see any reason why someone has that type of mentality. Why wouldn't they just come up and ask who we are," said Sukhjinder Singh Nijjar of the Sikh Culture Society.
But the truth is, the Sikh community has been swept up in a raging river of hate.
As police continue their search for the remaining suspect, people in this community wonder if they will be next.
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Submit a News Tip | https://abc7ny.com/sikh-attacks-queens-richmond-hill/11749625/ | 2022-04-15T04:42:46 | 1 | https://abc7ny.com/sikh-attacks-queens-richmond-hill/11749625/ |
5 houses, 2 garages, 12 vehicles go up in flames in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - The Cleveland Fire Department confirmed five houses, two garages, and 12 vehicles went up in flames on the east side of the city Wednesday.
The initial call was for a single house on fire in the 1800 block of Mannering Road, but the wind-driven flames quickly spread to the neighboring structures, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo, “It was a wind-driven fire. Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire it really intensifies it.”
Eighty Cleveland firefighters from 17 different fire companies were called in to battle the primary fire, that was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived, and led to the home almost immediately collapsing.
Tayshawna Wright never heard warning knocks on her door. The Cleveland woman was asleep in an upstairs bedroom of a neighboring home, and only woke up to the danger that spread to her apartment when she started feeling the heat, “I woke up my boyfriend got the dogs out of the cage, tried to grab cell phones, but that didn’t work out. My dogs ran back upstairs and I was really scared for them.”
Firefighters tackled the flames and the rushed inside saving pups Chico and Fabio. “I was happy, I was happy,” Wright said.
But Wright and neighbors in 5 structures lost their homes, cars and all of their belongings, but fortunately walked away with their lives.
Firefighters also thankful because the massive fire could have been far worse, because along with strong winds, there were not enough hydrants to supply the massive mounts of water needed, “We had to actually do a relay operation to catch the water, the water supply off of Euclid in addition to the street here,” Chief Calvillo said.
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo confirmed no one was injured, and firefighters rescued two dogs and a cat.
However, the fire displaced a total of 14 adults and two children, Cleveland Fire said.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the victims with shelter, clothing and food.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ | 2022-04-15T04:42:52 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ |
Stuart man to help refugees escape Ukraine
People in Ukraine continue to fight for their freedom and one Stuart man has made it his mission to help women and children trying to escape the danger.
Andy Roman, 22, has put his life on the line driving into Ukraine, picking up refugees and bringing them to Poland through his nonprofit organization UkrainianPeace.org.
Now thanks to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, his team will have body armor to help keep them safe.
"I couldn't even articulate in English what to say to somebody when they tell you that they saw their family killed and that their house is destroyed and that they are the last person alive from their family and their entire life is in a suitcase. Like it's just horrible, just devastating," said Roman. "Honestly I feel guilty that I'm not still there 'cause when I left they were the guys my team were going to be in imminent danger. Yeah and I knew that I was coming home to raise money but I can't get over the feeling that I should still be there."
Roman has family in Ukraine and spent 3 weeks in Europe bringing supplies into Ukraine and refugees back to Poland with a sprinter van, which is a minibus that seats 10-12 people.
He was part of a convoy of 3 trucks with the help of local humanitarians.
"Both the cities that I was staying in were bombed shortly after I left. The danger, it's - it's hard to say because Putin is a madman you never know what he's going to do next he could carpet bomb a city it hasn't been affected yet so nobody is safe until they're outside of the country," Roman said.
Roman said in the three weeks he was there, the team rescued some 130 Ukrainians.
Now the Martin County Sheriff's Office is stepping in to help by donating 5 soft body armor vests and some 100 rifle plates.
"Anybody who has the nerve to get into a car and drive into some of these besieged cities and get refugees out is is a true hero," said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. " The greater good and the greater help is coming from these heroes here in Martin County they're risking their lives to go and rescue people that they've never met."
The soft body armor is built to withstand small ammunition fire and shrapnel, but they’re also fitted with rifle plates to help with high velocity rounds”
"Vans were coming to our church with bullet holes in them in broken windows and those guys weren't protected at all and so even if it is only a level two vest and it's only meant to stop small arms fire it's going to make a world of difference for the drivers," said Roman.
MCSO also donated over 30 jackets to help with the winter weather in Ukraine.
All of the equipment donated was gear MCSO had already retired.
"Hopefully the war will end soon and we can switch into rebuild mode and start with the second half of our mission. I pray every night, I pray that it just ends the next day," said Roman.
Roman plans to fly back to Ukraine with the equipment on April 2.
You can help by visiting:
Scripps Only Content 2022 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/stuart-man-help-refugees-escape-ukraine/ | 2022-04-15T04:42:58 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/stuart-man-help-refugees-escape-ukraine/ |
A wonderful Friday is shaping up. A sky full of sunshine with temperatures reaching into the upper 70s. A few spots hit 80°.
EASTER WEEKEND: A front stalls over Alabama and will provide some hit and miss rain through the weekend. The heaviest, organized, line of rain and storms move in early Thursday morning between 5am-10am. Then, we should see a decent break in the rain through early afternoon. By 2pm Saturday, another round of scattered showers start popping up across central Alabama. These could produce some stronger winds at times, but should remain below severe weather limits.
Click through the time line below to see where our models are showing Saturday’s rain and storms.
Easter Sunday will start off on the dry side. Sunrise services should be dry and mild. Later in the afternoon there will be more widespread showers. Keep the umbrella handy. Temperatures on Sunday will range between the upper 60s to low 70s.
Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Ashley Gann, Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes and Meteorologist Alex Puckett | https://www.cbs42.com/news/after-a-good-friday-rain-returns-easter-weekend/ | 2022-04-15T04:47:06 | 1 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/after-a-good-friday-rain-returns-easter-weekend/ |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Youth sports leagues across Alabama are facing shortages of umpires and referees as warmer weather settles in.
The lack of people willing to officiate games is a nationwide problem, but is starting to make its way into bigger and smaller communities.
“I think it is pretty much just now getting to our area in east Alabama,” said Jon Swafford, the director for the City of Heflin’s Park and Recreation Department.
Swafford recently shared information about the need over social media after nearly having to cancel a baseball game.
“I was able to reach out to our head football coach over here at the high school. He’s umpired before so he was able to cover the game for us,” said Swafford.
Issues aren’t limited to the diamond. The Alabama Soccer Association is also having to find ways around reduced officials. The problem seemed to get worse during COVID.
“Every year about half of our referees that we actually certify that year will actually quit by the end of the season,” said Jennifer Pfeiffer, the Executive Director for the Alabama Soccer Association.
Pfeiffer said the organization represents at least 15,000 youth players in addition to thousands of more adults, coaches, and support members.
“We just had a huge tournament in Alabama in Birmingham. They had 178 teams, well normally in some of the age groups we have 3 referees. Well we only used 1 referee per field,” said Pfeiffer.
While there are many reasons for the lack of interest, Pfeiffer said disrespect from parents and coaches has played a role.
Other recreation leaders agreed that heckling from spectators has made it difficult to retain officials.
“Some of them are volunteers, but they are stepping away because they’re saying, ‘Hey it is not worth it if I am going to have to worry about somebody following me to my car and beating me up or harassing me and talking crazy to me.’ They’re just not wanting to do it and be involved in it,” said Dalton Jones, the director of Pleasant Valley Recreational Sports in Calhoun County.
Jones estimates there are about 50-60 girls playing in the softball league this spring. With fewer umpires, there is less time on the field.
“We just cut down tremendously on the games played just on the simple fact that we didn’t have enough umpires,” said Jones.
As older and experienced referees retire, coaches say there are fewer people willing to step up to the plate to help.
While most umpires are paid per game, hours are limited and there can be costs for equipment. The cost of travel is also an obstacle, but Jones said the league works to try to keep officials close to home.
“If they’re in a specific area we try to set it up so they only officiate that area,” said Jones.
Coaches and league representatives from Birmingham to east Alabama are asking parents and other adults to consider giving back by getting involved.
Needs exist in almost every community.
Swafford believes children will be negatively impacted without more people willing to raise their hand.
“Youth sports kind of builds character in kids and gives them something to do,” said Swafford.
If you’re interested in helping in your city or community, contact your local recreational sports league to learn how to get started. | https://www.cbs42.com/news/referee-shortage-impacting-alabama-youth-sports-leagues/ | 2022-04-15T04:47:12 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/news/referee-shortage-impacting-alabama-youth-sports-leagues/ |
5 houses, 2 garages, 12 vehicles go up in flames in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - The Cleveland Fire Department confirmed five houses, two garages, and 12 vehicles went up in flames on the east side of the city Wednesday.
The initial call was for a single house on fire in the 1800 block of Mannering Road, but the wind-driven flames quickly spread to the neighboring structures, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo, “It was a wind-driven fire. Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire it really intensifies it.”
Eighty Cleveland firefighters from 17 different fire companies were called in to battle the primary fire, that was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived, and led to the home almost immediately collapsing.
Tayshawna Wright never heard warning knocks on her door. The Cleveland woman was asleep in an upstairs bedroom of a neighboring home, and only woke up to the danger that spread to her apartment when she started feeling the heat, “I woke up my boyfriend got the dogs out of the cage, tried to grab cell phones, but that didn’t work out. My dogs ran back upstairs and I was really scared for them.”
Firefighters tackled the flames and the rushed inside saving pups Chico and Fabio. “I was happy, I was happy,” Wright said.
But Wright and neighbors in 5 structures lost their homes, cars and all of their belongings, but fortunately walked away with their lives.
Firefighters also thankful because the massive fire could have been far worse, because along with strong winds, there were not enough hydrants to supply the massive mounts of water needed, “We had to actually do a relay operation to catch the water, the water supply off of Euclid in addition to the street here,” Chief Calvillo said.
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo confirmed no one was injured, and firefighters rescued two dogs and a cat.
However, the fire displaced a total of 14 adults and two children, Cleveland Fire said.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the victims with shelter, clothing and food.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ | 2022-04-15T04:48:28 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ |
Beatrice cruises past Wahoo to win Trailblazer Conference Championship
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Beatrice Orangemen defeated the Wahoo Warriors on Thursday evening by a score of 7-2 to claim the Trailblazer Conference Baseball Championship.
Senior Orangeman Max Reis opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with a 2-RBI double to put Beatrice on top 2-0.
Wahoo responded in the 3rd inning with an RBI double from Freshman Conor Booth to make the score 3-1.
Beatrice would go on to score 4 more runs behind the excellent start of Tucker Timmerman who pitched 6 innings scattering 2 hits, striking out 12, while allowing just 1 run.
Wahoo threatened in the 7th inning, but only scored once, stranding a pair of runners to end the game.
The number-one seeded Orangemen are Trailblazer Conference champions for the first time.
Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/beatrice-cruises-past-wahoo-win-trailblazer-conference-championship/ | 2022-04-15T04:48:35 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/beatrice-cruises-past-wahoo-win-trailblazer-conference-championship/ |
Huskers combine for one hitter during BYU win
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Nebraska edged out BYU in the series opener with a 1-0 victory behind a combined one-hitter by Koty Frank, Tyler Martin and Braxton Bragg on Thursday night at Hawks Field.
The combined one-hitter is the first for the Huskers since Nate Fisher, Robbie Palkert and Colby Gomes teamed up in a 2-0 win at Baylor on March 9, 2019.
Nebraska (13-18) scored one run on three hits, while the Cougars (17-13) were limited to one hit and had no errors.
Frank threw 6.2 innings in the no-decision, tying his career-high set earlier this season vs. Northwestern State. Frank’s final line on the night included one hit, seven strikeouts and zero walks in the shutout performance. Martin improved to 2-0 on the season after pitching 1.1 innings in relief, before Bragg tossed a perfect final inning in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season.
Garrett Anglim was 1-for-3, while Griffin Everitt went 1-for-2 with a double and a run and Nick Wimmers was 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI.Frank began the night sitting down the first 11 Cougars he faced, before Ozzie Pratt was hit by the pitch on a 3-1 count with one out in the fourth.
Frank responded by inducing a flyout and groundout to get out of the inning with no harm. The Tushka, Okla., native brushed off the hit batter by retiring the next 10 BYU batters that stepped up to the plate, before Jacob Wilk ripped a 1-2 pitch through the right side against the defensive shift of the Huskers to break up Frank’s no-hitter with two outs in the seventh inning.
Martin replaced Frank on the mound and plunked the first batter he faced, allowing BYU’s second and final runner to reach second base on the night. Martin kept the Cougars off the scoreboard after Austin Deming grounded out to second. Anglim led off the bottom of the seventh with a single through the right side to post Nebraska’s first hit of the game.
Following a double play, Everitt smacked a double down the right field line to put the go-ahead run at second for the Big Red. Wimmers came through for the Huskers, dropping a 2-2 pitch into left for an RBI single, plating Everitt and giving the Huskers a one-run lead. Martin sat down the three BYU batters he faced in the eighth and the Huskers couldn’t add to the lead in the bottom of the eighth, as Bragg took the mound in the ninth with a one-run lead.
Bragg struck out the first batter he faced and drew a flyout and lineout to clinch the combined one-hit victory on Thursday night.Nebraska and BYU continue the series with a doubleheader tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. The doubleheader begins with a seven-inning game, followed by a nine-inning game approximately 45 minutes after game one.
Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/huskers-combine-one-hitter-during-byu-win/ | 2022-04-15T04:48:42 | 0 | https://www.1011now.com/2022/04/15/huskers-combine-one-hitter-during-byu-win/ |
5 houses, 2 garages, 12 vehicles go up in flames in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - The Cleveland Fire Department confirmed five houses, two garages, and 12 vehicles went up in flames on the east side of the city Wednesday.
The initial call was for a single house on fire in the 1800 block of Mannering Road, but the wind-driven flames quickly spread to the neighboring structures, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo, “It was a wind-driven fire. Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire it really intensifies it.”
Eighty Cleveland firefighters from 17 different fire companies were called in to battle the primary fire, that was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived, and led to the home almost immediately collapsing.
Tayshawna Wright never heard warning knocks on her door. The Cleveland woman was asleep in an upstairs bedroom of a neighboring home, and only woke up to the danger that spread to her apartment when she started feeling the heat, “I woke up my boyfriend got the dogs out of the cage, tried to grab cell phones, but that didn’t work out. My dogs ran back upstairs and I was really scared for them.”
Firefighters tackled the flames and the rushed inside saving pups Chico and Fabio. “I was happy, I was happy,” Wright said.
But Wright and neighbors in 5 structures lost their homes, cars and all of their belongings, but fortunately walked away with their lives.
Firefighters also thankful because the massive fire could have been far worse, because along with strong winds, there were not enough hydrants to supply the massive mounts of water needed, “We had to actually do a relay operation to catch the water, the water supply off of Euclid in addition to the street here,” Chief Calvillo said.
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo confirmed no one was injured, and firefighters rescued two dogs and a cat.
However, the fire displaced a total of 14 adults and two children, Cleveland Fire said.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the victims with shelter, clothing and food.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ | 2022-04-15T04:56:43 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ |
DALLAS — Frederick Gaudreau scored at 1:40 into overtime after assisting on Kevin Fiala’s two regulation goals in the Minnesota Wild’s 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Gaudreau took a long pass from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, skated into the Dallas zone around Jason Robertson and sent the puck past goalie Scott Wedgewood.
“I saw him out of the corner of my eye,” Fleury said. “I knew it was my chance. French sense.”
Fleury made 34 saves for Minnesota, allowing only Robertson’s two goals. Wedgewood stopped 24 shots.
Minnesota remained tied with St. Louis for second place in the Central Division. The Blues won at Buffalo on Thursday night.
Dallas earned a point for the overtime loss, moving the Stars into a tie with Nashville, which lost to Edmonton on Thursday night, for the Western Conference wild-card lead. The Stars and Predators each have eight games remaining.
The Wild have a game in hand going into their game Saturday at St. Louis, where they lost 4-3 in overtime just last Friday night.
“We played a real good game in there,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “Our confidence is good. Just the score didn’t go our way. It was real good game, and we had a real good game tonight.”
Gaudreau said: “They’re big games, like playoff games. Everybody’s going for the two points. To get two points on the road is great.”
“(Fleury) was looking like he was coming to me. If we had kept possession after that, I would have gone off the ice for a line change.”
Fiala scored his 27th and 28th goals, including his first short-handed goal. Robertson increased his team-leading total to 36.
Fiala received an assist on Gaudreau’s goal for redirecting the puck after Fleury came out of the net.
“I had my foot out and kicked it,” Fiala said. “It was lucky.
“It was a great play by Fleury. He sees the ice so well.”
Evason said, “He’s like a third defenseman. He can still make passes and his puck handling is elite.”
Minnesota is 4-1-1 in the last six games, and 5-1 with Fleury in goal since being acquired in a trade March 21 from Chicago.
“He made some great saves,” Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. “He’s a Stanley Cup champion, a Vezina Trophy winner, a Hall of Famer. Their defense helped him. They stopped two shots when they
dove into shots that were going into a wide-open net.”
Fiala ended Wedgewood’s hope of his second shutout in three nights by putting in a backhand from in front of the net just 2:14 into the game. Gaudreau set up Fiala with a pass from the right corner.
Dallas tied it at 6:02 of the second on the first power play of the game. Robertson took a pass from Roope Hintz in front off the net and shot into Fleury’s pads. Robertson gathered the rebound, put the puck on his backhand and slid it into the mostly empty net.
On the Stars’ second power play midway through the second, Gaudreau knocked down a loose puck that went to Fiala ahead of Dallas’ Alexander Radiulov and John Klingberg. Fiala beat Wedgewood with a wrist shot under the crossbar from short range for his first career short-handed goal.
Robertson tied it 55 seconds into the third period, when his shot from the top of the slot went in off Fleury’s stick.
Briefly
• Fiala has been on the ice as a penalty killer longer this season than in his first seven years combined (56½ minutes to 43½). He is having his best overall season, with career highs of 28
goals, 39 assists and 67 points.
• Dallas C Joe Pavelski assisted on Robertson’s first goal. It was Pavelski’s 47th, breaking a tie for the most in his 16-year career. | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/wild-beat-stars-in-overtime-on-frederick-gaudreaus-goal-keep-pace-with-blues/ | 2022-04-15T04:56:48 | 0 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/wild-beat-stars-in-overtime-on-frederick-gaudreaus-goal-keep-pace-with-blues/ |
Zelenskyy hails Ukrainians’ resolve 50 days into invasion
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision of their life — to fight.”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
Back then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure whether Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”
Listing the ways Ukraine has defended against the onslaught, Zelenskyy noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea.
WARNING: Videos may contain graphic content.
It was his only reference to the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, which became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war. It sank Thursday while being towed to port after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained under dispute.
Ukrainian officials said their forces struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv.
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It’s also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The Associated Press 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.
The news about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces 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.
Dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are holding out against a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told AP in an interview Thursday that people are being “starved to death” in the besieged city.
Mariupol’s mayor said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could surpass 20,000, after weeks of attacks and privation carpeted the streets with corpses.
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 Donbas region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and it is likely to add more ground combat units soon. But it’s still unclear when Russia could launch a bigger offensive in the Donbas.
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, governor of the Odesa region, said Ukrainian forces struck the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the “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 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, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where it was when the fire began.
Launched as the Slava in 1979, the cruiser saw service in the Cold War and during conflicts in Georgia and Syria, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States. During the Cold War, it carried nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved farther south after the Moskva incident, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.
While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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 particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Economic Club of Washington.
Russia invaded Feb. 24 and has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further inflated prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the war helped push the organization to downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters some 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo, in Russia’s Bryansk region. 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.
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Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ | 2022-04-15T04:56:49 | 0 | https://www.wnem.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ |
Luis Severino, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino passed the test. The Yankees got through their first test of the season Thursday night with Severino dominating, Trevino and Kiner-Falefa providing the majority of the offense as the Bombers beat the Blue Jays 3-0 at the Stadium in the series finale.
The Yankees split the four-game series and leave the Bronx with a little more of an idea of who they are as a team. They went 4-3 on the home stand against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, two of the teams they will certainly be battling for a playoff spot this year.
“I think we have a chance to be a really good team. I think we played a really good division where it’s gonna be super competitive all season all summer long,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of what he knows about his team. “We’ve jumped right in here with the Red Sox and the Blue Jays. We’ve faced a lot of good arms. We’ve obviously faced good lineups and it’s gonna be a fun, tough season. Early signs say we’re equipped to handle this and my expectations are high.”
They got two very encouraging starts from Luis Severino. Thursday night, the former Yankees ace showed he’s a much more complete pitcher than before he began a three-year journey through injuries. He held the dangerous Blue Jays lineup scoreless over five innings. He scattered two hits and two walks. He struck out six—that included striking out Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. three times (a first for the young Blue Jays slugger). Severino, who pitched 27.2 innings over the last three years because of injuries, saw his fastball touch 100 miles per hour and he used a very effective mix of pitches to get 15 swings and misses, including six on his changeup and five on his cutter.
They saw the bottom half of their lineup show signs of life. After starting his Yankee career 1-for-17, Isiah Kiner-Falefa broke out with two hits and scored two runs. He was driven in by Jose Trevino, who was his teammate with Texas before they were both dealt to the Yankees, on both plays. Trevino singled, doubled, stole a base and had two RBIs.
“I feel like it’s close. Some of his best contact has been that hard ground ball at someone. So just by getting those elevated a little bit, turning those into line drives and he should be able to take off,” Boone said of Kiner-Falefa before Thursday night’s game. “He’ll settle in here and be the quality of contact guy that we know and like a few of these guys. I do feel like he’s on the verge.”
Boone had shrugged off the woes of the bottom of his lineup, including starting catcher Kyle Higashioka, who was off Thursday night. Higashioka, who led the Yankees in home runs this spring, is 1-for-18 with no extra-base hits.
“We got to get those guys going. I’m not worried about them over the long haul. But that’s somewhere we got to start getting a little bit of production there,” Boone said. “Higgy’s gonna be fine. He’s had quality contact then there’s a lot of hard balls right at guys on the ground. So turning a couple of those in the line drives and we’ll get him rolling. He’s gonna hit for power down there. It’s gonna happen.”
Aaron Judge doubled to lead off the eighth and scored on a fielder’s choice, beyond that the heart of the Yankees lineup was once again quiet.
“I do feel like offensively we’re very close. I feel like a number of our guys are in a pretty good place as far as at-bat quality, how they’re hitting the ball. I think we’ve hit some tough luck at times. I thought we hit a number of balls well last night,” Boone said. “Really with the exception of the (Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah) game, where he really shut us down and generated for the most part, a lot of weak contact. I feel like in the third game against the Red Sox where we didn’t get that big hit, although I felt like we had some at bats and situations with guys out there.”
And Thursday night, Aroldis Chapman melted down, walking three straight batters before Michael King came in and cleaned up the mess, earning his first big league save.
() | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/yankees-shutout-jays-after-hanging-on-in-high-wire-9th-inning/ | 2022-04-15T04:56:55 | 1 | https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/14/yankees-shutout-jays-after-hanging-on-in-high-wire-9th-inning/ |
FORTH WORTH, Texas — This is why Sunisa Lee kept her promise and came to Auburn. And why Trinity Thomas endured at Florida.
To compete on the podium with their sport stopping to watch. To celebrate with their teammates under the lights. To earn a chance to have one more chance.
The two gymnastics stars checked every box during the NCAA women’s team semifinals on Thursday night.
Lee, the first Olympic champion to compete collegiately, helped send Auburn to the finals for just the second time since 1993 as the Tigers finished second to Florida in the second semifinal to qualify for Saturday’s final four.
Thomas claimed the all-around title, capping a showstopping performance with a perfect 10 on floor exercise as the Gators earned the right to join Lee and the Tigers as well as Oklahoma and Utah for a shot at a national championship.
“I feel absolutely amazing,” said Thomas, who finished with an all-around total of 39.8125, just ahead of Lee at 39.675 and Florida teammate Megan Skaggs at 39.6625. “I’ve been working through this ever since I got to school and just having a few setbacks, you know, I kept fighting. And to finally do it this time is literally a blessing.”
Even if Thomas didn’t initially know her 10 on floor — the 11th perfect score she’s collected this season, tops in the country — made her the fourth Gator to win the all-around in the last decade. She was so focused on making sure Florida made it to the team final she didn’t really pay attention to where she stood in the overall standings until the meet was over.
“(I asked my teammates) ‘do you know what the all-around was?’ And they were like, ‘No,’ and I was like, ‘Me neither,’” Thomas said with a laugh. “So, I had no clue, actually.”
Thomas eventually turned to fellow senior Savannah Schoenherr, the team’s resident calculator. When Schoenherr informed her longtime teammate it was probably her, Thomas let out a semi-surprised “oh.”
Consider it a testament to Thomas’ ability to stay in the moment.
An equipment issue when Florida was on the uneven bars forced Thomas to wait 10 long minutes while it was fixed. She passed the time by cracking jokes. When it was finally her turn to go, she delivered a 9.9750, the best of the night.
“I’m so glad it was Trinity that had to wait,” Florida coach Jenny Rowland said. “If it was going to be somebody, Trinity is great one to be able to shake it off and just go with the flow and step up and raise her game.”
The same goes for Lee.
Eight months ago she pulled off the meet of her life in Tokyo, becoming the fifth straight American woman to capture gold in the all-around. She didn’t let newfound fame distract her from going to Auburn, even if her celebrity created outsized expectations. The 19-year-old admitted to feeling jitters on Thursday before getting a pep talk from Olympic teammate Jordan Chiles, now competing for UCLA.
Chiles’ advice was simple: try to remember this is supposed to be fun.
“I think (after that) I really took the pressure off of myself and I just went out there and enjoyed it,” said Lee, who won the beam title in addition to finishing runner-up to Thomas in the all-around.
Lee joyfully ran to her teammates after her uneven bars routine served as the exclamation point that pushed Auburn to the finals.
Chiles wasn’t the only one handing out pep talks. Earlier in the day, Oklahoma reached the finals for the ninth straight time by posting a team score of 198.112, the best of the day. The statement came a day after receiving a pep talk from former Oklahoma star and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Sooners chatted with Mayfield — who won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma in 2017 — on Wednesday night, with Mayfield urging them to “feel dangerous” as the program tries to win its fourth title since 2016.
Oklahoma moved in front during the second rotation, using a stellar set on uneven bars to slip by the Utes into first. The set included a 9.887 from Olivia Trautman, competing in the event for the first time this season after being limited by a knee injury.
“(Mayfield) told us to just do our stuff and believe in ourselves,” Trautman said.
Utah reached the finals for the fourth time in five championships by finishing the meet with a rock-solid beam set. The Utes’ score of 49.600 was the highest in the event during the first semifinal, ending any hope of Alabama or Minnesota closing the gap.
Defending national champion Michigan’s bid for a repeat ended during the third rotation of the second session, where a wobbly set on uneven bars sent the Wolverines tumbling down the standings to fourth behind Florida, Auburn and Missouri.
The finals will feature familiar faces in Oklahoma, Florida and Utah. Lee’s arrival helped thrust the Tigers into heady company, which was the plan all along when she stuck with her commitment to compete for Auburn.
What happens next for Lee is unknown. She has made no secret of her desire to return to elite competition in preparation for the 2024 Olympics, a process that could start sooner rather than later, which could make her a gymnastics equivalent of “one and done.”
That decision won’t be made until after the season, a season that has one more meet to go.
“I’m really proud of us,” Lee said. | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/os-sp-florida-gators-gymnastics-advance-national-championships-semifinals-20220415-aawswnc5zrfurn4e6ldnid7ou4-story.html | 2022-04-15T05:00:49 | 0 | https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-gators/os-sp-florida-gators-gymnastics-advance-national-championships-semifinals-20220415-aawswnc5zrfurn4e6ldnid7ou4-story.html |
(The Hill) — A man charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who claimed to be following former President Trump’s orders when he entered the building was found guilty on several charges by a jury Thursday.
Dustin Thompson, 38, of Ohio, was found guilty on six charges, including disorderly conduct, theft of government property and obstruction of an official proceeding, according to the Justice Department.
Thompson was among a mob of pro-Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol last year in an attempt to overturn certification of the 2020 election, which they claim was stolen.
During his trial, Thompson asserted he was following “presidential orders” when he went to the Capitol, citing a speech Trump gave in Washington, D.C., earlier in the day, CNN reported. Thompson testified that he felt like he “had to do something to gain his respect, his approval.”
“Besides being ordered by the President to go to the Capitol, I don’t know what I was thinking,” Thompson told the jury, according to CNN. “I was caught up in the moment.”
Other Jan. 6 defendants have also argued that they were encouraged by the former president to breach the Capitol as part of an effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s actions leading up to and during the riot are the subject of an investigation by the House Jan. 6 Select Committee.
At his speech before the riot, Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” for him, though the former president has said he meant for rallygoers to do so peacefully.
Ahead of his trial, Thompson had requested the court subpoena Trump to testify in his case.
In the request, his lawyer wrote the former president “orchestrated a carefully crafted plot to call into question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election” and allegedly deceived Thompson into “believing that American democracy was at stake if Congress was permitted to certify the election results.”
According to the Justice Department indictment, Thompson traveled to D.C. from Ohio with his friend, Robert Lyon, to attend the rally. Thompson was pictured inside the Capitol building with a bottle of bourbon and a coat rack that he stole.
Around 6 p.m., law enforcement agents confronted Lyon and Thompson at a nearby intersection while the pair were waiting for an Uber.
Agents instructed Thompson to put the coat rack he had with him down, which Thompson did. When agents moved to detain the pair, Thompson fled.
Lyon did not attempt to flee and complied with the law enforcement agents. Thompson was later arrested on Jan. 25, 2021, in Ohio.
More than 770 people have been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, while more than 250 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/jan-6-rioter-who-sought-trumps-approval-convicted/ | 2022-04-15T05:10:16 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/jan-6-rioter-who-sought-trumps-approval-convicted/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Owen Power’s home debut went well on the stat sheet, but it wasn’t the best night for the team overall. While the rookie earned his first point in his young career, the Sabres couldn’t keep the Blues offense at bay, and lost 6-2 to St. Louis.
Power earned an assist in the second period on a goal from Alex Tuch. Power fed Tuch who scored his 11th goal of the season, and at that point the game was tied at two.
Vladimir Tarasenko responded with two unanswered goals, including one where he deked Power. That second goal made it 4-2, and the Blues added two more in the third to take a 6-2 win. Tarasenko had a hat trick including an empty-netter in the third.
Rasmus Asplund scored the first goal of the game for the Sabres in the first period, and that gave them a 1-0 lead. The Blues scored six of the next seven goals.
Buffalo put some pressure on St. Louis throughout the game, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities they had, and only finished with two goals on the night.
The Sabres fall to 27-38-11. Up next they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 7 p.m. | https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-sabres/power-earns-first-nhl-point-sabres-fall-to-blues-6-2/ | 2022-04-15T05:10:22 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-sabres/power-earns-first-nhl-point-sabres-fall-to-blues-6-2/ |
Kaiir Elam is one of the top cornerbacks in the draft. He started 26 games over 3 seasons at Florida. Elam finished his college career with six interceptions and 26 pass defenses. the 6-foot-2-inch defensive back has ideal size, length, and strength to excel at the next level in different coverages but he really enjoys playing man-to-man.
Playing on an island is something nobody in the whole world will ever experience unless you’re out there,” Elam said. “there’s nothing anybody can possibly do for you to get that same exact feeling and that excitement.”
“I really get excited being on an island by myself because I feel like I’m better than anybody I play against,” Elam continued. “I’m looking to dominate you because I know the work I put in I’m not just being cocky or arrogant I know the work I put in to excel and go there and dominate.”
After the 2020 season, Elam was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s top defensive back. He dealt with nagging injuries during the 2021 season but showed toughness and the willingness to battle through injuries.
“The biggest adversity I had to overcome was getting injured in the second quarter of the Alabama game and having to tell them just put some icy hot on it let’s roll because it was the biggest game of my life and I just had to go out there and perform and help my team win,” Elam said.
Elam is projected to be a late 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. | https://www.wivb.com/sports/nfl-draft/30-in-30-florida-cb-kaiir-elam/ | 2022-04-15T05:10:28 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/sports/nfl-draft/30-in-30-florida-cb-kaiir-elam/ |
BOOKSTORES NOW sell only certain kinds of children’s books.
“Go into Barnes & Noble,” says Bethany Mandel in my new video, “and you will be met with a wall of biographies. Probably 27 different books about former Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Great. A ton about Kamala Harris. Great.”
But where are the biographies on conservatives? There weren’t any.
She found lots on people like Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren and Rachel Carson, but not one on conservatives like Margaret Thatcher or Amy Coney Barrett.
“It’s time to bring those books to the market because Lord knows the publishing industry won’t,” says Mandel.
So, she created Heroes of Liberty, a company that will publish books on conservatives like Barrett, Ronald Reagan and Thomas Sowell.
“You’re indoctrinating kids just like the left does,” I tell her.
“That’s a very fair question,” she responds. “My answer is, read the books!”
Her top seller is her biography of Sowell, who overcame adversity to become a famous economist.
When Sowell’s family moved to New York, his new teachers put him in a lower grade because they assumed that he couldn’t compete. Sowell went to see the principal.
“He didn’t play the victim. He stood up for himself,” says Mandel. “He said, ‘I will prove to you that I’m capable of doing fourth grade math.’” The principal actually listened and gave him a test. When Sowell aced it, the principal told the teachers, “Take this young man to fourth grade, where he belongs!”
Sowell didn’t let racism or poverty stop him. He helped pay his family’s expenses by getting jobs, like delivering groceries.
By contrast, she says, books from today’s big publishing houses portray Black people as victims who advance only through protest. Ibram X. Kendi’s popular “Antiracist Baby” teaches kids to focus on color. “If you claim to be color-blind, you deny what’s right in front of you,” writes Kendi.
That’s “toxic,” says Mandel. “When you promote this hyperawareness of race, kids see their friend as Black, white or brown, instead of Lucy or Sally.”
Although conservatives make up about half the country, book publishers rarely try to appeal to them. “When they produce 27 books about Ruth Bader Ginsburg or ‘Antiracist Baby’ board books, those are bought in bulk by libraries,” says Mandel. Libraries buy many more books than moms and dads. “(So book publishers) have this incentive built in to churn out progressive ideological books.”
That surprised me. I thought of librarians as apolitical. But no, today they are part of the progressive mob. Ninety percent of librarians’ political donations go to Democrats.
“It’s our tax dollars buying 1,000 copies of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and zero about Amy Coney Barrett,” Mandel points out.
Mandel is frustrated that “girls” children’s literature rarely focuses on motherhood. The books suggest, “You can be a NASA scientist, an entomologist, (but) girls are not taught that you can have all these career ambitions and also be a mother.” Barrett has seven kids. Mandel’s book says: “For Amy, being a mother is no less important than being a judge.”
Mandel’s books are mostly about conservatives. She recently released one about John Wayne.
I’m libertarian, not conservative, but I am still glad she’s producing alternatives to what today’s publishers pick.
Other authors are fighting back, too. The Tuttle Twins’ books feature libertarians like Frederic Bastiat. Julie Borowski’s books teach kids about the free market.
All had to self-publish because traditional publishers were hostile to people like them.
Even illustrators turned down Mandel’s books for fear of being “canceled.”
“We have a hard time paying people many thousands of dollars to illustrate books! We’re never going to get a book printed about Amy Coney Barrett with a Scholastic (or) Penguin Random House!”
Fortunately, a free market can’t be held back forever. | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/columnists/john-stossel-kids-books/article_f99488c1-d029-5a35-a26e-4c0b4d0dde84.html | 2022-04-15T05:10:51 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/columnists/john-stossel-kids-books/article_f99488c1-d029-5a35-a26e-4c0b4d0dde84.html |
The search for a new school superintendent for Manchester continues to appear to be a rush job, which is exactly the wrong approach. The school board ought to slow down and get this right.
What, by the way, is the need for this rush? Interim Superintendent Jenn Gillis appears to have things under control. She seems fully competent and her current role may show that she is among those qualified for the permanent position.
The board is trying to compress the search and a measuring of community interests and opinion into an unrealistic time frame. It has just now chosen a UNH group to conduct these community listening sessions. But with a self-imposed deadline of April 29 to begin reviewing applications, that leaves precious little time to figure out just what the community might have to say.
In fact, with spring vacation looming, it leaves barely one week to “listen” to citizens and to compile what is said into something that the search committee can actually use in reviewing candidates for the job.
New board member Gary Hamer attempted to tell his colleagues what he has been hearing from constituents.
“The overwhelming response is that we should not do this. While no one is adverse to community input regarding the new superintendent, the belief is that this effort is happening too late. To spend it on getting feedback that may or may not be able to be used for the sake of getting feedback, which seems ridiculous.”
If the board is serious about getting widespread citizen input — not just a few special interests — into what qualifications a superintendent should have, it needs to slow down. Skipping this schooling is not a good look.
Two New Hampshire men who continue to contribute much to public understanding of America are filmmaker Ken Burns and writer Dayton Duncan. Their latest work, a two-part series on Benjamin Franklin, has just aired on PBS. It is one of their best efforts.
April 9th is the 80th anniversary of the largest surrender of U.S. troops in history at Bataan in 1942. During the death march that followed, unknowable thousands perished among the estimated 75,000 American and Filipino servicemen taken prisoner by the Japanese.
Further on the matter of Gov. Chris Sununu’s remarks regarding Donald Trump at an elegant Washington dinner last weekend. (And, no, we won’t even touch the subsequent COVID-19 outbreak.)
Chris Sununu would like all of us (press, people, politicos) to “lighten up” and understand that he was only joking about Donald Trump in a Washington appearance the other night.
The boxer Tyson Fury didn’t become great by taking the lineal heavyweight boxing crown when he beat Ukrainian war hero Wladimir Klitchko in what amounted to a 12-round dance off years ago. Fury became great by getting off the canvas to salvage a draw against Deontay Wilder years later. A win…
Donna Soucy, Democrat, deplores an attempt to ensure that only legitimate New Hampshire residents vote in New Hampshire elections. She and her party colleagues in the state Senate voted last week against a bill that would strengthen election integrity without harming in any way the rights of…
In a column we publish today, UNH President James Dean provides a cogent summary of accomplishments at the state university in the past four years since he took the helm. It’s quite a list and we commend it to you.
We hope the new spokesman for New Hampshire’s Attorney General misspoke last week. In refusing to provide the public with records regarding a fired state police officer, the spokesman said this is a case “about protecting the private, personnel records of the tens of thousands of public empl… | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/editorials/rushing-the-super-lousy-way-to-pick-a-boss/article_32ba17af-e433-52e4-9a6f-506b4d7f037d.html | 2022-04-15T05:10:57 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/editorials/rushing-the-super-lousy-way-to-pick-a-boss/article_32ba17af-e433-52e4-9a6f-506b4d7f037d.html |
To the Editor: The governor of Texas put exhausted people who had bravely crossed the border for a better life for their families on buses to Washington. He thought himself very clever as he made a political statement at the expense of the downtrodden seeking a better life. One suspects it was a journey Gov. Greg Abbott himself would not have succeeded in finishing.
It’s one thing to be clever, another to be brave. Clearly he failed to consider that these were people who had endured great hardship. Instead, they became for him political pawns. Illegal immigration is a serious problem in all countries, but as the Pope has said, “People are not illegal.” God has given them this Earth. Let us approach one of the great problems of our time with integrity and respect for all human life.
To the Editor: We cannot have a candidate in our Republican primary who is a poster boy for election fraud on Hillary Clinton’s Twitter, while the Democrats are also actively seeking to undermine our elections. 2020 made clear how important it is to ensure that every eligible voter gets bu…
To the Editor: When Bosnian Serbs were committing war crimes they termed ethnic cleansing, the U.S. and NATO eventually stepped in militarily to stop the bloodshed. A peace deal was then brokered. Today, Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. While sanctions will cost Russians financial… | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-immigrants-want-the-same-things-our-ancestors-did/article_3035ed4f-d389-5bca-9df0-ad357e55a3a5.html | 2022-04-15T05:11:03 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-immigrants-want-the-same-things-our-ancestors-did/article_3035ed4f-d389-5bca-9df0-ad357e55a3a5.html |
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The author of the following Good Friday poem, which first appeared in this newspaper in 1976, is retired Union Leader copy editor Barry Palmer.
...
The air hangs heavy
My heart stands still
They gather all around me
And hasten for the kill.
They tear my garments from me
Undraped here I stand
While they prepare to crucify
The bleeding Son of Man.
It’s hard for me to understand
Or realize just why
My death is made a mockery
Which makes my mother cry.
When just last week I spoke of peace
And everlasting love,
Apparently to deafened ears
And darkened skies above.
It was just last night I prayed,
Father, if the will be thine,
Take away this chalice ...
This bleeding cup of mine.
But yet, not as I will
But as Thy will be done.
And when pain shot through my heart,
I knew my hour had come.
A noisy crowd shatters the night;
My heart begins to race;
And then a traitor’s lips
Plant a kiss upon my face.
They scourged me at a pillar
And whipped me till I bled,
But this was just a taste
Of the agony ahead.
A wreath of thorns upon my head;
I ached with every breath;
I went before the multitude
They sentenced me to death.
A cross I had to carry,
The splinters tore my skin.
The treacherous road to Calvary
Was just now to begin.
The mid-day sun took its toll;
My knees buckled and gave way.
My heart was beating very fast
As on the ground I lay.
My head began to spin around
And I felt the blistering heat.
I could not go on, and once again
Fell ... at my mother’s feet.
I looked up at her tear-stained face
And even though she tried
To hold back the emotion,
She looked at me and cried.
I stumbled again and fell once more
As time seemed to stand still.
Bruised and bleeding, I arrived
At the sacrificial hill.
And now I stand here naked;
Tormented by seething pain,
While nails are driven through my flesh.
And piercing every vein.
The agony is unbearable
As spikes drive through the bone;
And they nail me to the cross
To suffer all alone.
I now look down from my cross
And see the brutal few.
Father, please forgive them.
They know not what they do.
To my right and to my left
The two thieves I behold.
One this day finds Paradise
But the other heart is cold.
Below me I can dimly see
My mother so divine,
Trying hard to hold back tears
As I try to hold back mine.
Woman, behold your Son.
It hurts you, that I know.
I can see the torment in your eyes
As tears begin to flow.
Upon my robe they cast their lots
To see who gets it first.
My whispered word goes unheard
As I cry to them, “I thirst.”
My arms are getting weary,
And I am numb with pain;
The aching and the throbbing
Seem impossible to retain.
Now I hang here all alone
For all the world to see;
My heart cries out, “My God, My God,
Why hast thou forsaken me?”
I see the sky above grow dark,
And not a sound I hear,
And I know deep inside my heart
That the end is near.
To Thy hands I commend my spirit.
Father, take Thy Son.
I see the light of life go out.
Father ... it is done. | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/barry-palmer-to-the-hands-i-commend-my-spirit-copy/article_a2fa6450-9ca5-5097-8625-8ebf55187f14.html | 2022-04-15T05:11:15 | 1 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/barry-palmer-to-the-hands-i-commend-my-spirit-copy/article_a2fa6450-9ca5-5097-8625-8ebf55187f14.html |
I WAS RECENTLY dismayed by news that the state Senate is considering allowing senators to participate in meetings remotely. Public observation and senatorial participation are two entirely different categories. C-SPAN (since 1979) and local access television have given the public opportunities to observe public meetings for decades. Full participation is not remotely possible.
The Senate is conceived as a body within which serious high-level debate and deliberation are meant to take place. Virtual presence is not real presence and should never be allowed outside of emergency circumstances.
As a Presbyterian minister I have encouraged the unintended blessing of churches live streaming services when there was no alternative. It has turned out to be an enormous encouragement to shut-ins, who cannot ever attend services. Many churches will now continue to provide this means of communication, but no one should think that it is ever a substitute for real personal presence.
The importance and power of personal presence should not be underestimated. I began my doctoral work in 1990 on the topic of the impact of the electronic environment on public discourse, particularly preaching (The Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures: Preaching in the Electronic Age, W&S, 2021). My research reinforced my conviction that as embodied creatures, personal presence and community belonging are essential to our humanity and our overall health.
The tendency toward the virtual began with the 19th-century telegraph. The telephone, television, personal computer, and now Internet 2.0; mobile devices and social media have brought this tendency to the status of cultural norm. The pandemic has simply accelerated this pattern. Most people have a sense that this is not a healthy trend but are unable to articulate the reasons that personal presence is to be preferred to virtual or remote presence. While the present bill before the senate contains helpful restrictions on remote participation, it fails to address the crucial distinction between virtual and personal presence.
Many researchers are sounding an alarm in this area. Professor Sherry Turkle, who was once very positive about the effects of technology on human beings and their relationships, has recently written “Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other” (2011). She is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, the founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She reports a change in her early assessments of the human value of computing,
I reported on this work (focus groups on boundaries between real and virtual worlds) in my 1995 “Life on the Screen”, which offered, on balance, a positive view of new opportunities for exploring identity online. But by then, my optimism of 1984 (The Second Self) had been challenged. I was meeting many people who found online life more satisfying than what some derisively called “RL,” that is real life.
Presbyterian Pastor Eric Jacobsen, in “Three Pieces of Glass: Why We Feel Lonely in a World Mediated by Screens” (2020), explores the ways in which the automobile (windshield), the television, and the smartphone undermine healthy belonging.
Personal presence fosters collegial respect and civility. Facial expressions and body language are a vital part of debate and all personal relationships. The very architecture of the Senate chamber invites — actually demands — personal presence. The semicircular seating focuses attention upon the speaker up front, but with a peripheral awareness of Senate colleagues. The elegance of the Greek Revival architecture, with its windows, paneling, and moldings, communicates human dignity and invites attire appropriate to the seriousness of the meetings.
Pajamas fail to do this, although they are great in the informal setting of home. Formality in dress, speech, and behavior is a very critical aspect of important functions in human life. Seriousness and civility in public meetings are cultivated by the design of the meeting space, the dress of participants, and the nature of its deliberations.
While the difference personal presence makes may be mysterious and difficult to articulate, it is no less real than the growth of plants. Remote participation in meetings undermines our humanity and the democratic institutions we cherish. I hope that the Senate will reconsider its position on remote attendance. The House seems to have displayed more wisdom on this issue.
In an era in which loneliness is an epidemic and literal signs, symbols, and attitudes tell us to keep our distance, remote participation in important meetings is not remotely conducive to healthy human life. | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/gregory-e-reynolds-meeting-in-person-matters/article_34a5a89b-3395-5c7e-8c8e-c3ababab556b.html | 2022-04-15T05:11:22 | 0 | https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/gregory-e-reynolds-meeting-in-person-matters/article_34a5a89b-3395-5c7e-8c8e-c3ababab556b.html |
5 houses, 2 garages, 12 vehicles go up in flames in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - The Cleveland Fire Department confirmed five houses, two garages, and 12 vehicles went up in flames on the east side of the city Wednesday.
The initial call was for a single house on fire in the 1800 block of Mannering Road, but the wind-driven flames quickly spread to the neighboring structures, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo, “It was a wind-driven fire. Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire it really intensifies it.”
Eighty Cleveland firefighters from 17 different fire companies were called in to battle the primary fire, that was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived, and led to the home almost immediately collapsing.
Tayshawna Wright never heard warning knocks on her door. The Cleveland woman was asleep in an upstairs bedroom of a neighboring home, and only woke up to the danger that spread to her apartment when she started feeling the heat, “I woke up my boyfriend got the dogs out of the cage, tried to grab cell phones, but that didn’t work out. My dogs ran back upstairs and I was really scared for them.”
Firefighters tackled the flames and the rushed inside saving pups Chico and Fabio. “I was happy, I was happy,” Wright said.
But Wright and neighbors in 5 structures lost their homes, cars and all of their belongings, but fortunately walked away with their lives.
Firefighters also thankful because the massive fire could have been far worse, because along with strong winds, there were not enough hydrants to supply the massive mounts of water needed, “We had to actually do a relay operation to catch the water, the water supply off of Euclid in addition to the street here,” Chief Calvillo said.
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo confirmed no one was injured, and firefighters rescued two dogs and a cat.
However, the fire displaced a total of 14 adults and two children, Cleveland Fire said.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the victims with shelter, clothing and food.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ | 2022-04-15T05:13:26 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ |
Zelenskyy hails Ukrainians’ resolve 50 days into invasion
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision of their life — to fight.”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
Back then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure whether Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”
Listing the ways Ukraine has defended against the onslaught, Zelenskyy noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea.
WARNING: Videos may contain graphic content.
It was his only reference to the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, which became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war. It sank Thursday while being towed to port after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained under dispute.
Ukrainian officials said their forces struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv.
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It’s also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The Associated Press 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.
The news about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces 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.
Dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are holding out against a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told AP in an interview Thursday that people are being “starved to death” in the besieged city.
Mariupol’s mayor said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could surpass 20,000, after weeks of attacks and privation carpeted the streets with corpses.
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 Donbas region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and it is likely to add more ground combat units soon. But it’s still unclear when Russia could launch a bigger offensive in the Donbas.
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, governor of the Odesa region, said Ukrainian forces struck the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the “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 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, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where it was when the fire began.
Launched as the Slava in 1979, the cruiser saw service in the Cold War and during conflicts in Georgia and Syria, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States. During the Cold War, it carried nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved farther south after the Moskva incident, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.
While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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 particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Economic Club of Washington.
Russia invaded Feb. 24 and has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further inflated prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the war helped push the organization to downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters some 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo, in Russia’s Bryansk region. 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.
___
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ | 2022-04-15T05:13:32 | 0 | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ |
Person shot outside North Carolina home of DaBaby, police say
A person was shot and wounded outside the North Carolina home of rapper DaBaby, authorities said Thursday, but it was unclear if he himself was involved or hurt.
A 26-year-old man allegedly climbed the fence surrounding the property and was shot, according to an incident report from Troutman Police (TPD). No charges were filed in the shooting as of Thursday night.
DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, was on the property at the time of the shooting, according to TPD. Police did not release the name of the shooter.
"I can confirm the shooting did not occur inside the residence and that Mr. Kirk was on the property," police Chief Josh Watson told CNN in an email. Watson said the investigation is in "an ongoing status" and he was not able to provide further information.
Around 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, police arrived at the residence and found a man "suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound," TPD said in a statement.
The shooting victim was transported by Iredell County EMS to a medical facility to treat his injury, the statement said.
A manager for the rapper declined to comment Thursday.
The eight-time Grammy-nominated rapper is a North Carolina native.
The town of Troutman is located around 35 miles north of Charlotte.
The shooting is the latest in a series of incidents involving the rapper. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon after a fatal shooting at a Walmart in Huntersville, North Carolina, just south of Troutman. He was not charged in the shooting.
Last year, the rapper was arrested after he took a loaded gun into an upscale store on Rodeo Drive.
DaBaby also made headlines last summer when he made false and disparaging comments about gay men and HIV during a performance in Miami. The comments were quickly condemned by fans, LGBTQ+ groups and other celebrities, including Elton John, Dua Lipa and Madonna, and DaBaby later apologized.
CNN contributed to this report. | https://www.wisn.com/article/person-shot-outside-north-carolina-home-of-dababy-police-say/39729651 | 2022-04-15T05:26:29 | 1 | https://www.wisn.com/article/person-shot-outside-north-carolina-home-of-dababy-police-say/39729651 |
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, recently visited Queen Elizabeth II, marking the couple’s first return to the U.K. together since moving to California in 2020.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry, 37, and the former Meghan Markle, 40, confirmed to TODAY that the pair visited Queen Elizabeth II on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, which begin this weekend.
News of their meeting surfaced after the queen missed Maundy Thursday services at St. George’s Chapel. She is not expected to attend Sunday's traditional Easter services either.
Queen Elizabeth II revealed last week that she was “tired and exhausted” after battling COVID-19 in February.
But, that hasn’t stopped her from working.
“She’s actually come to a new work-life balance, if you like,” NBC News royal expert Daisy McAndrew explained on TODAY Thursday.
Entertainment News
The Duchess of Sussex has not publicly returned to Europe since March 2020 following the announcement that she and her husband had decided to officially "step back" as senior royals.
In the years since, the two did a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey and welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who will turn 1 on June 4.
The two are also parents to Archie, who will turn 3 on May 6.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry challenged the British government’s decision to not allow him to pay for his police protection during his returns to the U.K.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the U.K.,” his legal representative said in a statement by email in January.
Last month, his spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that he would not travel to the U.K. to attend a memorial service that honored his late grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His grandfather died on April 9, 2021, at age 99.
Prince Harry was present at Prince Philip’s official funeral in 2021 in Windsor, England.
This will be Prince Harry’s fifth Invictus Games. He started the multi-day sporting competition, which honors wounded service members and veterans, in 2014.
The international sports competition runs from April 16 to April 22 in the Dutch city The Hague this year.
In 2017, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made her first public appearance at one of his events when she attended the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto to show support for then-boyfriend Prince Harry.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/prince-harry-and-meghan-visit-queen-elizabeth-together-for-1st-time-in-2-years/3647488/ | 2022-04-15T05:30:14 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/prince-harry-and-meghan-visit-queen-elizabeth-together-for-1st-time-in-2-years/3647488/ |
Israeli security forces entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem before dawn as thousands of Palestinians were gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, setting off clashes that medics said wounded at least 59 Palestinians.
Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been the epicenter of waves of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.
Videos circulating online showed Palestinians hurling rocks and police firing tear gas and stun grenades on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the mosque. Others showed worshippers barricading themselves inside the mosque itself amid what appeared to be clouds of tear gas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it evacuated 59 wounded people to hospitals. The endowment said one of the guards at the site was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said dozens of masked men carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags marched to the compound early Friday and gathered stones.
“Police were forced to enter the grounds to disperse the crowd and remove the stones and rocks, in order to prevent further violence,” it tweeted.
The police said they waited until prayers were over and the crowds started to disperse. In a statement, it said crowds started hurling rocks in the direction of the Western Wall, a nearby Jewish holy site, forcing them to act. They said they did not enter the mosque itself.
U.S. & World
Palestinians view any large deployment of police at Al-Aqsa as a major provocation.
The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It is built on a hilltop that is the most sacred site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It has been a major flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence for decades and was the epicenter of the 2000-2005 Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Tensions have soared in recent weeks following a series of attacks by Palestinians that killed 14 people inside Israel. Israel has carried out a wave of arrests and military operations across the occupied West Bank, setting off clashes with Palestinians.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 17-year-old died early Friday from wounds suffered during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Jenin the day before.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in the recent wave of violence, many of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in the clashes, but also an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been killed by mistake.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians were expected to gather at Al-Aqsa for Friday prayers.
Weeks of protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan last year eventually ignited an 11-day war with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
Israel had lifted restrictions and taken other steps to try and calm tensions ahead of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover holiday and Christian holy week, brining thousands of pilgrims and other visitors to Jerusalem.
But the attacks and the military raids have caused another wave of unrest.
Hamas condemned what it said were “brutal attacks" on worshippers at Al-Aqsa by Israeli forces, saying Israel would bear "all the consequences." It called on all Palestinians to “stand by our people in Jerusalem.”
Earlier this week, Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza had called on Palestinians to camp out at the Al-Aqsa mosque over the weekend. Palestinians have long feared that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it.
Israeli authorities say they are committed to maintaining the status quo, but in recent years nationalist and religious Jews have visited the site in large numbers with police escorts.
Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to Al-Aqsa and other major holy sites, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want the eastern part of the city to be the capital of a future independent state including the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel also captured during the war nearly 55 years ago. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/clashes-erupt-at-jerusalem-holy-site-59-palestinians-hurt/3647494/ | 2022-04-15T05:30:20 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/clashes-erupt-at-jerusalem-holy-site-59-palestinians-hurt/3647494/ |
On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision of their life — to fight.”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
Back then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure whether Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”
Listing the ways Ukraine has defended against the onslaught, Zelenskyy noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea.
It was his only reference to the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, which became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war. It sank Thursday while being towed to port after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained under dispute.
Ukrainian officials said their forces struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv.
More Russia-Ukraine War
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It's also a blow to Moscow's prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The Associated Press 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.
The news about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow's forces 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.
Dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are holding out against a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told AP in an interview Thursday that people are being “starved to death” in the besieged city.
Mariupol’s mayor said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could surpass 20,000, after weeks of attacks and privation carpeted the streets with corpses.
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 Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and it is likely to add more ground combat units soon. But it's still unclear when Russia could launch a bigger offensive in the Donbas.
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, governor of the Odesa region, said Ukrainian forces struck the ship with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the “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 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, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where it was when the fire began.
Launched as the Slava in 1979, the cruiser saw service in the Cold War and during conflicts in Georgia and Syria, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States. During the Cold War, it carried nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved farther south after the Moskva incident, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.
While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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 particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Economic Club of Washington.
Russia invaded Feb. 24 and has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further inflated prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the war helped push the organization to downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters some 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo, in Russia's Bryansk region. 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.
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/3647515/ | 2022-04-15T05:30:27 | 1 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/3647515/ |
On Wednesday, health officials in New York said that two new omicron variants are spreading rapidly in the state. The variants appear to be causing a small surge in cases in central New York state, the department of health said.
Known as BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, the variants are closely related to the BA.2 variant – a version of omicron that has caused surges across Europe and is now dominant across the U.S.
Together the two new variants now comprise 90% of cases in central New York.
But one of them, BA.2.12.1, contains a mutation that appears to give the variant an advantage, computational biologist Cornelius Roemer wrote on Twitter. The mutation resides on the part of the virus that binds to human cells. And in previous variants, this mutation has helped the virus infect cells, studies have found. The BA.2.12. variant appears to have a growth advantage of about 30% to 90% per week over BA.2, Roemer estimates.
"It looks like [the variant] has an advantage ... It has certainly rapidly grown in some places," epidemiologist William Hanage, at Harvard University, wrote in an email to NPR. Some of the variants' mutations could help the virus evade the immune system, he notes.
But it's early days for this virus. Scientists have detected this variant in six countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel and Luxembourg, but the vast majority of cases are in the U.S. Those are localized primarily to central New York. "It is worth noting that the incidence [of this variant] is not very high at the moment," Hanage adds. "So the total numbers of cases are not huge at present."
And what does this new variant portend? After a few months of COVID cases declining across the country, several regions are starting to see cases rise again, including New England and Washington, D.C. But this rise seems independent of these new variants, says virologist Jeremy Luban at UMass Chan Medical School.
"In the Boston area where I am, the numbers came down, maybe as low as five new cases per day per 100,000. But now cases are creeping up again," he says. "We may be starting to see some of these new variants here now. But cases have been steadily going up before they were there."
Fortunately, he says, this rise is much slower and more gradual than the rise observed with the original omicron variant, BA.1, back in December, when the cases spiked incredibly quickly. "BA.1 just exploded. It appeared and dominated so dramatically. Then it came down quickly," Luban says.
Most scientists expect the surge by BA.2 – including all its different versions – will be much smaller than that observed with BA.1, Luban says. That's because many Americans have some immunity to these variants, given the massive number of people exposed to the virus during the first omicron surge. Nearly 50% of Americans could have been infected over the winter, Trevor Bedford at the University of Washington estimated last week.
Although BA.2.12.1 may be better at evading the immune system than other omicron variants, scientists still expect the vaccine to work well against it, at least in terms of protecting people from severe COVID and hospitalization.
"I'm relatively optimistic that, despite all of these changes in the virus, the vaccines will hold up," Luban says. "So people who have been vaccinated and boosted are not going to be hospitalized, by and large, unless there's some extenuating circumstances."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/2-new-omicron-variants-are-spreading-in-n-y-and-elsewhere-heres-what-we-know | 2022-04-15T05:33:40 | 0 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/2-new-omicron-variants-are-spreading-in-n-y-and-elsewhere-heres-what-we-know |
Fanned by 100 mile an hour winds in the dead of winter, the Marshall Fire raced into the suburbs east of Boulder last December. It burned from home to home, igniting a whole shopping center and a hotel.
More than three months later, that hotel's eerie four story high elevator shaft is the only thing that remains in the rubble. Suburban neighborhoods around the Boulder turnpike are leveled. More than a thousand homes were destroyed, making Marshall the most destructive wildfire ever in Colorado. The steady hum of giant bulldozers is heard all around, as the machines scoop up twisted burnt debris; torched patio furniture, smashed ceramic garden pots and even the skeletons of charred cars.
"When I drive through our neighborhood and it looks like a war zone, I can't help but just be still shocked," says Lonni Pearce, who lost everything in the fire.
The University of Colorado professor was underinsured - a common problem after disasters - and she's not sure she and her family will rebuild. For now, they feel lucky to have found a place nearby to rent. But this spring, as the fierce winds like those that whipped the Marshall Fire into an inferno have returned to the area, so has the trauma.
"It just felt like, ok, can this really be happening again?" Pearce says.
So many red flags
It's become hard to remember a day recently when the heavily populated - and tinder dry - Colorado Front Range wasn't under a red flag warning for extreme fire danger. Since the Marshall Fire, there have been several close calls, including the recent NCAR Fire, which forced Arzelia Walker to briefly evacuate her home of forty years in south Boulder.
"You sort of start to feel anxious," Walker says, referring to the winds. "The fact that the Marshall Fire was in the dead of winter is terrifying."
Like a lot of this college town of about 100,000 people at the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains, Walker's neighborhood abuts open space and forest land.
"Our big winds tend to come in the winter so that's not been a problem so much in the past because there's been snow," she says.
But climate change has made winters warmer and drier. The irony of the NCAR Fire, named after the climate change research lab it threatened, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, wasn't lost on many Boulderites. Fortunately, firefighters got a handle on it before it got bigger than 200 acres though.
"Definitely a scare," says Brian Oliver, the wildland division chief for Boulder Fire. "You can see the neighborhood just a couple hundred yards away from the fire line, that black edge there."
Boulder is on edge
On a recent windy afternoon, Oliver stood on the mesa where NCAR sits, with its 360 degree view of the city and its striking flatiron rock formations. Red flag warnings prompted him to station fire engines in strategic places around town. A pair of heavy air tankers was also on call in nearby Fort Collins, assuming it was safe for them to fly in the wind.
"There's definitely a feeling of, I'm not sure the word to use, on edge is a good way to put it," Oliver says. "Because we haven't gotten a break."
Fires, floods, the pandemic, a mass shooting a year ago at the grocery store just down the hill, Oliver says it's been relentless. When the NCAR fire ignited, evacuation alerts went out to an estimated 19,000 people, more than probably needed it, and traffic was bottlenecked. But Oliver says he'd rather be overly cautious than have people trapped behind a fire. Firefighters will never be able to stop modern wildfires like these.
"I equate that to trying to fight a hurricane," he says. "We don't mobilize a force to go turn a hurricane around. We get everybody out of the way and then we try to come back in and clean up after we can."
These aren't the wildfires burning into newly built communities out in the woods and wildland that lately have grabbed headlines. Boulder capped growth and sprawl some 40 years ago. But climate change, Oliver says, is bringing the fires into the city.
Get ready for fire years, not seasons
Federal leaders, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, toured Boulder County this week trying to sound that alarm. One of their stops was the still charred hillsides of the Calwood Fire in a canyon north of town. In late October of 2020, it burned about 10,000 acres and destroyed homes. The same day, what had been the state's largest wildfire until last year, the Cameron Peak Fire, also ignited in neighboring Larimer County.
"It is clear that fire seasons no longer exist here in Colorado, we have fire years," says Rep. Joe Neguse, the Democratic congressman who represents the two counties. "It is all the more reason and motivation for us to take wildfire mitigation and resiliency seriously."
Neguse touted the $130 million in new fire funding in the infrastructure law President Biden signed in November. It will go to prevention and hiring more fire crews in the western states.
The spending plan won't help the scores of people in crisis in Boulder County right now. But Lonni Pearce, whose home burned down last December, found the news encouraging.
"It feels like this is a little bit of a tipping point," she says. " Okay, things are really real now and we need to, not just as individuals, but as communities, start to do things differently."
From changing landscaping around homes to building codes, Pearce says, westerners have to live with fire now, even in cities.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/after-a-rough-year-new-wildfire-warnings-have-boulder-colo-on-edge | 2022-04-15T05:33:47 | 1 | https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2022-04-14/after-a-rough-year-new-wildfire-warnings-have-boulder-colo-on-edge |
Jacobsen-Huse is an athletic director at PHS.
She also swam at her alma mater, and in 1970, wanted to trade the back and forth for something a little more dynamic: water polo.
The only problem was that girls water polo wasn't very common. Pasadena High certainly didn't have a team.
So at the same pool where she has since coached and led, Jacobsen-Huse and her friends started one.
"They gave us pool time, they gave us water polo balls, and some of the other high school students who were boys coached us," said Jacobsen-Huse.
They played after swim season and on their own time.
Two years later, she went to the University of California - Santa Barbara and started all over again, creating a team, coached by the boys, with no major trophy to chase.
It caught on.
"The first year, we each hosted a tournament: Santa Barbara, San Diego and Chico State," said Jacobsen-Huse. "It was great, we were undefeated!"
They all shared a bigger win.
It was the first year of Title IX, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
It meant girls could play.
"We were celebrating that this passed, but we had no idea how long it would take for it to actually go into effect," said Jacobsen-Huse.
By her senior year, she traveled out of state for competitions.
But she would spend decades more pushing for official representation within the California Interscholastic Federation, the NCAA, and the Olympics.
Those efforts would later get her inducted into the Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Which, of course, means she and her teammates were successful ... eventually.
CIF recognized girl's water polo in 1998, and it became an Olympic sport in 2000. The NCAA did so in 2001.
Jacobsen-Huse never saw her efforts become a reality as a player, but she sure did see it through.
"It makes me almost a little emotional honestly," said Kara-Leigh Huse, who has always had her role model by her side. "Not only did she pave the way in water polo for us, and for me, but she's also my mom."
By the time she started playing competitively, girls had opportunities at every level. Today, the NCAA has 65 schools with women's water polo.
Kara-Leigh Huse earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California. Her mom got to hear her daughter's name announced from the stands.
And in 2010, 40 years after Jacobsen-Huse's first team led the way, Kara-Leigh Huse and her Trojans won the national championship, etching their own place in history. | https://abc7ny.com/50-fifty-title-ix-jennie-jacobsen-huse/11749261/ | 2022-04-15T05:39:17 | 0 | https://abc7ny.com/50-fifty-title-ix-jennie-jacobsen-huse/11749261/ |
The big reveal came Thursday at the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
The new NYPD vehicle is the 2022 Mustang GT Mach-E, a full electric, all-wheel-drive SUV.
Each car has ballistic door panels and window inserts on both front doors.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement on Wednesday and encouraged New Yorkers to visit the indoor electric vehicle test track at the auto show.
She also announced that 10 fast chargers, able to power compatible EVs in less than 30 minutes, will be installed at LaGuardia Airport as part of NYPA's EVolve NY fast-charging network.
The network will soon have more than 100 high-speed charging ports across the state.
ALSO READ | Man who spotted subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, flagged down officers speaks out
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* Follow us on YouTube | https://abc7ny.com/nypd-first-electric-car/11749425/ | 2022-04-15T05:39:23 | 1 | https://abc7ny.com/nypd-first-electric-car/11749425/ |
It has been two years since I made peace with my alopecia. I marked the moment on Juneteenth in 2020, with a video that I posted on social media. Before an audience of supportive Facebook friends, I revealed my bald head that was shaved by decision, even though having alopecia was not my choice.
Alopecia is a disease that happens in the immune system and causes hair loss. By robbing me of the freedom to flaunt my own hair in its most natural state, it left me conflicted about whether I could effectively continue my mission of advocating for Black women to be able to do the same.
My alopecia cared nothing about my community reputation as a nap activist. As founder of A Nappy Hair Affair, I passionately promoted Black hairstyle choices and worked hard to debunk the good-hair-bad-hair mythology that diminishes the self-esteem of Black women and girls. As a news reporter, I wrote about workplace hair discrimination and unfair state licensing regulations imposed upon professional braiders.
I launched a line of nappy T-shirts, produced the Nappy News, a newsletter of events and affirmations, and made myself the “headitor.” I wrote a book of “Nappyisms” to celebrate our hair.
The theft of my own hair started when I was a college student in the early ‘70s. I discovered a small bald patch the size of a quarter on the right side of my scalp. Since I wore a relatively thick Afro, I was able to fluff my hair out just enough to cover the bald spot. It remained a secret from the public until my boyfriend outed me in front of his friends. Poking his finger into my hair, he exposed the spot that I was trying to hide. It was supposed to be a joke. Since it was my boyfriend who had embarrassed me with his obnoxious act of cruelty, there was no Will Smith-style intervention. No one stepped up on my behalf to slap the crap out of him when the laughter began. My boyfriend was obviously not a keeper, and fortunately that was the last time anyone was that mean about my condition.
My bald spot remained dormant for several years, so I still had enough hair to wear my favorite African-inspired hairstyles. At times I was even daring enough to wear my Afro cut low, knowing that the bald spot was visible. But I didn’t care. I loved the look of the rest of my thick and kinky hair. By the time I reached my 40s, the hair loss had spread, and I was thankful for headwraps and skillful braiders who helped me keep the patchy spots concealed. I didn’t like wearing dreadlocks, braids or tightly coiled twists that were synthetic, but that was the only way that I could — at least symbolically — continue wearing the styles that I loved.
When I entered my 50s, my scalp looked like my grandmother’s. I grew up seeing her completely without hair on the top with a little still left in the back and along the sides. It was normal to see her tool around her house bareheaded and bald and only using her wigs as hats when it was time to leave the house for church. I don’t remember my grandmother’s baldness ever being discussed by her or anyone else.
I adored seeing Black women who were bold in their baldness. They looked stunning, like Black art at its finest. But I was unable to see that image in me. My excuses for not being as bold were weak. My head was the wrong shape. My face was too fat. I was unable to admit that I simply lacked the confidence to show up without my hair.
My discomfort ran deep. My real hair, and the way I chose to wear it, became a symbol of my advocacy. Losing it felt like a betrayal to my cause. Still, I continued my advocacy because my commitment to that cause was stronger than my vanity and fears.
In my home, I held communal hair-grooming sessions called Hair Days, to provide a safe space where natural-hair wearers could be affirmed for their hairstyle choices and not be harshly criticized. I playfully administered “naptisms” to initiate the neophyte naturals. Word spread about my Hair Day gatherings, and women formed communities around the concept. Hair Day groups popped up with names like “D.C. Naturals,” “Southern Kinks” and, in Switzerland, the “EuroNaps.” A friend nicknamed me “Mosetta,” describing me as a female Moses who was liberating women from hair bondage. Mosetta had arguably become more popular than my identity as a reporter.
Unimpressed by my nappy bona fides, my alopecia continued to steal my hair.
By the time I entered my seasoned 60s, the mourning was over. I stopped grieving over hair that was never coming back and was sick of the prolonged coverup. I began entertaining notions of removing what was left of it and was no longer worried whether men would find me unattractive or whether my femininity would be diminished. And with the wisdom and clarity that I gleaned from age and life experience, I understood that I do not need to display a crown to support the crowns of others.
All that I needed to do next was wait for my courage to kick in. The courage finally came with the help of a politician and the coronavirus pandemic.
When Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., went public about her alopecia in a January 2020 news video, and elegantly unveiled her new bald look, her transparency nudged me closer to a decision to do the same.
I had spent years wearing my wig as a mask. After spending so much time early in the pandemic tooling around my house bareheaded and bald — just like my grandmother — I couldn’t bear to put it back on. Living with alopecia had made me reluctant to look at my hairless image in the mirror, and I decided to get reacquainted.
I stood in front of the mirror and made direct eye contact with my reflection. Still wearing a few remnants of her natural locks, she looked apprehensive and shy. I smiled at her. She beamed and smiled back. I had found the grace to accept my new image, a new natural, and an attitude that didn’t give a follicle about what others would think.
I called my friend Sherri who, in the summer of 2019, had cut off her own locks and shaved her head because of alopecia. I asked if she could come over and do me the same honor. She accepted with glee. She arrived in June 2020 with her clippers and gave me a hug before seating me in front of my bathroom mirror. And with a gentle, knowing touch, Sherri shaved my head to freedom. | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/alopecia-stole-my-locks-but-not-my-passion-as-a-natural-hair-activist/article_f271edf8-d94d-548e-9c2e-05c21bc9fd66.html | 2022-04-15T05:39:31 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/alopecia-stole-my-locks-but-not-my-passion-as-a-natural-hair-activist/article_f271edf8-d94d-548e-9c2e-05c21bc9fd66.html |
Effective Monday, April 18, Philadelphia will begin enforcing indoor masks again at all restaurants, shops, offices and other indoor public spaces.
Businesses can opt to require proof of vaccination instead of requiring masks.
Many Philadelphians probably met the city health department indoor mask announcement with a groan and pleas of not again. Some will rightfully question if city officials are overreacting. After all, Philadelphia is alone among major U.S. cities that are re-imposing indoor mask mandates. Most states and cities dropped their masking requirements in February and early March following new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that put less focus on case counts and more on hospital capacity. The CDC said at that time that with the virus in retreat, most Americans could safely take off their masks.
But Philadelphia is reinstating its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, said Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the city’s top health official.
Bettigole said she wants to forestall a potential new wave driven by the omicron subvariant. She said COVID-19 cases in the city have risen more than 50% in 10 days. That’s the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. Health inspectors will start enforcing the mask mandate at city businesses April 18.
Health officials believe the recent spike is being driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of omicron, which has spread rapidly throughout Europe and Asia and has become dominant in the U.S. in recent weeks.
“If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations, and then a wave of deaths, it will be too late for many of our residents,” said Bettigole, noting that about 750 Philadelphia residents died in the wintertime omicron outbreak. “This is our chance to get ahead of the pandemic, to put our masks on until we have more information about the severity of this new variant.”
Philadelphia ended its indoor mask mandate March 2, and Bettigole acknowledged “it was wonderful to feel that sense of normalcy again.”
Confirmed cases have since risen to more than 140 per day — still a fraction of what Philadelphia saw at the height of the omicron surge — while only 46 patients are in the hospital with COVID-19. The CDC says community spread in Philadelphia remains low, a level at which the agency says that masking can be optional.
The restaurant industry pushed back against the city’s reimposed mask mandate, saying workers will bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules.
“This announcement is a major blow to thousands of small businesses and other operators in the city who were hoping this spring would be the start of recovery,” said Ben Fileccia, senior director of operations at the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.
PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said that while it expects some increased transmission in the northern U.S. over the next several weeks, hospital admissions have remained low and “our team advises against required masking given that hospital capacity is good.”
Bettigole said requiring people to mask up will help restaurants and other businesses stay open, while a huge new wave of COVID-19 would keep customers at home. She said hospital capacity was just one factor that went into her decision to reinstate the mandate.
“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again,” Bettigole said. “But I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones.”
Most of us don’t want to return to wearing masks again. We hoped that increased vaccinations would end the need to wear masks.
But at the same time we don’t want cases to continue rising. Hopefully the city’s indoor mask mandate will not need to last long. Meanwhile, Philadelphians must mask up again while in indoor public spaces. | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/hey-philly-wear-mask-indoors-again/article_55ca16c4-065c-5393-8adf-d7161b1e0b8f.html | 2022-04-15T05:39:38 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/hey-philly-wear-mask-indoors-again/article_55ca16c4-065c-5393-8adf-d7161b1e0b8f.html |
“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Sometimes history can be summed up in a single sentence of naked simplicity. But there were all kinds of complex elements squeezed in between every vowel and consonant in that declaration by incoming Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson last Friday in a ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the land — and the fervent applause she received after delivering that line was a powerful homage to both her journey and that of the country she serves.
But to understand the full importance of her ascent you need to dwell on the word that sits like a leaden anchor at the center of that sentence: segregation.
Jackson was born in 1970, when the victories of the civil rights movement were beginning to manifest themselves in housing, employment, sports, education and entertainment. But racial divisions remained stark after decades of legally sanctioned segregation that followed 250 years of legal enslavement of Blacks.
Because neither the passage of laws nor the dismantling of racial codes erased the deeply ingrained narrative of racial inferiority. America had long been invested in the separation of races and, to be more specific, the automatic privilege that comes with White skin. The vestiges of slavery and segregation are still with us, and yet we find ourselves in a time when the party that so viciously opposed Jackson’s nomination wants to eviscerate the teachings and discussions of our nation’s racial history and focus instead on the progress America has made.
They argue that we should not dwell on all that old-timey stuff like chains and shackles, dogs and hoses, or white hoods and black bodies swinging from trees. Well, to understand and fully appreciate the progress we’ve made, you need more than a passing understanding of the dark places Americans dwelled within the sanction of law to keep bodies in bondage, to keep people oppressed, to keep human beings in a subjugated state that mocks the core tenets of our Constitution.
And if you understand that history, you can quickly and clearly see how the waves of disrespect hurled at Jackson in the past month cut too close to the casual and constant denigration of Black people, and especially Black women, over centuries in this country.
She was interrupted. She was called a liar. She was asked about anti-racist textbooks that have little to do with her work on the bench. Her record was distorted. Her accomplishments were belittled. Senators addressed her in loud and hostile tones and language that wholly lacked the commensurate respect for the nominee or the process or even the building where the hearing took place.
If you can bring yourself to even glance at our painful racial past, the behavior of some of the senators leaves a particularly foul aftertaste. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., held up Jackson’s confirmation vote for half an hour and eventually cast his vote from the cloakroom, a private meeting space off the Senate floor. Trifling is not a word one likes to apply to lawmakers, but how else do you describe that kind of loutish behavior? Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., didn’t wear a tie for the vote, which meant he could not appear on the Senate floor. He too cast a no vote from the cloakroom.
His office released a video from a news conference earlier in the day where he railed once again that President Biden should have taken his advice to nominate a preferable Black nominee from his home state. He managed to find a tie for that performance.
The people who opposed this nomination spent a lot of energy suggesting that Jackson was some kind of less-qualified affirmative action hire because her elevation fulfilled Biden’s campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. You didn’t hear that kind of howling years ago when Ronald Reagan pledged to nominate a woman before settling on Sandra Day O’Connor. One of the worst remnants of all those years of segregation is a latent assumption that Black people are inherently less qualified. It’s a lie. It’s always been a lie, and Jackson’s sparkling intellect and cool under pressure should remind us that America has been robbed of this kind of genius and talent for centuries because women and all kinds of people of color have too often been kept out of consideration.
In the end, when Jackson was confirmed and the chamber broke out in thunderous applause, most Republican senators left the room like sore losers. (Utah’s Mitt Romney was an exception.) This was so much worse than athletes sulking off the field instead of rolling through the handshake line. This was refusing to show respect to a woman now charged with acting in the best interest of all Americans. That is what service at the highest levels is all about: acting in the interest of all Americans.
They could not stop her nomination; so, they would not applaud it or show her the respect she deserves. But they will have to accept her confirmation as fact. Her name will someday grace schools, libraries and public buildings; her face will smile down from massive public murals; her words will likely be carved into stone for schoolchildren to memorize. They cannot stop that. | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/judge-jacksons-long-journey-to-the-court-and-ours/article_68f52b01-e475-595d-85a6-e39c6be8c48c.html | 2022-04-15T05:39:44 | 1 | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/judge-jacksons-long-journey-to-the-court-and-ours/article_68f52b01-e475-595d-85a6-e39c6be8c48c.html |
The first Black woman has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Justice-designate Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed grudgingly, miraculously, deservedly. Nonetheless, she was confirmed. And citizens cheered.
When the final vote was tallied, Jackson’s historic elevation had just a wisp of bipartisanship at 53 to 47. Yet in these deeply divided times, that tiny flicker of commonality was momentous. When the voting began, it looked like senators were going to make quick work of the task at hand, one that has been more than 200 years in the making. One after another, the Democrats and independents rose to announce their formal “Aye,” with the particular exception of Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who practically leaped to his feet to shout a boisterous “Yes!” into the record. The Republicans voted “No,” with three exceptions. Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski chose to support the nominee. And so did Utah’s Mitt Romney. He’d deliberated over his decision and announced it in advance on social media, and in doing so brought a bit of old-fashioned civility to these volatile times by offering an explanation for his thinking that was sprinkled with words such as “honor,” “integrity” and “service.”
The vote moved along briskly. It seemed that this monumental feat would be concluded in a mere eight minutes and the country — at least some corners of the country — could finally exhale and release all the pent-up hope and frustration and expectation that it has fed off and tamped down over generations. But the vote didn’t wrap up quickly, because rocky paths hardly ever suddenly turn smooth.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was not there. He was most assuredly going to be a no, so the final result wasn’t in doubt. But that wasn’t the point. He was a formality. A completion of the record. A sign that the full voice of the Senate had spoken, on what had become a historic Thursday afternoon. So Vice President Kamala Harris, who also serves as president of the Senate, didn’t read off the vote as it stood. The microphones went silent. And time expanded, so that 15 minutes felt like an hour. It felt like the cold hand of stubborn history would just not loosen its grip on the country.
Finally, Paul appeared. He voted no. Jackson was confirmed. And hope breathed out.
“On this vote, the yeas are 53; the nays are 47. And this nomination is confirmed,” Harris said. And then she smiled. Those in the room stood. Jackson’s supporters offered rousing and sustained applause. Others simply collected themselves and walked out. As so many of his Republican colleagues departed, Romney — the man who had spoken of honor and integrity — was left standing and applauding surrounded by empty chairs on his side of the aisle. Romney didn’t budge as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left. He didn’t move as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., buttoned his suit jacket and exited. Romney stayed and marked history. He gave extended attention to what his vote had meant in this nation’s trajectory and perhaps he considered what all those “no” votes had meant, too.
Jackson’s confirmation draws attention to so many shifts, so many recalibrations about institutional power. When she takes her place on the bench, White men will, for the first time, not be the majority on the Supreme Court. Women will have near parity. Jackson’s confirmation doesn’t transform everything. But it reminds us of what is possible. It tells us that this country still has the capacity to lean in toward the light despite all the daunting concerns and existential questions about the state of this democracy. Progress is possible. The challenge has always been whether we can sustain it. Can we build on it instead of trying to chip it away?
Is backlash inevitable? Perhaps. Maybe intractable partisanship will ultimately do us all in. But with Jackson’s confirmation, possibility once again whispers in our ears. The vote was presided over by Harris, don’t forget. Her presence was another kind of history — another murmur of progress.
Before the vote began, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, talked about the slow slog toward this moment, not just during the hearings when Republican colleagues such as Cruz and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., used much of their time to shout aspersions at Jackson and overtalk her with their sanctimony, but through centuries of oppression and discrimination. Durbin reminded his audience that they worked in a building that Black women once only entered to clean, a place that the labor of enslaved people built. Now, finally, a Black woman will sit in a place of honor, influence and judgment.
Jackson won’t take her place on the court until after Justice Stephen Breyer retires in June. The country will have to wait before it sees that resounding image of her being sworn in. No matter. But Jackson’s rise to the court has been slow and methodical. She gathered decades of experience in law and on the bench. She endured hours of questions during her confirmation hearing and she listened to hours of grandstanding. And even during the final vote, she had to wait just a few extra minutes for a wayward Paul. Jackson has been engaged in a marathon.
It’s tempting to describe her elevation to the court like a thunderclap, something sudden and jolting. But really, it was more of an inevitability.
As her supporters have noted, her career path has long been leading to this place. That she arrived is a testament to: this democracy, our better angels, stubborn optimism, dogged determination and work. But she also benefited from the prayers of millions of women who held their breath and dared not even whisper their deepest hopes. | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/ketanji-brown-jackson-and-a-marathon-of-hope/article_29cfc875-2dfd-5dc7-967f-205b0d9cd4a7.html | 2022-04-15T05:39:50 | 0 | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/ketanji-brown-jackson-and-a-marathon-of-hope/article_29cfc875-2dfd-5dc7-967f-205b0d9cd4a7.html |
The confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black justice in the Supreme Court’s 233-year history was as much a historic moment for America as it was a political win for Democrats.
Democrats shouldn’t get too excited, though. Jackson may be one of the few remaining judicial confirmations of the Biden presidency. Last week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell repeatedly refused to answer whether he would even hold hearings on a nomination if Republicans were to take control of the Senate in the election this November.
Doing so would be McConnell’s latest ruthless breach of the norms of government, and one that will make the public lose even more confidence in the political independence of our courts. However, given that McConnell has been rewarded every time he has blown up the intentions of the framers, his continuing to do so is perfectly rational behavior. The question for McConnell’s colleagues and the American public is whether they are willing to stop complaining about McConnell’s behavior and take aggressive steps to stop it.
Under the Constitution, the president “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate” to appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal offices, including lower court judges. Though specifics of the process have evolved over time, under the advice and consent process, the president appoints, and the Senate vets nominees and either confirms or rejects them. The overwhelming majority of presidential appointments are confirmed.
As the process has gotten uglier, the political parties have been the Hatfields and McCoys, pointing fingers over which side first started us down a dark partisan path. For instance, Republicans are quick to argue that Democrats’ conduct during the 1987 Robert Bork and 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings were the points that forever broke the confirmation process.
There is a glaring flaw in that argument. Despite whatever criticism Democrats might warrant for their conduct in 1987 or 1991, at least both Bork and Thomas got hearings. Thomas was eventually confirmed to the Supreme Court. Bork was not — with six members of President Reagan’s own party voting against him.
Many are aware of McConnell’s actions decades later following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Within hours of word of Scalia’s death, then-majority leader McConnell issued a statement pledging not to confirm any pick President Obama put up for the court. Far less high-profile, however, were McConnell and Senate Republicans’ near refusal to bring up most of Obama’s lower court nominees for votes, confirming only two appeals court judges in Obama’s final two years in office. It was the slowest pace of judicial confirmations since Harry Truman was president.
It should surprise no one, then, that McConnell is now brazenly playing a public game of will-he-or-won’t-he about confirming any Biden nominees if Republicans take the Senate in November. McConnell and his colleagues have been rewarded richly for being cute with the Constitution and Senate rules. They have no reason to stop.
In 2016, after Republicans kept the Scalia seat open for nine months and blocked most of Obama’s other judicial nominees, President Trump won the presidency and Republicans retained control of the Senate. McConnell was again selected leader, and the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the vacant seat in 2017.
McConnell will almost certainly be chosen to lead his caucus again next year. With that record of being rewarded for his conduct around judges, why wouldn’t McConnell pledge, or at least hint, that he won’t confirm any of Biden’s nominees? It would be foolish for him not to.
To be clear, McConnell’s conduct, if norm-busting, is perfectly within the rules. The solution for Democrats, then, is to devise equally lawful, but equally bare-knuckled, means of removing the incentive for the behavior. For instance, increasing the size of the Supreme Court might be controversial, but would serve as a check on McConnell’s aggressive blockade (both past and almost certainly future) of Democratic nominees. Doing so would effectively weaken the votes of the nominees McConnell rammed through the process.
Taking aggressive steps in response to McConnell is less about stacking the courts with Democratic nominees, and more about resetting the confirmation process to something closer to what the framers intended — one in which one political party in the Senate doesn’t rob the president of one of his or her fundamental powers in broad daylight. After that, perhaps the parties can come together to return some semblance of normalcy to the process.
Like Pavlov’s dog salivating upon hearing a bell ringing, Mitch McConnell shouldn’t be faulted for reacting to stimulus in a predictable and natural way. It’s just time that Democrats and voters got aggressive about taking away the bell. | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/what-democrats-could-learn-from-mitch-mcconnell/article_8b687da3-7022-5536-b6a6-c768357fcd6f.html | 2022-04-15T05:39:56 | 0 | https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/what-democrats-could-learn-from-mitch-mcconnell/article_8b687da3-7022-5536-b6a6-c768357fcd6f.html |
Opera Philadelphia returns to the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music stage for the first time since September 2019 with four performances of “Rigoletto” from April 29-May 8.
One of the most popular works in the operatic canon, Verdi’s unforgettable tragedy has not been performed by Opera Philadelphia in 15 years, although it remains a favorite for devoted opera fans.
“Rigoletto” is a court jester to the Duke of Mantua, a notorious sexual abuser. After the Duke harms a young woman, Rigoletto mocks the victim’s father, who then curses the jester for being so heartless. Later the Duke assaults Rigoletto’s own daughter, Gilda, and the cruel joke falls on Rigoletto.
Taking on the role of Gilda, and making her Opera Philadelphia debut, is Baltimore native Raven McMillon. Recently named a 2021 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont competition, the talented soprano has performed with many opera companies throughout the years.
“I’m thrilled to be singing this role,” McMillon says. “I’ve always loved Verdi, this story and the music. It’s always been one of my favorites.”
Receiving her MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory of Music, as well as her BFA in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, McMillon discloses that she wasn’t always interested in an operatic career.
“From the time I was very little, I always loved singing – in my church and at my school,” she says. “But I was never really exposed to classical music until I started taking piano lessons. And I got even more exposure to it when I reached high school.”
By the time she reached college and auditioned for the musical theater program, someone recognized her true talent and suggested she switch to the opera program instead.
McMillon took the suggestion and, with inspirations like Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman and a few others, was compelled to move onward and upward in the operatic world.
“But it hasn’t always been easy,” McMillon reports. “As a woman of color, one of the major challenges I’ve faced has been finding someone who can deal with my hair and makeup. Many who work in the field are not familiar with the differences it takes to deal with a Black woman versus a white woman.”
Another problem that has existed for a long time is appealing to the African-American community. She says, “African-Americans find it difficult to relate to opera. I don’t think a lot of people grew up relating to the music or the people singing it. And they don’t see many people they can relate to on stage.
“Then, too,” she continues, “people often see opera houses as stuffy and someplace only rich people go. Some of that may be true so we have to do our best to change that image.”
And according to McMillon, things are definitely getting better. “Today there are a handful of Black opera singers whose names are now well-known. And our community is now in advocate roles, which is certainly a step forward.”
For more information visit operaphila.org | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/the_arts/singer-raven-mcmillons-road-to-opera-was-paved-by-the-piano/article_580c9a7d-ceb1-5772-99e0-0af4b2843bd1.html | 2022-04-15T05:40:02 | 0 | https://www.phillytrib.com/entertainment/the_arts/singer-raven-mcmillons-road-to-opera-was-paved-by-the-piano/article_580c9a7d-ceb1-5772-99e0-0af4b2843bd1.html |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The empty building with the owl mural sits at the corner of Center and Mountain streets in Fayetteville.
The building is known for consistently being vacant. The property owners told the City that they weren’t able to keep up with the repairs. So, the owners move forward with inquiring about steps towards taking the building down.
It’s been a two-year process, starting back in 2020 with Fayetteville issuing city violations to the building. And the next steps were the owners moving for demolition permits.
“They’re doing more on the exploratory side today, they’ve been working on the south end of the building which doesn’t have much interaction with the foundation,” Johnathan Curth with Fayetteville City Developers Office.
In the interest of public safety, the city will be closing off the sidewalk. The demolition could possibly cause debris to fall and the city will implement the precautions in the coming weeks.
“The sidewalk soon one of the big pieces of concern is large pieces of concern in the violation letter was several pieces of marble or concrete that may be separating from the building could fall on the sidewalk,” Curthe said.
No new construction permits are in the works and Community members are hoping for something fresh to come to the Fayetteville area in its place when the site is cleared.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/community/formerly-well-known-hotel-fayetteville-soon-demolished/527-b45a7565-4df6-4a4c-92df-cfc368e03446 | 2022-04-15T05:40:12 | 1 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/community/formerly-well-known-hotel-fayetteville-soon-demolished/527-b45a7565-4df6-4a4c-92df-cfc368e03446 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Thursday, #6 Arkansas took down #15 LSU, 5-4 in the series opener. The Hogs have won three straight since their series loss to Florida.
Michael Turner opened the scoring with an RBI fielder's choice in the first inning. Brayden Webb's RBI walk in the second would double the Razorbacks lead.
Connor Noland wouldn't give up his first hit until the sixth inning, but LSU would string together four straight hits to take a 3-2 lead into the seventh. Noland allowed three earned runs in six innings of work.
Arkansas would retake the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Webb would tie things with an RBI single, before Robert Moore put up the Hogs up with a two run hit.
Brady Tygart would enter in the eighth and would induce a 4-3 double play to end a bases loaded threat with Arkansas only leading by a run.
Arkansas and LSU will meet for the middle game at Baum at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
. | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/sports/ncaa/university-of-arkansas/razorback-baseball/hogs-ride-big-7th-inning-to-series-opening-win-against-15-lsu/527-02681685-0aa1-4fd7-b77c-3b935a36f44e | 2022-04-15T05:40:18 | 0 | https://www.5newsonline.com/article/sports/ncaa/university-of-arkansas/razorback-baseball/hogs-ride-big-7th-inning-to-series-opening-win-against-15-lsu/527-02681685-0aa1-4fd7-b77c-3b935a36f44e |
Pleasant Valley cross country standout Cayden Nelson was selected to run for the Alabama North All-Stars during All-Star Sports Week July 18-22 in Montgomery.
North-South All-Star competition is for rising seniors. Nelson finished second among Class 3A boys in the state meet in November and helped Pleasant Valley to a runner-up finish.
Nelson took first at sectional and second in the Calhoun County meet, leading Pleasant Valley to a first-place finish in both.
Baseball
Alexandria 5-13, St. Clair County 4-0: Playing at Odenville, Alexandria gave longtime head coach Andy Shaw a smile by clinching the Class 5A, Area 11 championship and the right to play host to a first-round playoff series.
Shaw’s father, A.D. Shaw, died Monday at age 88.
Leading the way for the Valley Cubs on Thursday was Austin West, who went 5-for-7 with a double, two runs and three RBIs on the day.
He also came on in relief and struck out the last batter in the 5-4 victory then started Game 3, allowing three hits with eight strikeouts and four walks.
Other top performers for Alexandria (19-13, 5-3 area):
—Sam Wade, 3-for-7, two runs, RBI.
—Samuel Henegar, 1-for-6, three RBIs.
—Austin Jeffers, 2-for-4, two runs, RBI.
—Aaron Johnson, 2-for-5, two runs, two RBIs.
—Seth Johnson, 3-for-4, run in Game 3.
—Tripp Patterson, worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one earned run on 11 hits with three strikeouts.
Oxford 12-12, Southside 1-0: Oxford honored seniors Chance Griner, Miguel Mitchell and Braden Kellum and also led the night with a ceremony to honor former Oxford standout Jackson Stephens, who was called up to the Major League Atlanta Braves this week.
Having clinched an area title and a home playoff series, Class 6A No. 3 Oxford put up a big night, led by Carter Johnson, who went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the opener. He also pitched the first three innings, allowing one hit and one earned run with no walks and four strikeouts.
Other top performers for Oxford (27-5):
—Hayes Harrison 2-for-4, triple, two runs, two RBIs in the first game; pitched two innings of relief in the first game, allowing two hits, no runs or walks with three strikeouts.
—Sam Robertson, 4-for-4, two triples, four runs, four RBIs.
—Peyton Watts, two runs, RBI.
—R.J. Brooks, 1-for-2, home run.
—Griner, 3-for-5, two doubles, four runs.
—Tide Gann, 3-for-3, run, two RBIs.
—Mitchell, 2-for-5, run, RBI.
—Drew McCormick, 1-for-3, double, two RBIs in second game.
—Hudson Gilman, 1-for-2, RBI in second game.
—Caleb Robertson, 1-for-2, run, RBI in second game.
—Dalton Fink, 2-for-3, triple, double, run, five RBIs in second game.
Piedmont 15, Glencoe 6: Jack Hayes and the Bulldogs continued their tear. Hayes went 2-for-3 with two runs and five RBIs as Piedmont ran its winning streak to 19 games.
Hayes’ day included two of Piedmont’s four home runs.
Other top performers for Class 3A’s top-ranked Bulldogs (25-4):
—Austin Estes, 1-for-3, two runs, two RBIs.
—Max Hanson, 1-for-4, three runs, two RBIs.
—Noah Reedy, 1-for-5, run.
—Ridge Fagan, 1-for-1, home run.
—Jack Tolbert, 3-for-4, home run, two RBIs.
—Sloan Smith, 3-for-4, two runs.
—McLane Mohon, pitched three innings of relief, allowing two hits, no runs and no walks with five strikeouts.
Softball
Alexandria 13, St. Clair County 0: Ashley Phillips came one hit shy of the cycle to lead Alexandria’s offensive output. She went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run and five RBIs as the Valley Cubs upped to 4-0 in Class 5A, Area 11 play.
Other top performers for top-ranked Alexandria (34-7):
—Jill Cockrell, 2-for-4, three runs.
—Rylee Gattis, 2-for-2, run, RBI; complete five-inning game, allowing three hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
—Addie Jennings, 2-for-3, two runs, RBI.
—Christian Hess, 1-for-3, home run, two runs, two RBIs.
—Ava Johnson, 1-for-3, run.
—Brie Troup, 1-for-2, run, two RBIs.
Piedmont 6, Pleasant Valley 3: Z’Hayla Walker hit a solo home run while going 1-for-3, and Piedmont wrapped up Class 3A, Area 11 play undefeated.
Other top performers for Piedmont (16-10):
—Savannah Smith, 2-for-3, two runs, two RBIs.
—Jenna Calvert, 2-for-3.
—Cacey Brothers, 2-for-4, two RBIs.
—Armoni Perry, 1-for-3, double, RBI.
—Emily Farmer, pitched seven innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run and two walks with three strikeouts.
For Pleasant Valley, Rebekah Gannaway returned to action after recovering from a surgical hip injury that occurred during basketball season. She went 1-for-3 with two runs.
Other top performers for Pleasant Valley (20-14-1):
—Macey Roper, 3-for-4, double.
—Rylee Haynes, RBI.
—Lily Henry, 2-for-3, two RBIs. | https://www.annistonstar.com/sports/high_school/prep-roundup-pleasant-valleys-nelson-selected-to-run-for-north-all-stars/article_bb5ef81e-bc74-11ec-b648-6bdd059705c3.html | 2022-04-15T05:40:43 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/sports/high_school/prep-roundup-pleasant-valleys-nelson-selected-to-run-for-north-all-stars/article_bb5ef81e-bc74-11ec-b648-6bdd059705c3.html |
April is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, and it has become traditional to place blue pinwheels on the courthouse lawn as a reminder of the children who have suffered during the previous year.
That tradition now extends to Talladega City Schools, where students at each campus planted “pinwheel gardens” to raise awareness.
Thursday’s ceremony at R.L. Young Elementary School was attended by Talladega native and director of the Alabama Department of Human Resources Director Nancy Buckner, Alabama Children’s Trust Fund Director Sallye Longshore, Lecia Whiteside of FIRST Family Services, Margaret Morton of SAFE, City Schools Superintendent Dr. Quentin Lee, City School Board Chair Sandra Beavers and state board of education candidate Marie Manning. Reva French’s sixth-grade class planted the “garden”.
Buckner praised the student’s efforts.
“It is extremely important that we always keep the safety of our children first and foremost," Buckner said. "It’s everyone’s business to help keep children safe. Even if you are in doubt, report what you see. We’re talking about the lives of children.”
Lee agreed.
“Especially given the climate we find ourselves in, any community involvement, any positive interaction, is always welcome," Lee said. "As superintendent, there is absolutely nothing more important than keeping the students in this system safe, and keeping their parents informed.”
Lee also thanked all of the people in Talladega and surrounding communities who had come out Thursday afternoon to see the garden at Young.
The pinwheel garden project was a part of the sixth-grade Life Skills Program. | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-city-schools-plant-pinwheel-gardens-to-raise-awareness-for-child-abuse/article_ce129a6c-bc72-11ec-b945-a31728b0bed1.html | 2022-04-15T05:40:49 | 0 | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-city-schools-plant-pinwheel-gardens-to-raise-awareness-for-child-abuse/article_ce129a6c-bc72-11ec-b945-a31728b0bed1.html |
The execution of a search warrant at a residence on the 300 block of Burr Avenue resulted in four arrests and the seizure of several guns, according to Talladega County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force Commander Mike Roberson.
Cortravion Gooden, 21; Corvius D. Barclay Jr., 20; Jatorrie Cook, 24; and a 16-year-old juvenile were all arrested for possession of a controlled substance, specifically “Spice,” possession of marijuana in the first degree and possession of drug paraphernalia. The juvenile was also charged with firearm possession.
“Spice” is a synthetic marijuana analogue. The paraphernalia charges stem from the presence of scales, baggies and similar items associated with the drug trade, Roberson said.
According to Talladega County Metro Jail records, Barclay and Cook were also arrested on misdemeanor warrants through the city of Talladega and Childersburg, respectively.
Gooden was also charged with probation violation. According to court records, Gooden pleaded guilty in 2021 to receiving stolen property in the second degree after buying two stolen firearms.
Gooden’s home address listed in the jail log is in Talladega Downs, but Roberson said he had been living in the house on Burr Avenue since one of his relatives moved out following a driveby shooting last summer.
The weapons recovered from the house were described as semi-automatics, but more detailed descriptions were unavailable.
Roberson added that the Talladega Police Department had worked closely with the task force to execute the warrants.
Barclay, Cook and Gooden were all still in the Talladega County Metro Jail as of Thursday afternoon. Roberson said the juvenile was being held at the Coosa Valley Youth Detention Center in Anniston.
Possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana in the first degree are class D felonies in Alabama, punishable upon conviction by one year and one day to five years in prison.
Possession of drug paraphernalia is a misdemeanor. | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-county-task-force-arrests-four-men-seize-semi-automatic-weapons/article_6eb54ff4-bc74-11ec-9679-7fc55ff47cdc.html | 2022-04-15T05:40:55 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-county-task-force-arrests-four-men-seize-semi-automatic-weapons/article_6eb54ff4-bc74-11ec-9679-7fc55ff47cdc.html |
In 1950, Harry Truman was in his second term as president of the United States. Cinderella was the top-grossing film at the American box office. Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford, the Mills Brothers, Frankie Laine and Nat “King” Cole ruled the radio and record charts, and on television (a medium in its infancy at the time), the top-rated program was the Texaco Star Theater. World War II was firmly in the rearview mirror, but there would be war in Korea before the year was over.
And a group of seniors graduated from Talladega High School.
Those graduates will be holding a reunion in Talladega on May 21, 2022, and are actively seeking classmates to attend.
This particular class has not held a reunion in several years, and with most of the members having turned or about to turn 90, it is hard to say if they will get to have another one.
If anyone has contact with any THS class of 1950 graduates, please ask them to contact Mickie Pugh Stringfellow as soon as possible at 256-362-6936 for more information. | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-high-class-of-1950-plans-reunion/article_e92ab8ba-bc73-11ec-b340-3728bde30e73.html | 2022-04-15T05:41:01 | 0 | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-high-class-of-1950-plans-reunion/article_e92ab8ba-bc73-11ec-b340-3728bde30e73.html |
The Armstrong-Osborne Public Library in Talladega will be part of a statewide initiative called the Reimagining School Readiness Program. According to Library Director Vickie Harkins, the program is designed to bolster “the preliteracy skills underlying school readiness for children from birth to age 8.”
She said Talladega’s library is one of 88 in Alabama that will participate in the program. It is an innovative new toolkit developed by the Bay Area Discovery Museum with support from the California State Library and the Pacific Library Partnership. The Alabama Public Library Service was awarded a grant to train the state’s public libraries on RPS principles, including quality adult-child interactions, social skills, math and science learning, emotional learning and stress management. The research shows that all children can develop the skills they need if the adults in their lives provide developmentally appropriate and rich experiences to boost learning and cognitive development.
“Providing children with high-quality learning experiences is a sound investment in Alabama’s future,” Harkins added. “This program places a strong emphasis on key aspects of early childhood development and empowers librarians to support children and families through fun, everyday activities that can happen at the library or at home.”
The toolkit includes fliers, bookmarks, posters and flashcards that feature easy everyday activities and conversation starters for families to share to build quality interactions that shape children’s thinking skills. “ALPS developed a companion instruction kit for all participating libraries that includes activities on 10 different topics with books and educational toys that fortify the key finding of the study leading to the RSR’s development,” Harkins said. | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-library-to-participate-reimagining-school-readiness-program/article_c4c26b46-bc71-11ec-92f6-a738d2d74f95.html | 2022-04-15T05:41:08 | 1 | https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/talladega-library-to-participate-reimagining-school-readiness-program/article_c4c26b46-bc71-11ec-92f6-a738d2d74f95.html |
STARKVILLE • It doesn’t take much for Chris Lemonis to sense when things start to go his team’s way at Dudy Noble FIeld.
In Thursday’s 7-6 win against Auburn, all it took was patience from Kellum Clark. He was down 1-2 in the count and State was down 6-5 in the ninth.
Clark was leading off the frame, and his 1-for-19 stretch was reason to believe this at-bat was headed down the wrong path again. Instead, Clark sat patient and worked a leadoff walk.
Right then, Lemonis knew.
“Kellum’s at-bat, just getting on base, was huge to get some momentum in the ninth at our place,” Lemonis said.
Almost immediately, Lemonis’ thoughts were proven right. Brad Cumbest sent a roller to second base for a routine double play to kill any momentum and life at Dudy Noble Field.
But in a way eerily similar to the 2019 College World Series, Auburn’s Cole Foster booted it. Clark slid safely into second and Cumbest made it safely to first.
The cowbells clanged and the crowd’s excitement rose.
“The pressure starts to build and you see it in every phase,” Lemonis said. “It was nice to see.”
Next up came Tanner Leggett pinch-hitting for the suddenly-hot Lane Forsythe. Leggett put down a successful bunt to advance the runners and an intentional walk to RJ Yeager loaded the bases.
State has been on the wrong side of bad hops and weird bounces for the better part of SEC play, and it appeared the misfortunes had returned.
A wild pitch from Auburn’s Blake Burkhalter steamed by his catcher, but the ball perfectly bounced back toward home plate. It appeared Clark, who was attempting to score from third, was dead to rights.
Somehow, he slid and touched home before the tag.
The excitement echoed through Dudy Noble Field and bubbles came up from right field.
Kamren James was the next to receive an intentional walk, making Luke Hancock the man of the moment. As State’s least likely player to strike out, MSU’s hopes of Hancock putting something in play to seal a win were large.
He didn’t have to. Hancock’s patience proved worthy as fans throughout Dudy Noble Field reigned down “Ball four” chants.
That’s exactly the result they got. Hancock drew a walk to bring the winning run home and the home crowd jumped to its feet. The Dude Effect, once again, showed its power.
Drew Talley watched from the dugout as his home crowd rattled Auburn’s players. Talley has been on the mound at opposing SEC ballparks.
It was nice for Talley to watch from the bench as Burkhalter lived through one of college baseball’s toughest environments.
“There’s nothing like Dudy Noble,” Talley said. “The Dude Effect — that’s what we had on our rings last year. It’s crazy how that works out sometimes in the late game here. We all just all get that sense and that vibe.”
Our lives updates from throughout the game are available below.
First inning
Mississippi State's offense is wasting no time. A run is in on a Logan Tanner single. The bases remain loaded with no outs.
Kamren James is brought in on a sacrifice fly from Hunter Hines. State leads 2-0 after one.
Second inning
Thanks in large part to a double play, Smith has himself another scoreless frame.
MSU goes down in order.
Third inning
Auburn is on the board. Nate LaRue cuts State's lead to 2-1 with a home run to left. Smith limits the damage to one.
Hines has his second RBI of the night. A two-out single brings homes Luke Hancock to make it 3-1. The inning ends with Hines caught stealing going for second.
Fourth inning
Smith works around a jam for another scoreless frame.
State strands a pair on base.
Fifth inning
Smith with some nice work to limit the damage to one run in the frame. State leads 3-2.
MSU goes down in order.
Sixth inning
Brooks Auger is the first arm out of the bullpen. Smith finishes in typical Smith fashion: 13 groundouts and one flyout. Auger walks in a run to even the game at three.
Auburn has the lead. A two-run, two-out single puts the Tigers up 5-3 in the sixth. Brutal inning for Auger.
State gets nothing going on offense. Eerily similar feel to this one to that of last weekend's Friday and Saturday losses against LSU.
Seventh inning
Difficult to see what happened with Auger. Trainer came out and talked to him for a bit before Auger exited the game. Drew Talley in to pitch.
Brad Cumbest wakes up the stadium with a towering blast to left. It's now 5-4 Auburn.
Yeager bomb ties it up.
Eighth inning
Pico Kohn out of the bullpen for MSU. Cole Foster sends a towering shot of his own to left to put Auburn back up 6-5.
MSU goes down in order, including a pair of strikeouts.
Ninth inning
Parker Stinnett is in to pitch.
A wild pitch allows Kellum Clark to score from third on a close play and tie the game. Luke Hancock draws a walk with the bases loaded. Mississippi State wins. | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/mississippi-state/theres-nothing-like-dudy-noble-mississippi-state-takes-down-auburn-in-dramatic-fashion/article_dd77a7ef-90e1-5a9d-a759-0caa5a819721.html | 2022-04-15T05:44:53 | 0 | https://www.djournal.com/sports/college/mississippi-state/theres-nothing-like-dudy-noble-mississippi-state-takes-down-auburn-in-dramatic-fashion/article_dd77a7ef-90e1-5a9d-a759-0caa5a819721.html |
Air quality concerns in New Mexico due to smoke from wildfires
Air quality concerns in New Mexico due to smoke from wildfires
THESE MEASURES WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL THE FIRE DANGER SUBSIDES. A SMOKE ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR PARTS OF NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO, INCLUDING SAN MIGUEL COUNTY. KALYN: THAT’S E DUTO THE HERMITS PEAK FIRE. I TALKED TO AN EXPERT ABOUT WHO’S MOST AT RISK, AND HOW YOU CAN KEEP TRACK OF THE AIR QUALITY THIS FIRE SEASON. REPORTER: WITH THOUSANDS OF ACRES BURNED, THE HERMITS PEAK FIRE IN NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO, IS ONE OF SEVERAL ACROSS THE STATE FILLING THE SKY WITH SMOKE, IMPACTING THE AIR QUALITY. >> AIR POLLUTION CAN MAKE A LOT OF HRTEA CONDITIONS WORSE INCLUDING HEART FAILURE AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. REPORTER: MATTHEW CAMPEN IS AN INHALATION TOXICOLOGIST AND UNM PROFESSOR. HE SAYS WHEN BAD ENOUGH, THE PARTICLES IN THE AIR CAN MAKE IT HARD FOR CERTAIN GROUPS TO BREATHE AND EVEN SEND THEM TO THE HOSPITAL. >> SENSITIVE POPULATIONS INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE OR EMPHYSEMA, PEOPLE WHO HAVE LUNG DISEASE, AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEART DISEASE. THAT IS SOMETHING NOT AS MANY ARE AWARE OF. REPORTER: HE SAYS FOR THOSE WITH HEART DISEASE, THE SIGNS LIKE SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND NOSE IRRITATION MAY NOT BE AS OBVIOUS. THE FORMER EPA EXPERT SAYS TO STAY INDOORS, WEAR A MASK,ND A IF YOU’RE DRIVING YOUR CAR, MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOUR WINDOWS UP. ALSO, AVOID USING SWAMP COOLERS BECAUSE THAT CAN ACTUALLY DRAW IN MORE OF THE DUST. SO, HOW CAN YOU KNOW FOR SURE IT’S OK TO BE OUTDOORS? CAMPEN SAYS U YOCAN DOWNLOAD AN APP ON YOUR PHONE THAT TRACKS THE AIR QUALITY. HE RECOMMENDS ONE CALLED, MY RADAR. >> IT SHOWS OVERLAYING WEATHER PATTERNS AND AIR QUALITY SO YOU CAN SEE WHEN IT IS IN THE YELLOW ZONE. CERTAIN AREAOFS THE STATE ARE UNSAFE FOR SENSITIVE POPULATIONS. KAN:LY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT ISSUED A SMOKE ADVI
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Air quality concerns in New Mexico due to smoke from wildfires
KOAT's Kalyn Norwood talked to an inhalation toxicologist and UNM professor about the current air quality in New Mexico, as the state battles multiple wildfires, what it means for sensitive populations, and how people can stay up to date this wildfire season.Watch video above to see the full interview.
KOAT's Kalyn Norwood talked to an inhalation toxicologist and UNM professor about the current air quality in New Mexico, as the state battles multiple wildfires, what it means for sensitive populations, and how people can stay up to date this wildfire season.
Watch video above to see the full interview.
Advertisement | https://www.koat.com/article/air-quality-concerns-new-mexico-smoke-wildfires/39731263 | 2022-04-15T05:51:57 | 0 | https://www.koat.com/article/air-quality-concerns-new-mexico-smoke-wildfires/39731263 |
Almost 10 months after popular Tempe music venue Shady Park announced that it was in a dispute with its across-the-street neighbors, senior community Mirabella at ASU, about noise levels, the judge in a lawsuit Mirabella brought against the venue has ruled against Shady Park.
Shady Park announced the news yesterday on social media.
"With a heavy heart, we have surprising and devastating news to report: the judge in our February trial against the ASU retirement home has just ruled in their favor. This ruling will force Shady Park to cease all live music operations immediately, as the restrictions mandated make it impossible for us to hold live music events."
Though the venue said it plans to appeal the ruling, it added that if it is upheld, "Shady Park will likely be forced to close its doors to so many of our friends, family, and staff members."
In his ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brad Astrowsky wrote that noise complaints against Shady Park were not limited to Mirabella residents, and cited testimony from ASU students and guests at nearby hotels that they found the music coming from the venue to be disruptive.
click to enlarge The outdoor bar park at Shady Park before the new structure was added.
Jacob Tyler Dunn
The public first heard of a dispute between Mirabella and Shady Park
in June 2021, when the venue posted on its social media, "A few weeks ago, some of [Mirabella's] residents began a coordinated, aggressive campaign to attempt to force the City of Tempe to shut down live music at Shady Park."
In July,
Shady Park paused operations to add sound-reduction measures to the property, including a step-pyramid roof. The venue reopened in September.
But the soundproofing didn't do the trick, according to Mirabella residents and Astrowsky's ruling.
"No credible evidence was presented to support the conclusion that the installation of the canopy had any impact on mitigating the volume and bass emanating from Shady Park," he wrote. "To the contrary, the testimony of Mirabella residents, residents of neighboring apartments, and guests and management of neighboring hotels strongly suggests that the canopy had little-to-no impact on noise and bass levels."
In October, Mirabella filed a lawsuit with the Maricopa County Superior Court in which it requested an injunction to prohibit Shady Park from playing music at a level that "exceeds Tempe’s community standard."
Shady Park's attempts to get the case dismissed in January 2022 were unsuccessful, and the trial began in February.
Mirabella at ASU issued a statement after the ruling was announced.
"We appreciate and respect the Maricopa County Superior Court’s time and decision in favor of Mirabella at ASU and its residents. This ruling provides relief to Mirabella residents and the surrounding community who have been harmed by Shady Park’s excessive noise," the statement read. "Our residents are an important part of the vibrant and growing downtown Tempe community and appreciate its culture and energy, but simply wish to enjoy their community without unreasonable disruption. We hope the court’s ruling results in peaceful coexistence moving forward and a celebration of a community that is inclusive and respectful of all."
So for now, Shady Park is ceasing operations, but the venue is looking ahead to the appeals process.
"We remain hopeful that the court system will correct this injustice and that our appeal will allow us to once again host live music and provide a bit of joy and happiness to thousands of people every week." | https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/tempe-music-venue-shady-park-has-lost-its-noise-dispute-case-against-mirabella-at-asu-13425270 | 2022-04-15T05:55:04 | 1 | https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/tempe-music-venue-shady-park-has-lost-its-noise-dispute-case-against-mirabella-at-asu-13425270 |
A car was stolen in Queens with a baby still in the back seat — but the person facing charges Thursday night was not the vehicle thief.
Surveillance video shows a woman get out of the driver's side of the grey Toyota Camry in Jamaica, and walk inside a nearby store to pick up some breakfast in the morning.
"It was so fast, you blink your eye (and) the guy was gone already," said Godfrey Robinson, who works at the store the woman went into. He said she went inside to pick up an omelet, and couldn't have been in there for more than a few minutes.
Seconds later, a man in gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt walks by and can be seen circling the car, the engine still running. He looks around, then opens the driver's side door and drives off — as a 4-month-old boy was in the backseat.
The theft took less than a minute in all.
The woman then leaves the store and is seen on video looking around, frantically searching her left and right. She walks into the middle of the Hollis Avenue, but by then the suspect was already gone, police said.
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"She was very fantic, like 'Oh my God, the car is missing! The car is missing!' First thing I did was call 911, cops were here in less than four minutes," Robinson said.
Police quickly recovered Camry, which was left abandoned a few blocks away. Fortunately, the child was found unharmed.
The car thief has not yet been caught, but the 33-year-old woman — the child's babysitter — faces charges including reckless endangerment. The family of the boy told NBC New York that they were relieved their son was uninjured.
"I’m not judging, but as a mother, I wouldn’t do it, I’d never leave my baby in the car. Take the baby with you," one woman said. "As a mother, I know it’s hard. She should’ve taken the baby." | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/surveillance-video-shows-man-steal-car-in-queens-with-baby-still-in-back-seat/3647507/ | 2022-04-15T05:56:18 | 0 | https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/surveillance-video-shows-man-steal-car-in-queens-with-baby-still-in-back-seat/3647507/ |
Miya Marcano Foundation creates apartment safety accreditation program
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Miya Marcano Foundation is continuing to make an impact in Florida.
They are launching the ‘Safe and Secure Apartment Accreditation’ program on Friday.
"One of the things we wanted to do, was to be able to work with apartment complexes to make sure they have all the necessary protocols and policies and safety regulations in place. So what happened to Miya doesn’t happen to anyone else," Miya Marcano Foundation spokesperson, Jodi Covington told FOX 35.
The program rates apartment complexes on overall safety, using either one, two or three butterflies.
Butterflies are being used in memory of Miya, who loved the animals so much.
A complex with a ‘one’ rating will have things like: no city code violations, site maps at every vehicular entry way, trimmed landscapes, proper lightning and protection on sliding doors.
Higher ratings will be given to properties that follow even more safety protocols.
Marcano's mother, Yma Scarbriel says she wishes there was a program like this when she and her family were looking at off-campus apartments.
"If we knew that, I’d been more secure and content knowing that they went through all the protocols, all the steps that they did that we have for the safe and secure program," Scarbriel said.
The Miya Marcano Foundation is partnering with Rat Pack Security Worldwide, and they'll go in-person to conduct these audits.
Marcano's family hopes this gives tenants a peace of mind.
"What happened to Miya was one of the worst tragedies ever and with this program. I somehow find peace or comfort knowing that we’ll be able to save another family, another person from what we are going through," Scarbriel said.
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Marcano would've turned 20-years-old on April 26. | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/miya-marcano-foundation-creates-apartment-safety-accreditation-program | 2022-04-15T06:01:56 | 0 | https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/miya-marcano-foundation-creates-apartment-safety-accreditation-program |
BERKS COUNTY, Pa. – The holiday weekend is upon us, and whether you're celebrating Easter or Passover, there's plenty to do around Berks County,
The Reading Public Museum will be open for photos with the Easter Bunny on Saturday and a scavenger hunt on Sunday.
You can also hitch a ride on the Allentown and Auburn Railroad this weekend with a very special guest on board, the Easter Bunny himself.
While those events are mostly for the kiddos, Roselawn Bistro in Exeter Township wants parents to get into the spirit with its first-ever adult Easter egg hunt.
"I thought it would be fun for adults to find eggs containing more adult prizes," said Robyn Harlow, general manager of Roselawn Bistro.
The eggs contain a piece of candy and a chance to win a menu item or adult beverage.
Harlow says she hopes the hunt brings the community together and puts a new spin on a youthful tradition.
"Easter is geared more toward a child's event, and parents are always forgotten about so I thought it would be cool to get them involved," she said.
If you're in the mood for fried food and rides, the spring carnival runs through the weekend at FirstEnergy Stadium.
For those celebrating Passover, there's a community seder on Friday at Temple Oheb Sholom, complete with a family-friendly reading of the Haggadah and a special Kosher-for-Pesach meal.
So, from matzah to Easter eggs, there's plenty of family fun to help celebrate the holidays. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/community-gears-up-for-easter-passover-weekend/article_74fadfc0-bc77-11ec-9df9-7f39b6152059.html | 2022-04-15T06:03:43 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/community-gears-up-for-easter-passover-weekend/article_74fadfc0-bc77-11ec-9df9-7f39b6152059.html |
RICHMOND TWP., Pa. – A shocking discovery along a mostly quiet waterway, while watching water fowl.
"Between 14:30 and 15:00 hours, from a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) agent who was monitoring the goose population, discovered a white male deceased in the waterway here," said Sgt. Nathan Trate, with the Pennsylvania State Police.
Members of the Shoemakersville Fire Department, state police and the coroner's office stood along the creek off Route 662 in Richmond Township near Fleetwood after a man's body was pulled out Thursday afternoon.
"Advanced decomposition," Trate explained. "There are still visible tattoos that hopefully, we can identify who this individual is from those tattoos."
Is this discovery related to any recent missing persons cases in the area?
"No, we are not sure," Trate said. "We know that there's no obvious signs of foul play with this individual. Again, we are going to be checking the other missing persons, people in the area."
According to state police, the temperature and recent rains may have contributed to the man's body becoming more exposed, leading to the discovery."
"Last week, we had a considerable amount of rain. We just had a lot of rain within the last couple of days," Trate said. "We think because of the ebbs and flows of the waterway here, we probably think that he got dislodged and floated down."
State police say it's happened before that those who work in wildlife at the federal or state level, or hunters or hikers, have stumbled upon a body or evidence.
"You know, we have it sometimes where you have an individual who may have walked off, and then we ultimately find him in the wooded area months later or weeks later or something like that," Trate said. "But yes, it's happened a couple of times."
State police say this is an active investigation, and it could take some time to identify the body. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/police-usda-agent-discovers-body-while-monitoring-geese-in-richmond-township-creek/article_b5408180-bc3a-11ec-953a-630da47e6124.html | 2022-04-15T06:03:44 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/police-usda-agent-discovers-body-while-monitoring-geese-in-richmond-township-creek/article_b5408180-bc3a-11ec-953a-630da47e6124.html |
BUSHKILL, Pa. – A day after the Warren County Board of Commissioners reversed its decision to support a national park designation, the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area announced Thursday that sites closed for the winter will reopen Friday, April 15, with expanded amenity fees going into affect Monday, April 18.
The following areas will officially reopen for the 2022 season on April 15:
- Boat launches.
- Access roads to Dingmans Falls (open daily during daylight hours).
- Old Mine Road from the Worthington State Forest boundary to Millbrook Village and the dirt section of Old Mine Road near Van Campen Inn.
- Mountain Road in Walpack Township, New Jersey, will be open to vehicles between the Walpack Cemetery and Buttermilk Falls. The road is closed to vehicles beyond that point and from the south end at Haneys Mill due to the closure of the state-owned section of the road for repairs.
- Crater Lake, including Skyline Drive and the upper section of Blue Mountain Lakes Road, will reopen to vehicles daily until May 21 when it will be closed to vehicles Friday evenings through Monday afternoons until Oct. 2. The road will remain closed to vehicles on federal holidays that fall on Mondays.
Other areas that will be closed on weekends from May 21 to October 2 include:
- Cadoo Recreation Site in New Jersey.
- Hialeah Picnic Area and Freeman Tract Road in Pennsylvania.
These areas will be closed on Friday evenings and will reopen on Mondays by noon. They also will remain closed to vehicles on federal holidays that fall on Mondays.
Expanded amenity fees
Fees are charged at Smithfield Beach, Bushkill Boat Launch, Dingmans Boat Launch, Milford Beach and Turtle Beach.
"What you pay here, will stay here," Elizabeth Winslow, fee program manager, said in a statement.
Most revenue generated from fees collected in the park stays in the park and is used to fund projects and services that have a direct visitor benefit including facility and trail maintenance, restrooms, boat and canoe launches, and picnic areas.
Daily fees are $10 per vehicle (up to 7 occupants) and $2 for additional passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Where fee attendants are not on duty, visitors are directed to deposit the daily fee in a self-registration envelope provided at the entrance to the fee areas, put it in the designated secured drop box and place the receipt on the vehicle's dashboard.
Annual passes are also available to access the fee areas for the entire season. The passes are $45 per vehicle. Discounts apply for multiple purchases from the same household.
Road closures
If planning to visit the Delaware Water Gap, there are several road closures that could impact travel. These closures start May 1 and remain in effect until Sept. 30 annually:
- Adams Creek Trail and parking areas, including the drainage, from the Sproul Road and Long Meadow Road.
- Parking areas downstream to Route 209.
- White Pines McDade Trail parking area/
- Raymondskill Creek drainage, from the base of the lower falls, including the pool area, downstream to the confluence of the Delaware River, including the Schanno House (former) parking area and grounds on the west side of Route 209 at Raymondskill Creek. This closure does not include the McDade Recreational Trail.
In addition, work on a $6.5 million project to completely rehabilitate a 7-mile section of Route 209 began in March. It is the first phase of a $21.5 million project to improve the park's primary north-south route on the Pennsylvania side.
According to a news release, the initial phase of the project will rehabilitate the entire stretch of road between mile marker 0 in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, and mile marker 7 in Lehman Township, Pike County, in Pennsylvania. | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/delaware-water-gap-to-begin-charging-expanded-amenity-fees-monday/article_8c774272-bc79-11ec-aa71-7fc9fda82996.html | 2022-04-15T06:03:47 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/western-newjersey/delaware-water-gap-to-begin-charging-expanded-amenity-fees-monday/article_8c774272-bc79-11ec-aa71-7fc9fda82996.html |
- Substantial income tax credits offered by governments in some developed countries for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles propels the hybrid cars market
- Design of hybrid cars for reduced engine size and reduced car weight translating into increased mileage to favor the demand for these vehicles
ALBANY, N.Y., April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Analysts at TMR estimate the hybrid cars market to expand at a CAGR of 21.9% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2031. Increasing shift in demand from conventional gasoline powered engine vehicles to environment-friendly engine vehicles is a key factor fueling the growth of the hybrid cars market. Consistent effort of automobile manufacturers for improved designs until commercialization is promising for the growth of hybrid cars market.
Increasing consumer awareness for fuel-efficient vehicles and government regulations to curb vehicle emissions is leading to the rising demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles receive power either from electric motor engine, natural gas engine, or internal combustion (IC) engine, with IC engines mostly used to power battery of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles for their low emissions.
Several governments the world over are playing a key role to increase awareness about electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce the use of conventional fuel-based engine vehicles in an effort to conserve the environment. Governments are providing several benefits and subsidies to increase the production capacity of electric and hybrid vehicles, and tax incentives to users for purchase of these vehicles. For instance, the U.S. Government offers up to US$ 7,500 federal income tax credits for all electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
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Hybrid Cars Market – Key Findings of Report
- Design encompassing environment-friendly compact size engines, improved aero dynamics, and reduced car weight as compared to IC engine cars elevates the fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles
- Demand for series-parallel hybrid cars is at the fore among other leading product segments in the hybrid cars market. Superior functionality of series-parallel hybrid cars allows to split power, wherein power is routed from IC engine to the wheels of the vehicle. Nonetheless, plug-in hybrid cars are anticipated to witness high demand during the forecast period. The commercialization of plug-in hybrids that is attracting consumers to own battery-operated vehicles is providing substantial opportunities to this product segment of the hybrid cars market.
- Hybrid car manufacturers in developed countries are leaning toward local production to strengthen their manufacturing capacity. This is proving to be beneficial to serve substantial demand in regional markets, and reduce cost of shipping of several raw materials used.
- Exponential rise in vehicle ownership in several parts of the world leading to rise in pollution has alerted governments to adopt measures to reduce pollution. Several governments offer tax benefits for environment-friendly vehicles, and thus stimulate demand for hybrid cars market
- Asia Pacific led the hybrid cars market in terms of revenue in 2020 due to the substantial demand for of IC engine and electric motor powered vehicles. Rising awareness among consumers for the adoption of low emission vehicles and incentives provided by several governments for use of electric and hybrid cars fuels the hybrid cars market in the region.
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Hybrid Cars Market – Growth Drivers
- Growing consumer awareness about fuel-efficient vehicles and government regulations to curb vehicular emissions drives the hybrid cars market
- Array of benefits and incentives offered by governments to vehicle manufacturers to increase the production capacity of electric and hybrid vehicles stimulates the hybrid cars market
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Hybrid Cars Market – Key Players
Some of the key players operating in the hybrid cars market are;
- Volkswagen AG
- Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
- Hyundai Motor Co.
- BorgWarner Inc.
- Volvo Group
- Allison Transmission
- Toyota Motor Corp.
- Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
- Continental AG
- Ford Motor Company
- Daimler AG
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG
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The hybrid cars market is segmented as follows;
Hybrid Cars Market, by Type
- Series
- Parallel
- Plug-in
- Series-Parallel
Hybrid Cars Market, by Energy Source
- ICE Hybrid
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SOURCE Transparency Market Research | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/hybrid-cars-market-to-reach-us-2-1-trn-by-2031-tmr-study/article_4d32cbd3-810d-5fa5-a74e-31852ba203eb.html | 2022-04-15T06:03:48 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/hybrid-cars-market-to-reach-us-2-1-trn-by-2031-tmr-study/article_4d32cbd3-810d-5fa5-a74e-31852ba203eb.html |
Drivers who want to buy the new 2022 Hyundai Palisade this year can purchase the same at the Greg May Hyundai dealership.
WACO, Texas, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Drivers in and around the Waco area in Texas who are looking for dealerships to test-drive and buy the latest 2022 Hyundai Palisade can now purchase the same at the Greg May Hyundai dealership. The new Palisade is well-built and comes loaded with a plethora of advanced technology and safety features, thereby making the vehicle perfect for families too.
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SOURCE Greg May Hyundai | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/interested-customers-can-purchase-the-new-2022-hyundai-palisade-now-at-greg-may-hyundai/article_dd54aa22-dc98-5ad0-8ad4-e2819d5b238d.html | 2022-04-15T06:03:48 | 1 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_automotive/interested-customers-can-purchase-the-new-2022-hyundai-palisade-now-at-greg-may-hyundai/article_dd54aa22-dc98-5ad0-8ad4-e2819d5b238d.html |
NEW YORK, April 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The taste modulators market share is expected to increase by USD 851.48 million from 2021 to 2026. The growth momentum of the market will accelerate at a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period.
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Read the 120-page report with TOC on "Taste Modulators Market Analysis Report by Type (Sweet modulators, Salt modulators, and Fat modulators) and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America), and the Segment Forecasts,2022-2026". Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders. Track key industry opportunities, trends, and threats. Information on marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions. View our Report Snapshot
Market Driver
The increasing popularity of low-calorie sweeteners is driving the taste modulators market growth. The sweeteners include rice syrup, maple syrup, and agave syrup, among others. Their popularity is attributed to the rising prevalence of diabetes and obesity across the world. The rising number of cases of diabetes in the UK has led to the growth in sales of low-calorie sweeteners in the country. The obesity levels in the UK also increased significantly from 1993 to 2020. Similarly, in the US, the obesity level in the population increased during the same period. Therefore, the rising demand for low-calorie sweeteners is a major trend that is estimated to have a positive impact on the growth of the global taste modulators market during the forecast period.
Major Taste Modulator Companies:
- Ajinomoto Co. Inc.
- Archer Daniels Midland Co.
- Bernard Food Industries
- Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. Inc.
- Firmenich SA
- Flavorchem Corp.
- Givaudan SA
- Ingredion Inc.
- International Flavors and Fragrances Inc.
- Kerry Group Plc
- Koninklijke DSM NV
- Sensient Technologies Corp.
- SweeGen Inc.
- Symrise AG
- T. Hasegawa Co. Ltd.
- The Flavor Factory
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Taste Modulators Market Type Outlook (Revenue, USD mn, 2021-2026)
- Sweet modulators - size and forecast 2021-2026
- Salt modulators - size and forecast 2021-2026
- Fat modulators - size and forecast 2021-2026
Taste Modulators Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD mn, 2021-2026)
- North America - size and forecast 2021-2026
- Europe - size and forecast 2021-2026
- APAC - size and forecast 2021-2026
- Middle East and Africa - size and forecast 2021-2026
- South America - size and forecast 2021-2026
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Revenue-generating Type Segments
The sweet modulators segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. Sweet stimuli bind to dimeric receptors on the cell surface found along with molecules called G-Proteins. This causes subunits of the G-Protein to split into alpha and beta-gamma, which activates an enzyme. This causes the formation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) that blocks the proton channels, which depolarizes the cell and sends a signal to the brain. These factors will drive the taste modulators market growth during the forecast period.
Regional Analysis
APAC will account for 26% of the market's growth during the forecast period. The increase in the demand for organic food products that contain natural flavors will drive the taste modulators market growth in APAC during the forecast period. China is the key country for the taste modulators market in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions.
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Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary
- 1.1 Market overview
- Exhibit 01: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Overview
- Exhibit 02: Executive Summary – Data Table on Market Overview
- Exhibit 03: Executive Summary – Chart on Global Market Characteristics
- Exhibit 04: Executive Summary – Chart on Market by Geography
- Exhibit 05: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Segmentation by Type
- Exhibit 06: Executive Summary – Chart on Incremental Growth
- Exhibit 07: Executive Summary – Data Table on Incremental Growth
- Exhibit 08: Executive Summary – Chart on Vendor Market Positioning
2 Market Landscape
- 2.1 Market ecosystem
- Exhibit 09: Parent market
- Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics
3 Market Sizing
- 3.1 Market definition
- Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition
- 3.2 Market segment analysis
- Exhibit 12: Market segments
- 3.3 Market size 2021
- 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026
- Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
4 Five Forces Analysis
- 4.1 Five forces summary
- Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026
- 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers
- Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers – Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026
- 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers
- Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers – Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026
- 4.4 Threat of new entrants
- Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants – Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026
- 4.5 Threat of substitutes
- Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes – Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026
- 4.6 Threat of rivalry
- Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry – Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026
- 4.7 Market condition
- Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026
5 Market Segmentation by Type
- 5.1 Market segments
- Exhibit 24: Chart on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 25: Data Table on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%)
- 5.2 Comparison by Type
- Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Type
- Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Type
- 5.3 Sweet modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 28: Chart on Sweet modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 29: Data Table on Sweet modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 30: Chart on Sweet modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 31: Data Table on Sweet modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 5.4 Salt modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 32: Chart on Salt modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 33: Data Table on Salt modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 34: Chart on Salt modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 35: Data Table on Salt modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 5.5 Fat modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 36: Chart on Fat modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 37: Data Table on Fat modulators - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 38: Chart on Fat modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 39: Data Table on Fat modulators - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 5.6 Market opportunity by Type
- Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)
6 Customer Landscape
- 6.1 Customer landscape overview
- Exhibit 41: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria
7 Geographic Landscape
- 7.1 Geographic segmentation
- Exhibit 42: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 43: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.2 Geographic comparison
- Exhibit 44: Chart on Geographic comparison
- Exhibit 45: Data Table on Geographic comparison
- 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 46: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 47: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 48: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 49: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 54: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 55: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 56: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 57: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 58: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 59: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 60: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 61: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 62: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 63: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 64: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 65: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 66: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 67: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 68: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 69: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 70: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 71: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 72: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 73: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 74: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 75: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 76: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 77: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 78: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 79: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 80: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 81: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.12 France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026
- Exhibit 82: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 83: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)
- Exhibit 84: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- Exhibit 85: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)
- 7.13 Market opportunity by geography
- Exhibit 86: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)
8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends
- 8.1 Market drivers
- 8.2 Market challenges
- 8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges
- Exhibit 87: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026
- 8.4 Market trends
9 Vendor Landscape
- 9.1 Overview
- 9.2 Vendor landscape
- Exhibit 88: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation
- 9.3 Landscape disruption
- Exhibit 89: Overview on factors of disruption
- 9.4 Industry risks
- Exhibit 90: Impact of key risks on business
10 Vendor Analysis
- 10.1 Vendors covered
- Exhibit 91: Vendors covered
- 10.2 Market positioning of vendors
- Exhibit 92: Matrix on vendor position and classification
- 10.3 Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. Inc.
- Exhibit 93: Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. Inc. - Overview
- Exhibit 94: Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. Inc. - Product / Service
- Exhibit 95: Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. Inc. - Key offerings
- 10.4 Firmenich SA
- Exhibit 96: Firmenich SA - Overview
- Exhibit 97: Firmenich SA - Product / Service
- Exhibit 98: Firmenich SA - Key offerings
- 10.5 Givaudan SA
- Exhibit 99: Givaudan SA - Overview
- Exhibit 100: Givaudan SA - Business segments
- Exhibit 101: Givaudan SA - Key offerings
- Exhibit 102: Givaudan SA - Segment focus
- 10.6 Ingredion Inc.
- Exhibit 103: Ingredion Inc. - Overview
- Exhibit 104: Ingredion Inc. - Business segments
- Exhibit 105: Ingredion Inc. - Key news
- Exhibit 106: Ingredion Inc. - Key offerings
- Exhibit 107: Ingredion Inc. - Segment focus
- 10.7 International Flavors and Fragrances Inc.
- Exhibit 108: International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. - Overview
- Exhibit 109: International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. - Business segments
- Exhibit 110: International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. - Key news
- Exhibit 111: International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. - Key offerings
- Exhibit 112: International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. - Segment focus
- 10.8 Kerry Group Plc
- Exhibit 113: Kerry Group Plc - Overview
- Exhibit 114: Kerry Group Plc - Business segments
- Exhibit 115: Kerry Group Plc - Key offerings
- Exhibit 116: Kerry Group Plc - Segment focus
- 10.9 Koninklijke DSM NV
- Exhibit 117: Koninklijke DSM NV - Overview
- Exhibit 118: Koninklijke DSM NV - Business segments
- Exhibit 119: Koninklijke DSM NV - Key news
- Exhibit 120: Koninklijke DSM NV - Key offerings
- Exhibit 121: Koninklijke DSM NV - Segment focus
- 10.10 Sensient Technologies Corp.
- Exhibit 122: Sensient Technologies Corp. - Overview
- Exhibit 123: Sensient Technologies Corp. - Business segments
- Exhibit 124: Sensient Technologies Corp. - Key offerings
- Exhibit 125: Sensient Technologies Corp. - Segment focus
- 10.11 Symrise AG
- Exhibit 126: Symrise AG - Overview
- Exhibit 127: Symrise AG - Business segments
- Exhibit 128: Symrise AG - Key offerings
- Exhibit 129: Symrise AG - Segment focus
- 10.12 The Flavor Factory
- Exhibit 130: The Flavor Factory - Overview
- Exhibit 131: The Flavor Factory - Product / Service
- Exhibit 132: The Flavor Factory - Key offerings
11 Appendix
- 11.1 Scope of the report
- 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist
- Exhibit 133: Inclusions checklist
- Exhibit 134: Exclusions checklist
- 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$
- Exhibit 135: Currency conversion rates for US$
- 11.4 Research methodology
- Exhibit 136: Research methodology
- Exhibit 137: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
- Exhibit 138: Information sources
- 11.5 List of abbreviations
- Exhibit 139: List of abbreviations
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SOURCE Technavio | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_food_beverages/taste-modulators-market-size-to-grow-by-usd-851-48-million-increasing-popularity-of-low/article_9a09b1e7-8e23-57df-9745-ca35e710b80a.html | 2022-04-15T06:04:03 | 0 | https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_food_beverages/taste-modulators-market-size-to-grow-by-usd-851-48-million-increasing-popularity-of-low/article_9a09b1e7-8e23-57df-9745-ca35e710b80a.html |
Jacobsen-Huse is an athletic director at PHS.
She also swam at her alma mater, and in 1970, wanted to trade the back and forth for something a little more dynamic: water polo.
The only problem was that girls water polo wasn't very common. Pasadena High certainly didn't have a team.
So at the same pool where she has since coached and led, Jacobsen-Huse and her friends started one.
"They gave us pool time, they gave us water polo balls, and some of the other high school students who were boys coached us," said Jacobsen-Huse.
They played after swim season and on their own time.
Two years later, she went to the University of California - Santa Barbara and started all over again, creating a team, coached by the boys, with no major trophy to chase.
It caught on.
"The first year, we each hosted a tournament: Santa Barbara, San Diego and Chico State," said Jacobsen-Huse. "It was great, we were undefeated!"
They all shared a bigger win.
It was the first year of Title IX, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
It meant girls could play.
"We were celebrating that this passed, but we had no idea how long it would take for it to actually go into effect," said Jacobsen-Huse.
By her senior year, she traveled out of state for competitions.
But she would spend decades more pushing for official representation within the California Interscholastic Federation, the NCAA, and the Olympics.
Those efforts would later get her inducted into the Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Which, of course, means she and her teammates were successful ... eventually.
CIF recognized girl's water polo in 1998, and it became an Olympic sport in 2000. The NCAA did so in 2001.
Jacobsen-Huse never saw her efforts become a reality as a player, but she sure did see it through.
"It makes me almost a little emotional honestly," said Kara-Leigh Huse, who has always had her role model by her side. "Not only did she pave the way in water polo for us, and for me, but she's also my mom."
By the time she started playing competitively, girls had opportunities at every level. Today, the NCAA has 65 schools with women's water polo.
Kara-Leigh Huse earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California. Her mom got to hear her daughter's name announced from the stands.
And in 2010, 40 years after Jacobsen-Huse's first team led the way, Kara-Leigh Huse and her Trojans won the national championship, etching their own place in history. | https://abc11.com/50-fifty-title-ix-jennie-jacobsen-huse/11749261/ | 2022-04-15T06:04:59 | 0 | https://abc11.com/50-fifty-title-ix-jennie-jacobsen-huse/11749261/ |
2 dead, more than 200 homes charred in New Mexico wildfire
(AP) - Firefighters took advantage of a brief break in the weather but gusty winds were expected to return Friday to southern New Mexico where a wildfire has claimed two lives and charred more than 200 homes.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people in the mountain community of Ruidoso, where the remains of a couple were found near a burned home as they tried to flee.
New Mexico State Police confirmed the blaze killed the two people after it started Tuesday from a windblown, downed power line. Their names have not been released.
Thousands of customers in the area remain without power, and Ruidoso schools have been closed until next week.
“We’ve had students who’ve lost their homes. We have to support them on Tuesday” when school resumes, said high school English teacher Sara Ames Brown. She said Thursday she was with students when they were evacuated by bus, with flames visible in the forest outside as they drove away.
Fire crews used a break in what had been a steady stream of relentless gusts to make headway against the flames on Thursday.
Incident Commander Dave Bales said the strategy was “attack while we can,” noting that winds were expected to pick up again Friday.
“We’re trying to keep this fire as small as possible, especially because it’s right in the community,” he said. “We’ve had a loss of a lot of structures so our crews are right there on the fire front going as direct as possible.”
The fire moved into a more densely populated area on Ruidoso’s northeastern side Wednesday afternoon, prompting more evacuations. Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest, interrupted a fire briefing and told people to get in their cars and leave after the flames jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.
Crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village on Wednesday, and Rabon said that progress continued Thursday as helicopters dropped water and ground crews secured lines on the east and south sides. They also put out hot spots in the neighborhoods where the flames raced through earlier this week.
The fire has torched an estimated 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) of forest and grass, and the strong winds that battered the area have left behind toppled trees and down power lines. Due to the power outage, the school district’s servers were down and email wasn’t working.
Six new large fires were reported Wednesday: three in Texas, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma. In all, wildland firefighters and support personnel were trying to contain 11 large fires that have charred more than 40 square miles (103 square kilometers) in five states.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles (3,237 square kilometers). That’s well above the 10-year average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles (2162.64 square kilometers) burned.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
___
Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ | 2022-04-15T06:05:10 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ |
Gov. Walz visits Taopi; volunteers continue tornado damage cleanup
TAOPI, Minn. (KTTC) – On Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz visited Taopi, Minnesota. Taopi is a small town of about 60 people. The town was destroyed by the EF2 tornado that touched down on Tuesday.
“It’s devastating,” Walz said.
Walz walked around the town surveying the damaged and spoke at the mayor’s home and with people in the community.
“The stories of people who had minutes as they walked down and the side of their house was gone,” he said.
One community member that is picking up the pieces from his home, is Terry Voigt.
“I was in the house on the bedroom floor with my dog. I don’t have a basement so I was stormed out,” he said. “There’s walls there, but the roof is gone. One wall is caved. It’s destroyed.”
Terry is in a manager position at Fleet Farm. Four of his employees who are seniors at Mayo High School came to help their boss clean up debris.
“It sounded like a bad situation so we just decided that we should come out and help them out,” said Mathew Myren.
“Came out and did what anybody needed us to do,” said Bennett Ellsworth.
“When you come out here, everything is torn apart. Like houses are completely down. It’s crazy,” said Max Vandekieft.
“When you’re picking up all that debris, especially with him [Terry], we saw his mom’s bible. So it’s like you’re picking up pieces of someone’s life. It’s not just a house,” said Spencer Pearson.
After Walz walked around the town he told KTTC that he was thankful no one died from the tornado.
“And then pouring of support from across the state on the cleanup,” he said. “The work that’s being done out here in cold windy conditions to help neighbors it’s pretty inspiring.’
“It’s good to help people who are always there to help us. It’s small-town support basically,” Morgan Jasper, a Taopi resident.
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Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/gov-tim-walz-visits-taopi-volunteers-continue-tornado-damage-cleanup/ | 2022-04-15T06:05:17 | 0 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/gov-tim-walz-visits-taopi-volunteers-continue-tornado-damage-cleanup/ |
Texas moves to ease border gridlock over ‘sense of urgency’
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The logjam of trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border finally began breaking Thursday after nearly a week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott eased off his latest dramatic action over immigration that has gridlocked some of the world’s busiest trade ports and taken a mounting economic toll.
“There is a sense of urgency now to reach deals that did not exist before,” Abbott said.
The two-term Republican governor, who for days has allowed commercial trucks to backup for miles into Mexico after requiring them to stop for additional inspections in Texas, lifted that order for bridges in El Paso and other cities after announcing a new security agreement with the neighboring Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahulia.
The rollbacks come as Abbott has faced intensifying pressure over the policy he rushed into place April 6 as part of an ongoing fight with the Biden administration over the flow of migrants and drugs. Inspection orders remain in other parts along Texas’ 1,200-mile border, including the busy Rio Grande Valley, but Mexican trade leaders were optimistic those would also end soon.
The deal with Gov. María Campos Galván of Chihuahua, who joined Abbott for the announcement in the Texas Capitol, set in motion the biggest relief yet for traffic that has snarled the Texas-Mexico border and raised warnings of higher prices for U.S. shoppers and spare grocery store shelves.
“People like me who buy millions of dollars of produce a week are starting to curb their purchases toward other regions of the country,” said Brent Erenwert, CEO of Brothers Produce in Houston, which relies heavily on imports from Mexico.
The inspections ordered by Abbott came in response to the Biden administration announcing last month it would wind down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. When that happens, the number of migrants coming to the U.S. is expected to increase.
It was the second consecutive day Abbott has lifted inspections at some bridges, starting Wednesday with Laredo, which was the busiest U.S. port of entry for trucks last year. Traffic coming into the Texas at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., has also resumed after a dayslong protest by Mexican truckers came to an end.
One custom agency based in Mexico, the Association of Customs Agents of Reynosa, on Thursday put the losses at the Pharr-Reynosa bridge at $7 million a day.
The agreements between Abbott and Mexico’s governors have varied.
Across from Laredo, Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García had told Abbott his state would put in place checkpoints and policing. For Chihuahua, Galvan provided a security plan she said was in the “implementation stage” and includes agreements to share intelligence captured by security cameras and other technology. Later Thursday, Abbott also announced a similar agreement with the Mexican governor of Coahulia.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican who has urged Abbott to walk back the inspections order, said Thursday one major agricultural company told him that 100 trucks sent to Mexico for deliveries have been unable to come back across because of the congestion.
He questioned what the holdout achieved, and in the case of Abbott’s agreement with Nuevo Leon, said it did not appear substantive.
“They’re just basically going to leave it up in good faith,” Miller said. “There’s no enforcement, no reckoning on that if they don’t.”
The White House, the Mexican government, trade groups and reeling businesses have bashed the extra inspections as redundant and a new burden on an already fragile supply chain.
Abbott’s border inspections come at a time when U.S. supply chains are already overwhelmed. A surge in demand from customers — the result of a surprisingly fast recovery from the devastating coronavirus recession of 2020 — caught businesses by surprise and led to bottlenecks at factories, ports and freight yards. It’s also pushed up prices, contributing to the highest inflation in 40 years.
COVID-related factory shutdowns in China and the rocketing cost of shipping goods across the Pacific Ocean have many companies looking to Mexico, where there’s no ocean to cross and there’s relief from the political and trade disputes between Washington and Beijing.
“A lot of companies, right now, they’re looking at Mexico as a way to bypass ocean dependency,’’ said Bindiya Vakil, CEO of the supply chain consultancy Resilnc. “If I’m one of those companies, I’m looking at this new regulation on the Texas border and I’m really concerned because this means additional delays, and that was supposed to be my solution — to go to Mexico and avoid the ocean altogether.’’
The U.S.-Mexico border is crucial to the U.S. economy. The United States last year imported $390.7 billion worth of goods from Mexico, second only to China.
But as the inspections taper off in Texas, Abbott says he will continue putting migrants on buses and sending them to Washington, D.C., calling it a message to President Joe Biden. “If he’s not going to come to the border, we’re going to take the border to him,” Abbott said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protections Commissioner Chris Magnus said Thursday that Abbott was moving migrants without “adequately coordinating” with the federal government. The first bus arrived Wednesday, and Abbott said more are on the way.
___
Associated Press reporters Paul Wiseman in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Maria Verza in Mexico City and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/texas-moves-ease-border-gridlock-over-sense-urgency/ | 2022-04-15T06:05:23 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/texas-moves-ease-border-gridlock-over-sense-urgency/ |
As Russia loses key ship, Zelenskyy praises nation’s resolve
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision of their life — to fight.”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
Back then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure whether Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”
Listing the ways Ukraine has defended against the onslaught, Zelenskyy noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea.
WARNING: Videos may contain graphic content.
It was his only reference to the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, which became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war. It sank Thursday while being towed to port after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained under dispute.
Ukrainian officials said their forces struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv.
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It’s also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The Associated Press 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.
If Ukraine carried out the attack, the Moskva likely represents the largest warship to be sunk in combat since the 1982 Falklands War, which saw a similar-sized cruiser called the ARA General Belgrano torpedoed by a British submarine, killing over 300 sailors on board.
The news about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces 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.
Dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are holding out against a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told AP in an interview Thursday that people are being “starved to death” in the besieged city.
Mariupol’s mayor said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could surpass 20,000, after weeks of attacks and privation carpeted the streets with bodies.
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 Donbas region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and it is likely to add more ground combat units soon. But it’s still unclear when Russia could launch a bigger offensive in the Donbas.
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.
Maksym Marchenko, governor of the Odesa region, said Ukrainian forces struck the Moskva with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the “main missile weapons” were not damaged and that the crew, usually numbering about 500, abandoned the vessel. It wasn’t clear if there were any casualties. 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 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, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where the ship was when the fire began.
Launched as the Slava in 1979, the cruiser saw service in the Cold War and during conflicts in Georgia and Syria, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States. During the Cold War, it carried nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved farther south after the Moskva incident, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.
While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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 particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Economic Club of Washington.
Russia invaded Feb. 24 and has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further inflated prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the war helped push the organization to downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters some 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo, in Russia’s Bryansk region. 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.
___
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ | 2022-04-15T06:05:30 | 1 | https://www.kttc.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ |
2 dead, more than 200 homes charred in New Mexico wildfire
(AP) - Firefighters took advantage of a brief break in the weather but gusty winds were expected to return Friday to southern New Mexico where a wildfire has claimed two lives and charred more than 200 homes.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people in the mountain community of Ruidoso, where the remains of a couple were found near a burned home as they tried to flee.
New Mexico State Police confirmed the blaze killed the two people after it started Tuesday from a windblown, downed power line. Their names have not been released.
Thousands of customers in the area remain without power, and Ruidoso schools have been closed until next week.
“We’ve had students who’ve lost their homes. We have to support them on Tuesday” when school resumes, said high school English teacher Sara Ames Brown. She said Thursday she was with students when they were evacuated by bus, with flames visible in the forest outside as they drove away.
Fire crews used a break in what had been a steady stream of relentless gusts to make headway against the flames on Thursday.
Incident Commander Dave Bales said the strategy was “attack while we can,” noting that winds were expected to pick up again Friday.
“We’re trying to keep this fire as small as possible, especially because it’s right in the community,” he said. “We’ve had a loss of a lot of structures so our crews are right there on the fire front going as direct as possible.”
The fire moved into a more densely populated area on Ruidoso’s northeastern side Wednesday afternoon, prompting more evacuations. Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest, interrupted a fire briefing and told people to get in their cars and leave after the flames jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.
Crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village on Wednesday, and Rabon said that progress continued Thursday as helicopters dropped water and ground crews secured lines on the east and south sides. They also put out hot spots in the neighborhoods where the flames raced through earlier this week.
The fire has torched an estimated 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) of forest and grass, and the strong winds that battered the area have left behind toppled trees and down power lines. Due to the power outage, the school district’s servers were down and email wasn’t working.
Six new large fires were reported Wednesday: three in Texas, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma. In all, wildland firefighters and support personnel were trying to contain 11 large fires that have charred more than 40 square miles (103 square kilometers) in five states.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles (3,237 square kilometers). That’s well above the 10-year average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles (2162.64 square kilometers) burned.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
___
Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ | 2022-04-15T06:15:46 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ |
Texas moves to ease border gridlock over ‘sense of urgency’
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The logjam of trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border finally began breaking Thursday after nearly a week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott eased off his latest dramatic action over immigration that has gridlocked some of the world’s busiest trade ports and taken a mounting economic toll.
“There is a sense of urgency now to reach deals that did not exist before,” Abbott said.
The two-term Republican governor, who for days has allowed commercial trucks to backup for miles into Mexico after requiring them to stop for additional inspections in Texas, lifted that order for bridges in El Paso and other cities after announcing a new security agreement with the neighboring Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahulia.
The rollbacks come as Abbott has faced intensifying pressure over the policy he rushed into place April 6 as part of an ongoing fight with the Biden administration over the flow of migrants and drugs. Inspection orders remain in other parts along Texas’ 1,200-mile border, including the busy Rio Grande Valley, but Mexican trade leaders were optimistic those would also end soon.
The deal with Gov. María Campos Galván of Chihuahua, who joined Abbott for the announcement in the Texas Capitol, set in motion the biggest relief yet for traffic that has snarled the Texas-Mexico border and raised warnings of higher prices for U.S. shoppers and spare grocery store shelves.
“People like me who buy millions of dollars of produce a week are starting to curb their purchases toward other regions of the country,” said Brent Erenwert, CEO of Brothers Produce in Houston, which relies heavily on imports from Mexico.
The inspections ordered by Abbott came in response to the Biden administration announcing last month it would wind down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. When that happens, the number of migrants coming to the U.S. is expected to increase.
It was the second consecutive day Abbott has lifted inspections at some bridges, starting Wednesday with Laredo, which was the busiest U.S. port of entry for trucks last year. Traffic coming into the Texas at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., has also resumed after a dayslong protest by Mexican truckers came to an end.
One custom agency based in Mexico, the Association of Customs Agents of Reynosa, on Thursday put the losses at the Pharr-Reynosa bridge at $7 million a day.
The agreements between Abbott and Mexico’s governors have varied.
Across from Laredo, Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García had told Abbott his state would put in place checkpoints and policing. For Chihuahua, Galvan provided a security plan she said was in the “implementation stage” and includes agreements to share intelligence captured by security cameras and other technology. Later Thursday, Abbott also announced a similar agreement with the Mexican governor of Coahulia.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican who has urged Abbott to walk back the inspections order, said Thursday one major agricultural company told him that 100 trucks sent to Mexico for deliveries have been unable to come back across because of the congestion.
He questioned what the holdout achieved, and in the case of Abbott’s agreement with Nuevo Leon, said it did not appear substantive.
“They’re just basically going to leave it up in good faith,” Miller said. “There’s no enforcement, no reckoning on that if they don’t.”
The White House, the Mexican government, trade groups and reeling businesses have bashed the extra inspections as redundant and a new burden on an already fragile supply chain.
Abbott’s border inspections come at a time when U.S. supply chains are already overwhelmed. A surge in demand from customers — the result of a surprisingly fast recovery from the devastating coronavirus recession of 2020 — caught businesses by surprise and led to bottlenecks at factories, ports and freight yards. It’s also pushed up prices, contributing to the highest inflation in 40 years.
COVID-related factory shutdowns in China and the rocketing cost of shipping goods across the Pacific Ocean have many companies looking to Mexico, where there’s no ocean to cross and there’s relief from the political and trade disputes between Washington and Beijing.
“A lot of companies, right now, they’re looking at Mexico as a way to bypass ocean dependency,’’ said Bindiya Vakil, CEO of the supply chain consultancy Resilnc. “If I’m one of those companies, I’m looking at this new regulation on the Texas border and I’m really concerned because this means additional delays, and that was supposed to be my solution — to go to Mexico and avoid the ocean altogether.’’
The U.S.-Mexico border is crucial to the U.S. economy. The United States last year imported $390.7 billion worth of goods from Mexico, second only to China.
But as the inspections taper off in Texas, Abbott says he will continue putting migrants on buses and sending them to Washington, D.C., calling it a message to President Joe Biden. “If he’s not going to come to the border, we’re going to take the border to him,” Abbott said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protections Commissioner Chris Magnus said Thursday that Abbott was moving migrants without “adequately coordinating” with the federal government. The first bus arrived Wednesday, and Abbott said more are on the way.
___
Associated Press reporters Paul Wiseman in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Maria Verza in Mexico City and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/texas-moves-ease-border-gridlock-over-sense-urgency/ | 2022-04-15T06:15:52 | 0 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/texas-moves-ease-border-gridlock-over-sense-urgency/ |
As Russia loses key ship, Zelenskyy praises nation’s resolve
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision of their life — to fight.”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians late Thursday that they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
Back then even friendly world leaders urged him to leave, unsure whether Ukraine could survive, he said: “But they didn’t know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom and the possibility to live the way we want.”
Listing the ways Ukraine has defended against the onslaught, Zelenskyy noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea.
WARNING: Videos may contain graphic content.
It was his only reference to the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, named for the Russian capital, which became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war. It sank Thursday while being towed to port after suffering heavy damage under circumstances that remained under dispute.
Ukrainian officials said their forces struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack. U.S. and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze. In any case, the loss was a symbolic defeat for Russia as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv.
The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It’s also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.
During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”
The Associated Press 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.
If Ukraine carried out the attack, the Moskva likely represents the largest warship to be sunk in combat since the 1982 Falklands War, which saw a similar-sized cruiser called the ARA General Belgrano torpedoed by a British submarine, killing over 300 sailors on board.
The news about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces 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.
Dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are holding out against a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. David Beasley, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, told AP in an interview Thursday that people are being “starved to death” in the besieged city.
Mariupol’s mayor said this week that more than 10,000 civilians had died and the death toll could surpass 20,000, after weeks of attacks and privation carpeted the streets with bodies.
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 Donbas region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.
The Russian military continues to move helicopters and other equipment together for such an effort, according to a senior U.S. defense official, and it is likely to add more ground combat units soon. But it’s still unclear when Russia could launch a bigger offensive in the Donbas.
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.
Maksym Marchenko, governor of the Odesa region, said Ukrainian forces struck the Moskva with two Neptune missiles and caused “serious damage.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire, without saying what caused the blaze. It said the “main missile weapons” were not damaged and that the crew, usually numbering about 500, abandoned the vessel. It wasn’t clear if there were any casualties. 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 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, can hit targets up to 280 kilometers (175 miles) away. That would have put the Moskva within range, based on where the ship was when the fire began.
Launched as the Slava in 1979, the cruiser saw service in the Cold War and during conflicts in Georgia and Syria, and helped conduct peacetime scientific research with the United States. During the Cold War, it carried nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, other Russian ships in the northern Black Sea moved farther south after the Moskva incident, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.
While the U.S. was not able to confirm Ukraine’s claims of striking the warship, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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 particularly good outcome for them,” Sullivan told the Economic Club of Washington.
Russia invaded Feb. 24 and has lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee.
It has also further inflated prices at grocery stores and gasoline pumps, while dragging on the global economy. The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that the war helped push the organization to downgrade economic forecasts for 143 countries.
Also Thursday, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of sending two low-flying military helicopters some 11 kilometers (7 miles) across the border and firing on residential buildings in the village of Klimovo, in Russia’s Bryansk region. 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.
___
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ | 2022-04-15T06:15:58 | 1 | https://www.wflx.com/2022/04/15/zelenskyy-hails-ukrainians-resolve-50-days-into-invasion/ |
2 bird flu cases confirmed in US zoos as virus spreads
(AP) — Two cases of bird flu have been confirmed in U.S. zoos, but officials said they won’t order widespread euthanasia of zoo birds the way they have on farms.
U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Mike Stepien declined to release any details about the zoo cases Thursday, including which two zoos were involved.
Many zoos across the country have closed down their aviaries and moved birds inside whenever possible to help protect them from avian influenza that officials believe is primarily being spread by the droppings of wild birds.
At many zoos, penguins might be the only birds visitors can see because they are generally kept inside behind glass where they are shielded from the virus.
Nearly 27 million chickens and turkeys have been slaughtered in 26 states to limit the spread of bird flu during this year’s outbreak. Officials order entire flocks to be killed when the virus is found on farms.
Stepien said zoos work with state veterinary officials when the virus is found, but unlike farms, zoos are generally allowed to isolate and treat an infected bird as long as they take precautions to protect the other birds in their collections.
Health officials emphasize that bird flu doesn’t jeopardize food safety because infected birds aren’t allowed into the food supply and properly cooking meat and eggs to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses. The disease also doesn’t represent any immediate public health threat, and no human cases have been found in America.
This year’s outbreak is the worst one since 2015 when roughly 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered because of the virus. Stepien said that there were very few bird flu cases in captive wild birds in 2015 and none in large zoos, and no wild birds at zoos were euthanized that year.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/2-bird-flu-cases-confirmed-us-zoos-virus-spreads/ | 2022-04-15T06:19:59 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/2-bird-flu-cases-confirmed-us-zoos-virus-spreads/ |
Best friends become ‘perfect match’ for kidney transplant
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX/Gray News) - A Texas middle school administrative assistant is getting a new kidney thanks to a surprise by one of her best friends and co-workers.
KBTX reports Dawn Oden received her first kidney transplant back in 2014, which was donated by her brother.
However, this time around it was looking a bit different. Oden said she had a 22% chance of finding a match and was in need of someone to step up.
“Back in December 2020, I got COVID and I already had a transplanted kidney. I was doing well, but since I got COVID it’s been kind of a rough road,” Oden said.
The middle school assistant said she was worried about finding a donor until she got a surprise.
“We found out someone had stepped up but wanted to remain anonymous,” Oden said.
Little did she know her “anonymous” donor was one of her best friends, attendance clerk Jamie Alvarado.
According to Alvarado, she secretly went and got tested to see if she would be a match to donate her kidney, and she ended up matching.
“I knew it was a long shot, but it worked out,” Alvarado said. “We need her, her boys need her, her grandchild needs her. To have that opportunity to get to do that, whether it worked out or not, I knew I had to give it a shot.”
When Oden found out who the donor was, she said she was stunned.
“Shocked, but not surprised because that’s just the heart Jamie has,” Oden said.
On Thursday, students and fellow staff at College Station Middle School sent the two women off before the scheduled transplant surgery next week.
“I don’t know exactly how I would be handling it if I did not have the support system that I have,” Oden said.
Copyright 2022 KBTX via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/best-friends-become-perfect-match-kidney-transplant/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:05 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/best-friends-become-perfect-match-kidney-transplant/ |
Car catches fire on University Drive at I-94
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 6:21 PM CDT|Updated: 4 hours ago
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) -A vehicle caught on fire Thursday on University Dr. South at the I-94 off-ramp.
At approximately 1:50 p.m. Thursday, the Fargo Police Department responded to report of a vehicle on fire in the 2200 block of University Dr. S. When FPD arrived on-scene, the engine compartment of the vehicle was on fire.
The driver exited the vehicle safely and was uninjured. They were the only occupant. The Fargo Fire Department extinguished the flames while FPD diverted traffic. There’s no word on what caused the fire and the vehicle was towed with no citations issued.
Copyright 2022 KVLY. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/car-fire-near-interstate-94/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:12 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/car-fire-near-interstate-94/ |
New Mexico wildfire kills 2 people, destroys homes
(AP) - A wildfire that has burned more than 200 homes on the edge of a mountain community in the southern part of New Mexico and killed two people was caused when a power line was toppled by strong winds, according to state authorities.
Crews worked Thursday to restore power to parts of the village. The lack of electricity also has affected the school district’s servers, email system and website. Firefighters used a break in what had been a steady stream of relentless gusts to make headway against the deadly blaze.
The remains of the couple were found Wednesday afternoon near their home after family members notified Ruidoso police that the two had tried to evacuate but were unaccounted for. Authorities were working to confirm the identities of the two people.
The fire has now moved into a more densely populated area of Ruidoso, prompting more evacuations, about 5,000 people. Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest, interrupted a fire briefing Thursday to tell people to get in their cars and leave after the flames jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.
“We’ve had students who’ve lost their homes. We have to support them on Tuesday” when school resumes, said high school English teacher Sara Ames Brown, who was with students when they evacuated by bus, with flames visible in the forest outside as they drove away.
Overnight, crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village, and Rabon said that progress continued Thursday as helicopters dropped water and ground crews secured lines on the east and south sides. They also put out hot spots in the neighborhoods where the flames raced through earlier this week.
The fire has torched an estimated 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) of forest and grass, and the strong winds that battered the area have left behind toppled trees and down power lines.
Fire officials and forecasters warned that persistent dry and windy conditions had prompted another day of red flag warnings for the eastern third of New Mexico and other parts of the Midwest.
Incident Commander Dave Bales said the strategy was “attack while we can,” noting that winds were expected to pick up again Friday.
“We’re trying to keep this fire as small as possible, especially because it’s right in the community,” he said. “We’ve had a loss of a lot of structures so our crews are right there on the fire front going as direct as possible.”
Six new large fires were reported Wednesday: three in Texas, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma. In all, wildland firefighters and support personnel were trying to contain 11 large fires that have charred more than 40 square miles (103 square kilometers) in five states.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles (3,237 square kilometers). That’s well above the 10-year average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles (2162.64 square kilometers) burned.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
___
Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:18 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/destructive-wildfires-rage-new-mexico-colorado/ |
FDA authorizes 1st breath test for COVID-19 infection
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued an emergency use authorization for what it said is the first device that can detect COVID-19 in breath samples.
The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. The test, which can provide results in less than three minutes, must be carried out under the supervision of a licensed health care provider.
Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, called the device “yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19.”
The FDA said the device was 91.2% accurate at identifying positive test samples and 99.3% accurate at identifying negative test samples.
“InspectIR expects to be able to produce approximately 100 instruments per week, which can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day,” the agency said. “At this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by approximately 64,000 samples per month.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/fda-authorizes-1st-breath-test-covid-19-infection/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:25 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/fda-authorizes-1st-breath-test-covid-19-infection/ |
Florida high school senior gets into 27 schools, including Ivy League
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG//Gray News) - A senior at a Florida high school has been admitted into all of the 27 schools he applied to. Among those include multiple Ivy League universities such as Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Walker said he is ecstatic about his future.
“That’s such a rare thing to occur, but the fact that it did happen, I’m so excited about it,” Walker told WJHG.
The 18-year-old is in the International Baccalaureate Program, which means he completed college-level classes in his junior and senior years of high school. The program covers all subjects and gives students college credits after they complete multiple assessments.
He also loves sports and is on the school’s football team. Besides extracurricular activities and making time for a social life, Walker is also an inventor. He said he wants to help people, so he created a device that helps the deaf and blind. It’s currently in the process of being patented.
Walker said he made sure to take his time during the application process.
“It’s really just like writing a set of essays for one college and then tweaking them specifically for the colleges,” Walker said.
His advice for students applying to colleges is to make sure they are passionate and put in the hard work.
“Keep grinding no matter what,” Walker said.
Walker has received scholarship offers totaling over $4 million from all the schools. He is still deciding which school he will attend.
Copyright 2022 WJHG via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/florida-high-school-senior-gets-into-27-schools-including-ivy-league/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:32 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/florida-high-school-senior-gets-into-27-schools-including-ivy-league/ |
GRAPHIC: Husband of Food Network star pleads guilty in 3-year-old’s beating death
GRAPHIC WARNING: The details of this story may disturb some readers.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina/Gray News) – The husband of a Food Network star pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in the death of the couple’s 3-year-old foster daughter.
Jerry “Austin” Robinson pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting homicide by child abuse in the death of Victoria “Tori” Smith.
Prosecutors say Tori died in January 2021 after she was beaten by Ariel Robinson, the winner of season 20 of Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America.”
Jerry Robinson will remain on house arrest until his wife’s trial.
Prosecutors said Jerry Robinson claims he never physically hurt Tori but told investigators Ariel Robinson would beat the child with different items, including a belt.
Ariel Robinson was angry with Tori the night before her death because she vomited on herself on the way to church, Jerry Robinson told investigators. The next morning, he said Ariel Robinson was frustrated with Tori for not eating her pancakes fast enough.
He described hearing Ariel Robinson giving Tori a “whooping” with a belt that was audible from outside the home. According to prosecutors, when Jerry Robinson went inside, he saw his wife standing over Tori with the belt, saying, “You don’t get to tell me when you’re done.”
Jerry Robinson claims he told his wife, “You’ve gone too far. You went too far this time.” He went to CVS to buy liquid Tylenol to try to bring Tori’s bruising down, attorneys said, and then gave the child an Epsom salt bath.
Jerry Robinson called 911 hours later, and when first responders arrived at the home, Tori was in cardiac arrest.
Jerry Robinson’s attorney asked the judge to take his cooperation with the investigation into account when considering sentencing. He faces 10 to 20 years minimum in prison. He will be sentenced after Ariel Robinson’s trial.
Ariel Robinson will go to trial on May 9.
Prosecutors asked for body camera footage from when first responders responded to the 911 call to be admissible in court during Ariel Robinson’s trial. The body camera footage captures first responders’ “horrified” reactions when they found the bruising on Tori’s body, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Ariel Robinson told first responders the bruising on Tori’s abdomen was caused by the force she used trying to do CPR. She claimed the bruising on Tori’s legs was caused by her then-7-year-old brother, according to prosecutors.
However, Ariel Robinson’s attorney has pushed for the body camera footage to be inadmissible since she was not read her Miranda Rights on the scene at the time.
The judge will decide Friday whether the body camera footage is admissible in Ariel Robinson’s trial.
Copyright 2022 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/graphic-husband-food-network-star-pleads-guilty-3-year-olds-beating-death/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:39 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/graphic-husband-food-network-star-pleads-guilty-3-year-olds-beating-death/ |
I-94 in ND to remain closed Thursday night
Published: Apr. 14, 2022 at 3:54 PM CDT|Updated: 9 hours ago
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Interstate 94 will remain closed Thursday night from Jamestown to the Montana border. The decision was made Thursday afternoon during a conference call between Highway Patrol Commanders and the ND Department of transportation. Additionally, Captain Bryan Neiwind says its likely that I-94 will reopen Friday some time. The same holds true for Highway 83 between Bismarck and Minot. Neiwind says strong winds continue to blow snow, especially in Barnes County and further west and north. He says the interstate and highways are blocked as quickly as plows roll through. In some places, he says the drifts are as high as the overpass.
Copyright 2022 KVLY. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/i-94-nd-remain-closed-thursday-night/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:45 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/i-94-nd-remain-closed-thursday-night/ |
Man blaming Trump’s ‘orders’ for riot actions found guilty
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Ohio man who claimed he was only “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the U.S. Capitol was convicted by a jury that took less than three hours to reject his novel defense for obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
The federal jury on Thursday also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of all five of the other charges in his indictment, including stealing a coat rack from an office inside the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The maximum sentence for the obstruction count, the lone felony, would be 20 years imprisonment.
Jurors didn’t buy Thompson’s defense, in which he blamed Trump and members of the president’s inner circle for the insurrection and for his own actions.
One juror who spoke to reporters only on condition of anonymity said, “Donald Trump wasn’t on trial in this case.”
The juror, a 40-year-old man, said as he left the courthouse, “Everyone agrees that Donald Trump is culpable as an overall narrative. Lots of people were there and then went home. Dustin Thompson did not.”
Thompson himself, testifying a day earlier, admitted he joined the mob’s attack and stole the coat rack and a bottle of bourbon. He said he regretted his “disgraceful” behavior.
“I can’t believe the things that I did,” he said. “Mob mentality and group think is very real and very dangerous.”
Still, he said he believed Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen and was trying to stand up for him.
“If the president is giving you almost an order to do something, I felt obligated to do that,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who is scheduled to sentence Thompson on July 20, described the defendant’s testimony as “totally disingenuous” and his conduct on Jan. 6 as “reprehensible.” The judge also cast blame in Trump’s direction after the verdict was announced.
“I think our democracy is in trouble,” he said, adding that “charlatans” like Trump don’t care about democracy, only about power.
“And as a result of that, it’s tearing our country apart,” the judge said.
Prosecutors did not ask for Thompson to be detained immediately, but Walton ordered him held and he was led away handcuffed. The judge said he believed Thompson was a flight risk and posed a danger to the public.
Thompson’s trial was the third to go before a jury among hundreds of Capitol riot cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. In the first two cases, jurors also convicted the defendants of all charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dreher said that Thompson, a college-educated exterminator who lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, knew he was breaking the law when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and, in his case, looted the Senate parliamentarian’s office. The prosecutor told jurors that Thompson’s lawyer “wants you to think you have to choose between President Trump and his client.”
“You don’t have to choose because this is not President Trump’s trial. This is the trial for Dustin Thompson because of what he did at the Capitol on the afternoon on Jan. 6,” Dreher told jurors during his closing arguments.
Defense attorney Samuel Shamansky said Thompson hasn’t avoided taking responsibility for his conduct that day.
“This shameful chapter in our history is all on TV,” Shamansky told jurors.
But he said Thompson, unemployed and consumed by a steady diet of conspiracy theories, was vulnerable to Trump’s lies about a stolen election. He described Thompson as a “pawn” and Trump as a “gangster” who abused his power to manipulate supporters.
“The vulnerable are seduced by the strong, and that’s what happened here,” Shamansky said.
The judge had barred Thompson’s lawyer from calling Trump and ally Rudolph Giuliani as trial witnesses. But he ruled that jurors could hear recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered on Jan. 6, before the riot erupted. A recording of Trump’s remarks was played.
Shamansky contended that Giuliani, the Trump adviser and former New York City major, incited rioters by encouraging them to engage in “trial by combat” and that Trump provoked the mob by saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
But prosecutor Dreher told jurors that neither Trump nor Giuliani had the authority to “make legal” what Thompson did at the Capitol.
The juror who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was “laughing under my breath” when Thompson testified he took the coat rack to prevent other rioters from using it as a weapon against police.
Thompson was charged and convicted on six counts: obstructing Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote, theft of government property, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
He had driven from Ohio to Washington with a friend, Robert Lyon, who also was arrested less than a month after the riot. Lyon pleaded guilty in March to two misdemeanors — theft of government property and disorderly conduct — and is to be sentenced June 3.
Thompson and Lyon took an Uber ride into Washington on the morning of Jan. 6. After Trump’s rally and speech near the White House, they headed to the Capitol.
Thompson was wearing a bulletproof vest when he entered the building and went to the parliamentarian’s office, The FBI said agents later searched Lyon’s cellphone and found a video that showed a ransacked office and Thompson yelling: “Wooooo! ‘Merica Hey! This is our house!”
“(Trump) didn’t force you to go. He didn’t force you to walk every step of the way to the Capitol building, did he?” Dreher asked Thompson on Wednesday.
“No,” Thompson said.
“You chose to do that?” Dreher asked.
“I was following presidential orders, but yes,” Thompson said.
More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes arising from the riot. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Thompson is the fifth person to be tried on riot-related charges.
On Monday, a jury convicted a former Virginia police officer, Thomas Robertson, of storming the Capitol with another off-duty officer. Last month, a jury convicted a Texas man, Guy Reffitt, of storming the building with a holstered handgun.
A judge hearing testimony without a jury decided cases against two other Capitol riot defendants at separate bench trials. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden acquitted one of them of all charges and partially acquitted the other.
___
Associated Press reporter Jacques Billeaud contributed from Phoenix.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/man-blaming-trumps-orders-riot-actions-awaits-verdict/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:51 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/man-blaming-trumps-orders-riot-actions-awaits-verdict/ |
Man guilty of killing wife, 3 kids, pet dog in Florida
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — A physical therapist from Connecticut has been convicted of killing his wife, three young children and the family’s dog two years ago in central Florida.
A 12-member jury on Thursday evening found 46-year-old Anthony Todt guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty.
Prosecutors weren’t seeking the death penalty, which means Todt will receive a mandatory life sentence.
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Danielle Pinnell said Todt nonchalantly detailed the killings to investigators after his January 2020 arrest at the family’s home near Walt Disney World.
He later claimed that his wife killed the children and then stabbed herself.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/man-guilty-killing-wife-3-kids-pet-dog-florida/ | 2022-04-15T06:20:58 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/man-guilty-killing-wife-3-kids-pet-dog-florida/ |
New Jersey to start recreational marijuana sales April 21
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey for those 21 and older will begin April 21, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.
“This is a historic step in our work to create a new cannabis industry,” said Murphy, who made the announcement via Twitter.
The news comes just three days after state regulators greenlighted permits for seven facilities, which already sell medical cannabis, to begin retailing recreational marijuana. It’s also about a year after the state’s regulatory commission started operating, and a year and a half after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to allow recreational marijuana for people 21 and older.
New Jersey and 17 others states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational marijuana. Thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, have legalized medical marijuana.
New Jersey’s recreational sales are slated to begin ahead of New York, where sales are not expected to start until the end of the year, state officials have said.
Neighboring Pennsylvania has medical cannabis but not recreational. Some cities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have passed ordinances to decriminalize marijuana or make it a low law enforcement priority. Legislation to permit recreational marijuana in Delaware was defeated last month in the Legislature.
Three of the seven New Jersey facilities, known as alternative treatment centers, are in the northern part of the state. Three are in the south, and one is in its central.
To get approval, the centers agreed that the coming influx of recreational buyers won’t interrupt access for patients. The facilities said they would reserve parking spaces for patients as well as keep hours specifically for patients only.
There are about 130,000 medical marijuana patients in the state, with an estimated roughly 800,000 potential recreational consumers, and fewer than 800,000 estimated “tourism” consumers, according to the commission.
Ben Kovler, the CEO of Green Thumb Industries, which operates dispensaries in several states, is preparing for the start of recreational sales at facilities in Paterson and Bloomfield. Kovler said he expects a “tidal wave” of demand.
“We are witnessing the end of prohibition 2.0,” he said in an emailed statement.
The alternative treatment centers that already had medical cannabis retail sales are getting a head start in the recreational market, but regulators have attached strings to their advantage. The centers have to meet social equity standards, such as providing technical knowledge to new marijuana businesses, especially social equity applicants — those located in economically struggling parts of the state or people who have had cannabis-related offenses.
“We remain committed to social equity,” Cannabis Regulatory Commission Chair Dianna Houenou said in a statement. “We promised to build this market on the pillars of social equity and safety. Ultimately, we hope to see businesses and a workforce that reflect the diversity of the state.”
How much tax revenue New Jersey gets from recreational marijuana isn’t clear. Murphy’s fiscal year 2023 budget, which is pending before the Democrat-led Legislature, estimates revenues of just $19 million in a nearly $49 billion budget. In 2019, as legalization of recreational marijuana was still just pending before voters, he had estimated about $60 million in revenue.
Legislation governing the recreational market calls for the 6.625% sales tax to apply, with 70% of the proceeds going to areas disproportionately affected by marijuana-related arrests. Black residents were likelier — up to three times as much — to face marijuana charges than white residents. Towns can also levy a tax of up to 2%.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/new-jersey-start-recreational-marijuana-sales-april-21/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:05 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/new-jersey-start-recreational-marijuana-sales-april-21/ |
Police: 183 animals found in man’s freezer, some frozen alive
GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. (Gray News) - An Arizona man is facing animal cruelty charges after authorities found numerous dead animals in his freezer.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said a woman reported that Michael Patrick Turland, 43, hadn’t returned snakes she’d lent him for breeding and that several animals, including hers, were located in his freezer.
According to police, the property owner told the woman that a freezer full of dead animals was found in the garage while they were cleaning after Turland and his wife, Brooklyn Beck, had left the state.
Deputies and Animal Control officers entered the property and said they located the freezer, which contained approximately 183 frozen animals of different breeds.
According to the sheriff’s office, dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes and rabbits were among the animals found in the freezer. Several of the animals also appeared to have been frozen alive due to their body positioning.
On April 13, deputies were notified that Turland returned to the residence, where he was then taken into custody.
Police said the 43-year-old eventually admitted to placing some of the animals in the freezer when they were still alive.
Turland was arrested on 94 counts of animal cruelty. He was taken to the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility in Kingman, Ariz.
The sheriff’s office said it is also looking to speak to Turland’s wife regarding the incident.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/police-183-animals-found-mans-freezer-some-frozen-alive/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:12 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/police-183-animals-found-mans-freezer-some-frozen-alive/ |
Brooklyn subway attack suspect ordered held without bail
NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with opening fire in a Brooklyn subway car full of people was jailed without bail Thursday as prosecutors told a judge he terrified all of New York City.
Brought into a Brooklyn federal court without handcuffs, a subdued Frank James, 62, softly answered standard questions about whether he understood the charges and the purpose of the brief hearing. His lawyer later asked the public not to prejudge him.
James was arrested in Manhattan after calling a police tip line to say where he was Wednesday, a day after the nightmarish rush-hour attack left 10 people with gunshot wounds and countless others fearing for their safety on the nation’s busiest subway system.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Videos in this story may contain disturbing content.
Authorities say he unleashed smoke bombs and dozens of bullets in a train full of morning commuters. 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 and are still trying to derive a motive.
“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, apparently referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“The defendant’s attack was premeditated, was carefully planned and it caused terror among the victims and our entire city,” she said.
While James was in court, Hourari Benkada was in a hospital bed with a bullet wound in his leg.
Benkada said he was just feet away from the gunman on the train and has struggled to sleep since. Tuesday’s horrific scene keeps replaying in his mind.
“I’m still shocked about it,” Benkada said in a video interview Thursday, grimacing in pain as he recalled the attack.
He had headphones on, music blaring, as smoke began filling the subway car. He initially thought it was a small fire. But the smoke “kept escalating to black, black smoke like 9/11,” he said, “and the whole train was pitch-black.”
Then there were gunshots, screams and a scramble for safety. Benkada said he tried to shield a pregnant woman from getting hit during the mayhem, and as people pushed forward, a gunshot tore into his knee.
The shooting victims, who range in age from 16 to 60, are all expected to survive.
Prosecutors described James in court papers as a calculating shooter who wore a disguise — a construction worker-style hard hat and jacket that were shed right after the attack — and fired “in cold blood at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.”
But defense attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg cautioned against “a rush to judgment.”
“Initial reports in a case like this are often inaccurate,” she said outside court. She noted that James alerted police to his whereabouts, 30 hours into a manhunt that included cellphone alerts to the general public.
Once he knew he was wanted, “he called Crime Stoppers to help,” Eisner-Grynberg said.
The manhunt began focusing on downtown Manhattan after police got a tip from a sharp-eyed high school junior on a photography class excursion.
Jack Griffin, 17, said he was looking for subjects for pictures when his eye was drawn to a man sitting on a bench with a duffel bag, resting amid the bustle of a street near Chinatown.
“As soon as I saw him, my first instinct was: ‘That’s him,’” Griffin said. He snapped some photos of the man, who mumbled something and quickly moved on. Then Griffin sent his photos to police, who dispatched officers to the area.
Eventually, police got 911 reports of other possible sightings — and they got a call from James, saying he was at a McDonald’s in the East Village neighborhood. He was gone when police got there, but bystanders spotted him and flagged down officers as they searched the neighborhood. James was apprehended a few blocks from the McDonald’s.
Two cousins, Zack Dahhan and Mohammad Cheikh, said they glimpsed the man and hastily looked up James’ wanted poster on their phones.
“And we say, ‘Oh, my God, this is the guy!’” as a number of people began to follow him, Dahhan said. The cousins said they pointed officers toward him.
James’ lawyers agreed Thursday to his being jailed, but said they could seek bail later.
At the request of James’ lawyers, Magistrate Roanne Mann said she would ask for James to get “psychiatric attention,” as well as magnesium tablets for leg cramps, at the federal lockup in Brooklyn where he’s being held.
Authorities say a trove of evidence connects James to the attack. His bank card, his cellphone 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.
In court papers, 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.
The New York City native had been living in Milwaukee and Philadelphia recently.
Investigators were examining many hours of videos that James posted on social media, as recently as Monday, in which he delivered profanity-laced diatribes about racism, society’s treatment of Black people, homelessness and violence. He also discussed his history of psychiatric treatment and complained about how New York’s mayor is dealing with homeless people on subways and with gun violence.
He also talked about shooting people, prosecutors noted in court papers.
___
Associated Press journalists Jim Mustian, Michael R. Sisak, Deepti Hajela and Seth Wenig contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:19 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/police-search-motive-brooklyn-subway-suspects-videos/ |
Softball umpire speaks after parent attack leaves her with severe nerve damage
LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM/Gray News) - An umpire in Mississippi is speaking out while she recovers from being punched in the face after a softball game for 12-year-old children.
Kristie Moore was filling in for an umpire who got sick, something she said she has been doing for several years with 10 years of experience calling games.
However, during this game, the coach asked one of the athlete’s mothers to leave the game for excessive cursing. Instead of going home, the woman is accused of waiting to confront Moore after the game, punching her and then running away.
Moore told WDAM that the parent became irate after a call she made at second base, but the coaches and other officials had no opposition to the call.
The 10-year umpire said abuse to referees, whether physical or verbal, is becoming too familiar and leading to an umpire shortage.
“This is not a Laurel thing or a Mississippi thing,” Moore said. “This is a nationwide thing for officials across the board. It’s harder and harder, every weekend because of the abuse that umpires and officials across the board are experiencing.”
According to police, the parent in question, Kiara Thomas, was arrested after the incident and charged with simple assault.
Moore said she wants people to understand that umpires are just human.
“Officials in any sport are expected to be perfect and we’re not,” Moore said. “We never will be.”
Moore experienced a severe contusion and nerve damage in her left eye, but it won’t stop her from umpiring.
She hopes that her story will bring awareness to the umpire shortage and brings consequences for similar actions.
“There definitely needs to be stricter consequences and laws to stop and to deter this from happening to anyone else,” Moore said.
Earlier this year, a bill was introduced in the legislature that would make assaulting a referee or umpire a felony as aggravated assault. That bill, however, did not make the calendar.
Moore said she hopes after this incident lawmakers will take a second look at the bill.
Copyright 2022 WDAM via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/softball-umpire-speaks-out-after-parent-attack-leaves-her-with-severe-nerve-damage/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:26 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/softball-umpire-speaks-out-after-parent-attack-leaves-her-with-severe-nerve-damage/ |
Some companies in the area are busy due to the snow
Some were not prepared for the slick snow conditions Thursday morning, but the people responding to the calls were.
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - While snow covered the roads, tire tracks started going off it, making MTW towing’s morning a busy one.
“Everybody got in at 8 o’clock and everybody was on the road, ready to go by 8:15, helping everybody, we had an accident, winch-out, on 7th Ave NE,” said Damian Barglof, a tow truck driver for MTW towing.
Barglof says they also were responding to many jump starts and impound calls due to the snow affecting parking in town.
He says the most common calls they have when the weather turns bad are winch-outs which can be anything between, “Sliding off on the interstate or they just get stuck in a little drift out in the street or simple things like that.”
And, it can happen to anyone.
“I had a driver this morning that had to pull someone out of the ditch for the police department because they were going way too fast on the roadway and lost control and ended up in the ditch,” he said.
While Barglof and his coworkers are staying busy during the snow storm, he says road conditions can change with a drop of a hat and drivers should always be careful, especially when sharing it with tow trucks.
“One big thing is making sure your headlights are on, we cant see you, other people can’t see you, turn your headlights on, slow down, you’re going to get there a whole lot safer if you’re taking the time to get to work,” he said.
The other big concern is making sure drivers move over when they see tow trucks flashing lights on the side of the road.
North Dakota has the Move Over law in place which requires all drivers to change lanes or slow down when approaching an emergency vehicle on the side of the road, if drivers do not follow this, it could end in a $50 fine and two points added to your driving record.
Copyright 2022 KVLY. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/some-companies-area-are-busy-due-snow/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:33 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/some-companies-area-are-busy-due-snow/ |
Texas moves to ease border gridlock over ‘sense of urgency’
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The logjam of trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border finally began breaking Thursday after nearly a week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott eased off his latest dramatic action over immigration that has gridlocked some of the world’s busiest trade ports and taken a mounting economic toll.
“There is a sense of urgency now to reach deals that did not exist before,” Abbott said.
The two-term Republican governor, who for days has allowed commercial trucks to backup for miles into Mexico after requiring them to stop for additional inspections in Texas, lifted that order for bridges in El Paso and other cities after announcing a new security agreement with the neighboring Mexican state of Chihuahua.
It remains not a full repeal of Abbott’s policy that he rushed into place April 6 as part of an ongoing fight with the Biden administration over the flow of migrants and drugs. The lengthy extra inspections elsewhere along Texas’ 1,200-mile border — including in the busy Rio Grande Valley — will continue, Abbott says, until similar agreements are reached with other Mexican states.
But the deal with Gov. María Campos Galván of Chihuahua, who joined Abbott for the announcement in the Texas Capitol, sets in motion the biggest relief yet for traffic that has snarled the Texas-Mexico border and raised warnings of higher prices for U.S. shoppers and spare grocery store shelves.
“People like me who buy millions of dollars of produce a week are starting to curb their purchases toward other regions of the country,” said Brent Erenwert, CEO of Brothers Produce in Houston, which relies heavily on imports from Mexico.
The inspections ordered by Abbott came in response to the Biden administration announcing last month it would wind down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. When that happens, the number of migrants coming to the U.S. is expected to increase.
It was the second consecutive day Abbott has lifted inspections at some bridges, starting Wednesday with Laredo, which was the busiest U.S. port of entry for trucks last year.
Traffic coming into the Texas at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., has also resumed after a dayslong protest by Mexican truckers came to an end.
One custom agency based in Mexico, the Association of Customs Agents of Reynosa, on Thursday put the losses at the Pharr-Reynosa bridge at $7 million a day.
The agreements between Abbott and Mexico’s governor so far have varied.
Across from Laredo, Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García had told Abbott is state would put in place checkpoints and policing. For Chihuahua, Galvan provided a security plan she said was in the “implementation stage” and includes agreements to share intelligence captured by security cameras and other technology. It was not clear whether Campos Galvan’s security plan had already been underway.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican who has urged Abbott to walk back the inspections order, said Thursday one major agricultural company told him that 100 trucks sent to Mexico for deliveries have been unable to come back across because of the congestion.
He questioned what the holdout achieved, and in the case of Abbott’s agreement with Nuevo Leon, said it did not appear substantive.
“They’re just basically going to leave it up in good faith,” Miller said. “There’s no enforcement, no reckoning on that if they don’t.”
The White House, the Mexican government, trade groups and reeling businesses have bashed the extra inspections as redundant and a new burden on an already fragile supply chain.
Abbott’s border inspections come at a time when U.S. supply chains are already overwhelmed. A surge in demand from customers — the result of a surprisingly fast recovery from the devastating coronavirus recession of 2020 — caught businesses by surprise and led to bottlenecks at factories, ports and freight yards. It’s also pushed up prices, contributing to the highest inflation in 40 years.
COVID-related factory shutdowns in China and the rocketing cost of shipping goods across the Pacific Ocean have many companies looking to Mexico, where there’s no ocean to cross and there’s relief from the political and trade disputes between Washington and Beijing.
“A lot of companies, right now, they’re looking at Mexico as a way to bypass ocean dependency,’’ said Bindiya Vakil, CEO of the supply chain consultancy Resilnc. “If I’m one of those companies, I’m looking at this new regulation on the Texas border and I’m really concerned because this means additional delays, and that was supposed to be my solution -- to go to Mexico and avoid the ocean altogether.’’
The U.S.-Mexico border is crucial to the U.S. economy. The United States last year imported $390.7 billion worth of goods from Mexico, second only to China.
But as the inspections taper off in Texas, Abbott says he will continue putting migrants on buses and sending them to Washington, D.C., calling it a message to President Joe Biden. “If he’s not going to come to the border, we’re going to take the border to him,” Abbott said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protections Commissioner Chris Magnus said Thursday that Abbott was moving migrants without “adequately coordinating” with the federal government. The first bus arrived Wednesday, and Abbott said more are on the way.
___
Associated Press reporters Paul Wiseman in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Maria Verza in Mexico City and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:41 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/texas-keeping-most-truck-inspections-despite-border-gridlock/ |
Texas lawmakers respond as second bus of immigrants arrives in DC
A second bus of undocumented immigrants arrived in Washington from Texas Thursday. According to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas), it’s part of his response to President Biden’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A second bus of undocumented immigrants arrived in Washington from Texas Thursday. According to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas), it’s part of his response to President Biden’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions.
Some Texas lawmakers support Gov. Abbott’s plan, but some of their colleagues are calling the bus trip a political stunt.
Noting that Texas is bearing the burden of an unsecured border, Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants, who are awaiting deportation trials to Washington D.C.
Two buses have arrived so far, filled with only those who, according to Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), volunteered for the trip.
“[It] wouldn’t surprise me if we take people to Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, but we’re trying to move people to where they want to go as an option,” Sessions said. “I support what the governor is doing.”
But it’s the location: Washington D.C., that feeds into concerns that the bus trips are purely political.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said the governor is using the trips to make a political point, though he does agree with Abbott on some facets of immigration, such as his push to keep Title 42.
“He’s trying to get publicity. But, you know, that’s the whole key I think people need to understand that, that we at the border, we’re the ones that see the whole thing. We’re the ones who see the migrants,” Cuellar said.
Politically, this is all part of broader conflict at the border. Immigration has been one of the most divisive issues between the primary parties and it remains so, as the next election cycle nears.
Title 42 was first written decades ago to prevent sick immigrants from crossing the U.S. border. It was enforced during the coronavirus pandemic, but now, it’s set to end next month.
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/texas-lawmakers-respond-second-bus-immigrants-arrives-dc/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:48 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/14/texas-lawmakers-respond-second-bus-immigrants-arrives-dc/ |
2 dead, more than 200 homes charred in New Mexico wildfire
(AP) - Firefighters took advantage of a brief break in the weather but gusty winds were expected to return Friday to southern New Mexico where a wildfire has claimed two lives and charred more than 200 homes.
The fire has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people in the mountain community of Ruidoso, where the remains of a couple were found near a burned home as they tried to flee.
New Mexico State Police confirmed the blaze killed the two people after it started Tuesday from a windblown, downed power line. Their names have not been released.
Thousands of customers in the area remain without power, and Ruidoso schools have been closed until next week.
“We’ve had students who’ve lost their homes. We have to support them on Tuesday” when school resumes, said high school English teacher Sara Ames Brown. She said Thursday she was with students when they were evacuated by bus, with flames visible in the forest outside as they drove away.
Fire crews used a break in what had been a steady stream of relentless gusts to make headway against the flames on Thursday.
Incident Commander Dave Bales said the strategy was “attack while we can,” noting that winds were expected to pick up again Friday.
“We’re trying to keep this fire as small as possible, especially because it’s right in the community,” he said. “We’ve had a loss of a lot of structures so our crews are right there on the fire front going as direct as possible.”
The fire moved into a more densely populated area on Ruidoso’s northeastern side Wednesday afternoon, prompting more evacuations. Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest, interrupted a fire briefing and told people to get in their cars and leave after the flames jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line.
Crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village on Wednesday, and Rabon said that progress continued Thursday as helicopters dropped water and ground crews secured lines on the east and south sides. They also put out hot spots in the neighborhoods where the flames raced through earlier this week.
The fire has torched an estimated 9 square miles (23 square kilometers) of forest and grass, and the strong winds that battered the area have left behind toppled trees and down power lines. Due to the power outage, the school district’s servers were down and email wasn’t working.
Six new large fires were reported Wednesday: three in Texas, two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma. In all, wildland firefighters and support personnel were trying to contain 11 large fires that have charred more than 40 square miles (103 square kilometers) in five states.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles (3,237 square kilometers). That’s well above the 10-year average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles (2162.64 square kilometers) burned.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Davenport from Phoenix.
___
Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ | 2022-04-15T06:21:57 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/2-dead-more-than-200-homes-charred-new-mexico-wildfire/ |
5 houses, 2 garages, 12 vehicles go up in flames in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - The Cleveland Fire Department confirmed five houses, two garages, and 12 vehicles went up in flames on the east side of the city Wednesday.
The initial call was for a single house on fire in the 1800 block of Mannering Road, but the wind-driven flames quickly spread to the neighboring structures, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo, “It was a wind-driven fire. Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire it really intensifies it.”
Eighty Cleveland firefighters from 17 different fire companies were called in to battle the primary fire, that was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived, and led to the home almost immediately collapsing.
Tayshawna Wright never heard warning knocks on her door. The Cleveland woman was asleep in an upstairs bedroom of a neighboring home, and only woke up to the danger that spread to her apartment when she started feeling the heat, “I woke up my boyfriend got the dogs out of the cage, tried to grab cell phones, but that didn’t work out. My dogs ran back upstairs and I was really scared for them.”
Firefighters tackled the flames and the rushed inside saving pups Chico and Fabio. “I was happy, I was happy,” Wright said.
But Wright and neighbors in 5 structures lost their homes, cars and all of their belongings, but fortunately walked away with their lives.
Firefighters also thankful because the massive fire could have been far worse, because along with strong winds, there were not enough hydrants to supply the massive mounts of water needed, “We had to actually do a relay operation to catch the water, the water supply off of Euclid in addition to the street here,” Chief Calvillo said.
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo confirmed no one was injured, and firefighters rescued two dogs and a cat.
However, the fire displaced a total of 14 adults and two children, Cleveland Fire said.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the victims with shelter, clothing and food.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ | 2022-04-15T06:22:03 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/5-houses-2-garages-12-vehicles-go-up-flames-ohio/ |
DEA plans National Prescription Drug Take Back Day for late April
(WOWT/Gray News) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is planning its next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day for the end of this month.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30, the public is encouraged to bring any unused and unneeded medications to law enforcement agencies across the country. You can find the nearest collection site using a search tool on the DEA’s Take Back Day website.
“The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat,” the website states.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths reached a record high in late 2021, with over 105,000 deaths in the 12-month period ending in October of that year.
The Take Back Day is designed to guard against medication misuse and help prevent opioid addictions before they start.
Copyright 2022 WOWT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/dea-plans-national-prescription-drug-take-back-day-late-april/ | 2022-04-15T06:22:10 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/dea-plans-national-prescription-drug-take-back-day-late-april/ |
FDA: Recall issued for popcorn snack sold in 18 states over allergen concerns
(Gray News) - A popular popcorn snack sold in more than a dozen states and grocery stores around the country is being recalled due to possible allergen concerns.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports Snak King has voluntarily recalled 5-ounce packages of O Organics Sea Salt Organic Popcorn due to the potential presence of an undeclared milk allergen.
The popcorn packages were sold in stores that include Pavilions, Haggen, ACME, Safeway, King’s, Balducci’s, Jewel-Osco, Andronico’s Community Markets, Vons, Pak ‘N Save, Albertsons, Eagle and Carrs-Safeway.
According to the FDA, the stores were in are in Idaho, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
The agency said products have a “best if used by” date of 9/24/2022 and 9/25/2022.
There have been no current reports of illness but consumers who may have purchased the recalled products have been advised not to eat them and to return them to the store it was purchased.
Consumers with questions may contact the Snak King company at 626-363-7711.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/fda-recall-issued-popcorn-snack-sold-18-states-over-allergen-concerns/ | 2022-04-15T06:22:16 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/04/15/fda-recall-issued-popcorn-snack-sold-18-states-over-allergen-concerns/ |